More of the same, but different

With our daughter in school again I find I'm not posting much. Reason: I have to wake up early now; no more late-nights which is when I prefer to write. I have to haul my behind out of bed by 6:00 to get Allison ready for school. Really, I'm glad for the change. I need need the discipline.

The alley outside our house has been getting a little attention from the developers. It has gone through so many transformations I can't keep count. Once it was leveled and laid over with loose gravel; that was back when the heavy machinery used it as a thoroughfare. One day I awoke to find the gravel being removed. Hurray, landscaping must be coming! Months later it was once again a dust bowl. The gravel was replaced. Then removed.


Stone sidewalks appeared. And much later some plants down the center. Then the plants disappeared and huge holes were dug for trees. Weeks went by; we worried for any wayward pedestrian who might unsuspectingly fall into the abyss. We were relieved to see the holes being filled finally, even if it was with dirt, not trees.

This week a crew appeared and within two days we had this: an uninspiring field of plants, none which bear color, and we have no decorative rocks like the other alleys closer to the Inn.

Not to worry, I am told. This too, is only a temporary fix. Later, crews will remove everything including the sidewalks. We will be treated to a real professional job that includes wavy paved pathways, a fountain, bicycle racks, mesquite trees and, finally, the much needed step up to our doorway.

I don't want to appear to be complaining. I am always happy to see something, anything, happen in my cluster. I guess I find it somewhat amusing how things get done. And things are getting done. The neighborhood is busy with activity, mostly along the lines of landscaping and hardscaping. The paving of the Paseo has not resumed, but the water (or sewer?) pipe along the center of the Paseo has been repaired. Crews are working hard in Agua Viva, and the golf course is looking beautiful. Wish I could say the same for the tennis center, but that is long on the list of priorities for Replay. We play anyway, though the wind-blown dirt on the courts is growing thick as sand dunes.

Did I say I love living here? We are so happy to be here. Any inconvience is tempered with jubilation of waking every day to sunshine and the promises each day holds for outdoor fun. We are constantly on our bikes meandering through the neighborhood or taking long walks at sunset. We're playing tennis, golf, hiking, beachcombing, exploring. The weather is still somewhat cool in the morning and evenings (and in the shade) but, what we have is sun and that is a dear thing in January to us norteamericanos.