Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 1, 2011

17

HOMES AND PROPERTY

 Mountain Views News Saturday, October 1, 2011 

One Of A Kind: Featuring unique homes and gardens and the people who create them. Story and Photos by Chris Bertrand


FROM HACIENDA HEIGHTS TO THE GREEN ACRES OF ILLINOIS

Pulling Up Stakes in LA for Retirement in the Heartland


When Tom and Jan 
Dovidio announced 
their unusual plans for 
retirement relocation, the 
attorney-journalist/writer 
couple may have raised a 
few eyebrows. There aren’t 
many who retire from LA 
to rural Illinois. On the 
other hand, how many couples have all their 
children migrate to Chicago?

The draw to family, including the current 
count of eight grandchildren, was irresistible. So 
were the housing prices and the charm of historic 
Woodstock, Illinois, established in 1842. The 
town of about 20,000 has long enjoyed commuter 
train service to downtown Chicago fifty one 
miles away, a critical advantage in a megalopolis 
with gridlock issues similar to LA.

Woodstock was named one of the nation’s 
Dozen Distinctive Destinations 2007 by the 
National Trust for Historic Preservation, “an 
annual list of unique and lovingly preserved 
communities in the United States,” per their 
website. Their community analysis indicates, 
“A real, living, dynamic town, Woodstock 
appreciates and capitalizes on its rich past while 
keeping a watchful eye on the future.”

The town “starred” in the 1993 movie, 
Groundhog Day, which featured many scenes 
there, including the famous recurring dream 
sequence centered on the town’s All-American 
town square, complete with Opera House and 
century old buildings full of vintage character. 
Today, it celebrates its celluloid celebrity status with 
“Woodstock Willie” filling in for Punxsutawney 
Phil at the yearly Groundhog Day festival. 

The Dovidios researched, eventually focusing 
on a small neighborhood outside of town, with 
about fifty homes around a small lake, one of 
the myriad in this area’s Chain-O-Lakes. They 
initially set their sights on building there because 
no home had been listed for years. Then, earlier 
this year, a home finally did come up for sale. 
They took the plunge, buying a home on two 
acres adjacent to active farms, for less than half 
the price of their equivalently sized LA home.

Despite the weak economy, their Hacienda 
Heights home of thirty plus years sold almost 
immediately. They wrapped up Tom’s legal 
practice and Jan’s weekly San Gabriel Valley 
Tribune column about Whittier and Hacienda 
Heights. 

Then the real work set in, to cull over three 
decades of accumulation then hit the road, 
actually the skies, for Middle America. In true 
Midwest August, fashion, “The weather that day 
was in the nineties, with about 90% humidity,” 
said Jan. “It took 5 men about 13 hours to unload 
our 30,000 pounds of stuff!” Then it took two 
weeks to sift through enough of that “stuff” to 
find the television controls, and phone calls to 
the packers to find the sofa legs and treadmill 
key.

In their first of two lengthy updates to family 
and friends, their first paragraph references nearly 
invisible, yet pesky Woodstock inhabitants. Jan 
Dovidio penned “As I write this, I am looking 
out the window at a completely clear beautiful 
blue sky - not a cloud in sight - and enjoying the 
view of the many trees and flowers in our new 
back yard. Hard to believe that lurking in all 
that beauty are the thousands of mosquitoes that 
feasted on us this past week!”

We are learning some of the patterns of life in 
this rural area of Illinois: much slower pace of life, 
very friendly and genuine people, and the need 
to learn to manage a different kind of property: 
septic system, water softener, well water, 2 acres 
of grounds to maintain, and how to fight those 
pesky mosquitoes.

Another major learning curve was driving 
the local roads. Since we are in an area that
combines small towns between large farms, 
roads have speeds of 55 outside of town, then 
down to 30 or 35 through town. Policemen have 
very creative hiding spots for those who do not 
slow to 35 right away. As for getting to know our 
local roads, we often slow down a bit to look for 
an intersecting street’s name, since they are still 
unfamiliar to us. The minute we do slow down, 
the car behind is right on our tail. I have never 
seen so much tailgating! We have now learned to 
put on our turn signal long ahead of a turn off 
one of the high-speed roads.

We are finding that we need to allow some 
extra time for errands - not because the 
destinations are far away, but because the folks 
serving us or helping us in stores or restaurants 
just want to spend some time in small talk… We 
are constantly answering the question: “...and 
why on earth did you leave California?” 

In late September, “A gentle steady rain has 
been falling …Perhaps 2 days a week have brought 
either light or heavy showers, often with thunder 
and lightning. Life and its activities do go on; 
you just learn to dress for it and always keep an 
umbrella in the car. So much different than the 
predictability of California weather, where there 
are 7 day forecasts; here we have perhaps 7-hour 
forecasts.”

Ensuing details continued, including their new 
“best friends” the arborist, handyman, mosquito 
abatement and pest control for removal of 
beehives.

By far, our biggest frustration is poor internet 
connection. We are constantly knocked off 
the internet - that is, when we can even get a 
connection. Our big beautiful trees block a clear 
sightline to any local tower. AT&T offers internet 
access to communities about 500 yards from us, 
but refuse to extend it to our area because it is 
only 50 homes in the middle of farms. I think 
my lawyer husband plans to plead his case with 
AT&T soon. 

The best part of our move is learning the 
pace and way of life in a farming area. There are 
farmers’ markets everywhere with the ultimate 
in fresh produce, or you can stop at many farms 
to pick your own apples, pears, or raspberries. 
The corn is so very sweet. Every weekend is some 
kind of festival. A neighboring town hosted a 
weekend of competitions like watermelon toss 
and tractor races. We went to Woodstock’s 
annual Harvest Festival today in its beautiful 
town square, with very creative crafts booths. 

My favorite was our stop at a broom booth (You 
read that correctly!). Did you know that a certain 
kind of corn is grown just to produce strings of 
grain to make brooms? No ear of corn; instead, 
the plant grows to 14 feet tall with long strands 
of grain inside the husk. The farmer actually 
showed us how he makes the broom on a pole 
that he carved himself from a local oak tree. I 
felt like I was part of a Charles Kuralt, human 
interest report.

We experienced a different kind of “rain” about 
2 weeks ago. We began to hear thumping noises 
on our back deck, which became more frequent 
each day. It was the sound of acorns hitting the 
deck from a huge oak tree. The little critters 
would stuff their cheeks, staring as if to challenge 
you to take them back, then scurry quickly away. 

Those darling little chipmunks are a 
mixed blessing. Yes, they take up some of the 
acorns. But, they can also burrow up to 40 feet 
under your foundation to eventually undermine 
it. It appears that this may be what happened at 
our front porch, as the ground level has sunk 
about 6 inches. Our neighbors have recently 
suggested we set traps.

It is said that one needs to keep learning 
new things to remain “young” in retirement It 
seems there will be no lack of subject matter for 
new learning at the Dovidio’s new Woodstock 
chapter, in life’s slow-er lane! 

SIMPLE STEPS TO KEEP THINGS LOOKING UP 

AROUND THE HOUSE


(NAPS)—Painting the ceiling is a great way to 
complete a room and give it a polished look.

By using the ceiling as a fifth wall, you can add a 
splash of color to make small rooms seem larger and 
cavernous ones cozier and give a fresh, clean appearance 
to every room. Moreover, painting the ceiling can be 
easier than some homeowners might think.

Here are a few hints to help from the experts at Behr 
Paints:

Picking the Perfect Ceiling Paint Color

Most people paint their ceiling white or off-white 
because these shades reflect light and coordinate well 
with other colors. Ceilings, however, can be one of the 
best places to use a fun splash of color. High ceilings 
can benefit from a lightly tinted color to make rooms 
that might appear too large and expansive feel more 
human and cozy. Painting low ceilings with semi-gloss 
paint, on the other hand, will make them seem higher. 
Crown molding in a darker color can draw the eye 
upwards.

How to Paint a Ceiling

1. Pour thoroughly mixed paint into a bucket and dip 
a quality 2” to 21/2” wide nylon/polyester brush into it. 
When using more than a gallon of paint, combine the 
containers for better uniformity of color. This is called 
“boxing.”

2. With your brush, paint (cut in) along the perimeter 
of the ceiling surface. To avoid drips, tap off the excess 
paint against the inside wall of the bucket.

3. From the bucket, pour paint into a paint tray and 
work a roller into the tray until it’s fully loaded. Use a 
3/8” to 1/2” roller cover for light texture and a 1/2” to 1” 
cover for heavy texture. For large areas, use a 5-gallon 
bucket and bucket grid. 

4. Starting in a 3’ x 3’ section at a corner of your 
project area, roll the paint onto the ceiling in a “W” 
formation. For an even application, begin 3” to 4” away 
from the cut-in section.

5. Work the roller back and forth across the section 
until the “W” is completely filled in. Roll over the 
cut-in area, too. Reload the roller when necessary to 
maintain a wet edge.

6. Continue working in 3’ x 3’ sections across the 
width of the ceiling. To blend the sections for a uniform 
finish, lightly pass the roller over the newly painted 
area.

7. Repeat the process of painting and blending the 
sections until the project is complete. 

What You’ll Need to Paint a Ceiling

One thing that can make painting ceilings quicker 
and easier is a new addition to Behr’s paint and primer 
in one line: Behr Premium Plus Ultra Stain-Blocking 
Ceiling Paint. When dry, it forms an extra protective 
shell that resists moisture, stains and mildew and has 
a flat sheen to minimize surface imperfections and 
provide a uniform appearance.

With a unique formulation and viscosity, the paint 
dries to touch in 30 minutes and can be recoated in 
one hour. Since it’s designed to be spatter and drip 
resistant, it’s easier to apply with smooth consistency 
and delivers thick and even coverage. The paint offers 
excellent stain-blocking action against water, ink, rust, 
nicotine, wood or tannin bleed and mildew stains. 
It’s great for both uncoated and properly prepared, 
previously painted interior surfaces such as drywall, 
acoustical tile, cured masonry, plaster, wallboard and 
other ceiling surfaces.

To transform the look and feel of a room, the paint 
can be tinted to a wide range of light colors or left 
pure white for a more traditional 
look. In addition, 
colors can be custom matched using Behr’s advanced 
computer matching 
system. 

Where to Find Ceiling Paint

It’s available in all The Home Depot stores. You 
can find more at www.behr.com, including how-
to information, design inspiration and 8-oz. paint 
samples. Fans can go to www.twitter.com/behrpaint 
and www.facebook.com/behrpaint. And, the 
ColorSmart by Behr Mobile application, available as a 
free download for the iPhone, helps do-it-yourselfers 
find the perfect colors for any home decorating 
project 
at the touch of a finger.

Spatter and drip-resistant ceiling paint is a time-
saving product with stain-blocking qualities.

IF THEY SHOULD ASK

When you tell friends and family you’re going 
to buy or sell a home, and they ask, “Why are you 
working through a real estate agent when you 
can just use the internet,” how will you respond? 
Your first answer should be to have a professional 
handle all the paperwork - disclosure forms, 
inspection reports, deeds and titles, settlement 
statements... they’ll get the picture.

You could describe your representative’s 
knowledge about the area - schools, zoning, 
and property values. You want to know that 
the neighborhood matches your needs, and that 
your home holds resale value for the future.

Tell them there’s more to advertising than 
websites, and that your agent will more likely 
find a buyer instead through their relationships 
with other agents and past and current clients. 
Not to mention the fact that you don’t want 
complete strangers visiting your home, and 
you’re more comfortable knowing that your 
representative has screened and qualified all 
potential buyers.

And once you’re on either side of an offer, 
you trust a professional’s ability to negotiate 
successfully when it comes to terms like price, 
financing, inspections and repairs, and other 
contractual commitments.

Your final argument might be that most 
people may buy or sell a handful of homes 
in their lifetime, but your agent has been 
successful hundreds of times, on both sides of 
the transaction. Case closed!

 
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offers updated kitchen, bath, new fi xtures & hardwood fl oors. 
Back house has new paint & carpet. Both houses have private 
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Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com