Okay, I don’t usually do too much personal stuff on this blog (other than my personal reading tastes ☺), but a couple of months ago I made a huge change in my personal life: My husband and I moved from Texas to Colorado. I’ve been here long enough now that I can begin to process the changes and I thought I’d talk about them here from time to time.
What do I like about my new home state? Well, given that Texas is currently experiencing temperatures over 100 degrees, while Colorado (my part of it anyway) hits highs in the low eighties, that’s a no-brainer. Yes, I know we’ll pay for it with winter cold, but that doesn’t bother me much. I kind of like cool weather. Then there’s the jaw-dropping beauty of the landscape that never gets old. And the way everybody treats physical activity as if it were just a given rather than a huge pain (I know, I know, I need to do more of it myself). What do I dislike? Well, our Home Owner’s Association just threatened to fine us over a dry spot on the lawn. I can’t help thinking what my neighbors in Texas would have done (possibly involving firearms).
What do I miss about Texas (besides friends and family, which is sort of a given)? The Hill Country. The wineries. The music. Most of all, the music. I never appreciated the ease of driving up I-35 to Gruene Hall to hear Joe Ely or the Belleville Outfit or Audrey Auld or Guy Forsythe. Or heading over to Floore’s for James McMurtry or (occasionally) Willie Nelson if you don’t mind standing up for three hours. I even remember seeing Robert Earl Keen at the place where they hold the Kerrville Folk Festival, along with Todd Snider and Trish Murphy. It doesn’t get much better. I don’t know why people in the Denver area aren’t big on Americana, but boy do I miss it.
I don’t miss Texas politics, which almost goes without saying. I hope they get rid of Governor Goodhair and let some grown-ups run the state for a while. I don’t know enough about Colorado politicians yet to know what’s up exactly, but they don’t seem to have as many nutcases to deal with.
So anyway, here I am and likely here I’ll stay—at least for a while. If Coloradoans want to talk to me about things I don’t know, I’d be glad to hear from them. If Texans want to bash me for not loving Governor Goodhair, I’m less glad but I guess I’ll put up with it. Anyway, somebody head up to Texas Hills Winery this weekend and have a glass of syrah for me.