Our Scalloped Terraced Summer with Surprises!

Welcome back to the blog! It feels like forever since I’ve been in touch and there have been devasting dark times and joyfully sublime times in between. I’ll start with the sublime. After four long years of intensely character-building construction and encountering seemingly every conceivable weather disaster, we moved into Golden Gate at the end of June and are thrilled!!

I know you are ready to see GG’s finished interior, but first I will start by displaying the outdoor images that I savor every day. Looking out the window in the west facing kitchen annex, we are immediately treated to brilliant red, orange and yellow Gazania regens at the window’s edge. Spiky green succulents in mix-and-match ceramic pots are already reaching up the redwood fence toward the lush wall of green ivy behind. Framing the yellow casement window on the inside, black and white stars and crosses are historic symbols of Spanish Revival architecture, and the glossy black borders will relate to the inky rectangles in the much roomier adjacent kitchen that is coming soon.

Stepping out of the kitchen annex door onto a vintage brick pathway, the funky iron railing peeks down to the right over a wide scalloped wall and beyond to where the mystical fog can’t help but attach itself to the California coastline.

The brick steps descend to the right of the scalloped wall with the Golden Gate Bridge in view before arriving on the patio.

Tucked inside the scalloped wall is a cozy patio with antique hex tiles where two armchairs and ottomans reside. An ancient rusty cross we brought home from Santa Fe leans against and visually anchors the light stucco wall.

An ornate wrought iron planter supports the passion vine’s fragile leaves, then curves down to three terra cotta pots filled with ruby red geraniums to complete this tranquil vignette.

Now for the confusing part. Here you can see three stories of the new house. Golden Gate was built in 1927 with only two levels. The extensive remodel revealed black mold, dry rot and water in the foundation requiring total excavation of this section of the structure. The City of Belvedere strongly suggested it would be to our advantage to build an ADU, or Accessory Dwelling Unit, in the newly excavated space, which we have done and are in the process of furnishing it.

The curving exterior stucco wall on the lower floor sports red awning greenhouse windows that provide abundant light to the indoor plants. This level also houses my art studio and Marshall’s office.

The top terrace is filled with purple sage, or Salvia, that attracts hummingbirds, bees, butterflies and throngs of other pollinators to the garden. More Gazania regens flowers that bloom year round are shown here encircled by the flowy green and purple sage perennials.

Two large white urns filled with sturdy boxwood bushes flank the brick path and announce the rosa red steppingstones that wind along the curving garden path.

The brick pathway descends to the Destination in the Garden. This verbiage refers to the panoramic shot I took from the terrace to the patio and pergola.

The stucco planter topped with antique bricks is embedded with luscious purple  lavender, and the same fabulous flowers  – Gazania regens that bloom year round.

Extending from the large garden planter are east and west side planters that enhance the structure with magnificent orange flowers cascading from the stucco and brick pockets.

Coral concrete pavers comprise the floor of the Destination in the Garden’s seating area. The giant metal clock face and pairs of orange and green garden chairs are unexpected and don’t block the view. An ancient stone bench offers seating for guests admiring the expanse of blue that is Richardson Bay across to the sprawling hills of Sausalito.

The two long-necked bronze women standing in the corners of the pergola came from Egypt, according to the previous homeowner. Balanced on her head, perky pink geraniums dress up this entirely different passion vine that climbs up the four corners of the rusted iron structure.

Here is a close-up of the amazing passion vine flower that bears fruit as it clings and climbs up and over the pergola roof.

On the east side of the pergola lie steppingstones to a quiet bird bath, with water for birds to splash and drink. The stones continue on the east terrace to a panoramic view of San Francisco’s financial district and Alcatraz Island.

On the west side of the pergola, the trail disappears into parts unknown among a small olive grove scattered with variegated grasses and boxwoods.

Our terrace is a gathering spot for lunches and dinners with friends and family. Out of view to the left is a small outdoor kitchen with a sink, Green Egg, barbeque, gas grill and a serving area. The fireplace at the base of the rebuilt turret is a nifty spot for huddling on cool California evenings.

Thanks so much for your patience these last few months and years! We so appreciate your incredible comments that kept us going on this long, crazy journey. We couldn’t have done this without all of you urging us on with your kind words of warmth, enthusiasm and love!!!

View from the terrace to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Our friend Jack Mickler made this gorgeous concrete fountain and embedded it with antique Italian tiles we discovered on the Amalfi Coast decades ago. We finally found a place for them!

This exquisitely playful stone planter carved with dancing ladies holding hands greeted us at Golden Gate when we first moved in, along with the burnished bronze ladies in the Destination in the Garden. We are profoundly blessed not only with these ancient artifacts, but to plan to pass them down to new residents when the time is right.

Now for the dark news, our beloved Tobywan-Kenobe passed last April 5. Marshall and I were devastated. Toby was 16 ½ years old. We took a long time to grieve Toby’s passing. He was a very special being that was the center of our world. We loved him profoundly and will remember him for the rest of our lives!!!

And for the sublime news, Marshall was casually searching the internet and came across Jack-A-Poo puppies for sale. After checking the breeder’s credentials and learning that the puppies had their shots and micro-chips, we had them flown from Pennsylvania to San Francisco in mid August.

Here is a video of Jakie, the small black and white puppy, and the slightly larger puppy, Toby 2. They are now three months old and full of the dickens, as we say in Texas. Toby 2 is the exact replica of our sweet  Tobywan-Kenobe, yet Jakie has a mischievous personality all his own. They are brothers, born into a litter of eight puppies, six of whom take after their father, a brown poodle. They have captured our hearts.

Work on the interior of Golden Gate continues, and I will post more images of the rooms as they are completed, starting with this photo of the dining room wall. Thanks so much to all of you for hanging in there with us. My sincere apologies for this blog taking so long. We have been struggling through both the dark and the light in these past few months. I’m so glad September is here to present the fall season with joyful colors, enticing aromas, fireplaces burning and friends and family gathering. Blessings to all of you for a lovely autumn.

Love,
Linda, Marshall, Toby 2 and Jackie