Running Errands in Prescott

I'm taking the car on my morning errands, but first a quick spin around the neighborhood to practice my shifting...and stopping. It has been a couple of years since I've ridden, and I'm not ready to venture out on the rocky dirt roads yet.

The neighborhood is a lot of fun. People wave at me when I ride by.

Okay. I'm in the car now, and have to pick up some forms at the new doctor's office.
  

What kind of parking lot is this?  Hope they don't have earthquakes here.

Off to find the post office. There's "Thumb Butte" in the background, and I can see the courthouse in front of it.   I see a lot of dogs, taking their owners for a walk along the path that leads around it. The courthouse is about 100 years old.

Oh. There is the back of the post office. This is the old section of town and I feel like I'm inside one of the Jan Karon books, "At Home in Mitford."

Thankfully there is no line. Just a friendly man at the window. Afterwards I think I'll walk around and look at some of the old homes in the area, built in the mid to late 1800's. There are several long streets of Victorian Homes.

These are on Nob Hill. Someone told me it has been called "Snob Hill".

Now off to some stores. This cluster of stores are my closest shopping. It only takes 15 to 20 minutes on a two-lane highway, and the speed limit is 50 (most of the way). There is a JoAnn, Big Lot's, Tuesday Morning, the Dollar Store, and last but not least WALMART.

There are many other stores, not much further, including Albertson's, Safeway, CostCo, Sam's Club, Best Buy, Home Depot, and a big indoor mall including Dillards, JC Penney and more.  They have just about everything. Okay, I'm finally done shopping.

I can't find my car. This happens a lot. I need to pay more attention.


I must close up now. It's 11:30 p.m. The house is quiet except for the wind whistling outside. Hope you are all doing well. I'll be back in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned for meeting the new neighbors.

Our New Life in Arizona

Greetings from Arizona!

When one thinks of Arizona, one thinks of HEAT. But we are at about 5500 feet and the weather ranges from a high of 90 in the summer to 40 or 50 in the winter. Today it was 68. This is a picture of Lynx lake. It's about 10 minutes from downtown, and 25 minutes from our home.

For those new to my blog, my husband and I have recently moved our business to Prescott, Arizona. It was a big step, with a lot of risk. At times during our preparation we were unsure if we were doing the right thing. But I must say that God has undergirded the whole process and we are safely here, settled in, and loving everything about it. We are amazed at his grace toward us, to allow us to live in a beautiful setting (to us) and in spaces where we can see long distances, and also enjoy wild animals.

A Javalina on our property

Larry, one of Bill's closest friends decided to move here, and he and his new wife are now settling in 20 minutes from us. His friend lost his first wife due to illness a few years ago, and has recently remarried. So I am getting to know a new friend—Julie.

I have to add that yesterday Bill went off road dirt biking with Larry and another friend, Dennis. They rode into Jerome, an old mining town, for lunch. One the way back they took a trail that turned into a "rock garden" and Bill fell into a prickly pear cactus. Needless to say, they were late getting back, as Larry and Dennis had to help Bill pull needles out of his arm, cheek and boots.

My job, as soon as I get a little more settled, is to help Bill market his music. I worked for him last summer, when I was on break from my teaching job, and it went very well. I write descriptions of the music, and also come up with keywords for searches. One challenge is that I have to know what instruments are used on the tracks.
I often ask Bill "What's THAT?"
"A Shakuhachi."

We live 15 to 20 minutes from town, and on the way I see open spaces with ranches, cows, horses—with a mountain behind them. Then the open land becomes covered with pine trees. Then after that, I start seeing town. Near our house is a large segment of government land where no one can build. It's a prairie with long yellow grass and widely spaced scrubby oaks, junipers and pinion pines. This land gradually rises upwards into a mountain. Bill and I can go for walks on trails there, and we often see antelope grazing.

We do have to watch for snakes (they're hibernating now). There are not a lot of them but it's good to be aware. We have a family of javalinas come by our house about once a week, and jack rabbits spring out of the bushes in our yard. But this is not happening all at once.

Most of the time our two acres are peaceful, only with the sporadic call of a raven. And part of our yard is fenced. (A very good fence).

The stars are AMAZING. It's so DARK out here. I can find the same constellations I saw in my backyard in California, but they are surrounded by other stars of all magnitudes. Everything is blinking and shimmering like Christmas lights.  You just want to talk to God and tell him how much you love his creativity.

I also am amazed at all the different things clouds can do. Every day there is a different painting in the sky.

Please know life is not perfect...but as you can see, I'm overflowing with gratitude.

Stay awake for more about Arizona. I'll be back at the blog in one week, or maybe three--I get a little distracted here.






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