Friday, January 14, 2011

Tucson update . . .



Wednesday night we slept for the first time in this modern, very formal adobe mansion, high enough for a sweeping view of Tucson, yet snuggled against the Santa Catalina mountains. This four-bedroom, four-bathroom house is designed almost concentrically, enfolding circles on itself, so that surprising nooks and crannies abound. We counted (in addition to the living room, and excluding the master bedroom, which appropriately is off limits), five sitting areas.

Outside, palo verdes (thorny green stick trees) surround an immense patio with a swimming pool and additional nooks for gathering people together. At night, with stars so close, the desert air sharp and cold, and the lights of Tucson below, the house seems to float. The large screen TV is currently stuck on ESPN News to Allen’s delight, but the internet works beautifully. It's quiet here and a very good place to write.

Yesterday, Allen fell asleep on the patio in the sun with his newspaper. The dining room is now cosy with cyclamen and four chairs instead of six. I brought in our camping dishes since I could not find any mixing bowls and do not want to cook with bone china. What if I dropped something?

Each day I drive to my sister’s and try to help as I can. She has recovered from surgery and her spirits are good. Her desire to move about and do things is recovering just a little faster than her stamina and her body. So we are now “home” in Tucson until the end of February and then will be back on the road.

No comments: