So, today my commute to work was almost 60 miles (it should be just over 30)!!! It rained a couple nights ago southeast of here, and the main highway (our typical detour) is flooded AGAIN. It was a pretty spectacular storm, from what we could see of it- luckily, the worst of the rain missed our house. Anyway, this is definitely getting to be a PAIN, not just an inconvenience- I filled my car up with gas over the weekend, and already had to fill it up again today! I am trying to find out if this sort of occurrence (roads flooding this often) is typical, or not- I'm hoping not!!!
The main road to and from our development is supposedly scheduled to open tomorrow... when I drove thru town, there was a sign up saying "No heavy equipment allowed between White & Parker Rd and Hartman Road" (this is where the road flooded out so bad major repairs had to be made), so I figured- "cool! it's open!" No such luck, though... I toured around the country around the cotton fields, around a barricade, then thru the water (illegal, technically) until I finally got home, then called the Department of Public Works- I actually got the guy on the phone! I suggested to him that if the road is NOT open, they might want to cover up the sign, so as not to confuse people. He apologized, gave me the "we're doing all we can" speech, etc. I do feel for them a little, because he said his whole department is only 3 people, but, only so much. He said he feels for us, too (probably feels he's lucky not to live out here!)... He did say that they're hiring 24-hour security to help direct traffic in the event of future flooding, installing floodlights along that stretch of road, etc. and that the road is SUPPOSED to be open tomorrow morning by 5 am. We'll see.
On the home front, we did a lot of running around on the weekend- stopped at the local recycle center (they don't take plastic or glass with the curbside recycling, due to the fact that it's such a small operation), ceiling fan store, pet store, Home Depot, WalMart... I think there were a couple other stops in there too, but I don't remember. We picked up a 3rd small ceiling fan for the craft/guest room, and ordered 2 larger ones for the family room and our bedroom- I had to pick them up on Monday, though, because they didn't have them in the store. Tom installed them Monday night- they definitely make a difference!
Tom stayed home from work yesterday due to the flooding (took a comp day), and got a lot of things taken care of around the house- things related to the builder that hadn't been fixed, yet. A plumber snaked out a slow bathtub drain, an AC guy was up in the attic for 2 hours working on something that stopped ANY air from coming into the office (couldn't find out what exactly was wrong, because he didn't speak much English, but he fixed it!), they installed the gate to the backyard, painted around the plaque where they installed the house #, that sort of thing. Those kinds of things are just ANNOYING, because we have to schedule time to be here, so it was great that he managed to "Move and Shake" to get so much of it done. He's also figuring he'll be heading out soon for work, which is another reason he wanted to have these things finished... he doesn't have travel plans yet, but there are things in the works.
The landscaping in the front yard is partly installed (no irrigation lines yet, though..??), and we have gravel being installed in the backyard. They started the backyard today, and hopefully will get it finished tomorrow. Hopefully the gravel will cut down on the dust, and cut down on Sedona's sneezing, which is pretty bad- we don't know if it's allergies or dust, but we're hopeful it's the dust... it's amazing, though- you just say the word "outside" to her, and walk towards the door, and she starts sneezing even before she steps outside. Part of that is drama, I think, but most of it is real... if it doesn't clear up soon, though, we'll take her to the vet, to make sure she's healthy- there is a fungal disease in AZ that animals and people can get... Valley Fever... the mold spores live in the soil, you breathe them in, and they re-constitute, so to speak, inside your lungs, and can cause flu-like symptoms with lethargy and loss of appetite, or worse.
Then again, she just might not like the "feed lot" smell- there's nothing like the smell of thousands of cows in a very tight-knit space drifting over the neighborhood from a couple miles away! I happen to like the smell of cows, actually, but this smell is more like pigs- stronger, sharper- can't describe it, but it's bad. When the wind is blowing right (or wrong, actually!), the odor drifts down into the house thru the range hood...
anyway, that's the update for now from the desert- I am almost done organizing my craft space, so I can finally start working on the "we've moved" cards soon. I can't wait to do some crafting again! Only problem is, Cleo has decided she likes hanging out on the corner of my desk- I can't decide if I want to kick her off, to find a new space, or if I'll make her a little bed there, and let her stay... depends on if I'm working with glitter, glue, or something else messy like that, I think. I certainly don't want her running thru my projects!
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