To Boulder, hell yeah!

It's kind of hard to tell what you're looking at...but it's the carboy of chardonney, tucked into a box with an orchid (which makes the wine very happy) and a rosemary plant, all tucked neatly into the 10' UHaul truck which any minute we're going to put on the road to Boulder.  It takes a while to get everything ready to go.  For example, I am alternating between writing this post and mopping the downstairs floor in preparation for the open house this Sunday.  Somebody please buy our condo! 

Mark, my road warrior wolverine arrived in CT last evening and we spent some time packing the truck and even more time with our buddies at the Corner Pug...maybe a little too much time. 

Now we're off.  Tickets...passport...money. 

Onward into the west!

October 15

Halfway through October...5 days until we drive to Boulder for the first time...23 days until the election...then Thanksgiving and I'll be out in Colorado again for 2 weeks....the reality of our adventure is bearing down.  I'm very excited but would be fooling myself if I said it wasn't overwhelming too.

We've had no bites on the condo...at some point we're going to have to think about what our plan will be if we don't sell it before I leave.  But I think that "some point" is not 5:30 on Monday morning.

I have a busy week ahead at school, just going to be present, stay engaged and continue to get things in my office in order.  Mark comes back on Friday afternoon!

duh bate

I stayed up too late last night watching the VP and Ryan talk at the country...my god can those guys spew it. It was more entertaining than the first debate, I'll give you that.  And at least we know that Paul Ryan will be well-hydrated today.

It's only been 4 days since I saw Mark...but it feels much longer.  This is so weird sometimes.  I have to remind myself about what's happening and why.  He moves into our rental house tomorrow, then he flies back to CT on Friday and we'll load up the Uhaul (after dinner at the Pug!) and hit the road early Saturday morning.  Heading west on the ground...that will make it seem real, I sense.  So I'm trying to decide which stuff we'll really need for 6 - 9 months in case we have to put all of our stuff in storage here or there.  If we don't sell the condo then we'll just leave our stuff here while it's still on the market and move it once the condo sells.  If we do sell the condo we'll put our stuff in storage right away and unpack it once we find our permanent house in Boulder.  Either way I need to figure out what to bring out west now because I don't think we're driving out again in December if we drive out next weekend.  So everything else we think we need will have to be brought as airline luggage.

So far my list of essentials includes snowshoes, hiking sticks. my motorcycle helmet and the coffee maker.  There must be more.  A copy of Jiitterbug Perfume.  We have a 10 foot Uhaul, so with some careful (engineering) packing we should be able to fit a fair number of possessions.  Oh right, and the main reason we're driving out is to carry the stuff that movers won't transport:  plants and large quantities of half-made wine.  This better be some fantastic homemade pinot noir and chardonnay ; )

Big tag sale at school tomorrow, so I'm borrowing a long folding table and winnowing stuff from the basement, loft, garage, closets, etc. to sell.  So our load will be lighter and we'll be richer to boot.  And I get to have my face painted...sounds like a great day to me!

Heading back east

Monday morning, Columbus Day and I'm waiting for the airport shuttle to get me to DIA for my flight back to CT.  It's been a productive week here...I'm feeling like there's definite forward progress for our adventure.

The biggest thing is that we found a house to rent so Mark can get out of the Homewood Suites and into a place that will feel a lot more like home.  It's a little house in Table Mesa, which is an area in the southwest part of Boulder, nestled right up against the Flatirons.  When the leaves fall outside the house we'll be able to see the mountains from the living room...we can walk to the trailheads and come back to a cozy fire in the wood stove...we can have Enzo with us...so it's kind of perfect.  We signed a 6 month lease with an option to go month-by-month after that.  I'll try to get some pix up on the blog.  So Mark will move in next Saturday.  And our latest brainstorm is for him to fly home on the 19th as planned, then we load up a small Uhaul with stuff that will make the rental feel like our place (a couple of rugs, our box of rocks, our down comforter, etc) as well as stuff that the movers won't transport (6-gallon carboys of wine, plants, etc) and we drive to Boulder from Saturday to Monday and I fly back on wednesday.  I'll have to figure out my work schedule...feels like I'm taking a lot of time off, but it also feels necessary.

Better get ready for the shuttle...more later.

O give me a home....

...that doesn't cost $700,000 for a 1980's 2-bedroom, 1700 square-foot duplex in North Boulder, what? Housing prices are beyond outrageous here.  We're looking more and more to rent until we can unearth something more reasonable.  I'm going to look into a few cohousing communities in town that may have rentals available.  And I think we may draw a wider circumference around Boulder proper...maybe look east into the range a little more.  We've been mostly looking in the foothills and on the western side of town, but now we're feeling the need to get Mark into a home instead of the Homebound Suites (adequate, clean, comfortable and safe, but definitely not home) soon.  So that's on my agenda today, along with a hot yoga class at CorePower in Broomfield and scoring some new hiking boots at my new favorite store, REI (Really Expensive Inventory).

Woke up this morning to 33 degrees and a light snow.  The mountains are dusted and shimmering in the morning light.  Marks office window looks west to the Flatirons and the Rockys beyond.  Beautiful.

I think we're heading up and over the mountains this afternoon to see Michelle and the kids...we'll test out mountain pass driving after a dusting, though most of the snow should be gone by this afternoon. They say that snow comes and goes so quickly around here....

I have 78 emails from school....OCS feels far away.  I feel like an observer these past 3 days.  Like all of life always does, school will carry on without me. I don't mean to be morbid or self-deprecating, it's really just how it is.  The mountains, the ocean, the rocks, the fruit of my labor will all carry on no matter where my path leads me...and I find that comforting and humbling.

Onward to Boulder

Sitting at the gate waiting for zone C to be called....that's "c" for loser who gets to sit in the middle seat every time.  But its ok because zone C will take me to my best friend and partner in this adventure.  Next blog will be from Boulder, hopefully at a hip little cafe on the street.

I was awake last night thinking about how I've gotten rather far away from regular communion with the natural world.  I used to be a passionate tree-hugger, backpacker, hiker, snow-shoe-r...loved to sit on a rocky outcropping and soak up the sounds, smells and sights of the woods.  Now I will have the chance to get back to that part of myself...isn't that marvelous?!  I'm excited to experience the process of acclimatization once I'm living at altitude.  And hot yoga at altitude.

Enzo is doing really well with mom, and that makes it so much easier to have him away from me.  They are having fun and lots of snuggles together, and that makes me happy.  It helps so much to not have to make arrangements for him while I travel, while Im out at night...

Onward into the west!

The first of October

Monday morning and I woke up without a fuzzy creature demanding my attention.  Not Mark(!) but our puppy Enzo...now a Mainer, moved to Orono this weekend to live with my mom.  Her offer to provide foster care while we're in the middle of the move to CO was generous and timely.  And I think he'll give her some lovely companionship and comfort during what will surely be a sad and lonely time for her.  Then there's always the comic relief...humping his stuffed-dog toy...? Oh no you don't.  I'm calling the Orono vet today to set up an extraction of his little pine nuts.

I drove home with Shirley yesterday...there's something about the support of one's sister that means so much.  She's been so supportive of Mark and me through this, reminding me yesterday that miles may separate all of us right now but that our family is strong and able to stay strong through anything.  We talked about the need to put gatherings down on the calendar, to make the effort to get together periodically, especially as our families grow and change.  Marriages, babies, aging...many milestones are on our horizon.  We'll be there for each other.

The movers are coming here tonight to give an estimate for moving costs.  I had a dream the  other night that the estimate was $45,000, and that I was concerned that it was too high for Marks new company to cover.  This is an example of why it does no good to worry about things ahead of time.

It's "crazy hair day" in school today...I bought (temporary) electric blue hair dye.  This is the kind of day you hope there are no critical issues that arise and you find yourself in a meeting with the town fire chief and 6 irate parents.