The Centennial State isn’t called “Colorful Colorado” for nothing! The sunsets here are always something to see. And, with the unfortunate wildfires in the west, they are particularly red this visit. I awakened yesterday morning with a headache and could smell the smoke in the air. The skies are hazy. Not like our humidity hazy. Smoky hazy. Daughter #2 and her wife came over for a visit yesterday afternoon and were telling us how hard it’s been to keep up with the yard work this year. They both have asthma so they only work fifteen minutes at a time then take breaks to cool down and breathe indoor air for awhile. Ben and Sue haven’t been able to open their windows much since the fires started raging in the West. So, while the sunsets are beautiful, it’s for all the wrong reasons.
We ordered barbecue to be delivered for a late lunch. This is another thing I’m totally out of the loop on…GrubHub. Imagine, having an app on your phone where you can access the menu of any kind of restaurant you want, order any kind of food you want, and have it delivered to your door by a mask-wearing Millenial in a Subaru. I mean…where are we going to do such a thing living twenty miles out of town? People living in rural areas just shake their heads at some of these “modern conveniences”. Granted…the food was good. But my barbecue is better…and a darned sight cheaper, too.
Speaking of the costs of things, I keep telling Mr. FixIt…this is one of the major driving factors that sent me packing for West Virginia after becoming a widow. I was simply being priced out of the market here. We went out to Walgreens last night to pick up a couple of things and decided to stop at Wendy’s to get a couple large diet sodas. We love fountain drinks…they are so refreshing. I got up to the menu and placed my order…
“Two large Diet Cokes, please.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes it is, thank you.”
“That’ll be $6.02.”
“I’m sorry…what?!?!”
“$6.02.”
“How much are they each?”
“$2.76.”
“Ummmm…no, thank you. I’ve got drinks at home. Sorry!”
And I drove away. “Remember a couple weeks ago how I told you Mr. FixIt has ruined me? I simply could NOT pay $6.00 for two sodas. He was so proud!”
Gas is terribly expensive here because there was a bad fire in Colorado last year. As a result, there have been disastrous flash flooding with debris and mudslides in Glenwood Canyon. This cut off the main transportation route for gasoline coming from the refineries out west, doubling and tripling the delivery costs. And, when the charge goes up from the suppliers, eventually it’s felt at the pump. There were places in Northeastern Colorado where regular gas was $3.64 a gallon. That’s not politics. That’s supply and demand and ultimately, global warming.
Housing is astronomical! The prices have doubled and even tripled since I sold my house in 2014. It’s crazy and I don’t know how young people do it. I really don’t.
We’ve been enjoying a slice of pie in the evenings after the sun has gone down and the world has cooled off. That’s one good thing about this altitude. It may be 94 degrees on a September day, but the nights are delightfully cool making for wonderful sleeping weather. The next couple of days are actually supposed to be about ten degrees cooler during the day which will be most welcome.
I hope you enjoyed your Labor Day Weekend. It’s so hard to believe it’s here and gone already!
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“We love because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19 ESV