December 14, 2007

Yup, drove back to Phoenix, today. Turning out of the Arco after running the rental car through the wash, I nearly got nailed as a little red car crossing traffic hit a small pick-up traveling (illegally) in the turn lane. The small truck was shoved into MY lane - I swerved and it missed me narrowly but kept right on going behind me. I pulled around the corner and called 911. Some days I really hate Phoenix.

December 1, 2007

Well, I'm heading into the "home stretch" on the ol' Photo Project. Yeah, I know I haven't managed a photo EVERY day, but there were many days when I included more than one, so I'm calling it good.

My rain gauge registered 1.5 inches of rain when I checked it this morning. That is amazing! (And very much needed.) Everything is so fresh outside, today. I went out to take a couple of photos and then thought it would be fun to do a "past" and "present" comparison. Steve and I will have been in our house ten years in February, so I have included the photos from the original appraisal to compare with the photos I took today. There is a lot more vegetation!

Then - February, 1998

Now (the pine tree is new)

Then - February, 1998

Now (it's a jungle!)

November 30, 2007

Well, November is heading out with a whimper. It's a gray overcast day - spitting rain. Not a lot so far - just enough to spot up the car and make the "dust" into "mud." Looking out the back bedroom window, though, the tangerines look bright and smiley. In Arizona, Christmas and Citrus go together! Ha!

November 24, 2007

When you think of cotton, if you're like most people you probably conjure visions of "Gone With the Wind" and the deep South. Amazingly, however, we grow a lot of cotton in Arizona. (It's True!) I took this photo west of Phoenix on the way home from Thanksgiving dinner.

These bolls are nearly ready to be picked. After harvesting the cotton will be taken to a gin where the seed will be separated from the cotton and the cotton will then go to a compress to be bailed.

This is is some cotton that was starting to be blown about by the wind. I think it's a beautiful plant.

November 21, 2007

Isn't this cute? I got this in the mail today from my Mom! She sent it to me along with a pair of Christmas socks and a cute little angel pin. Awwww... Love gifts from Mom! These are supposed to make me feel more festive! (And I am trying to get "in the mood" but it's hard when it's still in the 80's and I'm sweating in a sleeveless shirt and sandals!)

This doesn't help much - this is my front porch! Good grief! Where IS that cold weather??

November 19, 2007

Part of the charm (cough cough) of living in an Historic District is that neighbors are constantly renovating their homes. This results in an interesting diversity in style and decor and is part of the reason that each Spring our doors open for the annual Home Tour. It can also result, however, in noisy Sunday mornings (nothing like the incessant buzz of a skill saw while I'm enjoying my coffee on the back porch), and the surreptitious disposal of construction debris in the can intended for household refuse (one large can for each four households - located in the alley).

This charming place has been the one of the most recent recipients of a bit of a face lift. Nice, eh? And I'm sure it is. What isn't so nice is that the construction crew loaded up all the garbage cans in the alley with their crap, rather than carting if off to the landfill like they are supposed to do. That means no room for any one else's refuse.


Here is our garbage can. Yup, that's PVC electrical conduit and large pieces of wood. Steve and I knocked on this guys door and asked if he knew that his contractor had - illegally, I might add - filled several cans with the debris from his house. His response was that the guy was "supposed" to cart it away on a flatbed truck. Hey, Surprise! He didn't! Well, Renovation Guy said he do something about it which - Surprise! - he didn't.


Here the garbage collector arrives and has to get out of his truck and physically remove all the shit sticking up out of the top of the can.

And there it is - and yes, it's still there. So, what would YOU do? I must admit that my first impulse is to throw it over the guy's fence, but that could result in some unpleasant sort of feud, so it's not a very good option. Maybe just haul it down behind HIS gate? I don't know. Eventually, the bulk trash collection folks will come through and probably pick it up then. It's just amazing to me, though, how thoughtless that is and how some people really just don't seem to give a shit.

Lord knows, I'm not perfect, and I've put plenty of landscaping debris of my own in the trash can, but this is professional construction - these guys are obligated to haul their waste away. We have to pay for our waste collection services and this sort of thing cheats us all. Stepping down from the soapbox now...

November 17, 2007

More blooms. This is a bougainvillea on the back porch. Michael just loved this when he visited last month (it was blooming then, too). The pink "petals" are actually modified leaves, called "bracts." The flower itself is a tiny little thing in the center of all that pink. I was sitting on the porch this afternoon and thought I would try to snap a picture with the bracts back lit by the sun in the west.

November 16, 2007

I've been working out in the garage - which I've taken to calling "Studio Butler" - all week. It's been warm enough that I can keep the side door open and thus can hear the burbling of the waterfall in the pond. It's quite relaxing.

Our roses are blooming right now, too. That just seems odd, doesn't it? It's November, nearly Thanksgiving, and our flowers are still blooming! It's always this way and yet in the twenty years that I've been living here, I still marvel at how warm it is this time of year.

This is a sugar pine cone - the largest of all pine cones. I have one on the back porch and it just struck me as pretty. I had the camera in my hand and so, voila! There it is.

November 15, 2007

Today was the City of Phoenix BOPA (Batteries, Oil, Paint, and Antifreeze) Collection Event. Essentially, it is for disposal of Household Hazardous Waste and the City accepts more than just the "BOPA." Electronics, pesticides, etc., can also be brought to the drop-off.

I collected some old paints, aerosols, nearly empty propane canisters, and other flammables that we had been storing, along with the drained batteries I had been saving and headed over to make my deposit. I was quite pleased to see so many others doing the same! These events prevent these hazardous wastes from ending up in local landfills where they can pose a threat to groundwater supplies and the good people that operate these facilities. If you're just dumping your household hazardous wastes into the trash - Stop It!

November 14, 2007

This morning I met Desert Songbird for coffee at Starbuck's. Lucky me! This is a new Starbuck's and there is a Pei Wei right next door. Very cool.

I had a pumpkin scone and Desert Songbird had a pumpkin muffin with cream cheese filling. Yummy!

Desert Songbird saying something to the effect of, "You will NOT take my picture!" Alas, I did anyway. (hee hee!)

November 13, 2007

Yesterday, Steve won back "The Plate." This hotly contested piece of sterling silver has its roots in the Colorado Four: Steve, Brian, Mark and Bob. The tales are sordid and of the stuff from which legends are made (it involves dark nights, deep forests, and escapades you wouldn't want to share with your mother). Keeping history alive, the Colorado Four have an annual competition through the green with the ultimate winner adding his name to the plate and earning the right to display it proudly for the coming year. And so, The Plate comes home to Phoenix once again. Now, I need to go find a stand and some silver polish!

November 9, 2001

Wow, for once I had my camera in the front seat of the car and was able to take a photo when I saw something I wanted to get on the fly. Apparently this dude is very proud of his Chevrolet. I have a Chevrolet Blazer and am amazed the thing is still limping along. We won't take it on long trips because we are afraid it will leave us stranded. We use it mostly as a storage unit on wheels. The advantages are that the registration and insurance are cheap and it's paid for.

November 7, 2007

Today I tried to donate blood, again. Sigh. Last week I was deferred because my hemoglobin levels were too low. I was advised to increase my consumption of bananas, raisins, and prune juice (I don't eat red meat) and try again. Well, it didn't work (and man, that prune juice really makes me fart!). So, now I'm deferred yet again. I will try in another month.

November 1, 2007

Today was our Open House at our new office. For the first time EVER the entire staff, all seven of us, were in the same room at the same time! (And no, I don't have a picture of us!) I do have a picture of Steve in his office getting ready for the party.

Open House Scene. The tall guy in the blue shirt is Dave, our Tucson office manager. Tucson is really the Mother Ship. Our office is a "satellite." (Which I guess makes my garage an escape pod.)

Had to get a picture of the bar tender. He was very efficient!

Octobet 18, 2007

Hey! Look! It's my new desk in our Tempe office! I really like the green walls. I have my calendar flipped up to November because our open house is on November 1st and I don't know if I'll be back before then! ha!

Also, today was CPR training! And guess who introduced the training program (via video, but still...)?

October 17, 2007

Telecommuting: Gotta love it!

September 6, 2007

Aeeeiiiii! We're leaving for Maine on Saturday morning and I'm Not Ready!! Mail to sort (from the previous two weeks), bills to pay, gotta pack, clean the cat box, the toilet, do laundry, empty the dishwasher, sign my time sheet, mail my expense report, water the lawn, the houseplants, and on and on... I am looking forward to five hours on the plane where I don't have to do anything. (Then I'm going to eat lobsters until I throw up!)

July 30, 2007

Stayed up until 1:30AM (which would make it TODAY), to finish reading this! Phew! No spoiler, here, but I certainly enjoyed it! Tomorrow, I head for California, so my next pic will be from somewhere along the way! Hurrah!

July 27, 2007

Tragedy strikes! While I was en route home, today, two news 'copters (channel 3 and channel 15), collided over Steele Indian School Park. This is what's left. The pilots and cameramen (four people in all), did not survive. In this densely populated area of downtown Phoenix, it's a miracle they didn't crash into a building - the Veteran's Hospital is adjacent to the park. I live about a mile and a half from the site. I am just sick about it.

The day before, torrential rains caused the roof of my Safeway store to collapse. Fortunately, nobody was injured. I feel like I'm some sort of vortex. And I was SO crabby from the traffic on the freeway when I was driving home - news like this makes me re-think my priorities and count my many blessings all over again!

July 24, 2007

The In/Out board for our project. Sigh. More nostalgia.

Isn't this a cool window? I must confess, I copied Allen, although inadvertently. I was actually checking on an easement when I drove past this very spot that Allen had photographed a couple of days earlier. Had to take a shot at it! I love the weathered boards.