Feeling more like home everyday

The other day we went shopping for food necessities & DH walked by the meat counter and without hesitation he picked up two T-bone steaks for us. I didn't really want to say anything to DH but we sold our grill in MN before our move to my Mom & Mike. At checkout he didn't blink as the cashier scanned it across the scanner & placed them in a bag. When we got home I had to ask how he planned on cooking the steaks? DH said "we have a broiler with the oven and the broiler pan is in the bottom drawer of the stove". I started to laugh and told him what he saw was just the top portion of the broiler, the bottom portion can't be found. DH said "what"? He looked again in the bottom drawer of the stove & was dumbfounded that the bottom portion was indeed missing. Well to make a long story short, we went to our local Home Depot and found a nice grill on sale & purchased it fully assembled. All we had to do was fill the propane tank and we were on our way to feeling like we did in MN. The steaks cooked very well on the grill and tasted fabulous. We chuckled a little bit because thinking back we had not cooked on a grill since our 7th of July party earlier this year in MN. What a treat grilling in the warmth of the evening with no bugs. Seems we will be doing allot of this in the coming months.

Legal to drive in the sunshine state!

Well, for the first time in the grand state of Arizona, DH is legal to drive & has proof that this is where we reside. DH thought it would be a good idea to feel out the process as his license expires on Sept 8th. He traveled a short 7.5 miles to the DMV to start the "unknown" process of changing from a Minnesota license to an Arizona license. He arrived nervous, but sure he had the correct ID's required to make the transfer. He walked into the DMV that looked similar to a Grey Hound Bus Depot. Chairs everywhere and people sitting in the chairs. He had to approach a "Start Here" kiosk where a woman who asked him politely "Can I help you?" DH, being the creative thinker he is, thinks to himself, "Ummmmm NO, I'm looking for the lost tomb of King Tutankhamen, Here's your sign!" LOL! DH politely tells the kiosk woman that he is here to change his license. She hands him a form to fill out and a pen with a fabulous silk flower attached to it & directs DH to a small area to fill out the form. She requested that when completed, he return to let her know it's done. DH returned to hand over the fabulous pen & paperwork & is handed a number & asked to have a seat in the waiting area. 15 minutes goes by until his number is called. He approached the desk numbered 10 of 20 & had a seat in the chair. A friendly gentleman reviewed his form, checked his identification and filled in the appropriate information required to send him to another woman who smiled, accepted the paperwork & said have a seat. DH patiently waited and about 15 minutes later heard his name called. He approached the woman who politely asked him to stand in the square against the wall for a photo. DH graciously accepted, smiled and the photo was taken. The woman politely asked for DH to have a seat. She said she will call your name in a few minutes. Actually it was no more than 5 minutes at most & a shiny new Arizona Drivers License was handed over to DH.

DH chuckled in telling the story to DW. She has a good idea of what to expect & should have no problems changing hers. I guess I miss the days of going to the DMV in Owatonna & talking to our friend Karen who handled our requests in about 5 minutes total. Big City, Big Hassles! Oh well! We're adapting to the new challenges life is throwing our way!

Tommy Bahama's in Snottsdale OOPS I mean Scottsdale, AZ.

We had an exceptional lunch today at Kierland Commons in Scottsdale, AZ. http://www.kierlandcommons.com. Our friend Tony moved from Avondale to Scottsdale & we helped him out with hauling our racing trailer for him. Today we went to pick it up and haul it back to storage. We stopped at Tommy Bahama's http://www.tommybahama.com/index.jsp in an upscale shopping area of Kierland Commons. Here is a picture of DH & DW kicken' back enjoying a beverage. Yes this is the actual table we sat at and enjoyed our meal. The coffee table was full of sea shells and its located outside with misters spraying a fine mist to keep you chilled. AWESOME!! For the two of us to have a drink & burger, the total was $33.00. We didn't think that was too bad because the people watching is priceless.

We both ordered the Tommy Bahama burger & it was to die for. Special cheese, sauce & the presentation was AWESOME! They even gave us a basket of butter-covered bread with a cinnamon butter that was fabulous. Mmmmm!!

When we say this is an upscale place to shop we mean the fact that the cars alone are incredibly expensive, not to mention the people! We had seen one Rolls Royce with a license plate that read "BLEST", a Ferrari, too many Mercedes, Hummers, BMW's, Porches to count! We rolled down the main drive in our Chevy Dually & we laughed hysterically as we drove through because we were definitely like the Circus was coming to town. I'm still chuckling!

After lunch on our way to Tony's we passed WestWorld, the place where the Barrett Jackson auto auction takes place. We swung in to have a peek.

The area where they have the auction is huge. We didn't realize that the outside of the tent where they actually have the auction has an enormous American flag on it. That was pretty cool to see. For those of you who think we are just slacken off here in the valley of the sun, I assure you we have been exploring every chance we get. When you come visit we should have a very good list of things for you all to check out. Hope all is well!! Tom & Andrea

Wandering the Desert looking for trouble!

Yesterday morning we awoke to YES clouds & rain. Unfortunately
for us we didn't receive any rain.

We decided to put our walking shoes on and again explore the neighborhood even further. We were able to access the Desert and take a few photos of a nasty cactus pictured above. We hope that if you come visit you stay FAR, FAR away from these nastys. If you look closely, you can see a barb that flew in the wind and ended up stuck into this aloe-vera plant. Freaky!

The jumping cholla (Opuntia fulgida), also known as the hanging chain cholla, is a cactus that is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

FIRST AID:
When a piece of this cholla sticks to an unsuspecting person, a good method to remove the cactus is with a hair comb, which is standard equipment for many who hike in the cholla's biome. The pieces should not be handled, as the spines are barbed and can cause painful, very slow-healing wounds if the barbs become embedded in the skin. If the barbs pass through clothing before entering the skin, it may be possible to pull the clothing away from the skin, pulling most of the barbs out of the skin. This reduces the problem to the less-painful task of removing the piece from the clothing. After doing so, the article of clothing may be removed to expose any remaining barbs still embedded in the skin. Another technique for removing barbs from the skin is by applying hot water (by the use of a bathtub or shower) to the affected area. This will open up pores in the skin, making it easier for the needles to be removed or possibly even removing some needles entirely. If the cholla is encountered on a dedicated footpath, it may be good manners to place the removed piece off the footpath where it is less likely to be accidentally stuck to other people. Cholla barbs should be carefully removed from shoes, as the barbs will continue to work their way into the shoe material.



While we were walking down the sidewalk we ran across a Hummingbird resting on a branch of a small tree. We were surprised to see one actually, for whatever reason we didn't figure Humming birds were a prevalent bird of AZ.


This is an example of one of the 40 or so homes that are for sale in our neighborhood. It seems every day you wake up and drive through the neighborhood another home pops up for sale. It's crazy!

We finished putting up the gazebo in the backyard & think it really sets off the look of our house.

We laughed when DH went and grabbed the rake, seems he remembers from his college job in making things look a little more detailed with dragging the rake across the small gravel putting a finished look to it. The "Arizona" version of yard work! Sometimes I think he creates work for himself just to have something to do.

Federated Insurance, Glendale, AZ

Landscapes, buildings and even parking lots are so different in Arizona when compared to Minnesota! A great example is the parking lot at the Federated Office where DW now works in Glendale, AZ. When we were first here last October on our honeymoon, we drove to the Federated office just to see where it was located and what it looked like. We were there on a Saturday so we didn't go inside but one thing that really impressed DW was the fact that there were covered reserved parking spots! That was just such a funny sight! So today DW took a picture of what she now sees 5 days a week! Apparently you have to pay to park in the shade!









And here's a picture of one of the main entrances into the office. Federated occupies the entire second floor of the office so once you climb the marble stairs inside, you don't go any further without a security badge to unlock one of the doors.









Everyone at the office has been very welcoming to the "Minnesota person". DW gets stopped in the hallway, the breakroom and even the bathroom by fellow employees who want to know how she likes the heat! She just tells them that it's hot but it's so different from Minnesota heat. She's met so many people who used to live in Owatonna but moved to Arizona when Federated opened the Phoenix office 20 years ago. One lady even knew DH's father! There's just no hiding anywhere!
DW asked her fellow 7 trainees and trainers who knew what Tator Tot Hotdish was - not one of them knew what that was and one of the trainers even asked "why would you do that to tator tots?!" Life is just a little different here! We'll have everyone eating hotdishes before they know it!! Ya, you betcha!

Exploring the neighborhood

Tonight after DW got done with work we explored our neighborhood a little bit to see the different types of vegetation we could find.

Prickly-Pear Cactus


some type of Aloe-Vera cactus


Barrel Cactus


Small Saguaro Cactus


Mesquite Tree


Pink flowering bush. Frenchie variety

While walking around, off in the distance to the South around Chandler, AZ a HUGE monsoon had formed. Monsoons develop during the rainy season here in Phoenix typically July through September. They form in one spot and can be very dangerous. They are pretty much stationary and can last over an hour. The news tonight reported straight line winds, heavy rainfall and numerous cloud to ground lightning strikes. It was very impressive with the sun setting.

The soaring beauties returned again this morning.

We awoke this morning to see not two, but five balloons soaring above. It just amazes us at the things we have missed living in Minnesota. As all of you know little things like the balloons soaring overhead touch DW & DH in ways we hope everyone could understand. The beauty of controlled & uncontrolled flight has always been something DH has been interested in. Our friend Craig in MN has a brother that flies ultra lites & Craig & DH have discussed flight numerous times. If you look at one of the balloon photos, the design on the balloon is actually a saguaro cactus & a real one is in the foreground of the photo. Life is magical & strange sometimes. It's like god has put us in this place for a reason.

DH took the thermometer outside again today and put the temp needle in the sun to see what it would register for a heat reading if you were actually standing or working in the sun. AMAZING!!!! The shade is definitely where you want to stand in down here. But again we struggle to find a way to tell all of you that it's HOT, but not the way you think......

Here is a photo of the back of our house. DW is sitting outside with Muncie on our patio. We look forward to everyone visiting once the weather UP-Nordth has turned for the worse. We miss you all!!!!!!!!