Good morning!

PLEASE PARDON ME FOR YELLING, BUT THERE ARE 4 LANDSCAPING GUYS OUT HERE WITH LEAF BLOWERS THIS MORNING SO I'M TRYING TO TALK OVER THEM.  IT'S AWFULLY LOUD.

Phew, they're a little further away now.  So other than the fact that I'm now temporarily hearing impaired, it's quite nice out here on the deck.  It's currently 83 degrees and by Arizona standards, a bit humid at 59%, but being from New England, that humidity is not bothering me in the least.  But you should hear some of these Arizonans complain about the humidity levels.  Try 83% with an 88% humidity.  Now that's humid.

Oh look, there's my jogger friend.  I think she may be stationed over at Luke Air Force Base.  We would see her jogging around the complex everyday when we sat out here.  She wears one of those camelback backpacks and does laps around the complex.

Now, sitting on the deck that overlooks the parking lot, you notice a lot of cars.  Some have never moved since we've been here, which for those keeping track is about a month and a half.  We have a green cab that's been in the same spot the whole time.  Very strange.  Especially since they recommend that Arizona drivers move their cars regularly during the summer months so your tires won't start to melt to the pavement.  (Yes, it happens.)

A few weeks ago, I saw a tow truck come in and drop off an ugly gunmetal gray Dodge.  Haven't seen anyone near it since and it's never moved.  And then a few days later, they dropped off this beauty!

Isn't she lovely?  No plate, bumper hanging, missing taillight on one side and the other hanging on by a thread.  And what you can't really see is the front tire that is bent to the point it looks painful and there's the deployed airbag.  Oh, and I'm guessing the driver's side window is broken because it's wide open, and after the heavy rain we had 2 days ago, I'd say the inside is looking and smelly mighty ripe about now.  One of the neighbors just came out to get in their car which is parked next to this pile of junk and the look she gave the thing was rather amusing.

Hubby did actually mention the car situation to the office when he dropped off the rent yesterday and they did say that some cars that don't move probably belong to the military personnel who live here and were deployed.  But I'm thinking that scrap heap is not one of them.

Temperature drop!

So today's temperature is actually below 100 so I decided to venture out into the deck for a bit.  When I first came out here, the neighbors across at the other complex were making lots of noise, but now they're quiet again.

Speaking of that other complex, it's supposed to be "luxury apartments" and is gated.  So why does someone park there car over here at our complex and then walk around to that complex?

So the view from the deck today....lots of traffic, because it's just before 6pm and everyone is coming home from work.  There's also a Budget truck with a car on the back.  New neighbors maybe.

Ok, time to go in.  Somebody's car alarm is going off and it just keeps going.  Ugh!!  I may head out again tomorrow morning or even later tonight since the temps are supposed to stay pretty nice for a few days.

Off the deck...

So who's looking for an update from the deck?  Well, it's 112 degrees out there so you're going to have to let your imagination run wild and make up your own sights and sounds from the deck because I'/m blogging from the couch today!

I've got the A.C. on and I'm staying inside.  Maybe after dinner we'll venture outside, but not before then,  It tends to be hottest around here between 3 and 6 p.m.  It's about 1:30 right now and already 112, so we'll see how high it goes at peak.

I did go out this morning - to the grocery store.  It was just about 90 when I left, which wasn't bad.  That's the key, go out in the morning, or after dinner.  In the morning, the temps haven't gotten too high yet and in the evening, the sun is lower in the sky, so it's much more bearable,

I'm sure some people are wondering about the "dry heat."  I know plenty of people scoff at the term and will say "hot is hot" and that's true, but for me personally, I know that I HATED humidity.  And when it was 90+ degrees in Massachusetts with 85% humidity, I felt gross.  I felt like all I did was sweat.  I don't feel like that here.  I'm not going to tell you that Arizona is for everyone, but so far, we aren't having any regrets.

First responders....

We're not exactly sure what is going on, but there's a fire rescue truck and two police cruisers parked down by the office.  We can't see anything from here other than the vehicles because all personnel went down between the buildings.  There was a news van here also, but it already left.  Maybe we'll find out when the 10 o'clock news airs.  We did see them take a ladder out of the back of the truck too.

Stay tuned!!

Oh, one of the cruisers is leaving now too.  But as he was leaving, someone was pulling in and stopped to talk to him.  We couldn't hear exactly what was said, but we heard the cop say that the firefighters kicked in the door.

And now an ambulance just arrived.  No lights and sirens flashing.

We think the person who stopped to talk to the cops was probably someone from management and they probably called them to come down with a key, but couldn't get ahold of them before they kicked in the door.

Well that was Tuesday night and we never did find out what happened.  We did see them take someone out on a stretcher, but not sure what happened.

And then Wednesday night I was back out on the deck as several fire trucks came roaring into the complex.  They went further back, so I really couldn't see anything, but they were only there about 5 minutrs.

Hopefully tonight will be a quiet one!

Afternoon

Good afternoon my friends.  How are we doing today?  It's a gorgeous afternoon for sitting on the deck.  The sun is shining.  The birds are chirping.  And the temperature is somewhere in the upper 90's.  I just checked my Weather Channel app and it says 97 with 8% humidity.  And it also told me that there is a heat advisory beginning Friday morning and going right through to Sunday night.  I think it will be indoor activities for the weekend, which includes our anniversary.

So what's going on off the deck today?  Not much.  Cars coming and going...some of which go way too fast through this parking lot, despite the speed bumps meant to slow them down.

Oh look, here comes one of our generous neighbors who likes to share his music with us all.  Isn't that kind of him?  At least his windows were closed and he didn't have the base cranking like some of them.

Oh, and then we have this one who needs to click the lock on her car 15 times to make it beep because she can't remember from one second to the next if she locked it.  That memory loss must be horrible to live with.  This is the same woman that my non-confrontational husband wanted to hit yesterday because he said he was yanking her dog's leash to get him/her to go up and down the stairs.  I actually didn't see it, but I can tell you that this is one neighbor that we have seen numerous times, including the day we were moving in and not once has she acknowledged us.  Most everyone else we have encountered has been very nice.

Sounds from the deck

It's not quite quarter to five on Tuesday afternoon and I'm hearing what sounds like a marching band coming from over yonder.  I don't think there's a school over that way, and I didn't see any mention of a parade, but I am most definitely hearing trumpet, drums and I think that was just a trombone.  Maybe the guy who makes all the noise in that other complex really likes to listen to marching bands.  Can you buy marching band cd's?  Is there an app for that?

(Just to map it out for you.  Our apartment faces South.  Across the parking lot and over the concrete fence, there is a "luxury" apartment complex.  Then there is a little gas station/mini-mart and then the street.  Across that Street is a cemetery.  Maybe it's a N'awlins style funeral.  I learned about those on NCIS new Orleans.)

Hello from the Deck!

Good morning friends, family, complete strangers!  I bet some of you are wondering what this is all about.  Well, I'll tell you.

My husband and I recently moved over 2700 miles from New England to Arizona.  Our new apartment has a deck.  Our old one did not.  We love sitting out on the deck and just enjoying the Arizona weather (and knowing that our deck will never be covered with snow).  But we've also discovered that you can also see and hear many interesting things while sitting on the deck.

For instance, we can hear, but not see, someone who lives in the apartment complex next to ours.  This man makes all kinds of noises, whether he's yelling random things or just making noise.  There is an entire parking lot separating us, and a concrete wall, but his noises carry.  I wonder if he can hear us?  Maybe I don't really want to know.

We also see some interesting things happening in the parking lot.  Not much right now, unless you consider one of the neighbors taking out his trash to be interesting.  I'm also watching one of the maintenance men pick up trash from the lot.  For some reason, between Saturday night and yesterday, the visitor parking area became a dumping ground littered with fast food cups and plastic bottles.  (Ok, the neighbor with the trash just brought out a third bag.  That's a lot of trash!)

Maintenance is back in the little golf cart driving around.  I wonder if they'll let me take it for a ride?  Probably not.

So what do I do when I'm sitting on the deck?  Well, it's Monday morning.  The husband has gone off to work.  I don't have a new job yet.  (I'm working on it.  Don't judge.)  I'm actually doing laundry - the machine is just inside the door, and I'm painting my nails.  If I'm going to be living in AZ, that means lots of open-toed shoes and I need my toenails to look purdy!  So an at-home pedi is on the agenda for this morning.

We also like to sit out here and eat breakfast and sometimes lunch and/or dinner.  And we also read out here quite often.   It's completely shaded, so it's a nice place to sit.  Well, it wasn't so nice during that dust storm last week, but most of the time, it's really nice.

And thanks to my sister for suggesting that I start a blog about what we see from the deck.  Hopefully I can keep you entertained with my deck tales and not come across like a creepy, nosy neighbor.  Time will tell.