Don't be too disappointed

 Since I am admittedly an introvert, I don't go out and cheerfully meet lots of new people. Don't be too disappointed.

I can sure understand folks with agoraphobia...the one where folks don't want to leave home at all. There's a comfortable place which we work hard to make that way, so why go anywhere else?

Well, starting with when we decided to get born, we often (myself included) just feel too cramped in the comfort of our homes, and just need to stretch a bit. Plus we might want to see what's on the other side of whatever barriers we have, a womb, the walls, or the fence with green grass.

This is all to say that I sometimes don't want to go out exploring, and sometimes I do. 

Last Saturday I chose to stay in the house, did some chores, set up a budget worksheet on the computer, set up my new on-line bank account here in Durango, and didn't go to the nearby Natural Foods Festival. It would have been interesting, but I knew parking would be limited. And no way did I want to walk that far. (Talk to me next year, please...I do want to be able to go for walks again!)

Saturday 8/22/26 at 1:20 pm looking northwest

There were lovely clouds, and rain at a distance. But it still got to 92 degrees. Fortunately the rain never came close to the festival at Rotary Park, just behind those buildings on the other side of 15th Street, where the Animas River runs through town.

I've had fun trying to capture the neat rain clouds, which don't ever (now) seem to give much moisture to Durango downtown. This is similar to how Black Mountain would be missed by many storms, back in North Carolina.

7:37 pm on Aug 21, 2026

7:37 still, iPhone camera is having fun with different levels of light when I zoom in a bit

7:42 pm zoomed in a bit more

8:09 pm looking west-southwest

8:10 pm

8:10 pm zoomed out

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  Repost from Aug. 5, 2026

Rotary Park by the Animas River

Some boulders show a way to get down to the river, if I were maybe 15.

Fie on iPhone's plant identification! Fie! I'm pretty sure this is a form of Black Locust. One identifer wanted it to be Poplar or Cottonwood. They may be around here, but those are sure the wrong leaves!

And Rocky Mountain NPR just posted this...about this very park!

"DURANGO, Colo. — A green plant along the Animas River Trail caught Catherine Grillos’ attention. She bent down, pulled several leaves from the ground and held them up excitedly.
“Ha, there’s burdock over here,” Grillos said. “These are going to make the best pesto.”
Grillos, a forager and chef, sees ingredients where many people see weeds. She gathers plants around Durango and turns them into drinks, salads, crackers, ice cream and pesto.
A 2018 field guide by self-sufficiency author Caleb Warnock catalogs 437 edible wild plants across the Rocky Mountain West, including berries, roots, nuts, greens, flowers and seeds. The guide covers eight states, including Colorado and New Mexico.
At Rotary Park, Grillos pointed out plantain, clover and dandelions growing within a few feet of one another.
“Just where I’m sitting now, all this food is available,” she said. “And it’s free.”
Rotary Park is part of Durango’s Organically Managed Parks Program. The city maintains the park using organic fertilizers and herbicides instead of synthetic chemicals."

I admit to not planning to forage, but this is the fist park I've visited, so I love that it's organically sustained.

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Tacos to quiche (plus good news)

  After my son had attended a Saturday seminar all day, he met me at Zia's Taquiria for some tacos. There are 2 locations, and this one had steady customers at 5 pm.

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But first the good news! 

Yesterday I had received another warning email from the Human Services people that my inactive/denied application for medicaid was due Aug. 28, and they had not yet received my financial information. I called yesterday and left a message that I'd received the request on Aug 14, and electronically sent all my bank statements on that date. 

And later in the day I had a call from a case worker working out of her home, thus a unavailable phone number. Fortunately I'm now answering those calls. She said yes, they had received all my financial information. She said my application is in a que to be entered digitally into the system, and Sept. 1 is the date that I will become eligible for Colorado medicaid. So even if it hasn't been worked by then, it will be retroactive. 

For me that benefit covers the cost of my monthly medicare premium. So if it's taken out of my Social Security check, it will be reimbursed. It is also the coverage which pays for my drugs, part B or D of medicare, I think. So these benefits have helped immensely, though I only started getting them a few years ago. The plan is called "Extra Help." I really appreciated it, as my medications were one of my highest annual expenditures.

I told the case worker that this relieved a lot of my anxiety. As I mentioned yesterday, I've lived without insurance several times (when unemployed) in my life. But that was before my heart and lungs became problems!

Tai is behind me placing his order. I think I ordered 2 Wha-Wha tacos...something like Mai Mai. They were delicious fish tacos. They use local produce for the two restaurants by this name, and the other one named Sage. 

You order all the ingredients you want on your tacos as they are made.

I liked having rice and black beans at the bottom of the tacos. The chunks of fried fish were good to run into behind the salad stuff. Good flavor and not too hot.

Tai added a lot of hot sauce to his burrito.

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And a few days later...

I finally made my crustless quiche...or tomato, spinach and cheese pie.

This time the cheddar cheese was quite dominant on top, forming a hard layer (compared to my cheese bread the week before where there was little flavor from it at all!)

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My personal goals moving to Durango were to:

1. be closer to my son and his wife

2. be able to breathe better, thus able to do more on a daily basis and be healthier.

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So far I have seen Tai and Kendra each weekend. That may not continue, but I do have texts more often. I continue to have the fulcrum of wondering if I'm becoming a burden, at least taking more time in their lives, and trying to be "a gift" as my friend Suzanne suggested. I'm definitely having trouble believing the latter.

I'm am breathing better, coughing less. This week I have a couple of doctor visits and a pulmonary test. They will help me considerably in knowing if there is real progress.

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A new star is shining in the sky, as the spirit of Dolly Parton sails free of suffering and her time on earth. What a woman. She gave so much to the community. All the people in the southeast US are aware of her impact, and are sad that she has died at 80. 

My Rogers family came from Sevier County TN, near Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. The Rev. Elijah Rogers couldn't read, according to stories passed down through the generations. He had memorized the Bible in order to preach. Dolly Parton made a big difference in children's literacy, giving away books by the millions.

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Repost:

Originally  Posted Aug 2, 2026 on When I Was 69

I think this is Hogsback Mountain...west of Durango, outside my windows at dawn (through the screens)

AC, is there any way I can get the phone camera to not bring the screens into the photos? Remember I just have an iPhone 12.

And Saturday I did a quick run to find my way to two spots I want to visit...the first one for Sunday!

There is at least one UU deer enjoying the hedges!

I also found that in the same neighborhood is the Senior Center. It's right next to the Senior High School...different kind of seniors!

I'll check it out soon!

And I've not been sharing many quotes lately. Did you miss them?

At some point in life, the world’s beauty becomes enough.

TONI MORRISON

A Day in the Life of a Towny - part two

 Continuing notes and photos from Friday last week.

Found a parking place at the bank (which is very near the train station) and hiked around the building, because the parking spot for handicaps were a block from the entrance to the lobby. (Point one against them). Then nobody was interested in serving me, even when I said I wanted to open a new account. (point negative two) One young woman said she was helping someone else, and had someone scheduled later, and didn't know when she'd be available, but would I like to come back next week? (Point negative three, why did I stick around?)

I said I wanted to wait. I said I was tired from walking from the parking lot and wanted to sit down. I also said this was their only chance to give me a new account. She then offered to show me where their coffee waiting area was, and I asked for the restroom as well.

By the time I walked near the coffee waiting area, I saw and heard a lot of music coming from a tent in the parking lot on that side of the building. I slowly walked out, carrying my oxygen generator, and asked the young women at the small booth what was happening. They got around to finally telling me there was free lunch and I was welcome to listen to the music. Nobody inside had offered a thing besides the thermoses of coffee.

Later I learned it was a community appreciation day, which used to be customer appreciation  day...I don't think my young clerk was aware of it at all.

Actually I had to ask the right questions, like how much were the hot dogs, before they said I was welcome to a free one. What's going on? Do I look like a homeless person? Carrying that oxygen generator just labels me handicapped, I think. The parking area is used for a Farmer's Market each Saturday morning. I want to come, and wonder where you have to park each Saturday.

Anyway, after lunch I went back and sat in the lobby, filled out some forms, and eventually the young woman asked me to come get the new account set up. Her skills were minimal, and she kept having nervous laughs when she'd say things. Geese, part of this was that she was waiting to be a mortgage broker in a few weeks, and was just filling in for this job because they were short handed, she eventually told me. 

At least she assured me my checks would be free. I asked for duplicate checks, and in other banks, have had to pay for them. We shall see... I noticed how the drier air is aging my skin...need to remember to use moisturizer more than I have in the past. I guess I do look a bit frumpish.

I had to ask her name, as her long hair hid her tiny nametag. Katheryn. Giggle, giggle, spelled with  a y like the Irish, because if it said "rine" it would say RINE, not ryn.

I had to call my son to see if he could sign a card to become a signature on the account, and he gave her the information, but can't schedule coming in to the bank to sign in person any time soon...from his home 47 miles away.

Anyway, did I quit then?

No mamm. (How do you spell that anyway?)

I next went to Walgreens. Got a prescription, and some vitamins, some Diet Dr. Pepper, and some cookies. Important things like that. Left the heavy things in the car, toted the cookies and vitamins and prescription inside, and now I'm about to snooze for a while.

I've awakened again, added the photos from throughout the day.

It's 5 pm. The temperature outside has gone down from 92 to 89, so the windows have been closed since I left this morning around 9. The vertical blinds are also closed so the bright sun doesn't blind me. I hope this is something I can get used to - sunlight is incredibly bright for me, and then when I try to see things in shady areas, I just can barely make them out. I do wear sunglasses outside all the time!

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Oh, my complaint to the management that I have only had luke-warm water (not hot) for 3 days resulted in the maintenance man having used a thermometer that said the hot water was 108.3 degrees, "within normal range." 

I have a body at 98.5 degrees. To have my hottest water only 10 degrees warmer, yes, I consider that luke-warm. I believe 120 degrees was the limit I had in NC. Here I shiver in a shower, and it's not going to get better in the winter! Incidentally the hot water and heat are provided by the management.

I can heat water on the stove for washing dishes, but oh my, the showers! I quickly wet my hair, turn off the water, soap up, then turn on the water to rinse. The rest of my body the same. At least I'm saving water!

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Dinner plans include left over brown and wild rice, some left over vegetarian faux chicken nuggets in some sauce, and whatever frozen vegetable I decide to heat up. My apartment has a big microwave included, so I have to learn how to use it...it's twice as powerful as my old one was! So far I've massacred some scrambled eggs, but heating water for coffee works great. Gratitude here!

My evening entertainment  includes shows on the monitor of the computer or the TV, all streamed. The tricky part is having the AC blasting across my feet while sitting in the living room. I have to cover my legs if they're raised in the recliner. There is only the one AC unit in the whole apartment, situated under the window in the living room, which has to be boosted by a little fan into the bedroom.

Goodness, I feel as if I've dumped complaint after complaint here. But really these are just how I'm coping with the new area and home.

So I feel quite productive today. Checked off several things that needed attending to. Got a free unexpected lunch. 

Tomorrow morning (it was Friday when I wrote this) will be the Farmer's Market at the new bank...and I remember how to get there! Need some locally grown fresh veggies! (But in reality, I didn't go)

The evening light was dimmed by wonderful clouds and a bit of rain even, but too humid and hot still to open windows. This is my header photo for this week.

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Later notes:

Monday I had my Dr. appointment at 9 am. No, he didn't have my medical records from my former primary care physician. So I'm glad I brought in my meds, as I wanted to have those prescriptions updated for our local Walgreens. Done! There are some things that will be postponed because I may not have insurance next month, thanks to the incredible inefficiency of medicaid across different states.

I will at least continue taking the meds I already know I need. This isn't the first time I've been without health insurance. I will get through this. 

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Repost of earlier talking about moving to Durango:

Friday, July 31, 2026

The old photos!

(Edited out the Sepia Saturday portion of this post...)

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I am doing better, and slowly getting this "cave in Durango" to look nice and homey. Thanks totally to my son and his wife. They came and rearranged the furniture, then unloaded boxes to shelves, and went out to pick up lunch. 

I had a short nap, and found some of my blogs won't let me reply to comments. Hope that's temporary, because I do love the conversations that occur here...making this true social media.

At least I have ac which makes the 90+ temps each day bearable keeping it around 70 inside.

I went out for about a half hour this morning to a local grocery store, then drove back a different way. I can't wait to have the energy to drive around more and find what's where. So far I saw the court house and post office. And a health food store. The last and maybe the post office will be useful.

The little Durango-Silverton train (narrow gauge but full size cars) just whistled its way by. It passes several times a day...but not at night.

There are several engines pulling the trains, this one yesterday, while today an orange one did the job.

It looked like all the cars were open air, but different set-ups. Some trains had about 10 cars, some just 4...of the few that I've stopped to watch go by from my windows.

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PS, it's Colorado Day here...the 150th birthday of the state. So all I know about it is that the Animas Museum here in Durango is open free today. I don't think I'll make it to the museum today though.

Repost: One Shot

 

Reposted from July 29, 2026

One shot

 

First light, first morning in new apt. IPhone messes with the lighting, so it lookslikedaylight. Sigh.

Don’t have internet yet, and hotspot with the iPhone is slow tonight. So I’ll leave this as my contribution. 

I have a fever again…wish I knew what was going on. But health insurance is not transferring automatically as several agents said…so I’m postponing several visits that I’d scheduled. We’ll see if I can even get coverage by August.

Tomorrow he internet should be on!

My daughter-in-law spent 5 hours Tuesday unpacking and organizing the kitchen, then carting all the boxes and bubble wrap to the garbage downstairs. Some she took to a recycling center nearby.

See ya!

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Note: I'll be combining the remaining (10) posts that I'm reposting because they are about Durango...into my current posts, rather than separately.

A day in the life of a Towny - Part one of two

   Durango. Colorado. USA Friday, August 21, 2026

Brightness at pre-dawn. Some sweet rose streaks of clouds over the "real mountains" in the distance. But a bit of haze on the farthest peaks. Then BAM! The nearby cliffs are blasted with pure sunlight. Which then streams in my open windows.

I stretch, and start putting on lightweight layers. A lavender pashmina. Blue cotton socks. My favorite long blue variegated cotton skirt. 

Unplug the oxygen from the C-Pap machine, and set it up for later using with the canula. For now I wish to just breath the pure mountain air. I don't care if my O-2 blood saturation goes down a bit. This is what I moved here for, and I love each deep breath. So far no coughing. I think that might be a good thing. But with chronic bronchiectasis, coughing is good, clearing out my lungs so they work better.

Fix a first cup of Americano. Love that taste of honey after I have stirred it into the dark liquid, and I lick the spoon, as they say, but really just put the whole scoop of it in my mouth. The edges seem to hold a bit of honey on them. Then there's the first sip of coffee. What a delightful bean. My body responds as I walk over to the computer and fire it up. Thus starts another Thursday in Durango.

Geese who I don't yet know (all brown) as well as ducks (none in vee formations) flew up the valley along the waterway. The sounds of geese are similar to their Canada brothers, but they had no white on them. And evenings I see the bats fly from above my head, where they must nest in some openings in the walls near the rooftop. Some mornings I see them returning at dawn, but this morning I'm too late.

I write a few emails. I read a few blogs. I check on the real news in newsletters and in between ads on FaceBook. I don't read much of this, preferring to leave the world beyond this valley somewhat unknown, assumed to be still there, still in crisis, and not something I wish to drink-in with my first cup of Joe.

I start to write this. I'll come back throughout the day and add bits, I intend.

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Now I'm fading fast, going down for a nap in a few minutes.

Picked up yesterday's mail...a sweet card from my oldest son and his family.

Couldn't get out of the parking lot due to a deer munching at the end of the alley...right next to the busy road. If I drove near her, she might flee into traffic. But she was visible from the street, and eventually moved slowly across the two lanes of traffic. Whew.

Nobody but myself noticed her munching away.

Please don't jump now!

She seemed used to the huge machines, which slowed down but didn't stop. 
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I drove first to the new doctor's office, where I have an appointment on Monday. I signed a consent form they can fax to the office of my former primary doctor. I may have waited too late to have the information available when I see the new doc.

Then to the UPS store and turned in my old Spectrum modem. 

Next I found a parking place where the meter already had some time on it at the Methodist Thrift Store. Didn't see anything I needed inside though. Found the city hall was just across the street, and the police station right next door on E. Second Ave.

Then wandered around looking for a possible new bank, then figured my problem was it had west as part of its address, while I was still looking in east part of town. It's very small, the downtown area. 

To be continued...

Sharing with Saturday's Critters (a bit late!)