The festivities started with the Pre-Party on Saturday. Mary and I were allowed to bring two guests only, so we invited Tracy and Mary B. We were greeted with wine and a fantastic assortment of cheeses and fresh fruit. So we mingled, imbibed and then headed out at 4 to start our tour of the ten homes that were to be on tour. We walked to the first three then loaded into the trolleys.
Mary, Tracy and Mary
Our Transportation
I am amazed at the love and hard work that the homeowners pour into their abodes. So much creativity. I've picked a few photos of things that just struck a chord with me.
This is an outdoor shower. Eventually, the bougainvillea will provide complete privacy (and a poke in one's backside, if they aren't careful!)
I love the ivy painted around the window and the Old World look of the wall.
The fireplace grate was stunning!
This guy was adorable! Doesn't he look kind of sad?
I really like this painting on the stucco-covered fence.
This is ceramic floor tile in a "basket weave" pattern. I just love it.
This is a lamp with another fantastic pattern.
A great use for an old library card catalog.
Beautiful Artwork in Skip Redpath's Studio.
I love this!
Tracy and I enjoying some champagne at one of the homes. Love the siding painted in "stripes" on the neighbor's garage.
Mary and a unique gate (love the fringe purse, Mar!)
Dinner and Desert and a T-shirt!
Fast Forward to the Next Day:
Now, I've been working towards this day, weather I was truly conscious of it or not, for twelve years. Ironically, when Steve and I first moved here (twelve years ago), Tracy came by house as a representative of the Tour Committee at that time and said something to the effect of, "Maybe when you're done decorating!" Ha! (She swears she doesn't remember this, but girlfriend, you scarred me for life! Or at least lit a major fire under my butt!)
So, Tracy was in charge of the front door, "Welcome to the North Side!" Mary B was in the kitchen telling people to "Watch for elevation changes which can be shocking," and other stuff like, "they made all the furniture in the bedroom." Which is actually true. Ha!
Patrick escaped his new puppies for a couple of hours and stood by the back door to catch anyone that tripped walking out. Mary J. was with her adorable teardrop trailer and answering graciously only about a zillion times, "No, I am not a 'Sister of the Fly.'"
Julie and I hung out in the garden to answer questions about plants, wildlife, and I'd get the occasionally strange query such as, "Where did you get the puzzle-shaped magnets on your fridge?"
Jim and Jerri came by in the afternoon to relieve Tracy and Mary B. (And Jerri made these fabulous cookies that use cake mix - I think she got some sort of cookbook with like 1,001 uses for cake mix.) Anne, from across the street, popped in for a bit to relieve Mary J. for a quick pee break.
Matt and Denise were ROCK STARS! Not only did they let us use their bathroom (Amen!) but they cooked up brats, and had a total spread with roasted peppers, buns, sauerkraut, the WORKS - so we'd slip next door and grab a bite and it was FANTASTIC! OMG!
And the guests: Wonderful. Everyone seems to see something different. By the end of the day I was absolutely wiped out but it was so cool to see the different things that people zero in on. Some loved the garden, some the trailer, some the magnets... got a lot of comments on how I'd painted "vines" along the cracks on the patio. Lot of interest in the wildlife habitat. Lot of folks asked why we paint citrus tree trunks white (protects them from the sun and insects). Just a very very wonderful experience. Everyone was very respectful and not a drop of anything was spilled anywhere (except for the mustard I managed to plop in my own lap when I was eating my brat and Pete was thinking HE wanted to have some of THAT! ha!)
Tracy - Greeter Extraordinaire!
This is just my favorite room.
The kitchen.
Mary (far right) and her Trailer.
People waiting in line!
Peeps in the Garden. Julie is in the jeans, white shirt, far right.
Mary Lynn enjoying the garden.
The hat Matt put on the tree beside the fence! Ha!
Coming into the Home Stretch (Julie looks tired!)
I've got a LOT more pictures but I'll save those for another day! After the last guest had departed, we regrouped and met up at Tracy's for potluck. Grilled salmon (excellent). I managed to pick up seven-layer dip at Safeway and brought a bottle of champagne (oh, yeah!).
Hooray! Jerri, Julie, Mary B, Mary J., Me, Tracy
At potluck: Tracy's sister - Kathy, Tracy, Mary J, Julie with Lola, Mary B, Jerri, and Jim.
I shoulda just put a nipple on the bottle!
