A lot of updating...

Holy hell! Was my last post really on September 30th? WOW. Well, my only excuse is that I've been madly cooking and blogging over at Scraping the Skillet. I do have a lot of things to update y'all on, though. Really, there should have been a bunch of posts between September and now...here's a brief recap of what's been going on:

NINI AND ADAM GOT MARRIED! Yes, my little sister is married! I have a bunch of photos posted on Flickr, but here's one to get you started...

I was back in Chicago for a glorious 10 days around her wedding. It was great to spend time with family and friends - we don't get to see them enough! Highlights? Bocce ball in Merrimack Park. Glorious fall leaves. TO DIE FOR Italian food (by an Irish chef, no less). Oh yeah, and the wedding. That was pretty awesome too ;)

2. I took a new job. Actually, I did this before the wedding by a few months. It just didn't seem top of the list. It's not an exciting or challenging job, but it is flexible and the people are nice. Now you know why I've been flakier than usual about returning e-mails, etc. Job + Food Blog = crazy busy.

3. Dylan and I have made a new resolution to go hiking more often. I mean, we live 5 minutes from a National Park but we haven't hit the trail in over a year? Crazy. The first hike was The Bellota trail up on Mt. Lemmon. Gorgeous scenery and a relatively easy hike. Amazing views after just a short hike to the ridge. Here we are:


This weekend we hiked up and around Sabino Canyon. It was also beautiful and we got to see lots of cool stuff, like a desert box turtle and a desert kitty cave. Check Flickr for pictures soon (D took the camera with him to Miami).

4. Speaking of Miami, the Canyon Ranch Miami project that D has been working on since we moved here is opening! He's there now for the soft soft opening. I was starting to wonder if this would ever happen!

5. Caleb has been battling some peeing issues. He's gotten all blocked up twice and had to spend the night at the Vet (he relapsed after the first drain). To help him manage better in the future we have officially put him on the Weekly World News Juice Diet. Mrow.

That's all the news that's fit to print.

I'll leave you with this thought:

Tucson in July

Dear, dear friends,

I want to share with you some insider information. Call it a pitch, or take it at face value. Up to you.

Most people think that the best time to visit our corner of the US is in winter and spring. Mostly, they come for warmth - to escape their bleary winter days and experience some sun in the middle. Here, in my opinion, is where they go wrong.

NOW is the best time of year to be here. Why? You ask. Let me pontificate.

Once the monsoons begin the weather here is paradise. It's not 105 anymore (that's usually just May and June). In fact, it's a high of 90 or 95 with glorious breaks in the day when there is a lovely thunderstorm and it is 70 degrees! Now, before you wince at the 90 -95 degree declaration, remember what the humidity is like in the desert. You know, it's a DRY heat ;) What that means is that it's probably about 13-15% humidity. Midwesterners: BEAT THAT!

When it rains all the plants in the desert do a happy dance. That dance (called photosynthesis and growth) makes everything around us green and beautiful. Seriously, it looks Hawaii in them thar hills! The roadsides are flanked with green grass. For anyone who has already come to visit, I'm sure you can attest that your first reaction to Tucson was "it's so brown." Not at this time of year, friends. Not at this time of year. I've attached a picture (poor though it is, taken with my camera phone while driving) as proof. Look at the hills! Green! Be still my beating heart.

Finally, because most people choose to visit in the winter and spring (and are not privy to this insider info) the plane tickets to Tucson are the cheapest during the summer. Talk about a deal for a get away or a vacation!

Ok, I'm getting off my soapbox. I just wanted to share this with everyone. This season should last thru August and then it's on to "second summer." If you have a free weekend and you're looking for a get away, call :)

a quick thought

I'm still finishing up stuff for this week's food bank meeting but wanted to take a moment to share this thought that I had today:

Even the cactus seem to be wilting in this heat.

Dylan at the finish line

Dylan at the finish line, originally uploaded by sunpath.

On Sunday Dylan rode in the Tour of the Tucson Mountains. He finished well, at 3 hours and 12 minutes. That makes his average speed 21.8 mph for the 70 mile course (and there was a head wind almost the whole way!).

Wish the pic was a little more in focus...I guess I'm really not a sports photographer ;)

It's not the money, it's the lifestyle...

Here in Tucson, we have a ballot measure that is up for approval this election. It would increase the Mayor's pay by $12,000 per year. In researching the measure I learned that the Mayor of the City of Tucson, part of a metro area with over 1 million residents, makes only $42,000/year. If this ballot measure is passed, the Mayor will be paid a whopping $54,000/year.


Anyone want to run for Mayor?!?

No runners...

No one running for Mayor of Tucson, that is. Not even the current Mayor.

Which seems strange...where the heck do we live that no one wants to be Mayor. Not even for the wrong reasons. The analysis seems so simple that it is almost not worth putting into words. What kind of a city is this?

Of course, there is always the hope, that I am oversimplifying. Hopefully there is something I don't know or really don't understand about this scenario. Hopefully...

The most beautiful...

I saw the most beautiful rainbow on my way home yesterday. It looked like it was burning a colorful hole in the sky...

If only my phone's camera could have done it justice...

Schnee!

It's about as rare as...well...snow in the desert!

little things

I have to admit...while I miss Chicago & Seattle terribly, I really do like this place that is Tucson.

No, there are not tall, leafy trees and no, I can't garden in the same way I did in Seattle. Our old friends and families still don't live here. No, Tucson isn't the same as other places we have lived. It just isn't.

What I've realized, though, is that what Tucson is is not immediately noticeable. You can't just drive through town and get it. If you did that, all you would see would be strip malls and short stubby trees. You'd think, "Gosh, for a city of 1,000,000 people, what kind of a podunk place is this?"

Of course if you look at Tucson the same way one might look at the desert for beauty, you just might find it. The wide open expanses and endless skies are awesome and lonely. The tiny, tiny flowers that a plant creates to continue the life cycle of the species are beautiful. Tucson is the same way. You have to look a little closer to see what's there.

After the Rain has come...

After the recent rains we drove up to Sabino Canyon and hiked to the dam. The river was raging - a far cry from the trickle that it usually is (if there is even water flowing at all).
You get the picture...

New things every day

Yesterday I learned, from someone who has lived in this desert longer than I, a new tip (and none too soon, I might add).

During the summer months it is advisable to leave one's car windows open a smidge when parking for any extended period of time. When closed completely, the heat that builds up in the car may cause the windshield to crack.

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I will crack my windows with religious zeal each time I leave my car. This "fact" may not be a fact at all, but I'll never know because I'd rather not end up with a cracked windshield. I guess I am afraid of some things. Boogey monsters, no. Cracked windshields, yes.

Down the River

We headed up to the San Pedro this past weekend and hung out with the TNC folks who manage the San Pedro River Preserve as well as our dear friend Katie Snell and some folks she works with at UCSC. The group hiked up Aravipa Canyon and ended our trip with some nice cold union beers at Ed Abbey's doublewide.

Abbey worked as the first land manager for the area that is jointly managed by TNC and the BLM. It was quite the pilgramige :)

Rain in the Desert

It rained!
Yes, we love the sun here, but it just makes rain that much more refreshing. Seattlites, you may not be so interested in pictures of plants with rain on them, but this is sheer delight for those of us that reside in the sunny state of Arizona...

El Tour

Every year Tucson holds the El Tour de Tucson, a cycling event that that covers a 109 mile route and this year had 7,800 registered riders. The only famous rider name that jumped out at me was Floyd Landis, but people come from all over the country for this race. The route goes right through Canyon Ranch, and we were able to get an excellent view of the riders as they whizzed by. Dylan's boss, Lisa, rides in the El Tour every year and finished the 109 mile race in just over 5 hours (sheesh!). Here are some pictures of the race...


(Lisa cruised by about a half hour earlier than we expected her to...as a result all I got was her back as she zoomed away...I talked to her later and learned that she shaved something like 35 minutes off of her total time from last year. Amazing!)

All Souls

Tonight we headed downtown to check out the All Souls Procession. The celebration is a mix of people celebrating the Catholic All Souls Day and the Aztec (in origin) Day of the Dead. Everyone was dressed up and many were celebrating those who have passed on. There was a group dressed up to celebrate those who lost lives in Hurricane Katrina and many individuals and families who had decorated floats, or banners to honor a loved one who has moved on. At the end of the procession there was a dance performance (with lots of fire) in a park in downtown Tucson. I (for some unknown reason) didn't bring my camera with, but below are a couple of shots I borrowed from the local paper. I especially liked the praying mantis :)

Soldier's Trail

Yesterday we woke early (5 am) and hiked up Soldier's Trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains, east of Tucson. These are the tallest mountains in the immediate area...


And, today I started a new blog where I'll post the hikes that I take from now until eternity (or until I get bored with blogging my hikes). view it here or follow the link in the right column.