Does Washing Produce Get Rid of Bacteria?

Does Washing Produce Get Rid of Bacteria?

Wow - take a few moments to read the above post! It's time to start visiting this list of farmer's markets near Tucson that I recently compiled. Here,
I'll share!

Farmers' Markets

Alan Ward Downtown Mercado: south lawn of the Main Library, 101 N. Stone Ave., 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesdays, October through May; 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesdays, June through September (339-4008).

Broadway Village Farmers' Market: 2926 E. Broadway Blvd., 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Fridays (603-8116).

Cat Mountain Station: 2740 S. Kinney Road, 8 a.m. to noon, the second Saturday of each month (578-8795).

Community Food Bank: 3003 S. Country Club Road, 8 a.m. to noon, Tuesdays (622-0525).

El Presidio Plaza Park Mercado: 115 N. Church Ave., 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Fridays (339-4008).

Farmers' Market at Park Place Mall: 5870 E. Broadway Blvd., 1 to 6 p.m., Tuesdays (603-8116).

Farmers' Market at Tucson Mall: 4500 N. Oracle Road, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursdays (293-7330).

Green Things: 3235 E. Allen Road, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sundays (299-9471).

Marana Farm Stand: 12375 N. Heritage Park Drive, Marana, 4 to 7 p.m., Mondays (622-0525, ext. 242).

Oracle Farmers' Market: 2805 N. Triangle L Ranch Road, 9 a.m. to noon, Saturdays (896-2123).
Oro Valley Farmers' Market: Town Hall at the corner of La Cañada Drive and Naranja Road, 8 a.m. to noon, Saturdays (882-2157).

Plaza Palomino: 2970 N. Swan Road, winter: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturdays; summer: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturdays (www.plazapalomino.com).

Rincon Valley Farmers' Market: 12500 E. Old Spanish Trail, winter: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturdays; summer: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturdays (591-2276).

St. Philip's Plaza Saturday Farmers' Market: St. Philip's Plaza, southeast corner of River Road and Campbell Avenue, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturdays (603-8116).

Santa Cruz River Farmers' Market: Northeast Corner of Speedway Boulevard and Riverview boulevards, 4 to 7 p.m., Thursdays (622-0525).

Tucson Farmers' Market: St. Philip's Plaza, southeast corner of River Road and Campbell Avenue, winter: 8 a.m. to noon, Sundays; summer: 8 a.m. to noon, Sundays (882-2157).

Tucson's Green Art and Farmers' Market: 8995 E. Tanque Verde Road; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday and Saturday (982-2645)

Udall Park Farmers' Market: Morris K. Udall Regional Center, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road, 8 a.m. to noon, Fridays (882-2157).

Beautiful Tucson

Been taking lots of walks this spring and decided to share some of the beauty with everyone. Enjoy the slide show below - We're positively bloomin' in Arizona!

Have a great spring!

The Marvels of Computer Communication

Technology is an amazing thing. Overwhelming, in fact. When we think back to what didn't exist just a few short years ago to now, and imagine what might be ahead...it's mind boggling.

I have to say, the best thing about technology to me is the way you can stay in touch with family and friends now. Texting, skype, email, ipod, iphone, computers, youtube, twitter, cell phones...the list seems endless.

One of my sons is getting his master's in Technology. He's currently a special education teacher now in Wisconsin. (Yes, there's a fancier name - ED/LD or something...) and he's enjoyed dabbling in technology more and more over the years.
Since Christmas, we've been enjoying face to face visits on something called SKYPE.
It's free - and I recommend it to anyone who has a microphone and camera on their phone. Or...you can buy one on EBAY for less than ten bucks.

Check out this link to see a funny short on communicating with your grandchildren across the miles. It shows us visiting from Tucson, AZ, with our son and his family in Green Bay, WI. The clip is extra interesting because it incorporates computer, SKYPE, video camera, and iphone - all within the context of a family good-night bedtime story.



Let me end with this - circulates around in an email now and then, but if you're new to email...it's fresh to you:

You know you are in 2010 when....

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don’t have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7 Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn’t have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12. You’re reading this and nodding and laughing.

Have a great week!

Video Tour of Remodeled Townhome in Tucson, AZ

5809 N Placita Esplendora

FHA 90 Day Flip Rule Is Waived for 1 Year

Good news for investors in Tucson Real Estate!

Effective February 1st 2010, FHA/ HUD will not require that a seller of a property be on title for 90 days or more in order to sell the property to a borrower acquiring FHA financing. This is an incredible opportunity for the majority of buyers & sellers in today’s market.

This news is an important decision handed down by HUD as it proposed to dramatically assist the real estate market recovery.

Prior to HUD’s decision, HUD required that a seller had to hold onto the title of the property for a period of 90 days after settlement date. This has always affected an investor’s decision in accepting an offer made on the investment property by a FHA Approved Buyer. This will all change on February 1st for a temporary period of 1 year.

Below is an excerpt from the HUD website:

“In today’s market, FHA research finds that acquiring, rehabilitating and the reselling these properties to prospective homeowners often takes less than 90 days. Prohibiting the use of FHA mortgage insurance for a subsequent resale within 90 days of acquisition adversely impacts the willingness of sellers to allow contracts from potential FHA buyers because they must consider holding costs and the risk of vandalism associated with allowing a property to sit vacant over a 90-day period of time.

The policy change will permit buyers to use FHA-insured financing to purchase HUD-owned properties, bank-owned properties, or properties resold through private sales. This will allow homes to resell as quickly as possible, helping to stabilize real estate prices and to revitalize neighborhoods and communities.”

This great news obviously comes with some restrictions. However, they are minimal but important when looking at the new rule. REMEMBER, THIS IS FOR ONE (1) YEAR ONLY!!

The New FHA 90 Day Flip Rules

The waiver will take effect on February 1, 2010 and is effective for one year, unless otherwise extended or withdrawn by the FHA Commissioner. To protect FHA borrowers against predatory practices of “flipping” where properties are quickly resold at inflated prices to unsuspecting borrowers, this waiver is limited to those sales meeting the following general conditions:

•All transactions must be arms-length, with no identity of interest between the buyer and seller or other parties participating in the sales transaction.
•In cases in which the sales price of the property is 20 percent or more above the seller’s acquisition cost, the waiver will only apply if the lender meets specific conditions.
•The waiver is limited to forward mortgages, and does not apply to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for purchase program.

Top Ten Place to Live!

How about this!!!

Tucson was on the list of the Top 10 cities to find the best home! Check out the link below to the video from the Today Show on NBC.

By the way, it's been in the 70's all this week! January!! What a place to live!

The Today Show

Hospital and Emergency Care in Tucson AZ

My mother recently took two unexpected trips to the emergency room at St. Joseph's hospital here in Tucson, AZ. She had never been admitted in emergency care before and was a bit scare, bewildered, and worried, not to mention - in health crises.

The local papers sometimes feature stories on the poor health care and worse customer service one receives in Tucson medical care. For those of you who read my blog, you know I'll often comment on restaurant service, so I felt "duty-bound" to share a bit of my mother's experience. For the sake of brevity, I'll leave out most details of her illness. (She is under medication and recovering nicely, thank you!)

During trip #1 - We encountered a young man who took her immediate vitals, etc. in emergency entrance lobby. Polite, funny, looked my mother in the eye. Wow. She was given a room in less than 20 minutes at a time many were suffering from swine flu. The doctor himself came and got me out of waiting after she was situated and assured me she was being taken care of. She went through a battery of tests and every clerk, assistant, technician, etc. was kind, thoughtful, and unhurried. I especially remember one wheeling her down for a CatSkan singing..."Money, money money money...Muh...neee (Pink Floyd)

Ten days later she was re-admitted again with immediate entrance and was situated in a ward room until admittance. During her initial ward visit she was seen by the general hospitalist doctor, the pulmanary specialist, an internist, a respiratory specialist, and her cardiologist from the previous visit was notified. All were polite, kind, thoughtful, unhurried, and many showed a nice sense of humor trying to help my elderly mother relax and recover. During her stay of two days the nurses were kind and quick to answer pages, cleaning staff hummed and talked to the patients politely, and medical staff explained things to my mother, complete with written instructions.

Sure, there were a few glitches and incorrectly written precriptions, etc. but for the sake of the overall experience, I choose to disregard those things right now. I am glad I was with my mother to figure out all the medications, etc. afterwards, for sure.

Bottom line?? Hats off to the staff of St. Joseph's hospital here in Tucson. Thank you for your bedside manner and humane demeanor. It's what hospital and health care SHOULD be, and for my mother's two experiences - was. May all of you experience the same care should you find yourselves in a similar situation some day. Thank you.