i convinced myself yesterday, after returning home from a morning’s drive in the mountains, that if i left moss cottage by 11:50 a.m. i could scoot up to the central coast and be in cambria by 4 p.m.
just in time for this open house.
surely it’s not everyday that a cottage on the central coast with a library and a wrap-around garden nestled among a rare stand of monterey pines comes up for sale. surely!
i’m fascinated by the little fungi shelves sprouting on my oak stumps. even the one sitting on concrete on my back patio is ringed all along the bottom.
doesn’t it look exactly like the setting for a rosamunde pilcher novel? featuring a 60-something former school teacher from los angeles who retires and moves to fog shrouded cambria to live out her days among a cast of quirky characters and misfits by the sea. yeah. i thought so too.
i was staring down at the fungi wrapping its way around a set of oak stumps in my garden when the RP cottage went on the market. i am certain i felt a a chill at the exact moment.
or it could have just been the exceptionally frosty weather we’re having. i can’t be sure.
in any case, i threw a few necessities in a trader joe’s bag and prepared to jump back into my chariot and hit the road. an impromptu road trip! oh joy!
but then i thought of the snarl of traffic that could slow me down and my mind catapulted me ahead to 6 pm and saw me barely chugging past the madonna inn on hwy 101 just outside of san luis obispo. i imagined my bitterly disappointed self completely missing the open house and having to wait until 1 pm sunday for the other one. i thought of the race back to LA in time for work on monday. drat. it wasn’t going to work no matter how badly i wanted to see that cottage in person. rushing is not my area of expertise.
my dream cottage in the fog & pines will have to wait.
by the way, i don’t actually spend hours searching for future retirement homes. i signed up to get redfin’s daily listings. it’s my favorite email to open. they send me listings from locations their clever intuitive robots notice i’ve visited before. there are plenty of duds, but every once in awhile a gem of a place appears in the listings and i get the exact same feeling i had when i set eyes on the moss cottage listing for the first time. ding ding ding!
i hadn’t thought of cambria before, but now that it’s on my radar i’ll have to go investigate.
in other news, a squirrel has been rooting around in my succulent pot looking for his lost nut. well, we can’t have that can we?
i tucked everything back into place…including a tiny note telling him where to get off.
the pot on the other side is too tightly packed to be a very good nut vault.
the rain is drenching my garden and pots with precious water. it’s late in the season for this kind of rainfall, but none of us here in LA are complaining.
it had been many years since i drove north out of the foothills for a spin through the san gabriel mountains. it’s good to se the chaparral turning green on the slopes and canyons.
i returned to huntington gardens early this morn. i never ever get tired of walking the paths of this old 120 acre estate.
communing with all the blooming plants.
the pincushion flower is especially arresting don’t you think?
i managed to find some blossoms in all the stages of development.
insert sentiments of a mary oliver poem here.
and here.
one day in the not too distant future when i set sail for my seaside hideaway slash forever home i will return here every other month or so to visit these beloved trails.
had i rushed off to cambria i would be slogging back home right now.
i wouldn’t have had time to scour my garden for some fine ordinary plant specimen to paint into my tiny sketchbook.
besides, in less than a week i’ll be roadtripping up to extreme northern california. i am so ready for a week of quiet respite.
i’ll pick up dottie in oakland then we’ll point our compass north. all the way up to the victorian village of ferndale, way up in humboldt county on the redwood coast. each of us is eager to escape work for a week and spend time exploring the beaches and tall trees. i’m especially excited because i’ve never driven north of mendocino county. i’m eager to get an impression of the area and see whether or not i should add it to my growing list of future retirement locations.
i’m nearly finished with winter solstice and … just in time for my trip, audible released rosamunde pilcher’s coming home!
i hope you crazy kids are up to something GOOD. keep me posted on your adventures big and small.
i’ll send you a postcard or 2 from the northcoast. xo
Holy Shit! I went right to the link before I finished your post. I held my breath during the entire picture video and already had you moved in except wondering how they were gonna get your flat file up those stairs (I’m the practical sister) and thinking you weren’t gonna be happy doing laundry in the rain so you better buy extra underoos (see what I mean? I think 14 pr would be safe). That house! Makes me pine for northern California. Enjoy the quiet on your vacay-heaven knows you deserve it.
yoo hoo susan! writing you from my hideaway on the wild north coast. i wonder where you are in your RV. will have to go check. met an older gentleman at the visitor center of a redwood park yesterday who tells me he volunteers 9 hours a week and in return gets to hook up and park for free. he loves the vagabond life. xo
Unfortunately, that web search engine doesn’t cover the area where I live. Maybe there is something similar, that someone might know about, in the Pa/NY/NJ area?
Mary Ann–have been wondering if you could recommend a not-to-expensive palette large enough to mix many colors on. I have a teeny tiny one and have discovered it just ain’t big enough. Thanks!
realtor dot com has an app i believe…
i tend to mix my colors directly in the wells – i’m messy like that. just use my regular metal palette i show a lot here…
I had to check the Cambria home on Zillow and if I were on the left coast I’d buy it in a heart beat. Not sure dear husband would go but it has charm galore and a great price. However, there are those earthquakes…
How many years, months till retirement for you?
That is such a charming cottage, MAM – very much a RP cottage, from the cozy book-filled library with comfy daybed (!) to the little woodstove, perfect to sit by and read on those chilly, foggy days. Those bedrooms with slanted wooden ceilings and mullioned windows looking out to the garden! The oh, so cute kitchen and the teapot lamp! I hope this sweet place is in your future or something else equally charming. I’m enjoying your search for the perfect place to retire. And as always, I enjoy your blog and sketches and garden walks.
thank you diana. i love when you come for a visit. bring puppy next time. xo
Spending some time in Dallas with my PUNKS….playing with paper. It has been a delicious spring break. Leaving for home tomorrow. Have a wonder-filled week.
enjoy the punks and save travels 🙂
I used to live in Los Osos ~ we went up to Cambria all the time! Wonderfully quirky place with all it’s pine trees.
Looks like you guys are going to be getting more of that rain ~ stay safe!
yes rain! i’m looking forward to it. i’ve looked at places in los osos, but have never actually been there. next time i get up to the central coast i will check it out.
What a delightful post! First of all, I can totally see you in that beautiful home. So many cozy tuck spots for a girl to relax and take up residence. I too get daily real estate taunts, if you will. Trulia knows I want to live at the Oregon Coast, so they sent me this. If only I had 2 million bucks! https://www.trulia.com/p/or/cannon-beach/80622-highway-101-cannon-beach-or-97110–2086790321?ecampaign=eml%7Cfsb%7Ccon_day_recprops_bk_emv2%7Cgroup_1&eurl=www.trulia.com%2Fp%2For%2Fcannon-beach%2F80622-highway-101-cannon-beach-or-97110–2086790321&alat=fd326ba110ad5f749ce3cb602e4eea19378f809f8519750017ba05d7dbcdcc46&alrt=86c02d9cd53c74e844021a28985d0e7ad49a9ceb5259c488af70498f644b9a30&guid=c2b042755bcd793883f3b911c76ef85a1521453766573
Also, thanks so much for all of the flower photos! We are still a bit early for blooms in the NW, so I really love seeing them. I have a new name for you, due to your paintings with shadows. The Shadow Queen. I mean, really…your shadows slay me! Have a lovely trip up the coast. One of these days you are just going to stumble onto that dream home where you can rest your weary bones. I know it will have gardens, art spaces, and maybe a lovely library such as the one in the house featured in this post. And, I hope, a magnificent view.
WHOA! that place is dreamy. if 4-5 people went in on that together…but someone would have to share a room. would be a nice place to watch some storms roll in!
Heck I don’t need a bedroom. I’d sleep on the couch and never get any sleep because I would lay awake all night watching the waves and stars! Sigh…a girl can dream😍.
Hello Mary Ann
So enjoy reading your postings, peeking in your journal with your drawings and traveling vicariously with you and your friends to new destinations.
Hum…Cambria. Close to the Hearst Castle. We stayed there twice at b & b’s. A few great restaurant choices in the town.
Love SLO and all the beach towns around there. Last summer stayed in Pismo beach and fell asleep to the sounds of the ocean rolling in. I long for that too!
Keep on keeping on. I’m loving your posts!
Anne
thanks anne…and refresh my memory, where are you located?
The other coast Baltimore & NYC
loved all of photos of your beautiful buds & blooming flowers….
I shall be visiting northern ca (for me) in early May, to Santa Rosa.
squirrels have an ugly nickname here in Richmond….they
devour tulip bulbs…..and more. I think they have more
than enough nuts….and we certainly lack for tulips.
Holly
i went through santa rosa on my way up to caspar in mendo county in december. a charming town i thought!