I don’t spend enough time admiring the work Chris and Mike have done to make our guests comfortable in their suite when they visit. The guest suite is showing as the “Solarium” on the blue prints. The room features large windows on three walls, with a door out to the roof, which was suppose to have deck at one time.
The previous owner built a makeshift closet across the landing shown in the photo with our “guest iMac”; the closet had a garage fluorescent light, some utility shelves and a makeshift wall to actually mark it as a closet. If you look close behind the back, right hand desk leg, you can see a break in the molding where the wall used to be. After the previous owner put this closet in, they raised the price of the house $30K so we always referred to it as “the $30K closet”. We all hated it and when we did the monsoon related damage renovations at the end of last year that closet was one of the first things to go. The space is much better.
The door that goes out to the deck that doesn’t exist does provide a nice view of the Rincon Mountains and Redington Pass.
There’s also an in-suite bathroom with walk-in shower. Chris and Mike spent many hours painting and such to make it very nice for our guests.
It’s good to know they’ll be comfortable when they visit.
I’m sitting my in home based work office playing around my iPad Pro that is simultaneously charging. Since resurrecting the original Smart Keyboard Folio purchased for my 2018 iPad Pro back in the day, I’ve been inspired to do more writing and make more content instead of thumbing through social media sites and going down doomscrolling rabbit holes.
Last week I tried my hand at a few social media sites I hadn’t been on in a while, and while Bluesky seems interesting, it doesn’t really compel me that much, outside of the Bodega Cats account I’ve been following. I really like Bodega Cats.
I’m still not interested in resurrecting my presence on Twitter (or whatever it’s called these days) so while I still have my dead account on there I’m not doing much with it.
The bulk of my social media experience has been through either Mastodon or Facebook, with the two serving very different purposes for me: Facebook to keep the family up to date and Mastodon to interact with folks that share common interests with me. For some reason I feel less inhibited on Mastodon than on other places. I know inhibition is a strange thing in the world of anonymous screaming and screeching, but since I tend to attach my real name to my posts I try to keep it reasonable.
With all the driving we’ve done this past weekend I’ve had a good amount of time to think and assess of where I am in life, where my mind is at, and how I’m feeling about the world. During our ride to Phoenix yesterday I mentioned to my husband that I was not thrilled with the idea of voting for Joe Biden again but that unless something much better comes along I’ll vote for him. I’m really, really ready for the older generation to move aside and Gen Xers and upcoming millennials to start taking the reins in government. It doesn’t mean it’ll make things better but hopefully it means we can swing the pendulum controlling this country in a different direction.
As I get older I find that I lose focus faster, especially at work, and that’s something I need to get railed in. Everything is going fine at work and I’m doing great at my career. My team is performing very well and together we produce great results for the company, but I’m never satisfied with my performance. I always feel like I’m one notch away from where I should be, and that’s mostly because of my brain chemistry and just seeing the world different than most. Everyone can see in the box. If I can find the box it’s usually in another room and I feel like I’m peering in while looking the other direction and hanging upside down from a lamp or something.
I’m still excited about my aviation adventures and flying with my husband from place to place but it is becoming very, very expensive. Even as an accomplished private pilot with a few ratings attached to my certificate, I find it very expensive to fly an airplane for fun; fuel costs are high and insurance costs are ridiculously high. I don’t know how much longer the piggy bank will last for this adventure.
Speaking of money, I am sitting here in my office where it is quite warm because our main air conditioning unit bit the dust last week. That scenario is all under control and folks will be here to start the installation of the new system tomorrow. I’m happy we’ll be able to get things cool again by the end of the week, where Mother Nature is showing more record temperatures in the forecast. I know how very blessed I am to have a solid job and a husband that has made smart financial decisions for us over the years. I don’t know how many folks do it with the prices of gas being outrageous and the prices of groceries being ridiculous and all that. In the past I have contributed to a couple of folks on Patreon that were putting out interesting video content but I’m not going to be able to do that much longer. This makes me feel bad. The folks I support are putting out content different than the dribble found on TikTok or influencer stuff, and I want to continue to support them, but the budget just isn’t there anymore.
Chevron station in Phoenix, Arizona.
I don’t enjoy this economy. I don’t blame Biden for it. I blame everyone in government for where we are today. I blame the two party system and the idea that voting has become some WWE exercise and the cults of politics and religion.
I am really, really, really tired of stupid people and having to tolerate their willful ignorance.
To end this random post on a positive note, here’s a photo of an old MasterCharge sign. It hearkens back to a time when folks didn’t need to rely on credit cards to eat and companies weren’t doing everything and anything possible to garner all money and personal data possible from the consumer.
A big MasterCharge sign at NuTowne Tavern in Phoenix.
Yesterday afternoon we decided to drive to Phoenix for a Sunday afternoon happy hour. I’m not up on any bar scene, but apparently the Nutowne Saloon in Phoenix, one of the oldest gay bars around, has recently re-opened so we decided to check it out.
We recognized one couple from our visit to Copper Cactus Resort early this summer so we chatted them up a bit. We really liked the vibe of the place and we’ll probably make the trek to Phoenix again to see what’s going on there once in a while.
My husband was kind enough to drive us home, but only after we stopped for a bite to eat at a local brewery just around the corner.
After some pizza and “disco chips” (loaded potato chips that were very decadently wonderful) we were on our way home.
I find Phoenix relatively easy to navigate and so does my husband. Since the freeways in Phoenix are relatively new, they were built to standards determined AFTER all the mistakes were made in cities across the U.S. when those freeways were built in the middle part of the 20th century.
Their gas is expensive, though.
Earl navigated his way along the 143 to the 10, and headed southeast to get us home to Tucson. I love the way my iPhone grabbed the colors in this night shot of the freeway.
I was sitting on the couch minding my own business when Truman indicated he wanted to jump up next to me. This is not unusual as he usually settles within arm’s reach. It’s his way to tell me he loves me.
However, today was different.
He immediately stretched himself up to my shoulders and decided that he needed to cuddle up with me right on my chest. He has lived with us since January 2019 and this is the first time he’s wanted to cuddle. He settled in, purring up a storm, as I gave him plenty of scritches behind his ears and on the back of his neck. His pleasantness was a bit of a surprise and, more importantly, it was a delight.
Perhaps after four and a half years we have passed some sort of test and this is a new trend.
Yesterday we went for a drive, aiming for a part of the state we hadn’t explored yet. We decided to head up toward Show Low, a bit of a drive to the high country, but I figured we’d see some scenic views and have a delightful time in our Jeep Cherokee.
Scenic views was an understatement.
Our ride took us up SR 77 to the northeast, and took us through Salt River Canyon.
The curvy, fairly steep route kept me on my toes as we made our way down to the bottom of the canyon and back up the other side. We also agreed we might have to have the brakes looked as there was a bit of a shake toward the end of their use, but once they cooled down everything was back to normal.
Show Low and nearby Pinetop-Lakeside are quaint recreational type towns. We stopped at the local casino but didn’t stay very long, as it seemed a little tired in decor and offerings. We then made our way across US 60 and the Mogollon Rim to Payson, where we stopped at their casino and spent a bit more time there. Country star Josh Turner was performing in a nearby court yard, so we enjoyed their concert special of a BBQ buffet inside and played casino games for a little bit.
After Payson we made a Beeline toward home on the appropriately named “Beeline Highway”, which is a curvy, twisty, hilly adventure, especially when driving at night with 55 year old eyes, but everything was fine. After around 450 miles round trip we were back home before midnight.
It’s been a long while since we did a long road trip together like this and we had a good time. I don’t think my husband is ready to drive all over the Great Plains with me chasing storms next spring but if I can deliver some scenery and some things to do instead of just driving, it’s all about the contentment.
I asked Truman to pose for me and he did this like he knows the word “pose”. I enjoy his gaze off into the distance. There’s nothing up there that I would think would interest him, but he struck this pose for this week’s photo.
He’s been purring and sitting near me more often this week and I have found the practice enjoyable. I’m happy he’s happy.
So I’m typing this blog entry on my iPad Pro, but I’m using the case designed for my old 2018 iPad Pro. The camera hole doesn’t fit right, but that doesn’t prevent the keyboard from working as intended, I just can’t use this old keyboard setup as a carrying case.
I’m good with that.
I’m strongly considering asking Chris and Mike to use the laser cutter to make the camera hole bigger in as clean a fashion as possible. That would make things fit like it’s suppose to and would revive this case that’s been gathering dust in the back of my “tech drawer”.
So it’s the last day of August and honestly I don’t know where the “summer” has gone. If we still lived up north we’d be looking forward to the cooler days of Autumn, and while it looks like Monsoon Season is winding down right on schedule next week, we’ll still have plenty of warm weather. It’s the reason we moved here.
I feel like the Summer of 2023 really never kicked into high gear for us. While we endured record heat in July and August, it’s been a relatively low-key summer for us. But then again, when you’re in the middle of the desert in the middle of summer you don’t really do as much outdoors like in other parts of the country.
I am looking forward to the heat retreating a bit so I can get back to hiking in the local National Parks and doing more outdoor activity. Up until last week I was relying on Beat Saber for my cardio exercise, but over the past week I’ve been able to go for walks at sundown, which is nice.
This weekend looks to be cooling off quite a bit as the monsoon winds down. I’m hoping for a spectacular lightning show at least one or two more times before Mother Nature settles down.
Let’s see. When I woke up this morning my husband said, “Don’t freak out but something is wrong with the car. The Check Engine light is flashing and it’s lurching and losing power”.
Ah, another ignition coil bit the dust. Earl took the car in, they initially told him it’d be a week to even look at the car because “no one wants to work”. Let’s face it, “no one wants to work for your low pay”. But after calling in again indicating this was an issue a year ago with one ignition coil and asking why they just didn’t replace all the coils at once, a cancellation suddenly appeared, we asked them to change out all the coils since they had to take the engine apart to do it (love modern designs) and $1.5K later we have a well running car again.
In the midst of all this our main air conditioning unit died on a record heat day here in Arizona. Another technician for another problem and our unit has bit the dust. Because the unit is over 20 years old and the refrigerant used in it isn’t allowed anymore, we need to get a new unit but don’t worry, tax breaks and TEP (Tucson Electric Power) credits will make it bearable.
$16K later we will have air conditioning in the main part of the house by the end of next week, with a new furnace to boot. But don’t worry, there’s tax credits.
Meanwhile, I’m attending Zoom calls at work with fans pointed at me and a t-shirt in place of my usual polo shirt.
Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.
