SSS: Desire for the Enemy

It's a big Sunday!

Daylight Savings is taking place all over the world -- but not where I live, this crazy land, Arizona. (We really don't have any use for it, I understand now, the second time I've gone through this process here.)

The Tucson Festival of Books is in its second day! Come one, come all! Don't miss it! I'll be sure to blog about it as soon as I recover.

And of course, it's Six Sentence Sunday! Thanks for stopping by. These lines don't follow on directly after last week's. In the interim, we've discovered that the husbands are going to survey the lands with the Count, leaving Sancha and Lambra to fend for themselves. Together, the aunt, the sister-in-law, and the nephews go to the inn to get some breakfast.

* * * 

The innkeeper and his wife served day-old white bread, olive oil, and wine they poured out of a skin into two wooden goblets. Lambra took a sip and set her goblet down, only for Gonzalo González to reach across her for it, thoroughly bumping his tempered steel arm against hers.

“Excuse me, Aunt.”

           How had he managed to sit down by her? Doña Lambra closed her eyes to shut out the anger, but in the dark she saw herself naked, in the bridal tent, alone. Who was coming through the door to quench her desire? 

* * *

Hmm. I fear I may be giving away a bit too much about Lambra's mental state here... I really appreciate all your comments. Due to the Book Festival, I probably won't get to visit any sites today, but I'll visit you all at the crack of dawn on Monday. All the great sentences are at SixSunday.com.

Something Else Weird About Arizona: Daylight Savings Time

... or rather, the lack thereof.

My husband works on Sundays now, and starts at a time that seems ungodly because of his other hours: 8 am. So, he had to use an alarm clock to get up in time, and like any other person in this day and age, he uses his phone as an alarm clock.

The company has programmed the system to help out everyone and automatically adjust for daylight savings. In Arizona, we do not observe said hour adjustment, so the alarm, synced with the phone and its helpful adjustment feature, went off an hour too early, and we lost an hour's sleep like everyone else, anyway!

I think daylight savings time is one of the wonders of the modern world. Twice a year, we get most of the country to participate in a global synchronization that reminds us that time isn't real and we're all just agreeing to a certain system. It boggles the mind.

The really weird thing, though, is the way some other Arizonans talk about daylight savings time as if it affects them. "The change," they say. "Next week, after the change, we'll have crazy long daylight hours." As if the sun suddenly decides to linger a little bit longer over Arizona just because all the states around us have fiddled with their clocks. It remains to be seen if there's something to that, or if we've all got Valley Fever lodged in our brains.

I've heard that longtime residents are sick of newcomers who moan about the flora, fauna, and weather, but I can't help but marvel at this place and occasionally find it strange. There really is nowhere else like it in the world, so every time I point out something unique about it, consider it awe instead of complaining.

This Saguaro, in the Saguaro National Monument,  shows its perseverance. The arms droop in a frost, but in favorable conditions, they can continue to grow upwards again, creating these swooping tangles.