Saturday, July 30, 2011

Frank Lloyd Wright

Did you know that we live just around the corner from a Frank Lloyd Wright house? We didn't either, until a couple of years ago. The original owners passed away recently, and the house is going on the market soon. This weekend they offered tours, so we made our donation and signed up:



The house was surprisingly small inside, with only two bedrooms. The details were beautiful:


Wright must not have been a very tall man:


Another feature of the property is the extensive gardens, designed by Henry Matsutani. Unfortunately, they were not included in the regular tour, and we didn't really want to pay $125 each for the "special" tour plus reception. Here's a glimpse of the grounds:


It'll be interesting to see how much the place sells for (listing price will be 4.995 million). Too bad it won't raise the value of the neighboring homes :-)

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy Fourth!

B and I watched the parade downtown this morning: the usual array of politicians waving from cars, and floats by everyone imaginable, including the high school Latin Club's chariot:



We celebrated my sister's birthday a few days early with a steak dinner (not too badly charred by me) and vanilla cake with whipped cream, blueberries, and strawberries. I just got home from watching the fireworks with M & B. (Someone please remind me next year to park further away--it's faster than trying to drive when trying to get home!)

Busy week coming up: the kids are leaving for a cruise with their grandparents next weekend, and DH and I taking advantage of their absence and going to London for a week. Before all that, we're hosting a piano recital (M's last lesson is tomorrow) and a going-away party for one of DH's postdocs on Friday, which is when DH's family arrives for the cruise.