Improving on Beauty

  These beautiful Dahlias were photographed in the sunshine, but didn't need to be. 

  Poppies in the misty rain. Very moody.

    If I could paint Hollyhocks. 

    I was very curious to see what would result from a request to turn this sunset Mission Bridge photo into impressionistic art. Wow! I might print this and hang it on the wall. 

    No need to wait for the moon to rise. Take the photo without the moon and then add it in. 

    A skydiver dropping in at the Regency Towers. He would be way off track if he were real. 

    This was just a pretty cow pasture until the Railroad put a track through it and sent this old steam train. 

    Painting Sunflowers with a spatula and heavy oils just got really easy. 

     I did nothing to this one, just to see who is paying attention. 

    This scene in Glenn Valley was spectacular and I have always admired it but thought how fortunate it would have been if those heavy storm clouds would spew some lightening. Well, what do you know? My wish came true. 
 

Lake House Diaries 17

     There was change coming, and it could be felt. The number of family members that were utilizing and enjoying the property began to fall. There was no appetite for going back to the 'user pay' model of covering expenses, so the 5 remaining couples who were on title as the owners of the property had to come up with funds each year. The $CAN was dropping and the expenses were going up. The hired landscapers took on more responsibility for grounds upkeep because there was not always someone there every week to do any of the yard work. They did not work for free!

   The next door neighbors, Bobby and Ellen, who were permanent residents, had always kept an eye on the property whenever it was unoccupied, were now aging and could no longer do it. Wes and Megan were there more than anyone else and kept the property up to date and viable, but also having a share in owning the property next door divided their loyalties. There was an unspoken consensus that something had to be done or something had to change. 

    The situation was beginning to make no sense from a financial point of view. Each owner was paying a substantial amount of money each year for a week or two of vacation. And not all of the owners were even using the property at all, despite the fact that they were paying. The question seemed to rise organically and a vote was taken as to whether to keep or to sell the Lake House. When the unanimous vote was "YES", it was both a relief and a bit of a shock. Was this chapter of the family story really going to come to an end?  The Lake House had been a part of their lives since a young age, for most of them, and certainly for the grandchildren. 

     Wes and Megan had a special connection to the Lake house and made an offer to buy the property from the other 4 owner couples. It was not unanimous, but their offer was rejected as being too low. It would have been ideal. They would get to have sole ownership of a place they loved and cared for, and it would stay in the family, ownership carried on by the family name. 

     There were some second thoughts and the sale date was postponed for a year. The whole family needed time to process the decision and to take stock of how the sale would proceed and how to dispose of a 45 year accumulation of 'stuff' when there were so many memories attached to everything. The extra season would also give everyone a chance to spend a last summer getaway there and say their goodbyes. The reality of putting the Lake House behind them was starting to hit home. But, not putting the cart before the horse, all bets were off unless there was actually a buyer. 

    The summer of 2026 would reveal all.