No B & B At Wildcliffe, Unless You Live There

We won't be able to book bed and breakfast at the Wildcliffe Mansion in Kenmore after all.

Owners Charles Kerber and Trenton Eckhardt of Seattle restored the elegant six-bedroom house last fall. They hoped to turn the 1927 brick mansion into a bed-and-breakfast inn or possibly a private conference center.

Hundreds of people got to see the restoration in October when it was used as the American Society of Interior Designers' Showcase, a benefit for the Leukemia Society.

The bed-and-breakfast plans fell through, said Windermere real-estate agent Keith Clarke.

The house originally was built for Charles and ElVera Thomsen. They entertained often, developed a highly successful blueberry farm next door and eventually willed the home to Easter Seals. After being used as a therapeutic center, Kerber and Eckhardt bought it at an auction for an undisclosed price.

Last fall's restoration cost $400,000.

What does elegant living cost in this day and age? Windermere listed the historic structure at $2.1 million.

Don't bother to get out your checkbook.

Clarke said there is an offer pending. The potential buyers apparently plan to use Wildcliffe as their family residence.

Although he didn't identify the buyers, Clarke was surprised by one thing: They're not Microsoft employees or former employees.

Take heart: Candy expert Lorayn Kavanaugh gets into the spirit of Valentine's Day.

She wears a See's Candies uniform for her job at the Bellevue store, and this time of year adds heart-shaped earrings.

They're miniature replicas of the heart-shaped candy boxes she was cheerfully packing for customers yesterday.

"Look closely," Kavanaugh said. "One box is open, and the other isn't."

Training time: Redmond's Derby Days will step up a competitive level this summer.

In the cycling world, races are defined by category. For the first time in Derby Days' 58-year history, the event will be run as a category A (highest ranking) event.

Which means we'll be seeing national cycling teams on the Eastside for the July 8-11 festival.

By the book: For more than a year, the novel "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" by Rebecca Wells has been a handbook for women's group discussions and casual conversations.

Wells, a local writer, will be the featured speaker March 9 at the Eastside YWCA Professional Women's Benefit Luncheon at Meydenbauer Center.

Jean Enersen of KING-TV news will be emcee.

Weather break: Sunshine brightened up my outlook this week. Was I the only one who had trouble finding sunglasses?

Happy New Year . . . Chinese New Year, that is.

Local residents Tony and Lisa Chan, owners of Chan's Place in Woodinville and Kirkland, will host a celebration Tuesday to ring in lunar year 4697.

The celebration will be at the Woodinville Chan's and includes a traditional lion dance and martial-arts demonstration.

It runs from noon to 1 p.m.

You can claim lunch as a cultural experience. ------------------------------- Sherry Grindeland's column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in The Seattle Times Eastside edition. Reach her by phone at 206-515-5633 or 425-453-2130, e-mail at sgrindeland@seattletimes.com, fax at 425-453-0449, or mail at Seattle Times Eastside bureau, 10777 Main St., Bellevue, WA 98004.