It's spring somewhere

We are still in Arizona, enjoying the desert in full bloom. Our Prickly Pear cactus has the most beautiful yellow buds that flower during the day, then close at night to go to sleep.

The breezes are warm as the temperatures climb to the upper 80s. We enjoy our coffee on the deck in the morning and our evening strolls.

We are from Minnesota. We spend winters here and most years are packing to head home about now.

But not this year.

It has not been a kind Minnesota winter, and that's the kindest words you'll hear Minnesotans say. It's mid-April and they are fed up. As well they should be.

It's a cruel trick of Mother Nature this year, the winter with no end. I feel for my fellow Minnesotans and I'm not gloating, nor did I write the first paragraph in a mean spirit.

There is hope, Minnesota. Spring must come. And when it does, it will be even more special. Those sights and smells will be appreciated even more after suffering through a very long seven months.

We have not been gone so long that we've forgotten. Those days that drag on and on and on and you just long to see green grass, open windows, and commence with spring cleaning and washing up golf clubs, pumping air into those bike tires, sorting fishing tackle.

Ahhhh, spring. It will come to Minnesota.  And when Minnesotans are enjoying those fresh breezes, tulips popping out of the ground, picnics and outdoor baseball games, Arizonans will be suffocating in the heat, broiling under the hot, intense sun, and getting cabin fever from sitting inside their air-conditioned hot-boxes, paying obscene electric bills to stay cool.

So take comfort, Minnesota. Spring is coming. I promise. We'll be there to celebrate it with you.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Oh, it doesn't show signs of stoppin'
But we've got some corn for poppin'

It started at midnight last night. White, fluffy flakes swirling around, and now blowing in the wind. You can hear it howling away outside.

It is so very beautiful. A winter wonderland in Minnesnowta.

It is also canceling travel plans all over the state. Warnings have been issued to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary. Our own family plans were postponed until tomorrow as my children and grandchildren planned their annual gift opening celebration today.

But everything will keep and we'll be together then, presumably all safe and sound. And we will celebrate in our usual festive style.

So today is wide open.

Hmmmmm, what shall I do with myself? The options are many.

Bake cookies?
Knit?
Read my new book? "Fall of Giants" ... a mere 985 pages.
Stitch?

Snow days can be so deliciously lazy. Permission to do anything not associated with real work. I love these snowy days, just as I love a good thunderstorm in summer. It's all about permission to lay low without feeling guilty.

I think I'll bake some sugar cookies, pop some Kettle Corn, and read the afternoon away.

In that order.

Without feeling a tinge of guilt.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Sight unseen

During this past hot summer, many, according to a local news report, were longing for winter.

Evidently, their memories had grown dim in the heat, as they seemed to have forgotten about shoveling and plowing, navigating icy roads and sidewalks, not to mention scraping windshields. Wearing five layers of clothes. Boots, mittens, scarves and earmuffs. How could anybody long for that?

Well, here it is. "Snovember," the weatherman called it last night on the evening news. Yes, we have snow in Minnesota. Several inches of sticky, slushy snow.

And we won't be sticking around long in it. Soon, we will head south to Arizona, to our new mobile home we purchased late last spring. Sight unseen.

Last winter, when we spent a month in Tucson, we decided to spend the rest of our retirement winters in a warm, sunny environ. We debated about settling in one spot every year versus traveling around. We also debated about spending our retirement funds to purchase real estate versus having the ability to travel to far corners of the earth on a series of shorter vacations.

We opted to settle in one place for the winter.

So one day, while in Tucson, we took a two-hour drive to Mesa, where our good friends, the Minars, have a winter home. They are in a large mobile home park, called The Resort.

The Biseks and the Minars

We loved their mobile home, and as we toured the park with them and they explained the park's amenities, we thought we might check into the homes for sale while we were there for the day.

We looked at a few, but none seemed to be satisfactory. We had hoped to find a corner lot, and a home with two bedrooms. However, we did like the park and all it had to offer.

After returning home to Minnesota, we looked online for homes available in the park, either to rent or to buy.

Lo and behold. There was one available with a corner lot and two bedrooms. It was on the same street as the Minars, about five houses away.

We wasted no time. Mary Kay and Bob agreed to look at it for us and call us with a description and their valued opinion. Bob is a contractor, so he would evaluate from a structural perspective. Mary Kay and I share the same decorating taste, and expectations for a clean home, so she would tell me if she liked its appearance.

We could hardly wait for their phone call.

They both agreed: it was a nice home, structurally sound with good design, well kept, and clean. They assured us it was one they would buy themselves.

We called the owner, made an offer, it was accepted. We owned a home in Arizona!

Our new winter home

Mary Kay and Bob came home with photos they took of every room, and practically every nook and cranny of our new home. We were so excited to see the pictures, and we concluded the home exceeded our expectations.

So, off we'll go. The day after Christmas.

To the sun and warmth. To the wonder and beauty of Arizona and the peaceful desert.

To our new home. Which we bought.
Sight unseen.

Arizona beauty

Last winter, shortly after I retired, my husband and I enjoyed a month-long stay in Tucson. This was a generous retirement gift from our friends, the Pipers, who spend winters there.
It was their way of introducing us to the beauty of Arizona.

We spent the month in the Piper's casita, an adobe guesthouse, situated in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains.


We explored the wonders of the desert and learned a bit about the many varieties of cacti growing there. We hiked at Catalina State Park, Saguaro National Park, and the Arizona-Sonora Desert museum and botanical garden. We marveled at the majesty of it all.

The sunsets were indescribable. Our granddaughter, Heidi, captured this photo outside our casita.


She and husband, Chris, drove from their home in Las Vegas to spend a weekend with us. Heidi is an excellent photographer, evidenced by these photos:




Nearby was a wonderful Farmer's Market held every weekend at St. Philip's Plaza. We tried some interesting foods that were new to us: Jack in the Bean soup and Mill Creek Mexican lime olive oil.

We took a day trip to Tubac, about an hour south of Tucson. Tubac is an "artsy" community with many interesting shops and artisans at work. Lunch at the Old Tubac Inn is highly recommended if you visit. Their Center for the Arts was fabulous.

Being a former member of the U.S. Air Force, we had to visit the Pima Air and Space Museum with 80 acres of aviation history. George loved walking around the large field of old planes. (Me? I toured the gift shop, bought a book, The Fighter Pilot's Wife, sat on a wonderful stone bench outside in the sun and read.)

Our month went by too fast, and we were sad to be leaving the amazing beauty, and warmth of the sun, of Arizona.

But, while there, in our new retirement life, we vowed to return. Maybe even invest in a winter home there.

To be continued...