Extreme Makeover??...............(martha)

Two weeks ago, I woke up at 6 am to noise directly outside the house.

‘What’s that sound?’ I wondered. It was sound of scaffolding being erected outside our windows and doors.

We have been under siege (and noise) since then. Inside our house we have a thick coating of fine dust. Since work is still on-going, I will wait to thoroughly clean next week when the dust settles.







Stay tuned for pictures of the finished product!

The bloomin' Prickly Pear.......(martha)

Two weeks ago, the prickly pear in our front yard looked like this.



Last week it was farther along.



Today, it bloomed even more.



Nothing more to say....

More desert beauty.............(martha)

Six weeks ago, we purchased two blue planters to give our house a splash…(or is that a dash?) of color. Ever since then, we have been eagerly waiting for the cactus’ to bloom. Well, it happened! (for one of them). The other cactus has not done a thing. Hmm, maybe desert gardening is harder than we imagined?



Today, we went to Sabino Canyon and hiked outdoors for about two miles. We could hear a desert stream nearby before the path took us to the running water. It made me think of the beginning of Psalm 23…

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.



It was nice to see the stream and remember that God is leading us no matter where we live. For now, our path is here.

Well, I knew it was coming, but..... (Jeff)

As most of you know I enjoy a nice game of golf, and I certainly enjoy seeing all the different flora and fauna on each course. I mostly play Crooked Tree GC these days because it is pretty close to me and I can usually walk on as a single and join another group.

I have seen a few critters, including a coyote or two strolling down the fairway. But, yesterday, THIS is what I saw as I was leaving the 17th tee box.




I was startled at first, but he was 20 feet away and no real danger to me. I stayed back to keep an eye on him and tell the group behind us what was happening (also the guy I was playing with went up to tell the group coming down the adjacent fairway "heads up").

Both photos are from the Internet, and the western diamondback rattlesnake did not coil to strike or shake his rattle (nice picture - for effect), but he did look exactly like the other photo, approximately 4-4 1/2 feet long, as he crossed our fairway heading through the 15th fairway, to some desert brush about 50-60 yards away.

Now, I definitely know this is the time of year that they start to move about, and I will be even more careful as I play. I won't be searching too hard for lost balls either (not that I ever miss a fairway).

The Desert is Blooming!.............(martha)

It was a wet, rainy winter which has yielded great dividends for us. The explosion of color in the desert is phenomenal. It is very, very pretty. To view this better we went back to the Desert Museum. Another day, we took a tour at Tohono Chul Park (private park willed to the city,) and viewed the wildflowers. Besides flowers, many cacti are also blooming.

We have had visitors in January, February, March and now, April (just for the day but I am counting that too!) It is nice on two levels. First, we truly enjoy seeing visitors in our new home and introducing them to our new community.

Secondly, it is a great incentive for cleaning and settling more boxes. Since discovering our little niches, it is easy (for me) to ignore the pesky little tasks that are (still) not done.

I am focused on doing things I enjoy. I am grateful that I am not bored or lonely even though I miss seeing our friends. I am at peace with living here. In fact, I am often so busy I wonder how I ever had time to work!

We are far enough along (on the house) to function quite easily. However, only people coming to visit are the incentive I need to tackle more boxes that wait patiently in the closet! Jeff is disciplined enough (sorting through "his stuff") without that extra push. Sigh.

If you wondered about the house...(she smiles) It still remains a priority (a money pit?) Regular maintenance has not been done in 15 years. We were absentee landlords. Out of sight. Out of mind. Now we're playing catch up.

Our next major project is replacing all the window and doors. After that, we will repair the stucco, wooden trim and then repaint the exterior. Last Friday, we purchased an "Arizona" door. This is a customized front door screen manufactured with heavy-duty cast iron. Screen doors are not the norm. This option means we can leave the door open and capture the breeze in the shoulder seasons.

Care to visit?

Exploring new territory..............(martha)

We have delayed exploring (or touring) Tucson because our focus has been in three distinct areas. First, on our house (settling it, renovating the kitchen, unpacking, etc). Next, on volunteering and lastly, on building our new community (finding a church, joining a fitness center, belonging to a dinner group, etc.)

However, Kris and Al Perry (friends from Minnesota,) spent six weeks here during their harsh winter back there. They persuaded us to join them one Saturday at the Desert Museum. It was a great day outdoors. After a wonderful orientation to desert plants and cactus we went inside for a presentation on the rattlesnakes and Gila Monster. (See photos above.)

Next, my sister, Linnea, (from Pasadena, CA) visited us for a few days last weekend. (Her office was closed last Monday for President's Day.)

As a result of her visit, we toured the Kitt Peak Observatory (located on the Tohono O’odham Nation land). The next day, we went to the Titan Missile Museum (which was fascinating). Our docent led tour exceeded the hour because we had so many questions. Maybe we are smarter than a 5th grader?

Afterwards we drove 30 miles south (on I-19) to Tubac. This is a charming town (population less than 1,000,) with a large shopping area. Think Shirlington (if you're familiar with that area near our former neighborhood in VA). Tubac is spread over several "city" blocks containing locally owned restaurants, shops, art galleries, furniture stores and coffee spots.

Last weekend, Tubac also hosted an arts and craft festival. Artisans from around the country (CA, MT, MN, NJ, etc.) had tents displaying their skills at painting, pottery, bronze sculpture, leather works, etc. It was enjoyable walking outdoors from booth to booth. It was sunny, with no wind and over 70 degrees.

Even though Tucson is the snake “capital” of America, come and visit!

We’ll step carefully and go exploring other sites!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Jeff)

Greetings,

Sorry for the delay in posting but things have been busy for us.

First, the Good. We had a great time in MN for the Christmas holidays seeing family and friends. Another Good is that the kitchen is finally done. We are very pleased with the outcome (see photos above) and look forward to enjoying it for years to come.

Second, the Bad. While back in MN, we got our yearly dose of real winter and are very glad that we could escape back to Tucson before we froze our noogies off! Another Bad is that Arizona, including Tucson, just got hammered with our version of a winter storm. We got almost two inches of rain, roughly a third of our yearly average, and over three feet of snow in the mountains (photo above is from our front balcony). We even had tornado watches for Tucson.

Third, the Ugly. Yes, the Vikings season has ended. It was a heart breaking loss for many of us who felt this was our magical year. But alas, five turnovers will almost always guarantee a loss. Brett Favre played his heart out and showed a lot of courage to hang in with the pounding he was taking. It was a very exciting season, so I hope he does not retire for good.