Paula's Fresh Garden Salsa

Mike makes the bins and Paula makes the Salsa,

and boy is it GOOD!

1.5 lbs fresh tomatoes, whole

1 Jalapeno

1/2 yellow or white onion

2 inches off the top of a bunch of green onions

1 loose handful of cilantro

4 cloves of garlic

3/4 teaspoon of salt

lime juice to taste (Paula recommends about half a fresh lime)

Pour all contents in a food processor or blender and pulse until mixed

Enjoy!

Veggie Bins, Easy Arizona Gardening

It started with salsa. You can't live in the Southwest without good salsa. It's pretty much imperative. What else are you going to eat while you sip margarita's, and drink Mexican beer? Sure you can buy it, but nothing beats homemade. The trouble? Tomatoes that taste like tomatoes!

Some of you out there might be old enough to remember, or have had the privilege in your young lives to smell and taste the juicy goodness of a REAL tomato. No wonder nobody wants to eat their veggies! Fruits and Vegetables available in the store have been bred to transport well and look perfect, not for taste or nutrients. Because our produce is picked well before it's really ripe, we can be missing up to 50% of the nutrition we would get if we had stepped out back and picked it ourselves.

But gardening in Arizona? SCARY! The dirt is hard, soil and drainage poor, and all those critters! So while on the path to growing salsa with his sweet family, my friend Mike, who is very creative and excellent with design work came up with the veggie bin concept.

Some of the things my friends have successfully grown:

• Jalapenos




• Cantaloupe




• Tomatoes




• Basil




• Cilantro




• Zucchini




• Blueberries




• Strawberries
  

Mike's bins are galvanized metal with steel mesh on the bottom, and come in a variety of sizes. He runs drip irrigation and covers the bins with a framework of netting to protect his harvest from the birds. After the bins are set up all you need to do is plant and harvest! You don't even have to bend over! Those I know who are using his system have been very successful with their gardens. There is no limit to what you can grow!

To learn more about Veggie Bins contact Mike Nelson veggiebins@hotmail.com

Singing and Dancing and Finding the Music Again

I'm a child of the 70's! I rocked Sesame Street fever, "doing the Pigeon everyday!", shaking my beak along with Bert and Bernice. The sea of orange Shag carpet was my dance floor, my disco ball, a flashlight my mother shook (often from behind a chair! Bless her Heart!). Mickey Mouse Disco and Meco Wizard of Oz, also had the effect of sending my 8 year old self spinning madly across the floor. Those were the days, when it was all about a Macho duck and there was that great song about YMCA camp. I just couldn't understand when it wasn't like they promised in the song!

In college I came to own a pair of white high heeled clogs that had the ability to magically transport me back to the 70's. Do you have any shoes like that? Shoes that take you somewhere? I wish I had kept them for posterity, and for when I am feeling too old for my own good.

The other night I watched Mamma Mia, for the first time. I know, I am way behind, right? Of course it was silly, or course it was ridiculous, and I kept wondering if Meryl Streep was maybe a little too old in that role, BUT, the way it made me feel! ALIVE! Alone in the living room, my family in bed, I found myself dancing into kitchen for a drink, and days later I am still singing! If only I could remember the words!

Sometimes in this serious world, we completely loose track of our younger selves. It becomes all about the day, getting work done, straitening the house, getting the homework done and wrestling the kids into bed. Sometimes we loose the music for a while. So find your shoes, that special pair that takes you somewhere, turn up the music that made you sing, and dance a little. Nobody's watching!

Open House Sunday 2/22 1-4pm

7055 E Katchina Court

MLS Listing Link:

http://tarmls.rapmls.com/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Tucson&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=AEwXDRVfMzSavgm4ihNUD9kDNOMdYHKuNCxREHMiTNw%3D&KeyRid=1

When my children were still in strollers, I had a group of mommies’ I used to walk with. As the years have passed several have moved, some of us work, and life just seems different now that we are in the elementry years. When my oldest was just a baby I would walk with my friend Shelly. She has a daughter a week older than my Arden. We would walk in afternoon and then sometimes have wine at her house, or meet for play dates (how much do one year-olds play?), or coffee and pie after the kids were in bed. Then there were potlucks and 4th of July’s and Birthday Parties. It was such a sweet, simple and innocent time, before I learned to worry, before I was the mother of two.

After Shelly moved, I had Pierson and Angie had her boys, we would walk together. And then we were joined by Shannon and Christie and Liz. Again there were dinners and casual gatherings, and a whole house of sippy cups, diaper bags, and little snacks. And we would marvel to ourselves at the women amongst us, with the younger children, and think how next year their worlds would be so different. How before long they would actually get to talk and visit and not be so vigilant.

Now that my kids are bigger and busier and really stinking heavy to push, this kind of walking girl time dosen’t really work anymore. But there is a whole new crop of babies in the neighborhood, and a whole new set of cute mommy’s experiencing motherhood for the first time. Every time I see them walking down the street two by two, pushing their little charges, it makes me smile and remember when.

.

J

Just a great kitchen! Uploaded to HGTV's Rate my Space by VintageKitchen, I found it and downloaded it months ago for inspiration. I just LOVE it!!! You can find great decorating inspiration at http://www.roomzaar.com

2009 Forecast Summary

In celebration of National Commercial Day, I mean, Super Bowl Sunday, I am posting one of my favorite Realtor commercials. (didn't work, I'll try later - bummer!) You may have seen it. It's cute and the message is good.

Lovers of all things negative and dramatic, the national media often paints a dire picture. While that may be the case in some markets, there is a lot to be optimistic about in Tucson. These are a few points I brought home from Rosey Koberlein's (CEO Long Realty) talk at the Tucson Association of Realtors 2009 forecast meeting.

• Homes Will Sell! Buyers will buy, Sellers will sell!


• Low interest rates....for now


• Low interest rates plus price decline equals housing affordability


• Pima county has a positive growth factor


• Potential housing shortage based on frustrated sellers pulling out of the market, foreclosures, and lack of new builds


• Bargain hunters are back


• Pent up buying frustration: local residents and winter visitors: people have been waiting and waiting.

• January Burst in Tucson properties under contract (numbers from first two weeks)

• Power shift in Washington "Hope Brings Confidence"

It was the house

When I met my husband Rob, he said "You have to help me find a house". He was living with his brothers, in a home his grandmother owned. I thought "yeah right, you need my help?". I was brand new in Real Estate and his mother and his sister had each been in the business over 20 years! What a come on! Then he said, "I wouldn't buy anything you didn't like". Well, I must admit I was hooked. A house! I have dreamt of my own home since I was a child. In elementary I planned imaginary neighborhood events. In high school, I clipped rooms out of decorator magazines, and pasted them in my journal. In the back of my head I thought, "maybe someday I will live there." So in the summer of 1999 we looked and looked and looked. Finally I found what I felt to be the perfect home for him. Truthfully, I wasn't in love with just him! There was something about that house! Then the exchange went something like this:

"I am not going to buy the house unless your name is on it too." - Rob

"I am not going to live with you unless we are married." - Me

"Maybe we should get married." - Rob

That was how the house on Indian Ridge and my husband Rob caught me.

I couldn't be luckier!

One of my little dreams

I have a little fantasy:

In my fantasy it would be summer and not too hot. I'd hop on my beach cruiser with the handlebar streamers, basket full of swim gear, and kids following on bikes (really this is a fantasy!). I'd peddle through the Ridge, and down to the new pool they are opening at the Country Club.

If I do say so myself, I'd be pretty svelte in my suit (from all that biking), swim cover-up, and fancy shmancy sunglasses. We'd laugh and play all day and order lunch poolside.

If I see you along the road, I'll ring my bell and wave.

Another Great Website

While checking updates on one of my favorite blogs, http://www.nestingplacenc.blogspot.com/ (I am a sucker for decorating ideas and love lots of pictures!), I came across http://www.remodelingguy.net/. I wanted to pass on the link. Those of us who are hunkered down in our homes, might want to take this time to make improvements, or at least dream about them! Lots of eye candy here, check out these pictures originally from Southern Living. I love the red, green and white!

Best Home Search Website

One of the best home search sites here in Tucson, belongs to the Tucson Multiple Listing Service, or MLS. We have one of the best systems in the country, so much information, easily displayed, and sorted for potential home buyers (or for the curious :). You can search by all kinds of detailed parameters: school, area of town, subdivision, disability adapted, horses allowed, basement (Oh how I dream of a basement!). You don't have ALL the information in one place, but you have a good chunk of it.

A great mapping site is google maps. You can get street and aeriel views, and really have a good idea of what a lot looks like or how a house sits before you even visit it. A word of caution: I just pulled my house up and they had my address incorrect.


So there you have it. Enjoy! If you would like to receive specific listings as soon as they hit the MLS, and you would like them automatically emailed to you, just let me know. I can add you to my system.


Happy Hunting!

Swim Team Neighborhoods

There is not a better or more enjoyable way for children to learn to swim than joining a swim team. I was fortunate to have my two young children swimming this past summer. All spring I had them at Sunshine Swim School to help them get over their fear and hopefully prepare them to be on our neighborhood swim team. By the time summer came, they were far from what I considered "swim team ready". They couldn't and wouldn't swim even a short distance to the pool steps. Needless to say, my daughter was still convinced and very much determined that she was going to be on swim team like her friends.

One spring day we stopped by to observe practice. I was really heart warmed to see the coaches so attentive to the young swimmers. After the practice we spoke with the coach who assured us that my kids would be fine, and to sign them up even though they were not swimming independently. I am so glad that we did! My son who had started off the spring, clinging to his Sunshine instructor was swimming independently in meets by the end of the summer!

During the summer the kids had practice 5 days a week, the idea of which seemed overwhelming at first. But here in Indian Ridge, attendance was not mandatory, the environment was relaxed, and emphasis on fun. People came and went from vacations, and showed up to practice when they could. Each practice began and ended with the team cheer, and the kids would echo it throughout the day, and for months to come. From the beginning they swam at home meets with a kick board and an escort swimmer, and everyone got a ribbon every time. They were so proud of themselves and they had a blast. And you know? I had a great time too! Summer here can be like hibernation, but I got to sit in the shade, and visit with other adults. SANITY!!! On Thursday nights there were home meets at our pool, and we would eat a really great dinner from the snack bar (I'm talking some of the best burgers and salads I have had!). It was fun to be out of the house and visiting with so many fun people. This year we will get to add Tuesday night away meets to our schedule as well!

I really encourage you, no matter the age of your children (they start them at 4 in Indian Ridge) to look into swim team this summer. There are teams in neighborhoods (which you do not need to live in to swim with) and at pools around town. I have provided a link for you.

There is something special, however, about living in a swim team neighborhood, many of which have been around for generations. Something great about walking or riding your bike to practice, and hanging out with your neighbors all summer long. The following list of Neighborhood based swim teams.

SAAA Neighborhood Swim teams as of 2008 Swim Season:



CANADA DEL ORO LEAGUE

• Indian Ridge


• Highland Vista


• Tucson Country Club - Located at Tucson Country Club within the Tucson Country Club Neighborhood (must be a member)

SAN PEDRO LEAGUE

• Sabino Vista Hills


• Ventana Canyon (Must be a member of Country Club)
  

PANTANO LEAGUE

• Contiental Ranch


• Sahaurita Swim Team
  

TANQUE VERDE LEAGUE

• Green Hills


• Northwest Countryside


• Terra Del Sol

SANTA CRUZ LEAGUE

• Catalina Terrace (Winterhaven and Surrounds)


• Skyline Bel Air

How to Plan a Soup Swap

A couple of years ago, I remember reading in a magazine (BHG I think) about doing a soup exchange instead of a cookie exchange. While I thought that was a great idea for December, I think it's an even better idea for January. I would need a shoe horn to cram another thing into the month of December, and would love to have something to look forward to and to celebrate in January. I get so sad when Christmas is over! So while combing the Internet for the article in BHG, I came across this really cool website, http://www.soupswap.com/ . I am going to post some of it below. Another variation on the theme of this event would be to invite several girlfriends over to cook soup, and of course drink wine. Don't forget the wine!

How To

Soup Swap Guidelines
So you want to host a soup swap? It’s a fun, easy way to get to know your neighbors and get a wonderful mix of homemade soup for your freezer! After six years of trial and error, out in Seattle, we've come up with these guidelines to help simplify yours.

Planning a Soup Swap

Schedule soup swap so there are at least two full weekends to make soup. We’ve generally found that scheduling on a weeknight works best, an event where folks can chat a bit, drink a little wine, and meet some new folks without an investment in a long party (remember they’ve already invested a lot of time making soup!)

Invite everyone you know, and then ask them to invite everyone they know. There will be plenty of picky eaters and skeptics, but you’ll want as many folks to show up as you can find!
Ask folks to bring SIX quarts of a frozen soup. Six quarts is generally the biggest stock pot in most kitchens. Often the recipes will need doubled or tweaked to get this amount. Every year someone shows up with two kinds of soup so that they have the required SIX quarts, which is fine, because the real requirement is that everyone has the same amount of soup in same size containers.

We’ve never set a rule on what types of soup to bring, though some soups don’t freeze particularly well, potato and cream soups for example. If this is important to you, by all means specify, but in order to get the biggest number of swappers, we always tell the vegetarians that they may only get back a certain number of veggie soup and may be left with a few meat soups they’ll have to give to their friends.

The weekend before Soup Swap, remind folks and by all means, start dropping hints on all the wonderful soup you’ve been hearing about. After six years in Seattle, Soup Swap is up there with full-body contact sports in competitiveness! Remind people that it is important they be on time to swap soup. Generally, we swap soup an hour after the party begins: Party at 6:30, Swap at 7:30, people are leaving by 8:00, though some may stay later…

At the Soup Swap

Chit chat and drink some wine. And by all means try to start swapping soup on time!
Gather the soup (and the chefs) in a central location. Admire the quantity and variety.
Being the “Telling of the Soup”. This is each chef’s opportunity to talk about what makes their soup special. Is it organic? It is spicy? Does it have anything someone might not be able to eat? Is it a treasured recipe?

Place “Soup Selection” numbers in a hat equal in number to the participants and each person will draw a number.Number 1 picks the first soup, Number 2 the second and so on, until everyone has selected a soup. Repeat six times until all the soup is gone.

We always find it best to remind folks to save the bags they came with, as they will need them to take the soup home!Everyone should now be leaving with the same amount of soup, but now it is a wonderful mix of soup!

Special Issues: Proxies and Gifts When you are planning your soup swap, someone will undoubtedly ask if they can just drop off their soup and have someone else pick for them. Of course! The more soup the better. They should plan on “Proxy pickers” and let those folks know what’s in their soup. We let the Proxies in on the draw, but swap Draw Numbers so that the proxies always pick last. You need not be present to win, but you do need to be present to get first crack at selecting.We started giving out small door prizes, in Boston and Seattle, wooden spoons for the first and last soups picked. We previously had little loaves of homemade bread for everyone to take home, and occasionally, someone will bring something like crackers, raisins or frozen pesto to accompany their soup at the swap. We consider all these things delightful!
Doing Good Now that you’ve got all this wonderful homemade soup in your freezer due to the generosity of your friends and the goodness of your life, it’s a great time to open up your cupboard and get out a dusty can or two of your emergency stock of canned soup. We’d like you to suggest to your swapping pals that they bring a can or two of canned soup to donate to a local food bank of your choice.