Monday, May 12, 2014

Bye-Bye, Denver

Denver Performing Arts Center




I've paid my last month's rent in Denver, done a major purge of our belongings as we downsize yet again, started packing up for the move, and begun the hard process of saying goodbyes to the nice people who have befriended me since I got here in November 2010.  The movers take away our stuff on May 29th, and yet another move begins.

While I actually like change, the process of transition is painful, and I feel like I've done it enough times in my life to not want to make a habit of it in the future.

Living in Denver has overall been a positive experience, even though the reason for coming here was not.  Denver is quite a nice place to live - a very vibrant city- and living downtown in a loft has been fun. It's been great to be able to walk to almost everything, including the performing arts center, lots of good restaurants, museums, sports events, etc.  The not-so-nice part of living downtown is that it is quite a young, partying city, so on dog walks on Sunday mornings, there is always at least one (and sometimes more) piles of vomit that we pass as well as broken glass and various other things that we definitely want to avoid.  Downtown Denver has a large homeless population - about 11,000 - who are always a reminder of the need to help others and all that we have to be thankful for.

The weather here has been a constant source of amazement to us.  From our very first day that we moved in when the weather turned from sunny 70s to an actual blizzard in a matter of hours to Mother's Day 2014 when it snowed all day long (and today - the day after - as well).  We have had brutal subzero weather and desert-like heat spells; there have been remarkable winds that literally lift furniture and carry it away.  

So I end this blog - From Grits to Granola - which was created to chronicle my transition from Atlanta to Denver.  I don't know if I will start another to discuss my move to California.  I might.  Or I might do something else to keep in touch - an Instagram account or perhaps I could actually do my very first post on Facebook (or not).  But please know, Readers, that I thank you for reading my blog and often sending me comments.  I think of you often and hope that if your travels bring you to southern California, you will visit this particular Little Old Lady from South Pasadena.