Wow, feels like old home week!

Aguane, my boys went to Paly (Palo Alto High School, anjl), as did their Dad (my ex). I work on Oak Grove Ave. between El Camino & Middlefield. My DH grew up in Los Altos.

Anjl, I went to Cubberley, too, class of 1970. My brother graduated in 1973.

We love it here too, but won't be able to afford to live here once we retire, and the house is too big, now that my kids are gone. We are very spoiled by the climate!

:-)

It's a great place to live, the Peninsula. The best of times, weather, people, amenities, sites and sounds. And, in my day during the '60s it was the center of the Universe ... Something's Happenin' Here, Don't know 'Xactly What .....

I would think it's very tough to bring kids up in that area now. The peer competition is fierce. I was stunned that one of the partners (VC) had a limousine for his daughter for her junior prom.... (JUNIOR). And that was in 1985.

But, here we are, all safe and sound. Liz, I'll be interested to know where you decide to retire. Lots of choices out there. Phoenix Metro is affordable and accessible to many areas, West Coast. Lots of sports teams but little culture. Very little. Great, great restaurants and resorts. Oh and it is HOT in summer ... and summer lasts a long time. People say there are more license plates from AZ in San Diego in June-August than Calif plates.

Liz, I wonder if your brother was there the same time as my sister in law, Lisa Bailey....

When my younger son went to Paly, they were only allowed to attend the prom if they went in a limo, chartered by the school, so they couldn't drink before or after - made it financially prohibitive for a lot of the kids! I don't know if we could adjust to the heat in AZ.... besides we have grandkids out here - guess the state of the economy will play a big part in our decision making.

Anjl, if I remember I'll ask my brother when we talk or email - he's on the east coast.

Sorry, everyone, did we take over the thread with our reminiscing?

It didn't bother me. Reminiscing is important.

I think we're pretty loose here...the conversations can go where they may....otherwise we might miss some very interesting stuff....

I have nothing against a "chat" thread, but I do think the chat should be confined to it's own thread. I don't think we want to run off the other Pacific Coast people with Ca. chat on flower threads. I have all but dropped the Ca. forum on DG since it denigrated to "thought for the day". It has nothing to do with gardening. I, personally find this stuff interesting, as I've been in So. Cal for 55+ years, but I doubt that it's of much interest to our northern, or southern neighbors.
Just my opinion...

Oh, I found it interesting. I had nothing to add but did enjoy knowing your backgrounds.

I find it amusing that Mishka Snow is attending the same school I did, actually the same room, but 50 years later. It seems so odd. When I told her she asked me if I had the same teacher, since her teacher was early 30's, I had to say no. I did look at the desks and it is possible they are the same desks. I have a picture of me at 5 in front of the school and her at 5, mine is black and white, hers is color but the sign has not changed.

I look at people moving and kinda wished I was. I like to move, I like a different house now and again. But I don't think I will move, my house fits like an old shabby shoe. And I do enjoy my gardens but its a lot of work and I know I am not going to be able to continue this that much longer.

I had one customer today and it looks like rain tomorrow. So my weekend is not going to be profitable but I am so over joyed at the possibility of rain, I am not caring.

My dierama are blooming and they are just beautiful. That may be my favorite plant, at least this week, they may be.

I am not a fan of roses but I have one called Golden Showers that is in full bloom and I am thinking I would like to find a place for it in my yard. I am also not really a fan of yellow but the big soft fragrant blooms are getting to me. I don't have a lot of sunny spots that are not jam packed, however I may find a bare spot and the side of a tree.

I kind of like the thought of the day thing, I like it when the conversation rambles along here and there, much like the way my mind works.

I personally didn't like the chat in the DG California forum because it was boring. A couple of people seemed to keep saying the same things over and over and over again. This chat wasn't boring at all.

As for the "other Pacific Coast people," if the PNW group from DG comes over, they'll do almost nothing else but chat. They are a nice friendly bunch with a lot to say. And the chattiest person that ever posted in the Rose Forum, virtually writing volumes on every topic, was in British Columbia, so I don't think California chat is out of the ordinary.

Oh, my, Zu...I don't think we're ever boring...lol..

'Becca, I've responded to your post over on the Chat Thread....

Well, not you, Sherry! You know the people I'm talking about.

lol....

Thanks for the "chat" feedback. I didn't know how strictly the gardening site policy was being interpreted. I guess I'm feeling more comfortable jumping into the conversation, after "listening" to you all for years... Personally, I've found it interesting to hear about life (gardening & otherwise) in other areas, especially because we are looking toward a move in the next five years. As I mentioned in the another thread, I learned of the "banana belt", which sounds fairly idyllic to me, from Rebecca's conversations, but may not need our needs as we age. Another area that appeals to me is Zuzu & CASue's neck of the woods. As you may guess, a moderate climate is high on our list of priorities, and we've both been spoiled by life, cultural & political climates & gardening in the Bay Area.

Sue and I live in the best place on earth. Great for gardening! Perfect weather (with a little help from the garden hose), perfect soil in most locations, dozens and dozens of local nurseries, and lots of other gardeners to shop with, exchange plants with, etc.

Property can be expensive, but if you pay a lot, you get a lot of house and land. There's no big industry here, so it's not at all like Silicon Valley -- no 3-bedroom ranch homes for a million dollars here. Several locations in Sonoma County are quite affordable, which is good for retirement or financial security or a myriad of other reasons.

Oh it's so wonderful to be living here, we just pinch ourselves! We have been here 3 months and just love it! DH and I both grew up in the Bay Area (San Jose) and we bought my parents house (after finding a new one for them 10 min. away) in 1984. DH retired last year at age 52 and we had been looking around for a while for a place to move, we really wanted out of the city. The Sierra foothills had too extreme temps for us, hot summers, colder winters. Going further south wasn't something we wanted either, my in-laws live in British Columbia, that's a long enough drive without adding more space between us. We also wanted to stay relatively close to the Bay Area as my Mom still lives in San Jose. I had been coming up for an occasional nursery shopping to Sebastopol for a few years and really liked the area so we came up here many times, checking out other nearby areas but this appealed to us the most. It has that small town feel (population 7800) and the rolling hills with horses, cows and vineyards and apple orchards we liked and only 10 minutes from Santa Rosa and all the conveniences we wanted; HD, Target, Lowes, Trader Joes etc. It took 8 months to buy the house (a short sale) and we had to live with my Mom for 6 months but in the end it was worth it, I now have 1/2 an acre to play with, a wonderful gift for a gardener after having a tiny city lot for so long!
The climate is almost the same daytime temps as San Jose but 4-6 degrees cooler at night so even when it does get the occasional mid to high 90's hot day, it always cools down at night. Our bedroom is upstairs and I was really worried about it but it has been fine, so far anyways. We had A/C down there, so far we don't even feel like we need it here. More rain here too, average 40" compared to San Jose's 15", perfect for gardening!

LOL, we were praising our locations at the same time!





My backyard rainbow

Zuzu, I've only been to your immediate area once (about 15 years ago), when my kids & I went to a camping weekend on a friends acreage in Sebastapol. It's an area that my DH & I will explore, in the near future, as we look more closely at an over 55 community near Sonoma. DH is only 60, but he's been working in the same field since he was 18 & is chomping at the bit to slow down & work part-time... We're not sure that we're ready to make a move in the near future, and I certainly plan to work at my company for a good long time, but I have flexibility (ie. could probably tele-commute part-time), and if we could find a way to live part-time in the Bay Area & part-time in our "retirement" home, it would the best of both worlds in my mind.

Sue, we cross-posted... Wow, your pics are gorgeous as always. Yes, I've followed your journey to your new home. How wonderful to be able to retire at a "young" age. I'll be 59 in a couple of weeks, and was 52 (& full of energy) when we bought our current house. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to demo & re-build a big (by Bay Area standards) backyard, but I can see a change in my energy level, not to mention my body, during those few years we've been here. Seven years ago, I would have loved to embark on the kind of adventure you & your DH are enjoying.... Emotionally, I'd still love to, but practically I don't know if my DH & I have the energy now.. Kinda' like living through a major re-model (& doubling of the square footage) of my house in Palo Alto, which lasted for several years - it was a great adventure, but not one I need to repeat. Cosmetic changes are more my speed now!

LOL, I hear ya Liz! We remodeled our last house 10 years ago, definitely feelin' the getting older thing and not really looking forward to another go round with it!

Nice chatting with y'all tonight & getting comfortable opening up a bit.... but the kitties are demanding my attention & I can only type for so long with a cat in my lap. (My original reason for being on the computer was to do some more research on my "hospice" kitty.) Good night!