Tulip Tree

I opened the paper today and there was a picture of a Craftsman house near the Historic District which is being restored. It looked so much like Berkeley that it actually made me a bit homesick. OilMan, who is recuperating from the removal of yet another skin cancer--this time on his foo--suggested a small walk around the neighborhood followed by a visit to Peet's.

It may be a beautifully restored Craftsman, but it has been converted to offices--mostly therapists from a look at the directory in front--and on a very busy road which used to be the main highway through town. Ironically, there was a woman standing in front of the therapist's offices having a very serious conversation with an invisible person. Unfortunately, she didn't look like a visit to one of the offices was imminent….

We detoured to walk around the nearby residential neighborhood. These were the original homes in Santa Rosa, and there are fine examples of Stick-Eastlake and raised basement Victorians, Queen Anne cottages and a Craftsman bungalow with a bright red electric car in the driveway. I could tell it was electric because it had a plug where the gas tank would normally be with a long orange cord leading down the driveway to the garage. There were a few spots here where I felt almost as if I could be walking through my old neighborhood.

Peet's was not one of them. "Our" Peet's in Berkeley was walking distance from our house, and is on a typically narrow Berkeley side street. The very first Peet's coffee was opened by Alfred Peet in the 60's. Ours was the second. It has an off-street patio with teak benches, and lots of people kids and dogs. We went there every day and referred to it as our "living room". Santa Rosa has two Peet's. They will never take the place of "our" Peet's. One has a patio, but it is on a very busy, noisy street. Now we really do have morning coffee in our living room.

When we got home I took my paints up to the arbor to see what I could do on my own. Beginning to paint is like beginning to write. You work fast, get it down on paper and don't go back over it !

Peter and his friend Gavin arrived to build a tree (house?, fort? platform?) in one of our big oak trees. Apparently it was a planning session, as they sat side by side on a branch and talked for some time, then called Jim and asked him to bring them some nails! My suggestion that they draw out a plan and make a materials list fell on deaf ears. Or at least on 13 year old boy ears….