09 August 2006

tucson: headbands, books, and snakes

when i got back from new zealand (how was that over six weeks ago), i bought a ticket out to arizona to visit mi familia for a weekend. i didn't tell many people i was going back (not that i keep in touch with many people from tucson anymore anyways), since this was definitely a very brief family visit.

[still, musty and i upheld the tradition of brooklyn pizza (so, so good) and i saw ashley a few times. i even managed to see kevin, for the first time in ... three years?]

it was so nice to catch up with my parents and sister. i finally got to see the new house they're building (in an environmentally friendly neighborhood - i'm so proud). and the new dog, pete, who is quite adorable.

hermana and i went shopping on my last day. she convinced me to buy a headband, which i absolutely love and various other accessories and even a white skirt. it's an ongoing battle really: she's always trying to get me to break out of my jeans-and-t-shirt habits. going into savers (fabulous used clothing store), we saw this truck, absolutely packed with old bottles:


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[detail]


pretty cool.

it rained every day i was there and we didn't get abvoe 90 degrees once. i don't think this has ever happened in arizona in late july before. ever.

daddy and i climbed wasson peak on sunday. despite the feeling of walking through a cloud, it wasn't too hot and we got some great views.


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[daddy and petey]


on the way back down, i practically stepped on this guy:


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and then realised what he was (yup, a rattlesnake) and jumped about ten feet backwards, heart racing. we cut through the desert to avoid walking past him. rattlesnakes can strike in something like 1/300th of a second, so i'm just lucky he wasn't coiled and didn't decide to strike. uck. i miss new zealand. no snakes.

momma, daddy, and i all went to fourth avenue and wandered into antigone (my favorite bookstore) where, after about 30 minutes of perusal, i walked up to my parents carrying a stack of books "i think i have a problem" they laughed and managed to help me narrow it down to two, challenging nature by lee m. silver, which is about "the clash of science and spirituality" and seven types of ambiguity by elliot perlman. while packing to return to the cape, i went through my parents' bookshelves and grabbed all (ok, a few) of the books i wanted to take back with me. with brad's help on the phone, i narrowed that selection down to about 8 and then tried to fit all ten or so books into my pack. and when i picked it up, i practically fell over from the weight.

my parents were no help whatsoever with this problem. they laughed.

i debated leaving the books there for about two seconds, and then realised i could technically check two bags - my pack and the box of dishes i am inheriting - and carry on my computer and a duffel bag full of books. so that's what i did. maybe i really do have a problem.

but now there is a gloriously high stack of books in the living room to read.

thanks, family, for a great visit back home. it was wonderful to see you all. love always.

02 August 2006

heat flash

there is something wrong when it is cooler in tucson in late august than it is on the cape.

i've been in tucson the past four days visiting mi familia, and returned to hotter temperatures. we didn't even break 90 in tucson. unheard of.

and right now it's 87 in tucson. and 91 in falmouth.

what is the world coming to?

(i guess we can thank global warming for this)