I've moved!

Just to fill you all in and offer an explanation of why I haven't been as active on the fora or in Chat for most of this year: I have moved from Massachusetts to Arizona!  Observant board members will have noticed my location change in my avatar box and my August challenge story is also a giveaway.

From February until now, I have been consumed by packing, cleaning, selling, retiring, packing, travelling, slightly unpacking, buying a house, researching household items, closing on the house, having painting done, having possessions delivered, staying hydrated, dealing with pack rats, and doing various other tasks related to moving across the country from one climate to a completely different one!  :hotsmiley:

But as of August 12th, I am now an official resident of Tucson, Arizona, and I have the driver's license to prove it.  

I haven't actually moved into my house yet as I am having work done on it first.  And, of course, the stink from the dead pack rat somewhere in the attic, was so godawful I couldn't remain inside for even five seconds.  It took three weeks for the smell to disappear.  One was caught in a trap on the roof and there was a den just beyond the fence that separates my property from state land; that den was destroyed and the pack rat ran away.  (Sorry animal lovers but unless you've experienced first-hand the damage they cause, I don't want to hear it!)  Thank heavens for the Hotel Mommy and Daddy, which is very cheap, has an extended stay plan, and even has free wi-fi!   I plan to move in a couple weeks from now and will definitely be there--remodelling done or not--for Thanksgiving, when there will be a family reunion in Tucson--the first time in two-and-a-half years the extended family will all be together.  

Here's a photo of the view from my new backyard:"

By the end of 2014, if not before, I plan to participate more actively here.

I hope everything goes well for you in Tucson Ghislaine.

Beautiful view! Best wishes on making your new home everything you would like it to be! Just think, a winter without...

Congratulations on making your move, Ghislaine.

The view from your backyard is beautiful and I am sure it will prove inspirational as well. You deserve a pat on the back for going after your dreams! Good luck on your tussle with the wildlife.

Tuscon - real cowboy country!      
Did you have to take the  to get there?!

Wishing all the best in your new home Ghislaine.

Have a wonderful time in your beautiful new location, Ghislaine! It's good to hear from you.
HW

Thanks, everyone!  Responding to a few points:

-- To get here, it wasn't quite trains and stagecoaches although it sure felt like a real long trip!  A friend drove me to a hotel in NH, then I took a shuttle to the airport, caught a plane to Chicago, changed planes and flew to Tucson, then was picked up at the airport by my parents (who live here) and driven to their home, where I've been staying ever since until my own house is ready.  At least I didn't have to walk seven miles to town!  

-- Where I live is actually at an elevation of 3,200 feet.  It does snow here!  But not much and it doesn't last more than a day.  And Mt. Lemon, which is 9,157 feet high and visible from my parents' backyard, although it takes about an hour and a half to get there by car, has a ski resort at the top.  I doubt there are snow days but the Tucson schools close for two days in February for the rodeo!

Yup, things are different here in the West!!!

Things are different in the west...I went to Yuma Union High School, and this was our mascot:



When I lived in Yuma there was open carry.  There were men who wore holsters, and we walked out the house with 22s.

I meant to reply sooner...  Ty--that is wicked cool!  Did you attend high school when the prison was the high school?  (Surely you are not that old, though!)

Here are a few random observations from living here a few months:

-- The new AZ license plates start with three letters and end with four numbers.  Guess what I've seen?!  Yup, one or two ASJ-#### plates!  If only I could have gotten one of those.  Alas, they were already in the B's when I got my license.
-- However, I seen quite a few BDA-#### licenses.  And I always laugh when I see them.  But there were before my time, too, unfortunately; though I'm not really sure I would want that as a license plate.
-- A major road in Tucson is Grant Road.  I keep thinking there should be a Gaines Avenue, too.
-- Tucson is a "dark skies" city because of Kitt Peak National Observatory.  That means that there aren't lots of street lights and where I live, there are none.  So the stars are really bright and clearly visible at night because, also, there are no high rises where I am.  So it's easy to think that HH and KC looked up at the same stars that I am seeing, whenever they were in Arizona.  :-)

It is finally cooling down--only in the low 90s now and not every day is it that high!

When do we get the results of your Arbuckle's coffee tasting?  

Where are the pictures of your factory tour?

Arbuckle's is back and it's in Tucson, according to their website: http://www.arbucklecoffee.com.

Regards.

Sorry for the delay in replying, Ty.  I've been overwhelmed with house stuff.  Eventually, I'll get there.


In the meantime, BBC News has a new feature called BBC Pop Up where two video journalists visit a city for a month and for January, it's Tucson!  Here's a link to the first video they made:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-30854865

I recognize some of the places they were at and I've seen that show in Tombstone.  The video is only about five minutes.  I'm curious to see what else they spotlight.  Enjoy!

Hi Ghislaine!
It's often fun to see ourselves as others see us. I still enjoy commentaries on my old home city of Washington, D.C. I hope you are enjoying the new digs in AZ. People always seem to mix up the A states - they think we're AK (really Alaska) when we're really AR. How do they mix up your new home state?
HW

I don't know about "they" but I keep thinking the abbreviation is AR -- because it was MA for my previous state so it seems logical that the first two letters of Arizona should be what's used for that state!

Hello Ghislaine,

How are you liking living in your new State after nearly six months?  As your parents live in Arizona, is this the part of the US where you grew up, so that the place is not too new and different for you?

Hope you're liking it!  It takes a long time to get used to a new home sometimes, so I hope you will soon feel settled in.

Let us know how you go on!  (When you have time that is!)

(Bright, clear star-views at night sound lovely, by the way).

Congrats on retiring and moving to warmer climes! This was definitely a good winter to NOT be in the Northeast. With all the snow days   , the poor kiddos (and teachers!) will probably have to be in class until mid-July.

I retired this year, too. Ain't it grand?!  

My brother and sister-in-law live in Tucson, too. Maybe the next time I visit them (which is about every 2-3 years), we can get together over a cup of tea and chat about ASJ.

Yikes--I told myself I'd reply shortly to your message, Alias Alice, and now it's been over a month!  So sorry!  Actually, my parents retired to Tucson from the East Coast, which is where I'm from and have always lived (well, when I lived in the US, tht is); no one in my family lived in Tucson before 2004, when they came here.  So although I'd visited many times since then, actually living here is all new for me.

I am slowly settling in.  All the remodeling was FINALLY finished a month ago and just last week, I finished unpacking everything that was in boxes in my garage.  Now I just have to put it all away somewhere, as it's currently in piles on floors in various rooms throughout my house...  I'm doing all that while simultaneously trying to get an online business venture going. It ain't easy!    But, overall, things are going well.

NDAKKID!!!  You're back!  Hooray!  Congrats on retiring, too!    Yup, it sure is nice.  (The rest of you should try it sometime!   )  It'd be great to see you in Tucson sometime.  Just let me know when you're coming!  (It'd be great to see any of you, as a matter of fact!) Hope all is well with you in CO.  Now that you have more free time, any chance you'll take up writing...???

From Alias Alice:

Thanks for your recent reply to my email, Ghislaine.

Didn't see it straightaway because I've been staying with two friends, and did not check the ASJ Forum as regularly as I usually do! (Kid and Heyes have had to manage without me for a few days!)

Glad you are settling in. It takes a little time to adjust to a new place, however nice it is.

Keep us all posted as to how you go on! (If you see two familiar figures riding by at all, I think we may all come and join you).

Bye for now,
Alice