Today was our first meal in the dining room of our new home.
Fun and Games Dept
Walk.
I enjoyed a nice walk around the neighborhood this morning, exploring some dirt roads in the area. I ended up coming around the back of our property and coming along the horse trail along the bottom of the wash out back. It was a beautiful breath of fresh air.
Storm Chasing.
Photo taken outside of Denver in July 2011.
It’s not the season for storms in the Desert Southwest of the United States. This year’s monsoon was most impressive, even to those that have lived in these parts for decades, and I loved every minute of it. Normally at this time of year we’d start settling down for winter, with lots of cold and snow on the horizon. It’s not like that here in Tucson.
I’ve already mentioned to Earl that I’m very much interested in heading up/over into Texas and other weather rowdy parts next spring. I’ve always loved chasing storms, and when I can’t fly in the weather I want to chase it around and see Mother Nature at her finest. Up close and personal. When the derecho came through Chicago back in 2020 I loved every minute of it, though the destruction was an unfortunate byproduct of my adrenaline rush. It’s scary to think that storms are just going to be getting more violent as climate change continues to march us toward oblivion, but we’re still at the point where I find these storms to be incredibly awesome.
We started watching “Storm Rising” from National Geographic. The show features extreme weather chaser Reed Timmer and crew; the first episode has them chasing tornadoes along around the Texas panhandle. My husband said he liked the plot of “Twister” better since it moved along with better predictability, but I loved the cinematography, the chase, and the science of this documentary series. I’m looking forward to further episodes.
And I’m looking forward to putting the plans together for my spring 2022 storm chasing adventure.
Meditation.
Mike and Chris have built some Alexa automation routines to turn the pool room into a meditative space. We simply tell Alexa we’d like to meditate, and the colors go to a calming blue/green, the heat comes on to keep the space warm, and nature sounds play from the speakers sprinkled about the room.
I’m still not jumping in the pool until my swimming “allergy” is figured out, plus I’m still feeling under the weather, but it was beautiful to spend time with the family in the calmness after the work week came to an end.
Reset.
My mood has been a little uneven this week. The weight of the world, the chaos of work, the approaching holiday season; all these things can have an impact on my mental state and I should work to not let things bother me. Plus, the rash from my sudden “pool allergy” is subsiding but is still a little itchy. So much to scratch.
In the grand scheme of things I am most fortunate. I must remember this. But all of these concerns melt away when Mother Nature shares her beauty, desert style, with us. Tonight’s sunset was most rewarding, comforting, and centering.
My mood is now much better.
November.
It’s hard for me to understand that it’s less than two weeks to Thanksgiving here in the states. We passed a house with Christmas lights hanging from its edges. It looked festive.
We are having record heat here in Tucson. High temperatures have been in the mid to high 80s for the past couple of days. It’s suppose to cool down by next weekend. The average temperature is in the upper 70s.
That’s still quite warm for this relocated northern boy.
We haven’t figured out how we’re going to decorate for the holidays yet. I’ve been joking that our neighborhood is probably an all white Christmas lights kind of place, so we’re going to wait to see what the neighbors do before we string up the Merry Midget lights.
I’m still looking forward to turkey dinner. Even if we eat it outside.
Yes.
The view from the gazebo right now. It’s currently 73ºF two weeks before Thanksgiving and I am really getting used to this. This is one of the main reasons we moved to the Desert Southwest.
Having flights in and out of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base nearby makes the experience all the more sweeter for me.
Niece Cat.
This is my niece cat Skippy June Jones. She is one of two cats at my sister’s house but she is the more social of the two. Her sister is Peach Dot but she lives upstairs and wants nothing to do with her uncle. Skippy, on the other hand, is curious about her uncle but not used to the cuddles I tend to give cats. She’s rather stand in her sleek black coat and take a memo.