the long and foggy road

we left at 5am and headed for LA in a pickup, with all Paskies papers and clothes in the back of dad's truck.  It was cold and foggy all the way down I-5... as evidenced here in the photos...

these political signs are posted all along the croplands of I-5.  I don't ever remember so many farms without crops in them.  The dust storms are really bad here because of the lack of planting.

The temperature was 41 degrees all the way to th bottom of the grapevine.  We stopped at starbucks and when we came out, the fog had lifted and we could see the mountains.  We drove over the hill and when we got to Santa Clarita, it was 82 degrees....  I think I am going to LOVE the weather in LA....

This is the lake at the top of the grapevine.  I forget the name of it.  You can see it when you are heading south on I-5.  I am happy with how all these turned out, considering I was snapping them as we were flying by at 80 MPH.

here we are at the Grand Del Mar for a black tie event with Paskie's work.  I LOVED this dress... it was from Nordstrom,Kayleigh and Megan helped me pick it out.  It had little ruffles all the way to the floor and looked like a flamenco dancers dress.  I didn't think it would look good on me, but I was pleasantly surprised.  Too bad I didn't get any full length shots of us all dressed up.  We looked really great.  It was a lovely place and a very fun event.  We are really having fun with all the new adventures his new job is taking us on.

Moving into the new year....

Literally.  Pascual is moving to San Piedro in Los Angeles to a home that has a view of Catalina Island.  The kids, cats and I are moving to a small apartment that I can manage on my own after shoulder surgery this month.  We are selling most of the furniture and household items, so if you need stuff, give me a call.  I already purged the studio last sale, but there are still some things out there that will be going as well.    Big garage sale on the 14th and 15th this month  Leftovers will go to the Hall Closet and then everything we are keeping is going into storage until the big move. 

I will be commuting to LA a couple times a month helping him get his office ready.  We are all very excited about the new adventure of living close to the beach.  Zack is thinking he may want to go for Baseball again in high school down there.  I support whatever my kids want to do.  At least with Lacrosse down there, the weather is 70 degrees in the winter instead of the freezing cold we have here.  I will be creating my non profit down there, and providing art with dumpster diverted materials to youth, elderly and veterans.  I am very excited about getting the new program started, but sad to leave my students at Juvenile Hall, and my friends at the Juvenile Hall Auxiliary, the Hall Closet, the Contra Costa County Probation Department, the Martinez Art Gallery and all the people who have helped make my little art program a success. 

There are many things I will miss about living in the Bay Area.  So I decided to take the time to post a list of things I will miss with a photo.  This is challenging, since my cameras are all broken and the computer is dead and this little notepad I have doesn't have a card reader...  but I will figure it out somehow.  I will persevere, and I shall overcome my obstacles. 

One thing I will miss are the lovely rolling hills and the view of Mt. Diablo from highway 4 and 680.  Especially the rare sight of them covered with snow like we had just before Christmas.  I have only been to the top once, but I intend to take the kids up there before we leave and take a picture of the East Bay and the Carquinez Straits behind them.  My goal is to post one thing a day I will miss until I leave.  I may live in Orange County soon, but my heart and roots will always be here in Martinez and the East Bay.