Linda Marrone: After 40 years, old traditions have a new home

Well, after 40 years of living on the south end of Minnesota Street, the Marrones have moved 12 blocks west to a smaller house on Elm Street. I can’t say it was easy and it certainly has been overwhelming, but in my head, I know it was the right decision. I’m just trying to reconcile it in my heart. It was a wonderful old house and neighborhood in which to raise four kids with dogs, cats, turkeys, a goat and a horse. Our nine grandkids spent a lot of time at that house. They loved the big yard, and there was always something for them to do. That’s a plus when you’re younger, not so much as you age.

We’ve had every kind of party and celebration you can imagine, starting with a goodbye party for Bob and Mary MacDonald when they moved out of town in the 1970s, followed by birthdays, graduations, baby and wedding showers, teas, suppers on the lawn with friends, three weddings and, of course, fantasy football and Christmas cookie parties. We also had and have all the stuff that goes along with the cooking, collecting, kids and living in the same space for 40 years.

It’s taken us three months to fix up our new house (only 60 years old instead of 130). My kitchen here is only as big as my pantry in the old house. We’re still trying to see what fits and what doesn’t and make choices about what we need vs. what we want. Ralph and I are constantly negotiating that slippery slope.

I turned 65 this year, and it gets you thinking about what you really want to do. In your 20s, 30s and even 40s and 50s, you talk about and plan for your future. As my friend Sharon Murphy pointed out, after 60 each day is “our” future. I spent my birthday with my cousin at their cabin in Grey Eagle, and there was a sign on the wall that said, “Once upon a time there was time.”

I want to make more time for the things I want to do and maybe even a few I shouldn’t. I’m hoping smaller and less is going to give me the luxury to do just that.

On a last note, I want to share some thoughts about eating out. There has been a lot less cooking going on with the move, and we have been eating out a lot. It seems we get in a rut and don’t try new places or go back to those we were familiar with. One of those places is the Horseshoe Club. We use to get their chicken dinners there all the time, and then Juan leased out the kitchen and it was Mexican food. They are again running their own kitchen and have some great specials. Ralph and I ate there last Wednesday night and Friday night. The New York steak with loaded baked potato, veggies, soup or salad and roll and butter was wonderful for $9.95. Ralph said it was one of the best steaks he’s had. Give all our local establishments your support this winter; with no Legislature in session they can all use our support. Shop local, eat local and try someplace you’ve been wanting to go.

My recipe for a good new year on this Christmas Day is a quote that I saw at June’s from Comma Coffee. I think it’s worth sharing and striving for.

“Live each season as it passes, drink the drink, taste the fruit, breathe the air, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.” — Thoreau

Linda Marrone is a longtime Carson resident, manages the 3rd & Curry Street Farmers Market and is the director of Nevada Certified Farmers Market Association.