We have needed the services of the only ER in this rural Colorado county twice since we moved here almost one year ago.
The first was within a week of arriving here. Mike developed a nasty reaction, with extreme gut pain, nausea, etc. The doctor who assisted us that time was kind and seemed to want to be helpful, but could not figure out what to do.
Then this past Thursday morning, Mike was writhing in extreme pain from a recently diagnosed neck vertabra injury. Apparently he had turned his head the wrong way in his sleep even with a neck brace on. Even though he was on a very strong opioid for pain, it was still completely out of control.
The young doctor who came in to “help” us had the worst bedside manner I have ever witnessed. He seemed to immediately jump to the conclusion that we were drug shopping, and said he could not prescribe anything.
Come to find out, all Mike needed was a strong dose of anti-inflammatory (Aleve) and a muscle relaxant to go with his other pills. So that stupid young doctor pissed us off for no reason at all!
I for one did not know that you can take Aleve along with opioids. If I had we could have saved hundreds of dollars and all the shaming that doctor had to offer us!
Welcome to the longest running boomer blog carnival online! I have been involved in this activity for years now over at my old “midlife” site MidlifeCrisisQueen.com. Here we bloggers take turns hosting links to some great posts relevant to boomers.
If you’re retired is it still possible to skip a day at school, or take a “mental health” day from work? For one answer, take a side trip over to Playing Hooky,and see what happens when Tom Sightings’ mind begins to wander.
Right Tom, and especially if you’re going through the strains and stress of having a foothills home built in rural Colorado! Yesterday we took a vacation from our daily life by driving around the Highway of Legends loop southwest of here. There we found a couple of gorgeous high altitude lakes like the photo of North Lake at the top of this post, and some…
fantastic views of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range! We stopped by Stonewall Lodge where they have a very nice set-up with cabins at 8,000 feet. Then we drove over to Cokedale, near Trinidad to see the coke ovens.
On the way back we found a few astounding views:
One was a delightful field full of Rocky Mountain Wild Iris and Golden Banner!
We found this to be a day well-spent, appreciating the benefits of this wonderful place we now call home… not bad for a three hour drive with almost no traffic, eh?
Ever since Mike and I “discovered” this rural section of southern Coloradoin 2013, we’ve been wondering why others aren’t moving here. Come to find out, they are! The realtors in the La Veta area and here in Walsenburg are having record months lately. And why not? The beauty of this place in spring is astounding!
I asked Susie here at Acorn Realty about the local market when I saw that we had 12 home sales in the small town of Walsenburg in April, selling for everywhere from $20,000 to $200,000. She’s excited to see so much interest in our area, and attributes her improving sales figures to the baby boomers, who know a great deal when they see one!
Also, as the county has begun to allow more marijuana grow operations, business has certainly picked up. In fact, we should have quite a few more jobs here in the next few years, and they should pay well.
At present this county is such a mix of welfare cases and hard-working families, rundown and well-kept homes. But the homes west of Walsenburg have fantastic mountain views, and with land and home prices so reasonable at present, I cannot imagine that it won’t grow quickly.
One of the most important lessons I have learned from my midlife struggles, is the need to be willing to fight for my dreams. This journey began for me back in 2004, when I lost my job and then spent months in introspection.
I focused on this question: What do I need to happen before I die?
I concluded that for myself I needed to find ways to believe in love again. I so wanted to find one genuine love in this lifetime. This book is a summary of what I learned in this process. I fought through a lifetime of tragedy and disappointment to change my perspective and find new faith in the power of love. Then I found a great new partner within a few months.
With Mike I found true partnership where we are able to work successfully together towards shared goals. One of his lifetime goals was to build his own solar custom home with an incredible view. This is the goal we have been working on for over a year now.
So many obstacles have arisen in this process. Leaving behind our life of 20+ years in Fort Collins was our first challenge. I wrote about that extensively in my memoir of this entire experience. Suffice to say this kind of change is never easy.
We moved into a 100-year-old little house in Walsenburg and put much into storage last June. It took five months just to get a proper slab completed in this rural Colorado county.
We noticed every step of the construction process was costing much more than we had budgeted. We found that our contractor was not taking bids for work, but simply using his regular sub-contractors. At that point Mike decided to take over the contracting part of the process. He took bids from both local and Pueblo companies and cut over 30% off the cost of the electrical and stucco work. Our builder was not happy.
This week, after almost a year of struggle, we were finally ready to complete the inside of our home. We have collected everything we need to complete the kitchen, baths, trim, etc. The response from our builder? I may be able to get to that in a few weeks. I went ballistic! In response he hung up on me.
Luckily Mike apologized profusely, and so we’re back on track again. It will all get done, and we will move in sometime in July, more than a year after we moved here.
I tell you this NOT to discourage you from pursuing your own unique goals, but to warn you that pursuing dreams can get ugly sometimes.
We have an adage here in Colorado. We say it is safe to plant outside after Mother’s Day, but this year is obviously different!
Last Thursday we got stuck in the WORST HAIL STORM I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED! Driving on I-25 south of Pueblo we got hit with a deluge, that cracked our windshield and trashed our van.
This is the scene outside of our rental this morning:
On a recent clear day, I could just catch a glimpse of the Spanish Peaks from our front yard in Walsenburg.
This is what I saw this morning! Poor trees! They were just getting into blooming mode and certainly weren’t ready for this! I guess that’s what happens when you bring in trees that aren’t adapted to this area of the country.
Up at Navajo we will be living in a native Pinon-juniper woodland. Those trees have adapted over the centuries to handle snow in any season.
Can you tell I was raised by native plants Nazi Jack L. Carter, author of Trees and Shrubs of Colorado and Trees and Shrubs of New Mexico!
Welcome to the longest running boomer blog carnival online! I have been involved in this activity for years now over at my old “midlife” site MidlifeCrisisQueen.com. Here we bloggers take turns hosting links to some great posts relevant to boomers.
fantastic views of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range! We stopped by Stonewall Lodge where they have a very nice set-up with cabins at 8,000 feet. Then we drove over to Cokedale, near Trinidad to see the coke ovens.
One was a delightful field full of Rocky Mountain Wild Iris and Golden Banner!
We found this to be a day well-spent, appreciating the benefits of this wonderful place we now call home… not bad for a three hour drive with almost no traffic, eh?
And the kitchen:
From outside the island and inside:
And then we have the Master suite:
And of course the views outside from there!
It can’t be long before we move in now, can it?
Ever since Mike and I “discovered” this rural section of southern Colorado in 2013, we’ve been wondering why others aren’t moving here. Come to find out, they are! The realtors in the La Veta area and here in Walsenburg are having record months lately. And why not? The beauty of this place in spring is astounding!
Also, as the county has begun to allow more marijuana grow operations, business has certainly picked up. In fact, we should have quite a few more jobs here in the next few years, and they should pay well.
At present this county is such a mix of welfare cases and hard-working families, rundown and well-kept homes. But the homes west of Walsenburg have fantastic mountain views, and with land and home prices so reasonable at present, I cannot imagine that it won’t grow quickly.
I concluded that for myself I needed to find ways to believe in love again. I so wanted to find one genuine love in this lifetime. This book is a summary of what I learned in this process. I fought through a lifetime of tragedy and disappointment to change my perspective and find new faith in the power of love. Then I found a great new partner within a few months.
We moved into a 100-year-old little house in Walsenburg and put much into storage last June. It took five months just to get a proper slab completed in this rural Colorado county.
We noticed every step of the construction process was costing much more than we had budgeted. We found that our contractor was not taking bids for work, but simply using his regular sub-contractors. At that point Mike decided to take over the contracting part of the process. He took bids from both local and Pueblo companies and cut over 30% off the cost of the electrical and stucco work. Our builder was not happy.
This week, after almost a year of struggle, we were finally ready to complete the inside of our home. We have collected everything we need to complete the kitchen, baths, trim, etc. The response from our builder? I may be able to get to that in a few weeks. I went ballistic! In response he hung up on me.
I tell you this NOT to discourage you from pursuing your own unique goals, but to warn you that pursuing dreams can get ugly sometimes.
On a recent clear day, I could just catch a glimpse of the Spanish Peaks from our front yard in Walsenburg.
This is what I saw this morning! Poor trees! They were just getting into blooming mode and certainly weren’t ready for this! I guess that’s what happens when you bring in trees that aren’t adapted to this area of the country.
Up at Navajo we will be living in a native Pinon-juniper woodland. Those trees have adapted over the centuries to handle snow in any season.
Adventures of the NEW??? Old Farts 