A Chilly Scottsdale Morning, Heat to Come

Dusk on Monday

Sunrise

Evie, with her sister, Jean

Dinner, with Dot and Jean

Morning Sun

It's about 7:25, coffee's made, and I am sitting outside under the covered porch of my mother in law's house.  A grand view of the mountains from where I have my coffee, as you can see from the photographs. This is the third time we have stayed here in the last four years and I can never get over how beautiful this part of the US is.  I don' think I would say this if it were July but right now, it's a chilly forty seven degrees outside, the high to be in the mid eighties.  The yard attracts birds so if I sit still, they will fly in and mill around the yard looking for something to eat.  Most seem to be a type of quail and starlings, but others have a red cap, not sure what they are.  The sun is rising to my right, the  south east, and the shaded mountains off perhaps a mile are beginning to take on light.  As I write, I can see seven or eight birds scratching the ground, looking for food.

We had an easy flight from KC to Scottsdale, a little less than three hours, no turbulence, clear skies, so I spent most of my time reading American Rust on my Kindle.  Evie was even able to get some sleep.  Jean, Evie's sister, picked us up at the airport and took us back to our condo, about a twenty minute drive, depending on traffic.  We got settled in at Dot's house, caught up a bit, then went over to Jean's for dinner.  Jean also has a condo, has had it for probably twenty years.  In fact, we stayed in it about this time in 1995, when I had my first sabbatical and we drove across the US.  It's quite nice, two bedrooms, lovely furnishings, a couple of porches, in a well kept community, which includes tennis courts (behind her condo) and swimming pools.  Perfect get away for her over the years.

She had a great dinner planned, of scallops, risotto, salad, bread and wine.  I stepped in with a scallop recipe and she was happy to let me take over.  I browned a pound of scallops on both sides in lots of butter,  then threw in a half of cup of chopped shallots, garlic, white wine and lemon juice. Yum.  The tasty risotto was made with mushrooms, so we had a feast catching up, talking about our grandchildren (Jean has two boys) enjoying the evening and the food.  We had fresh raspberries and blackberries for dessert, with Australian yogurt, Wallaby, of course, and I also tasted coconut milk yogurt for the first time.

We got home about 9:45, quite tired, did some more unpacking and went to bed very tired.

Not alot we must do today, fix some things around the house for Dot, get in a walk, go to the store and we are going to meet Jean for dinner at a place she wants us to try called the Stone and Vine.  By the way, just outside the yard is a pathway which follows the Aqueduct for miles, so lots of people run, walk, or hike it both morning and night.  A couple just ran by, as did a walker with her dog.  And the sun has mostly lit up the mountains, now brown, with little touches of green, perhaps pines of some sort or cactus.