Decided to give up on the photography problem for this blog and just comment on a few things that are happening here in Sonoma.
Sunday night I attended a wonderful evening and a fabulous dinner at the Atwood Ranch. They were celebrating, and announcing, a new endowment for Giant Steps. Several other non-profit folks were invited to celebrate with them, (about 80) and thankfully, that included me! What a beautiful evening! We met in a horse barn, the whole bunch of us. (I was really wishing, for the first time, I owned some cowboy boots! Gave up on the cowgirl jeans a long time ago, but boots might work!) There was a great jazz band and wonderful food and drink. (we always seem to have those last two things, but this wine was exceptionally good).
I did not know much about Giant Steps until I arrived that night and I had never been to Atwood Ranch. We parked the car and the jitney made the quick journey to the party barn. As we stepped off the jitney, there was a beautiful blond just standing there looking sleek and not at all horse-like, although that's exactly what it (she, I think) was! This organization uses horses to help kids with disabilities. Apparently, one of the kids who comes to the WillMar Center for Bereaved Children (www.willmar.org) is also involved with this organization, thus the invitation to attend this function. To learn a bit more about Giant Steps, see this article I found on-line. All source credits are with the article.
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/sonoma/12.05.02/giantsteps-0249.html
I've haven't been around horses much to speak of, but I do remember one disaster at a Dude Ranch in Arizona. Some kind of award trip as I recall. We stayed in a fabulous hotel and one day was dedicated to riding horses. (you know, it was a "dude" ranch, after all) For me, that whole day turned into a week of misery. So painful!!! No one told me you were supposed to squeeze the horse with your knees, so instead, I just bounced up and down over and over as we rode along the trail, trying hard to just hang on to the leather reins as the guide went on and on about what kind of cacti we were seeing. Cactus! Who cares about cactus? My body, or rather my bottom, is getting bruised! I felt I'd been sitting on one of those cacti! Bruises, bruises! I think I was 28 then and...well, that's been a while and this "blond" was the first horse I'd seen up close and personal since then. Fortunately, no one asked me to ride.
Since I am in real estate, I thought I'd ask for your help with a home I've listed. It is now the bargain of the decade! My clients are really ready to move on and let their two adorable boys get started in a new school in a county north of Sonoma. So please --- take a look at one of the many, many websites that support the real estate industry on-line (http://www.coldwellbanker.com/ is a good one) now and look at this beautiful home. The address is 1381 Lubeck St., Sonoma, CA 95476. The price is now $620,000., which may seem high to you if you are not living in CA, but is very reasonable for those "in the know" here! You will see this beauty, which is in a wonderful neighborhood of similar homes, close enough to walk to the Plaza, great commute location to San Francisco or Marin. One of the best things is that the dad in this family is a licensed contractor, so everything is in tip-top shape. The other "best thing", if there can be two, is the elementary school associated with this area...Prestwood.
Take a look, recommend it to your West Coast friends, or someone moving here. It's a great place to live and I promise - you do not have to ride a horse!
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