Hello Renee, I live in southern Cal. Sunset 19 as well, perhaps a bit hotter and colder than Simi Valley but very similar and have been trying different Conifers to see what did well and was less commonly planted. I have lost many more than have made it. The following is a list of what I know does very well and looks good year round. Many are not normally planted but are very choice. Not on the list for the most part are ones which rapidly grow to large trees. Cedrus all types of Cedrus do well as do their selections. the dwarfs do very well. Cedrus libiani 'Green knight' & 'Green Prince' Cedrus deodara 'Descanso Dwarf', 'Devinely blue' Firs Abies pinsapo - Spanish Fir slow growing,like a hedghog. Abies guatamalensis - Guatamalan Fir looks more like typical fir. Pines many types of pines will do well ,these are less common and are exceptional. Pinus bungeana - Lace bark pine, from asia slow, small tree,very nice colorfull bark. Pinus flexilis 'vanderwolfs pyramid'-great color, structure. Pinus heldreichii - Bosnian pine,small deep green, great form,like a xmas tree,white bark. Pinus lumholzii - weeping Mexican pine very pretty. Pinus maximatinezii - Mexican nut pine,big cones, blue when young, thrives. Pinus mugo - the dwarf ones, great around rocks. Pinus pinceana - weeping mexican pinyon small, nice form. Pinus quadrifolia - blue/green nut pine, nice pyramid shape. Pinus thunbergii 'Thunderhead'- deep green color,large white candles, makes a neat large Bonzai. Low Growing. Chamaecyparis obtusa'Split Rock' - small,blue and round. Cryptomeria japonica'koshyi' - a small round bun Juniperis horizontalis'Limeglow' - Limeglow juniper. Juniperus squamata 'Blue Star' - Blue ,Star Juniper. Taxus cuspidata'Monloo' - Emerald Spreader Japanese Yew. Sequoia sempevirons 'albo spicta' - Dwarf white tipped, Redwood. Upright narrow Thuja plicata'virescens'- bright green medium size. Juniperis comunis'Gold cone' - small ,gold tipped nice. Calocedrus decurrens 'veriagata' - Verigated California Incense Cedar ,medium size upright,giant splashes of bright yellow color. Spruces, do not be tempted though commonly found in the nursery during the holidays, if they survive it will look bad compared to what they should be. Two more places to visit to look at Conifers. Descanso Gardens in La Canada. San Diego Wild Animal Park in Escondido has a very good and unusual conifer collection, take care not to wander to far off the paths, one area is up against the Lion enclosure and when they roar it will scare your pants off.

Yep David and dlynn, I'm looking forward to the cooler weather!! Since it's in the valley, the winters are generally pretty mild though this year was a record breaker for snow. The good thing about being retired and not having kids at home.... we can just watch the snow fall and not be worried about work, school etc!! In Louisiana today it will be 101... 102 tomorrow... and the humidity!!! We just got back from VA and while they thought it was hot it felt like spring to us!! Here's a picture of our new land and the homesite with DH Joe pretending to be a house. our back porch and deck will facing this view. Seems like we're out in the middle of nowhere, but we're a 5 minute drive from the center of town. We just got home from 5 days in VA where we brought up a load of "stuff" and put it in a storage pod. The estimate of 25K (!!!!) o move us to VA (not including our barn and outdoor things) got us so shocked that we decided to start combining our visits with bringing up a load of things in the horse trailer. We had the 3 horse section of the living quarters trailer full with things that we won't need even in a rental... extra garden tools, workshop things, outdoor decorations (birdfeeders/houses etc). It isn't a drop in the bucket, but it's a start! Grace

Thanks, once more, to all for the kind comments. Learningguru, I haven't actually found the dishes for Seder yet, but things are progressing! :) The tiles are Architerra-NW, (Seattle) which I bought through Mission Tile West. They list a store in Mountain View. I'm in So.Cal. Like all handmade tiles, part of the charm is a certain amount of variation in color and shape, but, unlike many, the quality of the bisque is fantastic. I do have a master tile setter, but I don't think anything broke on the saw, and even the crackle glazed ones didn't chip. He was able to cut a tiny L shape out of one, matchsticks, and even a little curl. He also cut miters and veneers for the window casings. That's a testimony to the quality of the tiles as well as the man making the cuts.

Hi Ash- Some people are great at the packing and unpacking and set up thing. Some are not. God gave us all different gifts. Perhaps one of things you may need to help you find places for your things is a closet system. Maybe not a fancy expensive closet system, but hooks and racks and dividers,etc. Maybe you need shelves on which you would place your books and certain collectibles. If your kitchen storage is minimal, maybe you need a pot rack from which you can hang pots and pans. attractive cookware looks nice hanging from the ceiling. Just remember to rinse them before you use it each time. If there isn't that much storage in your kitchen, maybe you can screw in little cup hooks to the inside of your kitchen cabinets for your measuring spoons and measuring cups, that will clear out space in your kitchen drawers and cupboards. There are myriads of tips like these if you do internet searches for small kitchen tips or small kitchen hacks, or small apartment tips and hacks, etc. You can raise up your bed in different ways giving lots of storage underneath for whatever you need storage for, out of season clothing, office supplies if you work from home, whatever you need extra storage for. HOWEVER, and I I put this in upper case letters not to yell at you but only to emphasize the following point to you, you don't want to start to do things piecemeal and then get yourself in a worse situation by doing things like buying containers, or setting up inadequate shelving and then making a whole lot of holes in the wall in the wrong places. It seems that at this point you are a bit overwhelmed, and could use some guidance. That's why there is a profession called certified professional organizers. No, I am not touting them because I am one. I have friends that have used them , and they raved about their services. You don't necessarily need to use them for the placement of every piece of paper unless you want to. You can decide what service(s) you want from them. If you need for example the shelves and pot racks and closet system, they can figure out what type and they can arrange for people to set that up for you, or you can install it yourself. once the organizer figures out what you need. You and she/he can meet and decide what will work for you. Now here's the thing, you need to be really honest with yourself and decide what you need. Can you get by with one meeting and someone writing you a battle plan ans you can follow it all by lonesome? Foreelz as the kids say these days? Or do you need more of a guiding/instructive hand? The fly in the ointment here is not a fly but a virus. It might be difficult to find a professional organizer that is working now. On the other hand, they may be really needing the $$, and may have a mask of their own, or can get one or order one, and so can you and you can do your preliminary talks on the phone and Facetime or Skype or whatever with videos/photos , etc. And you can stand 6 feet away from them. Or even arrange to be out of the apartment when they come over if that's what you both agree to, just remove your jewelry and money and Picassos. And you know, the more orderly your place is, the easier it is to keep it clean! Good luck!!