Monday, July 18, 2011

Moving images






I haven't sorted out Blogger's strange reaction to my move yet, but if I can post some pictures this morning, hey, I'm gonna.





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My new office window with the only piece of stained glass I ever made. Took a class, cut my fingers, decided this would be it for me and stained glass. But I like it. And it's the first thing I put in my new living space.



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The view, looking down, from my second-story office (and connected room). This white picket fence and garden have been almost a landmark on the urban beach street where my late in-laws lived for decades.



Venice Beach has these wonderful small-town streets in a residential area a block from the ocean, where houses face pedestrian walks. Cars travel and park in the alleys behind the houses.


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This is the state of the walls of my room when they had to be scraped of old, peeling paint (probably lead-based, eew) before we could paint them with new, zero-VOC paint. I love that my room doesn't smell of paint fumes and that I know I'm not breathing toxins.






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My room, painted, and before I moved in a ton o' stuff.









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From a beach walk. Yay.







I'm still hoping that my blog won't vanish as I complete the email transactions. But, for the moment, here I am. I miss y'all.




35 comments:

storyqueen said...

Miss you, too!

Love the office...the dark wood of the floor and the white-white of the walls.

Looks like a place where magic can happen.

Welcome back.

Shelley

Jemi Fraser said...

Nice!! I love the floors in your new home & the stained glass looks pretty in the window! :)

Julie said...

This is awesome. I love it!

Yvonne Osborne said...

I've missed you. I love Venice Beach so I'm a little bit jealous. The stained glass is very pretty and the whole place looks like a writer's palace. Just being that close to the ocean has to be inspiring.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Shelley: I'm hoping for magic. I did write half a chapter of the fairy tale yesterday, which is the first time in weeks I've had a chance to write. So that was magic in itself.

Jemi and Julie: Thank you. :D

Yvonne: I love that you love Venice! It's quirky but home to me. I can't say how happy I am to be next to the ocean again.

MG Higgins said...

Oh, it looks wonderful! I agree with Shelley about it being a place where magic can happen. I hope you're all moved in and enjoying the heck out of it. (You are now a hop, skip and jump from where I used to live in Ocean Park. Ahh ... fond memories.)

kah said...

Oh I adore it! I could smell the flowers and ocean air as I looked through the pics.

I give it two big thumbs up :)

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Melissa! Ocean Park! I lived there, too, once upon a time. How many towns are we going to discover we both lived in?

Karen: I keep the windows wide open, just loving that ocean air. happy dance.

Donna said...

Yay! You're back in living color. Thanks for sharing your new place. I always love the uncluttered space before moving in. Happy writing!

LynNerdKelley said...

Wow, Tricia, I love your new digs, especially that view looking down into the garden. And how wonderful to live a block away from the beach. Hope all goes smoothly with switching the blog.

VR Barkowski said...

Looks absolutely wonderful! Like Karen, I can almost smell the sea air in the pix. BTW: love the feet and book in the garden shot. :)

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Donna: Ha! I wish I could keep it uncluttered. It was pristine.

Lynn: I can't tell you how much I love being back at the beach. :)

VR: That's my daughter's feet. I didn't even realize I'd caught her in the shot. 'tis good.

Jan Morrison said...

love the photos and the look and that you're back and blogger is letting me comment. yay!

Davin Malasarn said...

Thanks for putting these up, Tricia! It's cool for me to see where/how you live. :)

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Jan: Now I just need to figure out why my reader list didn't come with me. I may need to manually add all of you back. *sigh*

Domey: :) I wish I could keep it as pristine as the photos, but there's STUFF. Always stuff.

Liza said...

I love your new home...it has such character! Enjoy and I look forward to reading more Tailspinning soon.

Sarah Laurence said...

What a wonderful new place to write . . . with the beach out your door and neighbors. I'm missing details after my month away - did you move into your late in laws' house?

I had a nightmare time changing my blog address from publishing by FTP on my website (too slow and crashed) to publishing at blogger. It took days. I feel for you.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Liza: It does have character. Turn of the century--older houses always seem to have it.

Sarah: Yes, I did. I so love being back at the beach. It's where I feel I belong.
My nightmare with Blogger went on for days and I'm still not sure of the situation.

Sarah Laurence said...

Best of luck at both your real and virtual new addresses. I just got back in from my evening swim. We live in town but can drive/bike 4 miles to swim in the sea at high tide. The ocean is a good neighbor for writers.

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Been missing seeing you around. I hope all goes smoothly with the moving stuff. We've been here for almost two years and still haven't fully unpacked. I hope the hubs will get some painting done this weekend while I'm away! It's a neverending project, moving.

Anonymous said...

I live close to the beach and can't get enough of it.

I hope you have a wonderful (if busy) time settling in.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Sarah: What a wonderful notion--the ocean is a good neighbor for writers. Thanks for sharing that thought.

Carol: I downsized hugely to make this move and get back at the seashore. So, there's less to put away but also less space to put what there is!

Medeia: I never get enough of it. When I didn't live close I drove to beach towns as often as I could. The ocean is in my blood, I think.

larainydays said...

I can't believe you painted over the mural of the bird giving mouth to mouth to a deer. What were you thinking?

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Laraine!!! You are so funny. I had to go stare at the photo and then burst out laughing. Thanks for the day brightener. :)

Anonymous said...

I love your stained glass, though I did cringe at the thought of cut fingers. Ouch! :)

It looks like such a lovely place. I hope you write many wonderful stories.

Bish Denham said...

Oh you lucky, to be so close to the ocean. You know many, many moons ago I went to a skills school in Venice where I learned to type among other things.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Thanks, Niki!

Bish: I love finding out my blog friends have spent time in the same places I have. And I am lucky to be back at the sea. *sigh*

TerryLynnJohnson said...

hey - lovely new digs! way to go. All that moving stress looks worth it and will all be a memory.

laughingwolf said...

dang, tricia, your move is immensely more sane than mine... completed more'n 1,000 miles, nova scotia to southern ontario... smack dab into the greatest heatwave on record!

only some 20 minutes to drive to niagara falls... still, yours seems more pleasant, and conducive to all kinds of creative endeavors....

Suzanne Casamento said...

YAY you! You're in Venice on a walk street! That's amazing. Enjoy your new beachy home. :)

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Terry: There's already been some great moments. And the air, the air!

Wolf: I'll never complain again! That sounds like a wild move, for sure. I did the opposite--moving from nasty heat to ocean breezes. I still can't quite believe I'm here. I hope you find your creative spot in the new home. I've written 4,000 words on my WIP in the last few days, so I think I've found the groove.

Suzanne: Here's me--:D, :D, :D

mary.anne.gruen@gmail.com said...

Your new home looks lovely! You are soooo lucky!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Mary Anne: I am! I am! :D

Hobo Annie said...

Sigh. I miss you! I checked out the posts after this one and see that you are being swayed by the sea...don't abandon us completely, though! I'm glad you are settled in and happy there.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Annie/Cindy: I admit to being lured by that siren sea, but I'll never abandon you. If I don't make it there often, maybe you can bring your wanderlust this-a-way. ;)