Still melting

This heat, with full sun too, is so brutal. I'm not able to do much beyond a little unpacking (the kitchen is done now, and I put together two floor lamps today), sorting slowly through the chaos of boxes and papers, taking Mojito to the lake to fetch (I now live closer to the lake, which is good for him) when the sun starts going down, and languishing in front of my swamp cooler. Unfortunately, my place has no a/c (in fact, I've never had it in Boulder, though summers have gotten hotter and hotter in my 20+ years here). I could really use it now. 

It cools down decently at night (the benefit of being at high altitude) but the window screens are still broken and I can only open the windows about two inches, so that the cats can't get out (yes, the cats are with me now, which is great).

Gadjo was the most freaked out about everything, sticking to me like velcro for the first two days. He literally couldn't stand to be not touching me--even when I was trying to cook or unpack. Having cats around makes packing or unpacking more difficult, but also more entertaining. On the car ride here, he hid his little face in the corner of the carrier the whole time. It was so sad and pathetic, and kind of funny because he is very much alpha kitty in whatever home he lives in, but turns into the biggest chicken when he experiences any change.

Putting up the first piece of art on the wall made the place feel suddenly so much more personal, more like a home than a place to squat. The transformation was very cool.

The worst part about this place so far, besides no yard for Mojito, is that the buildings in this complex are kept strangely brightly lit on their exteriors all night long. Like, very brightly lit. And both bedrooms' (one bedroom being the future art studio) windows are placed in such a way as to be unable to avoid the lights. Even with the shade down and my eyemask on, it's much too bright to sleep well. I'm starting to plot a possible sabotage of our building's exterior lamps, though they'd probably replace them immediately. How does anyone in this complex sleep? Every building, every bedroom window, has the same problem. I had expensive blackout shades in our former house. Maybe I'll have to shell out for one for my bedroom here. And there's only one window in the bedroom, so at night I put the cats out of my room, open the window wide to try to get some cool air, but then I need to put down the shade, and I don't get much air. It is an uncomfortable situation.

Yesterday I brought the lovely black Cleo Bean to what I hope will be her new permanent home. It was heart-wrenching, especially her pitiful terrified meowing during the half-hour drive, though I couldn't ask for better people to try her out. I really, really hope it will work out. It depends on her, whether she'll be able to adjust and learn to trust strangers. I hope it will work out--if it does, she will love the outdoors there--but I will always miss her.

In other news, the High Park Fire is now designated Colorado's most destructive wildfire ever. You can see the smoke on the horizon from where I am. I cannot even imagine the stamina of the 1800 firefighters out there, dealing with the heat from the fire combined with these insanely hot temperatures that show no sign of stopping.

So last night I thought I'd google the fire to see what the latest news was. Look what came up on the search: "Find Fire Near You. See Actual Customer Reviews!" Nice. I'm sure the people whose houses burned down would have some strong reviews on the fire. Dear CNN: People are not always shopping when they're on the internet.

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