Category Archives: Our Land and Home

Family, Jefferson County, Our Land and Home, Shadow Mountain, Weather +Climate

Hail and Lightning

August 20, 2016 Charles Leave a comment

Lugnasa Superior Wolf Moon

37 this morning and small piles of hail still scattered around look like snow. Two solar panels have a blanket of hail still on them from yesterday afternoon. We had a gully washer with lightning that seemed right over our heads. Gertie and Rigel stayed close, real close. The rain was welcome.

A transmission line went down in the storm and our generator chugged to life, powering us for a couple of hours while IREA worked to get the power back on. Though it took me over a year, I’m glad we persevered and got the generator hooked up and working. No lights is one thing, no water is quite another.

Brother Mark has finished a year’s worth of teaching with one longish break. He has two weeks of training in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, then he’s off until November. As he put it, he’s heading “to the further East” for some r&r.

The grandkids are here today, but just for the day. Afterward, Jon, Kate and I are going into Dazzle Jazz to listen to Roberta Gambarini. We go in around 5:30 or 6:00 since seating is first come, first served for all 7:00 p.m. shows. They have an interesting menu so we eat before the performance. The jazz scene here is vibrant, lots of opportunity to see local and national performers.

Family, Our Land and Home, Shadow Mountain

Joy. Fun. Fart Jokes.

August 15, 2016 Charles Leave a comment

Lugnasa Superior Wolf Moon

The grandkids have come and gone. Jon gets to see them for a weekend overnight every other weekend and all day Saturday on the other. He also gets a Wednesday dinner every week. These arrangements are temporary and will be changed when the divorce is final, sometime in October, probably.

It was a joyous time with the kiddos this weekend. Lots of laughter, fun, conversations, play. Ruth painted her elephant, Gabe watched two movies up in the loft, part of the time exercising on the elliptical and told fart jokes. (He’s 8.) The dogs love it when the kids are here. More play time. Lots of smiling canine faces.

Kate made BLT’s on Saturday night, spaghetti and meatballs last night. She also made two batches of rice crispy treats. Family stuff with the usual mild chaos, dogs and kids scampering here and there.

Now, though, we have a quiet house again and we like that, too. Our lives here are not solely about family, we each have our own work and we both need solitude. In large quantities.

The path of the divorce, in the often obtuse way of the world, has deepened our relationship with Jon and with Ruth and Gabe. That same path has begun to diverge from the dismal trek we experienced through June, July and much of August. It feels lighter. Jon’s back at work. Some of his legal matters are resolved. Investigative work that has to be done before September 16th, the initial pass at a divorce settlement, has hinted strongly at an outcome much more to his liking than Jen has proposed.

Life for the Denver Olsons, sans Jen, will not be the same, but I’m increasingly convinced that it will be better, for them and for us.

Family, Feelings, Our Land and Home, Writing

Blunted

August 11, 2016 Charles Leave a comment

Lugnasa Superior Wolf Moon

A soft cotton buffer lies between me and the world right now. My edge, drive is blunted. Why? Don’t know. Might be attention to the emotional demands of the divorce. Could be too many projects in a row. Could be that THC I use at night. Could be I’m still not rejiggered from the move and prostate cancer. Could be that my circle of friends is in Minnesota and I’ve not made new friends here. Just not sure. It has been cool here the last week or so, so it might be that occasional fall melancholy sneaking in early, stimulated by the chill. Frustrating and I’m not sure what to do about it.

Life works best for me when I’m pressing into it, leaning in as Sheryl Sandberg said. Right now I’m leaning away or to the side or up against a wall. Not pushing forward, nor looking backward, sort of caught in stasis.

On the other hand I’m still exercising and the knee feels good. I’ve hit my mark on words per day on Superior Wolf. Kate and I are in a very good place, working together to help our little Colorado family as it careens through the dissolution of Jon and Jen’s marriage. The dogs are healthy.

The garage is much better organized. The garage, shed and decks have solid weather protection and the new green doors look great. The kitchen is officially finished with all the cabinets painted and Kate’s splash of green above the cabinets. Kate’s bathroom is set for a remodel that will make it safer and more beautiful. Jon’s very near finishing the loft. The walnut is planed and ready for staining. The art cart top is smooth and mostly dry.

Our finances are sound. We’re producing our own electricity and have our generator for emergencies.

Of course, there is Trump. Encouraging Second Amendment people to stop Hillary’s court picks. I. Mean. OMG!

Aging, Family, Jefferson County, Our Land and Home, Third Phase

Shadow Mountain Journal August 5th

August 6, 2016 Charles Leave a comment

Lugnasa Superior Wolf Moon

County officials lifted the fire ban, a level II, which bans all fires in Jefferson County, at midnight last night. We’ve had a few cool, wet days in a row. As August continues, the fire danger tends to decrease, though doesn’t fade until sometime in September.

Jon’s back in his art room, getting ready for his students. The grandkids come up today for the day. The divorce continues to rake its nails across all our lives. How to be gracious is a challenge. But, a good one.

Kate and I went over to Bear Creek Designs in Evergreen yesterday. We made an appointment for Monday to pick out materials for the bathroom remodel. “Oh, aging in place renovation?” Molly asked, “Getting out ahead of it, eh?” Yes, the work over the next few years will take into account the fact that after February we’ll both be in our 70’s. Just part of the third phase.

Dogs, Family, Our Land and Home, Photography

Love is Enough

August 2, 2016 Charles Leave a comment

Lugnasa Superior Wolf (new) Moon

A gray morning on Shadow Mountain. Cooled down yesterday, feels good. The painting and staining are done. Next up is the downstairs bathroom. Zero entry shower. Some quiet here right now.

Kate finished a project begun after my 2013 trip to the Pre-Raphaelite show at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. This needlepoint came from the museum shop for the Pre-Raph show. When we get it framed, it will have a small plaque that reads, Vega.

Jon starts back to his work tomorrow. He’s the art teacher at Montview Elementary in Aurora, an eastern suburb of Denver. It’s been a summer of lawyers and courts, frustrations and doubts for him. He’s looking forward to getting back to work with his students. The commute from here to his school, we’re some distance west from the west edge of Denver and Aurora’s on the eastern edge, is substantial, but common for folks who live in the Conifer area.

While at the Denver County Fair, I got this photograph of three young Latinas dressed up to party.

Family, Latin, Our Land and Home, Translating Metamorphoses, Writing

Journal July 30, 2016

July 31, 2016 Charles Leave a comment

Last Day of Summer Park County Fair Moon

We’re glad to be doing this, having Jon here, seeing the grandkids more often as they come to be with him. It’s important, as important as anything we could be doing right now. It does remind me, however, that we’re used to a somewhat more, ok a lot more, sedate style of daily life. The change is good for us though, keeping us engaged. And, a bit tired.

Yesterday we hit 90+ here. Even with the lower humidity it was downright unpleasant. Ruth was sick, Gabe, too, so we didn’t go to the Denver County Fair. This morning instead.

Jon worked on the walnut top shelf for the three lower sections of shelving in the loft. With the staining process he’s chosen, the walnut will show off its dark, close to black color and create a strong contrast with the birch bookshelving that now lines the loft. He’s also preparing the final coat on the art cart’s distressed oak table top, the oak that came from the bed of a junked tractor-trailer. Once both of these are done, I plan to spend a good bit of time rearranging my library, putting up or placing art, getting this wonderful space Kate found for me into its final (for now) configuration.

I am back at work on Superior Wolf. After I reimagined the story, taking it back to its deep origins in the primordial gods and goddesses of ancient Greece, things seemed to fall into place. I have two novels that I’ve been using as models, the sort of big thing I’d like to produce: The Historian and Jonathan Strange and Dr. Morrel. They both took a quirky, but deeply researched approach to, on the hand, vampirism, and on the other, black magic. They were original within an often cliched genre, surprising in their treatment. That’s what I want for Superior Wolf and Jennie’s Dead.

Still nothing on the Latin. I won’t leave all those years of work on the side, I know it, but I’m finding the discipline difficult right now.

Family, Minnesota, Our Land and Home, Shadow Mountain, Weather +Climate

Yesterday

July 28, 2016 Charles Leave a comment

Summer Park County Fair Moon

Kate got back last night, a long drive, 9 hours, from Jackson Hole to Shadow Mountain. Good to have her back. Home is better when both of us are here.

staing begun — Masked with the staining begun, 7/19

The painters may finish today, they’re very close. This project has taken three weeks so far. The cabinets are done, most of the other interior work, too, including Kate’s splash of bright green above the cabinets, changing the character of the kitchen yet again.

It was hot here yesterday, though pallid in comparison to Denver. We remain less humid than the plains and the nights are cooler. Minnesota has had a siege of weather related storms and heat, not over yet.

ruthandgabe 86 — Beginning of school a year ago

The grandkids were up last night. Gabe reprised his week ago trick of attaching a dog bone to a long line of twine and “fishing” for dogs off the deck. This time though he used a stick. The bone worked better. Ruth had a sore throat, but was in good spirits. It was a calm, normal evening, the goal toward which all this divorce mess aims. It was good to see.

Today is another court related hearing, an important one, for Jon. We’re all going in to see what the disposition will be. He goes back to work next week and is planning, for now, to commute from here into Aurora which is on the eastern edge of Denver. A long drive in rush hour.

Family, Our Land and Home

Missing Kate

July 26, 2016 Charles Leave a comment

Summer Park County Fair Moon

Interior painting today. Very close to this project’s wrap. Just right because I got the contract for the bathroom remodel in the mail yesterday. Was thinking how much cash we’ve put into this house over the last couple of years, wondering if it made sense. Our attitude, in Andover and here, has been, invest the money early so we can enjoy a space that nourishes our creative lives, expresses our values and is in the best shape possible for the future. Still does make sense, at least to me.

I was wrong yesterday about a couple of things. BJ will join Kate at the Hitching Post Motel right next to the hospital. There’s a wheelchair accessible suite available and it will allow BJ to remain close for physical therapy. Sister Anne comes on Friday for a couple of weeks. Family at work. A theme of our last two years. Too, BJ has invited us back for the August 21st total eclipse. The path goes right over Driggs. I hope we can make it.

Also, Jon made considerable progress on the bathroom and the deck, but he didn’t complete them. Jen will have to hire a contractor to finish. Still, he did thousands of dollars worth of work. Some encouraging news from his lawyers. Even so this has become a gauntlet for him. One that wears him down.

Jon and I moved his ski collection and other miscellaneous things to his storage space in the Stapleton new urbanism development, then loaded up the Rav4 with its third load of items to store in our garage. It was hot and humid, draining. Dehydration is a constant danger when working outside in a Colorado summer, especially down below in the Mile High city. Much cooler and drier up here on Shadow Mountain.

Feeling a bit weary today. Want my partner home. I miss her.

Family, Health, Our Land and Home, Shadow Mountain

So far

July 25, 2016 Charles Leave a comment

Summer Park County Fair Moon

Kate takes her sister, BJ, home today from the Jackson Hole hospital. The surgeon says she’ll regain enough range of motion to continue bowing. That’s a huge relief. Can you imagine contemplating the end of a career that began when you were in single digit age? Because of a damaged shoulder? We often read about athletes felled by physical trauma, not so often about musicians or construction workers or artists (with the exception of Chuck Close). That’s not because it doesn’t happen, BJ’s injury demonstrates that it does, it’s because the media coverage of athletics is so outsized to its cultural importance.

Jon’s finishing up the last of his work on Pontiac Street. He’s done a lot though not as much as he’d hoped. A new deck and a new bathroom seem like pretty good accomplishments for a single person working in 90+ degree heat and high humidity. The divorce continues its jagged march through the lives of Jon, Jen, Ruth and Gabe. It’s slated for a mid-September to mid-October finish as I understand it. Can’t come too soon.

Here at home, the painting and staining moves forward. Getting the projects around the house finished makes me feel good. So far they have been mostly maintenance and necessity oriented: boiler, generator, new gas lines, electrical work, wildfire mitigation, the painting and staining. The kitchen and the solar panels were not necessary, but they were desirable. The remodel of the downstairs bath to a zero entry shower reflects a reality of aging bodies; we’re not as agile as we used to be. It will be finished by Samain. The only projects after that will be rationalizing our sound system and some electrical repairs.

Family, Great Work, Health, Minnesota, Our Land and Home, Shadow Mountain, The West, Travel, Weather +Climate

Tilt A Whirl

July 23, 2016 Charles Leave a comment

Summer Park County Fair Moon

Swirling. The world, or at least the part of it connected to me and mine, has taken flight, gone up in the air like dust devils. BJ had surgery on her shoulder in the late afternoon yesterday in Jackson Hole. Kate said she liked the surgeon, which is roughly the same as saying he’s a rock star. The Hitching Post, a motel next to the hospital, has rooms for $45 a night if a family member is in the hospital. She’s staying there.

Jon is rushing to finish remodeling a bathroom, put on a deck and doing other fix-it chores at the Pontiac house. He has to be out of there before Jen and the kids return on Monday evening. A restraining order makes it so. The heat-and, ironically for this arid state, the humidity-have been high. It was 99 there yesterday when he and I ate lunch at the wonderful dining table he built.

Though, for those of you in the Gopher State who read this, I know it’s been pretty bad there, too. Both places remind me of Singapore in April when Kate and I visited Mary. We managed to hike across the Singapore Botanical Gardens on a day when the temperature was within one degree of an all time record and the humidity created a watery, heated bubble around us as we walked. Can anyone say carbon tax?

Timberline Painters finished staining the garage, shed, and two decks yesterday. One garage door is green, the other will follow. Interior painting starts on Monday. The dogs, who have to be inside while the painters are in the yard will be happy when this is done. Yesterday, while Gertie and I were in the loft, unbeknownst to me, the painters sealed off the door out of the loft with 3M plastic. The mammoth bone handle knife gifted to me by Tom Crane came in handy as I sliced through the plastic. Felt like I was being born again as I stooped through the small hole with Gertie behind me.

In Colorado, so far, it has been the summers of our discontent, the winters have been fine.