Rain & Hail
This past weekend Mark and I were in Costco and all of a sudden we heard a loud thunderclap. We heard rain on the roof and some of the shoppers cheered. We could see out the open door and soon there was not only rain but also hail--about a quarter inch in diameter. After it stopped in a short while we went outside to our car and there was hail piled up in our windshield wiper area (at the base of the windshield where the wipers hide out) and also some in areas on the ground. When we got to my brother-in-law's house they had even more and they were larger--people were outside taking pictures. Excitement!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Official Arizona Cars and Drivers
One day last week Mark and I went to the DMV and got our cars titled in Arizona and also received our Arizona drivers licenses. The people working at the DMV were less bureaucratic and laid back than in Wisconsin, so it wasn't a bad experience. And I got rid of my awful WI photo.
However, one thing that wasn't better was the cost to title our cars. We knew the formula before we went so were prepared. The cost is determined by the base price of your car (my 2001 PT had a base price of $18,000+). Then they take a percentage of that and charge you so much per thousand. My car ended up costing $183.00; Mark's $382. Then next year the percentage they use for calculation will be lower, and so on in successive years. So because I'm new in Arizona I pay more than a person with the same car who has lived here a while.
One day last week Mark and I went to the DMV and got our cars titled in Arizona and also received our Arizona drivers licenses. The people working at the DMV were less bureaucratic and laid back than in Wisconsin, so it wasn't a bad experience. And I got rid of my awful WI photo.
However, one thing that wasn't better was the cost to title our cars. We knew the formula before we went so were prepared. The cost is determined by the base price of your car (my 2001 PT had a base price of $18,000+). Then they take a percentage of that and charge you so much per thousand. My car ended up costing $183.00; Mark's $382. Then next year the percentage they use for calculation will be lower, and so on in successive years. So because I'm new in Arizona I pay more than a person with the same car who has lived here a while.
!! SPIDERS !! - not scary, but for those of you who have major spider fears (I know who you are...), read at your own risk...
At last, I have a spider story to tell. One morning last week Mark went outside using our front door and shortly thereafter called me to come and look. Right outside the door was a large spider; including the legs I'd estimate it to be one and three-quarter inches long. Its back was bumpy, which we commented on. Mark gave it a poke and immediately there were lots of little spiders running around on the cement. At first we thought they were ants--but then we realized the spider had been carrying her babies on her back! I did some research and found out it was a wolf spider (pictured below with babies on its back). So far I haven't talked to anyone who knows anyone who was bitten by any variety of spider--but people respect them down here.
Here's a poem I like that I found on the spider web site I consulted. It's speaking from the viewpoint of the mother spider.
Wolf Spider by Matt Welter
You tickled me with your 800 teensy legs
crawling up my own.
Worry not, my tiny garnets,
if you fall off I'll rush back
and let you climb upon me
hind leg to abdomen.
Your plush seat awaits you,
reserved upon this mother coach.
At last, I have a spider story to tell. One morning last week Mark went outside using our front door and shortly thereafter called me to come and look. Right outside the door was a large spider; including the legs I'd estimate it to be one and three-quarter inches long. Its back was bumpy, which we commented on. Mark gave it a poke and immediately there were lots of little spiders running around on the cement. At first we thought they were ants--but then we realized the spider had been carrying her babies on her back! I did some research and found out it was a wolf spider (pictured below with babies on its back). So far I haven't talked to anyone who knows anyone who was bitten by any variety of spider--but people respect them down here.
Here's a poem I like that I found on the spider web site I consulted. It's speaking from the viewpoint of the mother spider.
Wolf Spider by Matt Welter
You tickled me with your 800 teensy legs
crawling up my own.
Worry not, my tiny garnets,
if you fall off I'll rush back
and let you climb upon me
hind leg to abdomen.
Your plush seat awaits you,
reserved upon this mother coach.
Progress in Two Rooms
We've made a bit of progress in home decorating. We now have a sofa and loveseat, TV console, ceiling fan and light, and area rug in the family room.
Also, I've been working on one of the guest rooms. It's quite small and probably won't be used much--company will use the larger guest room. I guess its main function will be for me to display my old-fashioned things! The piece I'm using as a nightstand is an antique washstand that was in my mother's home when she was growing up. I'll have to keep my eye open in resale or antique (or junk!) shops for a nightstand for the other side. I have an antique dresser in there also but you can't see it in the pictures.
The curtains and coverlet look blue but are really aqua. The pictures on each side of the window are counted cross stitch that my daughter-in-law Kathi made for me a few years ago. You may recall seeing them in the dining room in our Waterford house. They're peach flowers with green/aqua leaves. The quilt on the bed was made for me by my mother several years ago. It's the Dresden Plate pattern and I love the decorative edging that she added. I have several other quilts from my grandmothers and great-aunts that will look nice in there too if I want a change.
We've made a bit of progress in home decorating. We now have a sofa and loveseat, TV console, ceiling fan and light, and area rug in the family room.
Also, I've been working on one of the guest rooms. It's quite small and probably won't be used much--company will use the larger guest room. I guess its main function will be for me to display my old-fashioned things! The piece I'm using as a nightstand is an antique washstand that was in my mother's home when she was growing up. I'll have to keep my eye open in resale or antique (or junk!) shops for a nightstand for the other side. I have an antique dresser in there also but you can't see it in the pictures.
The curtains and coverlet look blue but are really aqua. The pictures on each side of the window are counted cross stitch that my daughter-in-law Kathi made for me a few years ago. You may recall seeing them in the dining room in our Waterford house. They're peach flowers with green/aqua leaves. The quilt on the bed was made for me by my mother several years ago. It's the Dresden Plate pattern and I love the decorative edging that she added. I have several other quilts from my grandmothers and great-aunts that will look nice in there too if I want a change.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
FINALLY...here's my blog...
Welcome
Thanks for checking out my blog. I hope you enjoy it and also find out what life is like for me/us here in Surprise, Arizona.
Map
For starters I thought I'd include a link to a map of the greater Phoenix area. For optimum viewing it helps to change the viewing size to 100%.
Once you find Phoenix then follow Hwy 60 to the northwest (runs diagonally) and you'll come to first Glendale, then Peoria, then Sun City, etc. and then Surprise. Looking at the major streets below the word "Surprise," locate the intersection of Litchfield Road (runs north & south) and Cactus (runs east and west). We are very close to that intersection.
What's in a name?
Phoenix gets its name from the bird in Greek mythology that died in a fire and then rose out of the ashes. It's associated with the sun (HOT sun) and rebirth. This area is sometimes referred to as the Valley of the Sun. There are mountains at different locations all around the city (the White Tanks west of us, the Estrellas (pronounced Es-trayas) to the south, and South Mountain Park to the south, and so on. Because it's a valley it has a smog problem at times. We are quite far out so hopefully we won't be bothered by it.
Note: Mountains down here are not green and forested like you may picture mountains. They are brown and rocky with some desert vegetation. They are most attractive when parts of them are in shadow when they look dark blue-purple. It's also nice to see their silhouettes again the sky at dusk. We can see them from our neighborhood even though they're several miles away, so they must be big.
So what causes that smog?
Traffic--lots of traffic! That's the thing I like least down here. And once the snowbirds come there will be even more traffic. Hopefully I will get more comfortable with it as I drive more. I think I have relaxed some so I'm hopeful.
Speaking of traffic, I've never seen so many red PT's like mine. It's very surprising. And there are LOTS of BIG pick-up trucks, and I mean BIG. Sometimes I think I'm in Texas (that was for you, Jennifer).
My Major Map Points Thus Far
Here's the link for our city web site. It was founded in 1938 and was named after the founder's hometown in Nebraska. In 1960 it was incorporated and now has a population of approx. 90,000, with most of the growth occurring since 2000.
Thanks for checking out my blog. I hope you enjoy it and also find out what life is like for me/us here in Surprise, Arizona.
Map
For starters I thought I'd include a link to a map of the greater Phoenix area. For optimum viewing it helps to change the viewing size to 100%.
Once you find Phoenix then follow Hwy 60 to the northwest (runs diagonally) and you'll come to first Glendale, then Peoria, then Sun City, etc. and then Surprise. Looking at the major streets below the word "Surprise," locate the intersection of Litchfield Road (runs north & south) and Cactus (runs east and west). We are very close to that intersection.
What's in a name?
Phoenix gets its name from the bird in Greek mythology that died in a fire and then rose out of the ashes. It's associated with the sun (HOT sun) and rebirth. This area is sometimes referred to as the Valley of the Sun. There are mountains at different locations all around the city (the White Tanks west of us, the Estrellas (pronounced Es-trayas) to the south, and South Mountain Park to the south, and so on. Because it's a valley it has a smog problem at times. We are quite far out so hopefully we won't be bothered by it.
Note: Mountains down here are not green and forested like you may picture mountains. They are brown and rocky with some desert vegetation. They are most attractive when parts of them are in shadow when they look dark blue-purple. It's also nice to see their silhouettes again the sky at dusk. We can see them from our neighborhood even though they're several miles away, so they must be big.
So what causes that smog?
Traffic--lots of traffic! That's the thing I like least down here. And once the snowbirds come there will be even more traffic. Hopefully I will get more comfortable with it as I drive more. I think I have relaxed some so I'm hopeful.
Speaking of traffic, I've never seen so many red PT's like mine. It's very surprising. And there are LOTS of BIG pick-up trucks, and I mean BIG. Sometimes I think I'm in Texas (that was for you, Jennifer).
My Major Map Points Thus Far
- Mark's brother Rod, his wife Karen, and son Brandon live about 10 miles east of us in Peoria. (More about them on another day.)
- The Northwest Regional Library is on Bullard about three miles north of us.
- The churches we visited have been west of us a couple to four miles.
- And then SHOPPING. Grocery stores (Fryes and Safeway), McDonalds, the Sonic Drive-in, pizza shop, walk-in hair place, and other stores are at the intersection of Litchfield & Waddell. There's a Super WMT farther east on Waddell, my nail place is at Litchfield & Greenway, and so on. Then directly north of us on Bell Road (which turns into Sun Valley Parkway as it goes west) are major chains like Home Depot, Lowes, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Office Max, Target, Michael's, Kohl's and so on. However, to get to a JoAnn's I have to drive about 12 miles east on Bell! That's also where there's a mall, nice furniture stores, larger chain restaurants (there's a PF Chang's), etc. They are opening new stores west of us (a Kohl's just opened and a Wal-Mart) but I'm sure it will be a while before there's a real mall.
Here's the link for our city web site. It was founded in 1938 and was named after the founder's hometown in Nebraska. In 1960 it was incorporated and now has a population of approx. 90,000, with most of the growth occurring since 2000.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The 2009 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (Oct. 4-12)
Mark and I drove to Albuquerque on Thursday, October 9, and met Tim and Kathi and Grace and Will who had flown down from Minneapolis. When we got there at 5 pm (it was an 8 hour trip we found out!) the rest were already at the Fiesta site. We tried to meet them there but the traffic was backed up just horribly. After a 45 min. wait at an exit and then being turned away and told to go to the next exit, we gave up and decided to skip that evening's activities.
The next morning we got up at 4:30 and left for the site at 5:00. We arrived in pre-dawn but there were already lots of people there. There were many tents/booths selling food and wares so it was a carnival atmosphere. If we go again we'll know to take lawn chairs. Luckily Kathi had though to stop at Target the day before and buy a quilt so we had something to sit on. We ate our breakfast while waiting for dawn when we could watch the Special Shape Rodeo. It was cold.
There were regular rounded balloons also, but the special shaped ones were fantastic. No need to say more--just look at the pictures below (except please notice the baskets--they seem very small compared to the balloons).
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