We were picking up a few odds and ends to start landscaping our new property addition. This looked nice but at $27,000 it was out of our league. Besides, it wouldn't fit on the roof rack.
This is a great shot of our beach below our garden. Our place is literally just on the right side of the frame in this picture. Full disclosure: It is not actually a picture but a picture of a wallposter in our little town as you can see below. The buoys are for the water taxis to shuttle you to the restaurant once you anchor your boat (yacht) further out.
On an adjacent wall in town, is a wallposter of our headland and other beaches we can walk to. Our place is marked by the little black arrow on the top right. As our son would so eloquently remark "This place does not suck".
We have new neighbors who recently moved into our 'wider' neighborhood. George Clooney and his family. They join the likes of Brigitte Bardot, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (They recently sold their vineyard), Johnny Depp, Bono, Elton John, Tina Turner (until her passing) Kate Moss and on and on and on. Even Sylvester Stallone likes to sail here in the bay of St Tropez.
How I spend my days
Landscaping
And cooking
The project
It would be a stretch to say they are going at it like gangbusters. Patience may be a virtue, but I have never been accused of being virtuous. They got off to a great start, then disappeared for several weeks, only to return and get going again. They built a large part of the first of 3 walls that will enclose the property but had to leave sizable openings in it to allow heavy equipment in and concrete deliveries to be made.
The small patio where I will build a fire pit overlooking the pool below.
The beginning of the pool outlines that will have a projected concrete layer sprayed on it.
They are well aware of our drop dead "we are leaving' date and that any work that is not completed will come to a full stop (as well as payments) until our return in 8 months. They are motivated to meet the deadline.
Meanwhile..
For the past several years we have been happy to offer our villa for a week stay to a charitable group called Sarah's Guest House near our island in New York State. It is kind of a Ronald McDonalds house for grownups for family staying nearby with family in the hospital for catastrophic injuries or surgeries. Each year, they have an auction fundraiser with the usual restaurant meals donations, golf rounds and fruit baskets being auctioned off to raise money.
The villa is a biggie, and it raised several thousand dollars for them. Shortly before we left California this year, we became aware of another group called 'Captive Hearts'. They deal with women who have been victimized with domestic violence, sexual or drug issues. They take them in, offering shelter, counseling, and work skills. Pretty basic stuff. We offered the villa for a week for their yearly auction, and they got a top bid of $9,500. WOW! We wish we could rent it for that.
The second bid was for $9000. Hmmm, then I got an idea...
What if we offered the winner $500 back to match the second bidder so they would be identical. Then we offered them a week's stay also. No one would feel slighted and we could double the donation to Captive Hearts. Everyone agreed as it was for a charity that they were supporting in the first place, and the total take was $18,000. Nice!!!
And finally...
I like to end each month with a little humor. This month is different. I want to end with a You Tube link to a video showing an event that occurred during a wedding. It is the most moving thing I have ever seen at a wedding. It was a surprise to not only the bride and groom but to most people in attendance. It is worth a look below.
