Man, it’s been a while since I posted. Lot’s going on with the house. Interesting part of the build, there’s work occurring inside the house that’s not visible, i.e. drywall, taping and spackling and doing some cleanup work. The Pella guys were here yesterday. They did a good job of fixing the windows and they look much better. They fixed one of the broken ones except the bedroom window – which they will come back and fix once it comes in.
Last week, they did trench for the electrical and water. Here’s a picture:
Utility trenches waiting on inspections.
The trenches need to be inspected, so we’re waiting on that before we cover the trenches. Hoping that happens this week.
Today is the start of the outside stucco, they will be brown coating which is the base coat of the stucco. Once set and cured, then they do the color coat after everything is done inside. We should be done with the inside work and plaster next week. Then we can start with the electrical and painting. We’re meeting with the tile guys again Saturday to confirm all the materials and rooms. It’s starting to come together and it’s feeling like a house. We’re pretty excited to get in the house and out of the trailer.
We’ve been going to church lately. I felt like something was missing as I get older, and Wendy likes going to church, so I thought it might be a good time to try church again. I’m thinking that it’ll help us build roots in the community – which it’s doing. And thinking it will help me build friends than relationships that are durable and lasting. I’m volunteering to be an election official just to get me out of the trailer.
Wendy has started her new job at PNM. I think she’s enjoying it as she doesn’t have to deal with people and she’s an individual contributor. Funny thing is that she understands the conversations and all the technical terms they use. She must have been listening to me at some point. Too funny. She does ask me about terms and lingo occasionally – which is good because I want to help her be successful.
Well, I need to get going today as there’s lots going on at the house and I do have some Itron work to do…. I’m going to do a walk thru of the house with all the wall board up and a drone shot of the brown coat to post later.
It’s been a bit since I last posted. Couple of weeks or so. Thought I’d post up progress on the house and what’s been going on with us as we adjust to living in New Mexico.
First, the house. Things are progressing quickly. We’re still hoping to make a Thanksgiving move-in date. It’s going to be close. Drywall is getting hung this week. All the interior framed walls have been insulated. Interior doors are here; frames are in and stained. Drywall should be done this week, then the team comes in and does plaster and texture. Here’s a picture of the current state of the dining room/drybar area. The brown stuff is sound insulation installed in the framed areas.
Drybar area
We’re getting the power trench dug this week and the buried pipes marked. We have cabinets on order, appliances are in storage with the vendor and I’ll be putting down some $$ for the lighting package. Our GC is dealing with the flooring and carpet. Pella will be here second week in September to fix all the windows and install the front door. The house is wrapped and ready for stucco – so that’s in flight.
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We’re waiting on the Septic company to get back to us and schedule septic install. Then we’ll get water installed and painting started.
Things are starting to come together and it’s exciting. Thank goodness because I’m NOT A TRAILER PERSON. Living in the 5th wheel has been an experience, but I’m ready for my house and living like real people. Wendy is super excited. We bought Amish bedroom furniture and an Amish entertainment center. We still have to buy a bed and a living room television so there’s more monies. We did settle on Ethan Allan living room sofa and chairs for the kitchen island eating area. We have a fabricator for the kitchen counters and the quartz picked out. Once we get most of the interior stuff done, then we’ll level out the building pad and start work on the retaining wall to keep the pad stable and define a “yard area”. We’ll probably do a cinder block wall and stucco.
On a personal level, Wendy secured a new job with PNM the power company that I used to work for. It’s significantly better than where she’s currently working and close to home. She’s excited and I think she’ll like it a lot more with a lot less stress and drama. We’ve started going to a local church that’s small and has a lot of locals. Since my brother-in-law is recovering from his lung and heart issues, we haven’t gone out to breakfast, so we decided to invest time in our spiritual needs and become more rooted in the community. It’s very helpful for my mental health and our marriage.
We’re slowly finding doctors and dentists. I now have a good endocrinologist and cardiologist locally. I haven’t spent enough time finding a primary care doctor, but I’ll get that done this week, hopefully. My endocrinologist in Seattle put me on Ozempic, so I’ve lost a lot of weight (175 -> 157) and my blood pressure is way down. My diabetes is better and improving, but I need to start exercising on a regular basis and so resistance training. The Ozempic has reduced my lean muscle mass some, so I look a bit like a skeleton. Wendy isn’t happy with how much weight I’ve lost. With resistance training, it’ll restore the lost muscle mass. Still haven’t reviewed my echocardiogram with my cardiologist, but I read the results which seem positive. I’ve been taking MitoQ to help reduce and repair some of the hardening of the arteries. It seems to help but I won’t know until I talk to the cardiologist.
Once we’re in the house, I’m going to get involved in some shooting sports, specifically sporting clays. I think it’ll help me get more rooted in the community. The sporting clay shooters meet on Wednesday for breakfast before they go to the range. Sounds like fun and a chance to make some new acquaintances.
I’m planning on going to full retirement right after the first of the year. I think it’s time, and I will have the shop empty, so I can start building out my office and doing wood working. And there will be a lot of landscaping to complete. I can ride on Wendy’s medical and vision insurance and supplement with Medicare and a gap insurance plan. There will be plenty to do around the property, and I do need to get the pasture fenced.
Harp, our Wheaten Terrier has been having issues with arthritis. We took him to the vet and they gave him a shot of Librela Blue which really helped him. It’s good for about 3 – 4 weeks before he needs another one. He’s at 3.5 weeks from his first shot, so I can tell he needs another one. I’ll take him in this Friday. He’s getting up there now. He’s 11 going on 12, so we have a little more time with him and we intend to spoil him until we can’t. His passing will be really hard on Wendy and I. He’s such a wonderful dog. We are parenting Juni, which is Jaret’s labradoodle, but she’ll leave when Jaret comes to NM this October to pick up his stuff. He’s moving to Utah and becoming a resident. That’s a whole different story, but a good one….finally!!!!
Well, that’s about everything for now. There’s always little stuff going on, but generally life is trending in the right direction and we’re fortunate that everyone and everything is healthy for now.
Have a good week and labor day. We all work too hard, and need to work on being present for our loved ones. I’m so fortunate to have a wonder wife, daughter and sons. I miss them. I’m hoping I can make a trip up to Seattle and spend some time with my family and reconnect with our grandkids.
It’s been almost a month since I last posted. Time flies when your old and having fun…
So many things have happened since my last post. Let’s start with the house. Not much has been going on from the outside but a lot has happened on the inside. All the electrical is wired, inspections passed and now for the insulation and drywall. We’ve charted a path with Pella about the windows. We’ll see how the results are once all the pieces are in place. We have updated door hardware coming and have ordered all the interior doors. The Pella sliders are amazing and will look incredible. I’m kind of pissed at us for deviating from the recommended windows, but we’ll learn. The painters are working on staining the beams and the insulation guys start tomorrow with insulating all the interior walls. The foam guy came today and foamed in all the cracks with closed cell foam to stop air loss. We’re still trying to get the front door sorted out with Pella. The local Pella team sez the current front door won’t work as delivered. The corporate team sez it’ll work fine. I’m letting my contractor and architect work out the problem with Pella. They’ve been less than helpful. The local people are awesome, the corporate people are terrible. I wouldn’t recommend Pella unless you don’t have a window choice. Nice windows, terrible customer service and support.
We’ve paid for the new bed and entertainment center, all built by the Amish who work with Simply Amish. Beautiful stuff and will last forever. We’ve picked out a sofa and dining chairs for the kitchen bar. We still need to buy a mattress, but that will wait for a couple of months until we get closer to occupancy. Lots of little stuff to worry about. We finally have a connection plan for power, and that’s getting spun up. Giant pain in the ass working with PNM, which is going to be Wendy’s new employer and my old employer. We have to put up a private pole, run the lateral up the pole and wire it over to the power pole (that I also own and has the transformer I bought) so they can hook it up. PITA!! Hopefully next week that will start. We still have the septic to install, but that should be pretty quick and easy.
As the house is sitting on a 3′ building pad, there is a bit of an uphill climb to get to the front door. I think we’re going to build a 3 1/2′ retaining wall around the property with cement blocks and then stucco it. I’ll install steps at the appropriate location for access to the original ground level. That’s a ways out.
Personally, I’m so ready to get out of this trailer and into the house. The main A/C unit fan went out, so we’re running the two alternate units. The units are able to cool down the RV to 90 degrees when it’s 110 degrees outside, so not a great temp gradient but at least it’s not terrible. The mobile RV repair people are going to replace the entire A/C unit as fan motors are not available since they come from China and are tariffed at 80%. And we all know that we pay for that, not China – so thank you President Trump. The man has no idea about the real world and is a complete moron about how things work in reality. Sorry, one of my sore subjects. Stupid people.
Okay, it’s August so I’m a little more than half way through the year. That means retirement is closer. I’m going to retire 1/20 as that will make me 73 years old and I want to have my own time now. I’m planning on learning some Spanish, playing golf and focusing on playing guitar. I think I’ll finish my drone pilot license and do some pickup work. I’m going to make an appointment with a lawyer here to get our living will and family trust set up in accordance with NM law. I think I’m going to title the land and house to the trust, and probably all the vehicles.
We thought we were going to lose our baby Harp on Sunday. He was lethargic and not eating or drinking. Having been down that path with 3 other dogs, we were going down the rathole of losing Harp too soon. Turns out, Harp was having an arthritis flair up and he was in pain. The Vet prescribed a shot, did a blood test and x-rays on Harp. He’s healthy, passed the ultrasound with flying colors. The meds are starting to take effect and he’s showing improvement. I thank the Lord that Harp is still here and will be for a while. I’m grateful.
Well it’s time for bed. I’ll post more after the wall board is up and the house is ready for stucco. 3 more months!!
Well, it’s Friday. Time to post since it’s been a while since my last post. Today is 9 years since my Dad passed. I miss him terribly. I miss my Mom and my brother too. It’s hard being away from my kids and grandkids. I miss them all. Even though we didn’t see them much while we lived in Seattle, it was always good for me when we did see them. And we had the option of planning something, which we never did often. If I had advice, I’d say stay close to your family, it brings satisfaction and keeps your mental health positive. Okay, enough wallowing.
Let’s see, the last couple of weeks have been busy. It seems like we have a weekend free and it gets swallowed up. So let’s start with the house. Electrical is on its way to being done, hopefully today. We will not lack for outlets, lights or switches!!! Our stucco guy started work today on the house. I expect to have the house wrapped over the next week. We got the Kiva fireplace installed yesterday. Turns out that the design our architect used for the chimney isn’t to code. The spark arrester at the end of the chimney needs to be either out in the open or if it’s enclosed, then the enclosure needs to be metal. Soooo, that means we need to remove the wood enclosure and fabricate a metal version. Here’s picture. The red circle is the part that needs replacing.
South view
So, we’re working on finding a fabrication shop that can provide a chimney cap that replicates the style. Frankly, a chimney cap would be better than the original approach. A chimney cap will provide rain protection and keep the critters out of the chimney space. Guaranteed that a bird would nest up there. Still nothing from Pella about the windows. Wendy is livid and so am I. We’re close to having the windows ripped out and replaced by Anderson or something else that is better. The downside is that would set the schedule back 6 weeks. And the front door is a debacle. Our contractor isn’t comfortable with how it goes together or that it will have any structural integrity. Our architect wants to try it and see how it goes. I’m not keen on that approach as I don’t want any more digging into the SIP panels to make fixes for crappy manufacturing.
Alright enough with the house for now. Hoping to get electrical rough in inspection done next week, Pella repairs done and doors installed. The sliders should be delivered next week. We should also finalize the cabinets next week. My last lighting quote was 20k, most of it was lighted medicine cabinets for the 3/4 and master bathrooms. With the lack of space, we needed the lighted mirrors and medicine cabinets – especially in the 3/4 bath.
So, we took my brother-in-law to the hospital last Sunday. His oxygen level was at 62%. The emergency room doctor told him that if he had waited, he would have passed out and died. Fortunately, they got him on oxygen and are working on getting the excess water out of his legs and lungs. He as congestive heart failure due to his weight. His hospital doctor was very straight forward with him. Told him that if he doesn’t take this seriously and make changes, he was going to send him home and free up bed space because why waste it on someone who isn’t interested in helping themselves. I think that shook my brother-in-law up, a lot. He’s working on getting his O2 levels up so he can start walking with us. Our goal is to take the side-by-sides to Red River at the end of next month. Hoping that works out. This is why we moved here – to take care of Wendy’s family now.
It’s been hot here even though monsoon season cools off in the evening. Makes it difficult for me to get much done during the day as I get too hot. Freaking aging sucks from the standpoint of being active. I have to get stuff done in the morning or evening. Things will cool off in September. I’m going to try and get our well water analyzed on Monday just so I know what’s in the water and if I need to filter it. We’ve been drinking it with a charcoal filter since we arrived here, and the water tastes good. More worried about chemicals that you can taste, like arsenic.
I’ve been spending the last couple of weeks doing project management and sourcing for the house. Making decisions about where outlets go, thermostats for the heated flooring and a million other things. Work seems to be getting in the way and I’m seriously contemplating just retiring. I need to get the house built and occupied before I do that. I’m so underutilized at work and have so little responsibility now. If I was challenged or had a position that used my skills where I could see line of sight to results, it’d be awesome. But for now, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing until they don’t want me anymore. Once I retire completely, I’m going to volunteer more, take advantage of my time and golf, read more and learn Spanish (so I can understand what the workers are talking about!) and finally get my Part 107 drone license so I can do gig drone work. I’ll spend more time in the workshop, build out my office in there and do more wood working. There will be a lot of work to do around the property too. Fencing, mowing and building out the landscaping. I don’t think I’ll lack for things to do. I’m actually looking forward to a change of pace. I think it’ll be really good for my mental and physical health. We’ve started trying to attend a local church on Sundays to build more community and a better mental attitude. With the state of our society today, church helps overcome all the negativity and polarization. It provides a better framework for living.
Well, that’s probably enough for today, Friday. Next week will be a heart test for my cardiologist. Hoping that goes well. I’ll post next Friday and summarize house progress, progress toward starting to build a new life here and anything else that might be interesting.
Sometimes after a trying day it’s just humbling to go stand in the pasture and watch the goats nibble on the ground cover.
It’s been a bit since I posted last. As expected the house building is slowing down from a visible perspective. We’re in the rough-in stage now. We’ve got all the plumbing and HVAC rough-in work done, now for the electrical. This is the most difficult as it’s all about where outlets go, switches go, which switch controls what lights, how many switches control the same lights, lights in the bathroom, so on and so on. Lots of small details that need attention.
An example. We had floodlights on the exterior of the house that were motion activated. After getting the house built and all the intrusions that have been made to the SIP panels, I decided to NOT put in anymore lights on the exterior of the house that would require cutting into the insulation and putting in a lighting can. Instead, we deleted all the exterior cans and floods from the plan and put in two outlets for low voltage lighting to replace the floods. We originally had sconces for hallway lighting, we removed all of those and went with Brio LED cans instead. There have been so many lighting changes, especially after visiting the lighting store, that we finally scrapped the original plan and started over. It’s been an experience trying to get all the lighting right. Once it’s done, you really can’t change it. Locating the outlets for the built-in appliances is a challenge as you have to coordinate with the cabinet maker to make sure everything lines up. It’s crazy.
Last post I believe I talked about the mess Pella made with the windows. Well, we have a resolution but it’s going to set us back at least two months on the build. Thank you, Pella, for screwing up everything. I will NEVER use Pella again for windows. They have TERRIBLE manufacturing and customer service. Not like I’m every going to build another house….. Here’s the plan, Pella is sending a crew out to inventory the windows, fix what they can and replace what they can’t fix. Problem is the crew won’t start until the 29th of July. So, house wrap, stucco and all the exterior stuff that needs to be done is delayed a couple of months until the windows and doors are installed. And that means the framers will have to reframe the windows and make a mess of the SIP. We’re so pissed off about this. I’m trying to be level-headed about this, but it’s hard. We’ll see what the end resolution is for us.
Otherwise, things are moving along. The electrician is about 2-3 days away from finishing the rough-in work for the electrical. Monday all the soffit framing will be finished and the doors installed. We’re trying to move and not be too affected by the Pella screwups.
On a different note, Wendy is interviewing for jobs. Her current job is a mess, and the owner has to micromanage people. Typical startup owner whose business has grown, and he isn’t capable of letting go or trusting people to run their departments. His business will never grow beyond where it’s at now. He’s a genius at organic formulas and creating supplements, but terrible at running the business. He’ll spend a dollar to save a dime, then change his mind again. And his staff thrives on chaos and generates chaos just for the sake of excitement. We’re hoping that she hears something positive end of this week or next.
It’s been a crazy week. Wendy’s brother called us on Sunday with low blood oxygen level (60) which is fatal if left unattended. We took him to the hospital, and they’ve been treating him. He has congestive heart failure happening because of his weight. 436lbs and he’s 5’10”. His cardiologist has been really straight forward with the impact of his weight on his health. In the past, he’s been really depressed which has contributed to his issues. He’s finally coming out and starting to be more socially connected. We’re hoping this doctor’s tough message to him that if he doesn’t course correct, he’s a dead man, will make an impact. I think it’s making an impact, but time will tell. Hopefully, they let him out on Friday after cleansing all the CO2 and excess blood from his lungs and water in his legs. It isn’t good. He’s on oxygen now, so we’ll see how things play out today and tomorrow. Scary, scary stuff.
Well, that’s enough craziness for today. I’ll close out now and blog more later once things settle down and move forward on the house.
Time for another post as it’s been a while since the last one. As you can see, things have slowed down on the house. We’ve managed to get all the rough-in plumbing done, HVAC rough-in’s done, and all the vents finished. The roofers came on the 4th and sealed up all the penetrations so there is no leaking during the monsoon rains.
Our HVAC guys will need to move one vent as it’s too close to a Canale. That should happen this week. Yesterday our electrician started, so there was a lot of discussion about where switches are placed, how to power the house, running ethernet cable and small changes. We’re still discussing about fireplaces in the living room. Wendy wants a wall-hung fireplace, and I don’t want one at all. I’d rather use the space for furniture or entertainment center as this house has limited wall space. I can’t see the point of having a fake fireplace in the living room, especially since we have a Kiva fireplace on the patio. I’ll have the electrician wire in an outlet, and we can decide later.
We got all our windows and doors yesterday. Now our framing crew gets to install them today and tomorrow in 100-degree heat. Totally sucks. As we’re in monsoon season, it’ll be hot for the next few days and then storms move back in on Saturday with rain (which we need). The framing crew needs to do some more soffits down the long hall and a step soffit on the living room outside wall to cover an HVAC setup. I should have eliminated the beams on each wall of the great room which would have made things easier. And we have a Canale that drains over the door to the garage, so we need to move that at some point or figure out a way to redirect the water. 90% of the time it won’t be a problem, but when it rains during the summer, it will be annoying.
Saturday we have the cabinet lady coming to do final measurements for the cabinets. And I’ll order all the bathroom trim for the 1/2 bath from her. And finally, we have a meeting with our light fixture person on Thursday at noon to pick through light fixtures, switches and outlets. We still need to find a fireplace option for the living room.
Generally, things for the house have been pretty mild and not a lot of drama. Most of the drama will be figuring out how to fund the final costs once the funds from the house sale run out. The payment for the windows and doors will pretty much drain things, but we do have funds to finish. It’ll be a question of taking out a small loan or just paying for it out of savings. All about tax advantages.
On a different note, we are slowly getting settled in the community. Los Lunas isn’t a bustling city like Albuquerque where there is most everything available. We are in a rural area, so there is limited availability for shopping, doctors and vets. We did go to church this last Sunday and I really enjoyed it. Nice people, small congregation and low key. I’d like to figure out a way to make that a weekly thing and still have breakfast with my brother-in-law. I think it would be good for my mental health and attitude to keep going to church. I’ll talk to Wendy and my brother-in-law about moving breakfast to Saturday or early Sunday.
Today will be too hot to do much in the day. Need to get stuff done in the morning or evening. During the day it’s super-hot and humid during the monsoon season. I know it’s high desert, but 25% – 40% humidity here is killer. Today will just be work stuff and killing the darn fly’s. I’ll need to chat with our electrician to talk about the fireplace in the living room and light switches and outlets.
Wendy is looking to upgrade her job now that she’s been here a while. Her current company is a revolving door as the owner can’t let people he hires do their job. He and his “circle” micromanage everything. The issue here is that jobs as so “gate kept” that you have to be related to someone or know someone to get the good jobs. She’s been turned down for several jobs where she is the best qualified candidate but didn’t have the right last name (Hispanic) or knew someone. Albuquerque Public Schools is the worst as they actually rewrote a job that was exactly like her job in Washington for Lake Washington School District because she was better than the candidate APS wanted to promote. This place will never grow because they suffocate innovation and reject new thinking and the people who bring that to the table. New Mexico is very ladened in Hispanic and Indian thinking. Arizona, next door, is growing leaps and bounds because they welcome innovation, new thinking and the people who bring that. New Mexico rejects that and continues to embrace legacy thinking and anti-growth. It’ll always be poor but rich with “Heritage” which is another way to say “we don’t want progress”.
Okay, enough soapbox. I need to get ready for the day. Lots to do.
Last day of June, Wow. It’s gone so fast. House is making progress, just not visible externally. Plumbing is done and inspection is scheduled for this week. Hopefully, HVAC will start today and electrical will start this week. Once we have all that done, then the framers will come back and build out the soffits and move a couple of walls 3/4″ away from the toilets. We have a couple of other modifications that need to happen with a pony wall in the primary bathroom. After the HVAC is done, and all the penetrations are done in the roof (we have a boat load), the roofers will come back and seal them up to make them waterproof.
Once we’re done with the all the wires, plumbing and HVAC we can start with the wallboard inside. We’ve picked out carpet, flooring and tile for everything. We’re still fine tuning the cabinets, but we have the kitchen appliances purchased and on order. Hoping to get the cabinets ordered second week of July. Then we have to pick out paint, cabinet knobs and stuff. We still haven’t done lightening fixtures but hoping to do that next weekend. This is definitely tiring. Stucco will be the last thing. Still waiting on windows and doors from Pella. They are terrible at delivering.
Yesterday it was 98 degrees here. Hot with humidity as the monsoons bring afternoon rain which propagates clouds late afternoon. I took our camping chairs to the back patio of the house sat out while watching Wendy’s cousin’s goats in our pasture. Fun. Drove the dogs nuts. Discovered Juni can’t leave the lizards alone. She’s so curious and it drives the lizards crazy. I do need to get after the ants, so I’ll be going to the store to get some ant bait and kill those annoying insects. Ants and flys, two insects that deserve to not be on this planet. I’m sure there are others, but those two. And one of the big ants actually bit me yesterday, which hurt like heck. They are going to die.
Today is Monday, so it’s laundry day – clothes, towels and sheets. I’ll spend all day doing the laundry, so it’s a wasted day. I was hoping to take out the Can-Am and see if I liked the new windshield. Rick and Wendy tell me that it’ll be awful on a group ride, which it probably will be. Too dusty and constantly cleaning it.
Well, it’s time to get ready for the day. Need to clean up, feed the dogs and generally get ready for laundry, store run and trying to get stuff done before it gets too hot today. Only in the upper 80’s today but the humidity will be high. More thunderstorms and rain this afternoon. Fun…. Take care. More in a few days.
It’s been 10 days since I last posted. A lot has happened and not a lot has happened. Confused? Me too….
Let’s take things by order of importance. The house, things have slowed down from a visual standpoint. The framing is done, now for the work that doesn’t show a lot of progress externally. The roofers have finished the first pass on the roof. Parapets and Canales are done, so the house is water-proofed from rain coming in.
Canales installed.
The last two weeks have been slow as the contractors were wrapping up other projects and we’re waiting for parts. Today starts the plumbing rough-ins for the in-wall fixtures such as faucets, showers. We’re also starting the electrical and HVAC this week. If things go as planned, the next three days will be running plumbing, electrical and HVAC lines inside the house. As we’re expecting monsoon rains for the next three days, I’m hoping to avoid penetrations in the roof until Wednesday, when the rain lets up and the roofer can get back to seal the pipes and lines. That will keep the water out of the roof and house.
We should be seeing windows in the next week. The doors aren’t scheduled until late July, which is fine. Pella is behind. We’re finishing up cabinet designs and working on finding flooring, tile and all the stuff that takes forever to decide upon. We have another appointment for tile in showers, hardwood floor and carpet. I’d love it if someone just made those decisions for me. I have enough to worry about with all the house things that need to happen and cash flow.
I’m thinking we’ll get a small loan to complete the house and then pay it off over the next two years or so. I’m really trying to keep the debt down.
Other stuff. So much going on with the house, it’s hard to think about anything else. Still need to work driveway, landscaping, pest control, keeping the RV in good shape…
Our youngest is officially a Forest Service Firefighter. He’s deployed on the French Canyon Wildfire and will be on a break in a couple of days for R&R, then redeployed. He’s loving it for some crazy reason. It’s been in the 100 degrees with 20-50 mph winds, so the fire is dangerous and keeps jumping over them. We’re following it pretty closely. He checks in every evening, so that helps with the anxiety. And there’s an arsonist loose in Los Lunas that’s been setting fires in the Bosque preserve. Had a huge one yesterday that’s still being contained. Burned homes and lots of property. They need to catch the idiots and put them away forever. I’m starting to be a proponent for giving the mentally disturbed a frontal lobotomy to make the docile and then we can put them to work doing jobs keeping our cities clean maintained. Yeah, I know, it’s not cool, but it would keep the crime down, give the mentally disturbed and ill work and a sense of belonging and keeps our infrastructure better maintained. Our society does a lousy job of helping the mentally disturbed and disadvantaged. Needs to change, but it will cost a ton to make the change. So sad.
I need to do a better job of checking in with my other kids. I’ve been talking to our daughter and oldest. Things are normal there with them focusing on their jobs, kids and living their lives. I am worried about my oldest and his family. Microsoft is laying of a lot of people and they both work there. Hopefully, nothing happens, and they stay employed, but it’s always nerve racking.
I’ve been living in this trailer since February and haven’t really done much to create a friend group or integrate into the community. It’s hard as there’s no room to enjoy get any of the toys out. And it is now summer here, so the temps are in the triple digits, which makes it difficult to get out in the afternoons or do anything physical. It’s mornings only to get outside things done. I get chores done in the morning, then just sit in the trailer until it cools off. I really need to get more engaged during the day and more mental stimulation as it is wearing on me. Even my vocal cords are atrophying as I don’t talk during the day, so they aren’t used. I’m getting old persons voice and I HATE IT.
Since it’s Monday, today is laundry. I’ll do my exercises (such as they are in the limited space), get laundry going and get some yardwork done. I want to get the rest of the pasture grass seed planted so the rain helps germinate the seeds. It’ll help keep the dust down. And I need to get the tractor back to my father-in-law. I’ve been trying to do that for the last 3 weeks by the weather has been ridiculously hot and I’m not liking working in it.
Well, enough whining today. I need to get going and get moving before the heat sets in and the thunderstorms and rain start. It’s clear and beautiful right now, but time slips away so it’ll be afternoon before I’m organized.
Welcome to Friday the 13th! It’s been about a week since I last blogged about our life in New Mexico. Let’s start with the house build.
Not much has happened since the roofers finished. Today the roofers are coming back to finish the parapets, so the house is completely waterproof. Plumbers are running late, so hopefully they start on Monday. The painters were here yesterday to estimate the paint work. On Wednesday I have a walk-thru with the electrician to get the work started on wiring the house, so that will be important. Our electrical plan has way too many lights, especially with all the windows. Our windows should arrive in the next couple of weeks. The doors are delayed until August. Pella is a mess. They make good product but are really having difficulty getting their act together around production and delivery. We’re meeting with the cabinet lady tomorrow to pick cabinets and get our cabinet plan moving. I’ve got all the plumbing fixtures picked out, so those are getting ordered. Still need to get stucco color finalized. Garage doors are picked out. We’re still on schedule for Thanksgiving occupancy. We need to get framing inspections done, then plumbing. Our HVAC is ordered and in progress.
Life stuff. Worked on our Can-Am yesterday and today. I’m installing an Audio system for Wendy. It’s actually a pain as the speakers are huge and it’s hard to find space in the cramped cabin. I should have mounted the speakers in the dash but that is a pain to take apart all the body panels. I did get the power to the GPS navigation system and mounting brackets done. Today will be wiring up the speakers and amplifier then paring everything to make sure it works. I need to wash the truck today also. It’s supposed to be 95 degrees moving to 100 on Sunday. Getting hot for monsoon season.
Monsoon season starts next week. Hopefully they will get the house wrapped and siding tightened up. I need to get the tractor up on the pad and level out the dirt piles. I’ll move some of the extra dirt over to the driveway and make it a bit less steep. Then I’ll return the tractor to my father-in-law. I wish I had my own tractor, but I really don’t need one. I have to talk to my plumber about building out a lean-to on the side of the workshop so I can park the vehicles under it for protection from rain and sun. He’s super capable.
I’ve noticed that time seems to be getting away from me. As I get older, I need to be more focused on tasks at hand or things take forever to get done. Days are so compressed that it’s late afternoon before I realize it. Today the task list is getting wire for the Can-Am, finishing the Can-Am, calling our appliance rep, washing the truck and if there is time, working the dirt on the driveway.
Last night, my wonderful wife took me to a live music concert with her work friends at the Albuquerque Botanical Gardens. Great venue and good music. Local artist that does blues with Afro punk undertones. Really nice and good music. Fun evening and beautiful weather. I really needed that break to sorta recharge and get my head reoriented.
Well enough for now. I need to get going. We’re going to have to go shopping as our food supply is out. Maybe I should start eating dog food!?!?! Just kidding – we’ve been so busy there’s not a lot of time for shopping. Sunday we’ll hit Whole Foods and Sprouts. We’ll see if the food distribution company is up and running after the hackers hit it. We need a way to eliminate those people – they are useless and a parasite on society. There’s no need for them and not use for their crap. Sorry, just a rant.
House stuff is slowing down a bit. I tested the cars in the garage to make sure the truck fit. They all fit, but I should have added about a 1′ in each direction. The truck takes up most of the length of the garage, making it difficult to add cabinets and safes. A little late now. Roofers were working over the weekend to add membrane and start the work on getting the roof ready. Still more work to do, but at least most of the leaks will stop. More monsoon storms later today, so hopefully the roof will stop most of the rain from getting inside of the house and keep it dry.
Over the weekend we made a poor attempt at trying to make our trailer life more palatable. We added some pots and plants to the trailer space. Now we look like we live in a trailer park but can’t afford to make the space liveable.
Trailer Park 101
If you look carefully, the pot at the front corner of the trailer has an interesting profile. Courtesy of my wife, she couldn’t resist. We added a ton of lemon grass and plants the discourage flys and mosquitos. We’ll see how they work over-time. We are going to add more lemon grass as it discourages Flys which are the main pest. We’ll plant a bunch along the south fence to keep the Flys in the pasture next door. I added some red and orange flowers to the mix to attract the hummingbirds, which we have quite a few of them.
This week is doctors’ appointments and getting medications right. I never suspected in my younger days that as I got older, I’d be dealing with all these drugs. It’s such a drag. Frankly the diabetes is a silent killer as it causes all sorts of problems with your heart. I did find a supplement that shows clinical results that helps repair hardening of the arteries, which is one of my major heart issues. The results show a 46% improvement in blood flow in 6 weeks for Type 2 diabetic patients that take this supplement. I have some coming today, so I’ll start it. I have a Transthoracic Electrocardiogram test at the end of July to check blood flow through my stent. This test should show if the supplement helps with this issue and starts repair of the arteries.
I started using the 24/7 glucose monitors that go into your arm last week. The first one stopped working after 5 days. The company is sending me a new one. I actually like them as I can monitor my glucose levels. It keeps me motivated to keep the glucose in range. It also helps me see the effect of the foods I eat on my blood sugars. Since Express Scripts screwed up my Ozempic delivery, I need to monitor my glucose carefully until my new delivery arrives. I’ll have Wendy put on the new patch tonight. I HATE poking myself. I really need to get over this issue, but for now Wendy is a good sport. I can’t imagine my life without her.
Okay, enough about me crap. Off-road stuff. The Can-Am is becoming a way of life. Love driving it. Finally got a front light bar on the bumper. I need to get a clear light guard for it. I’m debating about putting in windshields. I have a half-windshield but it’s terrible for mud and rocks, so thinking a full windshield for the front and one for the back will help with crap in the cabin. They are expensive though. I’m not keeping track of the cost of add-ons as I don’t want to know…. I’m sure it’s in the 5k range though. I would like to add the windshields, some tunes and eventually 4-point harnesses. Wendy wants to add side screens too, which is a good idea. I’m adding a Garmin Track 2 to document all the trails for us so we can recreate some of our routes. We’re at 250 miles, so I’m getting close to an oil change. I need to get some air filters too as it’s so dusty. I just need the weather to be a bit cooler. Hard to work on the vehicle when it’s 95+.
Well, enough for now. Gotta move the cars outta the garage so the works can access the house.
