Guest Post from Erika: Why are we moving to Nevada City, anyway?

Yes, moving we are. In a week! Many of you seem puzzled by what appears to be an abrupt transition, and others of you still think we are leaving the state. What follows is intended to clear up more than a few of these misconceptions.

Q: Why, oh why, are you leaving San Francisco?
A: We never intended to STAY in San Francisco. We moved here when we left New York because the alternative was Sunnyvale, which was none too appealing. It sounded like fun, at the time, to live in San Francisco until we could agree on a rural location to buy a house and raise goats. But Martin was born and raised in a big city and has no desire to live in a big city ever again. He was never quite content in San Francisco. Too far from nature. Erika moved here kicking and screaming, visions of goats dancing in her head, but has come to like it rather extremely well.

Q: But Nevada City is so far from San Francisco (not true, it's only 2 and a half hours). Why Nevada City?
A: We looked in counties up and down this fair state. Well, mostly up. Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino, Butte, Sacramento, Nevada, and even San Luis Obispo. I might have even missed a few. Anywhere within commuting distance (by plane) of San Francisco. The only place that really felt right to both of us was Nevada County. It didn't hurt that we already knew a few really stellar folks there, and that Erika has been wanting to move there since high school, but got side-tracked by Silicon Valley, New York City, and a few other things along the way. The other kicker is that houses, with land, are approximately half the price of anything within 50 miles of San Francisco, without any land. That's quite a chunk of change, and in theory the savings will allow us to do lots of other fun things. Like travel to see all of you. And have a parent in the house when Peter gets home from school, be that pre-school or high school.

Q: Where *is* Nevada City anyway?
A: Nevada City is located 60 miles northeast of Sacramento and 28 miles north of Auburn. It's on the way to Tahoe.

Q: Wait, it's not in Nevada?
A: No. It is in California. Two and a half hours from San Francisco, people!!! Nevada City actually *pre-dates* the state of Nevada. The town of "Nevada" was incorporated on April 19, 1856. In 1864, when the state of Nevada joined the union, “City” was added to Nevada City's name to avoid confusion with the State. And the house we are moving into was built in 1887. Right when things were getting interesting. More on that later.

Q: So it's just some little podunk town in the middle of nowhere?
A: Nevada City has a population of 3,000 (as of the year 2000) but in 1850, there were 10,000 people living in "the most important mining town in the state". Grass Valley, which is less than 5 miles away, has a population of 10,922 (as of the 2006 census). Not so little!

Q: Oh, ok. Well what's so great about it?
A: Nevada City has a lot going for it. For you history buffs, the award-winning historic district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is considered to be among the best-preserved towns of the West. Bored by history? How about art? There are theaters, movie theaters, art house movie theaters, art galleries, music venues, and a thriving population of hippies, like Gary Snyder. Ok, maybe he pre-dates the hippies. Plenty of very conservative Republicans too. Makes for an interesting dynamic. Love nature? The South Yuba River is a lovely, mystical spot that we plan to visit as often as possible all summer long. Plus there are quite a few small lakes in the county. Oh, and did I mention the kick-ass county fair in August? How about the fact that it's on the way to Tahoe ("Nevada" means "snow-covered" in Spanish)? And that it's two and a half hours from San Francisco? You get the point.

Hope this clears things up a bit. If you still have questions, please feel free to e-mail me. I will get back to you as soon as I...finish producing Tech-free Day on June 26, move to Nevada City on June 30, find day care for Peter, unpack all of our boxes, and finish my outstanding freelance writing commitments. Ha! No, really, I love to hear from you and will make every effort to respond in a reasonable amount of time. :-)

Cupcakes and Hiking and Beer, oh my!

What, you say you LIKE the cute baby pictures? Ahem, toddler pictures? OK, ok. Here you go.


No words necessary here. That's his buddy Tai in the background.
And what the heck. We'll try uploading a movie. Peter LOVES the Big Book that Uncle Dave and Grandma Beth got him for his birthday...



In other news, we have had a few weekends without rain, and we went a fun trip recently -- a pilgrimage to Rossotti's (now officially the Alpine Inn) in Portola Valley, starting with a hike in the hills.

We're going to turn that kid into a hiker yet.

Sometimes it helps when mom pushes a little from behind.

But really, his favorite part is the beer at the end.

Wonder where he got that.

The burgers aren't bad either.

All in all, a nice family day.

Things are Happening

Ok, enough cute baby pictures. And where are all the cute kitty pictures these days, anyway? Sheesh.

We have News.

Yes, it's finally happening. The Kosina family is officially moving to Nevada City. No, really. And no, we did not find a house to buy. We are renting Auntie Kristina's house. The one we have been staying in all this time, rent-free. We are making the old grande dame an honest woman. I'm referring to the house, not Kristina. We are going to restore her charm while we enjoy a summer (or longer, much MUCH longer) in Nevada City. Still referring to the house, in case you were wondering. Kristina's charm is *fully* intact. It will feel good to bring the house back to her former glory, and it's a great chance for us to try on the Nevada City lifestyle. I'll be in charge of keeping the spiders in check.

Not everyone in the family is thrilled about this move. I hate any kind of move, especially when a car ride is involved. Martin, Erika, and Peter have made very good friends in San Francisco, and are very sad to leave them behind. Well, Martin won't be leaving them behind because he'll be working in San Francisco three days a week. But Peter's little buddies -- they are going to miss him like crazy.

We move at the end of June, a going away party is in the works. It will be combined with Tech-free Day because, frankly, we are out of time and Erika can only plan so many events. She's gotten pretty busy lately. She received her first acceptance letter from a magazine query, she's got two freelance writing clients who are busy busy busy right now, and she's even got an interview for a full-time job tomorrow. Stay tuned, she hasn't worked out all the details of how this will all actually work.

But this will all have to wait, because Mamie Willett arrives in town in less than an hour, and Erika doesn't want her mother to realize that she never did inherit the Good Housekeeper gene...