Crying Over Broken Glass

I broke my punch bowl.

I don't usually get bothered by the breaking of material possessions.  After all they are replaceable.  

However, today, when I was cleaning out our "storage" area and I nonchalantly dropped a box about a foot off the ground I heard the sound of breaking glass.  What I had wrongly assumed was the box was full of linens or such.  What I read with a quick glance to the side of the box were the large words "PUNCH BOWL" written in clear marker and directly facing me.  

Of course I looked inside and at first glance it seemed like a large chip out of the rim of the bowl, but in fact on the second glance it was obvious the bowl was in many pieces.  I shut the lid and tried to continue my purge of several large containers of clothes that have been in storage for a year.  To no avail I couldn't keep going.  I was upset.  In one stupid second I had carelessly disposed of one of my sentimental possessions. 

Now I had thought of selling my punch bowl before I moved.  It is/was a beautiful American Fostoria bowl that had been my grandmothers.  It was valued at over $300.  Not an exorbitant figure, but not an item I would replace at that cost.  Nevertheless, I had decided to keep the bowl with some persuasion by my children who had become accustomed to seeing it at special family occasions, parties, and weddings.  

I packed it carefully and brought it to Colorado.  I even used it once since our arrival.  The problem was, when I put it back in the box and sat it in the storage room, I didn't repack it.  

I think today the feelings of sadness are not  for the punch bowl alone....although I hate to waste $300...the feelings are based on the symbolism of letting go of my grandmother, mother, the past parties with friends and the future memories that could be created.  The sadness is for the loss of friends that gathered around that punch bowl many times in Iowa.  Everyone I knew knew that punch bowl and the fun it symbolized. 

Today I am crying over broken glass.  

12 Days and Counting

12 days.  That is how long I have been a resident of Denver, Colorado.

23,097 days.  Approximately how long I was a resident of Iowa.

As you can see I have a lot of growth to do before I can believe I am actually a resident of somewhere else.  As I was adjusting to the idea of moving to Colorado, ( yes, even tho' I had thought about it since 1974 when one of my good friends moved to Pudre Canyon), I thought, if I don't like Colorado, I can always move back to Iowa....if I can never afford a house in Colorado (which is a lot different than Tama, Iowa), I can always move back to Iowa.

Now I know... this is not true.

I can never do this "moving thing" again.  Well maybe I can move across town or to a town close by...but not so far that I need to sell so many things and then try to figure out what I do have, what I really need, what I want, and what I can really live without.

In this short time, 12 days, we have unpacked eighty boxes, repacked five.  Many of them essential, some of them not.  I have at least 6 boxes that have no purpose...memorabilia and inherited...stuff.  I have many pictures that have not found wall space. Many things that have not found storage.  And many things that have not been found. One of those not found is the TV remote....where can that be?

 We have become good friends of IKEA and Target.  I have learned my way around the West and South West sides of Denver rather easily.

In the 12 days we have discovered several new "neighborhoods" with cute shops and restaurants.  Actually our check out person at IKEA lived in our zipcode and told us about one little gem which we are going to tomorrow night to celebrate Mox's birthday.  We have actually found a new restaurant at least 8 times, since it is taking awhile to get into the kitchen cooking scene after 3 months.






In the 12 days we have seen our grandsons many times and rescued their parents a couple of times.  Leo  really didn't know our house in Tama and he loves our house here that includes Thomas Train.  Mox and Keller haven't been down the mountain to our new house since we have moved into it, but I am sure it will feel comfortable to them when they find some of their favorite things.

In the 12 days we have registered to vote, we have gone to the debate party, (where I kept yelling at Obama to counter Romney, but he didn't listen), and we went to the Obama Rally, where the gates opened at 7:30, where we walked over a mile to the park 4 blocks from Anna's house (security), where we stood in line going through security for 2 hours, where he spoke for 20 minutes, but where he redeemed himself.  On the way out his motor cade passed by the street we were on... bonus.





In the 12 days we have a TV room, Living room, Kitchen, Bedroom, and SPARE bedroom mostly finished.  We have a dining room table without chairs.  We still need storage for some of my dishes, as you know I love cooking and serving so I couldn't part with much of my cookware.  I have a cupboard picked out at a nearby import shop but need to see it again before I decide.

After the 12 days, Mox and I are still getting along and making decisions together...which is amazing. Tomorrow is his birthday and tonight he went to a class on bicycle maintenance at REI.  This is one advantage of living in a city that we hope to take advantage of....classes.  Tomorrow Brooke and Charlie and Anna and Chris are joining us to celebrate at a cute little sports bar that smokes it own meat.

After 12 days it is starting to sink in that we have really moved.  We are now residents of University Park.  We are now residents of Colorado.

In the next 12 days, we have to establish proof....a bank account....a drivers license....license plates....CO insurance.

After 12 days we still have a lot to learn.

We are moving FORWARD.

A WHOLE NEW BALLGAME

Now it is a whole new ball game.

My life is much like the NFL... if you are a football fan you will understand.  Mox and I are living with a new set of rules.  Well, not a completely new set of rules, but a new set of referees.  If you happened to watch a game lately, (and I watch very few), it is noticeable that the "real" refs are out on strike and the "amateur" refs are now in charge. They are trying their hardest to control the game. The rules are not different, but compromised.

My new set of rules refers to renting.  I am now the leasee, which in fact sounds better than leasor, which could be interpreted as leas than, but ironically means more than. 

I assume, that by what you, my friends, are posting and your well wishes, you often think that we are on top of the world, fancy free, free adventurers, and that "this is the life to be envied."

Nevertheless, in my life I view most things on a continuum and this is the continuum of the last few days.

TOP OF THE WORLD..........................................................................................LIFE IN REALITY

When we loaded the trucks to move, it was not only a lot of work, it was a lot of feelings of finality,  a lot of anxiety about getting it done.  Unlike Nike, it was not just about doing it!  We did not get everything into one truck and had to decide how to get our "not very important" possessions of life to Colorado.  We ended up pulling a UHAUL trailer behind our UHAUL truck, (the biggest UHAUL) had available.  That meant that Charlie, Mox, and I all had to drive separately, and that we left at 3 o'clock in the afternoon rather than 11 or 12.  LIFE IN REALITY.

When we finally unloaded our things in Denver and I went to Estes to see Mox and Keller for the first time in weeks, it was fantastic.  The hugs and kisses were worth traveling through the night...sleeping in the car at a truck stop between the big UHAUL and a BIG DOG (semi),  and not brushing my teeth for longer than I care to think.  TOP OF THE WORLD

When unpacking and I figure out I don't have enough cupboard space for my dishes; when my living room stuff does not seem to fit; when the boxes that need to be unpack are 5xs the ones unpacked and there is no more room; when I find out my Leasor bought 5 rooms of new curtains in Ivory when the walls are white and carpets beige; AND when after I asked if we could exchange the colors and found out she traveled to 5 Wall Marts to get them all alike and on SALE and I had looked them up at full price they were $12.99 a panel...LIFE IN REALITY.

When going to IKEA today to find a bed frame, hearing my husband being way too excited about a $39.00 coffee table (scary), loosing our cart after only a 10 minute abandonment while flying down the isles on a big cart, standing in line for what seemed like purgatory, because the 9 month pregnant woman in front of us could save money by becoming a member using the internet on her phone...LIFE IN REALITY.

When we were the last in a closed line and met the check out person who found out we had just moved to her zip code...80210 and when she went on to tell us what a great neighborhood we moved into and when she gave us several tips about where to go and what to do....TOP OF THE WORLD.  When loading up our purchases, we happened to be by the same pregnant woman struggling with her purchases (serendipity) and when I thought we should stay and help load (as I can remember the day), and when she couldn't find her car and then discovered she was on the wrong level, and when we continued to help her load.....TOP OF THE WORLD.

Back at 1930 Milwaukee St. with our Leasor who cares alot about her property and who has printed out a 5 page lease agreement which I didn't totally agree with and when at one point I agree that I am not in charge of the place I live in and I know it has 9 windows with the same  ivory drapes from Wall Mart, when there is nothing I can to about it....LIFE IN REALITY.

Luckily after all that, when I could come over to Chris and Anna's home, see my grandson, run circles around us on the kitchen floor shouting "run around my family", eat pasta,  be reminded of all the good ahead, when I could have the moving experience normalize by those who have moved several times, and when, of course, I could have a martini,  I could feel on ...TOP OF THE WORLD.

PS:  I never cared much about the NFL
PPS:  Strong life experiences usually surprise me.
PPPS:  I guess that is why I need to keep having experiences.
PPPPS:  I hate surprises.
PPPPPS:  Go Figure.

Riding the range

Tuesday will mark the two month anniversary since we first left Iowa headed for Colorado in July.

Iowa

Nebraska

Colorado

Wyoming

Montana

Idaho

Washington

Oregon

Caliifforrnnnia (it is a very long state)

Nevada

Utah

Colorado

Nebraska

Iowa 

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Michigan

Ontario

Quebec

New York

Vermont

New Hampshire

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Connecticut 

New York

So far if I am counting right that is 21 states (not repeating) and two provinces.  

We are targeted to leave NYC on Tuesday and make our way back to Iowa.  We have not plotted our final course.  At times it seems like we should linger in several more states and try to burn a couple more bridges,  At the same time, it seems like it is about time to settle down.  Fall is almost here and we know what season follows.

We also have a day to load the truck and move our possessions, whatever they may be, to our new home in Colorado.  We are moving our things at the same time that Brooke and Charlie are moving their things.  It is time to reunite the family and start a new life.

The days of riding the range are just about over.  It is time to get off the horse and and into a house.

MOX: Yurt to York

We live in an amazing time and place. In just a matter of a couple of hours we can transport ourselves into completely different environments. Transitions that would have been unthinkable to our recent ancestors. Two days ago Pam and I were living in a 12' diameter yurt among the scrub oak forest in Shawme Forest in Cape Cod, Mass. With the turn of the ignition key and a little gas we found ourselves only a few hours later turning the key to a walk-up apt in Brooklyn, in the midst of one of the largest cities in the world.
Cape Cod: What comes to mind? I had imagined row after row of zillion dollar homes tucked into gated communities unlocked only with a 1% card. What we found was a beautiful stretch of unusual geography that includes, thanks largely to JFK authorization, the National Seashore reserved for the common people - like me and you. I do not know if this country has "set aside" too little or too much of our shared natural resourses  for public use, such as national parks, forests, seashores etc. I do know that I appreciate seeing them and using them. They are a good thing and a reflection on the values of our society. The Cape does have several small communities such as Provincetown at the NE end and Sandwich and Chatam and Hyannis along the coast. Provincetown was perhaps our least favorite as it is the most tourist-oriented with shops etc. Hyannis was our favorite with a busy marina (connections by ferry to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket) and the legacy of the Kennedy clan. Speaking of JFK, we did visit the JFK Library in Boston as we drove down from New Hampshire. It is very well done with a nice balance of architecture, media, and artifacts. You know that you are no longer "young" when you watch a graining black and white video of Walter Cronkite choking up as he announces the fact that "President Kennedy is dead" and remembering all too well when you saw it the first time live on CBS. (Available at this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K8Q3cqGs7I )

Here, in Brooklyn, we are very comfortable in a nicely furnished one bedroom apt Pam arranged through AirB&B, only a few blocks away from Joe, Gili, and baby Zevi. A great opportunity for us to enjoy some bonding as we have not seen Zevi in person since she was two weeks old back in February. She is a happy girl with a smile that DOES make you feel young again! An extra bonus: Gili's parents, Susan and Douglas, are up visiting from Florida.

Mox: O Canada

Yesterday we arrived in New Hampshire ("Live free or die"), via Vermont and a top slice of New York. For the prior four days we were in Ontario, mostly in the city of Ottawa. Traveling through the small towns and vast countryside of rural Ontario one has the impression that the good times perhaps rolled right out of town with the sawmills. Pretty much what I had expected - good folks working hard to make a living. 

Coming into Ottawa, however, was a treat. Perhaps due to the luxury of moving from a tent to a hotel room (thanks Hotwire and Anna); perhaps due to the change from poor rural to a relaxed but prosperous national capitol.

We took an impressive tour of the Parliament with its House (elected) and its Senate (appointed) and I could not stop comparing their system to the USA version with its presidential election madness. I understand the major difference in populations etc etc etc, but my, my, our system, with its inherent incivility and legally protected PACs, is not the best way for democracy to manifest. We can do better and we owe it to our red-white-blue hearts to seek out ways to improve it. 

The last night we were in Ottawa we viewed one of the greatest light/sound shows I have ever seen. The two photos above only hint at the show that was projected onto the Parliament building. For thirty minutes Pam, I, and a few hundred gathered on the lawn were held spellbound with a rapid fire surround-sound salute to the diversity, culture, history, and pride of Canada. I tried to imagine such a show being projected onto the side of the US Capitol or the White House but just couldn't do it. 

It reminded me that, although the USA is a great nation with a diversity unmatched, it is not the only country with liberty and justice and pride. As I celebrated with Canadians and visitors I found myself really celebrating the distance that we have come as a human species. Let us collectively vow to never take a step backwards and to help those who yearn for the securities and freedoms that we know are basic to human happiness. Thanks to all those who have come before us with Godly intentions and Godly actions. 

If you have the opportunity, put Ottawa on your bucket list as the show will continue during summers for four more years.

Surprises III

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 I am rushing through the Western tour.  I think once we got to San Diego and started hanging our with Summer and Drew, Megan and Kevin we were "at home" and we took less pictures and just chilled.  The water was much warmer in the Pacific than I expected as I hadn't been there in late summer for a long time.








We drove from San Diego to Las Vegas, I thing about 5 hours.  We went from 80b degrees to ea117 at Death Valley to around 100 degrees in Las Vegas.  We were at the south end of the strip.  We did a hotwire and stayed at the Luxor.  It was fine, but not the greatest.  We went to New York, New York and MGM also. We loved the piano bar in NY/NY.











 It was short, but fun.









I think the biggest surprise of the trip was
southern Utah.  I was thinking, "Okay, a straight shot from Las Vega to Denver"  a long trip, but we needed to get back to Iowa for a family wedding.  But wait, southern Utah was beautiful.
We were skirting the Grand Canyon and the canyonlands that we drove though were amazing.

On top of the natural beauty we had a storm system that was coming through so part of the sky was sunny and the other part was stormy.  The pictures do not do it justice, it is a place I would like to return to.  Of course, there are signs that say there is no gas (or anything else for the next 110 miles.)

 We got back to Denver in time for the New West Festival in Fort Collins.  We enjoyed it, but not as much as Ayla and Leo.

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