After more than six months of paying no attention to this blog except for the nagging feeling that I should be doing something with it, here I am again. In the interim, I have moved from my studio overlooking the bay. After nine years there, I am now back on the ocean side of our little peninsula. In many ways, it was a difficult decision. Nine years is long enough to really settle in, and I was dug in pretty deep...one of the reasons I thought it was time to move. If I had stayed there much longer, I probably would not ever have been able to leave, and it was more than time to move on. The neighborhood, as well as ownership of the building, had changed since I first moved in. Transients, people who rented in our building and moved out again before I had a chance to learn their names. Desperately needed repairs that never got done. Party boats becoming noisier and more intrusive, especially the 'riverboat' whose owner fancied himself a karaoke star and regaled the neighborhood daily from noon to dusk with his renditions of Elvis' and Sinatra's greatest hits.
My new studio is downstairs, an easily accessible 1928 Spanish stucco. Its kitchen is more than twice the size of my old one, and I have a huge clawfoot bathtub, an unbelievable luxury after nine years of showers only. I love being back on the ocean side, walking on the boardwalk in the early mornings (need to do more of this) and sitting on a bench at the edge of the sand watching the sunsets. And even though I miss the barking of the sea lions under the Pavillion, the blast of the Catalina Flyer's whistle every morning, and the stunning view of sailboats on the bay, I am happy with my choice and look forward to the time I will spend here.
That is a great picture, love it. Should be in a contest somewhere. I like your post too.
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