House and Home update at Sequoia de O’—End of April 2008
We dropped the lawsuit after the mediation session during which: 1) the lawyer for those being sued made it clear he was ex-partners with both judges in town, 2) the mediator clearly did not like our lawyer and seemed to have sided with the other side, 3) the prior contractor-owner pulled an Archie Bunker meets Santa Claus routine that would have wowed any jury of his peers in this area, 4) the prior owner-contractor offered to fix everything that was bad at his cost (while wanting to leave wood that wasn’t too-badly termite-ridden), and, 5) our lawyer seemed not to know how to proceed with deference to these observations.
Since then, we have remodeled the living room, removing the rotten wood in walls and baseboards, and redoing the rotten hardwood floors with gorgeous Travertine tile. The walls are now a beautiful green-blue turquoise splashed with gold, depending on angle of vision and light source. New windows and slider and French doors all have a clear-lacquered wood finish and nicely compliment the new front door of dark mahogany with grilled sidelights and working grilled speak easy. The tin-ceiling with cornices reflects these colors in various areas, always shifting with the sunlight streaming into the room. Lisé decided to move some different curtains downstairs as well, and so the golden and tan curtains brighten up the room. With two matching arches leading into the kitchen and into the stairwell, bathroom, and entertainment room alcove, the room leads nicely into other areas while feeling completely its own as well.
Outside, we continue to work on and are committed to the notion of Sequoia de O’ as a botanical park of sorts, with sustenance in the form of fruit (cherry, plum, pear, apple, peach, huckleberry, strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry) and eventually more herbs (oregano, thyme, sage, and rosemary currently) and edible plants and vegetables, and visual aesthetic nurturance in the forms of arches, trellises, arbors, gazebos, sitting areas, benches, and definite garden areas, such as the Hebe-grass-cherry-canna grove, the deodora-cedar-rhododendron-echium grove, Mother’s Garden, the rock fountains gardens, Lisé’s rose garden, the ponds grove, the deck grove, the hot tub grove, the aborgola grove, the big ponds grove, Grandmother’s Grove, the pagellis grove, and the flowering tree grove, each of which forms its own area of interest and all of which are interconnected in some way other than by being on the same .66 acres surrounded by a bamboo fence.
Duncan, nearly two-year-old AKC-registered Black Lab, and Pan, a nearly one-year-old pound-rescued perhaps German Shepherd and Pit Bull mix, have run tracks and trails into the grounds in various places.
Duncan catches tennis balls thrown at speeds from slow underhand tosses to fast pitches overhand, preferring the throws to occur while he sits on the waterfall rocks in the ponds nearest the house. He lost a lower-right-side-jaw molar tooth during a tug-of-war that we have since ceased performing. But, Duncan loves to run after chuck-it thrown tennis balls (as it seems many labs do), and to play what we call “kick-ball,” during which, Lisé or I kick the ball and try to get it past him, as he situates himself like a soccer goalie in net during an attack by the offense. He will often block the ball with his chest or one of his four legs, but, if kicked just right, one can score, as the ball soars on past! Caution must be exercised as Duncan will run over trees in his wild enthusiasm to chase the ball down. Duncan possesses serious speed in the straightaway, running so fast that his back legs outpace his front, making him look as if his bottom is dragging on the ground when he is galloping. His muscles bulge like those of a finely tuned athlete. We hope to find Duncan a female friend to pass on his genes since he is such a loving and beautiful animal!
Pan seems not to like many games, chasing balls only as a way to compete for attention with Duncan, not because he thoroughly loves it but to wrest our attentions for himself. He, instead, enjoys to run and chase, chasing bike riders and cars at the front of the fence by the road, chasing and being chased by Duncan, or chasing or being chased by me (Scott). Pan prefers to be chased, but will initiate the chase if need be, quickly turning it into a reason for others to chase him (a coveted rawhide or piece of stick with Duncan, or a ball that Duncan was playing with for Lisé and I). Pan’s prowess is rolled up into quick turns and changes of direction, and so he loves to run around the edges of the ponds, changing direction to try to offset Duncan’s overwhelming straight speed and strength. Pan, unfortunately because of his incredible elegance and colorings, cannot pass on his more surly genes because the pound enforces a mandatory fix rule upon adoption.
Life's Force and Love,
Scott Michael
Since then, we have remodeled the living room, removing the rotten wood in walls and baseboards, and redoing the rotten hardwood floors with gorgeous Travertine tile. The walls are now a beautiful green-blue turquoise splashed with gold, depending on angle of vision and light source. New windows and slider and French doors all have a clear-lacquered wood finish and nicely compliment the new front door of dark mahogany with grilled sidelights and working grilled speak easy. The tin-ceiling with cornices reflects these colors in various areas, always shifting with the sunlight streaming into the room. Lisé decided to move some different curtains downstairs as well, and so the golden and tan curtains brighten up the room. With two matching arches leading into the kitchen and into the stairwell, bathroom, and entertainment room alcove, the room leads nicely into other areas while feeling completely its own as well.
Outside, we continue to work on and are committed to the notion of Sequoia de O’ as a botanical park of sorts, with sustenance in the form of fruit (cherry, plum, pear, apple, peach, huckleberry, strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry) and eventually more herbs (oregano, thyme, sage, and rosemary currently) and edible plants and vegetables, and visual aesthetic nurturance in the forms of arches, trellises, arbors, gazebos, sitting areas, benches, and definite garden areas, such as the Hebe-grass-cherry-canna grove, the deodora-cedar-rhododendron-echium grove, Mother’s Garden, the rock fountains gardens, Lisé’s rose garden, the ponds grove, the deck grove, the hot tub grove, the aborgola grove, the big ponds grove, Grandmother’s Grove, the pagellis grove, and the flowering tree grove, each of which forms its own area of interest and all of which are interconnected in some way other than by being on the same .66 acres surrounded by a bamboo fence.
Duncan, nearly two-year-old AKC-registered Black Lab, and Pan, a nearly one-year-old pound-rescued perhaps German Shepherd and Pit Bull mix, have run tracks and trails into the grounds in various places.
Duncan catches tennis balls thrown at speeds from slow underhand tosses to fast pitches overhand, preferring the throws to occur while he sits on the waterfall rocks in the ponds nearest the house. He lost a lower-right-side-jaw molar tooth during a tug-of-war that we have since ceased performing. But, Duncan loves to run after chuck-it thrown tennis balls (as it seems many labs do), and to play what we call “kick-ball,” during which, Lisé or I kick the ball and try to get it past him, as he situates himself like a soccer goalie in net during an attack by the offense. He will often block the ball with his chest or one of his four legs, but, if kicked just right, one can score, as the ball soars on past! Caution must be exercised as Duncan will run over trees in his wild enthusiasm to chase the ball down. Duncan possesses serious speed in the straightaway, running so fast that his back legs outpace his front, making him look as if his bottom is dragging on the ground when he is galloping. His muscles bulge like those of a finely tuned athlete. We hope to find Duncan a female friend to pass on his genes since he is such a loving and beautiful animal!
Pan seems not to like many games, chasing balls only as a way to compete for attention with Duncan, not because he thoroughly loves it but to wrest our attentions for himself. He, instead, enjoys to run and chase, chasing bike riders and cars at the front of the fence by the road, chasing and being chased by Duncan, or chasing or being chased by me (Scott). Pan prefers to be chased, but will initiate the chase if need be, quickly turning it into a reason for others to chase him (a coveted rawhide or piece of stick with Duncan, or a ball that Duncan was playing with for Lisé and I). Pan’s prowess is rolled up into quick turns and changes of direction, and so he loves to run around the edges of the ponds, changing direction to try to offset Duncan’s overwhelming straight speed and strength. Pan, unfortunately because of his incredible elegance and colorings, cannot pass on his more surly genes because the pound enforces a mandatory fix rule upon adoption.
Life's Force and Love,
Scott Michael
posted by Scott Michael Potter @ 9:28 AM
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