Yes, it has been awhile and I'll get that photo updated someday.  Jack is no longer with me.  He died in April of 2013.  I sold the house, moved to Arizona.  Working part time and hope/need to for another two or three years.  I’m adjusting rather well if I do say so.

When we lived in Prague, I wrote what I called “observations” that were short notes of things that I notice.  In this post I’m doing the same for the things I’ve noticed around me since arriving.

--One evening I drove past the lawn bowling facility.  I actually made a u-turn to check if I saw what I thought I saw.  All the men were dressed in white head to toe.  Some in shorts, some in slacks, various caps, hats, shirt and shoe types, but everything in white.

--Around Easter the newscasters reminded adults not to place the Easter eggs under shrubs for the safety of the adult and the children because shrubs tend to be a natural habitat for snakes.

--House and auto insurance are about half what I was paying in Michigan.  That savings was somewhat offset by the cost of auto license which is about 50% higher.  Still, all three combined came in way under budget.

--Auto insurance policy has a Mexico addendum in capital letters and bold print which basically said if the car is within 25 miles of the Mexican border coverage gets very limited.

--It also has a section that states my or a relative’s pet would be covered, but not a pet belonging to a friend.

--The siren tower and radio tower in Sun City are camouflaged to look like palm trees and pine trees. 

--Coyotes are not uncommon.  They are very wary of humans so not a problem.  More about that later.

--There are golf carts and golf cars.  Most here are golf cars.  They are licensed, have brake and turn signals.  They can clip along easily at 30 mph.  It was strange to see one passing another.

--There are two settings on the light switch for the front house lights.  Move the switch all the way up to turn the light on and to the middle “alert” setting which flashes the porch light.  This is to assist the ambulance in locating your house.

--Lots of Michigan people.  Person at the license office actually lived in Kalamazoo until, as she put it, she wised up.  She moved there for love but eventually learned he wasn’t so great after all.  Receptionist where I purchased the front security screen door is from Owosso. House inspector was from somewhere in central Mich.  Handyman is from Saginaw area. Neighbor to south is from Ann Arbor, to the west is from Bloomfield Hills, to the northeast from Dearborn Heights.

--Garbage cans are in the ground near the end of the driveway. There is a lid that is on a hinge on one end and a handle on the other to lift open the lid.  Garbage is picked up twice a week.  Guys run around with big bins on wheels taking the can out of the ground at each house dumping contents into the their bin and trotting off to the next house eventually catching up to the garbage truck to empty their bin into the garbage truck and starting the process all over. 

--Mailbox at the duplex I rented when I first arrived was a mail slot through the garage.  Mail dropped into a big box in the garage.  I rather liked not having to go outside to collect mail, just out into the garage.  Mailman delivered the mail riding a bike.  He parks the truck, loads up the basket on the bike handles and off he goes.

--They have the Pure Michigan tourist ads on TV.  I’ve only seen Michigan and Utah being advertised as a tourist destination.

--I have conquered the feeling that I must be outdoors whenever possible.  That Midwest feeling of enjoy the nice weather before it’s gone.  It has sunk in that the weather is always good.  While the days are getting hotter, I am still able to have coffee on the patio in the morning, but after work will watch the news instead of feeling the need to be outdoors.

--Read a Mark Twain quote, “Be careful about reading health books.  You may die of misprint.”

--I watched a lady slowly drive past the duplex next to me, then mine, then the one on the other side.  She was obviously looking at the house numbers.  The one on the other side was the unit she was looking for.  She puts the car in reverse, backs into the driveway, but leaves the front of the car partially on the sidewalk area.  There is like ten feet behind her before the back of the car would come close to the garage door.  She just gets out and leaves the car right where it is thus making anyone walking down the sidewalk to go out around the front of her car.  Oy.

--Sales tax in Sun City and Sun City West is 6.3%.  In Surprise it’s 8.5 and Peoria 8.1.  Can make a difference when buying non-food items.

--TV as started warnings not to drive into sandstorms.  To pull over and stay put until it passes.

--This week they have half hour programs on the monsoon season which runs from late June until early September.  It’s not what I consider monsoon.  I think of monsoons as heavy rains almost every day.  Here it sounds like it might be a couple times a month, but a heavy downpour.

--They still have Sinclair gas stations.  Remember those?  They had the green dinosaur as their logo.

--I’m officially a q-tip – white hair and white shoes.