Last weekend my family and I took a visiting relative to see some sights in the area, including to Filoli in Woodside.  If you have never visited this grand & gracious estate on the peninsula, it’s something to put on your “must see” list.

The house is 36,000 square feet (thirty six thousand sq. ft.!), ten times larger than a “big” home. The house sits upon approximatey 650 acres, most of it in its natural state but more than a dozen acres beautifully landscaped with lawns, flowers, roses, bushes, trees, ponds and a pool. 

Please enjoy some photos of our time at Filoli last weekend.  Some of these were taken by me, but most were shot by my daughter, Clair Handy (used by permission, of course!).

The Filoli Center is located at 86 Cañada Road Woodside, CA 94062

Filoli is open Tuesday through Sunday for self-guided tours (docent led tours are Tues through Saturday).  All donations, admissions, membership etc. go to preserving Filoli Center. For more information, please visit the Filoli website: http://www.filoli.org/

870 Brevins Loop: Beautiful, Elegant Willow Glen Home for Sale!

New Listing, Please Stop By!  Open Sat/Sun, June 26-27, 2010 from 2-4pm

Last night I put this new Willow Glen listing of mine on the MLS and I look forward to holding it open this weekend for the first time. If you are in the area, please swing by and have a look! I always enjoy meeting the readers of my blog & this is a home you will enjoy seeing!

The house & yard are full of amenities that Silicon Valley home buyers will appreciate:
hardwood floors, built-in bookcases and media niches, slab granite, gas cooking, stainless steel appliances, lots of windows & natural light, a luxurious master sweet with 2 walk-in closets and a spacious bathroom with big soaking tub, separate shower and two separate vanities. Central air conditioning.   The lush backyard boasts two trellises, sandstone hardscape & custom lighting. The front yard is easy-care: the HOA takes care of the maintenance!

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Willow Glen is one of the most charming areas of San Jose, consisting of many older homes which feature lovely, classic architecture.  Most Silicon Valley home buyers treasure the Willow Glen charm and ambiance, but many are seeking newer homes.  A fabulous option is “The Willows“.

KB Homes built “The Willows” in 1999 to 2000.  It is tucked away at the southernmost tip of Willow Glen, off of Foxworthy Avenue & close to Almaden Expressway, but only about 2.5 to 3 miles from all the action on Lincoln Avenue.

The tree-lined streets are built in something of a loop shape with Rubino Circle being the main access or loop road.  Situated on the inner part of the loop are homes with smaller lots that are a little more affordable.  The outer part of the circle is built with slightly larger homes on larger lots (but none of the lots are “big”). Sidewalks with soft curbs at the corners accompany the streets and make for a pedestrian-friendly, bike, wheelchair or stroller friendly area. Visit in the early evenings and you will see children and adults walking, strolling, taking dogs for a walk etc. – always a good sign! Because the neighborhood is a bit like an oversized cul-de-sac (no through traffic), it is very quiet in terms of traffic.  The area has large street lights, too, making for a safe feeling community.
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Normally I do not reference other Realtors’ blog posts on any of my blogs or sites, but this morning I read one worth calling out because it raises a good issue that home buyers and sellers often never consider: the ongoing exposure of sold listings’ information, videos and photos on the web will continue to be present long after the home sale is closed.

The post, by Norma Toering of ReMax Palos Verdes Realty, is entitled “Please remove my home from the internet” and can be found on the Active Rain website at the link provided above.  This conscientious Realtor sold her listing and got it closed last week.  Now the buyer, the new owner, wants all traces of the listing removed from the internet.  Many people are private and may be uncomfortable with videos and pics of their home online (even if with the last owner’s consent, decor and furnishings).  But it is nearly impossible to remove all online photos because they are syndicated or pushed to other sites where we agents have no control. 

One commenter suggested that perhaps we need another disclosure so that buyers know and understand that what’s out there on the internet cannot be removed (and for that matter, that agents don’t want to spend many hours to remove them – a challenging task for which there is no compensation).  Having photos on the web is part of marketing and once it’s done it simply cannot be undone (at least not fully and certainly not easily).  I don’t think a new disclosure is a bad idea.  Our purchase agreement forms or contracts inform buyers and sellers that there will be dissemination of information on the MLS regarding the sale status and later the closing price and terms.  It wouldn’t hurt to also warn the parties that once images are disseminated on the internet, they are very likely to remain online a long, long time.

June 2010 is Global Labyrinth Month, so now is a great time to learn a little about the history of the labyrinth and find some local ones to enjoy.

What is a labyrinth? Luckily I found a comprehensive labyrinth site which explains that it’s thousands of years old and is (and has been) used for prayer and meditation by many cultures and religions. They can be in all kinds of materials: sand, pavement, rock, paint, landcape… Most are permanent but some are now portable or temporary.  Some are inside, some outside.  I have seen them in several religious settings and recently was invited to a “labyrinth dedication” party at a friend’s backyard in the Cambrian Park area of San Jose too, but was surprised to learn how widespread it is beyond my own experience.

You may have heard of or seen the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral in France (if looking at the amazing stained glass windows there didn’t capture your entire attention for several days). This may be one of the most popular ever.

Where can you find a labyrinth in or near Silicon Valley?  I found lots of sites identifying public and private labyrinths. One labyrinth locator site  indicated 271 of them in California alone!  Here are some that I’m aware of, but I invite readers to post comments with other locations.

Interestingly, not every site with a labyrinth is religious in nature. The Santa Clara Valley Water District Headquarters at 5750 Almaden Expressway (between Coleman Av. and Blossom Hill Road in Almaden Valley) has a labyrinth in the garden right next to the Los Alamitos Percolation Ponds. You can actually see it from the satellite view of Google Maps.
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Why did the geese walk across the road? Because the goslings were too little to fly. 

All over Silicon Valley, ducks, geese and other water fowl are getting their little ones out and about.  Some of the time, though, it’s not to the skies, but to the roads.  This is happening especially near creeks, ponds or lakes and the percolation ponds.   Please drive carefully!

Geese (2 geese, 2 goslings - one not seen) crossing along Knowles Dr. near Winchester Blvd. in Campbell, CA

What is funny about the photo above is that off to the left side, you can see a yellow advisory road sign.  The warning was to alert drivers that ducks and water birds cross the street in this area.  Yup.

On Friday I drove from Silicon Valley to Los Angeles to get my son (and his stuff) from college at LMU at the end of the school year.  On Saturday, we drove back.  It was a quick trip but we did have some fun and see some sights, lingering a few hours at the exquisite Getty Museum especially. 

The last little stop we made was in the south county at one of the many, many fruit stands along Highway 152 near Gilroy, the Merry Cherry Fruit Stand.  There we purchased some cherries (naturally!) and pistachios.  Since some of my blog’s readers are actually not in Silicon Valley, and may not be familiar with this area, I thought it would be good to share a couple of pics.  These were taken in the late afternoon, around 6:15 or 6:30, so there are long shadows – but it was fabulous spring weather and very pleasant out. It’s a pretty typical roadside stand and there are many of them in this region. (Note to visitors: most of these places are cash only.)

This next photo was taken from the parking area of the Merry Cherry stand. I loved how the shadows looked in the groves of the ploughed field, waiting for the next planting, or perhaps for sprouts to soon appear.

For people who’ve never been to Santa Clara County (where most of Silicon Valley can be found), or new to our part of Northern California, it’s a suprise that we still have farmland and fruit stands. We also have vineyards and wineries in various parts of the county, especially the Santa Cruz Mountains and “south county”. These agricultural regions are a reminder us that our whole area was once largly farm based and was then called “the Valley of Heart’s Delight”. 

If you’ve never been to Morgan Hill or Gilroy, don’t wait for the Garlic Festival or a need to hit the outlet malls to drive down and investgate the area.  It’s really quite beautiful and there are many interesting nooks and crannies waiting to be discovered.