143 Days Without Rain (but not 144)

Yes, Phoenix’s record streak of 143 days without rain was broken today. The previous record was only in the 105 range. This has been a strange year – very little snow (and no skiing at all) in the high country, fire restrictions already starting to be put into place, etc. The early part of 2005 was just the opposite.

Weather was a big topic back on the farm in my youthful days, which is understandable given the economic impact. (It’s still a common conversation topic even here in Phoenix where the weather forecasters have the easiest job around, I guess because weather is the ultimate common conversation topic.) Anyway, a guy named Pete Kirsch drove truck for us in the corn-shelling business. He specialized in unusual responses to standardized questions (among other witticisms). When asked the standard question, “Do you think it’s going to rain?”, he would say “It will be a long dry spell if it doesn’t.” Now I know what he meant.

A Christmas Gift That Keeps on Giving

As we leave February behind, the good news is that we have a couple weeks more of a fine Christmas gift to enjoy. For the second year in a row, Patricia has requested that her gift from Grandpa & Grandma be peanut blossom cookies. This year’s edition arrived a week or so after Christmas. They were meticulously packaged – two cookies back-to-back in plastic wrap, then carefully laid out in rows in a packing box. There was an unverified report that the fine hand of EMG contributed to the packing. The entire batch went right into the freezer as soon as it hit Arizona (arriving in mint condition).

The two-cookie packing method matches our consumption pattern perfectly – we each have a cookie every weekday morning with coffee at breakfast. And fortunately these feature chocolate stars instead of Hershey’s kisses; much better.

Since the boys won’t be back home until spring break, I really do think we are safe to finish the stash at our current leisurely pace. Paul Jr. did cut off about a week of our supply on his last trip home.

If you’re wondering what to request from Grandma next year, keep this in mind.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Well, here I am on day three of my Las Vegas trip. I'm here for a client convention, and am staying at the not-so-fabulous Las Vegas Hilton (you can learn all about this property at www.lvhilton.com). Tonight I had a ticket with my group for a Barry Manilow concert. Yes, he's still alive. But I ditched the concert anyway.

As far as Las Vegas, I miss Phoenix. Flying back tomorrow evening.

Saying Goodbye to a Fine Friend . . .

We had Kelly put to sleep at 3:30 pm today. Chris, Paul Jr. and Patrick (traveling up from Tucson) stopped by to give her a sad pet-pet earlier in the day, and Patrick and Paul Jr. came to the animal hospital with us (along with Pat and Nedda). Nicole and Kerry were making plans to fly in next weekend, but it wasn’t clear that the little dog could make it that long; and it definitely would have been a miserable, painful week for her if she had. Patricia and I thought it was very dear how all five were willing to make the effort.

Kelly had been slowing down pretty dramatically over the last few months, but was done in by her diet (and no, I don’t mean Nicole’s ProPlan): for some reason, she had started ingesting the little rocks in the back yard landscaping. The X-rays showed over 100 rocks in her stomach and nearly a dozen in her small intestine. Apparently it’s not terribly uncommon for dogs to ingest strange things, including rocks. Anyway, this circumstance was causing all of the bad consequences that you might imagine. At a slowed-down age 14, there really was no decision to make.

But enough on that. I mostly wanted to write that we feel very fortunate to have had such an excellent dog for the family during the years that the kids were growing up. Funny, we never planned on owning a dog. We got the idea because some of the kids in their early years were afraid of dogs, and we thought they might get over the fear by living with a dog. We got that benefit, and much much more.

Patricia had lived with an Airedale terrier in her childhood, and came up with the idea that a Welsh terrier might have the same positive characteristics in a much smaller package. She was right. Clean, quiet, no shedding, great car traveler. Warm, lively personality; easy temperament. Cute; mostly looked and acted like a puppy until the last few months. Excellent health, easy to take care of. Always up for walks, rides, biscuits, the biscuit game, having her nuggets thrown to her, being tennis doggy, chasing “the cat,” wearing the wizard bandana, hiking Lockett’s Meadow, jumping into an impossibly small space and curling up right next to (or on top of) you on the couch or chair, taking her doggie treats and enjoying them in the privacy of the piano area of the living room. Never up for bath, haircut, vacuum cleaner. Couch, chair, beanbag chair, mattress, whatever human furniture: yes; dog bedding: an insult, no way. Nurse Kelly sat by whichever kid had a cut or bruise or just felt down; the musical doggy sat by the piano bench whenever anyone played; the study buddy sat for hours with Patricia as she did her nursing program homework.

And Kelly loved nothing better than to curl up with the five members of her pack (and however many friends were around) for a Kelly sleepover in the back room.

No replacement plans whatever.

Goodbye, Kelly.

Finis

We think the install crew did a great job. Weather today was gorgeous again, low 70s and sunny. Photos show views of the final product, plus a snap of a dog that toured down to the park to check things out. As always, you can click on the photo to enlarge (then you can actually see things). More to come about Kelly, who had a bad visit to the vet today.

Phase Two . . .

Today was mostly irrigation work plus putting in the mounding and doing an initial plant layout. A few tweaks needed, but they should be able to finish tomorrow on schedule.

Front Yard: Phase One

For whatever reason, here at 11419 N. 43rd Street we have made deferred maintenance into a lifestyle; maybe even an art form. With one exception (the “back room” aka dormitory space), we haven’t undertaken any significant project during our 10+ years here unless it was required by water damage. (Now that I think about it, that reminds me of my childhood home – the living room carpet, draperies and related work resulted from water damage from freezing pipes when we were stranded at Grandpa & Grandma Bormann’s house in Algona in a blizzard in March 1965. Not much else happened. Maybe it’s a historical repeat. But I digress.)

Anyway, we have retained a contractor named Hawkeye Landscaping to remove what little pathetic sprigs of grass remained of our front lawn, convert to desert landscaping, put in a walkway, and all of the related tasks. Yes, the owner is from Cedar Rapids, and yes, he brazenly uses the U of I logo on his trucks, website, and everything else (no doubt without a license from, or royalty payments to, the University). (Take a look at www.Hawkeyelnd.com.) But that’s not why we hired him. We hired him because we were sick of the project and just wanted to get it over with.

Top two photos show the sad pre-project situation; bottom three show today’s accomplishments. The work is supposed to be done by Friday. More to come.

(Short-Lived) Attack of the Roof Rats

This is not so good. About five years ago, we first heard reports of "roof rats" appearing in the Arcadia area of Phoenix -- this is an older part of town that was developed from large citrus groves. Roof rats are fairly disgusting looking rodents with nice long tails that munch on fallen citrus (and appear to even climb citrus trees to get at the goods). These charmers do well during warm winters, and started appearing in other parts of the Valley in recent years.

You know where this story is going. We're having a very warm, extremely nice winter this year. And those RRs are taking advantage. It's also been extremely dry, which is why we found a rat corpse in our pool two times (a different corpse each time). And we've been seeing hollowed out citrus in our back yard.

What to do? After freaking out for awhile, we made sure to keep the fallen citrus cleaned up. And, as shown in the photo, we sent out a crew to clear the citrus from the trees (spy camera view was taken from my home office; it's amazing what you can achieve working from home). Since we had our worst crop ever this year, it's no big loss. Only the RRs seemed to appreciate the undersized fruit.

Note to those dealing with these citrus-sucking scum: they love oranges, barely tolerate grapefruit and tangerines, and hate lemons (just look at the sneering expression on the frustrated scavenger in the photo).

In the unlikely event that you'd like to learn more about these rodents, see http://phoenix.about.com/cs/desert/a/roofrat01.htm.

Curve Wreckers Head Back to Campus

No particular reason to blog about the return of our three students to campus for spring semester 2006 except I like to brag. Sort of like affixing the bumper sticker that says “my kid is an honor roll student at (whatever) middle school.” Anyway, I must note that Patrick (U of A ’08), Paul Jr. (ASU ’09) and Patricia (ASU ’07) (all graduation dates are estimated) are into Dean’s list territory based on their performance so far – especially based on terrific results for fall semester 2005. The last of these scholars will be back in class on January 17.

ND in Valley for Fiesta Bowl (But Loses (Again))

The good news for Notre Dame football is that it was invited to a BCS game this year (with attendant gazillion dollar payout). The bad news for Notre Dame was that it lost another BCS game (but no financial penalty for doing so). For those of you that are keeping score, that makes four straight losses in the Valley of the Sun (three Fiesta Bowls, one Insight Bowl). At least we watched the game in the comfort of our own home this time, with a fine group of party attendees.

And the best part of ND coming to Phoenix anyway is that random fans show up and we get to see them. Patricia and I (with Kerry and Chris) went to a restaurant called Jilly’s in north Scottsdale the night before the game; the place was a Notre Dame hangout during the Fiesta Bowl week. We caught up with Joe and Ruth Noack (from our Minneapolis days). And saw three excellent Glee Club alums – Joe Donovan, Brian Shappell and Steve Lillis – with families. Very nice.

Visitor from Wisconsin (or Minnesota)

We had a very fine visit from Ms. Angela House of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. She just graduated from college, which is a very good thing to do, and visited for a few days at the end of December (departed January 3) (early in the morning). She had fine experiences such as Phoenix Coyotes hockey, Tempe New Year's Eve Block Party, reading a book outside in 80 degree sunshine, playing with Kelly, hanging out at our Fiesta Bowl party, playing Balderdash, getting a spiffy haircut (or whatever girls call it), playing bump-out (see post below) and many other fabulous adventures.

Photos show an afternoon hike with Patricia, Angie and me.

Today is my Dad's 77th Birthday

Ernest Mathias Gales was born on this day back in 1929. He's been a cool dad throughout. A few quick thoughts:

1. My brothers and I were lucky to be able to work closely with Dad in his business (farming and custom corn shelling and trucking). This started from a very young age (and probably didn't even violate any child labor laws!) Among other things, I think I benefited greatly from observing his approach to problem solving -- always unruffled and analytical; think it through and get it right. And always on the lookout for a more efficient way to accomplish our tasks. Since Minneapolis-Moline wasn't investing many R&D dollars in corn shellers, this resulted in many custom modifications. I think back to the discussions that would precede setting up the corn sheller at any of our jobsites -- lay of the land, anticipated wind conditions, dealing with corncrib peculiarities, etc. I'm convinced that all this greatly assisted in developing whatever problem-solving skills I use in my business stuff.
2. The guy gave us a lot of confidence in our ability to handle situations. Need a tractor and corn sheller moved and there's nobody available to do it except some 13-year-old jackass? No problem, send him over to the customer's farm. Ditto with moving grain trucks around, even if the would-be driver didn't have the right license and wasn't necessarily an expert at distinguishing the clutch pedal from the brake. I do think this kind of thing develops confidence. And since it was coupled with endless analysis and theorizing (see #1 above), we didn't veer into recklessness (much).

Top photo shows EMG with a now-vintage Super M. Bottom shows him at the 50th wedding anniversary celebration, looking dapper in the suit in which he was married on February 19, 1952.

Happy #77!

Flashback: Grade School PE

Remember “bump out?” The grade schoolers got in line and took turns shooting free throws. Two basketballs are used. If you miss your shot, you can rebound and shoot again – but you better make it before the person behind you in line makes his or her shot, or else you are eliminated from the game. If you are in danger of elimination, you can “bump out” the other person’s basketball by whamming it with your own basketball. While they retrieve, you score! (In our game, retrieval of a properly bumped-out basketball involves a long trip across the park. Plenty of time for even the worst shooter to make good.) Last person standing of course wins.

We had our most recent game on December 30. Played in gorgeous weather at the park right outside our front door. Various of the participants won games. Christopher was the most aggressive bump-out-er. Photos show the intense action, as well as somber bumpees. In photo at top, you can see that everyone (except Chris) is trying to figure out where the heck Nicole's shot is headed. (Chris is trying to figure out how far he can bump her basketball should it come back to earth.)

Holiday decorating 2005

OK, we went through our pretty much ritualistic holiday decorating routine again this year. Here’s the routine:

• The work is done over Thanksgiving weekend.


• All workers were present this year, including our out-of-town daughters.


• Basic assignments work as follows:


• Patrick, Kerry and Christopher have primary responsibility for putting decorations on the tree.


• I’m in charge of finding and bringing in boxes from the garage (now largely delegated), getting the tree up and dealing with bad lights (now largely delegated) and hanging a few strings of lights outside (not accomplished in 2005). I also find CDs with Christmas music (predominantly ND Glee Club 1977 Christmas album, Jessye Norman’s Christmas album, and a CD by the Los Angeles Master Chorale.)


• Patricia opens the boxes of ornaments and generally directs the tree decorating process.


• Paul Jr. basically sits around and supervises his mother so that she doesn’t miss (intentionally or otherwise) a single ornament.


• Nicole hangs lights over the fireplace and kitchen counter, puts up the stockings and distributes around the house the countless little Christmas items that have accumulated over the years.


• Generally the final task is to hang a streamer along the rail up the staircase. Staffing is variable. Christopher and Patrick took the lead on this in 2005.

The end result is quite nice, as you can see. Merry Christmas.

ASU Choral Union -- 2005 Christmas Concert

Below is the poster for the recent Christmas concert by The ASU Choral Union. It was the second concert with this group for Christoph, Paul Jr. and me. I loved being part of our Brahms concert in October (see post of October 17). The experience of singing with a high-quality orchestra is quite a fine thing. That concert also was educational for me as I had no real previous exposure to that type of music -- and learned that it's good stuff.

Our expectations for the holiday concert initially were pretty low -- the seasonal music seemed less sophisticated, etc. But in the end the programming for this event was wonderful. The first half included pieces from Berlioz, Handel, Mendelssohn and Beethoven; I couldn't really tell you which piece I enjoyed more, all were just delightful. The second half included the more traditional carols (albeit with interesting Rutter settings) and the sing-along, which went very well. The second half also included a 2004 setting of the traditional "O Come , O Come Emmanuel," and featured a violin soloist who was absolutely lights out. Small world story: Virgil & spouse (Grandpa & Grandma's neighbor from St. Joe, Iowa) were in attendance by sheer coincidence, and we're told they liked what they heard. In any event, this was absolutely the finest Christmas concert that I was ever associated with. We're told that the Phoenix public TV station recorded the event and will broadcast it in a future holiday season, and I'm hopeful of getting a copy of the video sooner than later.

Part of the enjoyment for the listener (or performer) with this type of music is recalling the various places in which the traditional songs have been enjoyed over the years. I certainly recalled the Notre Dame Glee Club Christmas concerts, recording our Christmas album in 1977, and singing carols in the library during finals week; high school concerts; caroling (complete with costumes) arranged by Clara Bormann; how much my Grandma Gales enjoyed singing carols in the living room on the farm house on the hill; midnight Mass with the ad hoc choirs at St. Joe church; and many more. Everyone has his or her own list. How do you beat this type of thing?

__________________________________________
Arizona State University Herberger College of Fine Arts
School of Music
presents the

ASU Symphony Orchestra
Timothy Russell, conductor
and
ASU Choral Union
David Schildkret and Joel Neves, conductors
in their beloved annual
Holiday Concert

Seasonal works by
Handel, Berlioz, Mendelssohn, and Beethoven,
plus
Holiday Favorites by Rutter, Tyzek, and others,
and featuring a
Christmas Carol Sing-Along
___________

Sunday, December 4, 2005
2:30 p.m.
Gammage Auditorium
____________
Tickets: $12.50 (Students, $7.50)

ASU Nursing Student Makes Good

Tonight we attended the Fall Induction Ceremony for the Sigma Theta Tau International. Don’t know what the Greek represents, but this is an honor society for the nursing profession. And a big deal if you are selected. Our Patricia Joann was an inductee. They held a nice ceremony at the Fiesta Inn in Tempe. It was a good chance to meet some of her friends and instructors from the nursing program. Including Shelley (361-0341), who sat at table with us (us being Patricia, Paul Jr., Nedda, Chris and me). A fine evening all around. After, we moved Paul Jr. out of his dorm room for winter break. Patrick continues slaving away down at U of A for a couple more days. Info about the honor society is at www.sttibetaupsilon.org.

Fall color!

Some folks say Arizona doesn’t have a change of seasons. This is absolutely not true in our backyard. We have one tree that changes color. Check it out.

Thanksgiving 2005

I must say that we had a fine Thanksgiving this year, as usual. EPG came up from Tucson on Tuesday. N and K both flew back to Arizona, arriving very late Wednesday evening. On Thanksgiving morning, PJ put together the usual major brunch. For dinner, we had one of those “free range” turkeys (in this case, from Young’s Farm in Prescott, Arizona). I’ve always been a huge skeptic of this concept. Not any more – this was noticeably better. Then we all watched a family video from the 1995 timeframe in the evening.

On the Friday after, our U of A (EPG and K) and ASU (N, C, PJr) students/alumni got up bright and early and went tailgating at ASU for the annual Arizona-Arizona State football game. Patricia (ASU ’06) and I went to coffee. Other than locking the keys into the car, CPG having some trouble getting back to his section, everyone getting sunburned, EPG eating too many red vines, and all leaving at halftime as ASU was being slaughtered, I think they had a great time. Unfortunately for U of A, their QB was injured in the second half and ASU rallied to win. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner of Thanksgiving leftovers + an apple pie. Also had a fine hearts game going on.

U of A Homecoming

Here’s something fun: Kerry showed up in Arizona for the first time in several months. Last we saw her (back in June), she had just purchased a hot black Honda Civic, loaded it up, and headed off on a cross-country tour to her new job location in Virginia (all this while overcoming a mysterious ankle injury). We’re still waiting to see photos from that adventure, but I hear Graceland was a major highlight. (She also left behind lots of stuff in our house, most of which now has been rearranged or properly disposed of.)

Anyway, she made it to Arizona for U of A’s homecoming weekend in Tucson. We didn’t attend this year, but reports are that she spent quality time with (1) Patrick, and (2) many of her U of A pals. There was a shocking development that evening in Tucson: U of A’s traditionally lousy football team beat a Top 10 team – heretofore undefeated UCLA – by the score of 52 to 14. Everyone thought the score was a misprint. If you’re interested, there’s a story at http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=253090012&confId=null.

We did see Kerry on Sunday (November 5) for a couple hours before taking her to the airport. That was fun. And it’s good that it’s just a short time until she returns for Thanksgiving. From Kelly's response, we are convinced that the dog actually remembers her.

Disclaimer: U of A photo is from last year’s U of A Homecoming, which we did attend.

Lockett's Meadow 2005

We were later than usual, but we did get up to Lockett’s Meadow again this year. And it was well worth the trip. The hike into the “Inner Basin” was beautiful as always. Because we were a couple weeks later in the season, most of the aspen leaves had already dropped. Which made the trees look more stark than usual. We were lucky with the weather. Snow had fallen earlier in the week, but temps were warm by the time we got up there. Plenty of snow on Mt. Agassiz, per photo.

Lockett’s Meadow is about 15 miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona. I don’t remember exactly the first year that we went up there to hike. I know that EPG and PJr either couldn’t or wouldn’t hike the whole way, and PJ and I had to carry them out. So it probably was 1990 or thereabouts. We’ve been going up there a long time.

This year’s hiking crew included PJ, PJr, EPG, Luke Stenger, Kelly and me. Kelly was a last-minute addition. She did well for an older pooch but we did carry her for portions of the trip up. Everyone else made it unaided. Dinner at Outback; long service delays did yield free (and massive) desserts.

Info about Lockett’s Meadow and the hike is at http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recreation/peaks/inner-basin-tr.shtml. Topping out at about 10,000 feet is neat. PJ did a good job with the photos.