Our move to Arizona is now a “fait accompli” and we have (mostly) settled into the new address. There are still boxes to unpack, things to put away, my office to organize, but I can now return to my early morning writing (although a bit later for my east coast friends considering the time difference.)

There are some adjustments to be made here to adapt to an AZ Fall/Winter. It is surprisingly cool once the sun goes down, a rather comforting reminder of the weather we left behind allowing us to use the many sweatshirts and sweaters we could not part with or abandon.

 But then, once the sun rises, it warms to a perfect 60 to 70 degrees.

There are a few noticeable things which require some adaptation. Almost every day displays a cloudless cerulean sky that seems to go on forever. On the rare occasions when there are clouds, they add to the most magnificent sunsets.

It has rained once since our arrival. An impressive, soaking downpour which locals say was a preview of monsoon season in June. Everywhere there are dry canals, dusty washes (look it up), and evidence of water erosion in the desert, so when the monsoons come I am sure it will spark another blog post.

There are also a few things I am struggling to deal with. This may seem minor but for someone who is always looking for things to write about, it drives me to distraction. In RI, the phenomena of vanity license plates offers one an opportunity to play the “what does that stand for?” game. A mildly amusing pastime.

Here is AZ, the license format is such that it looks like a vanity plate when in fact it is not. Having spent twenty years as a cop where looking at license plates is second nature; this drives me to distraction. But I will learn to bear with it.

Living here is also like being in a Road Runner cartoon because of the, well, road runners. They are everywhere. Haven’t seen the coyote yet, or any anvils from the ACME company, but it’s only a matter of time.

So AZ life suits us it would seem. I’m sure you’ll here more about it once I start to read stories of your freezing winter snowfalls, windchill factors, and blizzard conditions. Until then, rest easy, turn up the heat, and enjoy life wherever you may be.