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.

hiking, biking, working, and the UA symphony (4/30/10)

It has been a while since I have updated you! Where to begin? First of all, and reluctantly, I must admit that going back to work is an adjustment. It has been months since my early retirement began, which has been a truly pleasurable experience. But work is not a bad thing either, and I enjoy my job more now that the dreadful on-line training is complete. What a boring and tedious endeavor that is. Today I had my first in-person practice and I was pleasantly surprised. It went smoothly with a 5.5 year old, and we covered the plethora of tests at a good pace. He did really well and seemed to have fun! This job might be okay.

I got to use my CatCard (short for U of A Wildcats) to purchase discounted tickets ($5) to the symphony on Sunday with a friend. There are many museums and events available for free or at discounted rate for UA CatCard holders. That's me!

The biking has been first rate, and I am closing in on 1,000 miles. The cycling group is challenging and motivating, and includes a former Olympian. I am getting stronger as we climb Mt Lemmon once a week and rack up the miles on the roads in the foothills. I'm sure you've heard that Tucson is ranked #9 for 700 miles of bike lanes. In the springtime our rides begin at 9:30, but now they move to 8am to avoid the heat. Coffee and a sandwich follows each ride. See why retirement is good?

The hiking is incredible. Within a 5 minute drive from my apartment to the mountains, there are so many different hikes. I have not repeated one yet, and we go once a week. I am up to 8 miles at a time now. That's not a piece of cake yet, but we'll keep working at it. The views are gorgeous, and the landscape is so unusual. Don't expect any shade. Thus the wide-brimmed hats. So far, I have encountered snakes, a gila monster and the collard lizard. Here's some photos to show you of our last hike to Seven Falls in Bear Canyon in the Coronado National Forest.

CPR and First Aid Certified!