Our old house is located in University City, adjacent to La Jolla and just 3 miles from UCSD. It's just 10 minutes from Qualcomm, Inc., where I am currently working. My wife (Mo Ip) has retired from Qualcomm (current as of 2011). Our NEW HOME is at 12918 Harwick Lane, 92130. We expect to transfer the phones by November 1st, 2011. We will put pictures up the on web very shortly along with other new-home information. In the meantime, you can reach Don on his cell (858-945-7114) and Mo no her cell (619-249-6890). Our NEW NEW HOME is at 461 Ferne Ave, 94306. We moved to Northern California when I received an opportunity to work for Google Search in 2013, selling the house on Harwick (but we still own the house on Cather Ave.)
Our old (beloved) Cather home faces south, and was photographed in July 1998 during viewing with the real estate agent. For each picture, the approximate clock location on the property is given, with the house center as the clock center, along with the direction that the camera was facing when the picture was taken.
Locate our home at 4448 Cather, San Diego, CA 92122, tel: 619-554-0305 in the neighborhood, and near the ocean.
Front (with flowers & mo), 5 o'clock, facing Northwest. Taken
roughly on Sept 1st, 1998. When
we first saw the house, yellow
sunflowers were growing up through the
purple flowers to create a
miraculous color burst. A hedge row blocked the view out of the
left-hand side of the front yard.
Backyard, 1 o'clock, facing northeast. Luckily for the owners, the
pathement of the concrete slab was dry with no puddles.
Family room, 3 o'clock, facing south. The room was cramped and
only one leather chair was in a good position to see the TV.
Kitchen, 12 o'clock, facing east. The kitchen table is very small
(maybe 36", not even 42").
Living Room, Facing Northwest, 9 o'clock
Living Room Facing South, 9 o'clock. The decision to put two
opposing couches and several end tables in the living room made the
room feel very cramped.
Master Bedroom, 3 o'clock (2nd floor), facing south
Note the
sunken study / addition, over the garge.
Don & Mo in the Yucca, 7:30, facing southeast
Here is the the new back yard, in 2001, after landscaping. The grass is Marathon II - much nicer than Bermuda grass. Many plantings have been cleared so that Mo can grow herbs (basil, apple mint) and other things (strawberries). A fully automatic sprinkler system (front and back) was installed.
A fence with a gate encloses a new side area for pets. In the pets area we have lush green grass. The man-eating Bougainvillea has been removed from the master bedroom balcony. I literally could not keep up with its growth on a weekly basis, and I was getting scars on my arms trying to keep it trimmed and contained within the side yard, and it made the side yard very dark, and was beginning to damage the balconey. Since Jack Gillies retired to Oregon, this has become a popular spot for me to paint things and work on bicycles.
The old, notched concrete slab, which held puddles for days at a time, has been removed. A new curved slab with blue-green tiles has been installed. The mexican tile work is fantastic, even from 3" away. Strips of plastic and tin pie pans help to keep birds away from the strawberries (far left).
Two giant cactuses have been removed, and the fence has been extended to create a new 4' side yard, allowing a refreshing new way to access to the back from both sides of the house. Grape and blackberry vines will climb a trellis in this side yard. In the overexposed distance, a fig tree is growing.
The front yard has a new concrete border, new grass, and the giant bird of paradise has moved from the street to the edge of the yard, and has morphed into 6 birds, replacing the junipers that previously blocked the view of Mount Soledad at the top of La Jolla.
When you stand on the front door step and look out, you can see the Yucca, and to the right the canyon, and above it Mount Soledad (with cross) - the high point in La Jolla. University City is adjacent to La Jolla.
The small pigmy palms (lower center) were moved from the front door (where they used to cut our hands when we ran the manual sprinklers.) The palms are illuminated for one hour each evening with night-lights from below. The modest 6' bird-of-paradise (which was near the driveway entrance) was separated into 3 plants and moved to near the left side-yard entrance.
Don loves purple. The front yard is decorated with three different types of purple flowers. Today the flower bed is about 10' x 20' and it's a sight to behold!
This is a view from the street, facing North, in 2001. Three new Queen Palms decorate the front yard. The third Queen Palm, planted in the grass, is getting about twice as much water as the arid Queen Palms, and has grown to nearly twice the height of the other palms.
This is the look ten years later, in the summer of 2011, with my new Panasonic Lumix camera. We have lived here 13 years. In 2004 we had the kitchen remodeled, added hardwood flooring, and installed new rear glass - warmer, heavier, quieter, airport glass. We survived the Jet Crash of December 2008. Everything and Everyone has grown up and my sons practice soccer skills in the front yard (juggling and doing skill moves) many days of the week. The only disdvantage is that we cannot play catch with a baseball here because it would put the front window in jeopardy.