Yesterday was rather unexpected. We decided to go down the hill because we needed to stop in Walmart and get my "breakfast" drinks "Equate"... We decided to walk through town in Redlands but to go beyond into an area we hadn't walked before.
Whenever I'm out or on my way to a destination I tell Mike - we have to keep our eyes open, our awareness on high alert because something unusual will happen and it will be awesome or very synchronistic. Well I said this in the car going down the mountain yesterday.
So we are walking in an area we hadn't walked before and of course i had my camera because we were near some nice older homes. As we walked along this lady was working in her garden and says ...in a very friendly voice - just don't take a pic of my garden it looks awful. i said of course I wouldn't but if I came back in the spring or summer and it looked good I would definitely take a pic... and we laughed. We talked for a few moments - asking where we lived, and we asked her how long she had lived in her house. Turns out she lived in the mountains not far from where we live - just a few miles away. She grew up there and at some point moved to San Francisco and owned an art gallery near Fisherman's Wharf - then when she married she moved to REdlands.
So then she says hey do you want to see inside my house. This was an offer I couldn't refuse.
Here are some pics and her very friendly little dog. Most of the items in her house are very very old or vintage and in fact her dining room table is from sometime in the 17th century (wish I would have paid more attention). She said it was fine to take pics. I was pretty happy about that.
she has a WRAP around porch that is beautiful. Then as you walk in is the living room
I admired her low hanging lights so she turned them on. This place is immaculate and almost a minimalist style of living. i really like it. Every piece of furniture had a story. Just wish I had wrote it all down. Kathy looked to be about mid 50's and I sensed she lived alone, either divorced or widowed. Her step son had just left yesterday after staying with her for awhile and she has two daughters - on up in Corvalis Oregon and another 15 away at a kind of e xclusive private school.
This sign on the wall was a sign that was used years ago in a trailer park" in VOE - Valley of Enchantment an area in the mountains where she grew up. She somehow acquired it years ago and it now has a place on her wall.
This is an amazing table. I didn't even ask her how she acquired it - but like i said above it's from the 17th century. The door in the background leads to a really comfortable little family room.
The kitchen is definitely retro vintage etc. She said she did the whole ceiling herself. - out the back door leads to the side yard. There is one bedroom downstairs in the front of the house and i have a blurry picture of it - it's the guest room and then there is just one bedroom upstairs, a bathroom that has been all redone and beautiful although I didn't get a pic and this incredible closet also of which I didn't take a picture.
This is part of her upstairs bedroom - she has basically nothing but the bare necessities in it and I found it oddly appealing to me - (I who have so much stuff in my room )...
coming back down ...and oh the steps were so so tiny and narrow going up to this room...
down looking at the living room from a different angle.
The wall in her office.
I guess I didn't get a photo of the family room. Coming back into the kitchen from the office area.
Look how old the chairs are - ..i like that she left them the way they look instead of having them repaired. It's so authentic...
This is an original horse off of a really old merry-go-round.
Coming out to view the wrap around porch.
this is the side of it and then beyond is the garage and garden. She told us anytime we are in the area to come and pick the fruit off her trees if we want to - she specifically mentioned grapefruit but she also has a REALLY old tree that produces various citrus fruits on one tree.
and this sweetie pie jumped up on the chair and posed for me. What a friend dog - can't remember her name though
view of the outside of her house and then the photo below this one is her neighbor next door's house.
