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Thursday, June 23, 2016
Not a Cali Girl Anymore
Funny how much change can happen in 3-1/2 years. I was told by a very wise young man at a Five Guys restaurant that "you acclimate after the first year". It was August, Steve was doing his 3rd interview for his present job and I was trying to beat the 115 degree day since there were no indoor malls in that part of Scottsdale-I must have looked ready to die because the young man wouldn't even let me pay for my drink-just handed me a cup and gasped.
Fast forward to now and we're in the midst of our 4th summer, it's 115 outside at 10 a.m. and I'm just piling through the day with Dylan and Aidan. Can't go to the water park, the pool or the splash pads-it's as the song says, "Too Darn Hot".
This week has been rather rough. After hosting Father's Day dinner, the kids all left, dinnerware was washing and it was a mere 112 at 10 p.m.. Then IT happened. The air-conditioning unit blew out.
Do you have even an inkling of what it's like to sleep in 95 degrees with fans blowing hot air around and sharing my side of the bed with a 7 pound cat on one side (head resting on my shoulder) and a 6 pound dog along the opposite side?
Let me tell you: YOU DON'T!
By 5 a.m. Steve and I realized we were in trouble. Except Steve had the luck of going to work. I left early for my water aerobics class and stayed late. The pool felt GREAT. Got home and Steve had contacted the home warranty company and set up a repair for the next day. Between 1-5.
It's really nice to have our son and daughter living at the end of the block. We were invited (pets and all) to stay there until the a/c was fixed.
Thankfully, the repair person came at 2 and said the heat had blown the capacitor. He fixed it and we were able to move back in around 5. Pepper was pretty happy about that-at 13 he isn't happy about even the slightest change in his daily routine of playing fetch, teasing Lucky and sleeping. He peed on Jackson's rug and then did the opposite in our closet once we got home.
Which brings me to how we know that we are now Arizonans and not Cali "transplants":
1-We don't expect cold water out of any of our cold water taps.
2-We keep an ice chest in my trunk so we can buy a bag of ice when grocery shopping to make sure our food arrives home in edible condition and not cooked.
3-We know how to pronounce Cholla, Papago, Haboob and Saguaro, plus-we know what they mean to us here in AZ.
4-Even when we park in the shade, we put in a customized sunscreen in the windshield and keep a towel in reach so we can touch the steering wheel.
5-You will never see us walking around without a bottle of water.
6-We expect to use the clause in our car insurance policies that give us new windshields. Cracks are just part of the charm of living here.
7-Just because we have a community pool doesn't mean you will see us using it after 10 a.m. because we know we can still get sunstroke.
8-We never walk barefoot. Outside we're asking for burned feet/possible stings or inside where we could still get a scorpion bite.
9-Just because we hear the thunder, see the lightning and "feel" the moisture-this doesn't mean we expect rain. And when we get it-we're not sure if it will dry before hitting the ground or flood the entire area.
10-We expect to lose power at least twice during the summer months. How long? Does it really matter?
11-When it does rain and we happen to be driving we pull off the road because we don't know how to turn on our wipers, they probably won't work and besides the rain is usually hitting so hard that it will break the hot glass.
12-We think the house is cold when it's 80 inside after we've let our dogs out to potty in 110 degrees.
13-Unless we golf-we don't know what grass is anymore.
14-Before I let the dog out, I check for rattlesnakes, owls, hawks, bobcats and coyotes. Lucky is the perfect size snack for all of these and all of them have visited our yard at some point since moving here.
15-We don't decorate for Christmas-but those who do decorate cacti because there's not a fir tree anywhere in the community.
And that is life here in AZ. Despite what you've just read, it's a beautiful place that I'm proud to be living in. Finally.
Fast forward to now and we're in the midst of our 4th summer, it's 115 outside at 10 a.m. and I'm just piling through the day with Dylan and Aidan. Can't go to the water park, the pool or the splash pads-it's as the song says, "Too Darn Hot".
This week has been rather rough. After hosting Father's Day dinner, the kids all left, dinnerware was washing and it was a mere 112 at 10 p.m.. Then IT happened. The air-conditioning unit blew out.
Do you have even an inkling of what it's like to sleep in 95 degrees with fans blowing hot air around and sharing my side of the bed with a 7 pound cat on one side (head resting on my shoulder) and a 6 pound dog along the opposite side?
Let me tell you: YOU DON'T!
By 5 a.m. Steve and I realized we were in trouble. Except Steve had the luck of going to work. I left early for my water aerobics class and stayed late. The pool felt GREAT. Got home and Steve had contacted the home warranty company and set up a repair for the next day. Between 1-5.
It's really nice to have our son and daughter living at the end of the block. We were invited (pets and all) to stay there until the a/c was fixed.
Thankfully, the repair person came at 2 and said the heat had blown the capacitor. He fixed it and we were able to move back in around 5. Pepper was pretty happy about that-at 13 he isn't happy about even the slightest change in his daily routine of playing fetch, teasing Lucky and sleeping. He peed on Jackson's rug and then did the opposite in our closet once we got home.
Which brings me to how we know that we are now Arizonans and not Cali "transplants":
1-We don't expect cold water out of any of our cold water taps.
2-We keep an ice chest in my trunk so we can buy a bag of ice when grocery shopping to make sure our food arrives home in edible condition and not cooked.
3-We know how to pronounce Cholla, Papago, Haboob and Saguaro, plus-we know what they mean to us here in AZ.
4-Even when we park in the shade, we put in a customized sunscreen in the windshield and keep a towel in reach so we can touch the steering wheel.
5-You will never see us walking around without a bottle of water.
6-We expect to use the clause in our car insurance policies that give us new windshields. Cracks are just part of the charm of living here.
7-Just because we have a community pool doesn't mean you will see us using it after 10 a.m. because we know we can still get sunstroke.
8-We never walk barefoot. Outside we're asking for burned feet/possible stings or inside where we could still get a scorpion bite.
9-Just because we hear the thunder, see the lightning and "feel" the moisture-this doesn't mean we expect rain. And when we get it-we're not sure if it will dry before hitting the ground or flood the entire area.
10-We expect to lose power at least twice during the summer months. How long? Does it really matter?
11-When it does rain and we happen to be driving we pull off the road because we don't know how to turn on our wipers, they probably won't work and besides the rain is usually hitting so hard that it will break the hot glass.
12-We think the house is cold when it's 80 inside after we've let our dogs out to potty in 110 degrees.
13-Unless we golf-we don't know what grass is anymore.
14-Before I let the dog out, I check for rattlesnakes, owls, hawks, bobcats and coyotes. Lucky is the perfect size snack for all of these and all of them have visited our yard at some point since moving here.
15-We don't decorate for Christmas-but those who do decorate cacti because there's not a fir tree anywhere in the community.
And that is life here in AZ. Despite what you've just read, it's a beautiful place that I'm proud to be living in. Finally.
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I know from your other posts that Arizona is a great place to live in a lot of ways (and also a great place for solar ovens!), but I don't think I could stand the heat. Just the thought of it makes me almost faint.
Except for last week when our a\c capacitor blew-that's when we stay inside monsoon kept me from my 6 a.m. walk this morning
Wow, thanks for sharing. We hear about the high temperatures out west but it doesn't really sink in until you hear how it changes the lives of the people who live in the extreme heat. Just curious about the cracks in the windshield though. Is that because of the heat too?
If a rattlesnake came into my yard, it would be time to move.
If a rattlesnake came into my yard, it would be time to move.
sometimes Dave. Usually it's during high winds/heat and then some drop in temps. the cold to hot (or vice-versa) causes it as well as sand or pebbles hitting them from winds.
The rattler was something-6-8' long and Lucky was out there staring at it and waving her tail. As per her tiny breed, she wouldn't come when called and I had to do a "run and swoop" to get her. Steve promptly covered all the various holes for drainage and the opening by the gate with mesh and bricks to keep critters out.
Adam (now lives at the other end of the same block) had a very cute chipmunk in his yard a couple of weeks ago. And Aidan and I saw 2 adorable quail families crossing from our side of the block to the pocket park/wash across the street!
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The rattler was something-6-8' long and Lucky was out there staring at it and waving her tail. As per her tiny breed, she wouldn't come when called and I had to do a "run and swoop" to get her. Steve promptly covered all the various holes for drainage and the opening by the gate with mesh and bricks to keep critters out.
Adam (now lives at the other end of the same block) had a very cute chipmunk in his yard a couple of weeks ago. And Aidan and I saw 2 adorable quail families crossing from our side of the block to the pocket park/wash across the street!
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