Sub Alpine Pine - Echo Lake, CO

It’s been almost a full 2 weeks now since we moved into the new house which is still undergoing renovation construction.  Needless to say, it’s a challenge to live without kitchen facilities – but we are oh so close.  We now have counter tops, a sink with faucet, lights and our appliances will be delivered this Thursday which hopefully means that we will have a functional kitchen by next weekend.  Yesterday, we also moved our daughter out of our bedroom into her own – whew – I no longer have to circumvent her mattress and myriad of stuffed animals and blankies to get to my side of the bed.  (Yes – 11, almost 12 year olds still have lovies…Jasmine would be mortified if she knew I told anyone! ;D)

Meanwhile, Jasmine and I have both started school and are in full swing.  She loves Japanese – though I can’t make heads or tails of the language myself.  As long as she gets it, that’s all that is important.  I have already been on 1 field trip into nature and am heading out this morning to Mt. Evans with my Landscape Ecology class.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with Colorado, Mt. Evans is one of Colorado State’s ‘14 rs’ – meaning that elevation at the summit is over 14,000′ above sea level.  We  have to leave early because weather normally sets in after 12pm making the visit very uncomfortable and also potentially dangerous.  I personally have no desire to be up close and personal with lightening at 14,000′.  We also have to visit this alpine/montane region now because the road to the summit closes next weekend due to snow.  Yikes, did I say snow?  I sure hope that I have enough clothing along today!

Hope everyone has a terrific week,

Cynthia

House Update:
We have survived the move & the first week (technically it will be 1 week on Monday) in the new house and I am whipped – hence the lack of posts or visits from me. Construction inside the house is still ongoing which is challenging to live through to say the least, but it’s a concession we made in order to rent the home we moved out of to the first qualified candidates. We do have a working bathroom now, though it still has a few things that need to be finished and we won’t have a functional kitchen until the first week September. We have a make-shift area in the dining room with microwave, coffee maker and cold food – but have been eating dinner at restaurants. Bonus – good way to get to know the new neighborhood. We had Greek food last night – maybe Thai tonight??

My clay studio is still a mess and not yet set up. The electrician still has to wire the garagio for my kiln and I’m also having him add lighting and extra outlets. I don’t anticipate having the studio set up until sometime in September.

Meanwhile, my daughter and I both started school this past week. Jasmine started middle school on Wednesday and I started grad school on Monday. We shared something in common – we were both nervous as hell and had first week jitters. I am happy to report that she is adjusting quickly and has even made some new friends. I am also adjusting and as I sat through the first week of classes am realizing that I made a good decision to return to school. I am taking 3 classes – landscape ecology, plants in design and site planning which all complement each other very well and align with my interests. Always good when that happens! So, with that, I’ll leave you with a Ted video that I recently watched that I found fascinating. Anyone remember “Biosphere 2“? This little video features Jane Poynter, a former inhabitant of Biosphere 2, talking specifically about her 2 year hermetic human experiment and how she applied some of her new knowledge to her own back yard. Pretty cool watch if you have a few minutes to spare.

Later,
Cynthia

Today is the day!  Well sort of….  A moving company is coming to take most of our stuff away today.  We are actually going to camp in our house with the dogs over the weekend and will physically move into the new house on Monday.  Why?  The bathroom isn’t quite ready yet.  And, while I tried to rally the troops to camp at the new house (with out-house in the alley, primitive water source at the outside faucet and all) the rest of my gang weren’t into it.  Somehow it’s more romantic when camping in nature vs. urban setting.

Lucky me won’t be here when the movers arrive because I am attending part 2 of orientation at the College of Architecture and Planning at the University of Colorado Denver – but rest assured, I contributed to the moving/packing effort.  I’ll return to an empty house around noon and can look forward to a leisurely weekend before school starts on Monday.  I’ve mentioned before that I frequently fantasize about living minimally and now I’ll get my chance! ;D

Later,

Cynthia

Bath room is now dry walled and partially tiled (not shown)

First my apologies for my week long absence, but truth be told, I haven’t felt the need to update you on the totally mundane process of packing and moving our “stuff” (insert whatever noun/expletive feels appropriate – lord knows that I’ve substituted more than a few choice words the past few weeks).  Progress is being made on the bathroom compared to these recent photos – though one might argue the counter point considering we’re supposed to move in on Friday!  Our contractor is doing his very best to accommodate us and our hurried schedule, but just in case, I have found a hotel that will take all 3 of us and our dogs in the event that the bath isn’t finished by Friday.

Meanwhile, I attended orientation for new and returning students today at University of Colorado Denver this morning.  I’m getting super excited to go back to school and am learning about the current (and changed since I was a student 3 years ago) direction of the landscape architecture program and all of the new opportunities available to students.  I’ve mentioned this before, and forgive me for repeating, but I’m not really sure where clay fits into my schedule.  In the back of my juggling/multi-tasking mind, I think it might be the perfect fit because clay can fit into my schedule and not the other way around.  Of course, I was reminded today of the rigors of grad school and the expectations of students lest I think that this will be a walk in the park.

Living amongst boxes,

Cynthia