Date: Sun, 5 Jan 1997 Subject: The Saga of a Steel Magnolia in Silicon Valley

Our Year End Wrap UP!! or Every One Else Is Doing It...So Why Not Me Too.

Hi All,

We made it through another year. This has been an interesting year for me and I thought I'd summarize it and hit some of the highlights for ya'll.

I started off the year in Pennsylvania hip deep in snow as they experienced the worst winter in many years. NO SHORT JOKES!!! I know, you're saying that hip deep for some people is a lot less than for others. Well, it was still three feet deep on the street that I lived on and that's hip deep for me. You should have seen the snow drift that I had to dig my car out of...wow. Any way, I enjoyed my stay and met some great people. I left the Philadelphia area in June, fifty-two weeks after my three month contract started. It was cold for June, too. Sometimes I thought I'd never be warm again.

I left the northeast and headed home to Atlanta. Hot 'Lanta, it was blessedly warm there. I had enough time to unload my car, load it again, and then hit the road one more time. There wasn't nearly enough time to get a proper cat hair fix believe me. My younger daughter accompanied me on the trek to Salt Lake City. In the last year, we spent lots of time in airports shuttling people back and forth between Atlanta and Philadelphia, and I made one trip on the train. Lots of mileage piled up. We saw the Historic Zone in Philadelphia, Valley Forge and other historic sites in the area. While I worked with lots of terrific people and enjoyed the National Parks, every thing between was a thumbs-down experience. I am a Southern girl and just don't belong north of the Mason-Dixon line. Or possibly even north of the Carolina's. You can't get good gravy north of Virginia and you won't find a single, or double, fried green tomato north of Greenville that I know of. When I get home, the first thing that I want is fried chicken and fried green tomatoes, covered in gravy. My arteries are begging for them right now.

Well, as I said before, Katherine and I headed northwest. We went through Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha, and Cheyenne before reaching Salt Lake City. The trip was a fascinating glimpse of Americana. Our only difficulty being in Laramie. My advise is to never get stuck in Laramie. End of subject.

We arrived in Layton and settled into our new apartment. The Wasatch Mountains were a neat sight. Most of the area is desert in this part of Utah. If you go south, you get into the red rock country which is my favorite part of the state, and probably the entire country. Our stay in Utah was filled with many memorable trips. I bought my Bronco and we went in search of fun...lots of it...as much as we could stand. I put eight thousand miles on my truck in a little more than 4 months. We just barely scratched the surface of what I wanted to see. This summer and fall in Salt Lake were hotter and drier than usual. Is there a pattern developing? Projections for the winter were kinda like: 'Okay folks, get the snow shovels out cause it's gonna be really bad.'

In November, life changed again. I packed up my truck and headed west. The hardest part of my work is moving on. The co-workers that I leave in Salt Lake City have been a super group of people and it makes leaving doubly hard.

Silicon Valley was my next destination. We crossed Utah and Nevada on a fine trip. Katherine and I marveled at the number and diversity of the casino's that dotted the sparse Nevada landscape. Our crossing over the Sierra Nevada Mountains was uneventful, the scenery was spectacular. One more time, we arrived at a new apartment. Sunnyvale is completely urban. The only thing that separates it from Santa Clara is a street sign.

Looking back at the weather for the last month, it appears that we left Utah just ahead of the snow. Although, I was looking forward to playing in the snow.

Our holiday excursions into China Town left us with the determination to go back many more times. The pickled ginger is exquisite. Oh My! I can get all the Jasmine tea that I can carry, to. It's hard to get in many places so I usually carry a supply with me. But here, I'm in Chinese food heaven. The bakery's in China town are wonderful, too. Katherine has fun shopping in our local grocery because they carry things that she never sees at home. Fun stuff like Vodka and Brandy. You can get your hard spirits in the grocery along with your produce and sushi. What a place. One stop shopping at your fingertips.

Currently, I am planning our next outing. Digging in the local library and surfing the net are the current activities before I select a site. Have rock hammer will travel. Katherine is going for real driver training the next weekend and with luck will get a license out of the experience. It's always nice to have two drivers in the outback. Or at least, it's nice to have two licensed drivers in the outback. Did I tell you that they have been unseasonably wet this last few weeks? It is a pattern. No matter where I go, I can count on it being hotter, colder, wetter, or whatever than usual. But, when the going gets tough, get a Girl Scout!

Any one wanting to read my articles in 'The Eclectic Lapidary' can get them at www.geckoplex.com/eclectic/. What? You didn't know that I write? Golly. I'll have to fix that.

Katherine's culinary lesson this weekend: Vegetable Beef Soup. Grade: A. You expected something else? No way. Good vege beef soup is an art form. I'm still critiquing this batch. It's cold and wet outside and this is a grand way to warm your synapses, not to mention the rest of you.

Movie Rentals, a veritable flurry. Enemy Mine - a favorite. Eraser - classic Schwarzenegger. The American President - campy, sappy, and delightful. Broken Arrow - grows on ya, like fungus, but with good scenes in Utah. Mission Impossible - see Tom Cruise make funny faces. The Phantom - this guy just won't go away. South Pacific - another favorite. Oscar - a delightful funny Stallone flick. Independence Day - I bought a copy and have been trying to wear it out. Flatliners - flat, but otherwise like fungus too. Frighteners - see Michael Fox play with ghosts, also like fungus. Down Periscope - the pink submarine one more time. Spy Hard - classic Leslie Nelson.

Oh how the mighty have fallen! Or 'Where do the yuppies go to be seen in Sunnyvale?' Where, you ask? Starbucks, of course. Katherine and I have taken to getting cocoa and sitting out on the sidewalk at the artsie tables while watching the yuppies congregate. It is a sight to behold. We noticed one gentleman (I can call him that cause he was old enough to be my Dad) who had four diamond studs in each ear sitting with his trophy wife and 'be-seen-with' friends last night. This is definitely a different slice of fantasy. (humming a few bars of Dixie) BTW, Starbucks does a decent cup of cocoa. Try the Ebony Hot Chocolate.

Speaking of Dixie, I spent nearly two hours this morning searching for the origin of the Mason-Dixon line. Did you know that it was set up three hundred thirty years ago (1767, if I have miss-typed it) this year? You learn something new every day as well as refreshing you store of tidbits.

We went for a drive today. Our destination was Santa Cruz. The road from Sunnyvale is a two lane bumpy highway that goes over the mountains and then down to the sea. When we got to Santa Cruz, we turned north on Highway 1. This takes you right along the Pacific Ocean coastline. There was some nice wave action today and it was enjoyable to see the vastness of the ocean again. I pulled the truck off the road where lots of other people were parked and we took a hike down to the beach. I had forgotten how the wind rushes off of the ocean and whips the waves into whitecaps. We picked at some driftwood and pebbles, but didn't keep any thing. We did stick our toes into the foam. A ritual, kinda. Since we were both getting chilled, we left the beach and continued on our way. Before we knew it, we looked over the water towards the horizon and saw the sun wrapped in wisps of golden clouds sitting on the edge of the water. Watching it was a renewal of sorts. Few things are as nice as a sunset over the ocean. Except a sunset in red rock country, maybe...probably. Needless to say, it was dark by the time we arrived back in Sunnyvale.

I want to wish all of my friends the best for the coming year. May all of your watermelons be seedless. Thanks to the Salsa Kid for that one. May your skies be clear, for I would share the stars with you. (InTheWind)

Enjoy! Write when you can.

Jan Noble, steel_magnolia@mindspring.com

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