The Move

The move to Westlake Village, CA was squeezed between England and Michael's final school parade. I flew to LA to move our stuff out of storage and finalize the next rental, before we all fly back in 6 weeks.

Definitely our biggest online purchase to date, it was the only place that came with furniture, so we signed. Turned out to be an exclusive neighborhood - "celebrities live here," so the realtor said - so we are moving in and up. CEO-types were jogging on Sunday in what appeared to be a non-trick-or-treating neighborhood, if you know what I mean.
It was a quick trip, but visited with the Kwongs, Uncle Tom, and Matthew, who has been helping us with every transition since moving to LA 4 years ago. Since then, we cleared out my mom's house and soon after Carolyn's dad sold the family home back in Illinois; both events yielding more "stuff."

I unwrapped gifts I gave to my folks long ago, and unloaded the chest my dad shipped after my parents left Tanami, a fishing village on the Kii peninsula of the main island (Honshu), where most early Japanese immigrants hailed from, landing (with their cargo) on the West Coast, to resume a familiar livelihood of fishing, cannery work (Terminal Island, San Pedro housed a large J-A community).

My grandparents ran a tiny general store in the village, which probably explained why my parents ran little stores in LA. My mother actually disliked fish; an early sign of her not-running-with-the crowd profile. A Japanese who didn't like fish?

The buildings and community of Terminal Island are long gone; only items like my parents' chest remains. Throw out? Keep? A small bookcase my brother made in 7th grade woodshop fared well, by comparison, finding new life as a shelf for Michael and Jack's toy store goods.

Stewart & Matt hard at it. Initially a Craigslist contact, Matt has become a real friend in our SoCal life, representing the large pool of actors, etc in LA looking for other supplemental work.
Timing is everything. I was able to celebrate Zachary's 18th birthday and graduation. Luke and Katherine below, who introduced me to
PinkBerry, an upcoming, frozen yogurt vendor in LA.

Refreshing, hip, and tasty all at once.

Westlake will be our first long-term rental, as the prior 3 involved housesitting for other Pepperdine profs who were completing their own International Program gigs.

Beautiful days now in Switzerland, as we gear-up for Michael's last week of school. After that, we head for Italy for 2 weeks, returning here for 9 days before returning home. I am already experiencing blogging-from-LA anxiety.