An atypical opinion from a former Seattleite

I love the rain. I don't know how and it doesn't make sense, but there's no denying it. I lived in Seattle for 7 years and those never-ending, gray, wet winters were just too much for me. I've only been living in Arizona for about 2 years now and I have to say I miss the rain sometimes. I get so excited when it rains here, maybe because I know it will be short-lived. It's not like in the Emerald City where it's just raining everywhere west of the Cascades. Here in Tucson, it will be raining buckets and hailing on the east side when here by the airport where I live, we get nothing. They keep record at the airport too, so it's not a fair representation of the precipitation Tucson gets. 

Well, I was stranded inside the Target tonight. I got off work late and had to buy some cake mix. I couldn't find the damn stuff so was in there a lot longer than I planned on being. I was remembering the ominous black clouds coming in from the east as I scoured the food aisles for what I was looking for. Before I found the stuff the store was all of a sudden inundated with the loud pounding of rain. If I didn't know better I would have thought the ventilation system was going berserk--it sounded like air was just blasting throughout the store. Good thing I was wearing my tennis shoes today! When the torrential downpour let up a little I booked it across the parking lot to my car cursing at myself for parking so far away, splashing in the puddles that filled up impossibly fast. The particular Target I was at is located right across the street from Reid Park where I used to do my runs. It was full of walkers and runners who were taking advantage of the cooler weather when the got caught in that downpour. I saw people soaked to the bone, others had taken their shirts off they were so wet, and I was jealous of them! I was so mad that I left my running clothes at work! For some reason, rain gets me itching for a run. I even considered going out for a quick jog when I got home. That is, until I saw all the lightning that was headed towards my neighborhood. That idea died pretty quick.

For now, I just want to curl up all cozy in my house with some soup or hot chocolate and listen to the rain tap on the windows. Time to put the lounging clothes on--my workout can wait until tomorrow.

Camera happy

I haven't felt much like blogging lately. The majority of my blog-reading takes place at work when things are slow. For now, my crafty side is taking over and my time is consumed by endless knitting, baking, and now reading. So for now, I'm just going to post pictures....of my non-exciting life!

Some pictures of the summer monsoon and how hot it can get here in Tucson. We were relieved from those extreme high temperatures when the rain came! Also, the biggest beetle I've ever seen! My mom and I kicked him aside so we wouldn't run over him with the car, but when my parents picked my brother up at the airport later that night, the beetle was still in the same spot and they ran him over with the other car! I was sad. Also, from early summer, Texas Blue Something-or-Other flowers....they smell amazing!

Next up is my baking collage. The first pictures are of my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies, recipe made available by Smitten Kitchen. They are by far my favorite oatmeal chocolate chip cookies...so soft! Next up is the picture of my very first cake, which also happens to be my birthday cake! Recipe by Ina Garten. The coffee chocolate combination is soooo satisfying (accompanied by vanilla ice cream of course!) Lastly, are my blueberry pancakes, again, recipe borrowed from Smitten Kitchen (if you haven't visited her blog yet, you must!)

And here is a quick knitting project I decided to do last minute. This little Harry Bear was made for one of my co-worker's sons who turned one, coincidentally, on my birthday! I hope he loved it! If he didn't I know somebody who would (reference last picture in collage)!

So there you have it. I promise I'll write more when the urge strikes me. But I have a huuuuge queue of knitting projects and an incessant need to bake so I'm not promising anything!

The pictures are in!

Well, woke up to a more typical sunny Arizona day. I felt like it was Easter morning after a rainy Saturday like I used to experience during my childhood. Sierra Vista wasn't too bad after the unending rains, but Tucson and other parts of Arizona took a blow. There is a huge sinkhole on one road and numerous roads that have new "rivers" flowing across them. So glad that I don't have to go to Tucson during the weekend! I looked at the local paper's website to pick off some pictures from local readers. Maybe I will be able to catch some of my own tomorrow!





So here is a picture of Country Club Rd. The reason I put this up....this road is part of my route home!




This is the Rillito River, where you can find people walking on a trail that runs along the length of it. This river is just a dry riverbed during most of the year. When I first got here, I couldn't understand why they called it a river. Must be one of those seasonal ones!




This picture, I think, is just beautiful. It looks like it is along I-10 with the monsoon dumping rain on the north and south of it. It just shows how hit-and-miss it is when it comes to getting rain here. Most of the time, places like Oro Valley and the east side will get dumped on, receiving more than an inch of rain in an hour, yet the airport (where precipitation is recorded) won't get a drop!




The last picture I wanted to show is a spectacular lightning shot. I couldn't capture an image like this even if I tried. I just have a basic digital camera. So, along with flash floods, you can expect lots of beautiful lightning shows during monsoon season. I was driving home one day last week during a downpour when out of the corner of my eye I saw a quick flash of light embedded in the low clouds. A few second later I heard the loudest boom of thunder....reminded me of those fireworks they like to throw into the mix--they're not flashy at all, but when you see them, plug your ears!


They also have something here called the "stupid motorist law." It's for those "stupid motorists" who see a street barricaded off, obviously because it's flooded, but insist the water isn't *that* deep and still attempt to drive across. This usaully results in a swift water rescue. The law states that if you drive around barricades or through an area that is labeled "flood area," you are paying for your own rescue! Smart move by the state. No law against stupid pedestrians yet, though. And a couple nights ago, heard on the evening news that some kids were missing after being seen tubing on a flooded wash. *Groan*


Anyways, for more crazy monsoon flood/damage pictures go here. For more lightning pictures just click here. All compliments of AZ Star readers!

Sigh....

Wow....it's been raining pretty much all morning. I thought rain like this was unheard of in Arizona. We've been experiencing monsoon rains, which can dump up to 2 inches of rain in just half an hour. The "seasonal" rivers have come to life (no more staring at dry riverbeds!) and numerous washes are full of rainwater. But today we have one of those slow, steady, Seattle-like rain storms with short bursts of monsoon-like rain. You know those days in Seattle when you look out the window when you wake up in the morning and you just KNOW it's never going to let up for the entirety of that day? It looks like that now....but I'm sure it's going to pass fast. It's weather like this that makes me crave chicken noodle soup and inspired my choice of music newly posted on this blog.

I got caught in one of those monsoon storms at work last Monday. I had to walk to the hospital (right next door to where I work) to mail a birthday card to my sister. So I walk out and it's very windy and there's an ominous black cloud overhead....but it's DRY. So I buy a stamp, lick it onto the envelope (yuck) and drop it off into the drop box, happy I made it before pick up time. As I'm walking towards the doors, I hear the pounding rain. When I get to the sliding glass doors, I hesitate for a minute staring out at the torrential downpour, complete with hail. How can the weather change so fast? "Hmmm," I thought to myself. "It doesn't look THAT bad. I mean, how many times have I had to walk in the downpours in Seattle before I had a car? If I run, I should be OK, right?" So I make a mad dash for the Cancer Center. When I got out there, I realized that I had underestimated the rate of rainfall and the volume of it coming down. By the time I got to the Cancer Center, I was soaking wet. It seriously looked like someone took a hose to me. I felt like I had just walked out of a photoshoot for Maxim (or some other men's magazine like that), with my clothes *clinging* to my body. Uuuugghhh!!! Luckily, there was a hand dryer in the ladies' room where I spent the next 10 minutes drying off my shirt. So......lesson for all: never underestimate the monsoon. If it's raining, stay out of it!