Official AZ Homeowners

Hurray! We did it! After signing a stack of papers literally 2 inches thick (Steve measured!), on Wednesday morning, we now own a solar home on four acres in St. David, AZ, or at least we will in 30 years. We moved out of our real estate agent's front yard and out to our little house on the prairie, umm, desert. We spent the rest of Wednesday unloading the trailer we has hauled from Salt Lake with some things to make the place livable and semi-comfortable--a bed, dishes and pots and pans, a camping table and chairs, TV and DVD player and a couple of living room chairs. None of us (dogs included) slept very well the first night--too many new creaks, hums, and other house sounds. Last night was a little better.

Yesterday was getting-established-in-the-community day. We went to the power company and got the electricity in our name, established an account at the local credit union, got library cards. We met our nearest neighbor, Keith, and his dogs, Lobo and Tramp. Keith is an old motorcycle guy/ex-hippie who scrounges around in the desert for downed mesquite and manzanita, and makes really beuatiful rustic furniture that he sells in upscale shops in the little tourist towns around here.. He had a really cool bar stool that I thought would look great in our kitchen. He would give them to us wholesale at $125 apiece, but we need three, so I'll have to think about it.
And save my pennies.

Today we went shopping and spent a couple hundred dollars on little things--shampoo, laundry detergent, paper towel holder, shower curtain rod, etc. It's amazing how fast that stuff adds up. We are also getting used to all the new appliances, and running into a few problems. I've cooked on a gas range all my life and this one is electric--definitely a learning curve.l The dishwasher and fridge are great, with the ice cube dispenser far superior than the one in our SaltLake house.
The shower controls in both bathrooms needed some tweaking. The installer had set them so the handle wouldn't go past warm, apparently so we wouldn't accidentally scald ourselves, probably for liability purposes. Steve and Glenn, the general contractor, were able to take fix them, so we can have nice hot showers instead of lukewarm ones. Our new washer, however, is another story. It's a front loader, and when it tries to spin, it makes horrendous noises and bucks and shakes halfway across the room. Doesn't matter how large, small, heavy, or light the load--it does the same thing. Luckily, being brand-new, it's under warranty. The good news is that there's an authorized service person right in Benson. The bad news is that his repairman is out sick, so we'll have to wait until Monday to get it looked at. I counted my undies and have enough to get by until then.

Our son Chris and his girlfriend, Sharon, are coming up for the weekend. We're looking forward to showing them around.