SOUP'S OFF

When we returned from San Diego on Monday, I noticed the difference. It was subtle. Some of the saguros were sprouting their nosegay flowers. People were out earlier taking their morning jogs or walks for their constitution as one of my wife's relatives used to say. Traffic was better. Well, a little.

When we first moved toScottsdale in 2001, there were four distinct periods to note a reduction in cars on the freeways. April 1, after taxes on April 16, May 1, and mid- May when Arizona State put the school year to bed. Now, five years later there's no noticeable difference. Just subtle.

But what I'll miss about Winter is soup. Man, you can't make a soup I don't like. Even the kids' story Stone Soup sounds good to me. But when it gets hot, I'm done. Well, maybe a bowl of clam chowder in a cooly refridgerated restaurant once or twice. But overall, I'm finished for the year.

But not before talking about homemade vegetable beef with plenty of beef in it. Topped off with garlic salt. And some homemade bread with butter. Two glasses of cold ice water to wash down all those tomatoes, okra, potatoes (what a great find when you spoon one up), beans, corn, carrots. Too much. And I gotta wait almost 6 months before I answer, "Soup," when asked what I'd like to eat for supper.