Tag Archives: Scottsdale

Rain, rain, don’t go away!

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Rain in our swimming pool.

Rainy day on Thursday.

One thing I noticed about living in Arizona is the weather. We have more of it than in Palm Springs, where I used to live. How can you have MORE weather you might ask? There’s more variety. Look at yesterday. We woke up to rain while it was sunny and warm in Palm Springs. Then in the afternoon we had wind. The past few days we had lows of 28 degrees. Never had that in Palm Springs. We even get an occasional snow day. We had that once out of 30 years in Palm Springs. Plus, at our new home, there are monsoons and haboobs to mix it up.

When I first moved to the Palm Springs area, every morning I’d watch the weather forecast before getting dressed. My husband asked me what I was doing.

“Checking the weather,” I explained. In Seattle, I did that to know what to wear.

“Let me give you a hint,” he said. “Sunny and warm or sunny and hot.”

As a former Seattle-ite, I hated rain. After living in the desert for more than 30 years, I love every bit of rain we get.

There’s an area nearby us that doesn’t have water. The water pipes don’t make it there. Scottsdale was trucking in water to that unincorporated residential area. Can you imagine buying a home and running out of water within a few years? There was a big controversy when Scottsdale cut off supplying water. Residents were drilling wells, but instead of a few dozen yards deep, they were going down hundreds of feet with nothing. I read one horse rancher has a well 800 feet deep, and the water is only 100 feet above the bottom of his well.

Eventually Scottsdale settled with the area and they are supplying water again.

I wondered when we bought our home, why the address was Scottsdale, because it’s a little cutout north of Scottsdale and technically could be in another town. I don’t question it anymore, because I’m happy to have the water and city services Scottsdale provides. We did look at a few homes in unincorporated areas. I’m so glad we didn’t buy outside of city limits.

Palm Springs and the surrounding area is on an aquifer with supposedly unlimited water. Or at least a few-hundred years supply. They also have a number of settling ponds that capture rainfall which allows it to settle back into the aquifer.

I think one of the issues with water in the Phoenix area are the tech companies who have built facilities here.

Here’s a snippet I found about tech companies in the greater Phoenix area and water:

Water, one of the most important elements in the semiconductor manufacturing process, has always been a precious resource in Arizona. Its conservation and management have been a priority for generations, even predating statehood. More than any other state, Arizona understands the importance of long-term planning — it was the first to project its water supply 100 years into the future and remains one of the only states in the nation to do so. This proactive approach to water management ensures that any new developments have access to water for generations to come.

This commitment to transparency and resiliency in water management is vital for semiconductor manufacturers. Companies like Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company chose to grow in Greater Phoenix because it provides a strategic location, stable energy grid and skilled workforce, but these location decisions also rely on the availability and reliability of water. Arizona’s commitment to resilient water management and transparency in long-term planning gives companies confidence in the region’s future.

https://inbusinessphx.com/technology-innovation/water-key-resource-in-greater-phoenix-and-the-semiconductor-industry
iphone weather screen

Thursday’s weather on my iphone.

Styrofoam hats on our cacti to keep warm

Our small cacti are wearing styrofoam hats to keep warm during our freezing nights.

What do you like or dislike about your weather?

Are there any issues with water in your area? If so, what are they?

Trouble in WordPress land

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I’m frustrated because I planned to post beautiful sunsets for this post. I clicked on the block called “image” and got this message: “This block has encountered an error and cannot be previewed.” It’s not previewing I’m concerned about — it’s posting a photo!

I’ve tried everything suggested after I clicked on help. Live chat is now down. I’ve emailed help and got a response that somebody will get back to me. In the meantime, if you want to see my sunset photos, look at https://www.instagram.com/e.a.wickham/.

According to one of my friends who moved from Palm Springs to Arizona 10 years before us, it’s Sunset Season.

I didn’t know there was a season for sunsets, did you?

Before we moved, we’d visit a friend here who introduced me to my husband almost 40 years ago. The friend and I were from Seattle. My husband came up to visit said friend in Seattle and we were introduced. The rest is history.

Our friend moved to Scottsdale five or six years ago and invited us to visit. We’d stay in his casita and really liked it out here. I couldn’t believe the sunsets for one thing. I wonder if it was sunset season?

The plan was to move here after my husband retired. But then COVID hit and my husband was working remotely. Real estate prices in Palm Springs were going through the roof and hubby felt it was time to make our move — because if he could work from home in Palm Springs, he could work from home in Scottsdale.

At first I was against the move. I loved my old Spanish Colonial home downtown Palm Springs. We were two blocks from restaurants and shopping. We had raised our kids in that home and lived there for 28 years. Our kids promised to never talk to us again if we sold the house. The realtor gave us a price to sell and I (not wanting to sell) insisted on raising the sale price by 40% and told my kids NOBODY would pay that much for our 1930s house that needed work.

To my surprise, we had four offers in four hours — two over asking — and one of those with “no inspections.”

So here we are in Arizona, three years later, enjoying the Winter Sunset Season. Oh yes, the kids got over it. They are speaking to us.

Is anyone else experiencing glitches with WP?

Have you thought about moving your home or blog from WP? If so where would you go?

Time to get cracking!

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Dungeness crab from Costco.

Saturday morning we met friends from our old home for breakfast. I had a crab and asparagus omelette and my husband had a crab cake “benny.” We had a great visit with our friends and the food was delicious.

Since we were off our hill into Scottsdale proper, we made our way to Costco. I must have had crab on my brain because I ended up with the crab pictured above. Typical of Costco, it was more than we needed. Three crabs total.

Two hours later of sitting outside with kitchen scissors, nut crackers and a bowl for shells and a bowl for crab meat — and I was done with the cracking.

It was time consuming, tedious and my back, shoulders and hands felt it. But I loved every minute of it.

Why?

First, because Dungeness crab is my most favorite food in the world.

Not only is it delicious, it reminds me of my childhood. We had a boat we kept in Anacortes, Wash., which is the gateway to the San Juan Islands. In Anacortes, next to the Shell Oil refinery, we would catch Dungeness crabs. We’d anchor in that cove which had a slightly sloped sandy bottom where the crabs loved to live.

They aren’t the most intelligent creatures and we’d fish for them with salmon rods. They’d hang onto the line with one claw — munching on whatever we used for bait — cat food, fish heads, whatever. As we reeled them in, they wouldn’t let go until they hit the water’s surface. My dad was ready with the salmon net underneath the crabs when they’d let go. It was his job to untangle the crabs and put them in an ice chest.

My mom’s job was to steam the crabs in the boat’s tiny kitchen and serve us plates of Dungeness crab with squeezes of lemon and melted butter within minutes of catching them.

I’ve had nothing like it since — except for maybe the razor clams we dug and Mom cooked at Ocean Shores. The Costco crab didn’t quite meet my memories of our freshly caught crab, but it was delicious. A real treat for me.

My husband is under the impression that King crabs are the best. That’s because they don’t take much work and you get a big piece of meat. Any Dungeness connoisseur will turn their nose up at this. We know that the delicate flavor of Dungeness cannot be surpassed — and the work to get every morsel out is worth the effort. That’s why I sat and cracked crab for both my husband and me.

When we lived in Palm Springs, my dad would do the same for Christmas Eve dinner so we’d all have a crab cocktail.

Now this is a Dungeness crab sandwich!

Are you a King crab person or a Dungeness lover? What is your most favorite food in the world?

Ready, Set, Go!

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View of the fire in North Scottsdale from our backyard Tuesday night.

We came back from our swim Tuesday afternoon and I smelled smoke. An hour later plumes of smoke were in the air. It looked too close for comfort. Called the Diamond Fire, I was getting notifications on my iphone of a fire that started at 5:15 p.m. and roughly 1,000 people had been evacuated.

From what I could tell it was 20 miles away from us. We weren’t in any danger but I decided to pack things in case we were told to evacuate.

What did I pack? Paperwork like the title to our house, some cash, cat food, cat carrier, my flute, music, underwear, socks, tennis shoes and a few shorts and t-shirts. My husband hosed down our pergola, which is the wooden structure in our back yard over the pool bar.

As we texted neighbors, we discovered we weren’t in any danger, but I realized I do need to organize a “Go Kit” in case of emergency.

I saw this on Twitter from the Scottsdale Fire Department. It’s a good reminder:

Today, I’m going to scan our important documents, so I’ll have them on my laptop — and I’m going to back them up. Then I’m going to put together a more organized Go Kit than the one I threw together last evening.

Living in So Cal for decades, I had an earthquake kit. Now I need a “Go Kit” in case of fire or floods.

What type of preparedness plans or kits do you have? What type of emergencies affect your area?

One of those weeks

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Cactus in bloom.

I’m having one of those weeks where every single day I have an appointment or something I have to do. Hair, doctors, a fundraiser for trafficked women and men….Every single day it’s something. Sometimes it’s more than one thing. Also, my appointments are 45 minutes away in downtown Scottsdale, so while I make the drive, I make a list of what I can get done while I’m in civilization. With the price of gas, I might as well take advantage of a big drive and hit Trader Joe’s.

Yesterday I left the house at 8:30 a.m. Plenty of time for my morning pages, prayers and walk. But then I didn’t return home until 6:30 p.m. because of appointments and stuff to do and big gaps between my appointments 45 minutes from the house.

After a relaxing visit to the beach, I can handle it. I just don’t know why sometimes everything stacks up in one week. My son and I were talking about it. He’s been busy at work, doctors, socializing. We both agreed we’d prefer to socialize with friends once or twice a month! This weekend I’m having people over Friday and going to friends for dinner on Saturday.

I guess I should be thankful for the energy to get through the week. And the blessing of a good night’s sleep to get through the day’s activities. Sometimes I wonder if it’s the past few years of solitude that make it harder to be social or getting out of the house for activities and appointments?

Hedgehog cactus in bloom

This is one of the cacti I photographed last week covered in buds. It’s blooming nicely!

What are your thoughts on being busy versus quiet time at home? Do you think the COVID shut downs have changed how we view our solitude?

Gray day

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wet roadway in Arizona.

The wet street outside our house.

It rained all night, but today the rain has stopped and we have a gray cloudy day. We’re supposed to get more rain for the next two days. I hope we do. I find rain in the desert to be exciting and exhilerating.

But the gray cloudy day fits my mood and makes me want to curl up on the sofa with a book and not do anything but read.

I came home from my kids’ homes a week ago and now I feel myself going through bouts of grief and sadness. I guess that’s normal that I’m home without being busy taking care of my kids, walking Waffles, watching movies with them, grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning.

There isn’t that much to do here with my husband and me. We don’t eat much and the house, especially the kitchen stays surprisingly clean. I could start the taxes for 2022, but I’m not motivated today.

I think I’ll give into my blahs on this gray day and bury myself with a book. My mom would call a day like this a “mung” day. She would feel no guilt for staying in her nightgown and reading all day.

Does weather affect your mood? How do you feel on gray damp days?

Our front yard after a rainy night. The gravel is a weird color because the yard was sprayed for weeds.

A whirlwind week

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Olive the cat getting out of my way as I clean house.

It’s a busy week or two. We returned from a trip to Mexico. I wrote about that HERE.

My son and his girlfriend are visiting from the Bay Area. We are gong to visit Taliesin West later today. It will be a first for all of us. That’s the winter home of Frank Lloyd Wright. We’ll be going on a self-guided tour. A coincidence is that a friend of mine from playgroup days in Palm Springs is a director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. What a small world! I found out from a friend in Palm Springs that our mutual friend had moved to Arizona a month or two before us. I wrote about coincidences recently HERE.

Next week, I fly to Seattle to visit my 90-year-old mom. I meant to visit for her birthday last March, but we were in the throws of Omicron. Both my daughter and husband got it. What weird days those were. I was taking care of my daughter — without being near her. We would wave at each other through her apartment window. I’d go to the laundromat and grocery store for her and leave things on her front steps.

When my husband had COVID, I moved into our Casita. It has a kitchen, so I cooked him chicken soup with lots of garlic and onions. I’d leave it outside the front door and text him. I was close if he needed me, but I wasn’t in physical contact.

I now have an aversion to flying. We have taken trips by car, which I’m comfortable with, but I haven’t wanted to get on an airplane. I can’t stand the wait at the airport, the crowds, being on the plane. COVID ruined flying for me.

Did COVID change your feelings about flying, too? Or did it affect you in other ways? Did you or your family get it?