Like I Mean It...

Doing it Like I Mean It.....


I've used this expression before. Do it like you mean it.

Back in October of 2014 I wrote a post about really committing to something. Do it like you mean it.
As an expat friend once told me: "No matter how long you think you will be staying, you should approach ANY move as if it is for the rest of your life."

So this time I am doing just that. 

I have 100% completed No. 20: MOVE! Honestly, when I put that on the list I was thinking more along the lines of maybe a smaller house, different location in the same city, nothing major. 

Cue a divorce, the Texas house being sold, and hmmm....needing a place to live. 

I wanted the cabin and got it. There's something about the mountains out the front door that speak to me. I am drawn to them. Think Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Richard Dreyfuss's  obsession with that mound.   As a teenager going to San Miguel de Allende, I always felt like I was coming home when we got in view of Tres Cruces, the  "mountain" ( hill?) on the edge of town. 

Liddy, me, Liddy's cousin Nancy at the top of Tres Cruces

Elevation: 7043 feet. Year: 1972

I had that same feeling when I went on safari in Kenya in the 1980s. Mountains equal Home.  Ridiculous considering I was raised in flatter than flat Houston.  

Me with Mount Kenya in the background.

Elevation: 7000 feet   Year: 1988

Anyway, I have my mountain home. So now.... do it like I mean it. 

The view out the front window.

I am living at 7000+ feet, looking out to 13000 feet. 

7000 feet elevation seems to be my happy place.

The plan was to give myself a month or two and then look for a job. But I happened to see an opening at the local cardiologist's office for a registration position. Hey! I've done just that. Twice now. Once for the acupuncture office, once for the psychologist office. How hard can it be? (Spoiler alert: Lots harder than the first two!)

I applied and now I'm employed. Imagine that. 

 Between the interview and the actual first day of work I decided it was time to to really commit. 

I'm no longer a Texas resident. After 44 years of having a Texas drivers license, now Colorado is in my wallet. 

Texas has lost a voter...unfortunately. Pretty sure Texas could use a few more liberal voters. 

The State Car of Colorado now graces the driveway. I figured if I was going to have to drive to work in the snow, I better get a car that is up to the task. LOVE love love my  new Subaru Outback.

Yay! Its the "not-the-Mercedes". 

The Texas storage unit was emptied and the cabin is now overfull with furniture. Slowly the duplicates are being weeded out and the style is changing from weekend cabin to home. 

Work is fun and challenging and just busy enough to keep me interested without being overwhelming. OK, some days are overwhelming. But I feel like I will catch on. With cardiology I am learning more acronyms than I even knew existed. HTN, SOB (not what you think it means- try Shortness of Breath), AFib, HX, on and on and on. Seriously this job might qualify me for completing No. 59: Learn 300 words of a new language. Tachycardia, ablation, edema...

Will I be here the rest of my life? That remains to be seen. The next year or so? Absolutely. 

Doing it like I mean it. 

Hola!

Hola!
Que tal?

I've surfaced again for a day.

Barely.

What have I been doing the past month?

Packing. Throwing stuff away. Negotiating.
Supervising painters and carpet people and sprinkler people and adult kids and dogs and storage units.

All to end up with this:

It's a sign!

Yep. A "For Sale" sign in front of the house.

I have stripped every bit of personality from a house that we have lived in for 18 years.

Now it is a blank beige slate.

To get to that blank slate I have had to tackle kids rooms....

 Bunny's room 

 It looks like her suitcases threw up.

I will say this was a few days after she returned from college. 

It's not usually this bad.

 After one solid day of cleaning. 

And the Big Guy's room .

Looks like Carlos is probably hunting down some varmint. 

I quit going into this room years ago.

After new carpet, new paint, LOTS of packing and cleaning.

The Big Guy did a fabulous job of pulling it all together- 

even though he did push his deadlines a LOT

Red wallpaper in the kitchen.  I liked it. But apparently it doesn't "show well".

I love this pic.

Bunny in heels doing laundry. 

Won't she make a great housewife??

She probably has on her pearls, too.

Anyway, that red kitchen is not "appealing'. 

Also, way too cluttered. 

See what it looks like ready to sell? 

This is the professional picture off the realtor's page. 

See? Blank slate. 

Pack and pack and pack.


Getting ready to move or sell requires a lot of "decluttering". Also sorting, decision making, wrapping, lifting and cleaning.


When I put No. 20: Move on the original 60x60 list I didn't really know how that would work out, I just knew that I'm a peripatetic sort and a change would be fun.  I thought I had satisfied that challenge sufficiently by relocating to Colorado for a few years, even though that was pretty much just part time.

I had no idea it would eventually end up being a full fledged, clean out every single room and handle every little item kind of move. But it is.

And that's cool. It's a ton of work. I mean, a TON. The adult kids aren't too happy about it but they are adjusting and actually being helpful when it gets to the "clean up your room and get out of the house" part of the showing process.

O! And in the middle of getting this house ready to sell, there was a quick trip to Florida (less than 48 hours) to move Belle and her furniture out of her rental house.
Because, you know, I had not had enough fun packing and moving in Texas.
It started with a delayed flight, then a cancelled flight, a flight rebooked into another city two hours further away, monsoon rains, more furniture and stuff in the house than I had been led to believe and ended up with some amazingly sweet helpers ("Straight up thugs" Belle said but in the end, they emptied our truck and stacked it into the storage unit in ⅓ the time it would have taken us and much neater and more organized than we could have ever hoped for), the use of a truck that saved our behinds and the realization that you can do the impossible if you just put your mind to it.

 Belle has always said she wanted to be a trucker.

Pretty sure I don't have a future as a moving person. 

I will say Belle and I loaded 98% of this truck ourselves. 

I have the bruises to prove it. 

And this is her storage unit.

I swear we did NOT think everything would fit. 

But it did. 

And where am I going to move TO? Who knows?!

I can only cross one bridge at a time. For now that bridge is selling the house.

Stay tuned.

Follow Up Friday…on a Saturday

Follow Up Friday … on a Saturday because I forgot to hit "publish"


Haven't done a Follow Up Friday in a while. Obviously it's been too long since I forgot to actually publish this one.

Anyhooo….

We are still in Colorado.
It occurred to me that I may not have actually addressed this point.   The plan was originally to come to Colorado for the fall semester of school.  (No. 20 Lite: Move)
Bunny and Belle had such great time and adjusted so well (State Champion Cheerleaders!) that they campaigned to stay through the end of the school year. 
Belle will graduate from Salida High School in May.  
I'm not sure they realized that the fall was the "lovely weather" time of year and by staying they signed on for  the "cold, snow, ice, more cold and lots of mud" time of year.   But Spring will come and in the meantime we are managing.

Speaking of Spring, the seeds got planted (No. 39) and I have been told by more than one person that growing tomatoes from seeds is not an easy task. We shall see.  
Here are the pots on the sunny (but not today) windowsill waiting to sprout. 

We still have chicks and they are trying to learn to fly.   
EEK!

Top to bottom: Juan, Steve, Franklin and Right: Pablo

Two of the chicks are Buff Orpingtons (Steve and Franklin) and two are Rhode Island Reds (Juan and Pablo).

*

Juan and Pablo will look like these 

Rhode Island Red HENS eventually.

From the beginning it was obvious that the Reds were going to be true to their breed as they have been a little bit bossier.  "Rhode Island Red chickens can be feisty and independent, and their seemingly endless curiosity can get them into trouble." That would explain why they occasionally peck at the Orpingtons and why when startled yesterday one of them FLEW to the top of the box they are in.   Apparently full grown chickens aren't much for flying but the youngsters can get quite good at it. I keep telling Bunny she is going to walk into her room one day soon and there will be four chickens pecking around her carpet and not in their box.

Steve on the left and Juan on the right.

Juan is a Rhode Island Red…note his darker feathers. 

*

This is a full grown Buff Orpington.

They get these lovely fluffy butts. 

Almost wish we could keep them that long.

Pablo (bottom) and Steve (top)

It's really hard to get baby chicks to sit still for photos.

The Buff Orpingtons are winter hardy (as are the Rhode Island Reds) and have sweet personalities (unlike the Reds).  The breed originated in Orpington, Kent, United Kingdom in the late 1800's which explains the silly name.    I love that they get fluffy butts when they are grown….pretty sure Bunny was not aware of that when she purchased them.

Anyway, the chicks are fun and we have enjoyed watching them.  I don't think Bunny will have any problem sending them on to their new home once they start to escape as she can't sleep in the same room with them now. They peep peep peep all night and she has nightmares that they are going to take over her/the house/ the world.  They should be gone by next week.

And…

I took care of my own little personal energy crisis by spending yesterday outside at the Hot Springs.

Mt. Princeton Hot Springs- we just plopped ourselves in the river.

Water temp is about 102º depending on where you sit. 

We have a new neighbor (No. 49: make a new friend) and her daughter was visiting so we all decamped to Mt. Princeton Hot Springs for an afternoon of sun and Vitamin D followed by a yummy dinner in town at The Fritz. 

I came home with a bit of a tan and very relaxed, ready to tackle the rest of winter. 

Happy weekend. 

Follow Up Friday

Follow Up Friday: Week One in "Green Acres/Redux"


With the first week of life in the mountains of Colorado almost under our belts, I have this nagging feeling that we are settling into a mountain version of the 60s TV show "Green Acres".  There's a bit of "Northern Exposure" and "Twin Peaks" thrown in for good measure, too.  (Although fortunately we haven't had a mysterious murder and hopefully won't.)  We are definitely the fish out of water but we are learning to breathe on land, never-the-less.  (Challenge No. 20, Move!)

The view from the front door.

The two peaks are the Twin Sisters.

(Or, as my neighbor calls them, the "Twisted Sisters".)

There is beauty everywhere and the closeness of nature overwhelms me with its greatness but there is also frustration at every turn. 

The poor little H3 is still at the dealership in Pueblo awaiting diagnostics and an insurance claims adjustor. It has been there for four full days now, shouldn't someone be taking an interest?? (And Note to Self: ALWAYS get the insurance coverage for the car rental. In my flurry of last minute organizing I neglected to add that to the H3 coverage. Guess who is paying out of pocket for a car rental now?)

The power of lightning playing havoc with my budget and patience. 

The girls are registered for school. That was the most amazingly easy part of the whole week. I had received the paperwork over the summer and only had to turn it in and present the girls to the counselor in order to schedule their classes. What a difference from Fort Bend schools which require :

• birth certificate or its equivalent (for students younger than age 12)
• most recent report card or grade transcript,
• immunization records,
• proof of residence, including a deed, lease or mortgage agreement, a recent utility bill (water, gas, electric),
• a student's social security card (will be requested) or state assigned ID number, and
• a government issued photo ID of the student’s parent or guardian, which provides their FBISD address (TX Driver’s License/ID Card)

I think I gave the school my Texas driver's license but otherwise no other form of ID,  no birth certificate was requested, no proof that we live in the school district required. (A good thing considering we DON'T live in the school district- but no one seems to care. Try that in Fort Bend and you will be arrested.)

Salida High School

A lovely new facility- only one year old. 

When I commented on how easy the registration was the counselor replied "Well, we are the public school. It should be easy to get into."  Um, yes, it should. Thank you.

But with school comes school work and we need better internet. Our internet service comes via satellite- there must be a direct line of sight to the tower. Unfortunately over the years our trees have grown and they are interfering. A morning spent with the Internet service guy garnered us new equipment and instructions to buy a new Router and trim the pines. Service is greatly improved with the new equipment but still at only two-thirds power. Again, nature is asserting herself.


And then there's the wildlife.

Carlos has found a favorite spot in the upstairs window where he can watch the comings and goings of the local deer.  This morning he came bounding to my bedside with his best "Come on! Get up! Come see what's out here!" expression. I swear that dog communicates so well, he does not need words. His body language says it all.
Bedded down in the front yard were a doe and a buck. I tried to grab the camera and quietly/quickly snap their pics but Carlos was a bit too rambunctious. Those deer have pretty good hearing.

 The buck - half hidden behind the 

prison-camp flower beds that were here when we bought the place.

Unfortunately, nothing has survived in those beds except 

one sickly rose and a never-blooming peony.

Maybe I can change that.

And that camera needs to become a constant companion. Yesterday we missed the photo of the two wild turkey mamas with teenage and baby poults. 

This morning was a five foot rattlesnake doing his best photovoltaic cell impression by sprawling across the road in the sun, slowly gathering energy to do whatever snakes do.
And this evening I snapped this "Where's the Bunny" pic with my iPhone while Carlos and I walked. I saw him but Carlos never did. Great camouflage. Can you find him?

"Where's Waldo? The Nature Edition"

We haven't seen the bears this time but the game camera assures me they are out there. 

One of the resident bears. He can visit at night all he wants.

There are signs everywhere that they are around. Broken limbs on the trees, bear scat around the property. This pic was taken last month but I have no doubt Mr. Bear is still close by. I confess it creeps me out a bit that I have to look before opening the front door to go out.

So week one is almost done and we are still alive. 

I consider that a win.

Question.

A question.
You are relocating for  4 to 5 months. What do you pack? 


You can only take what fits into a car. Two people to a car.
You aren't going to a Third World country.
The climate will be different than where you normally live.


Pursuant to No. 20 Lite: Move! Or in this case: Relocate!  we are in the process of gathering our things.

Bunny and Belle have both come to me.
"Should we be packing?"
Yes.
"What do we pack?"

Good question.  Be realistic. EVERYTHING does not need to go.
I realize this is harder for their age than mine.
I did move to Connecticut when I was 19 or 20 (somewhere in there- the exact year escapes me) and shipped BOXES of clothes that I did not wear once, so I get it.  Those were clothes I thought I had to have with me. But I didn't. I either ended up wearing the same favorites that I always wore or bought more "Connecticut appropriate" clothes.

I told them to look at this as an opportunity to simplify their lives. To streamline.
They replied that they did not understand. What do you mean? What language are you speaking?

I fear this is what we will look like come Saturday:

photo

Clothes are not my priority. I've gotten to the point where I wear lots of the same thing in different colors. Lots of black, gray, white and denim with scarves or beads for color. I am allotting myself one very large duffle for clothes. The coats and boots and shoes can go in a separate bag.

But then the extras.
The cabin has all the necessities.

But today I am gathering some quilting supplies. There will be another great niece born while we are in Colorado and a quilt will need to be made.  There is already a sewing machine there.

And beading supplies. Salida has a lovely bead store and I am partial to beaded necklaces. Maybe I can get that refresher course on silver soldering. Make a little jewelry.  (No. 27: Refresh the silver soldering lessons)

Some water colors. My drawing pencils. My sketch pad.

Stationery. Favorite pens. The address book.

The good camera and it's fancy extra lens.

The handwritten cookbook with all the favorite recipes.

See?  This isn't that easy.

What would you pack for a four month break in your life?

bits and pieces

Bits and Pieces....


No challenges beyond the big one: trying to get things together for No. 20: Move.  Only we are doing No. 20 Lite which is just a relocation for four months.

I have filled out a gazillion forms for the new school.  The girls are going from Vikings to Spartans.

We are in the process of purchasing a 4 wheel drive vehicle to take up there.  Belle has a very nice little station wagon that has maybe a 5 inch clearance from the ground.  We figure it would take her about 2 days before she bottomed out on a rock and inadvertently removed some important car part.  Also, her car is not four wheel drive which might be important once it gets cold and snowy.   Hopefully we finalize the car thing tomorrow.  Car buying is soooo time consuming.

Not new but new to us. 

Should be good in the snow and over rocks.

I am gathering birth certificates and passwords and insurance paperwork. I haven't even thought about clothes.

Carlos got his shots and info on the Rattlesnake vaccine.

Rattle- WHAT??? 

More shots? 

Picasso was going to move stalls but fortunately I will be able to leave him where he is. Just can't handle too much change at one time.

We've got a flight home for the daddy-o.  He will drive up with us which is good.  Except he thinks we can do this drive in one day.  Not good.  It's a good 18 hours in the car.
Ugh!

Sooooooo........

With all of this there have been no other REAL challenges.

But we did get to the baseball game tonight.

We have a  mini season ticket package of 8 games for our little minor league team. The stadium is about 5 minutes from our house and is just a bit bigger than a high school stadium. Ok, quite a bit bigger but still very intimate compared to Major League Baseball.

Unfortunately it wasn't a good night for our little team.  They lost- 7 to 10.


So please excuse if posts are slim to none for the next two weeks.  Going on an adventure seems to require a lot of planning...