We went to the DMV in Douglas yesterday to get our new driver’s licenses and license plates. There was a line there (like at any DMV in America, I suppose), but everyone was so nice. When we got to the person who would be processing our paperwork, she started by welcoming us to Arizona. Wow, that was different. Everyone was so nice that the experience was actually pleasant.
We also did some shopping in Douglas (the nearest “big” town…about 45 miles away, population of about 14,000). We started out at one of the four dollar stores in town. Wow — these places are great! I should have started shopping here years ago. If you haven’t gone, do. Then, we went to Safeway to stock up on food. As we usually do food shopping on the way home from work on a “per-meal” basis, the idea of laying in stores and actually planning ahead is novel to us. Fortunately, the Safeway in Douglas has everything you could ever need (including tofu; I haven’t seen my favorite veggie chicken, but I didn’t look very hard). For those items that are harder to find, there is also a WalMart in town, though I try to avoid it for reasons that are numerous to list. One funny thing is that we ran into one of our new neighbors (one of only about 10 or so people we know here) at Safeway. Yeah, it’s a small town.
Overall impressions of shopping in Douglas: 1) You can get anything you need. 2) The prices are dramatically lower than CA. 3) Everyone’s very friendly. 4) It’s more fun to be “in town” when you don’t live there.
Since Brad no longer can stop at Polly’s on the way to work, I have started baking muffins for him for breakfast. And, of course, our espresso machine is one of the first things I set up in the kitchen. Other than that, we haven’t been hurting too much for food. So far this week, we’ve had homemade mac and cheese (one of my favorites), a delicious veggie curry, and enchiladas.
The experiment with switching the living room and office is going great. (Stay tuned for before and after pictures when we clear out more boxes.) I *love* my new office. Thanks to Brad for getting the network up and running super quick even though he’s been sick.