Bill and I arrived back in Mesa on Saturday afternoon. The weather was absolutely lovely, and it has been that way since then. I had turned off the air conditioner before we left, but even the house was cool. Since Saturday, the temperatures have hovered in the mid-70s during the day, and the mid-50s at night. Very nice weather after the two feet of snow we had while visiting Denver.

March is the nicest month to be in Arizona. The weather is much more predictably warm, but hasn’t yet gotten to the point where if feels like you’re living on Venus, where the temperature averages 864 degrees. Women definitely AREN’T from Venus (though it feels like it during menopause).

This is the time of year when the AZ weather forecasters don’t really have much to say. In fact, they spend a considerable amount of time talking about the weather in other places that seem much more interesting. Like Colorado, which I understand once again had some snow since we left. In fact, I think it was snowing while we sat on our patio last night and drank our adult beverages.

March is also when Arizona begins bursting into bloom. I know that sounds funny to say about a desert, but all of the cactus which have just sat there for the past months are now starting to get their flower buds. I have posted pictures in the past that show how beautiful the cactus are when they’re in bloom. In fact, I think I have posted almost as many flowering cactus photos as I have pie photos.

Speaking of pies, I made pie crust this morning for a quiche that I will make this evening for dinner. Quiche is something Bill actually likes. It doesn’t seem to make him feel less manly. Quiche was a no-brainer for me, because I did a grocery shop without checking my refrigerator, something I do quite frequently. As part of my shop, I purchased a dozen eggs, only to discover a half dozen eggs that had just reached their sell-by date sitting in my refrigerator. Egg salad for lunch; quiche for dinner. Worry about the cholesterol later.

In addition to many eggs, I also bought another container of heavy cream to befriend the one that was sitting in my refrigerator with a distant pull date, and some butter to bring our total butter count to three pounds.

What I didn’t buy was bread on which to place the butter. And wouldn’t you know that I efficiently used all the bread before we left, leaving not even a crust for morning toast. So yesterday I baked a loaf of bread. Don’t I kind of remind you of Caroline Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie? Except I have a Kitchenaid that did most of the work, and no wood to chop. I’m actually quite proud at how much my bread baking has improved. Except for my hamburger buns, with which I’m still not satisfied. Caroline Ingalls wouldn’t worry about hamburger buns.

We will get back in the swing of AZ living just in time to go home again at the end of April. First World problems.