Balentime's Day and 100 years of statehood

I

have time on my hands,

which is something

I am used to recognizing or taking advantage of!

It is interesting to me

to observe myself in

slow down mode

For instance,

yesterday I drove downtown with

Nat, and Ava, and baby

to check out the

Centennial pre-celebration for Arizona Statehood

which is TODAY,

February 14, 2012

The workmen were busy finishing up the preparations.

They were putting plants on the stage

and printing names on tape stuck on chairs.

I saw them print "O'Connor", on one of the chairs.

That would be for Sandra Day O'Connor.

We made our way into the

State Capitol building

(is it capitol or capital - see even my brain is getting lazy)

and looked at 4 floors full of

Arizona history.

This photo was taken from the 4th floor - looking down to the ground

floor. The docent told us that the tile

in this design

came from Ohio..

just fyi....

It was something I have never done in my 27 years in Arizona.

There was information about the Native Americans,

and the early settlers, and all the work that went into

the state becoming a state.

Copper, cotton, cattle, citrus

and, and....

climate.

The Navajo code readers,

the USS Arizona that was bombed at Pearl Harbor,

the Hoover Dam,

the early miners,

the Buffalo soldiers

suffragettes...

and...

my grand parents...

who came out to Arizona

in the early 1920's,

or so.

He had tuberculosis and came out for 'the cure'.

It made me think of what life was like for them.

A brand new state....still the aura of the wild west.

It must have felt a million miles away

from the green and humid midwest.

To think they went on to have

five daughters,

who gave birth to about 22 children,

whose children then had about 45 children

and there even 16 (or soon to be 16)

great-great grandchildren!!

These are things I am thinking about

these days!!

another gorgeous Arizona sunset....

Happy Balentime's day

and

Happy 100th birthday Arizona...

Ok,

gotta go,

I have a Thai Foot Massage in 45 minutes!!!

(my second in a week.....how will I EVER get myself back in the work mode??)