Patty and I have been in Mesa, Arizona since the end of December 2010. We are heading back to Canada in a few days time. We don't want to leave the warm weather and friends we have made but we are also excited to be home and continue work on our home.
We have a small apartment/condo in Mesa. It was in pretty rough shape when we bought it but after some cleaning, painting, removing old kitchen cabinets and installing new cabinets, getting new kitchen appliances and getting furniture it is now in decent shape. New flooring is at the top of the list for next years projects.
Part of the fun we had was hunting for furniture. The only items we bought new were a TV and some dinning room chairs; everything else we bought at auction sales and off of Craig's List. (Bedding also was new).
Below is our living room. Patty has a gift of being able to make rooms look good fairly inexpensively.
New kitchen cupboards, counter-tops, fridge, stove and dishwasher. The cupboards were plain wood and Patty finished them an antique white. We are happy how they turned out.
The first month we were here we lived in a mess. It seems like renovations is just a matter of making a mess then cleaning up, making a mess and cleaning up. We were happy when we reached the "last cleanup".
The old kitchen cupboards were in rough shape. The base units, especially around the sink had gotten wet and the wood had swollen and doors and cupboards wouldn't open or close. As is usually the case with photos, pictures don't look as good, or as bad as things really are. These cupboards really were in bad shape and had to go.....even though they look not too bad in the pictures.
The sunshine ceiling (I think what that light is called) was taken out and replaced with a couple of new fixtures.
Our apartment is on the third floor of the building. There are 15 buildings in our complex and each building has 15 apartments in it. There are 3 or 4 pools in the complex. Only the main pool and hot tub are heated over winter. We are pleased with the grounds crew, they seem to be always working and the grounds are well maintained.
Our apartment is top centre.
Can a person be in Mesa, Arizona and NOT have a three wheeled bike? We didn't think so either. We decided we would go against what is popular and pass up on the three wheeler but we couldn't pass up a picture with it.
One of our favorite activities when not working on the apartment is hiking in nearby mountains. We have gone out to Usery Park many times. Although desert mountains are different than the blue Rocky Mountains of Southern Alberta, they are still beautiful. 
One thing we have learned and have been amazed at is the desert plants and animals not only survive in the harsh desert conditions but they thrive and do well. We are told we would not do these hikes in June, July and August when temperature would be 110-115 degrees F.
I can't believe we are leaving this beautiful weather, but I'm sure we will be returning to Canada to find spring like conditions. Please tell me we will be returning to spring like conditions. Well, stay tuned, there might be another post in a years time. 