Moved to Longmont, CO

Well, I've finally moved back to the Southwest, to Longmont, CO to be more precise. I'm putting this page up mostly for nieces, nephews and a few friends who've asked what it's like in the new place. And the move did turn into a bit of an adventure.

First of all, a huge thank you to Kevin, Poppy and Mimi. I'd never have survived this move without a LOT of help from all of you. They went above 'n beyond, helping get everything stuffed into boxes for the movers to come get. One evening while packing boxes, I found Rosie in an unusual place looking at me as if to say "Do we really have to do this?"

After the movers came and got everything, Rosie 'n I camped out in one bedroom with an air mattress and went through the final inspection with the landlord. By the time he'd arrived, I had the air mattress and everything in that room (two books, some odd stuff that didn't fit in boxes like my fencing stuff, a week's worth of clothes and toiletries, a portable DVD player and a small collection of DVDs) and two laptop computers all shoehorned into the Miata. And it was full to the gills. Rosie, sitting on some blankets in the front seat was almost at shoulder level with me. I shoulda taken a photo or three from outside the car but didn't think of it. I did snap a picture of Rosie though, all cozy with a book, my breakfast (a bagel), and a beadspread. You can see my DVDs and audio books in a folder wedged against the door behind her. :-) The picture's not great, but hey, I snapped it with 1 second to aim, while driving.

We hit some stop 'n go traffic several times and it rained hard on us a time or two, but no snow. Still, we got into St. George, UT pretty late and if I was going to arrive before the close of business day in Longmont the following day (just in case I couldn't meet with the new Landlord and had to get a key from the property manager), I was going to have to leave very early the following morning. And the weather was looking fairly ugly. The rain we'd driven through was going to be snow in the rockies. So we decided to camp out at Mom's for a full day to rest, re-charge, and let the weather pass.

The monring we left St George was a very early morning, but we arrived safe and sound after tip-toeing through the mountains. There was some snow on the roads, but not too bad. I chatted with the new Landlord, unpacked Rosie, ran to the store and bought a new litterbox and litter, and then unpacked the Miata.

Here's some pictures I promised to Emma, Cassia and Braden. Sorry it took so long to get them online.
My front door opens to a long stairway. All the living space is upstairs. Weird, huh.
At the top of the stairs is a real empty living room. See that light in the upper right corner? It hangs sorta low. You wouldn't believe how many times I've banged my head into those lights moving boxes around! All I had when I took this shot was my laptop bag. The counter on the left is where the kitchen is. The big bright window at the back goes to a balcony
The view off the balcony is pretty nice, though. My phone doesn't take the best pictures. Here's a better shot of the view.

Turning left, is a hallway to the two bedrooms and a hall closet that Rosie has decided she likes, especially now that I've got blankets and towels in there.

Rosie was happiest, that first day, however, when I brought up a bedspread and started doing laundry.
Rosie sitting in a windowsill

The movers were 2 weeks late! That's one long time to be without kitchen utensils, books, etc. Heck, I didn't even have a desk or a chair, just me, the cat, an air mattress and a portable DVD player (and one book which didn't last long enough). Oh well. At least when they arrived they hadn't lost anything (though they tried to give me 4 of someone else's boxes) and had only broken a few of my things.

It snows quite a bit here. The 2nd day I was here it snowed on top of some frozen ice from the night before and the drive in to work was pretty tricky. And here it is April, and it's snowing again! I took that picture just as I started typing this. Here's what it looks like now only an hour or so later. And another view... Ah, real winter at last! We never got this in California... Best of all, it'll probably be bright 'n sunny a few hours from now. Of course, during the real winter months I'm sure there will be a lot more snow that doesn't just melt off later in the day... I guess I'll have to get something with 4 wheel drive sometime before next winter.