Snow in Phoenix???

On my morning walk today here in Phoenix, I came across this pile of snow - it is obviously man made.

Keep in mind that we have been having record breaking high temperatures.  On two days last week we set record highs of 95 and 93 degrees.  And when talking to my daughter in Burlington, VT, they are expecting 6-12 inches of snow tonight. 

Vermont, and then return to Phoenix

Last Friday, I had several meetings at Johnson State College.  One was with the students who are going to Brazil with Prof. Henrique Cezar and me in May.  There are a couple of adult students (old enough to have their own kids in high school) and eight students who are traditional age.  We went through getting the visa applications submitted online.  This Friday (today) those who need photos taken will have that done on campus.  Henrique will take all the passports and photos with him to Boston to get everyone's visa.

Then I had a meeting with Margo Warden, director of the First Year Seminar program.  I am tentatively scheduled to teach a FYS class in the fall on Friday mornings - the focus will be on globalization.

Most of the weekend, I did stuff around the house and online for classes.  Sunday morning, I did my usual routine of giving three units of platelets at the Red Cross Blood Center in Burlington.

Vermont had unseasonably warm weather while I was there.  Before flying Monday, I took my last walk with Shadow.  As you can see, there is virtually no snow left. Temps were in the 50s.

I got a free upgrade on the flight from Burlington to Newark on their Q-400 propeller driven plane.  There are three rows of 1 + 2 first class seats and the rest of the plane is 2 + 2 rows of seats.  The first five rows are economy plus with extra legroom, the rest are regular seating.  On the flight to Phoenix, I had the entire exit row all to myself.  Since the exit row and all rows in front are economy plus, you either have to pay to sit there or be Silver Premier or higher.  One guy tried to move from the back to the exit row (across the aisle from me) after we got underway - and the flight attendant was kind enough to ask him to return. 

On Tuesday, I did my regularly scheduled day as a docent at the Desert Botanical Garden.  Since we sold the Volvo V-50 in February, I am here without a car.  So I ride my bike for the mile plus to the Central and Camelback light rail station.  I had bought tickets before going to Vermont, so I had tickets for this week but I got there as the train arrived and did not get a chance to activate the ticket.  Wouldn't you know it, the one time I ride without an activated ticket is when the police are on the train checking tickets.  The officer manually dated the ticket I used - when activated, tickets can be used all day long for unlimited rides for that day.  After some 35 minutes on the train, I got off at Washington and Priest, and then biked the 2.5 miles (a gentle uphill ride) to the Garden for busy day.  This is school vacation week and there was good weather - so it was wall to wall people all day long.  The bike ride back to the train is pleasant as it is virtually all down hill.

On Wednesday, it was back to the Garden - I volunteered for a shift at the Butterfly Pavillion.  The bike, train, bike routine went smoothly, as did my time at the Garden.

The spring butterflies are non-native species shipped in from Florida - I had seen many of these last November when Patty and I visited Megan and Jon in Key West at the Butterfly and Nature Conservancy.  Many flowers are in bloom and the butterflies are happy and active.  Here is a white peacock (anartia jatrophae).

And here is a Painted Lady (vanessa cardui).

More info can be found at http://www.dbg.org/events-exhibitions/spring-butterfly-exhibit

Thursday, we set a record - the record high temperature for the day was 91 degrees and it hit a new record of 95 degrees.  So we are having a hot time in the old town now.

And yesterday, I got confirmation from the director of the Language Education Institute of the Mongolian International University.  He is plugging me into their schedule for the week I am there before I head off for two weeks with Habitat for Humanity.  All of the pieces are falling into place for that trip.

Life is good.  Make it a great day.

Back in the USA

I had a nice day in Madrid and got to visit with friends at Mercado San Anton.  Three Spaniards (Maria and her husband Emi, and Carol), one Bulgarian (Alex) and one British ex-pat (Richard) joined me for drinks and tapas.  It was nice to catch up on the past.  Carol just that week gave notice that after four years, she is resigning her job and looking for a new job.  She does not have one in place yet, but is open to new adventures.  In a humorous photo, I caught Emi reaching across his wife Maria to massage a sore spot on Carol's neck.

Maria and Emi left first, then Maria came back with a nice gift for me - a bottle of olive oil and three vacuum packed samples of different Iberian hams.  When the rest of us were ready to leave, we found that Maria and Emi had also paid the tab for the drinks and tapas.

I had a quiet evening Saturday, and figured out what to do with my gifts.  I do not like to check bags with the airline, but to take the olive oil, that is what I had to do - pack it in my suitcase and prepare to check the bad.  I did the same with the ham - but was pretty sure that it would cause a problem, as it would be seized by USDA as not allowable into the USA.  I packed it and debated whether to give up two packs and try to sneak the third one into the USA.  But then I thought better of it and decided that honesty was the best policy.


So I made it back to Arizona late Sunday evening - did I mention it was a long day?  After getting up before 6:00 a.m. Spain time, I arrived home in Phoenix around 11:00 p.m. Arizona time - there is an eight hour time difference between the two locations.  Monday, I did laundry and school work and tried to get reoriented after jet lag.  Tuesday, I did my usual day at the Desert Botanical Garden as a docent.  There was one change.  We sold the silver Volvo on Feb. 14, so until we get the blue Volvo out to Phoenix at the end of April, I have no car. That means riding my bike the mile to the light rail, 40 minutes on the light rail, then two plus miles on bike to the Garden.  And the same afterwards.  This is a significant difference from the 15-20 minute ride in the car.

I was scheduled to fly from Phoenix to Burlington on Wednesday and had seats in first class on USAir on both flights.  But the weather forecast showed a big storm in the mid-Atlantic region and USAir allowed free re-booking of flights.  So I re-booked from Wednesday Mar. 6 to Thursday Mar. 7.  Seats were in coach.  And now I am back in Vermont.  I expected snow, but was disappointed to see much more brown than white.  Here are some photos taken while walking the dog this morning.  The pose with him on the table is similar to an earlier post where I took a photo of him on the table in the middle of a snow storm.

 

And now it is off to JSC for meetings about the class that includes a trip to Brazil in May.

The end of Vaughan Town and back to Madrid

My week with Vaughan Town has ended.  We had snow falling on most days at El Rancho, but it never amounted to more than an inch or so. It would last on some of the plants, but it would generally melt by mid-morning each day.

To promote discussion during the week, we were asked to sit at tables of four with a mix of Anglos and Spaniards.  For our last meal, we changed to one long table as we celebrated the week, the food, the wine and most importantly, the friendship of interesting people.

For my first course, I had this interesting dish of Spanish green beans and ham - their beans are wider than what we have in the USA.

One of the Spaniards was a vegan.  She sat next to me and had this beautiful vegan plate of food - broccoli, cauliflower, egg plant, asparagus, squash, carrots and more, all seasoned with herbs and garlic, and it appeared to have been grilled in olive oil.

There were several options for the second course.  I chose chicken and potatoes cooked in garlic and olive oil.  But many people chose to partake in the roast suckling pig or cochonillo.

We  returned to Madrid around 4:30 Friday afternoon, said our goodbyes and went on to our hotels and homes.  Three of the Anglos joined me at the Friday English Speaking Group at Cafe Carpe Diem (one block south of Callao Plaza) where we broke into groups and played with English words for about 90 minutes.  Then we stayed for another couple of hours talking with friends.  I spent most of that time with Max who I had not seen for a couple of years but who remembered meeting my daughter Megan when she visited Madrid.  Max and his wife had recently traveled to Dubai and Tokyo.

After breakfast Saturday morning, I went for a walk and got some sunshine in Puerta del Sol.