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?
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.
Brett L. Dennis
Mama g
Giggles
AmandaStretch
I have overhead lights in every room except my living room. So, we have two floor lamps, one on either side. During the month of December, the Christmas tree takes the place of one of said lamps. However, we forgot to water the tree after about Dec. 22nd and didn’t take it down until about a week ago. Not wanting to burn down the house, we didn’t turn on our lights except during one party, and I always forget that I have strings of lights from IKEA around our windows. Needless to say, it was quite dark in our living room for a few weeks. I still think it’s too dark.
The lights thing was rather hard to get used to, but now it’s nice when I don’t need as many floor lamps. I like the major roads being one mile apart, and timed (and with the left turn arrow second, not first), but I hate that all the pedestrian crossing lights are not timed, so it messes up the other timings. I love the saguaros (tall cacti, often with arms). At first I scoffed at all the little dips in the road with signs next to them saying “Do not enter when flooded.” You’ll understand why by August. They often try to build more freeways, but where? Grant St? If you want to just go for a nice drive try River Road. If you like Ultimate Frisbee they play every Monday night, 8:45. Look for the bright lights near Dodge & Kleindale. Tucson has the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen; in DC it just gets dark.
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