D is for desert

My home... specifically, the Sonoran Desert which covers over 100,000 square miles stretching from Arizona to Mexico and west to Baja California. Different areas of this desert can look desolate while others are lush with vegetation and mountains. I am most familiar with the Sonoran Desert here in Tucson with its towering saguaros, scrubby cholla and colorful prickly pear. The Catalina Mountain backdrop to the north of the city changes with the seasons; dry and rocky in the summer, then green and lush in the early fall to snow speckled in the winter. The desert really does have seasons. This is the view from my kitchen window... I never tire of it.

At all times of the year, the desert is full of life. Right now in early January, I have cultivated annuals, roses, and a flourishing vegetable garden. In February, the wildflowers will begin to bloom and from then on the many varieties of cacti and flowering shrubs will take their turns blooming throughout the warmer months of the year.

The desert is alive with wild animals too. In our little corner of the desert, we have coyote, raccoon, javelina, bobcats, and many varieties of birds, lizards and snakes. Our trail cam records some of them passing through our property at night -- rarely are the larger animals seen during daylight hours so we are delighted to be able to see their presence digitally.

There are many aspects of desert life to explore and appreciate. One I especially savor happens right after it rains when the creosote bush releases its unmistakable scent -- the smell of rain. A wonder to experience, it always reminds me of how blessed I am to live amidst the natural beauty of this desert I call home.

Arizona Move -- Part 4, The New House

That is actually an older house built in 1962 and will be the 4th mid-century built home that we've purchased in the last 24 years. These vintage homes have a certain comfy, irresistible feel to us so even with their wonky layouts, we were sold on this one on the first visit. The house is a burnt adobe brick with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths sitting on a high slope in the northern hills of Tucson. The 2-car garage (added well after the house was built as were the guest quarters, office and workshop complete the property compound with another 3/4 acre natural desert on the north slope. There is a pool, covered patio, mature landscaping and a huge laundry room/sewing room/storage area (that would be "my" space). Mostly everything is dated with the exception of the kitchen that was updated in the 1990s. We will be gutting and remodeling the entire kitchen to open it up to the main living space and to capture some of the natural light.

Here are some photos of the house in its "before" state. The last photo is where my garden bench and outdoor creative space will be... my "she shed" if you will. :)

Arizona Move: Part 3 -- Being Here

It's been wonderful being back in Tucson though we are like kids waiting for Christmas until the house closes on May 15. There is so much to do at the new house and we are so geared up to do it, that it's difficult to stay in the moment. To make time fly, we're pretending we're on vacation and going about seeing and doing the things we won't have time for once we get into the house. 

There are many great shopping opportunities to check out not to mention the restaurants that beckon us from every corner of town from authentic Mexican to creative eclectic cuisine, the options are endless. Fortunately, one of the best Mexican restaurants we've come across is a stone's throw from our new house. Rigo's Mexican Restaurant on Oracle is spot-on authentic with an extensive menu as well as breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets. Plus a Friday night marirchi band... what's not to love? 

When we're not in the mood for Mexican food, we often eat at Whole Foods Market which has become one of our favorite places to shop and eat as the food is always good and you don’t need a reservation. Many of the wildly popular, chic restaurants are nearly impossible to get into especially on the weekends; we don’t have the patience to wait for a table so we haven’t gotten to some of the places that are still high on our list.

Another welcome diversion is just across the street from our rental house here on the east side of Tucson: Sabino Canyon National Park. There are great hiking trails here leading into lush desert canyons and peaks with views that take the breath away. The prickly pear cacti are blooming now as are the cholla and palo verde trees. The wildlife in this area include javelina, coyote, adorable ground squirrels, rattlesnakes, mountain lions and many kinds of lizards. Although we haven’t seen either rattlesnakes or mountain lions, there are warning signs posted the deeper and higher you hike into the park. So far we’ve only witnessed a few ground squirrels and lizards which also happens to be the extent of our curiosity on the topic of wildlife. Although one evening on the way to a local restaurant, we had the good fortune to see a herd of javelina crossing the road in front of us with their babies scampering along to keep up... wonderful to see the wildlife from the safety of our car.

Here are some photos I took on a recent hike in the canyon... this crested saguaro is just spectacular!

The Arizona Move: Part 2 -- Getting There

We left Seward on March 27th with 4 cats and 2 vehicles. Jack drove the truck with Feather and Yuri while I drove the car with Peaches and Rocky. The vet had given us sedatives for the cats so they wouldn't be too upset in the car which helped a bit. Only Feather had the reverse reaction to the sedative; it made her even more hyper. After 2 nights and a 3rd full day of driving we arrived in beautiful, sunny Tucson. Here are some pics from along the way.

 It's Spring in Arizona and the wildflowers are blooming.

Arriving in Tucson to welcoming skies. A good omen.

The movers arrived the day after we checked into the rental house. We didn't realize that a lot of our stuff wouldn't fit into the 3rd bedroom so much of it was deposited on the patio. The next day we rented a storage unit. That is now full as well.

Now that we're settled into the house, we're becoming reacquainted with the city we left 8-1/2 years ago when we moved to Seward. It's grown, of course, but our favorite restaurants and stores are still here plus many more we'll be exploring in the future. The real estate market is just now beginning to recover from the housing bubble and resulting crash of 2008. So many bad loans were made based on inflated property values that sellers who bought back then are now taking tremendous losses; bankruptcies and short sales are common. It's definitely a buyers market here in Tucson!

The Arizona Move: Part 1

Last summer we decided to move back to Tucson, partly because of the weather here in Nebraska: most convincing was the Mother’s Day tornado that devastated several towns and rural homes having missed our house by just a quarter of a mile. Along with the weather came the realization that our property is just too much for us to manage anymore. A 5,000 sq. ft. house on 3 acres with lawn to mow and gardens to maintain is time-consuming hard work reminding us that with abundance comes responsibility. We both think we can do with much less (yard work, that is); so "downsizing" has become our new mantra. After 3 huge garage sales last Fall, we put the house on the market. Now it’s sold and we move in 2 weeks! Yikes!

Making a household move is a daunting task, but we've made good progress, so much so that now I feel I can take a break from packing and update my blog. A few days ago I cleared the bookshelves in the library. It’s a strange feeling emptying the shelves of books and then trying to decide the handful I should keep out to get me through 6 months at our rental home in Tucson. 

 An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler – A meditation on cooking and eating that changed the way I’ll cook forever.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver – About a family that abandoned the industrial-food pipeline to live and grow their own food in a rural setting… by the famous Arizona author.

China Moon Cookbook by Barbara Tropp – Doable Chinese recipes using ingredients I can easily find in Tucson. Even though my favorite Asian grocery store, 17^th St. Market, is now closed there is a new international market, Lee Lee’s, smack dab in the middle of the zip code where we want to live! That’s reason enough to keep this one on the top of the stack.

A Writer’s Book of Days by Judy Reeves – writing exercises, topics, legends and lore to inspire the writer within.

The Complete Book of Cacti & Succulents by Terry Hewitt – great photos of many cacti varieties, care and feeding of these amazing plants.

Is There a Nutmeg in the House? By Elizabeth David – British cookbook writer and all round amazing woman wrote these essays on practical cooking interspersed with stories of a life well lived.

Cooked by Michael Pollan – explores the middle link in the food chain: cooking. Learning a few things I didn’t know… salting meat before cooking, the umami taste, and the importance of cooking as a protest against specialization.

The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz – Amusing observations of an American chef living in Paris today with recipes that compel the cook to don the apron and get busy. I’ve still to make his chicken tagine with apricots and almonds, but vow to do so this week!

Mexican Tiles by Masako Takahashi – Inspiration for working with Mexican tiles. I designed this kitchen backsplash in our former Tucson home with tiles I found at a tiny shop which is probably not there anymore. Somewhere in our new home, similar tiles will be featured.

Baja Cooking on the Edge by Deborah Schneider –Baja inspired dishes from acclaimed San Diego chef; I attended many of her cooking classes when we lived in San Diego so it’s wonderful to see her success with this book. From one who never met a taco she didn’t love, this book is a marvel of taste and deliciousness.

A Year in My Kitchen by Skye Gyngell – Thanking her for introducing me to the principle of agrodolce… creating the ideal harmonious flavors within one dish using sweet, salty, sour elements in balance.

And that’s all so far. See!! packing can be fun!