Gary’s post: Super late post today. It’s afternoon already. I missed my morning posting time because there was so much going on. Yesterday sucked. Super windy, which is the New Mexico version of Seattle rain. It was so windy that you couldn’t go outside with eating dirt. Nasty.
Today has been pretty chill. Valentines’ day has me bummed out. I haven’t had time to do anything for my wonderful wife. I may just make her a nice trailer dinner, some sparkling wine and a movie. It’d be nice to just spend some quality time with her. The last few weeks, I’ve been locked to the trailer because of meetings with contractors, so it’s been a bit lonely. And I can’t get to any of my toys in the workshop because it’s filled with our stuff. Spending some quality time with my wife – high on my list.
I’ve been working with our general contractor to figure out how high we need to build the pad for the house. The reason this is important is because we want the house to be out of the Rio Grande 100-year flood plain. And we want to be able to build out a gravity fed septic system. Above ground systems are unsightly, expensive and complex because they have to have a pump. Currently the ground level 4842′ above sea level. Flood plain is 4843, so ground level is just below flood plain. Code requires that the base of the first floor is 12″ above flood plain. Doing the math, that indicates the dirt building pad has to be at least 2′ to meet code and be out of the flood plain. So, we’ll go 2’6″ to be safe. And that means that the stub out for the drain field will be 2′ below ground level, so the septic tank will end up being right at ground level to adhere to code. The issue is the water table, it’s at 6′, so they need to have the bottom of the septic 2′ above the water table. Who know you needed all this math to install a septic tank!!
We’re hopefully meeting with our GC tonight to lay out budgets and timelines for the house build. Once we get that done, then I can get the finances aligned. Tomorrow I’ll run a check over for the balance of the fence. And the real fun will be at my MVD appointment when I get to register my truck here in NM. Hopefully, no big deal. I’ve been doing insurance shopping, and I think we’re going to change things up a bit and try USAA for a while. They are about $120/month cheaper than the nearest quote I can get from my broker.
My youngest, Jaret, is in panic mode. He heads out to Utah in two weeks assuming that Trump doesn’t kill budget or headcount for firefighters. Right now, things seem to be moving forward, so fingers crossed. I think he’ll stop by here for a week to sort out his belongings, drop of his dog and then head to Utah. I’m not excited about two dogs, but his dog is a big lover, so things will be fine. We have LOTS of room for them to run. Just not sure where everyone will sleep – I may be sleeping in the truck!
Clouds are starting to move in, which means a change in the weather, again. We’re supposed to get another storm front tomorrow and maybe some rain! Gotta love the mud. The snowpack is terrible this year and there’s a worry that the Rio Grande will run dry this year because of no snow – unlike last year. Hopefully we’ll see some rain and it’d be fun to have some snow, especially on the cactus plants!
I was just musing about how people here call this area the valley. It’s a valley that’s at 4300 feet. When I lived here that last time, our house was at 6700 feet in the Albuquerque foothills. The Sandia Mountains are at 8700 feet. We’re pretty high up in our “valley” considering that our house in Renton was at 475 feet in the Renton “Highlands”. It’s high desert for sure with the 40-50 degree temperature swings. I’m thinking I’m going to get a home weather station that measures UV intensity. That could be interesting. Rainfall isn’t a big deal as it almost never rains except during monsoon season. Sunlight, wind and temperature are the key metrics for weather here. More toys.
Alright, it’s time to feed the dog. He’s pacing around and watching me from the couch.
To anyone reading this – have a wonderful evening!
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