I was able to go to the Institute building today and watch the funeral for President Gordon B. Hinckley. It was beautiful, full of many good memories of such a wonderful man. And the weather could not have been more bright and sunny. There was a new blanket of pure white snow on the ground as well.
I still cannot say that I am exactly sad at his passing, but I am most certainly going to miss him. He will always be here in our hearts.
God be with us, President Hinckley, till we meet again.
I got a text message this evening letting me know that President Hinckley had passed away. It still doesn’t seem quite like it has actually happened. I remember I was taking the ACT my junior year of high school the day he was sustained.
I remember him frequently using the Polar Star, immovable, constant, a guide to travelers, as a symbol for faith, testimony, and our Savior. I think of that every time I find the North Star in the sky and it reminds me to continue constant on the path.
I know that my life has been affected for the better because of his. And I know I am only one of millions.
Link to the official news release from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Tyler and Anjuli gave me this DVD for Christmas. It’s one of my new favorites. All the shorts in one place! Hours of hilarity (okay, it’s not that long), without any dialogue for the most part (which I find real cool, talk about good visual story telling). And they started clear back in 1984, which might not seem like much, but it’s really amazing. There’s always at least one moment in each where it’s a full out belly laugh. And Pixar does the best commentaries. Some day I want to go visit them.
I’m in love with Pixar.
I’m declaring myself moved in. Due to Tucson’s disbelief in closet space, I have several containers of fabric in the corner of my bedroom that I don’t know what to do with, but otherwise the boxes are all gone, my books are all out, I have three quilts out being displayed, my photos are up on the walls, and I finally felt like I could vacuum the floor without worrying about getting some kind of packing something on it. The thought crossed my mind to sew all the fabric in those containers and deliver all the many blankets that are there in parts to the people they were for. I’ll have to think about that some more.
It feels good to be “done.” It looks good too. I’ll have to get pictures.
Things I have learned about Tucson so far.
* They do not believe in closet/storage space. Oh what I wouldn’t give for a garage or attic right now.
* They have a thing against clean clothes, or at least against cleaning them in the privacy of your own place. Hence my washing machine acting as a microwave stand right now. But at least that frees up a bit more counter space for me.
* They do not believe in overhead lighting. The only overhead lights I have are in the kitchen. I have friends in Wilcox (close enough to Tucson that I hear about their weather on the news), and they don’t have ceiling lights. And I don’t recall any ceiling lights in any of the other houses I’ve been in here, other than kitchens.
* U-turns are a perfectly acceptable way to get somewhere, in fact, it is almost expected that you will make at least one. This is due to the medians on all the major roads. I’m getting pretty good at them.
* There is an owl that likes to hang out on the roof of my building every now and then. How do I know this? Because I have a fireplace and his hoots echo down through it. It’s kind of cool actually.
Things I am still wondering about
* Why is it called “Old Pueblo”?
* Not that I use the freeway much since I pretty much live on the street I take to work/school and church, just ten miles further down, but how does a city like this not have a freeway system?
* What is up with the lack of closet space?
* Exactly what do the different lights mean on those pedestrian crossing things? Flashing yellow? Flashing red? Steady yellow? Steady red? Do I just stop randomly and hope I did the right thing and someone isn’t going to honk at me?
Today is measure your feet day.
My feet are 9.5 inches long. The ball of my foot is 3.5 inches wide. And just for fun, my big toe is 2 inches long, my little toe is 1 inch long. The measurements are the same for both feet.
While there are days when I talk about trading in my feet, they do a pretty good job. They get me where I need to go, and generally without any pain either. I like my toes too, especially since having the one sliced open in Brasil. I can still see the scar a bit.
How about you? How do your feet measure up?
Yesterday they came and put new locks on my front door and my storage door. So now I can more smoothly unlock my front door. I can also unlock my storage door. I haven’t put much in my storage closet because if I locked it, I wouldn’t be able to unlock it. Now I can start putting things out there and can really get down to getting settled. I have done so much already in the last week and a half, but there is still a lot left to do.
So I made a list.
I’m really big on making lists when I get overwhelmed. If I hadn’t made this list yesterday I would’ve bounced from one thing to another more than I already did. And I would have felt overwhelmed just trying to remember all of this.
Here’s my list as of this morning:
x put up bedroom curtains
x make kitchen curtain
x put up kitchen curtain
x get hardware to put up living room curtains
– make living room curtains
– put up living room curtains
x make pantry panel
– get curtain rod for pantry (the ones I already have are too big)
– put up pantry panel
– make desk panel
– get velcro for desk
– buy staple gun
– put up desk panel
– put boxes in storage
x hang picture in kitchen
x put up paper towel thingy in kitchen
x hang baskets and wood plaques in kitchen
– hang flutes
– hang pictures in bedroom
– hang pictures in living room
– hang pictures in kitchen
– find dictionaries and organize desk stuffs
– find tickets
– eat something other than Cheerios and Christmas chocolates
– vacuum
– run dishwasher
– homework
And I want it all done by Friday (the homework part needs to be done by Wednesday though).
I pulled out my power tools yesterday. My electric drill/screw driver came in very handy putting up all the curtain rods. I have three up, two more to go.
Having the kitchen curtains up and the panel over the pantry made means my sewing machine is up and running now. Now I really am set. I have the internet and I can sew. If there’s more to happiness than that, I don’t know what it is.
I know it’s barely been more than a week since I arrived in Tucson, but I want to be done with boxes now. It’s starting to get to me that I don’t yet know where everything belongs and that I still have boxes everywhere. I know I wouldn’t be as frustrated about so many other things if I was not surrounded by so much cardboard. It’s making me miss Orem where I had an apartment where I knew where everything belonged. I’m still making up where to put things away right now. And the more I look at this picture, from more than two weeks ago, the more it reminds me of the Wicked Witch of the East who had a house dropped on her.
I’d like my red shoes back.
I am an educator and PhD. I quilt, belly dance, run, read, and try to grow things. I am a Mormon. I am infertile. I am a daughter, sister, aunt, grand-daughter, friend, wife, and mom.
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