Randi with an i

Another Flagstaff fall in the aspens

October 23, 2023 Randi

Fall is forever my favorite season.

While I miss spending the entire fall season in central Michigan — Saturday afternoons tailgating my college football games with Fireball in hand, Sunday afternoons wandering through hay mazes and pumpkin patches with apple cider in hand, weekday afternoons navigating my class commute, wading through ankle-deep fallen foliage — I have to admit that northern Arizona’s golden aspen groves make my homesickness just a little easier to deal with.

So, when my friend Jenni invited me to hike up to Lockett Meadow with her this past weekend, my answer was an easy “yes.”

What I read: September 2023

September 30, 2023 Randi

Five books this month, including two thrillers, an absolutely incredible sci-fi-slash-thriller novel, some contemporary fiction and a teen favorite.

Life lately, summer 2023

September 22, 2023 Randi

Temperatures are dropping, the leaves are starting to turn here in Flagstaff, and I am in full fall mode!

Despite it being fire season, I did have some time to do a few non-work things this summer.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (and some Traverse City, Mich. things)

September 13, 2023 Randi

I mentioned it in my last post, but a recent trip to Michigan gave me a chance to drag Ryan up to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and show him all the fun things Traverse City has to offer.

We didn’t leave Ypsilanti until later Saturday afternoon because we were both exhausted from non-stop family visits after our 6 a.m. flight out of Phoenix. (6 a.m. flights mean we have to wake up at 1 to make it down to Phoenix from Flagstaff.)

But, I never thought I’d get a chance to bring Ryan up to Sleeping Bear during the summer, because fire season.

So, we crammed as much as possible into our brief overnight trip up north.

Michigan (again)

September 12, 2023 Randi

TWO Michigan visits in one summer?

PetiteKnit’s Oslo beanie (my latest knitting project)

September 6, 2023 Randi

We’re now past Labor Day weekend, which means it’s fall now. Right? Right?

That means KNITTING.

Earlier this week, my friend Lexie invited me over to see her new house (congrats again, Lexie and Nate) and to sit on her porch and knit.

I’m pretty sure heaven exists, and I’m pretty sure knitting on Lexie’s porch is heaven.

Lexie’s invite gave me an excuse to pick up my long-abandoned knitting project that I started in January of this year.

S#!T I’ve been loving lately (September 2023 edition)

September 4, 2023 Randi

Well. The July edition of this post was pretty damn heavy with wildfire-related gadgets and gizmos, and I hate to say it, but — thanks to a later-than-usual monsoon season that extended Arizona’s wildfire season into mid-August — so is this post is as well.

Here’s some of the stuff I’ve recently bought, or rediscovered, or have found to be worthy enough of my time, money and energy to share.

What I read: August 2023

August 31, 2023 Randi

Well, the first half of August was insanely busy thanks to a few surprising late-season fires.

I didn’t have much time for reading throughout the first half of the month, but luckily, monsoons are here! Which means I’ve spent a lot of rainy weekend afternoons reading over the last couple of weeks.

Despite ignoring my Kindle for the first few weeks of August, I was able to finish four books this month — all fiction novels this time around.

Mid-August garden check-in

August 16, 2023 Randi

This summer has totally gotten away from me. Late monsoons mean a longer fire season which means more time away from my apartment and less time to tend to my garden.

Last year, I wrote about the beginning, middle and end of our summer gardening experience.

But, this summer has been so busy with work that I’ve barely had time to tend to my garden, let alone write about it.

So, let’s start from the beginning!

Some (more) recent fires: The Scott and the Brady

August 15, 2023 Randi

What a weird fire season. It’s mid-August and I’m still finding my work life consumed with wildfire response!

I just wrapped up two back-to-back fires, the Scott Fire located here on my forest, and the Brady Fire, located south of my forest on the Tonto.