The sun set earlier today and my daughter skipped a feeding and slept when the sun was setting down the Arizonian horizon. This was a clear indication that autumn was closely upon us. This summer’s weather has been surprisingly bearable. Maybe it was because of the evenly spread out monsoon rains. Even though it is going to be much cooler in the upcoming months, one of my pet peeves about living in a desert climate is not being able to buy winter wear and some bulkier fall wear. I was doing some on-line shopping and sighed at some pretty clothes that I wouldn’t have the opportunity to wear because it wasn’t cold enough here. I think a trip up north with the family – Flagstaff, Sedona, etc. is in order. :D

I should be more adamant about putting suntan lotion on. The sun burns my skin whether I’m wearing thick or thin clothing. I am very fair skinned and get burned rather easily. One of my greatest fears is getting skin cancer. My daughter has started eating everything in sight, a teddy bear, a plastic toy, my arm, etc. so it is rather difficult to find something I can put on that my daughter wouldn’t accidentally ingest. Also, I have yet to find a lotion that doesn’t make you look like a shiny contestant for the Ms Universe Body-Building Championship. I have read that the Banana Boat SPF 50 http://www.bananaboat.com/products/10879.aspx?cat=5&curBrowseBy=Usage is a very good product for babies. I have yet to find out whether it would work for me if I applied it as well instead of the adult variety? To be continued…

When we got our home 2 years ago, it was a spec home, so we didn’t have a choice – we were stuck with a desert landscaping. At first, I didn’t like the idea of having a grassless front yard. We passed by a beautiful community called Agritopia once – http://www.agritopia.com/ it reminded us of the picturesque Craftman style homes in Pasadena California. Every front yard had lucious green grass and traditional white picket fences. I sighed as I went back home to my yard. Back then, a greenless yard felt dry, dead and unnatural. But as I read more about xeriscaping and living in Arizona, I appreciated what I had because I was conserving water. It’s not as if I’ll go out to my front yard and sit on my lawn. The only time I’d go out there would be to mow it. If I would choose grass, it would be better in the back yard for our daughter to run around in. However, I would deeply consider researching and maybe purchasing astroturf – fake grass. The only question I would have is instead of mowing would I just vacuum? :D

A bit off track here, but bear with me. This morning on Headline News I heard, out of the corner of my ear, a comment about a town food fight in Spain – a tomato fight to be specific. A quick Google verified that my ear correctly caught the snippet and I now bring this valuable information to the blog. Every August in Bunol, Spain, there is a festival that begins with a ham on top of a pole. Climbers vie to capture the ham and, once done, truckloads of tomatoes are dumped on the town streets and a tomato fight begins. I don’t undertand the ham-tomato connection, but it’s their tradition and who am I to interfere?

I found several websites, one with a photo gallery that showed a sea of red juice – simply amazing. So how does this relate to Phoenix, you wonder? As I looked at the red, chunky liquid produced from the fight, I could only think of salsa – a primary foodstuff in the great Southwest. If we were to add peppers, onion, cilantro and any other requisite ingredients to the fight, it seems Phoenix could host a tomato fight and create a seriously large bowl of salsa.

We need a category for creative thinking.

The Valley Metro buses have signs about a “new policy” that was invoked on July 24, 2006. I would see it and forget about it after I got to work, but today it stayed with me. The policy says that children under the age of seven must be accompanied by a responsible person, able to supervise and control the child. I’m paraphrasing because I didn’t write it down while on the bus and when I went to Valley Metro’s site, looking for the language, I couldn’t find it. My question is why they need to issue such a policy? Do they have a lot of riders under the age of seven who are all alone? Or is this aimed at 10, 11, 12 year olds riding with small children and the older child is unable to control the younger child? Or is this for parents who don’t understand concepts like discipline and control? I’d really like to know what prompted this policy as I can’t imagine putting a 6 or 7 (or younger!) year old on the bus alone. I’d have deep reservations allowing a 10 year old to travel alone with their 3 or 4 year old sibling. I haven’t seen these things, but I only ride two bus routes. It’s a curiosity and I’m open to enlightenment.

When Chris was talking about her window replacements, it got me thinking. When we first moved here and got our house I never knew why aluminum windows were so popular here. Are they better heat tolerant than other materials? Back in San Francisco, they were popularly vinyl, and I preferred them over aluminum because they looked prettier and appeared sturdier.

I was taken aback with aluminum when one of them had to be replaced. To our unfortunate luck, the actual wood framing of the window was not perfectly square which made the new replacement pretty difficult to install. The guy nonchalantly banged that aluminum to mold to the shape of the mishapen rectangular window frame. Once he cracked the window because of his intense banging with a rubber mallet so he had to order a replacement of the replacement. The second time, he chipped the double glass pane with his makeshift screwdriver window tool and tried to hide it. Very professional. Then the last time, a different guy installed it but the window’s locking mechanisms weren’t as secure as we would have hoped. Do I need to say that I had a very bad first impression with aluminum windows because of this experience? So my question again is why aluminum? Will vinyl melt in Arizona? So much to learn… Sigh…

Just gotta talk about windows and my eternal battle with Arizona’s heat. I have a small patio home, circa 1984. I secured a home equity loan with the idea of making improvements to my house. I can be a real form-over-substance girl when it comes to aesthetics and a mad desire for new flooring conflicted with more practical replacement windows. The house has cheezy, single pane windows which provide absolutely no insulation. Even in shade, the glass feels hot from the inside. After agonizing and hand-wringing, the pocketbook won out and I contracted for aluminum, double pane, low-E windows.

Well . . . yesterday, the first of the new windows were installed and oh what a wonderful improvement already. With the strong mid-morning sun streaming in, there was no heat coming through the glass. The low E was doing its job, reflecting and rejecting. The biggest surprise was the appearance from the outside. Being clean, surely helps, but there’s a very subtle effect created by the low E glass. It’s not tinted and yet it might be. I figured they would look better, but didn’t realize how much they upgrade the appearance of the house. If you’re wondering what you can do to lighten your utility load and add a bit of bling to your house, think replacement windows.

How fun was that storm today?!? I just sat in my apartment thankful that I’d made it home from the first day of classes at ASU before it started. I turned off the TV, the lights and the stereo and just listened to the wind and rain as it beat against the windows and roof of my apartment. Thunderstorms like the one today are a summer-time routine in the midwest but out here in Phoenix they come so infrequently that I take the time to enjoy them.

Good times.

Last weekend I had an occasion to visit Arcosanti for a new music concert by the California E.A.R. Unit. Arcosanti is an arcology (architecture + ecology) concept/project by renowned architect (and Scottsdale resident) Paolo Soleri located in the high Arizona desert just off of the Cordes Junction exit on I-17.

The complex itself, situated on the edge of a canyon created by the Agua Fria river, is beautifully built and blends in with the surrounding desert landscape. We drove up to Arcosanti through a thunderstorm and by the time we arrived there was a beautiful rainbow over the canyon which was followed with a stunning sunset. I got some great shots of the landscape at Arcosanti which I’ve uploaded to an Arcosanti Flickr set (or see all Arcosanti tagged pics on Flickr).

A clap of thunder is overheard, ominous clouds overhead, a dust storm emerges in the distance, splatters of raindrops hitting our windowpanes. Ahh, rain! :D

This summer hasn’t been that bad compared to last years. I have no complaints.

Check out the 10 Day Weather Forecast from weather.com