The Terrible Shooting in Tucson, AZ

Tucson, AZ hit the national news on Saturday, January 8, 2010, and in the most horrific of ways. If you read the news, turned on the television, or just tweeted and networked on Facebook - you've no doubt heard of the victims of a senseless crime at a Congress-on-your-Corner gathering at a Safeway-anchored shopping mart in Northwest Tucson.

My husband and I were out clearing away the outside Christmas lights, straightening up the garage and feeling energized for the new year ahead. We were smiling and having a good time when the neighbor pulled up and shared the news.

* * *

My daughter asked me last night if I was going to write about it, and I immediately said, "No".

I told her I didn't even feel like blogging about Tucson right now -- I was speaking with shock and pain, deep in the tragedy of the moment.

It's hard to put into words the terrible violation you feel when innocent people, going about every-day common errands are hurt and killed. We spent the next several hours in front of the television set, waiting for REAL updates and confirmed reports of exactly what happened.

I can't help but think of the lasting repercussions of this heartbreak. Beyond the most obvious dealings of loss of life, health, and feeling of security comes so many questions.

I thought about it a great deal during a night of little sleep. I thought about the other horrific events that have hit areas of our United States and even the world these past years.

A couple of very dear Active-Rainers called and/or called last night out of concern for "Tucson". The posts I read on Facebook are compassionate, and caring, and beyond finger-pointing and shallow hatreds.

One of the things I love about Tucson is its sense of community. We're mostly a common people with a cheerful word, and a let-a-car-cut-in-during-a-traffic-jam sort of mentality.

Tucson will bond over this. Security changes will be made, answers will be sought and found, and hopefully justice will be served. Somehow the families of this terrible tragedy will continue on.

We are more than this tragedy. We are above generalizations regarding news stories and incidents that have recently colored the media's interpretation of our beautiful City. This act of violence does NOT define us.

My family's thoughts and prayers go out to the family and victims of this tragedy, and more, to the community and workers of this neighborhood of NW Tucson.

We ARE Tucson, and we can be more, and will be more.

Sharing a Little Thought on Perspective

Sharing a Little Thought on Perspective

Last Thanksgiving, I met a lovely couple from New Jersey, visiting Tucson and trying to decide if they'd like to make their retirement home here. She was 60, he was 55. Long story short, end of January, they moved into their new home down in the Corona de Tucson area. It was a newer home, quite lovely, and they made it their own in just a short few weeks.

I'd gotten to know "Anne" quite well through emails - she had a habit of sending a novelette almost every morning, and was a great question ask-er. She asked me so many questions, she said, and I quote "When we began looking for a home in Tucson, AZ, we knew absolutely nothing about Arizona. Cara M. Mancuso made this part of the US as familiar to us as our backyard in New Jersey." Trust me, it was mostly because she asked so many questions!!

Needless to say, we grew close when we met and worked together in person, and she continues her emails to this day. Through them, I received the most distressing of news.

Not a month after they moved to Tucson, her husband was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. They've tried all sorts of experimental surgery - not to mention chemo and radiation. Her last email to me said that they put 70 miles a day on their vehicle, just driving to medical treatments.

To date, NOTHING has worked. They can't sleep due to his coughing, and they can't eat for the stress, worry, and let's face it - chemo messes up your taste buds. This couple knows no one outside of medical personnel, and myself, here in Tucson. They don't have children. They are, for all intents and purposes, alone here.

I don't know what to say. I don't know how to answer her emails anymore. I don't even know what I want by posting this. I just feel so badly for them, and so helpless looking at their circumstances.

Life is fragile. Relationships are precious. I know she is Christian - so I ask for your prayers and I will pass notice of that request on to her. Love your friends and family. Nothing is so bad in our own lives that looking at someone's elses doesn't give a better perspective.

Thanks,

Tucson Event with Interfaith Community Services

Tucson Event with Interfaith Community Services

Sunday, June 27, ICS is wrapping up their Freedom from Hunger Food Drive. ICS is a non-profit group that has helped the citizens of Pima County; Tucson and surrounding areas since 1985. Programs include Mobile Meals, visits and calls, transportation, home repairs and food pantry.

During their Freedom from Hunger Drive, ICS has collected more than 2 tons of food. The final event will be this Sunday at the Christ Presbyterian Church at 6565 E. Broadway, Tucson.

• Who: ICS at Christ Presbyterian Church
• Where: 6565 E Broadway
• When: 3-5 p.m
• What: Free event for all
  

How to enjoy:
Free ice cream donated by Cold Stone Creamery
Sign language routines set to music
Music by the Tucson Jazz Institute

What to bring: Donations of non-perishable food may be brought on or before June 27 to:

• Interfaith Community Services - Ina Road
• Hughes Fedral Credi Union - Wetmore, Speedway, ThornyDale, Rita Road, Pantano Road, Kohlb Road or Hermans Road locations
• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans - Sunrise Drive or Tanque Verde Road

Please Help Us Sell Our Townhome!!

Please help us sell our townhome!

It's coming up on our third wedding anniversary, and in the shadow of that lovely day lurks a dark, and defeating feeling of hopelessness.

No, not the marriage, but the exhausting effort of combining two households, and getting rid of the excess. In short, selling my home to move into our new home.

I got the townhome ready for the market: new garage door, new ceramic tile flooring, updated the countertops, restored all of the trim and woodwork in the home, oiled the front door woodwork and repainted all of the wrought iron, re-sealed and resurfaced all of the patios, re-coated the roof, tore out the master bedroom carpeting, sanded, and put a modern, painted cement floor in, painted the garage - in fact, painted the entire house in the four years I lived there, cleaned EVERY thing, put in a new cook top, and got rid of all clutter.

My neighbor's home, same floor plan, no updates, was appraised at x amount of dollars. So, I put my townhome several thousand below that to look competitive. As the months dragged by, we slowly lowered the price.

It's a nice, sturdy townhome in a private, small community in the foothills of Tucson. Pride of ownership is number one in this collection of 23 homes. My home has a front patio with grapefruit tree, a nice sized back yard, fully landscaped. There are no cracks in the home, it's clean and immaculate. It's not totally renovated, I can't afford to throw away money on that, but there are many improvements that keep it comparable in this zip code.

In the first 18 months on the market, the top critisism I received was, only 2 bedrooms, walnut wood trim, beamed ceilings, dark interior, and dated bathrooms.

End of 2009, we took it off the market for five months and put in all new plumbing in the kitchens and bath. We repainted the kitchen cabinets to an off white, and took down one row of cabinets to make it more airy. The entire kitchen was painted bright white to open it up. The bathrooms got brand new tile vanities, new sinks, recoated shower and bath fixtures. I spent hundreds on staging materials to create a cozy atmosphere. The patios were re-sealed, the house thoroughly re-cleaned, and back it went on the market again in April, with another price drop.

In two months, perhaps ten people have viewed this property. At this point, we've lowered the price - to match the market of course, $120,000. At this stage, to lower the price anymore doesn't cover the mortgage payoff at close of escrow. It is more than $30 a sq ft lower than the average of every home on the market in a one mile radius. It is $20 a sq ft lower than the most "comparable" average. Yes, the market is saturated: A square mile radius reveals 87 homes for sale, 52 of them townhomes or condos. This home has been advertised in over 30 places online, and in the local color magazines.

I've attached the video of the townhome.



The best anniversary present we could receive is an offer on this townhome. If someone you know is looking for a 2 bedroom townhome in the foothills of Tucson, please share this video with them.

You be the judge. Please watch this video and share your opinion. Please help us sell our townhome.

More Juice, Please

So, things have been a bit slow here - okay, downright like a snail blazing a trail through high-fructose corn syrup - and so to keep motivation up, and maximize my down time, I've been educating myself on social networking. Those of you on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, ActiveRain, and LinkedIn might know what I'm talking about. And then, according to the kajillion video instruction guides I've watched and read, you're supposed to cross reference them all in the name of "Google Juice."

So who say's an old dog can't learn new tricks??? I'm jumping, I'm rolling over, I'm begging for bones...well, buyers and sellers, anyway.

My big problem is, I like to do hands on my own sites simultaneously as I'm watching their online instructions. It helps re-enforce that 20% that commits to permanent memory, or as permanent as memory can be when you thrive on many things going on at once. Thank God for lists - but that's another subject.

Anyway, so I get about half way through the instructions and then, go off on my own. Sort of like putting together your own loft bed, or trampoline, or bicycle...so I'm pre-warning you, I'm certain there's a few screws loose out there in my social networks. Desperation will probably send me back to tidy up loose ends, but right now, I'm taking the wild leap and running on momentum.

I run across a few jokes, and great photographs from my fellow net-workers out there in social media land - so here's one to share:

Two Irish hunters got a pilot to fly them to Canada to hunt moose. They managed to bag 6. As they were loading the plane to return, the pilot said the plane could take only 4 moose.
The two lads objected strongly. "Last year we shot six. The pilot let us take them all and he had the same plane as yours."
Reluctantly, the pilot gave in and all six were loaded. However, even on full power, the little plane couldn't handle the load and went down. Somehow, surrounded by the moose bodies, Paddy and Mick survived the crash.
After climbing out of the wreckage, Paddy asked Mick, "Any idea where we are?"
Mick replied, "I think we're pretty close to where we crashed last year."

Have a great week!

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!