Life on the Compound (cue banjo music)

I realize that I have not really told you all much about myself yet, and am not really sure where to start. Here's a weird factoid that might make you run for the hills: I live on a compound. It's not quite as creepy as it sounds, but two years ago, my husband and I relocated from Carlsbad, a nice little beach town in San Diego County, to rural Temecula wine country (just north of San Diego), and we live within close proximity to all of my husband's family. Now, close proximity is a relative term in the country (pun intended), but let's just say that the Welty motto is: "The Family That Works/Plays/Lives/Dines/Parties/Invests Together Stays Together". The Welty Compound includes my father-in-law (MIL died of ovarian cancer in 2008, at the age of 60), as well as my husband's older sister and two older brothers and their families (and me & Steve). Everyone (except us) has golf carts to get from property to property, we have a huge garden where we grow lots of fresh fruits & veggies to share, and my FIL loves to give tractor rides to unsuspecting compound visitors. [OK, maybe it is as creepy as it sounds]. But for reals, we are actually pretty normal, and do not belong to some weird cult or stockpile guns and ammo for the pending revolution. My husband's oldest brother, Richard, is the family prodigy and a total computer genius; 26 years ago, when Richard was 17, an MD neighbor of theirs hired him to develop a billing & scheduling platform for his medical practice, and Raintree Systems was incepted. It's actually kind of a neat success story with some interesting caveats, but too much to share now. Anyway, all the siblings work at the corporate office, which is here in Temecula, and hubby was sick of the commute from Carlsbad, so we made the move. I am slowly adjusting to country living....It's really quite beautiful here, and we are literally walking distance to some of the area's best wineries, cha-ching!

Here are a couple of shots of our property as well as one of the Welty Clan (See, no bonnets or aprons). My hubby is at the far end of the table.