April 2, 2010

April 2, 2010

Our blog has been a little slow lately. It is not that our “big adventure” has ended. It just took a big turn. We decided to make the plunge back into home ownership. The house we settled on has been empty for more than a year and is in need of TLC. It is also significantly larger and more complex than our former Lombard home (and RV) making for some adjustments. I can no longer call out for a beer and expect Aimee to pass it to me. It is now a long walk to the fridge. Plus a house in the Arizona desert has its own peculiar demands and steep learning curve. We are gearing ourselves up mentally for the challenge. Mostly it means we have our work cut out for us in the near future turning the house into our home. On top of all that we have a garage full of dusty boxes that are yearning to be unpacked. I wonder how much of it we really want anymore. Aimee has single-handedly been reviving the local economy buying furniture to fill the empty spaces. I hope Obama sends me my new homeowner credit before the bills come due!

Soon after we bought the house, one of my sisters and her family came to visit. Little did they know that part of their vacation would be spent working. They were good sports about it. And fortunately they could toil away under a warm sun and take a dip in the pool if they worked up too much sweat. I did give them some time off for good behavior. We took a couple hikes, panned for gold (unsuccessfully) and paid a day-long visit to the local Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. It is a combination zoo, botanical garden and museum and supposed to be the most popular Arizona attraction after the Grand Canyon. From one of the numerous volunteer docents I learned the difference between agaves and yuccas. I was disappointed to discover that the three beautiful flowering yuccas in our new front yard are actually agaves which all die after flowering is finished. I guess that puts three more to-dos on my growing list.

Oh by the way we are looking for more friends and family to visit…especially those skilled in gardening and painting.