We had a brief negotiation over a house but it didn't work out; the owner wants more than we think the property is worth. While this development is dispiriting, we were always a bit ambivalent about the house—there was some tweeness to the style and questionable air flow, and we would have had to do significant construction. The search continues! Below: a house that we went back to for a second visit. It's like something out of Clue.
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Last night we hosted a Newcomers dinner party: six fellow members came over for an organized potluck. (As hosts, we got to decide the theme. We went with "farmer's market," because we're big fans of it, which you may not have realized.) I don't know if this is a Santa Barbara thing, a Newcomers thing, or what, but they all arrived early. And they stayed for four and a quarter hours! So I guess everyone had fun.
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And today, we had our pistol of a next-door neighbor over, although "next-door" is relative. After we showed her our house, she showed us hers, including the substantial garden that we can sort of see from our terrace. Among the topics discussed was the fire two years ago that affected both of our properties. Later, she sent a time-lapse video taken by a neighbor's security camera and the photo below.