Historic Haboob

Last night we were hit by a massive dust storm. The meteorologists and my hubby like to refer to this type of storm as a haboob. It was pretty amazing even though I didn't venture outside until it was over. Even then the air was thick with dust.

Here are some photos of what the storm left behind at the oldest daughter's apartment.

She might want to get her car washed when she gets back in town and her backyard needs a little clean up as well.

Welcome Reprieve

Today dawned cool, windy and overcast. The grandson and I were anxious to be outside enjoying the beautiful weather. We bought us a Buzz kite, some french fries, some "juice", and a hamburger to share and headed to the park for a party.

When the grandson saw this picture on the computer he was really concerned about his wind blown hair. It made me laugh.


I'm pretty sure kite flying is a two person job and the second person should probably be over two.


We did manage to get the kite in the air for an extended period of time on several occasions, but I had a hard time taking pictures, flying the kite and keeping the kid in tow.


We had lots of fun and were even happy that it rained on our picnic. Every cool day from now until October has to be enjoyed to the fullest.

Today I am grateful that

Kmart had kites and they were even on sale.
I got to actually feel cold this evening.
it rained on my flowers so I didn't even have to water them.

HOT!

Today was our first 100 degree day of 2009.

Only 109 more to go!

Today I am thankful for

an e-mail from my mom.

polite drivers.

the air-conditioner in my son's truck.

Arizona Driver

I have been pretty lucky while I have been in Utah this week. While it has snowed on several occasions, our daily trips to and from Provo for my mom's treatments have been on dry roads. The weathermen had forecast a storm for this afternoon but as we left Payson and headed north at 2:00 we both commented on how clear the roads were and wondered where the storm was. We reached the medical building and my mom went in for her radiation and I quickly settled in to work on "my" puzzle.
There was a gentleman in the waiting room talking to someone on his cell phone. He was inquiring how much snow there was at this unseen individuals home. After hearing the answer to the question he responded, "Well, I don't think we'll be coming up. Your mom doesn't drive in snow and I don't drive with someone screaming in my car." At that point he looked out the window and said, "We're definitely not coming. It's snowing here." At first I thought perhaps he was telling a fib to make not coming more acceptable until I looked out the window and sure enough the snow was already gathering on the parking lot outside.
My mom finished radiation and we went upstairs to get her chemo pump removed and by then all the nurses were beginning to worry if they were going to be able to get home when they got off work at 5:00. We left the building at about 3:30 and there was probably a good 2 to 3 inches on the parking lot. I told mom to stay right there by the door and I would bring the car around. I got in the car and took a while figuring out how to get the front and rear windshield wipers to work and the defrost to blow. The side windows were covered with snow and I couldn't see a snow brush so I decided to revert to a trick my son and I use when the van windows are all fogged up when I take him to marching band at 6:00 in the morning. You just roll the window down and then roll it back up and all the condensation is gone. It's magic! I rolled the window down and it worked quite well except for the lap full of snow that I ended up with. By the time I got back to my mom I think she was wondering where I had gone.
I drove white knuckled, between 15 and 25 mph, even on the freeway, all the way back to Spanish Fork.


I told my mom that I wished I had an "Arizona Driver" sign to hang on the back of her car so the other drivers would give me a little more room. Most of the cars weren't moving any faster than we were, but every once in a while I'd get someone who wanted to test his snow tires or see how well his insurance paid out claims who'd get right on my tail and want me to go faster.
We stopped at ShopKo in Spanish Fork to pick up a prescription for my mom. I was in the store about 5 minutes and came out to a car covered in snow again. This time when I rolled the window down I stopped before the snow fell in though. I'm a quick learner. However when I turned on the wipers, the snow was frozen to them and nothing I tried, the defrost, window washer fluid, making the wipers go faster seemed to get it to move. Instead of wiping the windshield they pretty much smeared water all over the windshield, especially right where my line of vision was. I switched from sitting up extra tall to slumping way down all the rest of the way home so I could see where I was going. I was very happy when we finally pulled into my mom's garage and wouldn't you know it, I looked out the window when we got inside and it had stopped snowing.

Today I am thankful for

the person who invented windshield wipers.
a warm coat.
a break for my mom from doctor trips, radiation and the chemo pump - at least for 2 days.

A Question for my Weatherman

This is something that I have always wondered about -

If the high temperature for the day

never gets above 32 degrees,

then why/how does snow melt on that day?

It seems to me that everything

should just stay frozen.

Now I have heard that heat

escaping from homes through the roof

causes the snow to melt and icicles to form.

Supposedly you can tell

how well insulated your house is

by the number and size of your icicles,

so that is a possible explanation.

I also understand that

where the sun is actually hitting

ie. the driveway, the asphalt,

the mailbox, the roof top, the sidewalk

might be warmer

than the actual recorded high temperature

and that is why the snow melts.

It still seems rather strange to me though,

if water freezes at 32 degrees

if it is below 32 degrees

it should just stay frozen!

That would make sense.

Glittered!

This morning my mom asked me to take something down the street to her visiting teaching companion's house. When I went outside, I was met with a wonderful sight. During the night it had snowed just enough for a fine layer of tiny flakes to cover everything. With the sun shining on the snow, it looked just like someone had taken a giant container of glitter and sprinkled it over the entire neighborhood. It was so sparkly and beautiful! Of course when I tried to take a picture of the shiny effect it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to. You'll just have to take my word for it. It was amazing!

Actually, if you click on the picture and make it big you can almost see it sparkle. I doubt my son-in-law will appreciate this though. For some reason he has a very strong aversion to glitter. Go figure.

Shoveling Snow

I went outside this morning to sweep the snow that had fallen during the night off of my mom's front porch so no unsuspecting visitors would slip on the ice that was hidden beneath it and injure themselves. While I was out there, I noticed that the senior citizens across the street were out shoveling their driveways. I decided if they could be that ambitious I should probably be shoveling too so I got the shovel and went to work. There was probably about 3 or 4 inches of new snow on the driveway and that came off quite easily. The old snow underneath, that cars had driven back and forth on, was a little harder to get up but I got most of it. As I was shoveling I was thinking that I should probably shovel the neighbor's driveway too. The couple that lives there both have had major surgeries recently and probably can't do it themselves. Then I looked down the street and each house I could see is occupied by an older person or couple who probably could use my help. I could shovel all day and still not reach everyone who could use my assistance. I decided my contribution would be to shovel the sidewalk and area around the mailboxes so that all the people could safely collect their mail. I know it wasn't much, but it was something. I was happy for all the neighbors later on in the day when the sun came out and most of the snow melted off of all their driveways. However I was kind of sad that I had worked that hard for nothing. Oh well, I don't get the opportunity to shovel snow that often and it was probably good for me.

Even though I grew up in Utah I don't remember shoveling snow very often. I have 2 older brothers and I think they probably pulled snow shoveling duty a lot, along with my dad. Sometimes it's nice to be a girl.

My most vivid snow shoveling memory occurred after I was married. Our family lived in Orem. My hubby had been unemployed for a few months and was offered a job in Arizona working for his tribe. He went to Arizona to start work the middle of January and I stayed in Utah, with our 3 children, to sell the house. As luck would have it we had some major snowstorms while he was gone (which was about a month, but seemed a lot longer) and I spent quite a bit of time shoveling the driveway so prospective buyers could come and look at our house. We lived on a very busy street, so the kids had to stay in the house while I worked. The girls were 4 and 6 months and my son was not quite 3. I usually waited until the baby was asleep and the other 2 were good to entertain themselves or watch me out the window. One day however after I had been shoveling for a while my daughter opened the front door and yelled for help. I hurried inside to find my son sitting on the floor with a set of keys in his hand, his very black hand. It took me a minute to figure out what had happened but I soon spied the electrical outlet in the nearby wall was also black. The son had stuck the keys in the outlet and received quite the shock apparently. I quickly washed his had off and although it was a tiny bit red he didn't seem to be burned. He was lucky that he wasn't really hurt. He has always remembered this experience and is still cautious around plugs to this day.

Today I am thankful for

a warm house to go into after I have been shoveling snow.
no line at the post office.
arms.

Canyon Colors

My mom kept telling me that I needed to do something fun before I went home. She seems to think that all I have done while I was here is work. I don't feel like I have worked very hard. I have done my fair share of laundry and I have cooked a few meals, but I'm not sure that constitutes hard work. The washing machine basically does the work for me and cooking isn't bad at all when the recipients are appreciative.

Since today'was my last day in Utah I had to decide what fun thing I wanted to do. I chose to go on an Autumn leave hunt up the canyon. My mom and my sister decided they could handle that much fun so they accompanied me. My hunt was sucessful and I had lots of fun!

These leaves were just as we entered Payson canyon, pretty close to home. More evidence that Fall is quickly approaching.

This picture was taken from the trailhead to the Grotto, where our family went hiking when we were in Utah this summer. I didn't do any hiking, but I did get out to take a few pictures. We were all surprised that the quaking Aspens, at the top of the mountain, were all still green. There were a lot more colored leaves down lower than there were up high.

My mom has a Fall screen saver on her computer with beautiful yellow trees lining both sides of the road and piles of yellow leaves on the ground. I told her that that was what I was looking for before we left home. These leaves weren't quite as abundant as the ones on her computer, but it was still a very pretty scene. I took this picture in Santaquin Canyon on the way down.

It's a good thing I wasn't trying to do any real hunting on this drive. The deer kept disappearing before I could get my camera situated to "shoot" them. I could have picked off a lot of grazing cows, but I don't think their owners would have appreciated that too much.

I loved being able to actually see Autumn leaves for a change. It was a beautiful and fun trip, much better than cooking or doing laundry.

Today I am thankful for

the time I have been able to spend with my mom and other family members for the past 10 days.
my mom's recovery - even though it is progressing slower than she would like.
people that appreciate my cooking.

The Arrival of Fall

I have to say that I was a little disappointed when I arrived in Utah last week and it wasn't nearly as Fall like as I had been expecting. In Arizona we have been dreaming of the days when the high temperature will finally fall below 90 degrees and praying that it is just around the corner. Autumn decorations keep popping up on the blogs of friends and acquaintances in Maricopa county wishfully encouraging some hope for relief.

Not so in Utah. Although the temperatures are already below ninety here these Utahns seem to be holding on to Summer with all they've got. I have seen a lot more 4th of July decorations still gracing the doors of neighborhood homes than the traditional pumpkin and scarecrow adornments of Autumn and there was nary a colored leaf on the mountains last Sunday as I was driven south from the airport. I guess these residents realize that after Fall quickly comes Winter and they are not quite ready to welcome that with open arms.

However, I was ecstatic this morning, the official first day of Fall, to wake up to overcast skies and a decidedly crisp feel to the air. If I look really hard at the mountain behind my mom's house I can even pick out scatterings of red leafs finally appearing.

Fall is Here!

On my morning walk (which required a jacket for the first time since I've been here) I was excited to see more evidence of the changing seasons.

Raindrops falling gently on my head,

a few leaves beginning to change color and a brave soul acknowledging that Autumn is upon us by decorating a grave with a harvest flair.

Welcome Autumn.

I wish I could stick around to enjoy all you have to offer.

Today I am thankful for

the opportunity to get to see the changing seasons first hand.

A sister to come and spend time with my mom and me.

the need for a jacket.

Home again, Home again

This morning I sat on my mom's front porch, one last time, enjoying the cool morning breeze while I waited for my family to get ready to head for home. I'm afraid that I'm not going to be that cool again for a long, long time. Last night the boys were all for leaving for Arizona at 3:00 AM, but today they had a hard time getting out of couch or off the floor, as the case may be. We finally got everything loaded up and were headed out about 8:30 AM Utah time, which was only 7:30 AM Arizona time, so not too bad. It's always hard for me to say good bye to my mom and this morning my sister was there too so that made it even harder. I always feel like I am going to miss out on something fun when I leave. My mom was probably waiting for the front door to close so she could start singing the Hallelujah Chorus. I'm sure it is a relief to get rid of all the company and get back to her quiet life. (However today we left just in time for my sister, brother-in-law, their 2 sons, 1 wife and 4 kids to arrive. No peace and quiet yet!) The newlyweds headed north, and then east, to Colorado to visit with the son-in-law's grandparents while we headed south toward home. It was another uneventful trip, which I was grateful for. The sons decided that maybe if they took control of the driving we would make better time so the oldest one even drove the stretch from Hurricane to Flagstaff and the hubby and I lounged in the backseat watching a movie and a couple of episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger. I have to admit, the time did seem to go a lot faster. We made pretty good time and arrived home about 7:00 PM, following a stop at Cafe Rumba in Glendale for my favorite Tropical Chicken Salad. The salad was good, but not as absolutely delicious as I remember. Perhaps the fact that I had been snacking all day made the difference. I just wasn't hungry enough to fully appreciate it. The cat-feeding, house-watching, nursery-teaching daughter and her roommates/son's girlfriend and her puppy welcomed us with much enthusiasm. I think Poky was the most excited. She had to share all her toys with us that she had hidden under the chair. However, the girlfriend also seemed happy and the other 2 girls were enthusiastic about the Rumba salads we delivered to them. The daughter had bought "welcome home cake" and we celebrated together after the hubby spent 30 minutes on the phone with Qwest getting the internet fixed. They talked him through the steps and although he didn't follow all of their instructions to the letter it is now working again. Hopefully for a LONG time. I guess it is good to be home. I just which I could figure out a way to not let the extreme heat get me down. As we were driving into Maricopa county things started looking like home and I do like living here, but honestly - which would you choose??? Actually, the 61 degrees was while we were enjoying a brief rainstorm in Flagstaff. When we left Payson it was 68 degrees, so technically if I want to be cool I only have to move 2 and a half hours north and not 12 hours north, but then I wouldn't be by any family. The past week Phoenix has had below normal temperatures (low hundreds) but now we're home and they're going up! Less than 4 months more of 100+ temperatures and then I'll remember why I live in Tempe. We have beautiful winters! Tonight I am grateful for A mom - who lets my family and me invade her home so we can have a vacation. A welcoming committee - who made us feel missed and loved. An uneventful trip - Those are the very best kind to have.

The hubby's strategy for feeling cool

So, I'm sitting next to my hubby in church today and I look down at his tie and I'm trying to figure out why all the cartoon characters are in little round balls and what is that funny looking green plant in between each ball? As I look closer I realize he is wearing a Christmas tie complete with holly and ornaments! You've all heard of Relief Society activities billed as "Christmas in July". Well, I think he was going for "Christmas in June" and definitely hoping for the cooler temperatures. I say, anything is worth a try. It is so HOT here. The air conditioning in the nursery room at the church was working right today though so that was a nice bonus. For about the last month we've had to push the over-ride button to get it to come on and that is suppose to last for 3 hours, but only lasted for about half an hour and then we'd have to push it again. Sometimes we'd forget and then all the sudden we would start getting really warm and have to push it and then wait for it to cool off. Not fun!

The 3 things I am thankful for today are Kids - I get such a kick out of the little kids in nursery and their personalities. They are so willing to let their feelings show and not at all afraid of acting silly. It's fun to have people to be silly with me. They make me so happy! The Gospel of Jesus Christ - I often become complacent about this great blessing and begin to take my religion for granted. I have enjoyed reading the blog of my daughter's roommate and son's girlfriend and seeing the church and all its blessings through her newly baptised eyes. It reminds me to appreciate what I have been blessed with. Air Conditioning - I can't imagine what living in Tempe must have been like before air conditioning. It's just way to hot to not have a cooling system to make life bearable.

Hot and bothered

No, this is not an x-rated posting or anything of the sort. It is just my frustration releasing itself to the world. It is hot! It is too hot. It is so hot and I hate it. It is 113 and that is obnoxiously hot. I know I live in Tempe, Arizona. I know it is supposed to be hot here on the almost first day of summer, but that doesn't mean I have to like it and I DON'T! I don't like to be hot! It makes me grumpy. Just ask my 16 year old who had the "pleasure" of my company for almost the entire day. Which brings up the bothered part of this blog. My son's idea of doing school work bothers me. He thinks the least amount of effort put forth is the best. Yes, I know it is hot and we need to conserve our energy, but I don't think slacking on the online health class is the best way to do it. He has procrastinated to the point of almost no return and so we get to spend lots and lots of not so quality time trying to get him caught up and the assignments turned in, the chapters read, the videos watched, and the tests taken before the Thursday deadline. Ugh!! Today we both took the "Are you depressed?" quiz for one of his assignments. He scored a 3 out of 16. No depression at all. I scored a 14 out of 16. See where all this being bothered gets you!

The vacation is definitely over

Well, it's a good thing I enjoyed my get away because real life was more than ready to welcome me home today. I was suppose to have a salad made and delivered to the church before 10:00 this morning for a funeral. This doesn't sound so difficult except that every single piece of clothing that I own, that fits, except for a muu-muu looking dress and two pair of sweat pants was in the laundry. I sorted the clothes and started the wash and thought I could get some clothes clean in time to run to the store and still get the salad made, but it just seemed to take longer than it should. I finally put on the dress, since it was already close to 100 degrees outside, and went to the store, made the salad and got it to the church at 9:59. At least I wasn't the last person to show up. Then I spent most of the rest of the day trying to convince my teenage son to do his online health or assisting said son with said health in between loads of laundry, sorting mail and newspapers and picking up the house. I don't know why keeping a clean house is so difficult for me, but it seems like there is so much that needs done that I can't decide where to even begin and get discouraged before I get started. I need to just do something everyday and hopefully eventually I will notice a difference. I sure do miss the cool breezes of California. This hot weather is yucky!

Why?

Why do I live in Tempe, AZ if I love the rain?

Why do I have boys in my life if it isn't to take out the trash and carry heavy boxes?

Why does the same 15-year-old who so adamantly and not so nicely tells me over and over again all afternoon that he is perfectly capable of packing a suitcase and does not need his mother's help suddenly become helpless at 2:00 in the morning when he finally gets around to doing it?

Why do gasoline prices go up 10 cents a gallon overnight when there is a holiday when they're already higher than they should be? $3.75 a gallon - that's ridiculous!

There are so many questions I have going through my head. For some of them the answer seems obvious. I live in Tempe because that's where my husband has a job and I kind of like living with my hubby and having money. However the obvious answer is not the right one today. I live in Tempe so that when it is a beautiful, 65 degree, rainy day during the almost last week of May I can truly, truly appreciate it for the blessing and wonder that it is. If I lived in Seattle I probably wouldn't recognize today as a perfect weather day.

Oh, and the reason I have boys in my life is so one of them can drive that same helpless 15-year-old to his 3:00 AM rendezvous with the Priest's group and I don't have to.