All Shiny and New

This is what the new State of Nevada quarter looks like. Isn't it pretty? One of the advantages of living in the state capital of Nevada is there are some pretty interesting things going on and it's all down at the capital mall, composed of several very old and several very new buildings. Having just received a digital camera for my birthday I plan on taking some pictures to post later. The state treasurer actually put the call out to the public to help design the quarter. It appears from the unveiling ceremony that many a young child was involved and they were all there participating in the unveiling ceremony. I went too and stood in a very long though organized line to buy a roll of bright shiny new quarters. It is totally geeky but since they started the state quarter program I have been collecting them. I got myself a cardboard map of the US with the little holes for the quarters and I've been diligently adding to it with each new release. The neighborhood market near my home in San Francisco always seemed to have the latest quarters in a timely fashion. In Los Angeles there's a bakery/deli near Cedar-Sinai medical center that actually puts new releases aside and you can go in and ask for them if you know about it. I figure with the number of quarters that must flow through this state with all the slots and casinos I shouldn't have any difficulty finishing up my collection. I'm not a gambler, so when moving here there wasn't a casino/gambling reference in my mind. Imagine my suprise at the local Albertson's on my first grocery run to pass by an alcove in the front of the store full of slot machines. So far it is not clear if you can smoke in there or if there's a waitress who comes and gives you watered down complimentary cocktails. I've been to the Nugget in downtown where you can get a very good breakfast in the coffee shop at bargain prices. I had dinner at the colorful and new Fandango where there is a fake parrot on a track above diners heads that flys around and drops dollar bills in various combinations on unsuspecting noshers. It's sort of a low tech disneyland type thing. No one around us seemed to be hit with a money bomb though. So here I am getting out and about a bit in my new small town with shiny new quarters in my pocket.

Happy Heart Day

It's Valentine's Day. It's my birthday. I have chocolate cupcakes and a box of See's candy so all of my expectations have been met. I am turning an age that is an even number which always gives me a peaceful feeling. I don't know why. I got a call today from an office I interviewed with. They would like me to come in for a working interview later this week. This is a good present. Employment has been high on my wish list. The Winter Olympics are going strong and I will be happy to sit home tonight, have a pizza delivered and watch figure skating while I TiVo Gilmore Girls and House.

In the spirit of the day let us reflect on the words of Rainer Maria Rilke:
"For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation."

Blue Skies

You might wonder from my last post what I would be doing out on the deck reading. It is, after all, February in the mountains. I am, indeed, surrounded by snow-capped mountains but we here in Carson City seem to be enjoying a bit of false spring. The last ten days have been gorgeous outside. One day I even sat out there in bare feet.
This has been a nice occurence for me. I was a bit nervous should northern nevada have a slam/bang winter like last year. A type of which they hadn't seen in many years. Alas, the weather gods are smiling on me this first winter in Nevada. Now if the employment gods would step up my gratitude would grow exponentially.

All This Newness

I am a certified city girl - San Francisco and then Los Angeles- who has relocated to the country: Carson City, Nevada. 15 minutes over highway 50 to Lake Tahoe, 40 minutes outside of Reno. There are cows, horses, huge open green fields, hawks. It's amazing here from my perspective. At the same time it's a huge lifestyle change ( though I am loving the lack of traffic and the fact that my car continues on its course in a steady way rather than stop and go). So anything is possible with all this newness in my life. We shall see where Nevada takes me. Mostly it has taken me outside on the deck to read. It's a start.