It has been a week of highs and lows for our family and I have had many distractions that have kept me away from the blog. This is a quick "catch-up" post to let you know about some of the things that have been happening.
My husband's parents are downsizing after nearly 35 years in the same house so we have been helping with sorting, cleaning, painting and staging the house. A week ago Friday they closed on a new condo nearby and their house went on the market this week. This process has made me realize that it would be good to start now to get our house in "ready-to-sell" order. We don't have any plans to move in the near future but it would be nice to avoid the stress of doing everything in just a few months.
Our first sad news came at the beginning of the week. My husband's brother and his wife lost their beloved dog. Losing a pet is like losing a member of the family and we were so sad to hear the news.
Then, something good happened...
On Wednesday, my husband called his brother to say how sorry we were to hear about the loss of their dog. He told us that it had been raining ever since they buried the dog. At that point, no one knew how much more rain was coming. They live in one of the canyons above Boulder and if you have followed any news this week you will know about the devastating floods in Colorado. Their small town of Jamestown was hit very hard by the storms and we had some nervous time waiting to hear if they were OK. One man was killed in their town by the collapse of a building.
They were able to get to safety on higher ground and stay at her sister's house on the other side of the creek. The town is completely cut off due to washed out roads and bridges. On Saturday they had to take a zip line across the creek and the helicopters finally brought them out of the mountains. The house has four feet of sandy mud inside - they were able to retrieve a few personal belongings but will most likely lose the house. We are so shocked by all that has happened - it is hard to take it all in.
We just went to visit them in June and I shared a few photos from that trip already. Our timing was perfect to see the poppies that grow on their property.
Living in the mountains they have amazing views - this photo was taken in the front yard.
My brother-in-law has been working on building this garage/barn/studio on their property and it survived the flood.
The house is on slightly lower ground and close to the creek that runs through Jamestown.
This is how the creek looked when we were visiting.
You can see how close the creek is to the house - I took this photo from the second story looking down at the patio area where we had dinner the first night we were there.
Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this flood. I hope that it will be possible to quickly rebuild the roads to give access to the stranded towns. We really enjoyed the spirit of Jamestown and the people who live there are wonderful at looking out for each other. But no one is ever truly prepared for something like this to happen.
Thanks for letting me share this purely personal post - crafty projects will be back next week...
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You certainly have had an emotional week. My prayers go out for your family and the other residents of Boulder. Thanks for sharing. Sometimes it helps to put a face to these tragedies to keep them in our mind.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bobby - it certainly is more "real" when you know people affected by a natural disaster.
DeleteHi Diane, I always read and enjoy your post but only comment once in a while. However, today I'm so touched by your message. I have seen this devastation on the news and felt so bad for these people. Please knoe that I will keep them in my thoughts and prayers and I do hope they can rebuild very soon. A special prayer for there dog also. And congratulations for the cute little bundle of joy.
ReplyDeleteGodspeed
Claire
Thanks Claire. I really appreciate your kind words. The situation is bad, the road may not be rebuilt for a year but there should be an alternate way to reach their town (it will take much longer to get there). The baby is adorable and it is nice to have some happy things to balance the sad.
DeleteDiane, wow what a week you have had. First of all (let's start with the "happy") congrats on your new grandniece. She is adorable. I hope that you will be able to meet her in person sometime soon.
ReplyDeleteOh I can so relate to your husband's parents move as I just experienced this myself in June. I had lived in my house for 31 years. The house was prepared to go on the market and I thought I could work on the rest while it was on the market, but to my surprise, it sold in 6 days and I had 3 weeks before closing YIKES. I was thankful for the quick sale and closing, but boy did I have a hectic three weeks ahead of me.
I moved to Brighton CO which is just 6 miles south from the closures of both I25 and state highway 85 and approx. 25 from Greely which has just now been devastated by the floods. My heart goes out to your brother and sister in law and will keep them in my prayers and am so glad that they are safe and sound. I am so glad that you were here in June and were able to get pictures of their home. I will also keep your father in law and mother in law in my prayers for a quick sale of their house and easy transition to their new condo. Take care.
Thanks so much for the support. We are all thrilled about the baby. It sounds like you had a fast move and I am glad it all worked out. The new condo is great and things are looking good on the house sale.
DeleteI hope you are safe and sound where you are - the extent of the damage is so great, it will take a long time to get things back to normal!
Prayers being said for your Jamestown family.
ReplyDeleteThank you Gina.
DeleteDiane - what a week of emotional events! I'm so glad your sister and brother-in-law are safe! The pictures are so bucolic, difficult to imagine what it must look like. I hope somehow there is a silver lining for them!
ReplyDeleteThanks - it was a crazy week but things are starting to get sorted out and we are so relieved that they weren't hurt and were able to evacuate. The situation with the house will take a long time to sort out. If they have to take it down and rebuild I think they might move it back from the creek and raise the level! I wonder if the poppies can survive the layer of mud that is covering them now...
DeleteI'm so sorry to hear of the devastation and loss your family has experienced. I have been following the news about the floods in Colorado and my heart goes out to the people who have lost so much. My thoughts and prayers go out to your family for their loss and the loss of their dear pet.
ReplyDeleteThanks MaryAnn, We appreciate your prayers. There are so many people affected and it will take a long time for life to get back to normal. Losing the dog makes it even harder. I hope you are doing well, I have been thinking about you...
DeleteSo sorry to hear about your brother and sister-in-law's home in Colorado. We have been watching the news about the flooding in that area. Our prayers are with your family and everyone affected. Congratulations on the arrival of the new baby in the family! Blessings to you all.
ReplyDeleteThank you Anne. It is such a terrible situation and there is an unbelievable amount of work needed to rebuild the roads and bridges. At least they have other family in the area so they can get some support and have a place to stay while it is all sorted out. The baby is so sweet - I can't wait to meet her in person eventually.
DeleteSo sorry to hear about the flooding. Mud is so horrible. Give me a blizzard any day. To lose your dog is heartbreaking, then to lose your home, heavy stuff.
ReplyDeleteThe baby is precious. Ever noticed that when bad things happen, God sends something good into our lives?
Will pray for your family.
It really seems like too much to happen all in the space of a few days! It is nice to have the baby as a distraction but the work needed to restore things will take a long time - with luck before the baby is walking! Thank you for your prayers, they are appreciated.
DeleteWhat a week for you and you family. It is times like these that we all need to sit back and marvel in what we have and be thankful. So glad you got the pictures of your last trip to visit them and that they are ok. The rest is just stuff and stuff can be replaced. That is not saying we don't miss what we had. We always can keep that with memories though.
ReplyDeleteIt really does make you appreciate "normal life" when something like this happens. It is great that they are safe and the rest is just "stuff" but the sentimental things are hard to lose. I only wish I had taken more photos of the inside of the house - I was so fascinated by the poppies that most of my photos are outside. I think we all will be more grateful at Thanksgiving!
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