It's spring in Denver, and I'm learning new words. It's been warm for some time and, despite my whining about the cold in previous blog posts, the winter was much better than I expected. We had about two weeks when it was really, really cold, but that's it. Usually, it was sunny and nice with little snow in the city. The mountains get all the snow, which peters out by the time it gets to the city.
This weekend we finally put our cushions out on the furniture on our terrace. This was not possible until now because the wind is surprisingly strong. Although the cushions sat cozy and happy on the furniture on our screened porch in Atlanta, it was another matter all together when we arrived in Denver. On our move-in day, I put the cushions on the furniture, only to see one cushion lift itself up from what I thought was its secure position and sail away, never to be seen again. So we had to have ties made for the cushions, not trusting them to stay where they were placed. And not just two ties per cushion, but four to secure every single corner in place.
One of the new words that I've learned is Chinook Winds, which are surprisingly strong. Today, for example, the gusts are up to 50 mph. It's interesting to watch our furniture move by itself, as if some ghost is propelling it. Our neighbors told us that one day they came home to find their chaise lounge gone - it had just flown away on its own.
Last Thursday afternoon, I looked out the window to see droves of people walking toward the Pepsi Center (the arena where the Denver Nuggets play and concerts are held). My frame of mind was such that my first thought was "Oh my God, there's an evacuation. Why would all of these people be heading to the Pepsi Center on a weekday afternoon?" Realizing that this was probably not accurate, I looked the Pepsi Center calendar up online and learned that NCAA tournament games were being held there. Suddenly, I had an interest in March Madness. Maybe because it was just across the street, I'm not sure. So we started watching the games, and I learned some more things. I learned that there is actually a team (University of Richmond) that is known as the Spiders. Why would any team want to be called the Spiders? Is there anyone who actually likes spiders? Do spiders evoke images of strength and winning or just icky, creepy stuff? Who picks these names?
As a follow up to my posts on Japan, you may want to see the rough scans from our trip that Emily has posted on her blog. She uses actual film (remember film?) so it's taken a while to develop, scan and then wait an appropriate time after the Japanese disaster. You can see her photos by clicking here.
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Last Thursday afternoon, I looked out the window to see droves of people walking toward the Pepsi Center (the arena where the Denver Nuggets play and concerts are held). My frame of mind was such that my first thought was "Oh my God, there's an evacuation. Why would all of these people be heading to the Pepsi Center on a weekday afternoon?" Realizing that this was probably not accurate, I looked the Pepsi Center calendar up online and learned that NCAA tournament games were being held there. Suddenly, I had an interest in March Madness. Maybe because it was just across the street, I'm not sure. So we started watching the games, and I learned some more things. I learned that there is actually a team (University of Richmond) that is known as the Spiders. Why would any team want to be called the Spiders? Is there anyone who actually likes spiders? Do spiders evoke images of strength and winning or just icky, creepy stuff? Who picks these names?
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