Never anyone else’s first choice, in 1987, we fell in love with the unusual, long narrow lot that only nodded to the street, but lavishly embraced the valley to the sides and back.
This was decades after “Claraboya” was developed and the original houses already needed facelifts. Our previously unwanted patch of dirt with minimum frontage suited us just fine as we adjusted our perspective, building a house that only glimpsed Mountain Avenue but took full advantage of the canyon and beyond.
Having both grown up in uninteresting boxes, crowded with possessions to attempt aesthetic redemption, my husband in crowded Queens, son of first and third-generation Jewish immigrants, and me born amidst the Midwestern Plains to fourth-generation farmers, we envisioned a simple Mediterranean floor plan with sparse furnishings. We treasure the serenity and peace of mind that comes with classic lines, adequate space, and an abundance of glass blurring the lines between inside and out, allowing us to live with lavish floras that sustain us through difficult times.
Near the entrance is a huge Schlumbergera, commonly known as a Christmas Cactus, with a girth as big as Santa’s middle. Originally discovered in southeastern Brazil by a Frenchman, the sprig that started this pot came from my cousin’s yard in Central Illinois, hitchhiking with me when I migrated to SoCal over forty-five years ago.
At the southwest corner of our living room, standing sentinel over the valley, are two pots of Stapelia gigantea, aka Zulu Giants. On the afternoon of his 2nd-grade elementary school fair, Larry proudly walked home from P.S. #107 carrying a milk carton with the top half cut off, and in it was a precious phallic treasure: one stalk of this plant. Seventy years later, this one stalk has fathered veritable jungles of succulents that cascade over the edges of their pots and annually grace us with parachute blossoms, big enough for any dream to thrive, creating an excuse to once again tell the story of how small dreams become life’s pleasures.
What an enjoyable read! I feel calmer haing read it!
One couple trash is another couple treasure 💕