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Dispatch from LA

MARY ANN MOSS

toddling

writing in my journal.  taking note of my big plans.  my sketchbook & watercolors in the little bag, but mostly i wrote.

capturing thoughts in my butterfly net and jotting them down before they flitter away.

i love reading your thoughts on places to live.

i found a house in ojai.  i’m sticking it in my time machine for the next few years.  ojai is a california dreamland about 40 miles north west of LA.  nestled in a valley.  i’ve been there before.  maybe you remember the love shack.

the truth is i’m not sure if i can wrest myself away from california.  but that doesn’t keep me from thinking about it.   my people are here, don’t know if i could leave them.

but…totem poles, fir trees, snowy mountains, all that water.  the PNW is a big draw.

thinking thinking.  here we go.

i painted some more registered mail stamps.

it’s soothing.

i found a new masterpiece show – the durrells in corfu.  

it’s sweet.  i lived in greece when i was a toddler.  went back and tried to find my old house in 2000 with my favorite greek & old friend,  dimitris.  it was right after 9-11.  tickets were dirt cheap.  greece’s currency was still the drachma, changing to the euro 1 week after i left.

here i am in greece 1964.  toddling.

as usual this post is rolling all over the place.

a marble.  in a big cardboard box.

roll roll roll.

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Comments

  1. Oh, that first registered mail stamp is in Arabic and it is definitely from the Middle East. Although these stamps usually list the name of the city, this particular one does not. So I cannot guess from which country it is but it has the word (مضمون) which means insured and the numbers (۳۸٦) =386.
    It was the first thing I spied in that lovely photo of the collection you bartered with Michelle G. I’m so happy you decided to paint it.

  2. Hi – Love your blog. The characters in one of the registered mail you painted is not Thai. I am Thai but now living in the PNW 🙂

  3. Really loving the intensity and depth of passion the latest round of speculation and dreams that the topic of The MAM Retirement has wrought.
    I think we think of you as our most favorite sister. Do-what-you-do-best…on! Much hugs….

  4. Having now lived in the PNW for almost as long as I lived in San Francisco, I would be careful what you wish for!
    When I see the lovely SUNNY photos you post I long for California. My husband and I were lucky to move to SF when we married
    and had two wonderful sons who were born there.
    The PNW has lots of trees and snow covered mountains for sure. But I can tell you this has been a hard winter in Portland and I’d gladly trade places with you!
    You luckily have lots of time to think and explore.
    Thanks for your beautiful posts and constant inspiration!

      • Smart girl! Yes I think renting and feeling out an area for a year is a good idea.
        I had a Lyft driver the other day (One of two sunny days in a week!). He said it was amazing how
        pleasant his passengers and other drivers were on the sunny day. Less horn honking, too!
        It does make a difference. Cheers dearie!

  5. Hey there!! having lived for a short bit ( too Short) in the PNW, it is SOOOOOO worthy of many visits!! i still have family there and now folks who I consider my art family so there are even more reasons for me to go back!! Try it You’ll LOVE IT!!

    As you are a resident of the World, I need to put you in touch with my brother’s FB page. He too is a resident of the world , currently living in Africa and traveling all over the continent and teaching was you do!! He is in Charge of a Peace Corps program that he has developed that allows folks to garden and do so in the worst soil conditions he can find and increase their yields of produce by 800% with their own tools, own tools and readily available local fertilizers= compost!! He travels all over the continent and also to the Far East and writes beautifully and has great photos. I know that you would enjoy his posts and work . No I am Not TOO proud of my baby brother!! He rocks the world!!!! he is on Face Book at Peter Jensen- Addis Ababa and I hope you will look him up!! I would love the two of you to connect!!
    Keep on toddling!!

  6. Yes to the kittens! I love stickers, they are the very best. I started watching the Durrells, need to finish, I used to go on holiday in Greece as a teen (when I lived in the UK), how cool to live there.

  7. Frankly my dear…yes, I do give a damn and I really think you are a CA woman. Well, that’s my long distance right coast opinion. As someone who traveled the world via Uncle, the only place I’d consider moving is Yorkshire. But this brain I fear is too old to safely drive on the Wrong Side. My 2nd son is moving from sunny SoCAL to Boston which I love but I’m already missing a reason to fly to the left coast. Doors closing and doors opening. Life’s choices.

    btw, loved the Durrells in Corfu. And all my life I thought it was Der ell, accent on second syllable. Who knew? Now I’m watching the many seasoned The Tudors on Netflix. Besides the sex, gore…no drugs or rock and roll… I am learning new bits of English history after all these years. 7 years in The North and I never heard of the Pilgrimage of Grace or the Northern Uprising. It seems to be a season of English kings and queens for me with The Tudors, The Crown, and Victoria. Wonder what summer will bring.

  8. Ahhh Mary Ann….. once again you bring me a feast of images for my mind…. “a marble. in a big cardboard box…roll roll roll.” I know you will find the perfect place when you are ready. I personally didn’t have such choices for many years…. the Navy did it for us…. but gave us an opportunity to travel to a lot of the US… my dh got to see the world… not me and the kids………… But for us thankfully we could agree on our two stops after retirement from the NAVY…..
    I want to thank you for the sheer joy of reading your blog when that email comes to tell me there is a new one. I pray that won’t stop no matter where you land…..
    OR…. who is to say you must “land anywhere.” Just keep traveling “sort of a resident of the world.”

  9. I know you will find your perfect environment. It’s good that you are researching all options, now. Truth is, there are so many beautiful places in this big ole world. I hope you will check out Cannon Beach Oregon somewhere along the way. It is truly an artists community, and then there is the natural beauty, with mountains that go right up to the sea. Many artists, artists retreats and galleries there. Astoria and Seaside are hop and a skip up the road, and Portland is an hour away, if you have a sudden hankering for city. My personal dream has always been to retire there, but not sure if that will happen. You will find your haven, of that I am sure.

    Beautiful sunny day in Seattle with frost in the mornings.

      • Oh my gosh! I love that house and yard, especially the front porch with all of the white wicker. I wonder what the garage looks like? Possible art studio space? I love the style of the outside.

        I was going to tell you that CB real estate is a bit expensive, but maybe not too bad compared to CA prices? I don’t know. My husband and I considered buying a vacation place there years ago, and we SHOULD have back then because the prices have gone way up since then. Missed chances. We got married there. We rented a big house right on the beach, got a justice of the peace, and it was just our kids, my brother and my best friend. VERY simple. We had cracked crab for our reception. I was in bliss, being in my favorite place, with my favorite people. I don’t know if that house is still used for rentals, but it is big enough for a good art retreat!

        Well, maybe one of your exploratory trips could be a visit to “research”. 🙂

  10. I loved the Durrells in Corfu! The adorable picture of MAM in Greece could be right out of that program. I agree with a previous commenter – please don’t ever ever leave blogging. I’m so happy when I see a new post and yours is one of three blogs that I still read. Susan Branch and Junkaholique being the other two. My husband and I also ponder moving from California to the PNW. Although I love rain I’m not certain that we would thrive without our abundant sunshine. Hmm.
    TTFN

  12. Love your dream/thinking of where to live in the retired life! I still dream and I am way into RL. What to watch: received 2 seasons (DVDs) of Shetlands for Christmas. Wonderful and transporting. Great for dreamers. Islands and mystery! Just enjoyed season 3 on Amazon! Now reading her latest Shetlands mystery.
    Thank you for all you do for the imagination – very inspiring.
    Best to you
    Nan

  13. I rejoiced when I saw the kitty stickers on your journal, and even more so when I saw what you had written. It is like, at 65, CAN do as I please. I have struggled with “childish” notions in my thoughts and ideas have not put them to paper……if Miss Moss can, so can I ! Thanks Miss M, for liberating me!
    Oh, come and live in Australia, please!

  14. I have often thought that Greece would be a beautiful place to visit. All that blue sky and those simple white houses. Curtains floating in the breeze. Meals on a shady patio. Dream.

    I certainly enjoy traveling with you and I enjoy your rambling in LA. I can understand not wanting to leave there; I enjoy visiting every few years and it is always great. Thanks for sharing the gardens-yours and the city’s.

  15. Go wherever your heart leads you. But please, please, don’t leave blogging behind! Yours is the first blog I followed. Yours was the first on-line class I took (and loved, and learned so much!). I would be bereft if you left the blogging world! I have traveled vicariously with you to so many exotic places — places I might love to go actually, but can’t go practically. Your tales of the classroom bring back the best memories of my years of slave labor in the public schools. My world is richer for the inspiration I get from your creative energy. Keep it up!

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