Tuesday, November 24, 2009

It's Agony

Moving is one of the most distasteful things you can do in life. I wonder why we do it so much? It must be that we can understand the concept of delayed gratification. For some time now Nancy and I have been packing up our belongings into boxes, wrapping up artwork and taking apart bedframes. We were working towards a closing date of December first. And now that date has been pushed back by at least a week due to financial turmoil on the part of our buyers.

Meantime, we're living out of boxes, and the boxes are all over the place. You know from experience that the things you need up until the last minute are always the things that are most awkward to move. The first day you box up the books and the things you haven't used in five years and will probably never unpack when you get to the new place. On the last day it's the toiletries, the cofffe maker, the unknown contents of the containers in the freezer that you have to deal with. In between those two very different packing days, there are painful decisions to be made. "Do I want this? Do I need to keep this? Should I donate it? Is now the time to pack it away?" Agony. Agonizing.


We eat dinner on a table loaded with boxes, next to a pile of boxes. You know how it is, you've done it too.

After the agony of moving is over this is what we have to look forward to. This is just down the road between the towns of Ridgeway and Telluride, on the way up Dallas Divide, about 25 minutes from Montrose. In the background are the San Juan Mountains. If you could look off to the left, you would see the Uncompaghre Range which are equally beautiful, if not more so.

I took these three pictures out of the truck window, going over Dallas Divide at a speed of 50 miles and hour, and without looking in the viewfinder. Therefore, I can say with some certainty that it's pretty easy to take good pictures in this neck of the woods.
On the other side of Montrose is the Cimmaron Valley which is not quite as spectacular as the San Juans but pretty awesome. On the third road out of Montrose is the Escalante-Dominguez canyon complex, which is pictured below. Mountains, valleys and canyons. As you can see, Montrose is in a fairly good location. In a week or two the agony of moving will be over.

5 comments:

Jon, Harley, and Nancy said...

Just think, each time you move you pare down your possessions and make the subsequent move easier. However, maybe this isn't the moment to think about yet another move!
In any case, know that we are thinking about you folks and looking forward to getting a Christmas report from your new home.
Warm regards!

Anonymous said...

I totally understand the misery of moving...having done it 18 times since getting out of college! One good thing is that it forces you to "pare down" each time and not become a "pack rat"!

Once you get to Montrose and start "settling in" it will all be worthwhile...and you'll celebrate the first Christmas in your new home!

The scenery is absolutely gorgeous in your pictures. The land is so totally opposite of the verdent tidal-plains of the "Low Country".

Happy Birthday to you, Nancy! Have a great Thanksgiving...despite your "boxed-in" circumstances.

Luke

Peggy said...

We will miss you at the Thanksgiving table but understand that you will be having your dinner on a pile of boxes. The pilgrims probably ate on a makeshift table too!!! Happy Birthday Nancy.

Linda said...

Ohhhh. I CAN relate. Both to the agony of the box life and to the having to wait for life in gorgeous new surroundings. You know I feel your pain.

Anonymous said...

We can count on you to find the most beautiful part of the country, this time I don't think you can do any better. Maybe you'll get to have a Thanksgiving at your house one year. And another Happy Birthday to Nancy. Love, Leslie