Deep Freeze alert

Last night all of th local news stations and internet outlets carried a deep freeze alert for the city of Tucson.

The projected temperature was 33

On hospitality

We're heading home tomorrow--after six months in the desert. well ok, maybe it hasn't been all that bad--it just feels that way after the tests I've had over the last few days. Talk about a brutal experience.

But it is done, 1/8 of the way there. And we're coming home. But before we do I would like to offer a word of gratitude. Our family here has reached out to us and made our time here thus far an enjoyable experience. I don't know if we could have made it without them. So if you are reading this (and you may never do so--my readership is pretty low) thank you. In particular I would like to thank Poppy and Grandma for having us over whenever we call. And Aunt Ginger and Uncle Dave, who have treated us like their fourth child and made a consistent effort to include us in everything (last weekend we had a great time going to the tree farm and picking out a tree with them, we didn't get to have one this year).

So to those of you I will see soon, I have missed you, and look forward to seeing you. and to those of you here--thank you..

Things I wish I could have seen

I was driving home, talking on the phone to Adrienne. She was distracted, we hung up...five minutes later she called frantic. She couldn't find her keys...I calmed her down a bit, and talked her through it. She was convinced she had thrown them out with the trash. I tried to talk her out of it, but she was insistent. She climbed into the dumpster. In the process of climbing into the dumpster she took off her jacket. When she got out, she realized that her keys were in the pocket of her sweater, and had been concealed under her jacket.

Oh how I love her...I just wish I could have seen it.

Adrienne's

rough and tumble driving style requires a high coefficient of friction--if you can't hear the squeal when you hit the brakes you weren't driving fast enough right.

she called from the corner--less than a hundred yards from the house. Slid through the stop sign.

don't worry I drove the car home--luckily there weren't any cars moving the other way.

Ice

lowers the coefficient of friction between rubber and asphalt...as any engineer worth his salt will tell you...salt being a handy tool for increasing said coefficient of friction...at least at certain temperatures.

Salt was also used by the Romans to lower the coefficient of fertility in the soil around Carthage.

Which brings up an interesting question....why does anything grow in this state?