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New Chocolate Spotted Ocicat Kitten
She’s a little rascal, sweet, very loving, a loud purrer and she insists on rubbing her nose across your cheek to say hello. Or maybe that’s just her way of saying you belong to her. This kitten was born on June 15th; she is a chocolate spotted Ocicat. These are the smartest cats in the world. They are bred from a cross of Siamese, American shorthair and Abyssinian, I believe. We have to figure out a good name for her. My husband pooh-poohed my idea, that of naming her Patty Mewes.
Ashli the Persian 1976-1990
We brought her home last night from the breeder in Auburn. Pica ran and hid under the bed when we put her carrier on the living room floor. Jackson slinked about, growled a little bit, and would not come near the carrier. Eventually, though, Pica’s curiosity got the better of him, and after we tossed a few kitty treats on the floor, he poked his nose into the carrier, all the while the little kitty purred and purred.
Brandon the Somali, 1991- 2010
We kept them separated last night in another bathroom. This way they can play footsie under the door, and our two cats can get used to a third cat in the house. It’s always a little touch and go when introducing new cats to each other.
Before we do that, I thought you might like to see my history of cats. First is Ashli. He was a Persian. My mother used to tell me that if anything ever happened to me, she wanted Ashli to come live with her. Not me, mind you, just the cat. Ashli died in 1990 at age 14 from kidney disease. It took me more than a year before I was ready for a new cat. I carried his photo in my wallet for years after he died.
Pica the Chocolate Silver Classic Ocicat, 2002-
But, then came Brandon, the Somali, who lived with me from 1991 to 2010. He put up with my husband but he was my cat and did not like anybody else. I never thought I would love another cat as much as Ashli until I met Brandon. It’s funny how those things can happen. Brandon died from kidney disease, but he was almost 20.
Next, Pica came to live with us. He is a chocolate silver classic Ocicat, no spots. He is marbled, so they don’t show them, which is why the breeder was anxious to find him a good home. Pica came to live with us New Year’s Day in 2003. He’s such a good natured cat, and his fur is soft as velvet.
Olympia “Pia” Cinnamon Spotted Ocicat 2004-2013
Pia came from the same breeder as Pica. She had 3 or 4 litters and then the breeder retired her. Pia died a few months ago from a blood clot, and our hearts and Pica’s heart were broken. The two of them had been inseparable. This is part of the reason we decided to bring home a new kitten in hopes that Pica will bond with his new sister.
Jackson, the Flamepoint Ragdoll 2011-
Jackson the Ragdoll, on the other hand, was born in San Diego. He is a flamepoint Ragdoll. I flew down to San Diego on Southwest, got off the plane to pick up Jackson, and got back on the next flight home. I was hoping he would be an extremely affectionate cat, and while he is perfectly lovable when it suits him, he is not what I would call a terribly affectionate cat. He is also not as smart as other cats. For example, he will spend a long time digging in a corner as though he can dig to China. Corners confuse him.
Our new kitty was raised with Ragdolls in the house, so we are hoping she will adjust to Jackson and Pica will love her as well. She’s already inched her way into our hearts. At the moment, her name is “new kitty.” Any ideas?
Selling Homes in Sacramento Now or Wait for Spring?
Seems like a lot of sellers are asking this Sacramento real estate agent is now a good time to be selling homes in Sacramento? They are wondering if they should put their home on the market now or wait until spring. The only thing spring brings, besides spring flowers, is more buyers. But spring also brings more homes, so there is more competition. How many buyers do you need and how many competitors do you need? I say you need one buyer and fewer competing homes for buyers to choose from.
That’s why I’m telling you that right now is an excellent time to be on the market. Great market for selling homes in Sacramento. But only if your home is priced properly. Only one of out every 2 homes is selling because half are priced too high.
The other questions I’ve been receiving are from people who ask if the price increases in Sacramento mean they can ask a phenomenal price for their home. The thing is your home is worth only what it is worth. It’s not worth more than that and, in fact, might be worth less.
To sum it up simply, your home is worth more than last year. Might be worth more than next year. Prices are stabilizing a bit.
I’ve heard of sellers begging their agents to leave their homes on the market or hold an open house after they’ve received an acceptable offer. They are under the misguided impression that they are missing out on some unforeseen cash strewn at the side of the road. Makes me want to grab these people by their shoulders and shake them because their brains have gone haywire. If you’ve got a good offer, take it, because you might not get another offer.
Take a look at the chart above. At first glance, the uninitiated might say, whoa, look at the number of homes and pending sales that are declining in November and December. But what they are not realizing is those home sales were originally sold in September and October. It takes 30 to 60 days to close an escrow. Take a look at January and February sales. Those pending sale numbers exceed the number of homes for sale. That’s huge, huge, huge and extremely important to know that January and February sales are a result of homes going on the market in November and December.
Now is an excellent time to sell your home. Don’t wait for spring when interest rates might rise. Do it now. If you’re looking for a Sacramento real estate agent with her finger on the pulse of the market, call Elizabeth Weintraub, at 916 233 6759.
Chart: Trendgraphix
A Short Tribute to Lou Reed
Was a sad morning yesterday when we heard the news that Lou Reed had died. Next thing I knew my husband was playing the Transformer CD , and I knew the Weintraub house was in mourning. Seems like just a few weeks ago I had spotted Reed in a cameo in a Netflix movie, Prozac Nation A college kid was enamored with him, and the time period was the 1990s.
Clearly, he was a phenomenally influential musician who touched generations.
I recall the first Velvet Underground album I owned, The Velvet Underground & Nico, and I’ve owned several of them. This was in 1967-68. It was valuable because the banana peeled, but the album lost its value if one peeled off the banana. Warhol had designed it, so you knew it was cool. Friends being what they were back then had peeled it off, so I had to buy another, and the next version was not that of a peeling banana. Kind of like the experience with the Beatles album Yesterday and Today that had dead dolls strewn with meat under the cover. Those kind of collectibles don’t come along every day.
You didn’t have to be a junkie to appreciate Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. I could listen to Heroin over and over and over. He had a rawness, gritty character and vision many of us admired and related to. He spoke to all misguided souls and misfits as well as those in search of reality.
My husband came of age in a different era, 11 years after me, and he came to know Lou Reed as well. To him, the father of punk, I guess. So, we each have a different relationship but it’s based on the same pull.
Lou Reed was 71. Survived by Laurie Anderson. May his legend live on and continue to shape lives.
New Helvetia Brewing in Land Park is a Hit
After a Saturday of hard work selling real estate in our fair city of Sacramento, this Land Park resident and her husband elected to trot on over to the new Land Park beer joint on Broadway and 18th Street, New Helvetia Brewing Co. It’s a craft beer spot, been open for a couple of months, and it even had a BBQ food truck parked on the side of 18th street, encouraging customers to bring in food. It was packed when we first arrived with kids participating in a Geography Bee, so we had dinner at Queen Shebas instead. You can never enjoy too much Ethiopian food.
With all sorts of wats jostling about in our stomachs and jokes about what happens when you drink beer on top of injera, we waddled back to New Helvetia. What do we do? we asked the bartender. I pour; you drink, he says. Sounded like a plan. We chose the sampler of 32 ounces for $12 to share.
Craft beers have different alcohol contents. Who knew? OK, having been raised in Minneapolis, I am familiar with the 3.2 beer that was sold on Sundays at 7-11s, and there were entire 3.2 joints that served nothing else but 3.2 content beer. You can still pass out from 3.2 beer, ask any teenager. But the average alcohol content of beer is about 6%.
We started with a lager, clean, fresh and 4.5% alcohol, called a Buffalo Craft Lager. I liked it. Two thumbs up. Moved on to a Saison Salon. Lemony and creamy. Another 2 thumbs up. The Red Wheat was delicious as well. Maybe they should serve caviar on crackers in between samples or cheese curds, I dunno, but by the time we got to the two India pale ales, well, they tasted like grapefruit. Which is OK if you’re going for citrusy.
But see, this is why it’s a sampler. You don’t have to like every beer you drink. Then, we came to the Homeland Stout. My husband recalled a scene in Parks and Recreation, in which the droll character Ron Swanson went to a Scotch Whiskey distillery in Scotland, where they made his favorite smokey Scotch, Lagavulin, and how we had discussed after the show what a smokey flavor would do to an adult beverage. Now was our chance to find out what it was like in a beer.
Two words: A-1 Sauce.
We didn’t finish that beer. Takes a special taste palate, I presume. Would go well with a steak, though.
However, the best was saved for last. I believe the alcohol content is 9.5%. Less than wine but a lot more than your average Joe beer. It was spectacular. Stupendous. Complex. If I drank a few more glasses of it, I’d be crawling under the table to go to sleep. And when I woke up, I’d want another glass. It was that good. It’s called Indomitable City Double IPA, and it looks like prune juice but believe me, it’s out of this world.
Bazooka Joe Bubble Gum vs Dubble Bubble Gum
If my mother knew that Bazooka Bubble Gum had fired Bazooka Joe and removed the comic wrapper from the gum package last year, she’d rise up from her ashes scattered at Hillside Cemetery in Minneapolis and lead a flag-waving march all the way to Topps headquarters in New York. I was never a fan of Bazooka Bubble Gum but my mother bought that gum by the busloads, way before Sam’s Club was around. It wasn’t really acceptable behavior for a University Advisor to chew gum, which is probably one of the reasons she did it.
Bazooka Bubble Gum had kind of a nasty flavor. It was also way too much gum in my mouth. I found I had to break it off into little pieces and, when one finished chewing it, after the flavor had vanished, it was fairly uncomfortable to swallow it. Sort of felt like a big ol’ wad of rubber sitting at the bottom of your stomach with no place to go. Unlike, say, swallowing a piece of Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun, Doublemint. Is it spearmint or peppermint flavor? Nobody knows for certain. Wikipedia says probably peppermint.
Can’t say I ever spotted Doublemint stuck under a desk like the ubiquitous wads of Bazooka Bubble Gum. Kids stuck gum in their hair or maybe that memory involved my sister whose gum rolled out of her mouth at night and stuck to her pillow case, eventually winding up in her hair. Can’t scrape the stuff off the bottom of your shoes. Lighter fluid worked well for gum removal. For a short period in my life, it seemed that pink bubble gum was everywhere I traveled. Can you imagine putting lighter fluid in your hair today?
If Bazooka Bubble Gum wasn’t available where my mom sent us kids to buy her bubble gum down at the corner store, then we were instructed to bring home Dubble Bubble. But that just didn’t hold a candle to Bazooka Bubble Gum. Dubble Bubble just wasn’t the same.
If you’re looking for an authentic Sacramento real estate agent with her finger on the pulse of real estate in Sacramento, call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916 233 6759. Although I no longer chew gum, if I had to, I can walk and chew gum at the same time.
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