Hi everyone!
I'm back in L.A. and I guess I feel a mixture of feelings. I've always felt good to be back in L.A. after trips. Yes, it was somewhat ugly here and there but I knew it well and somehow it felt like home.
After getting spoiled with the forests and bays and snow-capped mountains of Washington, I guess I was looking at L.A. a little bit more critically. Add to that, the weather up in Washington was sunny with puffy white clouds here and there. L.A. had a nonstop blanket of clouds above, though, true to form, it wasn't raining. L.A. has always impressed me as an accepting kind of place but, hmm, Washington seems to be that, also. L.A. architecture is a bit more daring in pushing the envelope but, given that we don't have beautiful mountains here, perhaps we create interesting architecture to have SOMETHING to look at. I haven't been to Seattle yet (not since 1980) and, from what I see in magazines, it probably has more adventurous architecture than the burbs of Tacoma (which are content to do pseudo-immitation craftsman-style homes).
Gracie, your kind words were like sweet syrup for my eyes (maybe I'm getting a bit carried away with alliteration, lol). I, too, find myself wondering how some of my new friends at Susan's are doing from time to time. Funny how, though most of us have never met, we still feel a loss when we don't hear from someone for awhile. We are like WW2 war veterans, perhaps -- we've shared the wars and lived through them and that gives us a kinship. Also, we try to help others go through those wars.
Umop, thanks for the house good wishes. Hopefully, I'll close around the end of May with both the sell of my L.A. property and the purchase of my Washington townhouse. It's nerve wracking and I try to not get too excited about it... that way, if the whole thing crashes, I won't be too disappointed.
Thanks, Danielegrl and Melissa, for the kind invitations to stop by as I work my way northwards. I won't know until later in the month if my trip (and move) will be a quick one or one that affords leisurely side trips to new friends. Melissa, I certainly wouldn't be uncomfortable. Having read your many interesting posts, I'd look forwards to the meet. I'll be in touch later in the month if it looks like I can do stops along the way. Chances are, though, that I'd be racing ahead of the moving truck in order to clean shelves and vacuum areas before the furniture and stuff arrives (how do we all gather so much STUFF?!). After I get settled, you two are both not that far from me so maybe it'd be better on a trip where I drive south from Washington.
In the meantime, I plan to enjoy the condo I remodeled in craftsman-style here in L.A. -- It has things like quarter-sawn oak floors and cabinets that no one would advise putting into a condo (because so few people know the difference in appearance between regular oak and quarter-sawn -- it has leapard-like "ray flakes" going across the straight grain of oak). I don't know if my buyer knows the difference so I want to enjoy it while I have it. On the downside, my view out my L.A. condo is of other apartment buildings -- ugh! Gosh, that view of the bay and mountains sure was pretty in (hopefully) my new Washington home!
For this month, I think I'll be an L.A. tourist and go to Universal and Disneyland and, if it warms up, the beach!
Thanks again, you all, for the kind words.
Teri Anne
