Several weeks later, Anderson calls VanCouver. She's sending her mother and aunt to Rancho La Puera as a Christmas present. She spent her holiday in Bali, where she broke up with her boyfriend, actor Rodney Rowland. But she is excited about something--if not someone to--new in her life: she's bought a California Beach house.

"It's a small place," she says. "Right now, it's got a table and a bench and a cabinet, and I love it!" The house also passed a critical test: "My daughter walked into the place for the first time and she started screaming, 'This is great!' She rode her bike around te living room, and sat outside on the porch by herself for ten minutes, looking at the stars. For ten minutes! What was she thinking?"

With The X-Files moving its base to L.A., Anderson is unattached for the first extended period of her adult life. She is focusing on her daughter and her work-in that order. "There is something about a [romantic] relationship that can be a safety net," she says. "I'm in the midst of redifining who I am as a person, and it's interesting." Even the thought of turning 30 in August doesn't vex her. "I would like to have a small birthday party in Los Angeles for my closest friends," she says. "I've been waiting to be 30 all my life. It represents a certain level of maturity. I guess this year is about determining whether I fit that or not. But I'm excited--it feels like it's gonna be a good thing." '~'