Elk Run, Friends

Visitors Three

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Three visitors: Rich Levine, Melissa, Robin.

Rich came to reconnect. “From the neck up you seem to be in good shape.” True that. I haven’t seen Rich since rehab.

He participated in a class designed for professors of honors classes. He teaches at the Colorado School of Mines.

He spent four days learning to observe, to know a space. Each night, after having walked a part of Philadelphia, he had to write up his observations, often up to 12 pages in length. Sounds like a lot of fun to me.

We’re going out to breakfast next week. Test my stamina. He’s also bringing a power of attorney form. When I sign it, either he or Joseph can handle my affairs if I’m incapacitated.

Melissa came by after he left. She had business in Evergreen. This was our first meeting when she wasn’t my employee. She offered to help me unload books. I said ok. Maybe this weekend.

Robin ended the visitors for the day. She came with news that my upstairs main level needs repainting. A neutral color. Oh, joy. Today packer’s come for items going into storage. Tomorrow movers. Storage unit, yet another expense, is in Evergreen. Not far from here.

Wore me out. Not that that’s hard.

Dogs, Elk Run, Friends, Shadow Mountain, White Supremacy

She Ate With Delicacy

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My first weekend at Elk Run. Very quiet. Still eating meals at home so Shadow can settle in. Plan on breakfast out this morning after Shadow comes back from her morning walk. Out, of course, meaning in our dining room.

Shadow got back from her walk with Lizzy. I’m headed up for breakfast.

Rich Levine’s coming by today. Haven’t seen him since July. I always enjoy talking to him.

Meals, Shadow, sleeping have that still adjusting feeling. No routine. Which is fine for now.

Hopefully Robin gets the house cleared out this week. Ready to get it on the market. Be completely out from under thinking about it. Once Robin’s done my priority will shift to getting this place in shape. Lots to do. Matt (realtor) will be in charge of the house.

Back from breakfast. Sat alone, admiring the mountain view overlooking Jeffco county 74. I will gradually engage Elk Run. Slowly. This is a long term stay.

Had a treat yesterday. Looked out my living room window as an Elk bull walked by. Confident. In charge. A bit later, three cows, one with a calf. The third stayed behind, enjoying hill side greens. She ate with delicacy. A mouth full or two then she would move on to another plant.

In the mountains. Still.

Dogs, Elk Run, Fourth Phase, Shadow Mountain

Elk Run. Shadow Mountain.

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So Shadow peed, a little bit, on the carpet. Going to call housekeeping for their advise, help. Not with her, with the carpet. She’s doing so much better than I feared. This is a blip.

I’ve taken all my meals in the apartment since she came back on Thursday. Wanted to give her a few days where I was with her around the clock. Today I plan to eat lunch in the dining room. Leave her alone for a while. A process.

The staff has been diligent about taking her out though due to their other duties walk times have fluctuated by as much forty-minutes to an hour. Dogs like routine so this isn’t ideal, but it’s the best I can expect.

Most of the staff love dogs so she’s getting good care from walkers that appreciate her. Only one hesitated in the doorway, insisted I put the leash on her. An urban gal, Mashay explained that since it was beginning to get dark it would soon be dangerous, “You know. Bears. Raccoons. Mountain Lions.” Her fear was palpable. Bet she knows how to deal with a city night, one many would find intimidating.

Several of the caregivers drive up the hill from Lakewood, Denver. That means early morning drives on I-70. Right now that’s not too bad since they’re driving against traffic. Come the snow, however, it will clog up with ski traffic and/or accidents. Would not surprise me if November, early December finds new caregivers at work.

It has been a September of yesteryear. Cooling gradually. The days grow shorter. Some rain. I find it nostalgic.  A reminder of how far we have strayed from back to school, football evenings. The slow slide from cool nights to cool days, harvest weather. How wonderful it’s been.

Robin and Connie worked Friday getting Shadow Mountain organized. Move to storage. Donate. Consign. Haul as trash. Four different paths.

Marina Harris, of Furball Cleaning, my long time house cleaners, comes on Monday to see where rooms might need touch up painting. She will also schedule the deep clean that will precede staging. The locksmith who will rekey the house will come this week, too. Will be glad when the house returns money to me rather than laying out cash here and there, everywhere.

 

Dogs, Elk Run, Shadow Mountain

The Move and Its Sequelae

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Learned something odd yesterday. Shadow is the only dog here. Lot of cats. No other doggies. Thanks to her walks taking her past the lobby on the way outside she has become, according to Michelle, head of health services, “A big hit!” Shadow’s a friend to women and will tolerate men she’s come to know. Lotta women here.

She continues to pee and poop while on her walks. This is a great relief. l worried she might pee on the carpet. Not so far.

Having her here comforts me and she seems ok with lazing around the apartment. Her favorite spot is in front of the door. l think she’s figured out that’s the choke point for intruders. She guards it, barking at any who come near. Sort of like Iran and the Straits of Hormuz.

Been burning through money. Roof. Packers. Movers. Melissa’s last two weeks. Storage unit. Packers and movers for that. Security deposit plus other move in costs. Eleven grand on that one alone. Gotta get on the long term care insurance. As the stress level reduces. I’ve decided that Elk Run will be the best experience I can make it.

Meanwhile Robin clears out the stuff not going into storage or coming here. After. Deep clean. Staging. On the market. A lot of headwind for a home sale, but I feel good about Matt Bachus, my realtor. The house has good bones and a workable layout plus the four car garage and the loft. A short flat driveway. Near to both Conifer and Evergreen. Lot of pluses.

Meanwhile I’m learning the ways of Elk Run. Example. My caregiver J said I could have a grilled cheese sandwich instead of the weekly menu’s dinner item. Sam, the chef, grouched about it, but since I was new, agreed. There are other ways to get alternate food choices which require advance notice. Learning curve.

Next week’s focuses: long term care insurance and starlink installation.

Right now getting the house ready to go on the market is the number one priority and I have Robin and Matt to handle that, so I’ll pay attention to priorities here at Elk Run.

Dogs, Elk Run, Fourth Phase

A Good Start

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Second sleep finished. Can open windows and have a fan. Good sleeping. Haven’t played with my new bed yet. It goes up and down, massages, among other tricks.

Feeling a bit less frazzled. Packing and moving days stressed me. Even with Joe and Robin handling the load. A bit jittery. Hard to focus. Also waiting in the lobby while my stuff went by on dollies, carried in arms. Further waiting while Robin tried to get my room set up.

Behind me now. Two nights here already. Food is good. Plenty of choice. Residents and staff have positive, friendly attitudes. I like it here.

Book boxes line my living room, empty IKEA Billy bookshelves waiting for them. My old plasma tv cannot be mounted. Has to go back. Another of my tv’s, a newer one will need to take its place. Sort of things to be expected in a move.

Shadow has been here since yesterday morning. Ginny and Janice brought her by on their way to yoga. She’s relaxed, except for guarding the door. She barks at people passing by. I imagine that will calm over time.

She gets taken out five times a day for now. Natalie, her dog trainers idea: 7, 10, 1, 4:30, 7. She has peed twice on the leash, but no pooping yet. Peeing while being walked is good news. Much less likely to happen here on the carpet. Good girl, good girl!

A good start overall.

Ancient Brothers, Elk Run, Poetry

A New Home

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from Paul:

 Blessing for a New Home
“May this house shelter your life.
When you come in home here,
May all the weight of the world
Fall from your shoulders.
May this home be a place of discovery,
Where the possibilities that sleep
In the clay of your soul can emerge
To deepen and refine your vision
For all that is yet to come to birth.
May it be a house of courage,
Where healing and growth are loved,
Where dignity and forgiveness prevail;
A home where patience and spirit is prized,
And the sight of the destination is never lost
Though the journey be difficult and slow.
May there be great delight around this hearth.
May it be a house of welcome
For the broken and diminished.
May you have the eyes to see
That no visitor arrives without a gift
And no guest leaves without a blessing.”
– John O’Donohue
assisted Living, Elk Run, Family, Fourth Phase, Shadow Mountain

Leaving Home

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Moving day. Tonight. A new home for the first time in nearly twelve years. New bed, too. Our king size would have occupied most of the bedroom. New scenery out the window. Close neighbors. A major change.

I’m a little numb from packing day. Way too much activity in my normally quiet house. Joe took over for me. So glad he’s here. Not excited yet. Depleted. That will change as we get deeper into the day. Joe’s going to help me unpack.

Yesterday there were four packers. They worked for six hours, carefully packing my arts and craft lamps (4), books of course, games. As George Carlin would remind me, my stuff.

Today Cowboy Moving sends a moving crew. They’ll load and unload, putting my chairs, bookcases, lamps where Robin designates. I’ve already approved the locations.

I’m buying padded folding chairs to accommodate multiple guests. Plus a beefed up card table for paperwork, games. I want to continue having guests as I do now.

Still a bit hard. Knowing about the change, yet writing in the same location I’ve used for years. The familiar lodgepoles out the window. Artemis. Reality will seep in as the day progresses.

Until tomorrow from apartment 308

 

 

Asia, assisted Living, Dogs, Family, Fourth Phase, Friends

An Ending, A Beginning

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Joe got in late Sunday night. Around 9:30. I stayed up, well past my bedtime. It was so good to see him again. We talked for a while. He got Seoah on the phone and I got to say gidday to her. She said good night to me.

Mary wrote me from K.L. Her time in Singapore over, she’s spending time with Guru before leaving on Monday for Melbourne.

To complete sibling news Mark, still in Hafar, awaits word about other teaching positions. He has several resumes out. Hafar seems to agree with him, so he’d like to stay.

Ruth and Gabe came up Sunday afternoon. Gabe landed a work study job perfect for his interests. He works concerts and small ensembles. Chairs. Sound.

 

Joe and I did more curating. Smaller stuff: meds, games, clothing. A bit more to do even as the packers come today. Two small rooms and books in the loft that my helpers didn’t get to.

Ruth and Gabe and David came up last night They wanted to see Uncle Joe. Fun having three generations in the same room, talking and laughing.

Melissa’s final day. Prime filet mignon, baked potatoes, green beans with bacon. A berry cobbler for desert. Sad to part ways though she says she’ll visit. I believe she will. Maybe she’ll bring some of her chili. So good.

Ginny and Janice picked up Shadow last night. She’ll stay with them until Thursday, missing the chaos of packing and moving. I already have a short video of her exploring their yard and some photos of her doing the same inside.

So. It comes down to this. One more full day on Shadow Mountain. One more night in the king size bed. Then, presto! A new phase of mine and Shadow’s life begins.

At this point I’m just ready to get these two days behind me.

Politics, US History

Working Knowledge

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Finished “Shop Craft as SoulCraft” last night. An interesting book on a topic that has long puzzled me: why don’t trades people, people who work with their hands get more respect?

The author, Matthew Crawford, has a Ph.D. in political philosophy from the University of Chicago. Crawford directed a think tank for five months before quitting to become a motorcycle mechanic.

The key idea in Shop Craft lies in practical knowledge gained through labor with one’s hands. Fixing a motorcycle or a leaky faucet requires constant attention to recalcitrant bolts and poorly plumbed kitchen sinks. Yet the end result, a vroom as a repaired motorcycle leaves the shop or a faucet restored to its function, guides the work from diagnosis to completion.

I like Crawford’s insistence on knowledge earned in direct contact with the soil, a block of wood, or an electric panel. I also take his point that knowledge workers (he doesn’t like this phrase) are as vulnerable as assembly line workers in Henry Ford’s auto plants. AI makes it so.

I don’t take his point that hand work has superior knowledge because it comes from direct encounters with the material world. I don’t think he does either since the book dotes on Heidegger, references Plato and Aristotle.

When I ate lunch last week at Elk Run, Miguel set me at a table. Marsha, a 90-year old former elementary teacher, talked about her husband, an industrial arts teacher. To give his students an education in the building trades he had them build houses. There are several in Evergreen. When I asked her if this project still existed, she shook her head, “Not anymore.”

The general decline in shop classes, vocational training serves no one, while it underlines the gap between manual labor and knowledge work in the eyes of our culture. I believe it should not be so.

Great Work

Rilke

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Mother Earth, isn’t this what you want
To arise in us invisible?
Is it not your dream, to enter us so wholly
there’s nothing left outside us to see?
What, if not transformation,
is your deepest purpose? Earth, my love,
I want that too. Believe me,
no more of your spring times are needed
to win me over — even one flower
is more than enough. Before I was named
I belonged to you. I follow no other law
but yours, and I know I can trust
The death you will bring.
~Rainer Maria Rilke~