I’ll See You Sunday

The sun shone brightly as I pushed open the gate at the Abbotts’ house on Berkshire Avenue one day last week. The winter rains had transformed vast sweeps of lawn into deep emerald green and spring bulbs popped up in the borders. Julie Abbott met me at the front door of her Tudor home, designed by Paul Williams in 1925. The two-acre grounds of the home will be featured Sunday on the La Cañada Valley Beautiful garden tour.

Julie’s dad Bob Bates joined us in the kitchen for a cup of cinnamon-scented coffee. “My dad’s a commercial illustrator and a painter. My mom deals in antiques. I am a graphic designer and my husband Kevin writes. I guess you could say we’re a very creative family,” Julie said.

“Dad came over to re-design and direct the finishing work on the fountain we’re building on the patio. He’s a lifesaver,” she added.

It was calm and quiet inside the house. Outside, painters were touching up the house trim, a workman fashioned a fountain under Bob’s direction and a photographer framed her shots. The gardening team was expected soon and the pool plasterers were on their way.

I admired Bob’s handiwork on a milk bottle in the kitchen. He’s done the whimsical line drawings on Broguiere’s glass bottles for 20 years, just one of many clients in a long illustration career. Later, I admired Bob’s Americana paintings on the walls of the guesthouse, when we went on a tour of the extensive property.

Kevin Abbott dropped by the kitchen for a quick introduction. A writer-producer, Kevin is the executive producer for country star Reba McEntire’s television show. Also joining us were the family’s dogs, Samantha and Sophie. I didn’t see the other members of the menagerie: two Arabian horses, three cats, a bunny and a chicken. The Abbott children were at school. Jacob, 9, and Katie, 11, are La Cañada Elementary School students. Jessie, 14, attends La Cañada High School.

“I’m the room rep for both of the kids at LCE. I just love planning parties and field trips. I also volunteer in the LCE library,” Julie said. She attends parent education classes at La Cañada Presbyterian Church. She rides her horses, Annie and Kara, on the nearby trail. “We have an incredible trail council,” she said. Julie relaxes with friends in a group that meets for bunco games.

The Abbotts support the La Cañada Educational Foundation by bidding on trips at the foundation’s annual fundraiser. Before we left the kitchen I noticed the family Christmas card stuck on the fridge. “We’re making memories” was printed in the center of the card, surrounded by photos of the Abbotts in a variety of locations.

“We get carried away in the excitement of the auctions. Sometimes if we win, I wonder, why did we bid on that trip? But when we take the trip, we have a fantastic time. I would probably never have gone to Park City, Utah in the summer if we hadn’t won the trip, but it was so beautiful. We all love to travel,” Julie explained.

The Abbots’ Christmas card photos recorded some of their recent trips. They visited the Amalfi coast in Italy, stayed in Reba’s home in Nashville, Tenn., saw the rain forests in Costa Rica and hiked in Oregon.

Kevin and Julie Abbott met during their freshman year at UCLA. They made their first home in Glendale and moved to La Cañada 12 years ago. “We haven’t made many changes inside the house, but we’ve done a lot of work outside,” Julie said. As we strolled through the grounds, I had to admit to a tiny twinge of envy over the croquet lawn.

Visitors on Sunday’s tour will enjoy unique garden features like old-fashioned gardening tools and charming birdhouses. Julie’s mom is lending a few decorations from her collection for the tour. Julie learned the art of crafting country flower arrangements from her mom. “I do a lot of cut flowers for my own house, for friends and special events,” she said.

Julie’s mom also taught her how to cook. Her mom, Valerie Bates, wrote a cookbook called “The Lazy Gourmet.” When the family returned from a weekend at their beach house on Lido Isle, Julie dropped off one of her own recipes for our readers.

“I have been into making soups this year and this one is my favorite,” Julie wrote in a note accompanying her recipe for butternut squash soup. “I love that a lot of soups are both healthy and yummy and if I don’t make them too spicy, my kids will eat them too!”

See today’s story on page A28 for garden tour ticket information and more details on the event. My friend Anne Galloway and I have gone every year and we’ll be there again. We both recommend it highly. We’ll look forward to seeing you on Sunday.