Sometimes, you just want to go off to see some other city's history. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, you can wander through nine private residences on the Newberg Historic Home Tour.

For a town settled by no-nonsense Quakers and ambitious hops peddlers, brick makers and store owners, Newberg has many ornamented houses. Turn-of-the-last-century dwellings donned decorative shingles and hand-carved adornments. Guests were greeted by Doric columns on cast stone pedestals and glazed front doors.

Tour goers ($15, yamhillenrichmentsociety.org) will see a 1905 American Foursquare clad with shiplap, plaster corner boards and frieze boards. The interior was completely restored by the son of the longtime owners except for the red wallpaper in the entry. The two-story house is furnished with antiques and nicely curated collections, from ruby flashed glass to shaving mugs.

A well-preserved 1912 Colonial Revival-style three-level house was built for the owner of a downtown general store. Much of it is original, thanks to the first owner living there for 60 years and current owners respecting its origins. American chestnut trees are as old 102 years as the house.

An Italianate residence built in 1881 was bought four years later by the uncle of Herbert Hoover. The future U.S. president lived with the family while attending Friends Pacific Academy (now George Fox University).

Other stops on the well-planned tour are Queen Anne-style houses built in 1895, 1896 and 1904, an 1883 Eastlake Stick-style house, a 1898 Queen Anne Vernacular-style parsonage for the Newberg First Baptist Church and a 1908 Colonial Revival-Craftsman house.

The tour benefits Yamhill Enrichment Society (503-883-9654), which supports community education, arts, history and agriculture projects.

Why leave wine country? The tour is followed from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. by a Garden Party ($20) where bites will be offered by Jac's Deli & Frozen Custard, Rouge Catering at Subterra Restaurant,Ruddick/Wood Tavern and the new, talked-about Recipe - A Neighborhood Kitchen.

Wineries offering tastes are Artisanal Wine Cellars, Fire + Flood, Anne Amie Vineyards and Ancient Cellars.

-- Janet Eastman

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Newberg Historic Home Tour: Queen Annes, welcoming porches and rose wine

The Lefferts Homestead in Brooklyn. (wally/flickr)

One of the few timeshares in New YorksMidtowns Manhattan Clubhas been banned from selling shares in the condo or foreclosing on any units until the attorney generals office completes an investigation, Crains reports. Developer Ian Bruce Eichner and partners have been accused of overbooking rooms, barring owners from being able to book rooms, in part because rooms in the building are rented to the general public.

Porches are back! declaresThe Wall Street Journal. Were they ever out of fashion? Apparently they werewith everyone wanting to hole up in their air conditioned homes for a while, but now, thankfully, the porch is making a comeback, with wealthy homeowners keen for any opportunity to add more bells or whistles. The wealthier we feel, and the more feature-rich we desire our homes to be, the more likely they are to have a porch, says one real estate consultant.

You know what house has a delightful porch? Gracie Mansion, where the de Blasio family finally, finally stayed last night for the first time, according to the Wall Street Journal. The family did not begin their drawn-out move in until last month.

A Montauk homeowner rented his four-bedroom home for $1,600 a night and was shockedshocked!that his renters hosted wild parties that involved lots of noise and maybe even outdoor sex, according to the Post. We have now, apparently, entered the phase where homeowners charge enormous, five-star hotel prices to rent their homes, but have not yet realized that this might entail visitors using their homes like hotels, where they are free to have large parties that yield wild sex and a lawn strewn with red plastic cup and cigarette butts?

Speaking of parties: Jerermiahs Vanishing New York reports that Ding Dong Lounge in Morningside Heights is closing down due to the usual: landlord greed, avarice and douchebaggery via one of the DJs there. With Ding Dong, Rodeo Bar and the Subway Inn closing, should we fear the end of bars with cheap mixed drinks, cheaper beer and permanently sticky floors?

In the increasingly wealthy, bland New York everything that used to be something else is now a Starbucks: a longtime Upper East Side dry cleaning shop on the corner of 80th Street and Second Avenue has been booted by the landlord sans rent negotiation to make way for a Starbucks, DNAInfo reports. Fortunately one of the dry cleaners clients works in real estate and found her a spot across the street.

With all these changes, its natural to worry that you arent taking your out-of-town visitors to the authentic New York, or whatever they think the authentic New York should be. Well, dont worry about it, says Gothamist. There is no authentic New York, just as there is no authentic New Yorker. Mostly, just avoid anything that packages itself as authentic. Like Little Italy.

Will yellow cabs soon join the ranks of quaint as well? Lyft has plans to launch a modified version of its car-sharing service, according toCrainsa model that would use commercially-licensed drivers rather than volunteers working for donations. The change will allegedly allow the company to launch a soft version of the service this coming Friday, though the change in business plan has required a pause on launch plans in upstate cities.

Something to keep in mind: not all innovations are better than the old-fashioned method. i.e. A 50-year old New York man has decided to use a tried and true method to find the woman of, if not his dreams, then at least a dream by posting flyers with his photo around the city that declare he is looking for a girlfriend, Gothamist reports. Well, anything is better than online dating, we guess.

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On the Market: Porches Are Back and the de Blasios Finally Move Into Gracie

Porches, Ocean and Bagels in Southern California
http://www.front-porch-ideas-and-more.com/rancho-palos-verdes.html We have been enjoying the sights in southern California including some lovely porches and ...

By: Front Porch Ideas

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Porches, Ocean and Bagels in Southern California - Video

Pressure Washing Porches
http://passiontoprofits.info When pressure washing, be sure to check you surroundings and watch out for furniture and things that can get damaged and moldy. ...

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Pressure Washing Porches - Video

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Maybe she should have left a note.

The woman who left porcelain dolls on the porches of several young girls' homes in a California neighborhood was only trying to give away toys her own family had outgrown, the Orange County Sheriffs Department said today.

Lt. Jeff Hallock added that the woman, who knew the girls from church, is now mortified by the media attention after news organizations picked up the story about how creepy dolls had mysteriously appeared in front of at least eight San Clemente homes.

Police Probe Mysterious Porcelain Dolls Left In Front Of Girls' Homes

Dollmaker Explains Why Porcelain Dolls Are So 'Spooky'

"She was embarrassed and I think a little scared that something she intended to be a good-will gesture turned into something that was terrifying the community for a short time," Hallock said.

Orange County Sheriffs Department

PHOTO: Porcelain dolls are mysteriously left on the doorstep of California families.

The woman, who police haven't named, even tried to match the girls with dolls that looked like them.

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Woman Who Left Creepy Dolls on Porches Is 'Embarrassed'

Imagine if you could afford a house. Now, imagine if you could afford to have porch on that house. Sounds nice, right? Yeah, that's what lots of people are thinking now!

Says here in the Wall Street Journal that porcheswhich have always been nice, from the day they were invented through every hot summer day over the following hundreds of years and up to the present day, without exceptionare popular again, after being less popular for a while, for some reason. The percentage of new homes that have porches has gone up by 50% in the past two decades. So if you want to be "in the know," hand over those Bitcoins to the builder man and tell him you want a porchnot a god damn deck!!!

As porches have grown in popularity, "deck" has become the new four-letter word of high-end home design. "We never use the word deck, it's a pejorative term; we always use the word porch. It could be any covered outdoor space," said Stephen Vanze, a partner in Barnes Vanze Architects in Washington, D.C. "We probably do 50 to 60 projects a yearalmost all of them have a porch involved." Unlike an uncovered deck, which is stuck onto the exterior of the house, he explained, a porch is a well-designed outdoor room.

I want a nice porchnot a jumble of plywood stuck against my back door with Gorilla Glue!!! Got it???

If you're keeping track, garages are OUT, lawns are OUT, decks are DEFINITELY OUT, but porches are IN. Don't get caught having the wrong stuff on your house (embarrassing).

Now you just need some money.

[Photo of my house: Flickr]

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Decks Are Out, Porches Are In

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga.

A DeKalb County community tells Channel 2 Action News they are fed up with thieves stealing packages and other deliveries from front porches in their neighborhood. Neighbors tell Channel 2s Dave Huddleston they are also breaking into homes and have caught them on home surveillance cameras. I really was surprised, said Elton Daniel of Stone Mountain. "I was really amazed because Im thinking it ain't happening." Daniel showed Huddleston the home surveillance video of a thief taking a package off his front porch. "I see the young man come across the neighbors yard, come across the front yard like he lives here," Daniel said. "(He) looks and sees this package, cut across the driveway, changed his mind and says, 'Hey Ill go back and get the package.'" What the thief didn't realize was he was captured on four different cameras Daniel has installed at his home. Daniel says he's lived in his house for 21 years and crimes like this have increased in recent years. "It's something that shouldn't be happening. I shouldn't be sitting at home worrying about someone coming in my house," Daniel said. Daniel said he showed the video to teens in the area, but they all say they don't know the thief's identity. DeKalb police told Huddleston they are still looking for him.

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Neighbors upset after thieves steal packages from front porches

TIME Living weird Person Who Left Dolls on Little Girls Porches Not a Huge Creep After All A combination photo showing two of the porcelain dolls found on doorsteps of numerous residences in the Talega community of San Clemente, Calif., July 24, 2014. Oragne County Sheriff's Department/Reuters Each doll resembled a little girl who lived in the house

There are few things spookier than opening your front door and finding a porcelain doll that looks like your young daughter, but thats exactly what happened to eight families in a Southern California town.

Many residents were freaked out by the dolls, and thought there could be some kind of stalker on the loose. Im actually thinking the worst, like someone creepy watching our children and Im actually pretty scared about it, Mary Robin Baziak told NBC Southern California. (Someone) found a China doll on her stop that looked like her daughter.

The dolls, which started appearing on doorsteps in San Clemente on June 16, had initially stumped police. But the Orange County Sheriffs Department announced Thursday that theyve identified the person responsible as a woman who went to church with some of the families and didnt mean any harm. Investigators have concluded that her motivation was out of goodwill and that she intended it as a kind gesture, the Sheriffs Department said in a press release.

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Person Who Left Dolls on Little Girls Porches Not a Huge Creep After All

Updated: Friday, July 25 2014, 10:10 AM CDT SAN CLEMENTE, Ca.-- Porcelain dolls are being left on doorsteps and outside of homes in San Clemente, California.

Some parents thought it was scary because the dolls resembled their daughters. "We're very unsettled and obviously taking this very seriously as it concerns our daughters and little girls," one woman said. She did not want to have her face shown.

She says when she saw the doll she thought it was a prank. But when she heard more neighbors also got one, she got concerned.

Police officials say as many as 10 dolls were left at different homes who have daughters around 10-years-old.

"It leaves an impression on your kid. Can you imagine your daughter getting that?! It would freak me out too," said Heidi Colburn.

"We're a little concerned. It's creepy!," said Debbie Call.

This mom says it's a good reminder for neighbors to watch over each other.

But police say the mystery has been solved. They say a well meaning woman who knows the families and attends church with them thought leaving the dolls would be a kind gesture of friendship. "Investigators have concluded that [the neighbor's] motivation was out of goodwill and that she intended it as a kind gesture," police said in a statement. Porcelain Dolls Left On Porches In California

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Porcelain Dolls Left On Porches In California

These dolls were left in front of homes resembling girls that live there. (Credit: Orange County, Calif. Sheriffs Department via KTLA)

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (AP) They sent a creepy feeling through several Southern California families, but authorities say the person who left porcelain dolls on doorsteps didnt mean any harm.

The Orange County Sheriffs Department said Thursday that someone had left the dolls wearing nightgowns and lace dresses at as many as eight homes in a San Clemente neighborhood this week.

The families were worried because they felt each doll resembled a young girl who lived in the house, setting off an investigation and call for public help in finding who had placed them.

But later Thursday the sheriffs department said it concluded that a female adult who lived in the community and attended a nearby church was responsible for the bizarre displays.

Investigators have concluded that her motivation was out of goodwill and that she intended it as a kind gesture, a news release from the department stated.

Sheriffs Lt. Jeff Hallock told KTLAthe dolls and their apparent resemblance to real girls left families feeling creepy.

Authorities had concluded the investigation, the release stated.

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Mystery of creepy doll drop on Calif. porches solved