Joanna Quan, Realtor, SRES, Notary

Picture this. Earlier in the week, the sun is shining and the air is crisp. You decide to do a Open House. You advertise, you let people know, you prepare for the open house.

Fast forward to the day of the Open House. It is raining. What do you do?

On the best of days, it is challenging for me to handle directional signs. I'm a small person. Putting out signs on a given day is difficult enough. So...run out with no umbrella and get wet or struggle with an umbrella in one hand and a sign in the other?

Do people come to open houses when it is raining out? Just curious...

I enjoy doing Open House. I meet great neighbors and others just walking through. I enjoy seeing the different houses and learning about the feedback from the people that walk through.

What are your thoughts and experiences?

I grew up in San Francisco, CA where the locals think that 70 degrees is hot. And in San Francisco, it IS!

But I no longer live in San Francisco. I live in the East Bay area where for the last week or so, it has been over 100 degrees. Thank God for air conditioning and double paned windows!

I did visit San Francisco today. I walked around in shorts and a t-shirt and was a bit cold...even though it was 68 degrees. Locals probably think I'm nuts. I probably would have agreed with them 6 years ago!

My friend was kind of enough to take a picture from his window this evening. He's probably less then a mile from SF but I asked him for a picture of the fog so I could think about the cool for a little bit.

Don't get me wrong, I love my suburban life here. I'm just a bit drained from this constant heat.

For you folks that LOVE the hot weather. Contact Joanna Quan @ 510-374-8240 to find your next home in the East Bay.

On July 9th, I had the opportunity to listen to Joyce Cooling and her band. This free concert was held in downtown Walnut Creek's Broadway Plaza. More specifically, it was in the parking lot of Stanford's Restaurant.

The parking lot was packed. Some were able to get a seat, others brought lawn chairs and still others stood in various locations. Fans even got up and danced by the stage.

The website shows that there will be two other free jazz concerts for the next two Thursdays from 6:30pm - 8pm.

Walnut Creek is a great place to live with it's culture, events and activities such as this.

To find your next home in Walnut Creek, contact me at 510-374-8240. I look forward to walking with you to your next home!

I was a later bloomer in driving. I didn't get my license till I was 33 years old because I lived in an area that didn't require a car. It was actually worse to have a car because there was no parking!

Anyway, I know what it's like to not be able to get around and that's why I chose to volunteer some of my time to Meals on Wheels in Contra Costa County.

I asked to be a floater instead of having a fixed day/route because I'm still relatively new to the area and would like to get to know it better.

This week I drove two different routes.

The first one was pretty crazy because it was POURING rain outside and I had to run back to the trunk to get the food and then find which homes I was supposed to deliver the meal to. The second route went much better because I had done a Open House in that area so I was more familiar with the streets.

I really enjoyed my time delivering the meals and wished that I had time to stand and chat to the people that I was delivering meals too. On my first day, one participant sang to me. I also saw a family of dear running across a golf course.

I'm sure as time goes by and I do these same routes again, I will be more efficient and will eventually have time to chat with these homebound seniors. Till then, I'm feeling more confident about my area and look forward to learning about more areas to come.

Year of the Ox falls once every 12 years. If you were born in the years of:

1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997

This is your year.

What I remember most about Chinese New Year growing up in San Francisco is the mini-carnival that was set up in Portsmouth Square. Back then, my grandparents lived in Chinatown and we would walk down the street to try the games and spend some of the "lucky money" that received from friends and relatives of the family.

Last year, Year of the Rat, was my year and I collected some cute things with the rat on them.