OK, so not fresh from the garden but you get the idea …
If you had been wondering
about the impact of the winter conditions we have faced, then worry no more as
the thermometer has come to life. Once again, we see a gradual but steady rise
in daytime temperatures, so much so that shortly it will be a return to driving
top-down in our convertible. It has rained but not that much and earlier when
it did rain, it turned to snow but hopefully, there isn’t a whole lot more
expected.
For Coloradans, we are
always just a little skeptical when weather warms this early as we know that
March through April it always has something in reserve that has as yet not been
revealed. I only make this observation as come March, when the heavy lifting
associated with our home moves takes place, we will have our fingers firmly
crossed even as our most recent prayers are for something a little less extreme
than we have witnessed during previous transitions to spring. Can’t wait to see
he flowers in bloom sometime soon even if that time remains just around the
corner!
All
lined up and waiting to be filled!
Moving house, no matter how
well planned or how many of the anticipated pitfalls are likely to occur, has a
way of compressing time. One moment it’s all theoretical even as real estate
agents are confident of a quick sale and then offers followed by contracts
appear all too quickly. That planned evening out with friends gets scaled back just
a tad even as there are thoughts of what do we do now? For Margo and me, it has
come at a time when we committed to a heavy travel schedule in support of our
client so what we observed as time being compressed only got worse. How to pull
off moving to a condo just purchased, set aside belongings in a longer-term
storage facility while we think of where next we will live on a more permanent
basis and then for us, what do we do with our cars?
Compounding the move is that the condo just purchased has been temporarily requestioned by our daughter and son-in-law with the sole garage becoming a storage area while their home undergoes serious renovations. Select items of furniture that we have held onto for many years are now wanted by them but the timeline of their renovations continues well past the original planned completion date. Opting to keep it all simple and not letting this unanticipated pitfall get the better of Margo and me, we rented a large, 50’ x 20’ climate controlled secure storage facility. More like a giant garage, it has power for trickle charges so it will be the place to store our cars even as it then provides us with more than enough room to store long term and yes, shorter term, household possessions.
Our
cavernous storage facility which we plan to fill.
Cleaning house, an
expression that is hard to ignore. Not in the sense of maintaining a cleanly
home environment but going through every item to determine if it is really
needed. An opportunity, if you like, to unclutter your life. For me, it’s easy
to do as I simply throw away pretty much everything that I haven’t had a need
to touch in more than a year. Margo, unfortunately (or perhaps with my penchant
for tossing it all), is less enthusiastic about doing just that. It’s been a
bit of a tug-of-war on occasion but we are getting there. I am not sure of the
exact total but we have done a dozen or more trips to goodwill with the SUV
loaded to the roof.
Cleaning house and
uncluttering our footprint in our new condo has its upside. There is no legal
entity on this earth that requires keeping financial records for twenty to
thirty years. We have kept a pair of shredders operating almost around the
clock as we “secured” unwanted documents turning them all to what looks like
paper dust. But it has felt good to do so and it represents a new beginning
unlike what we should have experienced when we first moved into our Niwot,
Colorado home back in 2001. Then again, tucked away in a document or two, we
found papers we long thought we had lost so there’s no shame in saying hey,
look what I found!
All
up, we shipped a dozen bags of clothing to good will ...
And putting our Jaguar F Pace SVR to good use, right?
Spring time may be the
occasion to perform that ritual spring cleaning but we didn’t begin the process
fully aware of just how big a task we faced. But we are well past the halfway
mark with the goal line clearly in view. But the process has allowed Margo and
me to spend a lot more time together than otherwise our simple mix of business
and private time previously allowed us. Yes, as February winds down, we fly
back to Australia to spend a short time in Sydney then Melbourne. All business
mind you, as it’s a tech user community conference but even so, it will give us
an opportunity to spend time with the family. Catching up with family, friends
and business colleagues is something we are tending to devote more time to as
we do see an end in sight for the travels we always seem to take on.
In case you missed the news
flash, Margo and I have no cruises planned for 2024 and the two that we had
originally penciled in we cancelled as 2023 came to an end. And with hindsight,
those cancellations were not only timely but a little serendipitous. As 2023
ended we still didn’t have firm plans about changing locations but with Margo
really needing to be at sea level enjoying a full atmosphere of pressure, it
became clear to us both that a change would be a priority for 2024. Spring may
be early and, with it, springtime showers, but as symbolic as making a fresh
start as the timing suggests, we just had to step up and pursue disengaging
from the life we created for ourselves here in Colorado.
What’s
for dinner? And yes, 60” fridges have become the norm of late!
Still
retain the Vegemite option …
Ending house or, at the very
least, questioning the need to actually purchase another house and leaving open
the idea of living for periods of time wherever we want to, has entered our
conversations of late. On the other hand, there has been little time to
entertain such talk as there have been boxes to pack, storage racks to pull
apart and reassemble. Rooms are being cleared out and looking at our
refrigerator, I haven’t seen it looking that empty in quite a while!
From a career perspective
and ignoring the fact that I have been an independent contractor for longer
than what others might refer to these days as having joined the “gig society,”
Margo and I have become comfortable with the fact that I will simply keep on doing
what I have been doing. These past fifteen years supporting my clients is
something I just like to do. Neither onerous nor routine even as it is
challenging every time I sit down at my desk to front my computer, but it’s also
a challenge I enjoy accepting. It may be raining outside even snowing, but once
I am given an assignment to work on, it becomes a simple task to find all the
words.
Our Longmont condo is something we accept as a de-facto hotel suite and we are already planning on spending time in residence each April and perhaps November. Thanksgiving gives us cause to return to a family environment and as for April, our daughter Anna did a splendid job of ensuring herself and all three grandkids have birthdays in April. This simplifies everything as far as travel goes and perhaps those months will allow us to skip the worst of winter. But then again, if we do end up along the coast of south eastern states, then maybe we will return during the height of spring when humidity climbs to an uncomfortable level.
Looking
forward to their new home (in storage).
If only we had the capabilities of the SUV!
Some things do change,
however. We didn’t buy a new car in 2023 and it’s clear that with priorities
lying elsewhere, we will not be buying another new car in 2024. We did five
cruises in 2023 but then again, there will be no cruises in 2024, but early
2025 will likely see us back cruising once again. We are driving a lot less
from one coast to the other, but even so, we will likely be driving this summer
as we explore possible options for where next we take up residence. What hasn’t
changed is our desire to spend more time with our friends. Whether it is simply
over a shared cocktail in one another’s home, or a night out at a nearby
restaurant, these are times we are looking forward to maintaining. There are no
changes planned in this regard. What we are really looking forward to is being
able to watch the transformation that comes with springtime that is just around
the corner.
Our prospects for
maintaining a media room have gone away and our thousand plus DVDs are headed
for short term storage. Our love for hi-fidelity audio has been tempered of
late given our gradual loss of hearing. Who needs to hear those high
frequencies? But as each day ends it has been our pattern to turn on a
selection of tracks from the CD collection we still maintain and take in the
words. Our opportunity to put aside all that might trip us up as the days count
down to our leaving Windsor, Colorado.
For me, I have a soft spot
for blues performers and among my favorites are renditions from Joe Cocker,
Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton even as we throw in a little Coldplay along with
a Jimmy Buffett tune or two. And as I type this I am listening to something completely
different – disco mixes from the Pet Shop Boys first introduced by business colleague Terry Bishop while driving away from our Netlink, Inc. office in Raleigh North Carolina (so, not my fault). And as we continue to cover
ourselves in dust and tug at boxes we can barely lift, it's hard to ignore one
of Clapton’s better performances that captures the essence of what I am
experiencing with the move, the changes and yes, the weather –
Her
life was like a desert flower
Burning in the sun
Until I found the way to love
It's harder said than done
Let it rain, let it rain
Let your love rain down on me
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