Sunday Sundown

For those of you who celebrate the Festival of Lights, I wish you a Happy Hanukkah!

Thankful

There's always the usual list of things to be thankful for. There is the daily gratitude I practice that doesn't require a holiday. This year I am grateful for a new four legged family member.
Bella is 9 months old. She is soft as a mink. Petite and slightly clumsy. She is sweet and affectionate. I'm thankful to my vet, Leslie, who entrusted her care to me. I'm thankful for Bella's youthful exuberance. I'm thankful that she makes me laugh everyday. I'm thankful that
she believes in waking up slowly and that after coffee it is time to play. I believe that Zeke would have loved her.

Meet Bella

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving.

xoxo

MountainMoxie

Umm...November?

It is Fall here in the Carson Valley and the weather has been lovely and clear the last few days.

I haven't been here for quite sometime and it seems today is a fluke as I probably won't be back for a few weeks. "What is she doing?" you ask. Well, I got a wild hair to take a web design class online this quarter. It is a two unit class and still somehow manages to suck up all my extra time. It could be because I don't know what the hell I am doing...sort of a frying pan into the fire, trial by error, seat of my pants learning experience. I am liking it though. I think I will pursue more classes in this area. I just didn't expect it to eat up so much free time. Is that it? Well...No...

I still have my drum class on Monday nights and last week I started a 5 week djembe workshop on Tuesday evenings. I have cleared my wednesdays of all commitments as there will be serious sleeping in on those days for the next month. Meanwhile, the yard is calling: hey, look at all the leaves...crap when did that happen?

Still I miss being here, I miss writing if only for myself. I haven't been able to share all the fun I had in SF in September, though I am so glad I went cuz I sure wouldn't have been able to go now. I'm looking forward to the holiday season somewhat...good food and family. I'll be back around then...homework allowing.

YES WE CAN

January 14, 2008: Carson City, NV

AND WE DID!

Happy Treats to You!

REST IN PEACE GOOD BUDDY

ZEKE

1991-2008

VP Debate

Just a comment, and then we shall return to our regularly scheduled programming or lack of such...really I'll be back here soon....meanwhile....

Please, for the love of language and all that is sacred, someone tell Sarah Palin how to pronounce NUCLEAR!! It is not Nucular....I can't take it anymore.

Week Two

Three weeks of fun and frovility and family. I’m still trying to catch up on sleep.
There was the kiddles and pool fun of my previous post. Then the return of the sister from her outpost in Flagstaff, AZ. Followed by a much needed trip to SF for me that included museums and wandering favorites haunts in the city and time spent with girlfriends who I miss daily. Topped off by the big celebration of birthdays for all the Virgo’s as well as recognition for the 40,50,60,80 decade birthdays that occurred this year.

It has been years since we’ve seen my middle sister so it was quite a treat to have her and my mom in Carson City for the long Labor Day weekend. Nothing, besides her great-grandchildren, makes my mom happier than having her three girls in one place.

We are each 5 years apart, we are each very different and that can be entertaining in and of itself. We took a trip up to Virginia City for lunch and a saunter through the old town where candy shops were where we dropped our money. This is a family trait: forget ktochkes, bring on the chocolate. One cannot go to Virginia City without the requisite old time photo. Annie Oakley’s got nothin’ on us.

We had lunch at the Nugget in Carson City the next day and indulged in some video poker which we failed at miserably. There was gut-busting laughter (which is a given when we are all together, you just don’t know what will set it off...but it will happen...always!) While my mother tangled with a determined guy with a walker and oxygen tank headed for his favorite machine. There is a joke (MMspouse is a jokester by trade) about the proliferation of oxygen tanks in casinos where smoking is the norm and those things could go off like a torpedo...which I shared with the girls minutes earlier, so being chased by one set us off and then to make matters worse we encountered several more within minutes which kept the uncontrollable laughter going at a fever pitch....from then on "oxygen tank" was all it took. There was lots of catching up and lounging around and I was happy to see my Arizona sister looking healthy. The last time I had seen her she still had the shadow effects of a year of Interferon therapy on her and it was distressing.
Once my mom and sis departed for the airport I collected my stuff, packed and hit the road the following day for my own escape to my beloved SF/Bay Area.

That’s my next post.

This week I start a new djembe class which will include Dununs, a drum you play with sticks. West African rhythms are designed for these two drums to be played together and it adds such a wonderful deep melody with the djembe that I can’t resist trying my hand at it. I’m starting a beginning web publishing class to see if I have any interest or aptitude for the genre. Since I spent most of today tweaking my new MySpace page it seems there is a little interest or curiosity there for me...onward I say!

Meanwhile....

I am in the process of writing a post about my last three weeks of fun and frivolity BUT
in the meantime I will give you the beauty that is the "Mystery Pansy" in my backyard.
Not quite as abundant as last year...still thriving though.

And if you are feeling energetic click on this link for a great article on Sarah Palin that was in the Nevada Appeal, Carson City's local newspaper. I must say, while grinding my teeth at all the McCain/Palin signs proliferating in my area, that this was refreshing to see in a local paper. Can't imagine the hate mail Marilee Swirczek will receive this week.

I've Been....

BUSY

Weekend Wonders

Who knew that a pool 3 feet deep and 6 feet wide could provide a waterfall of fun. My sis has such a pool in her yard. This is a handy recreational perk when your grandchildren come to visit.
It was the site of two days of ridiculous, watery fun.

The Water Octagon

Count: One Mother, One Sister, One grown Niece,

one small nephew, one small niece

My 80 year old mother instigated a water fight from outside the pool that lasted at least an hour, losing, easily, 3 inches of water...wearing out 3 squirt guns and only succeeding in getting my mother into the pool, in all her clothes plus sneakers, after the hour and only after my sister and niece got out of the pool and manhandled her into it. Hilarious. Our YaYa is hecka strong, sneaky, and stubborn. She wasn't going in and was a complete exasperation to all in the pool.

The Next Phelps

Both my little niece and nephew are fish. They love the water and are great swimmers. Their goggles made me laugh and make their eyes look kinda goofy. My favorite thing is tipping them over off of whatever floatee they have claimed. You wouldn't know that you can get up to three floatees in this space but you can and it makes things pretty interesting. I was so proud of their skills, holding their breath, swimming under water...going, going, going.....

HotWheelin'

There is also ample concrete track around the patio for some serious racing. This little guy is a major speed demon who doesn't much mind crashing one bit!

Nature Girl

This little one will try anything her older brother does. She's gonna grow up tough, however, she is every bit the princess who likes pretty dresses and finding a quiet spot to spin a tale and rest a bit.

Two days of total Auntie-dom: Awesome!

Fun Stuff

license plate generator

Just wastin' time on a Saturday. Click on the link to make your own.

Blue Sky

Now that the smoke has cleared out and it looks like beautiful clear, clean mountain air is back for awhile I have to admit I am feeling hazy. This is what the sky looked like for most of July due to wind patterns and too many scary fires in California:

With the return of blue sky I find myself spending mindless hours on the deck. Seems after a swell burst of creative endeavors I need to refill the well. For the first time my wildflowers are actually attracting butterflies. I had a huge yellow and black guy buzz the yard every morning around 10:30 for a couple weeks. Now, I have a lovely little white and blue one that actually comes and bops around the flowers for a bit each day. This makes me happy in the simplest of ways. A friend of mine sent me an e-mail friday that told of big astrological changes with the eclipse that occurred friday. I am taking time to realign myself with that...I say as a way of explaining my complete lack of motivation. Then again it could be just a lack of hiking, my partner seems to have disappeared into the ether this weekend. It could be my current disillusionment with work. It could be I need a vacation. Change of scene. I just seem to be baffled of late. Thank goodness I find my own neurosis humorous.

I did execute a rather bold sewing project. My Djembe needed a cover and I don't feel like shelling out the cash for a fancy full body carryall however, I do want the head protected when I am hauling it around to class and what not. So, with no pattern, some cool material and a bit of quilt batting I assembled what can only be described as a muffin top for my drum. It looks a little funny but serves the purpose just fine:

Last weekend I did hike back to Skunk Harbor. The hike that is two miles down to the Lake and then a rather wicked hike back up. After the smoke, haze of July it was evident there are still some stamina issues to overcome on the steep inclines. Ha! It is still one of my favorite hikes, a quiet beach, swimming, a little lunch...all good.


I have been doing a lot of reading. Thanks to a tip from No More Commas Period, I picked up a book called Pattern Recognition by William Gibson. I'm not generally a big sci-fi/fantasy reader.
This book is way out there in topic: cyberpunk futuristic technology driven society. However, it is set on Earth and not in some other galaxy which is what kept me interested in it, that and all the really cool vocabulary that I wish there was a dictionary for. I've read another of his and I am on my third...so we can see that this is heading for a summer reading series since I can't seem to stop.

Ruth has her blog up and running, go say hi and welcome her to the blogosphere. I'm heading over there next.

Handy Dandy

Yup, that's me! I am giving myself the gold star of handiness. I am thinking: I earned my tool belt. I now know words like chain coupling, canopy, downrod ball, blade bracket. The project that has elicited this happy dance?


I went from this:

TO THIS:

I am pleased and proud of myself. When I moved into this house I had fans installed in three rooms that held the most heat. I paid someone to install them. Then, I watched him do it for future reference. Granted he did it in under 2 hours. I took a bit longer than that just to install one but still....I did it! Now, the Master Bedroom is airy and cool at the flip of a switch.

I have completed a few projects in the past weeks, mostly because there is no hiking in the smoky heat we are experiencing here and also, I grew impatient with myself thinking about my projects but not actually doing them. Sort of like my blogging habits of late.

There's the mirror:

Amazing what a little paint from the craft store can turn into. Lots of colors and a spray-on glaze.

There's the nice pillows from a garage sale that were a very boring beige (that color is just haunting me lately) which I recovered with something a little more colorful.

There's the vast array of thrift store frames I am painting and glazing black for a photo gallery on a wall. There's finishing a dress I started making (when I lived in LA) that needs to be finished. There's, of course, more painting to do...specifically a hallway, an office, a guest bed and bath. Good news is I think I have figured out colors...why this takes so long I do not know...but I spent alot of time mulling over colors and my living room came out so cool. I really like it. Here's the corner into the hallway that I was so excited about doing:

I am feeling accomplished! So I rewarded myself with a trip over to the newest addition in Carson City fine dining:
Gotta love the crazy chicken!

Partial Post

I'm thinking about blogging...
I'm still here, thinking about a blog post...
Did I mention the heat?
Or how the smoke from California fires sweeps into the valley
every afternoon rendering the sun an afterthought?
I'm thinking about blogging...
maybe this weekend.

Word Up!

If I am lucky in the course of my day, whilst working with the public, I will encounter someone who makes me smile, makes me laugh, tells a good tale, or prompts me to tell one myself. These moments exist outside the realm of "work" for the connection forged lingers long after the work is done. One person who has entered my life, via my work here in Carson City, is Ruth. She is funny, goofy, whip-smart, and just an effervescent whirl of silliness. She’s a redhead. We bonded instantly. Ruth has written a book, along with her son who provided the illustrations. You might say it is a children’s book but really it transcends that...it is an everybody book. Lush with words and drawings and photographs, all in black and white, it is a feast for the mind, the eye, and the intellect.
I was able to attend a book fair in Minden last week to which Ruth had been invited. I am always supportive of artistic acquaintances and if there are books involved I will show up. The fair provided a forum for authors in the Reno/Tahoe/Carson Valley area and I am mightily impressed with the talent this area contains. My prime directive, however, was to get a gander at Ruth’s book. Whee. Mine. Proud owner of Ruth’s book. I might gift it, more likely I will keep my copy all to myself. I do want to share the details with you and perhaps you, too, will want to own a copy of this wonderful book.


One of the great tidbits about Ruth’s book is that her son, young at the time, did many of the illustrations and definitions and Ruth paid him for each drawing. I love that! Truly an equal opportunity collaboration. One of the things that tickles Ruth currently is a recommendation from Ray Bradbury calling it "an edible feast" and "a delicious book". Ruth visibly vibrates when mentioning Mr. Bradbury’s quotes, the wondrousness of his interest and I applaud the phenomenal accomplishment of the book itself.

Wonderful Ruth



Abecedarium anomalous by Ruth Keil Posselt and Jason Posselt
(or if you prefer)
alphabet book irregular


It is a wordy title, a hint of what is to come. This is not you’re A is for apple standard fare. This is glorious, read out loud alliteration. I have many favorites, I will share one:


- P-
"my patterned plumes are peerless," prates the peacock pompously
replies the patient panther, "you perform precariously"



If you have a love of language and reading and wish to share it with another, be it child or peer, this is a wonderful book. There is silliness to be found in reading it aloud. Great fun.


You can e-mail Ruth at roothbooks@earthlink.net.


I am trying to talk her into building a blog around the book...I'll keep you informed.

New Discoveries

Did you know you can grow California Poppies in a container? With my little knowledge (read: confidence) on what will grow where I took a chance and planted some little seeds. Look what I got:

The rose bush on the side of the house is heavy with buds and here is the first:

On another note: I treated my hiking partner and myself to a concert on Thursday. I am so very glad I went. I was given a CD for christmas from a friend who is always on the cusp of new music. He has wonderful, discriminating taste. I have been enjoying the CD and, lucky us, the artist came to Reno. We went to Bartley Ranch , home of the Hawkins Amphitheater. Sweet outdoor venue, small and intimate. I am so in awe of this artist. The CD I have covers his music from starting around 2000. The guy was 22 years old! Holy Smokes. Prolific songwriter, talented musician, and a voice you can't believe comes out of this young man. He dabbles in so many types of music you can't really classify it. Bluesy, folksy, rockin', dancin'...check out his website Jackie Greene . Have a listen to his new album. I am partial to Shaken, Rusty Nail, and Gone Wonderin'. All have a different feel. This guy is amazing. I am a total "greenehead" now.

On the hiking front, yet another fabulous discovery by accident. The best kind. We had planned a trek to Winnemuca Lake out off Highway 88 near Kirkwood. The area is still a bit snowed in, so after realizing that wasn't what we were up for we headed to Markleville. SP, my hiking partner, had a page from the local paper saying there's a nice trail out around Grover Hot Springs. Off we went, determined not to let the day slip away. The trail starts off the road before you hit the Hot Springs. We happened to pass two women making there way back to their car and asked them what the hike entailed and where it lead. Turns out it leads to a waterfall. Awesome. The trail meanders through meadow along the side of some hills, along the campgrounds, beside a pretty wide open meadow and then you see a creek surrounded by boulders that are easy to scale and take you along the curves of the creek. If I had remembered to bring my topo map I would have known that above the falls there is a lake but we were winging it and 5 miles round trip was enough for us considering the late start we got. Saving the lake trek for another day. It was a gorgeous afternoon, light breeze and the sound of fast moving water. Easy to shake off worries and cares and just be.

Creek running along a rocky path. We sat and had lunch here.

The falls. Not big or high but powerful and awesome just the same.

Mini-falls off to the side of the main feed.

"She needs wide open spaces"-dixie chicks-

Missing With Action

I could tell you I have been busy. If you ask me "doing what?" well I couldn't tell you, partially due to my lack of short term memory: many women I know experience this. I read somewhere one woman saying "It takes a village to remember anything" HA! I have been working, that's a given, drumming (the monday work, monday evening class, tuesday work thing really throws me by wednesday). Errands...a lot of errands recently. One day I spent thrifting, which is time consuming but I found some great stuff: pier 1 curtains for 4 dollars, and cool swag lamp for 2.50, a couple of picture frames. Paint shopping - yes, there is ever more to paint in this house due to the vast amount of beige walls I inherited, ugh. The Master Bedroom is almost done, the living room is done except for one two inch area that requires a much taller ladder, another errand I have on the list. Still there's been fun in there. Thank goodness or I couldn't go on.

This is the stream that runs along the Faye Luther trail. We followed it to its farthest point which, in our zeal, means we actually missed the trail that winds up the hill. So there we found ourselves surrounded by the steep walls of a canyon and not a scenic view of the valley that we had hoped for. So we stopped on a rock perch and had lunch and contemplated our next move.
You can see the incline of the canyon and in our craziness that has become our hiking bug we actually decided to go UP to the top of the ridge where promised vistas no doubt would appear. It was challenging and tiring and required all four limbs to the ground in many places as well as thankfulness for various sturdy trees and shrubs as we billy-goated our way up that ravine. What a thrill to reach the peak! I love the feeling of completing a challenge like that. The reward was spectacular! This is looking North at the Carson Valley. Sweet! After a trail mix snack and a cookie (one does not hike without a cookie somewhere in the pack) we tried to decide how best to get down from our perch and while we scanned the surrounding area we spotted not far below us the original trail we missed to begin with. Chuckles. We also came across the oddest, most alien looking flowers. I do not know what they are but their color was quite a contrast to the surrounding browns and greens and grays of the canyon.

The following weekend my hiking partner and I tried Kayaking! Whee. I am totally sold! I love anything that involves the water, being in the water, on the water, around the water. It soothes my soul like nothing else. So to be the master of my own craft was really fun. The event was a demo for a sports shop in Reno. They came to Little Washoe Lake with every kind of kayak they had and you get to try them all and find what you like best and hopefully, for them, you will buy one. It was a perfect morning on the lake: warm, sunny, no wind, water like glass.

We strapped on a life jacket, grabbed a paddle and hopped in. I tried 5-6 different boats. The last one I tried was the one. It glided and fit my body and was very comfortable. I didn't know this when I took it out: it was a newer model, designed specifically for women. It also goes for the astonishing price of $850. Bubble burst. It will be a while before I invest in my own kayaking gear. I do have rental dreams though. Surprisingly, my arms were still functional the next day (thank you Advil!). I don't know for certain who this new, crazy, adventurous woman is but I am loving it just the same.

Lilacs for my mother, celebrating her birthday saturday and Mother's Day today.

I love you, mom

Hiking the Road to Nowhere

It is not the destination but the journey that is important. Thus it was on hike number two. It had a rather unknown air about it. I had a map. I did. I got it from the Forestry Service in Carson City. It was difficult to read though our path was on there. The Waterfall we were seeking was not. Thus, we missed the path to the falls and just kept going. Up and Up and Up.
It was a good hike: Kings Canyon is tucked in the northwestern corner of Carson above a residential neighborhood that I did not know existed. Nice flavor of discovery and it wasn't long before we were up in alpine territory looking at melting snow and realizing we had to come back and take the trail all the way to Spooner Lake at the summit on Highway 50 sometime this spring. We weren't really prepared for more than 4 or 5 miles. SP drained her Camelpak before we were even back to our starting point. I didn't bring anything to eat but trailmix. I think we did 4 miles, two of which were a steady uphill. Waking up those glutes and quads. It was a beautiful day. The waterfall will have to wait for another time. We revelled in the accomplishment.


Heading up, this is just a ways before we crested the trail where it evened off and headed south.

Alpine tree line and snow - really pretty and smelled wonderful


Coming back down looking over North Carson City. It was really hazy that day.


Our first hike two weeks ago was conquering Prison Hill, named mostly for the two prisons you can see from the summit. This is the capitol and I guess we get most of Northern Nevada's prisoners. Maximum security is in Ely. This is reassuring. Anyway, if you are driving through Carson City on highway 395 you can see Prison Hill from every angle. There is a big S on it.
I have been itching to climb it since I moved here just because it is there and loaded with trails meandering all over the place. Being spring and uncertain about snow melt and conditions in Tahoe we have decided to warm up the hiking mojo in Carson City. Summers here are much too hot to be climbing around in and there is very little shade available. Spring conditions are perfect for traipsing around these parts. Up we went, without hesitation I might add, scrambling to the top like mountain goats. Found a flat rock grouping and had a snack and looked out over all of Carson City. Wandered around up there for a while to take in a 360 view and then headed down.
I didn't take my camera but I found a photo from a biking club that has done the hill as well. This is looking south westerly across Carson City across towards Genoa and the Sierras. It was a great start to the season.

Uploaded from facility bike club

The Mystery Continues

The mystery pansies are flourishing. Strangely, they have erupted in a spot different from where they were last year. The mystery of the pansies is a source of great amusement for me.

The lilac trees are doing their darnedest to flourish despite lovely days followed by near winter days. Sigh. They didn't bloom to full potential due to a late spring frost last year. I am hoping they get a chance to burst, full and lovely, this year.

There is living room painting going on. There is a hike to take tomorrow. My finger has healed, thank you. That is all I've got today.

Enforced Break Time

Blogging has been a low priority of late. I sliced my left index finger with a serated knife on friday. This has caused all sorts of logistical problems like typing, writing, drumming. There are no good bandaids for fingers. Typing is a bit hit or miss, literally. I have been doing walks about the neighborhood with MMsis and I did my first hike of the season friday prior to the knife accident. I started up my drumming class again on monday evenings. It's all good things keeping me busy. More later when I can be free of bandage and typos.

Rock Out

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.
-Frank Lloyd Wright-

By the title you might think I would be sharing my latest iTunes downloads or a particularly great rock and roll story, even perhaps commenting on American Idol, though rock would be a stretch. Alas, I'm talking rocks, literally, rocks. Like all the ones I have in my backyard. I've got a lotta rocks.

Inspired by rocks? Suprisingly yes! Thanks to the blogosphere I've seen many rocks transformed in to lovely little creative pieces of art. Like these over at Marilyn's and
these from the fabulous Linda Davick.

Who knew there was so much rock fun going on. I am looking at my rocks in a whole new light. In the spirit of my rocks I thought a few weeks back "I'd love to find a heart shaped rock." The universe only took a few weeks to deliver. Saturday I found my rock in my yard.

It's a bit of a blurry photo, such is my excitement. It is most perfectly a heart shaped rock and it even is flat in one spot so it sits like this on the counter. How COOL is that! I may paint it, I may leave it in its natural form to remind me of the perfection of nature or something equally philosophical. I am currently painting a rock to use as a door stop. Sure, it looks like a 2nd grade art project. Who cares...it is art rock or rock art or something along the lines of rock and art.

Meanwhile, I am tiring of the starts and stops to the end of winter and anxiously awaiting spring. The signs are there but the weather seems to stall just when it picks up too much momentum in a string of sunny, warm days. My lilac bushes are starting to pop the tiniest bit of foreshadowing of what is to come. Behold the bud:

As I was wandering around the yard today taking stock of what needs to be done I wondered "Would the mystery pansy make an appearance this year?" Imagine my excitement when I spotted this:
Though my yard appears sparse and rocky, the signs of spring are everywhere and I am anxiously awaiting its arrival.

Easter Chuckles

This makes me laugh every year.

Happy Easter.