After hearing about my adventures in Fort Collins, Java Magazine thought Tempe might be another up and coming Beer City. They asked me to write about two new brew pubs and the story is out in the November issue. Related Posts:Signs of FallMove 16 Tons…Going Green, The Brown WayWhen Worlds CollideA Month of...

October is a long-awaited month for Arizonans. First the evenings cool off, followed by the days, and the mad excitement to finally be outside again ultimately reaches its tipping point. Even though temps are back in the 100s this weekend, the only detours we locals encounter to the plethora of seasonal events are from highway construction. With so much to choose from and do every weekend, it’s hard to write it all down. The 4th annual Groom Gathering took place on a much smaller scale this year. Life has caught up with many of the regular climbers, so between newborn babies, extra work in our...

And what do you get? A very pink yard. Actually, it was 20 tons. Pioneer Landscaping delivered a combo of river rock and pink coral granite to my front door on Friday morning. By Friday night I already had a faux riverbed twisting through the yard. Two tons down, 18 more to go. Saturday morning a team of friends showed up with wheelbarrows and shovels. Four hours later, the main part was finished. The yard was very pink, and all of a sudden my green house looked very…. green. This morning Josh showed up and we finished off the side patch. Phase two is done. Next up is to break up the pinkness...

Gardening has never been my strong suit. It’s something about all the maintenance. I’ve never kept plants in my house, and as a homeowner I’ve succeeded in killing two 40+ year old pine trees and a tangerine tree mostly from lack of water. I’m pretty sure I’d forget to feed my cats if they didn’t cry and threaten to poop in my shoe when their dish is empty. So I never paid much attention to lawn care and going green until someone told that all it took to put in desert landscape was to kill your yard. This had potential. Throw in a rebate from the city for all the...

The great thing about traveling is the way you open yourself up to new experiences and meeting new people. When you return you tell yourself, you will be like that all the time. Then the realities of life set in and it’s back to work and a regular routine. The Couchsurfing Project tries to keep the vacation alive. The idea is like hosteling on steroids. People offer their couch or extra room to fellow travelers. I hosted my first surfers recently, and it was like inviting a sitcom into my house. Graeme and Cameron walked up my drive on a busy Friday afternoon carrying everything they owned and...