a walk along the bike path from outside my door

It's a really pleasant evening tonight as the sun sets and the moon (almost full) is high in the sky. The temp is in the 70's. The bike path adjacent to my apartment is popular with walkers, joggers, and cyclists. The Catalinas are the backdrop with blue sky behind. Within walking distance there is an intramural softball game going on next to a pick-up basketball game. Dog parks are along side... one for big dogs and one for small. Liking it.

biking, a little work, and the symphony

Lisa and I climbed Mt Lemmon today, our second time this week ... to Seven Cataracts, which is the furthest Lisa has climbed so far! It is beginning to feel good to me. Just going the distance and not fretting it. It's always a good workout. Descending is getting a bit easier... but to see some of the cyclists come down so fast is incredible. Their 1" tires are screaming down the pavement. You can hear them coming even before you see them.

Then I came home and made a very nice lunch of marinated salmon (yes, I took a chance in the desert), broccoli, and couscous with raisins, almonds, onion and honey. And then I went to work. On-line proficiency testing consisting of scoring and administration of the various standardized assessments. All my fears were for naught. I did great. Ready to move on!

My reward was the free outdoor symphony at Udall Park tonight. The weather is always good, and once the sun goes down, the temperature is delightful. Tonight was the Arizona Symphonic Winds with a special violin concerto. Fabulous! I have not heard a violin solo like that ever. So I expect I will learn a great deal about the symphony before the summer ends.

NBA afternoon

no boys allowed for the afternoon showing of the movie "Nine" at a friends house. Huge tv screen in a gorgeous home on a hot sunny friday in tucson. Snacks and wine and female conversation. Very fun! What a life.

the lovely evenings in the desert

I am still amazed by the beauty of the mountains and the desert landscape. Tonight, I attended an art exhibit at the Tohono Chul Park; an oasis within the city. It is their 25th anniversary, so they had drinks and appetizers and free entrance to their living museum. There are pathways to various botanical gardens outside, and the art exhibit inside. Many local artists are shown, and high schoolers entered a competition for first prize by creating drawings and paintings in various categories. My favorite category is the colored pencil. Crisp and clean, colorful original drawings. Fabulous entries by teenagers.

On my drive home, the sun and the shadows on the Catalina Mountains are simply gorgeous. Just beautiful and mesmerizing at this time of day. A lovely evening in the desert.

So now that the sun has set, I can open my windows again and feel the westerly breeze blowing in. My natural air conditioner after a hot, sunny, cloud free day.

I almost forgot to mention that I began the day with a 6 mile hike to Blackett's Ridge. This hike is a steady climb of 1700' and 3 false tops to a pinnacle with 360 degree views of canyons and mountains as a reward for your efforts. Truly the trail ends there as there is nowhere else to go. A nice day.

5/17/2010

I guess I can't leave it at egg coddlers, right? Okay then. Today was a nice success story for work. I had another practice assessment to do. I scheduled the morning with a father and his 4.5 yo son. When I met them at the preschool, the kid was clinging to Dad and crying that he did not want to do this. Great. But Dad persisted, so then I took over. Soon he was laughing and feeling good about his success with the games and tests. He did really well and had fun. Smart kid. I got him! And I got my practice assessment. Maybe the trainees can move forward now?

Who knew about egg coddlers?

After Lisa, Jerry and I climbed Mt Lemmon and then had our mid-morning double espresso, I found an estate sale at the base of the mountain. I stopped in, and although most items had been sold, I found 2 porcelain egg coddlers for $3. I had a couple of bucks in my pocket so I took a chance. I came home, found a recipe and cooked up two eggs. What a surprisingly tasty little package of protein! Have you ever cooked with egg coddlers? Who knew?

getting up early to bike these days

It's getting hot in Tucson so the biking starts early now. The desert air cools off nicely at night, and it is very pleasant in the morning. Today was my longest distance yet (45 miles). We had a fun paceline coming back with nice rotations and very effective 1 minute pulls. It was a blast!

happy trails and biking hills

This is the second time that I have biked Mt Lemmon up to mile marker 12 and 6,000 feet elevation. Today I took the photo. The weather was delightful and I felt good. There were many bikers out today and just a couple of cars. I descended without any car wanting to pass. Nice ride. I needed to put on my wind vest to descend as it was cool. I suspect it will only get warmer from here.

And I swam for the first time yesterday. At the University of Arizona pool. Unfortunately for me, it is 50 meters long before you get to touch a wall, and it is outdoors. So there is wind, sun and temperature, and twice the usual distance per lap. It takes forever to get to a wall! I must repeat... BU has the best pool ever. But I suppose I will get used to it. Dammit.