Winter Settling Moon
A few photographs
9358 Black Mountain Drive
Both shots from the small porch off my loft show Black Mountain in the background
I included the disabled parking sign to prove that even the disabled are more fit in Colorado.
Jon and Ruth (with yellow avalanche shovel) came over to push snow the night before the van arrived.
The dogs were still wary when I took these shots: Gertie, Rigel, Kepler, Vega. Well, maybe not Vega.
Winter Settling Moon
Both Kate and I feel like we’re ahead of what we’d expected in terms of getting stuff liberated, sorted and placed. We’re maybe 60% unpacked in the house, somewhere between 40 and 50% in the loft and very little in the garage, which will probably wait until spring.
Had a bit of a scare last night when the dogs rushed inside ahead of us after we returned from the science fair. The dogs’ feet carried in snow which quickly melted and Kate slipped right at the door and fell. Scared me for her, with two metal hips. Fortunately, she has strong bones, no osteoporosis, and walked away with a skinned shin. Yikes.
This morning I got up and put a new indoor/outdoor rug down in the front of the door. We’ll do that at the other two entrances as well. All tile makes sense with the snowy weather here, part of the charm, but it also makes slipperiness an issue. Part of getting used to a new space, a new climate.
A light snow last night covered the driveway and our small deck. With the temps forecast into the high 40’s or low 50’s tomorrow and the next day, I’m going to see whether it will melt without shoveling. An experiment. Getting used to a new place.
Winter Settling Moon
We pulled into the Swigert Elementary School parking lot at around 6:25 pm, parking by coincidence just ahead of Jen, Gabe and Barb. Jen gave me a hug, said she was glad to see me. A bit of a thaw.
The science fair idea seemed tired to me. Some kids obviously put a lot of thought into their entries, others less. One of my favorites in this latter category discovered “how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop.” After dogged experiment, the conclusion: 360, not the 334 hypothesized.
There were more serious entries. One investigated barriers to wifi reception. Another bacteria in meat purchased at King Sooper. The most were in some organic turkey. One kid created a homemade tornado using dry ice and a small exhaust fan.
Perhaps it’s time for a new way to engage children around science projects. Not sure what it would be, but perhaps one limited to children who really wanted to put some time and thought and effort into their work. It was obvious there were kids at Swigert who could have done something more substantial and even more who couldn’t be bothered. Both strike me as ok. Just different.
Winter Settling Moon
Snow falls softly here among the pines, falling faster now than around 2, an hour and a half ago. Instead of borne on the west wind snow here tends to fall straight down, like snowglobe snow.
A rhythm of work harder one day, rest more the next seems to be emerging. Today was a rest more day.
My current goal here in the loft is to clear enough space to unfurl the big rug, put my chair on it, sit back and stare at Black Mountain or watch the snow. Maybe another day and I’ll be there.
An hour or so from now we’ll head into Denver, to the Stapleton area, where Ruth will stand beside her poster board explaining glucose levels in various fruits and the guesses her classmates had about them. Eight years old. Being there, present. A gift we can give and keep on giving to both Ruth and Gabe.
Winter Settling Moon
As Bill Schmidt said, the weather was still set to Andover, Minnesota. I changed it. The weather now reflects a personal weather station (not mine, not yet) located in my small neighborhood here on Shadow Mountain.
Jon came up and put the bed together. We’re not sleeping college anymore. Felt awful high off the floor though. Jon and I got the downstairs TV on its stand and into the cabinet area built for a T.V. The doors close over it now and it’s off the furniture pad. Jon had to get back and watch the Broncos play the Colts. I’m agnostic as to football teams for the moment.
Tuesday night is the science fair and Ruth has an exhibit that features the glucose levels of various fruits. We’ll be there. She recently tested into highly gifted (not a surprise) and Jon and Jen are considering sending her to a gifted and talented school. Good idea, from my vantage point.
More time unpacking books. Jon and I swung the treadmill around where I want it. Next is getting the tv up here and installed.
Snowing now. More snow due Tuesday.
Winter Settling Moon
Kate’s been fighting off a feeling of dis-ease. A couple of naps and a very reduced activity level seems to have her on the mend.
Vega got bit, by Kepler I think. We tried to put staples in it (yes, we happened to have some lying around in a sterile package. Doctors.), but Vega resisted. Teeth and muscle are a strong argument so we only got in two.
The bite was during a frenzy to get outside and solve some doggy territorial matter. Everybody was squirming, lunging, snapping at each other. I imagine Vega got a nip in at Kep and he repaid her. Not very significant in the world of canines.
The book box opening proceeds, but not at a rapid pace. Unboxing them and stacking them on bookshelves is the first step. I love it, touching each one, remembering why I bought it, what I hoped to learn. That emotional response though makes doing too many at one time difficult. It’s going to take a while, perhaps longer than it took to pack them.
There is, though, no rush. There is no deadline, no race. Yet I look forward, very much, to the day when the books have found their new homes. Then my library can once again be the resource it has always been.
Winter Settling Moon
Over to Evergreen today. Jefferson County Sheriff’s office verified the VIN on the Rav4 so it could have its title converted to a Colorado one. That got done. Only time I can remember when I thought (semi-) fondly of Jesse Ventura. Since he drove a Porsche, he made a key point of his administration lowering vehicle registration costs. He has not been governor here.
More fun than that. Right next door is the Evergreen branch of the Jefferson County Public Library. New library cards! Libraries are one of the world’s key institutions and they relax me the minute I enter them. This one has a lot of good photography hung including one spectacular portrait of a buffalo.
It also has a reading room with a surrounding circle of tall windows. They overlook a lone pine tree with a large boulder just to its left. Felt like good feng shui to me, but then what do I know?
Outings like this, not really all that demanding, wear us out still. Nap.
After the nap Kate went to the King Sooper to get supplies.
The National Western Stockshow starts on the 10th and this will be my 5th year taking the grandkids. This year Gabe and Ruth and I will see Superdogs (not so hot really, but Gabe finds the idea enthralling). The rest of the family will join us later for a chainsaw art demonstration and a bit of time petting the superdogs.
At 6:00 pm Jon, Jen, Ruth, Gabe, Barb and I will attend the MLK rodeo which features African-American cowboys and cowgirls. Family stuff. Good.
Winter Settling Moon
Spent the late morning and afternoon with the grandkids. Lunch at Which ‘Wich (a new chain sandwich joint) then Into the Woods. Into the Woods is a Stephen Sondheim classic, one of my favorites and this movie version is good, if not great. Meryl Streep as the witch is excellent. The plot wanders some and the show is too long, but overall I enjoyed it.
After the movie we went to Target so Ruth and Gabe could spend their Hanukkah gift. Gabe picked up a large lego set, an Antarctic research facility. Ruth got a bow and darts (plastic) and a robotic insect. Looked like something I’d enjoy.
It was fun to have this time with them, felt like a good beginning, underlining the grandparent motivation for this move.
Jon’s had strep and a flu-like illness for the last week. He sounded croaky, but looked good. Sounds like the Woollys.
The kids were off to swimming lessons, so Kate and I drove home in the pm rush. Still learning routes and strategies for coping with traffic between Conifer and Denver.
Winter Settling Moon
All the kitchen boxes are empty. The cupboards have begun to fill up. A milestone. Ridding the living room of boxes was another. Getting the Swedish shelving up (all Kate) another. The washer and dryer, one more.
Also, our acclimatization has continued. We can both work longer now without fatigue setting in. No light-headedness on exertion. Sleep’s much better. There still remains a good distance to go before we’re fully here physically, but we’re both here emotionally. In a short time this spot on Black Mountain Drive has become home.
Monday afternoon we’re going to take the grandkids while Jon and Jen are in meetings. This will be the first time we’ve seen them together since we got here. Illness and some lingering disagreement about where we should have lived have dulled the joy on this aspect of our move.
Samain Moving Moon
We have transitioned to a new zone. The deadline for finishing our packing is Sunday because the packers come on Monday. I don’t like deadlines. I clutch (as I would have said in the 1960s). This means gears grind and my ability to make good decisions declines. That’s why I wanted to have two years to make the move. That way, I could manage a shorter time frame as we made it possible.
Fortunately, Kate’s gears engage just when mine begin to slip. She’s got lists and her purposeful walk and good humor. I feel pressure and would prefer not to. She’s great in a crisis. I like planning. We are yin and yang though sometimes she’s yang and I’m yin, other times the opposite. We bring different parts of our psyche to bear at different times. An altogether good thing.