Ah, home. While I’m glad I was able to go to Arizona for Wacky Aunt Shirlee’s services, being in the Valley of the Sun once again reminded me of why I live in the Northwest. Here, folks complain about the rain (and last week, hail, sleet, slush and snow). I say liquid sunshine helps my garden grow.
In Phoenix, the sunshine was great. Sky as blue as I remember it. On my last day, I took a walk and searched for familiar landmarks. As I strolled through a Tempe neighborhood, I managed to walk straight into a cactus.
I gingerly plucked cactus spines out of my backside, wondering how Arizona writers get anything written. Everyone knows that writers need miserable weather in order to hole up and get that word count produced. In Phoenix, there are simply too many distractions.
Besides the sneaky cacti, there are more golf courses than people and it takes two hours to get to the corner 7-11, on freeways that are colored like, well, dirt. I was in town three days before I saw anything green. No wonder so many writers live in the Northwest.
Even though I’m glad I don’t live there anymore, Arizona does have a way of sticking with you. After I arrived in Oregon safe and sound, I washed my clothes and put on a pair of pants I’d taken on the trip. Every time I moved, something kept poking me in the rear.
Upon closer inspection, I learned the ultimate about writing and home: apparently, you CAN take it with you.
I’ll be a little slow getting any writing done today, too busy picking out the rest of the cactus needles that hitched a ride to Oregon. Like Wacky Aunt Shirlee, I’m extra glad to finally be home.
Welcome home! You didn’t miss a thing.
Thanks! I certainly didn’t miss the cactus, did I?
Linda, I laughed so hard over this that I still have tears dangling from my lashes. (Good thing I decided that I didn’t have time for makeup this morning.) And I really needed to laugh that hard. Thank you!
And you’re right about the miserable weather. I get more writing done during the winter then any other season of the year. (Except maybe spring, which still feels like winter in Reno.)
Jeanette,
So good to laugh, isn’t it? My motto is, always make fun of yourself before someone else beats me to it.
Glad you are enjoying Miss CP. ~Linda