If you are now one of my Facebook friends, you probably noticed, to your salivary glands' delight, that a preponderance of our posts have to do with food and drink. There are many good restaurants in the Tucson area, and prices are reasonable enough that we can afford to go out frequently. We also enjoy just getting together with friends late in the afternoon. But the main reason we have been eating out so much is that we find ourselves away from the house at lunch time, and lunch time is a great time to have a big meal. Not only is it less expensive than at dinner time, but it's much better for your metabolism to eat during the middle of the day and then lightly in the evening. Okay, so these are all just good excuses.
Living in the Boston area, and particularly in Acton, we have become used to getting the best of the best, both in vegetables and fish. We have slaked our thirst for really fresh vegetables, somewhat, with our finding the local organic garden we talked about in the last post. But finding good, fresh fish has proven to be somewhat elusive.
It's not that the grocery stores don't have a wide variety of fish. They do. And it's not that we can't get the Atlantic species we're used to; I am a big proponent of eating locally, and I would be very happy with good, fresh Pacific fish. And there's the key word: fresh. the majority of fish found in stores is either frozen, previously frozen, or never frozen, but with the sunken eyes that tell you it came off the boat more than a day or two ago. The two exceptions are salmon which, whether it's wild or farm raised, I can only enjoy every so often; and trout. The trout has turned out to be absolutely delicious, and since we have discovered it, we have eaten it about once a week.
(In all of the above I am excluding shrimp, which tends to be frozen and of very good quality whether you live in Boston or Arizona.)
One amusing difference we have found with the trout is that apparently Arizonians, if that is the right term, have much more fragile sensibilities when it comes to knowing the source of their food. In only one store we have been to so far have we seen the actual whole trout; everywhere else they sell either a filet or a headless, tailless body.
And to be fair to the restaurants, we have found two that seem to be able to get fresh fish and cook it properly: Bluefin and Poca Cosa, the latter being an outstanding Mexican/Sonoran style bistro.
We are now exactly 16 days away from closing on our house, and just under three weeks away from departing for our journey back to Acton. I'll save being maudlin for a subsequent post, since now we are too busy taking stock of what we need to do before we leave. We are done with all the shopping that we're going to do now. We have appointments set up with our contractor for the changes that will be made to the house while we are away. We have scheduled a temporary forwarding of mail with the post office from our vacation home to our Acton home. I still have a doctors appointment and a hair appointment. We have a couple of social engagements. We have to move out of our rental villa and into our friend's house for several nights, along with all of the stuff we have bought for the new house which we can't put into the new house until after we close. And we have to sort through all of our clothing and miscellaneous stuff to see what we can ship in order to minimize what we have in the car. Even the car has an appointment at the Volvo dealer; we have put on so many miles it's time for the next regular checkup!
And today is just another wonderful, sunny day here. Bob is out playing golf. We will both be working on our online courses for a couple of hours later. And then we're off to a movie this afternoon with a friend, followed by dinner here at the house with some of the fresh vegetables we picked up yesterday.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
The Waning of TV
I'm watching the end of this weekend's delayed golf tournament as I'm finishing my breakfast at eight o'clock. Television in Arizona has been a challenge. We are three hours behind the East Coast during daylight time, since Arizona doesn't go on daylight time, but the television schedule is central time. Of course, anything live such as sports events or presidential addresses happen in real time which is then three hours earlier than Eastern time. The TV in our rental condo is an old-fashioned screen and although there is cable there is no HD nor VCR. Last night we were able to watch both "The Good Wife" and "The Mentalist" without staying up too late. Conversely, there have been numerous times we've been out with friends till nine or so, which means that there is nothing on except the 10 o'clock news at nine, which is not really worth watching. Occasionally we pick up reruns of Rachel Maddow. The result of all this is that we have been watching very little television and to our surprise have not been missing it. I wonder what will happen when we get back to Acton, whether we will feel the need to catch up on the few shows we have missed entirely or whether we will continue watching very selected TV. It has been easy to adapt to watching practically no TV; I suspect it will be just as easy to adapt to our old habits of watching TV most nights.
Bob is out playing golf again, which gives me the time to blog and to work on my current online course on "global poverty". He has really been enjoying the ability to play two or three times a week, at low cost and very close. Yesterday afternoon I went out with him at four o'clock. He was able to get a tee time as a single, so I was able to ride around in the golf cart and enjoy the beautiful scenery and views of the mountains from the course.
With the close of our new house almost upon us (April 16th) we have been busy buying some of the essentials and are pretty much done at this point. Online shopping has really been a big help! We'll be meeting with our contractor a couple of times before we leave to go over the details of changes we want made, and we will likely be back here in October for a week or two to actually move in and get things set up before we come back in January. Our house is small enough that we can get by with a minimal amount of furniture. We do still have to buy a few patio chairs since we intend to spend a great deal of time outside.
We continue to meet people here and there, and everyone is very welcoming, since just about everyone has come from somewhere else. Interestingly, the local phone book has a section listing people by hometown. There are three other people from Acton here, although I don't recognize any of the names. Our time is filled with golf; going to the fitness center; going out to eat; visiting various places of interest as we're still learning the area; "slouching" with friends; playing bridge; going to movies; sitting outside for cocktail hour; reading; the occasional trivia contest; and so on. Next January we will really get into the swing of things and Bob will also join a pickle ball league, while I will probably get involved in a book group or some other club. it's a pretty easy life.
Of course everyone who lives here tends to encourage other people to move here. What I find quite funny ,and gratifying in an odd sort of way, is the reaction when they find out we're from Boston. "Oh, I understand why you only want to spend a couple of months a year here. Why would anybody want to move out of New England, it's such a great place?" Note that there are a preponderance of people here from Washington state (rain) and Minnesota (frigid).
The weather has gotten warmer now and we expect cactus to start blooming in another week or two. We discovered a local garden that sells "almost organic" vegetables on Saturdays and Wednesday mornings. Last Saturday we got some gorgeous chard, some unbelievably tender asparagus, and beautiful green onions. We somehow managed to miss the oyster mushrooms but are hoping to pick up some on Wednesday.
With the warm weather - 75 to 80 during the day, and generally brilliant sunshine - we have to be very careful not to get too much sun although it's so enticing to do so. We've learned that a little bit at a time is okay, and that hats and sunscreen are our friends.
That's it for now. My TV for the day is almost over and it looks like Tiger is going to win.
Bob is out playing golf again, which gives me the time to blog and to work on my current online course on "global poverty". He has really been enjoying the ability to play two or three times a week, at low cost and very close. Yesterday afternoon I went out with him at four o'clock. He was able to get a tee time as a single, so I was able to ride around in the golf cart and enjoy the beautiful scenery and views of the mountains from the course.
With the close of our new house almost upon us (April 16th) we have been busy buying some of the essentials and are pretty much done at this point. Online shopping has really been a big help! We'll be meeting with our contractor a couple of times before we leave to go over the details of changes we want made, and we will likely be back here in October for a week or two to actually move in and get things set up before we come back in January. Our house is small enough that we can get by with a minimal amount of furniture. We do still have to buy a few patio chairs since we intend to spend a great deal of time outside.
We continue to meet people here and there, and everyone is very welcoming, since just about everyone has come from somewhere else. Interestingly, the local phone book has a section listing people by hometown. There are three other people from Acton here, although I don't recognize any of the names. Our time is filled with golf; going to the fitness center; going out to eat; visiting various places of interest as we're still learning the area; "slouching" with friends; playing bridge; going to movies; sitting outside for cocktail hour; reading; the occasional trivia contest; and so on. Next January we will really get into the swing of things and Bob will also join a pickle ball league, while I will probably get involved in a book group or some other club. it's a pretty easy life.
Of course everyone who lives here tends to encourage other people to move here. What I find quite funny ,and gratifying in an odd sort of way, is the reaction when they find out we're from Boston. "Oh, I understand why you only want to spend a couple of months a year here. Why would anybody want to move out of New England, it's such a great place?" Note that there are a preponderance of people here from Washington state (rain) and Minnesota (frigid).
The weather has gotten warmer now and we expect cactus to start blooming in another week or two. We discovered a local garden that sells "almost organic" vegetables on Saturdays and Wednesday mornings. Last Saturday we got some gorgeous chard, some unbelievably tender asparagus, and beautiful green onions. We somehow managed to miss the oyster mushrooms but are hoping to pick up some on Wednesday.
With the warm weather - 75 to 80 during the day, and generally brilliant sunshine - we have to be very careful not to get too much sun although it's so enticing to do so. We've learned that a little bit at a time is okay, and that hats and sunscreen are our friends.
That's it for now. My TV for the day is almost over and it looks like Tiger is going to win.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Just Strolling Down the Stravenue
I'm starting this long-overdue entry on the 14th of March (pi day for you mathematicians and scientists, and tomorrow is the Ides for the rest of you). So much has happened here in the last two weeks! The rain from a week ago has gone, as has the cooler weather, and you can see the results everywhere you look. Some of the cacti are getting ready to bloom in a few weeks. The parched, dry rough on the golf course has started to take on a pale green hue. It's getting harder and harder to see any snow on the mountains, except for the very top of the tallest ones. Even Mt. Lemmon, which at 9800' boasts the southernmost ski area in the US, has temporarily suspended skiing until they get more snow.
This morning we are sitting out on our back patio enjoying the warm weather. I'm reading a book, and Bob is intently listening to one of the lectures from his online course on Justice. This is not justice in the normal sense, but rather in a very broad approach to philosophy, ethics, etc. I would probably be taking it as well, but I'm pretty much tied up with my own course on the economics of global poverty. These are issues I never studied in college since I was focused so much on the science and math, and it is quite eye-opening. Foreign aid is rarely the panacea we think it is; poverty is a very complex, local and culturally-specific set of issues.
Bob has been playing a fair amount of golf, as well as taking lessons, and spending time on the driving range. It's really nice that he can do that on a regular basis and not worry so much about the weather cooperating.
One of the interesting parts about this extended vacation is that it doesn't feel so much like a vacation. Two big contributors to that are that we are renting a "Villa", rather than staying in a hotel; and we have some very good friends here and have met others who make us feel very welcome. I have found myself saying "it's time to go home" rather than "it's time to go back to the villa or the hotel". It truly makes a difference.
A few weeks ago we thought it might be interesting to take a look at a few houses here, just for curiosity's sake. We have enjoyed our stay here so much that we know we'll be returning next winter, and we thought a bit of interior sightseeing would help us decide what to rent next year. Our friend Maren is a realtor, so it was very easy to do this without making any sort of commitment. There are so many different models of house here in Saddlebrooke, and we had only seen a couple by virtue of visiting our friends here.
The more we looked the more we got excited about being here next winter, and Bob kind of tossed around the idea of perhaps buying a house ourselves, so we didn't have to rely on rentals and didn't have to worry about specific dates when we might be able to come out. Well, so that you're not on the edge of your seats, we actually made an offer on a small (2 br) but lovely house. The offer was accepted after a couple of tos and fros, and we are now in the process of making it happen. Yesterday was mortgage day and today is inspection day. If all goes well, we will close on April 16, just before we leave! This has been almost as surprising to us as it must be to you. We are very excited about it and looking forward to being here next winter and perhaps for a short time in the summer or fall. But don't worry, we're not ready to move out of New England any time soon.
Attached are just a couple of photos of the outside front and back. The Santa Catalina mountains can be seen from both.
Only in Tucson: We noticed one or two roads with names like "Cherrybell Stra". We found out after asking that "stra" is an abbreviation for "stravenue". So I looked it up in Wikipedia and the answer was so good I have to quote it directly. "A stravenue (portmanteau of street and avenue) is a type of road particular to Tucson, Arizona. The United States Postal Service officially supports the abbreviation STRA for stravenues. A Stravenue runs "diagonally between and intersects a Street and an Avenue."
Today was our second all-day excursion looking at furniture. It's been awhile since we've bought any and it's even harder when you're not familiar with the stores in the area. After looking at and sitting on so many pieces of furniture we couldn't remember which was which, we finally bought a couch. Now we have a place to sit. Next step: a bed. After that we'll probably take our time.
We just finished dinner, it's about 7:30 p.m., and I can report that it's a lovely, dry 75 degrees outside. Delightful!
This morning we are sitting out on our back patio enjoying the warm weather. I'm reading a book, and Bob is intently listening to one of the lectures from his online course on Justice. This is not justice in the normal sense, but rather in a very broad approach to philosophy, ethics, etc. I would probably be taking it as well, but I'm pretty much tied up with my own course on the economics of global poverty. These are issues I never studied in college since I was focused so much on the science and math, and it is quite eye-opening. Foreign aid is rarely the panacea we think it is; poverty is a very complex, local and culturally-specific set of issues.
Bob has been playing a fair amount of golf, as well as taking lessons, and spending time on the driving range. It's really nice that he can do that on a regular basis and not worry so much about the weather cooperating.
One of the interesting parts about this extended vacation is that it doesn't feel so much like a vacation. Two big contributors to that are that we are renting a "Villa", rather than staying in a hotel; and we have some very good friends here and have met others who make us feel very welcome. I have found myself saying "it's time to go home" rather than "it's time to go back to the villa or the hotel". It truly makes a difference.
A few weeks ago we thought it might be interesting to take a look at a few houses here, just for curiosity's sake. We have enjoyed our stay here so much that we know we'll be returning next winter, and we thought a bit of interior sightseeing would help us decide what to rent next year. Our friend Maren is a realtor, so it was very easy to do this without making any sort of commitment. There are so many different models of house here in Saddlebrooke, and we had only seen a couple by virtue of visiting our friends here.
The more we looked the more we got excited about being here next winter, and Bob kind of tossed around the idea of perhaps buying a house ourselves, so we didn't have to rely on rentals and didn't have to worry about specific dates when we might be able to come out. Well, so that you're not on the edge of your seats, we actually made an offer on a small (2 br) but lovely house. The offer was accepted after a couple of tos and fros, and we are now in the process of making it happen. Yesterday was mortgage day and today is inspection day. If all goes well, we will close on April 16, just before we leave! This has been almost as surprising to us as it must be to you. We are very excited about it and looking forward to being here next winter and perhaps for a short time in the summer or fall. But don't worry, we're not ready to move out of New England any time soon.
Attached are just a couple of photos of the outside front and back. The Santa Catalina mountains can be seen from both.
Only in Tucson: We noticed one or two roads with names like "Cherrybell Stra". We found out after asking that "stra" is an abbreviation for "stravenue". So I looked it up in Wikipedia and the answer was so good I have to quote it directly. "A stravenue (portmanteau of street and avenue) is a type of road particular to Tucson, Arizona. The United States Postal Service officially supports the abbreviation STRA for stravenues. A Stravenue runs "diagonally between and intersects a Street and an Avenue."
Today was our second all-day excursion looking at furniture. It's been awhile since we've bought any and it's even harder when you're not familiar with the stores in the area. After looking at and sitting on so many pieces of furniture we couldn't remember which was which, we finally bought a couch. Now we have a place to sit. Next step: a bed. After that we'll probably take our time.
We just finished dinner, it's about 7:30 p.m., and I can report that it's a lovely, dry 75 degrees outside. Delightful!
Friday, March 1, 2013
Month's End
February is a short month, but it still counts and we have been here for all of it. It's hard to believe the time has passed by so quickly!
We've been told many times by many people that this February was unseasonably cold, but to us it's felt like heaven. It's difficult to complain about 60-degree days when the sun is shining and it feels so much warmer. We've had a bunch of visitors and have thoroughly enjoyed them all: Bob's sister for a week; a friend from college for just a weekend (overlapping); Gail's sister and brother-in-law for a week; and Richard and Diane, also for just a couple of days. It's been fun showing them around and discovering new things ourselves in the process.
I've noticed a slight change in my speech as our time here has gone on: instead of saying we're going back to "our Villa", I've started saying we're "going home" on our way back from dinner or shopping. Not to worry, friends on the East Coast! We have no intention of moving here, but may well become snowbirds. Since I can no longer participate in skating, skiing, snowshoeing, or any of the other joys of New England in winter, I may as well enjoy the sunshine here. And Bob has taken up golf with a vengeance. He has made it to the driving range at least 3 days a week, is in the middle of a series of 5 lessons, and can play 9 or 18 holes whenever he wants. The closest course is 2 minutes away via golf cart, so it's criminal not to take advantage of it. He played yesterday, and is on the course now as we speak.
Ironically, Bob has been getting less exercise rather than more, partly because we are just enjoying exploring around Tucson and partly because he has not yet found activities to replace either hockey or his gym at Koko. There is a gym here, also 2 min. away, but he doesn't like it is much as KoKo so it doesn't get as much use. Bob is looking into winter hockey in Tucson; there does not seem to be very much of it, but it is conceivable he could play occasionally. He would also like to be riding his bike, which is in Acton. A very nice Jumbo (Tufts alum) loaned Bob his bike for the duration, but Bob, being the competitor that he is, would prefer to be riding a bike with clipless pedals. All things to think about for next year.
As we drive around we are continuing to amuse ourselves with sights big and small. Today's winner for best street name: Calle sin Nombre
And the two runners-up: Roller Coaster Road, and Ina Road, sometimes misspelled on the street sign as In a Road.
Tomorrow we will be going to our second "First Saturday Sale" at the H.F.Coors Pottery. It's owned by some member of the Coors family, and they make beautiful dishes and serving pieces. On the first Saturday of each month, overruns and better seconds of both their consumer and commercial pieces are available at greatly reduced prices. It's kind of like a refined version of the original Filenes Basement, minus the shoving and undressing in the aisles. Find them at http://www.HFCoors.com or on FB.
This afternoon will be the first in a while that we've had time to slouch in the sun on the back patio or by the clubhouse pool. We're going to try to fit more of that in this weekend between Coors, craft shows, gym, and golf.
No complaints.
We've been told many times by many people that this February was unseasonably cold, but to us it's felt like heaven. It's difficult to complain about 60-degree days when the sun is shining and it feels so much warmer. We've had a bunch of visitors and have thoroughly enjoyed them all: Bob's sister for a week; a friend from college for just a weekend (overlapping); Gail's sister and brother-in-law for a week; and Richard and Diane, also for just a couple of days. It's been fun showing them around and discovering new things ourselves in the process.
I've noticed a slight change in my speech as our time here has gone on: instead of saying we're going back to "our Villa", I've started saying we're "going home" on our way back from dinner or shopping. Not to worry, friends on the East Coast! We have no intention of moving here, but may well become snowbirds. Since I can no longer participate in skating, skiing, snowshoeing, or any of the other joys of New England in winter, I may as well enjoy the sunshine here. And Bob has taken up golf with a vengeance. He has made it to the driving range at least 3 days a week, is in the middle of a series of 5 lessons, and can play 9 or 18 holes whenever he wants. The closest course is 2 minutes away via golf cart, so it's criminal not to take advantage of it. He played yesterday, and is on the course now as we speak.
Ironically, Bob has been getting less exercise rather than more, partly because we are just enjoying exploring around Tucson and partly because he has not yet found activities to replace either hockey or his gym at Koko. There is a gym here, also 2 min. away, but he doesn't like it is much as KoKo so it doesn't get as much use. Bob is looking into winter hockey in Tucson; there does not seem to be very much of it, but it is conceivable he could play occasionally. He would also like to be riding his bike, which is in Acton. A very nice Jumbo (Tufts alum) loaned Bob his bike for the duration, but Bob, being the competitor that he is, would prefer to be riding a bike with clipless pedals. All things to think about for next year.
As we drive around we are continuing to amuse ourselves with sights big and small. Today's winner for best street name: Calle sin Nombre
And the two runners-up: Roller Coaster Road, and Ina Road, sometimes misspelled on the street sign as In a Road.
Tomorrow we will be going to our second "First Saturday Sale" at the H.F.Coors Pottery. It's owned by some member of the Coors family, and they make beautiful dishes and serving pieces. On the first Saturday of each month, overruns and better seconds of both their consumer and commercial pieces are available at greatly reduced prices. It's kind of like a refined version of the original Filenes Basement, minus the shoving and undressing in the aisles. Find them at http://www.HFCoors.com or on FB.
This afternoon will be the first in a while that we've had time to slouch in the sun on the back patio or by the clubhouse pool. We're going to try to fit more of that in this weekend between Coors, craft shows, gym, and golf.
No complaints.
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