Away For a Few Days

I'll be taking a short break from blogging, as I start clearing out my apartment tomorrow, Saturday, and must be completely out by midnight June 30.  I've put some easily handled things into storage already - will be working my buns off (I wish!) in moving all but four major items out of the apartment by Sunday evening.  I'll pick up a van at 3 on Monday, and have to return it by 3 on Wednesday.
   My friend Beatrice and I have been applying to several different places around Boulder - we figure that if we can both pay $750 per month for ourselves and have less than 500 square feet, then we could get a two bedroom,  one-and-a-half  (or two) bathroom together and save a little bit more money.  Four places have told us we don't make enough money to qualify, and one has said we make too much.  I'm still hoping to get into a new complex on 28th Street - at the moment, the only thing holding us back from approval is a verification of Beatrice's retirement income.  (The form was sent to her this evening.) Beatrice plans on printing it, signing it, and faxing it as soon as she gets into work tomorrow.  
   Maybe I'll know by Monday evening where I'll be moving on Wednesday morning....  If we get into our chosen place, I should be able to begin blogging again on Thursday.  Otherwise, I (and the cats) will be staying in a friends mother-in-law suite in North Boulder, until we find a different place to move.  I won't mind staying at  Len and Susan's, with Lola, Cooper, Tipsi, and Pounce, but I don't know how Lovey will react to having other cats on the other side of the French doors.  If Lovey, Nedi and I end up at Tamarack Court, I'll blog whenever I can, but it probably won't be regularly.
   Enjoy your next few days without my rambling mind intruding!

A Great Book and Longmont

I finished reading Tracker late last night; it's the latest installment of C. J. Cherryh's atevi world Foreigner series.  I found the first book intriguing, but I found one of the main characters, Bren Cameron, to be an extremely anal-retentive and over-written character.  In the second book, I actually began to appreciate Ben's insights and started picking up on the nuances I had missed in the first book.  Tracker is the sixteenth book in the series, and I own a copy (or two) of all of them.  C. J. Cherryh has created a wonderfully nuanced alien world and culture with the atevi people, and, a few books ago, introduced another alien race, the kyo.  Then there are the humans that are tossed into the mix, with age-old politics, mistrusts, and prejudices.  It makes extremely satisfying reading - and, if, occasionally, there is some new "parallel" technology that is mentioned, that causes problems with all sections of the populace - well, that's even better.  I highly recommend the entire series to anyone who wants a good, lengthy escape from our reality!
  Beatrice and I looked at six different apartment complexes yesterday, in four different cities.  We drove to each complex, parked the car, and got out and wandered around, looking at the grounds, the apartments themselves, and speaking with any tenants we ran across.  We looked at one place here in Boulder, three in Longmont, one in Lafayette, and one in Louisville.  All have rents that we can afford, and all but one had two bathrooms - it had a shared shower and tub, with two separate toilet and sink spaces.  We liked the Victoria Inn Apartments best - but they are located in Longmont, which would mean an extra 45 minutes of RTD bus travel on the Bolt, from Longmont to Boulder.  The bus stops are across a street in either direction.  There is a large grocery store a block away; and, directly behind the apartments is a veterinarian's office, several restaurants, a small convenience store, and a place called "Daylight Doughnuts" that opens at five every morning and serves fresh pastries and coffee.  The grounds have lots of grass, large trees and shrubs, a lot of birds and squirrels, and friendly tenants.  It was very nice.
   My biggest question at the moment is when does my apartment manager want me moved out.  I left them a typed notice, saying I was preparing to move, but that I needed a definite move out date.  I asked whether they wanted me out on the 18th of June, 30 days after they notified me of the non-renewal of my lease; or if I could pay (and stay) through the last day of June.  I am still waiting for a written answer from them.  So - things are up in the sir for me and my cats.  We know we have to move, but not when.  We don't yet know where we'll move.  I dislike the feeling of "hanging in the air" but that's how I feel at the moment.  -  Oh, well... I'll know soon enough.

Bolder Boulder and Moving

I spent four hours in front of the apartment yesterday, alternately sitting in a chair and standing, cheering on the wheelchair racers and foot racers of the Bolder Boulder 10K  Memorial Day race.  It's the first time I've done it in five years, because I've been house-sitting and not at home.  Brother-in-law Jim ran yesterday, and sister Kathy walked over from the starting line.  We sat and chatted and yelled encouragement to the runners.  Almost directly across the street was the Centennial State Pipe and Drum Corps - so we had lovely bagpipe music from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m.  I was out there from 6;30 until 10:30, by which time Jim had raced past us, finished, and returned to gather Kathy.  I came back inside, took more cold medicine, popped another cough drop, and climbed back into bed with Lovey and Nedi.  I have to admit that I spent most of yesterday in bed with the kits, reading and/or watching a John Wayne movie marathon on the Western channel.
   After walking Rosie this morning, I'll head over to Enterprise and pick up a car, so that Beatrice and I can go check out the five apartment complexes that we like. One is here in Boulder, two are in Longmont, one is in Lafayette, and one is in Louisville.  All are within a block of a bus stop, and all are also within a block (or two) of a grocery store.  Since I don't drive a stick, I have to rent a car for us to go looking - otherwise, I'd just borrow Kathy and Jim's car, as I did before they purchased their new car.  I am awaiting a response from my apartment manager as to whether he wants me moved out by June 19th, or June 30th.  (I'd prefer the 30th, myself.)  That will, of course, affect when and where Bea and I move, depending upon what is available where.  I keep telling Lovey and Nedi that we're moving, but I don't think it's sunk in, yet.  
   At least I have several financial backers.  Most of the apartments that I've looked at demand that you prove that the tenants have an income of at least three times the amount of the rent.  Well, there's no way that Beatrice and I can do that.  Thankfully, most of the places will accept the signature of a guarantor along with a higher than usual deposit.  I hope to keep the same phone number - and stay with the same carrier for my land-line and internet connection.  Living in Florida would be much more affordable, but I have client bookings through New Years 2016, and I've promised my sister to stay near her.  It's going to be an interesting summer....

Sun!

There is something very strange in my back yard - it's making things sparkle and casting a shadow.  It's bright and shiny and impossible to gaze at straightly.  The sky is blue and then there's this bright thing...  It must be the sun!  I haven't seen it in the early morning for almost twenty days.  It's amazing.   When I looked to the west this morning, I could actually see the Flatirons, the Devil's Thumb, and the tops of Flagstaff, Bear, and Green Mountains.  I can also see the snow covered Indian Peaks, and Mount Audubon, while Sugarloaf  has no snow visible from the east.
  Nedi spent a lot of time outdoors yesterday, while there was a drizzle coming down, but Lovey stayed inside most of the time.  Today, they are both basking in the sunlight on the concrete patio - absorbing the heat and the vitamins.  I guess I'll be sorting through my collection of belongings, deciding what to keep, what to recycle, and what to toss, since I'll be moving.  I'll try to keep all of my books, music, and art work.  Bea and I will need to compare kitchen items and see what we might need.
   Thunderstorms are forecast for this afternoon, and we had two huge lightning storms pass over us yesterday.  Both kits hid as soon as they heard the first big crash.  Nedi dove into his hidey-hole in the closet, and Lovey got inside a box in the corner of the kitchen, under a chair.  We haven't had big thunderstorms in a while...  And the kids know that something is "up."  I've told them we're moving, but  Nedi has lived here since he was 9 weeks old, and Lovey and I moved here when she was eight months old.  I don't think the concept has sunk in.  They're used to spending a week or so at Kathy and Jim's - but then we've returned here.  It's going to be interesting.

I Am Moving

Yes, I am moving out of the apartment that has been "home" for nine years.  The man who owns the building has decided to put everyone on a month-to-month lease, and has major renovation plans in mind.  He's decided that my apartment is the one to start with, so I have 30 days to move out.  He believes that by renovating these 500-square-feet studio apartments, he will be able to charge $1500 per month in rent, and get it.  I'm afraid that I didn't impress him with my reaction - Diet Coke sprayed out of my nose from bottled-up laughter.  This is the lowest-rent apartment complex in the city of Boulder.  The owner has increased the rent to $800 per month; this includes water and sewage, trash pick-up, and electricity.  I pay extra for my television delivery and for the use of my telephone and internet service.  There is no air conditioning, nor is there central heating.  There is a radiator strip that has a length of five feet, and is placed directly under the only window in the apartment and alongside the sliding glass door that opens onto either a balcony or a patio.  Your view is either east or west.  There is a tile floor everywhere, except the linoleum in the full bathroom.  There are three overhead lights in the apartment - the entrance hall, the walk-in closet (which one must walk through to enter the bathroom), and the bathroom.  There are three electrical outlets in the main, open area of the apartment, two outlets in the closet and one in the bathroom.  There is a full-size refrigerator freezer (which takes up the electrical outlet nearest the kitchen area), a three-burner ranger, a non-working oven, and a single sink with a garbage disposal. There are two cabinets above the sink and no drawers at all in the kitchen.   -  Having written that out, I'm glad to be moving.
  The only problem is that I do have a small income.  My friend Beatrice (who lives on the second floor in this building) and I have decided to become roommates.  We are seeking a place that has two bedrooms and two baths, and where I can have both cats with us.  We are looking for any place that we can afford that is within walking distance of the bus service here in Boulder, out in Gunbarrel, Niwot, Lafayette, Louisville, and/or Longmont.  I have friends that will help me make any deposits needed, and who will help me/us move.  The biggest problem is the short time-span I have to find a new place.  I'll be busy on the internet, and on the phone, for the next couple of weeks.  I'll try to keep the same phone number, but that can't be guaranteed....  It's all up in the air.  (Which, actually, is keeping me sick to my stomach...)