Realtor Diary: Photos From a Sunday Afternoon in Sacramento

Fishing village, Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada, like the landscape in movie Maudie.

It’s hard to be at a loss for things to do on a Sunday afternoon in Sacramento. Having missed out on a trip to Nova Scotia I had planned several years ago when my husband instead opted for the coast of Oregon, I have been wanting to see the film Maudie, filmed in Newfoundland and Ireland; but it was no longer playing at the Tower Theatre by our home in Land Park. We could still catch the movie in Roseville, though, so I bought tickets at Fandango and off we went. The film stars Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke, about a real life folk artist, Maud Lewis from Canada.

This is a woman who battled juvenile arthritis, was picked on by kids as a child so grew up pretty much a loner, and married a rather crusty old fish peddler who rated her just below his dogs and chickens, in that order. But she found joy in her life, and expressed this joy through a childlike view of the world by painting nature, such as birds, flowers, lakes, trees and wildlife, including cats. The story is emotional. The film pulls you in, and those winter scenes when you can see blowing snow, hear whistling wind, makes you shiver. It’s also a love story, albeit not a traditional one. I liked it enough to give it 5 stars and intend to buy a few prints. I sense similarities between the work of Maud Lewis and a Picasso print of pigeons I picked up in Barcelona, although they are nothing alike.

Car towing a train up 8th Street in Sacramento.

We stopped by the Sacramento library to drop off and pick up books. While I waited in the car for my husband to come out, a police car circled the intersection of I Street and 8th and blocked off access. Next thing we knew, a car appeared out of nowhere towing a light rail train car. Not every day you see a car towing a train. But this was part of our Sunday afternoon in Sacramento.

The Plant Foundry in Oak Park is located at 3500 Broadway.

After they cleared the intersection, we drove over to the Plant Foundry in Oak Park. This store is located at 3500 Broadway, closer to 35th than 36th. No need to drive to East Sacramento when you live in Land Park to visit a garden store. It’s got everything you expect to find in a nursery and plant store, and then some.  Seeds, plants, pottery, soil amendments, bad-ass buddhas and giant metal roosters and cacti. We picked up a couple of plants for the house, and a new planter to replace the broken clay pot our cats smashed last week. If it wasn’t so hot, we would have spent more of our Sunday afternoon in Sacramento at this nursery.

The Oak Park Brewing Company is located at 3514 Broadway.

Since it was so enormously hot outside (the car registered 107 driving back from Roseville, and that was not a radio station, it was degrees) and because I had consumed an entire bag of popcorn loaded with 5 packages of salt at the movies, we were forced to stop at the Oak Park Brewing Company. Fortunately, this establishment is located right next to the Plant Foundry. The beer choices were varied and many. I had originally asked for the Sac Town Union Something Wicked IPA, but they were out of it. Instead I settled for a Broadway Pale Ale, which was very hoppy with a bit of a bite, and a good enough substitute.

Interior of Oak Park Brewing Company features a mixture of tables and low-rise seating.

My husband ordered a pan fried shrimp sandwich with fries, and he said, “Oh, I know what you’re getting. The brussel sprouts.” He was correct. They were served braised in beer, I believe, sprinkled with arugula and tossed in parmesan cheese. Not too sweet and not too sour. Just perfect. A really good deal at $7.00. Another 5 stars for this dish.

Brussel sprouts braised in beer, sprinkled with parmesan and tossed in arugula.

My team members were just finishing up the open houses held by the time I got home, and it was time for me to jump back into work. There is no resting for this Sacramento Realtor at 4:00 on a Sunday afternoon in Sacramento, no sirree. It was time to write counter offers and work on selling a few more homes in Sacramento. Two of our four open houses produced buyers and multiple purchase offers.