I agree on the fire hazard part. But for the most part people around here are pretty fire cautious...except my slum-lord neighbor But he was recently introduced to the $1100. fine that Cal-Fire accesses thanks to a certain concerned neighbor

I worked in insurance during the Oakland Hills fires so Everything that is important (including all my zillions of photos on cds) is in a fire proof safe and easily can be picked up and carried out of the house along with the puppy and kitty. Anything else can be replaced, and any memorabilia is photographed as well. it is much cooler up the mountain than down along Hwy 49 I wouldnt survive long down there in that heat! We have huge trees all around us, and the cool mountain air. This is the view of our home from the back yard. The steep hill is something we hate the most, that deck is really off the 3rd story! The house is almost paid off though and the village is the perfect location for us.

If we have another fire right here, mine will be one of the houses they won't try to save. Everyone has cut their trees, etc. I have about 175 trees on our 1 1/2 acres. Most people here are vowing not to leave if we have another one due to the way they handled the last fire and that people could not get back into town until way longer than was necessary. There are issues and questions about that.

In this area its almost impossible to sell a 2 story home. Mostly old folks move here and the first criteria is to have one level, no steps. So the younger folk that come and build houses and love the view, so they do 2 stories, when they want to sell, its way below what one would expect. But my neighbors had a 2 story built because they had no view and they put in an elevator and she said it really was not that expensive. So you could pick up a nice 2 story for cheap and then install an elevator.

Lots of houses look good till you look closer. Lanny had one that he was unable to sell because it had a mold problem. And he told people. The house itself was really attractive, they had remodeled and done a nice job. The problem was the house was built over an underground spring and in order to fix it, you would have to "lift" the house and redo foundations, the estimate for doing so was $50K and they made no promise the roof, walls, etc would not be damaged. The house is in town and the price is around $200K, When I first saw the house I thought it was a heck of a bargain....gotta watch those realitors. The people who bought this house were not told of the issues and now they are stuck.

I really had a good day but getting wet again and again with this cold coming on was probably not good. Its not raining hard, just steady drizzle, quite warm and no wind.

My gardens are not ready for this coming tour and more and more people are coming. They are having their luncheon on my deck......overlooking the weedy heather garden. I am getting nervous. I thought perhaps I was making it seem worse than it was. One of the ladies came today to give me some fliers and looked at the heather garden and asked if I was going to be able to get it looking presentable by the tour. So I guess if you have weeds 3 feet high and smothering the heather, it is noticeable?

Wow, managing that scenario would be so exhausting to me, mentally and emotionally exhausting. I guess you cherish what you have, plan as best you can and evacuate- or not. My brother lives in Ojai, a beautiful area. Also, fire hazard due to surrounding treed mountains. I love it there, however!

Annmarie, I remember reading about and seeing interviews with people after the Oakland Hills fire. Three people couldn't- or didn't- leave the neighborhood. They took the dog, jumped in a swimming pool with a cover and survived in an air pocket. I remember too that some very wealthy folks, I know one in particular who is very well known, who bought up the hillside of destroyed houses. That view of San Francisco you know, was worth more than a million $$$ with or without a house perched on it. Kind of ambulance chasing
edited to say Annmarie, the setting for your home looks so quiet and peaceful. I used to live in Sacramento... reminds me of the drive to South Shore.

Rebecca, can you just tell your touring guests you're showing your garden au naturel?

Can you tell them you have to go in for surgery?..lol..You really don't need that kind of pressure. What were you thinking? Yeah, yeah, I know...increased business. Can you beg Monica to come over for a week?

Never a two story home again for me. The last one 15 years ago was a killer then. I wouldn't want an elevator. I have these great expectations of anything and everything that has moving parts to be a constant problem.

While checking zillow a couple of months ago I came across a deal that seemed too good to be true...uh huh...mold.

I understand that some insurance companies stopped new insurance policies for homes in Texas due to the likelihood of mold.

Yea, I don't have much confidence in things with moving parts. I think you need to have a lot of money to support an elevator in the house. It'll stop functioning and you need to have Otis come out to repair it... often. I know this is true because I saw Otis at work several times a month.

Can't you just tell the tourists that the cost of viewing the garden is manual labor and hand em some gloves nad knee pads? that way they get to 'fully' appreciate your garden

Yes the insurance co's did stop writing policies in TX due to mold issues, but only because TX legislation refused to allow them to change the wording on their policies. The insurance company was forced to cover ALL mold no matter what originated it, or how long it had been there. so basically if you chose to allow your faucet to leak for years and years and had dry rot and mold, the insurance co had to rebuild your home. In CA the policies were changed so that they only cover mold if it was caused by a sudden and accidental water loss and wasnt cleaned up properly when you filed a claim. More fair for the company and much more fair for the policyholders who dont have to pay high premiums because some people dont show pride of ownership...

You know that isn't a bad idea, I can hand knee pads, a bucket and a weeder and tell them enjoy the garden and don't come back till your bucket is full! I am liking that. Only problem is they are mostly really old. Like 70-90, if they did get down, they may not get back up. Actually I do feel a little pressure but I am able to deal with it with my usual question. Is anyone going to die from this? If the answer is no, then it really isn't all that important.

No one is going to die seeing my weeds. But I will probably get it done, I still have some time. I also have a mole and gopher in that area that are taking advantage of the dampness, now it the case of those rodents, yes they are going to die.

I got all my new potato vines repotted, I have my new clematis to redo now. I have fallen in love with the small flowered ones, they are just exquisite. Of course, I still love the large flowering ones, I love them all. I have a new large flowering one called Red Pearl. Its really nice, blooms a dark red violet color then fades to a softer color, giving the vine the impression of 3 different colored flowers. Its very nice.

I am in heaven with this weather. Its foggy and damp, but quite warm and pleasant. I cannot believe I am getting this in July, what a nice treat.

One thing that shocked me when I bought a house here was you do not have to have an inspection of any kind. I am not sure I like that or not, I did get an inspection on an apartment building I bought and it seemed to surprise people. I did not have one on this house, I knew it was a dump and was built totally without permits and basically, I thought I would tear it down and build a new one. But I think its really a better thing to have inspections required. Places can be cleaned up so you do not know what you are getting. My neighbor who has her place for sale, has a water problem. She uses tons of fabric softener in the wash and buys drinking water as they have sulfer in the well. Basically all they need to do is drill a new well, lots of water in this area. The house is for sale for 2.6M. they lowered it from 2.8. How would you like to buy that house and have water that stinks? But very likely the new owners will not know.

rebeccag said:I got all my new potato vines repotted, I have my new clematis to redo now. I have fallen in love with the small flowered ones, they are just exquisite. Of course, I still love the large flowering ones, I love them all. I have a new large flowering one called Red Pearl. Its really nice, blooms a dark red violet color then fades to a softer color, giving the vine the impression of 3 different colored flowers. Its very nice.

how small are the flowers on the clematis? I'm wondering if they will work for me in a mini-garden. Do you have pix? I'd love to see them

Buyers must be paying cash if there are no bank required inspections, I would think...no?

I think as of the last couple of years, cost of putting in a well down here is $60,000, but that's a drop in the bucket at @.6 mil on the house I suppose. I'm not sure, but was told online by someone who lives not far from us that there's also a waiting list now to put in a well here.

Very true what you say in your last sentence, Annmarie! Thank you!

edited to refer to 7:31pm PDT post. = catching up.

Okay, well our prices are different for wells. It depends how deep, etc but the average cost of a new well here is about $6-10K. But we have lots of water. My well is only 35 feet and never runs dry, to put one in at that depth would run about $4K. My uncle had one put in at his place a year ago, they had to go about 80 feet I think and his was $6K.

Banks do not require inspections for buying a home here in Oregon. I still find it awfully odd but Lanny is a real estate broker and its seldom an inspection is needed. An appraisal is needed to get a value on the home before a loan is made. I got a mortgage on my home with no inspections, I was so trained in CA that I still don't believe it. Its not uncommon to have a lawsuit because the seller did not disclose something, but its difficult to prove often that they were aware of the issue. We have lots of property that is falling down, a couple of our hills are serpentine which is unstable, so its common to mickey mouse something to level the foundation, sell it and then pretend you did not know.

This link is for a retail nursery that sells clematis, they have lots and lots of the small flowered ones. It would probably work well for your garden because the leaves are also small, quite delicate. I favor the little bell ones that have stripes or outside petal of a different color. I have My Angel and I love that one. http://www.gardenvines.com/sho...

This place has some awesome vines, hope I don't get anyone in trouble.

Why are you still up?...lol...go to bed....

Oh, I never go to bed before 11:30 or 12. I am watching the programs I record to watch when I want. I am drinking tea but appear to be going down fast. Got 2 big lumps under my jawbone, nose is starting to run, head hurts. I am a mess, got my arthritis gloves on. They actually free really good. They are tight and stretchy but leave the finger tips exposed. Cloth so easy to wash. Anyway, got those on, drinking my tea, I think my thumbs are shot, they don't like to move and click when they do, then they ache at night.

Why are you not in bed? Looking for bugs?

I'm up too and by the description I think we are wearing the same gloves I love mine! they made a world of difference for me. I have RA and OA going to check out the clematis link now...who needs sleep

Sleep is over rated. I am getting a second pair of those gloves so I can have one washed and drying. And they are easy to take off when you need to wash something so you don't get them wet.

Woke up and its wet out there and misting right now. I am enjoying it but now I am coughing and sneezing. I am disgusted with myself, I have all winter to get sick. I have not gotten sick for years and now I remember why, its really unpleasant.

I am having my coffee, then will take a hot shower and hope that fixes me up.

I always count on E-mergency and elderberry extract at the very first signs of a sore throat or sniffle. Feel better.....

wcgypsy said:I always count on E-mergency and elderberry extract at the very first signs of a sore throat or sniffle. Feel better.....

E-mergenC works wonders! I take that, zinc and echinacea and I'm all better