Window Winterland

Around here, for the last 48 hours, it’s been all about the weather. But: we have windows, so who cares? Yes, our new, wrong-colored windows — Did I tell you that? I might not have. It turns out, we had decided on forest or, in this nomenclature, evergreen, rather than dark brown, for the outside […]

My Valentine

Some snowy January nearly two decades ago I woke up with a singular thought: I need to go to Wisconsin. So I drove to the airport, bought a ticket, and a few days later was winging my way to Wausau, where my sister Terri had once lived for a very short time, and that was […]

A Chill in the Air

I don’t know if it’s my thyroid or what, but I am having a heck of a time staying warm this winter. I can already hear my sister Terri in the comments section: “Maybe that’s because you live in Gunnison.” But I’ve lived in Gunnison before and not had this problem. It feels new, and […]

Getting Real (Estate)

Remember how Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times”? Yeah, I didn’t actually read it either, but I’ve heard it quoted plenty of times. [Ooh, early aside: if you want good literary quotes without being, you know, literary, Star Trek movies are your go-to. Lots of Shakespeare, some […]

Weather Window

Because I made it seem like so much fun, Lynn was planning her own trip to Denver last week. Then the forecast for last Wednesday (her departure date) came in, and I told her she couldn’t go. To be clear, no one tells Lynn what to do. Let’s just say I strongly suggested she postpone […]

Tight Spaces

I’m feeling very cranky this morning, and a little dizzy. I avoided antibiotics, but this has left my ears stuffed full and still crackling since the beginning of the year — and I am tired of it. Particularly if it’s going to make me dizzy. I just spent 15 minutes rearranging three different blog posts, […]

This Place Where I Live

Some words about the weather: it’s cold. The weathercaster on Channel 4 Denver, Chris Spears, seemed quite happy (he’s always happy) this morning to report a statewide low of -18 in Gunnison. My computer begs to differ: Weather Underground currently has us at -11. (In fairness to Mr. Spears, he probably gets the temps for […]

The Un-Decider

Today is Decision Day — and I don’t even know what I’m supposed to be deciding. In general, decisions are not my best thing. Like breathing, we humans (and lots of other creatures) make tons of decisions without even noticing: when to get out of bed, which room to walk into, what to do next; […]

Epiphanic

I had an epiphany in a fast-food drive-through yesterday. Okay, I can hear the judgment: yes, I was eating fast food. I had my car because the City of Gunnison has not been at its best for snow removal this year, and instead of plowing up everything when it turned to slush at 36 degrees […]

High Crimes

Before Lake City was Lake City, it experienced its first murders — murders that have lived in infamy. Lake City, a tiny little hamlet that swells substantially in the summer months, lies 60 miles south of Gunnison in its own county, Hinsdale. It calls itself, in a slogan I’m quite impressed with, “A Diamond in […]