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MARY ANN MOSS

henry randy joyce & heidi sue

i was here yesterday evening wishing like hell that i could sleep here by this water in my car.  that got me thinking about turning trixie into a bed on wheels.  which made me think of camping, van life, nomad lifestyles, being on the move, and trying to scratch mad desires and itches that cannot be reached.

i rarely watch tv these days instead i follow wanderers & adventures on youtube.  recently i found randy vinings.

and now i am reacquainting myself with …

 

i’m trying to get out of town on the weekends a bit.  trying to figure out how to spend less and live more.  i went for a daytrip to spend the day with this dear woman.

we met at the lucky llama for coffee talk.  then we treked over to my future home at the rancho santa barbara AND/OR san vicente mobile home parks.  since i am determined to become a future resident of either park i must visit every chance i get.  we meandered through both parks pointing out “trailers” we thought especially fabulous.  some have extensive gardens and sprawling decks, others are small and cozy, but just as charming.   i like driving through the lanes and wondering which of the homes we pass will one day be mine.

i jumped out when i saw flyers in a plexiglass box in front of this lovely little place.   469k – lot rent $532/month – yearly taxes $1227

it’s HERE if you care to have a look.  small, but exactly 472 sq. feet larger than moss cottage!

after our spin through the environs of my future self, we motored over to montecito for a tour of a private garden designed by same people who did lotus land!  joyce also regaled me with charming stories of visiting  madame walska at lotus land many moons ago.  that joyce.  she knows everyone!

i was in garden bliss wandering through these oak woodland & palm studded garden.  i was on my best behavior and didn’t pluck a single succulent and deposit it into my pocket.

or did i?  i’ll never tell.

finally it was time to scoot over to joyce’s crib and get busy in our sketchbooks.

the sand and water gleamed before us as we yacked and played in our books.

i even posted a real live actual instagram which i haven’t done since july.  i wish i could blog AND do IG, but i can’t so i choose blogging.  i know plenty of people who have done the opposite.  good for all of us!  one has to roam down the path one is most suited for.  some clever souls have figured out how to do both.  even though i rarely post i try and pop over every couple of weeks and see what everyone else is doing.

this week saw me looking out the window and scribbling neighborhood scenes.

also this week an OMG class member asked me a question in the comments of the class blog.  in order to answer i had to zip over and watch the video in question.   while i was there poking around i came across a sketchbook flip i’d done that showed some birds i’d drawn in gouache.  drawing with red gouache ranks high on my list of fun things to do.

ditto for drawing & coloring a joyce portrait.

she made my portrait also and i LOVE it.  thankfully she didn’t sketch in the white nose hair i just noticed sprouting in one of my nose holes.  whaaaaaattttt?!   if one of you would please advise me of a painfree way to remove it i would appreciate it.  i was not informed about this particular aspect of aging.

anyway back to wandering adventurers and other crafty folk.

dylan magaster love this kid and now he’s left his van behind and is on a boat.  i’ve watched every episode of his sailing around the world episodes and am dying for the next one to post.

have you checked out heidi sue wallace’s new LOVE LETTERS TO CRAFTING?  so so so good.

SCAMP dreams.  retire.  buy some sort of campervan so i can hit the road.  see the canadian rockies, british columbia, montana, utah, maine, vermont.  dying for some solitude in deep nature.  dark skies.

none of these links are for those with a short attention span, but if you’re looking to replace some television with some youtube…

in the meantime.  can i turn my kia soul into a camper?  crazier things have happened.

hope you’re well.  off in your own land yachts sailing down little highways of adventure.  stopping along the way to write and draw and breathe.  xo

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Comments

  1. Hi Mary Ann, I’m surprised how much I love living in a ‘residential’ village, I’m sure you will also. I turned the main bedroom into my art room/ office and love the large wardrobe storage space. With just enough garden for pretty blooms out front, and a herb and succulent garden as well I couldn’t be happier. If I decide to go away for a few weeks, I have no hesitation as all is safe and secure. Have fun finding your little piece of heaven. xox

  2. Mary Ann, I so enjoy reading all aspects of your blog. All your adventures, far and wide, also those close to home. It’s so wonderful to see the progress of your students and how you influence them. Now you’re looking ahead towards retirement, I hope it all turns out wonderful for you. Santa Barbara is a beautiful area.

  3. Living in Santa Barbara or anywhere near there would be fantastic! Especially knowing how expensive it is to live there.
    Your post reminds me of when my ex-husband and I were young we had a wonderful VW camper van. We would take off at the drop of the hat, Mojave desert, Sequoia, Lake Tahoe, Point Reyes etc etc…. those were the days! My ex recently passed away and now my daughter has inherited the VW van and it’s in rough shape but I was telling her she should fix up the van and we should go on some adventures with her young children.

  4. thanks for the shout out, MAM! and the love! as a natural born introvert, talking to myself while filming was a fun way to get conversations started in a comfortable way…i think you may understand that feeling.

    AND on the topic of nose hair…i can’ believe i’m admitting this to the interwebs, but i do highly recommend investing in a small rechargeable trimmer. i cut the inside of my nose once and it not only hurt like holy h-e-double hockey sticks, but it took forever to heal!

  5. I love camping! And I have a 28′ travel trailer. Unfortunately, I have to sell it since my life is in freefall. Too bad we couldn’t just take off. Of course, we’d need to bring the cats and dogs. And the art and photography stuff. Could you see the start of a new blog?

    • maybe one day dispatchfromla might turn into dispatchfromtheROAD. or something. arts photography cats travel trailer parks retirement. there’s a haiku in there somewhere.

  7. Love the red birds! If you’re looking for adventurers on youtube please check out my sister’s vlog under eileenaldis. She recently returned from Taiwan and watching her travel videos makes you feel like you travelled with her (her s.o. is a cinematographer)!

  9. You inspire and all the time. I count the day I found your blog a day of HUGE joy! Thanks for keeping the blog up and for lighting a fire under me when I’ve taken up space on the couch without a plan to get back to the paint. Santa Barbara is the perfect place for your plans – isn’t it so beautiful. I’ll never know how I found Pam and then you — It’s probably some algorithm. But it feels like blessing to me!

    • oh that’s too fabulous! well, if it’s good enough for betsey it’s gonna be good enough for me! i enjoyed watching the video at the link you sent. thanks for that

  11. The first photo is just stunning–the water appears to be moving and the light on the rocks–wonderful. p.s. Grackles–not gackles???

  15. I m9ss CA so much. I love seeing it in your photos. They make a little gadget nose hair shaver that’s usually in the men’s shaving section. Tickles. And my fave YouTubers are the ones who save some work some then set off for adventure. SVDelos is my fave and so addicting and gets better and better each season. I think you’d like watching them. Thanks for the YT recommendations, I’m off to check them out ❤️

  16. Thank you for all the You Tube info. I will be checking these out. It sounds like you had a perfect, fun and art-filled day with your friend!

  18. I love the retirement strategy: spend less and live more. Thx! I m also planning my 2nd act of life😄

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