Arriving at the apartment building.
I mentioned the other day how difficult it is to get deliveries. I kind of like that it's a secure building, but it also means I feel like princess in a tower at times.
My apartment is on the top floor, the second from the farthest left end of the building. (thus the 3rd and 4th windows from the end!)
The outer door opens easily, but one must use a key-fob to open the inner door. Or buzz the office and have the landlady release it. This is a view from the inside of the entrance.
Packages are left on the table shown here...as well as sometimes things residents share with each other.
NOTE: The US Postal Service is out to lunch in Durango. That's all I can figure. On Saturday Aug. 29th I received the first confirmation of my forwarding address, put in in Black Mountain post office on July 22! I also received the second one, effective the same date, but turned in on Aug. 13! I received in the same Aug 29th mail the one and only forwarded piece of mail, which clearly asked to have it returned to sender, a bill!
I haven't received the birthday card that Helen mailed on Aug 19 from Black Mountain NC either. I somehow don't think having a post box address would make much difference. Just text or email, my advice!!
The manager's office is straight ahead.
The 2 elevators are to the left.
The other day I went out to bring something in from my car. The ambulance and fire truck had blocked me in, but fortunately I didn't need to go anywhere. The EMT's were visiting someone and then left.
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Early photo from the internet shows the back of the building, next to the Animas River
The path behind the flowers goes along the river.
Taken Aug 8, 2026, the sign is hard to see behind the trees.
Someone was working on these garden features in front of the library.
This photo is from the internet.
There is a Farmer's Market which closed off Main Ave. Saturday morning. I almost went to it...but would have had to climb a steep hill to my car after I was tired, so decided to try it some other Saturday. I later found this was the last full blown one of the summer, but there's a smaller version every Saturday in a bank parking lot. (The bank I chose to do business with)
The 2 elevators are to the left.
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Repost from August 10, 2026
The Durango Public Library
Early photo from the internet shows the back of the building, next to the Animas River
Internet photo with small trees of the entrance to the library
More from inside the library in another post!
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I saw an interesting talk was to be given by zoom as well as in person on Sat. afternoon, about early Spanish explorers in this area looking for a good route to California. I signed up for the zoom, but the sound quality left a lot to be desired. And I was glad to not have gone in person to hear the talk, as they handed out fans to everyone because of the heat.
I'll visit this museum when it's cooler! It's apparently an old school building!
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Down the street I saw this:
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I'm good driving around, while breathing with my portable oxygen generator...and can walk a little ways carrying it. This old bod is working to acclimate to the altitude. Plus the air quality has been moderate to poor, getting worse in evenings. Fires and ozone levels are what are reported on the warnings.
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I saw the La Plata County Fairgrounds, and nearby the very big Durango Community Recreation Center
I had a lovely fun visitor outside my window as I composed this on Sunday morning. A female (or juvenile) hummingbird looked in the closed window...at herself in the reflection perhaps. She flew towards the glass, checking it out, then moved on to the next window in the building. I hope she finds some nectar, probably a bit further down than the 4th floor of a brick building!
The groceries are a pain in an apartment building, even if you’re young but you are not.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder...but actually I'm proud to be 84!
Delete...what, no nectar at the pent house???
ReplyDeleteWould that I could have a hummingbird feeder on my window!
DeleteDo you have a little cart you can use to transport items?
ReplyDeleteI think you have found yourself a lovely little nest.
yes indeed...I should feature the cart sometime, because it carries in the groceries and out the trash. It fits in the back seat whenever I go shopping, so the bags just get put right into it. NO Plastic Bags in this town (state?). So the ones I have that line my trashbaskets are worth reusing, not tossed unless food is on them! When they're gone (months?) I wonder what I'll do, have to purchase some perhaps.
DeleteHow long will you be there, in that building? I think you mentioned that it was just a temporary thing until you could move closer to your family? Anyway, it seems nice enough for now. The inside of that building could uses some live plants and colorful walls, It could be more beautiful - your apartment will make up for it soon, I am sure! That has been quite a move for you! You are brilliantly adaptable!
ReplyDeleteNo plans to move again. The other applications have been stopped at this point...apparently once you're approved in one place, you are dropped from others. I'm happy here. Though I do remember working in a 16 story tower of senior apartments and saying I'd never live in a concrete hive! Yet here I yam! I want to do a couple of planters, mainly herbs, but don't think the season is right for starting them now. I may get a mum though for the living/dining room! There are lots of fake plants and pretty pictures on the walls in common areas...so they make efforts to make the place more homey. I appreciate that. And I'm thinking of a wreath for the door!
DeleteI think if I had to choose between convenience and security, I'd go for security.
ReplyDeleteHere, If you want to have your mail forwarded, you'll be paying around €50 for one month and the price goes up from there.
ReplyDeleteYour building certainly looks nicely maintained.
ReplyDeleteI have watched the postal service go downhill so rapidly since 2016. It is horrible. I too tired to guess what part of the orange plan means no more mail delivery but it is getting to that. Twenty years ago we could mail letters in my town (I was a secretary) with meeting agendas and if I got them to the post office by 10 am, they were delivered the next day. Now it can take a week to ten days to mail something in town and have it get back to town, sometimes longer. I no longer mail birthday cards - I don't trust the mail. It is a sad state of affairs.
ReplyDeleteI like the sounds of Princess in the tower! I think that is the positive attitude needed!!! You have landed in a lovely spot - I can't wait to see the rest of the library. And I can't wait until the weather settles down so you are more comfortable outdoors.