I have found me a home

I love Tucson. I love the weather and the attitude and the people and the grit. It's old west meets modern democratic party politics, with a heavy dose of Mexican and Native American culture and a laid back charm. I love our sprawling ranch house that's older than we are, and I love our views from the patio every night.

Summer's storms are passing now. The nights are getting cooler and my very favorite time of year is here. Fall in the desert. There's nothing like it anywhere else in the world, and that's why you'll find me here - the old pueblo.

working on Labor Day!?

I made my poor sweet husband work over Labor Day. We have this unused corner of our laundry room (corner pictured above) and it drives me crazy that the space wasn't being used for storage. After all, our laundry room is right off our kitchen, so we could be using the extra room as a pantry.

I came up with the hairbrained idea to install shelving against two of the walls and dragged David to Lowe's (or the Home Depot, I forget - aren't they the same?). We purchased three 72" long, 12" wide shelves, as well as tracks and wall-mount kits for the tracks.

Here is my nice husband cutting the shelves to fit the area.

And here was our first problem - the big wall has pocket door that hides inside. When David went to make a hole for the screws to mount the tracks to the wall, he hit the door. Below, you'll see the hole in the wall and the resulting hole in the door.) That meant the screws that came with the wall-mounting kit were going to be too long to use. What to do, what to do.

I found some drywall screws and other assorted screws in the garage. We decided on the screw on the left. (The screw that came with the kit is on the right.)

We went to work installing the tracks and placing the shelves where we wanted them.

And after a total of 2 hours of work, look at all that beautiful storage! Now my Rice Chex (gluten free!) can have a nice cozy place to hang.

I might cover the shelves in contact paper so they are easier to see (wouldn't want to put an eye out), but overall, I am thrilled.

goat cheese

If you live in the Old Pueblo, you've got to try goat cheese from Foot's Hold Dairy. They are set up every week at the Sunday morning farmer's market at St Phillips Plaza.

We like the creamy, light fromage blanc crumbled over brown rice and grilled veggies

and the deliciously tangy chevre with honey-soaked dates on crackers (gluten-free for me - these, from Costco). I'd show you a picture of the chevre but it didn't last long around here.

And my favorite part of this wonderful, local goat cheese (besides the fantastic flavor)? It's affordable ($6 for 4 oz) and you get 50 cents off your next jar if you return your cleaned glass jar after you use it.

YUM.