Summer                                                        New (Lughnasa) Moon

Kate and I went to Keys for breakfast this morning, had our business meeting there. We’ve started tallying the cost of moving, that is, the cost of those things we’ll pay related to getting to Colorado. There’s some yard work, some handyman work, some painting, moving itself of course, but inside that is the cost of moving and storing items during staging the house.

We’ll have art service professionals build wooden crates for the large Jeremiah Miller paintings we own. Each one is 67″ by 68″ with no glass to protect the painting. There’ll be the cost of specialty boxes for the electronics, the other art we have framed and any other items too fragile to trust to the moving company.

There will be, of course, costs associated with buying and selling houses, but that should get covered in the transactions themselves. Then there will be setting up house related expenses in Colorado. Painting, building this or that, fencing, raised beds, that sort of thing.

It will be expensive to move even if we do well on the sale of the house and I’m guessing that we will. Not a surprise. Just important to get all the costs at least estimated so we don’t have any big unexpected costs.

Summer                                                          Most Heat Moon

When we are ready, a house will appear. I believe this. We’ve looked at many, many houses online now. Kate’s visited several parts of Colorado and we’ve narrowed our geographical preference. By the time next February comes, we’ll have clarity about what we want, what we need. The one available at that time, our next house, will emerge out of the clutter of competing listings, we’ll find it. And buy it.

Before that, we finish decluttering this house, getting it ready for the market. We look at our pared down furnishings, get out the tape measure and figure the room we need for our own creative spaces. That will help us decide just how much we need in a new home, or new home plus out buildings.

All of this living in the move means staying in the flow toward Colorado, realizing where the energy naturally goes at this stage and following it. Putting our shoulders behind work at the time it needs to be done means we use the momentum of change to our benefit. Easier than fighting against it, trying to push things to move faster. Then the momentum of change works against us.

We can, now, decide on communities, specific locales like Idaho Springs, Golden, the I-70 corridor. We can, now, pack and declutter, packing those things we won’t use until next year and throwing those things we no longer need. SortTossPack has come once already and they’ll come again, probably around Labor Day. Later in the fall the yard work contractors will prune and mulch, declutter the front.

Kate and I will probably head out to Colorado for Thanksgiving together, so I can drive around with her. We’ll stay two or three nights in Golden, then another two or three in Idaho Springs. Get to know some people. By that time our house should have left, unpacked, only those things we’ll need through the move.

Then, in December or January we’ll finish up the physical modifications that need to get done for staging the house. And we’ll begin actively checking the market in Colorado. Looking for that house that is ready for us.

Summer                                                                         Most Heat Moon

No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. So it is with housing criteria. Which is why we had our scout out on a horse, peeking at houses through shrubbery, checking out communities and areas. Current impression. Acreage with trees on more or less level ground and in the mountains may not be in our price range. So, what to do?

Retreat to lower ground, changing the altitude criteria, or reconsider acreage? Right now I’m thinking the latter. We have four dogs, yes, but will have only three and at some point not too far away, only one. (Vega and Rigel will have shorter lifespans than Gertie.) Perhaps we could find a place with less acreage but land we can fence for our dogs, who are homebodies for the most part anyhow.

I’m also willing to pull back on the gardening, having a smaller plot. As my energy and enthusiasm for physical labor wanes, my interest in the life of the mind continues to increase. We might need to focus on our indoor pursuits for our property and let the Rocky Mountains tend to our earth connections. This could make more sense for aging in place anyhow.

With a smaller lot we can buy more house and maybe gain all the way round. Just thinking out loud right now.

Summer                                                       Most Heat Moon

The most heat moon has presided over a distinctly non-hot week so far. We beat the daily low yesterday by nine degrees! Nine. Today was cool and comfortable, too. Much like I imagine living at 7800 feet would be.                                                                                              Kate met with a realtor today and got some advice about looking along the I-70 corridor 10 miles either way west of Denver. Sounds fine to me. My criteria are already in place. The exact location in the state is not so important to me as having broad band, room for dogs, room for a garden and bees, space for Kate and me both to have our private spaces and so on.

Having her out there for this week will give us valuable information for our search next year when we will need to hone in on one place. Sounds like she’s having fun. How do I know? She said she’s tired. That means she had a good day.