Category Archives: Colorado Daily Life

Doctor Visit (well…ok….veterinarian)

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In preparation for the move to Puerto Rico, I had to get a health certificate and be up to date on my shots.  I had gotten my distemper and rabies vaccinations the other day at a scheduled visit.  The health certificate is only valid for a short number of days, so we wanted to wait and get that closer to our actual move date.

When it came time for Cassie and Britton to take me to my appointment however, I was off sleeping in my secret spot and they couldn’t find me.

Well today Britton took me on his bike!  Since he has no car, and no phone he had to take a chance that the vet could fit me in.  So I got loaded up into my snazzy new cat carrier.  It has a few openings, places for all my documents and meets American Airlines rules for dimensions.  I don’t really mind that we didn’t take a car, I actually enjoy riding in the fresh air.  I had Britton take a video of me to share with you all.

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Aren’t You Afraid of Hurricanes?

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This is another common question we get from people when we tell them that we are moving to the Caribbean.

This seems a strange question coming from people in Colorado. Right this instant we are experiencing massive rains and flooding that is causing severe devastation especially to areas near the rivers. Roads are closed down, some people are stranded and some areas are shutting down municipal water service due to possible contamination. Some of our friends and former next door neighbors live(d) in one of the trailers in Riverside Park in Evans shown in this video. Their home and car have been completely damaged and are probably unsalvageable. They had to swim inside their home in shoulder deep water to just scrape together a few of their floating belongings.

River2
This is a river about 1 mile north of our house. Thankfully we are still high and dry

While this is definitely one of the wildest weather rides we’ve had in a while, it is not isolated. Colorado has some of the most extreme climates ever. In just the last 6 months alone we have had raging wildfires, huge hail storms that demolished whole cars, sides of houses and rooves (one of which was a rental of ours), extreme heat that caused schools to close, tornados touching down with winds in excess of 50 MPH and snow blizzards with temperatures 20 to 30 degrees below 0 F! And again this is just in the last 6 months mind you!

Evans2
This is the baseball field in Evans near Riverside

So it seems sort of bizarre when people from Colorado ask us if we are afraid of hurricanes in Puerto Rico. I’d say coming from Colorado we are probably more prepared for extreme, bipolar weather than most. When people ask this it is interesting that they do not see where they live as being an extreme climate sort of place. We (humans) tend to exaggerate risk when it is outside of our control, and minimize it when we are more familiar.

I am sure a hurricane would be a crazy intense thing to go through, but just like these crazy and intense things in Colorado, we would get through it. It will be tough to clean up and deal with the aftermath of these and future disasters, but life WILL go on. People will pull through as we always seem to do. We need to help each other out in times like these. We need to show our very best side. If there is any silver lining in these huge natural disasters it is at the very least, this.

flooding in evans
This photo was taken by an aerial news reporter and shows the trailer homes floating in the flooded river

There is no sense in being afraid of future possible calamities. They are bound to happen whether you are afraid or not, so you might as well face them head on. We will continue to do our best to be prepared and avoid high risks, but life is full of disasters of one kind or another around every bend. We must be flexible and adaptable. We must be compassionate and community-oriented. We must be calm and not panic or exaggerate. We are from Colorado after all, right?! We can get through anything. So if you ask, I might remind you of this and say, no, we are definitely not afraid of hurricanes.

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Nearly Cleared Out

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Because I have been continuing to work up to the end, Britton has had the bulk of the responsibility for clearing out the house. Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for the state of Colorado, we have been having heavy rains for the last 4 days or so and on Friday, they released us from work to close the county (where I work). We have not been affected by the rains or flooded very much in Greeley, but some areas nearby are crazy including parts of I-25! Especially hit were the mountain canyons.

Anyhow, this gave me some time to help with Britton in the clean-out  of a few more areas of the house. It’s looking pretty good, though there is STILL more to go. Check it out:

Britton sold his Honda last week and so is down to just his bicycle when I am at work.

98 Civic Ex Side
Bye old Civic with 296k miles!

IMG_3606
Britton’s current form of transportation and a bike box to ship it

We have also sold the washer and dryer and the bed and nightstand are going to my mom, so we really don’t have hardly any large items left except my car.

Now is the hard part of packing and trying to get it to all fit in just a few boxes and bags. Can you believe it only NINE more days!?

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Unplugging (Literally)

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It is getting closer and closer to our departure date.  We are leaving on Sept 23! We wanted to stay a bit longer to close up some things but there are very limited flights from DIA to Aguadilla and so that was it! We are off on our journey in 2 weeks! Yikes and YAY!

I have quit my job, handed over my phone, stopped our health insurance, disconnected the internet and cable, and given away my plasma TV. Cassie is nearly there as well (she is working right up to the end). It is a strange feeling to realize that I am now starting to float away from all of the things that connect us to the bigger whole of society.

For internet we have been going to the Library which gives us an hour of surfing a day.  This has been beneficial because we make our time more efficient.  We post things for sale on craigslist, setup our remaining bills to paperless, check FB/email, and also have an opportunity to pick up/drop off books. We have been reading more since there is no TV or YouTube to mindlessly watch. And having the extra time has been useful.  I have been using it to take care of a few outstanding issues at the rentals.

Plastic Down
Laying Down Thick Plastic as a Weed Barrier

When it comes to weed barriers I don’t mess around anymore.  When I did my first landscaping projects I would use the fabric they sell at landscape companies.  I quickly found that Colorado weeds don’t care about it.  they will simply grow thru, around and in the fabric.  I suppose if I wanted to use weed killers, that would work ok but since I don’t I use this thick black plastic sheeting.  It is the best thing I have found so far.  It does have drawbacks in that it traps moisture and can get moldy, but that isn’t a big problem here in the Colorado desert.   I also wouldn’t use it if I were going to put plants in and around the area.

Rocks Done
6 Tons of Rock

I am getting better at the shoveling rock gig.  I was able to pump out 6 tons in about half a day with a wheel barrow and a shovel.  It is hard work, but I find that when I am working toward my own goals, it feels pretty freaking good!

We have also been continually cleaning out the house.  Most of the rooms are empty and I have just listed our cars for sale on Craigslist.  When we no longer have our cars we will REALLY be disconnected. We say we will be losing our “legs” since we’ve always had a car. Once those are gone, we won’t have much except some clothes and our cat.

Empty
Empty Room
Being unplugged from a lot of the distractions not only saves money, but gives me time to focus on my life.  It has been extremely freeing.  When we sell the cars and the house rents, I won’t have any real financial responsibilies that aren’t covered.  We will have a water and electric bill in Rincon and that’s about it for “fixed” expenses.

Now that we have cleared out everything, we have decided to really think about what we bring into our lives. I think initally when we arrive in Puerto Rico we will need to get a vehicle and we will also have some food and “fun” expenditures. We will also get some furniture and we will be fixing up the property and structures a lot. We are currently looking into health insurance. But we can take it at our own pace and we will be much more selective about what and how much we plug into. Plugging in is the norm, but a life unplugged definitely has its perks. It is a freaky feeling, this freedom thing.

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