Category: Blog

Today was crazy busy. We started the foundation pour at 5:00am with the concrete pumper trucks showing up and getting located on the property. Then the workers showed up around 5:30am. Once the pumper showed up, then the concrete trucks started, and things began to move as the sunrise broke.

They started with pouring the footers, then moved to the large areas next and finally finished with the patios. There were about 9-10 people working on the concrete doing various activities including putting in dirt, compacting and doing finishing work.

I don’t have a picture of the finished slab yet, but I’ll get that tomorrow morning. They will do stress and heat cuts tomorrow to finish out the work. I’m impressed and they did a beautiful job, so I know the foundation is solid – and like anything if you have a solid foundation whatever you build on it will be stable and last!

Friday the trusses for the garage and lumber for the framing and interior will be delivered. Then the real work starts next week after the foundation cures. They’ll put up the frame, then the walls and roofs and in about 2-3 weeks we’ll have a shell. It’s all coming together and getting very real.

I’m meeting with the appliance rep on Friday, then picking out hardware for the sinks. We need to get a cabinet plan going once I have all the appliances and sinks picked out. Then we have lights, switches and various other stuff.

CenturyLink showed up to fix the cable cut but they were unprepared to do anything, so hopefully they will show up tomorrow to do the temp fix and get the contractor for the perm fix scheduled. Ridiculous.

Ann (Wendy’s stepmom) had an emergency yesterday and I couldn’t help her as I had to be here and was working. Wendy had to take some time off to get her to the doctor. We managed to get everything done with Ann, but it illustrates a point. I think because I’m semi-retired people don’t understand that I’m still working a bit for the rest of the year. I’m seriously considering just calling it so that I can be at the ready for everyone else. Not excited about that prospect, but it seems to be the only way to be able to service everyone else’s needs and manage the house construction. I have to think more about the ramifications of doing that and the impact on finances.

Well, tomorrow is a busy day. I meet with my new cardiologist, and I need to get the rest of my doctors aligned down here. Been having a bit of an issue with Ozempic and heartburn, but I’m managing it and it’s decreasing. I think it’s just taking a while to adjust to the stronger dose of the medication. It does seem to be suppressing my appetite and food cravings.

Time to wrap this up. Deal with the dogs, bed and tomorrow’s crazy schedule. Everyone take care and more tomorrow.

Finally! Tomorrow is the big day for our house. The foundation gets poured and the real work of building the house begins. They will bring in the pump trucks at 5:30am, then the concrete will start at 6 am and they should finish by 9 am or so. The concrete guys will float the floors and get everything smooth. Then it’s a 7 day wait for the concrete to cure. Once that’s done, then the forms are removed, and the dirt is filled in around the outside. Then the walls are put up and the real fun begins.

I had an induction loop put in on the gate today so the cars inside the property can get out without a clicker. I’ll add a timer after the construction is done and things will be sorta back to normal. In the process they fence guys cut the internet cable again. No fault of theirs as the internet cable was poorly placed when it was trenched. Century Link is supposed to come out tomorrow and repair and trench the cable again. I’ll make sure they put it where it won’t get cut again. And we’ll mark it, so it doesn’t get clobbered when we run power and water!

On a lessor note, Lauren left today so the place was pretty quiet. We’ll see her next month, so that will be special. I do miss her and the grandkids. I’ll have to make a trip to Seattle to hang with the G-kids. We did wine tasting yesterday with Lauren and friends. We joined a winery, but I’m not convinced that we’ll stay with them as their business model is very different that Washington. They do monthly releases, not seasonal and theirs little talk about the wines. They also don’t waive tasting fees for members or if you buy wine. Just not a good model based on our Washington experiences.

Plates for the Can-Am arrived today, so now the Can-Am is both off-road and on-road legal. I put in the lighted whips today. Lots of guess work on how to wire it as the instructions sucked, but the lights work great. Now I need to figure out how to link them with the brake, turn and stop lights. We’ll get them linked to bluetooth so they can blink to the music. I did order some day-whips so that we can use the flags I ordered during the day and the lighted whips in the evening and night. I still need to get a flood light for the front of the vehicle to light up the trails better.

Not much else today as it was laundry day, so that takes up most of the morning and part of the afternoon. I did move my appointment with the appliance rep to Friday as today was just busy with laundry and putting in the lighted whips.

Early start tomorrow, so I’m going to wrap this up. I’ll take pictures of the concrete work and maybe even fly the drone to get some pictures from above.

Take care and rest tonight.

Today was a low-key day with lots of naps. Lauren (my daughter) is here visiting her friends in ABQ that she grew up with. She came in at 12:30am this morning, so it was a very interrupted night of sleep and rest which caught up with us this afternoon. She spent the night with us. After Wendy went to work, she and I went to breakfast and indulged in some awesome NM food. It was a fun day just to relax and catch-up with her.

We FINALLY had our CID inspection. The inspector slipped in and out without me seeing him. The only reason I knew as my general contractor called me and asked if I’d seen him. She got an email from the Construction Industry Division with the approval. Now for the concrete pour on Tuesday morning. I have the gate people coming on Monday to install the induction loop for the gate that will automatically open the gate when a car sits in front of it. That will help with security once all the construction is done. I can go back to the automatic close.

Tomorrow we’re going to the “Gathering of Nations” event which is the largest native American Pow-Wow. Should be fun and EXPENSIVE as it costs a fortune to put on these events. But it’ll be the only place where you can get multiple tribe art, jewelry and pottery with all the different styles from different tribes. Should be fun and entertaining as well as educational. Tomorrow afternoon, we’ll head out on the Can-Am’s for an afternoon ride before the wind gets crazy. That’ll give Lauren a chance to drive the Can-Am and have some fun. Hoping she doesn’t tip it over – LoL. New tires arrived today along with the Go-Pro. Now I need the rims (tomorrow) and the lighted whips to get here and I think we have it covered. Wendy is going to get a bluetooth speaker for the cab so we should be rockin’. I can mount the GoPro on the front bar and record our trips.

Spring weather in NM is going to make Sunday a mess again. 50 mph gusts forecast for Sunday, so we’re going wine tasting and doing indoor things on Sunday. We’ll have breakfast with Wendy’s brother the head out to Casa Rodena and Gruet. Better to do wine tasting on a full stomach instead of an empty one. We’ll probably hit a couple of chocolate places too while we’re out. We’ll just explore some of the new stuff in Albuquerque that Lauren hasn’t seen since she lived here.

I’m keeping this short tonight as I’m tired and need to recover from lack of sleep. Time for dogs and bed.

Have a good evening and enjoy the weekend.

Well, the advice of our contractor is true. We were supposed to have CID inspect yesterday and nothing. We called today and they told us our inspection hadn’t been scheduled. Nothing. Hoping tomorrow will happen so we can pour next Tuesday. The delays will always be inspections. Freaking annoying.

The foundation guys built the footings for the posts on the patio today and did a lot of clean-up work which was needed. The wind blew the insulation all over the place. The house foundation is ready just need the inspection done. I’ll post some pictures tomorrow of the finished work. I did make an appointment Monday with the appliance rep, and I’ll sort out the budget and timing. We need to get a cabinet plan done!

Picking up my daughter tonite at the airport at midnight. So, I took a few naps today and will probably hit the sack around 9 for a few hours. We’re planning on going to the Gathering of Nations this weekend which should be amazing. It’s a massive national pow-wow of multiple tribes. It’s expensive but I think it’ll be worth it from a cultural perspective. Lots of dancing, singing and vendors so my pocketbook will be depleted. I think Lauren will really enjoy it. We’re planning on taking her out on the Can-Am’s too, so she will get a chance to do some off-road driving. I think she’ll enjoy it as she did a lot of that with the family when we lived here the first time. I’ll be said to see her leave on Monday.

I ordered a few more toys for the Can-Am which should start arriving today. I’ll get the lighted whips today, tires and the new Go-Pro. Not sure when the rims will show up. Need to get gas for the Can-Am, Octane booster and then go to Tractor Supply and buy a tire mounting tool. Then I’ll be ready when the new rims show up.

Typical spring this weekend. We’ll have 20-30 mph gusts with 80+ degree weather. Hoping that Sunday won’t be too bad so we can ride without being totally blown around and enjoy the scenery.

Okay, going to keep this short so I can get some sleep. Need to get up at 11pm to be at the airport. Love my daughter, but darn this is hard on us old people.

Have a great evening and enjoy some good sleep.

Blop ya later!

Workday today doing paid work. Not a lot happening. The foundation crew finished up their work today. We were supposed to have a CID (Construction Industry Division) inspection of the foundation and approval before we can pour but the inspector never showed up. That is the major delay point in construction, the inspections required. In this county, the county does the permitting, then CID approves the permits, and CID does the inspections for the county. CID is part of the state permitting divisions.

Hopefully tomorrow we will get the inspector out and have approval so that we can pour on Friday. The schedule is to begin the foundation pour at 6:30am. We’ll see if that happens.

We had dinner with Wendy’s brother tonight. It was a good thing and I think he enjoyed the company. He’s getting better mentally and is moving to a healthier mental place. I think our being here and doing things with him is good. I know our Can-am outings are and activity he enjoys. We’re considering doing a dinner thing with him on a more regular as the weather is starting to get better.

Lauren is arriving tomorrow night for a few days. That should be fun having her here. We’ll finally do our wine tasting at Casa Rodena and use our two-year-old gift certificate that Matt and Steph gave us. And we’ll probably go to Poulin Design again and check out house stuff.

I’m going to keep this short as it’s close to bedtime and I’m tired. Time to prep the dogs for bed. Tomorrow is a busy day.

Take care and enjoy.

One thing about living in New Mexico is the sunsets, they can take your breath away because they are so vivid. You have to stop and enjoy them and take the time to breath, but they are amazing.

Lots happening. My handyman finished the back gate between my wife’s cousin’s property and ours. It’s really well done and pretty nice. I set up the gate so the either of us can open it and have access. It makes is easier for Dennis and his livestock. Once we have the house built, I intend to work with Dennis to revitalize our pasture so he can graze the goats and cows. It’ll keep the weeds down and make it easier for property upkeep. It was amazing that they sold us the property and I want to give back to them, so they don’t feel like they lost something. And it’ll be fun to have goats and cows roam the property that I don’t have to worry about. Matt’s kids will have a ball.

The house foundation was supposed to be done yesterday with the CID inspection happening today. Not sure that going to happen as the foundation crew didn’t get all the rebar installed and it looks like they have about another day or two worth of work. Our architect specs a lot of steel in the foundation, so this is the first time this crew has done work with this much steel. I think they underestimated the work. They do nice work though, and the foundation looks amazing. I’m pretty sure it’s going to outlast a bomb blast. My GC was a little worked up last night, but she’s going to be here today, so we’ll see how it works out.

This afternoon was expensive. I finally outfitted our new toy. I bought some different tires and rims for the Can-Am so that we have better traction in the desert. The OEM tires are pretty basic, they lack some traction and ability to hook-up in various terrains. And I’ve notice that even with 100 miles on the tires, they are already pretty worn down. So now I’ll have a set of spares. Then I bought a new Go-Pro camera to record our adventures. My old Go-Pro is with Jaret, so I’m giving it to him as he uses the heck out of it. And finally, I bought some lighted whips that work with our turn signals, brake and stop lights. Now the Can-Am is pretty well equipped. It only needs a light bar on the front. Wendy wants some audio in the vehicle and I’m okay with that – sop that’s her contribution. Next maintenance I’m going to change the oil to AMSOIL and the cooling fluid to AMSOIL also. Eventually I’ll get all the fluids to AMSOIL for better longevity and less wear.

I think I mentioned that our group ride this Saturday won’t be happening, so that’s a bummer. If the weather holds, then we’ll ride this weekend out on the Mesa. I’m thinking we should find the Hoodoos out there. They are apparently pretty cool. We’re still planning on going to our group ride on the 17th of May. Should be fun.

Lauren is coming down this week to visit her friend down here. I’ll be picking her up at the airport at midnight. GOD only knows why she booked a flight that arrives at midnight to save $100. That’s my daughter – sometimes too frugal. Anyway, she’ll be here for the concrete pour. We’ll lend her a car so she can travel around ABQ. I’m excited for her to see our place, even though it’s a bit of a mess at the moment. I’m hoping she has fun and relaxes while she’s here.

Okay, that’s enough for tonite. Time to put out the dogs and get ready for bed. It’s been a long day with work and stuff going on with the property. I need to sleep and recover. I need to really focus on better eating as my A1C is way too high. Bad eating habits and no exercise for 3 months will make that happen. Anyway, off to bed. Tomorrow will be busy…again!

Take care.

The house is starting to take shape. More work on the foundation, setting rebar and leveling out the garage. They still need to finish the rebar for the footings and pack the gravel fines. Everything is done for now with the rough in plumbing and electrical. Once they finish the rebar and the foundation is inspected then we can pour concrete.

The above media is a fly-thru of the house using my drone. Hopefully should give you a feel for the house.

Spent my day doing errands for the in-laws. Managed to give the Can-Am a bath today. Was hoping to go to a group ride this weekend but that got cancelled as my brother-in-law had to fill in for a co-worker that was killed this weekend. Terrible tragedy. Riding a Moped to the store and was hit be a car. Killed instantly. Hopefully they throw the book at the driver. No excuse for that.

Of course this being Monday was laundry day, so that took up most of the day. And my handyman started with the back gate today. That should be done by Wednesday.

I’ll keep it short tonite. Time for bed as tomorrow is work. More to come.

Gary’s post: I think I’m going to stop identifying who’s writing the post and just assume it’s me. Clearly, Wendy isn’t going to post anything as it’s been 3 months and she hasn’t posted anything. No big deal, just keeps this blog oriented toward my point of view, which is the most important!!!

Happy Easter! Today was a chill day with amazing spring weather. No wind, 70’s and clear skies. We got snow/rain, .32″ which we sorely needed. Of course, the trailer is now a dried, muddy mess because of the dogs. The dirt hear is adobe and it dries hard, so Harp has all the mud in his paws and when it dries, he limps because it’s rock hard. I’ve been working out the dried mud in his paws all day. I think I finally got most of it. And the dogs are driving me crazy. Juni keeps going around the property and eating cat poop. Harp is doing the same thing. I’m going to have to fence them in when I put them out because they can’t be trusted to be smart about what they eat. Sometimes dogs are just dogs – stupid animals that eat anything that smells good.

We walked the property today and tried to pick up all the trash that blew around from the construction site. I’ll pick it up this week and move it back to the site. There’s a lot of work the foundation guys need to do to clean up the trenches and get all the rebar installed this week. They also need to reinstall the insulation as it blew away from the foundation. I’m not sure they’ll be ready for CID this week. Tomorrow my handyman shows up and he’s going to install a gate on the northeast corner of the property between Dennis and I. I’ll have him install it on the property line so Dennis and I can use it.

We spent the afternoon riding our Can-Am in the desert with Wendy’s brother. It was fun and exhausting. We found some property the Dennis and Margaret bought on the west mesa. It was a great ride. We put 50 miles on the Can-Am and it’s pretty dirty, which is to be expected. Next week we are doing a ride in northern NM with a group of people. It should be interesting, and we’ll need to pack some food. I’ll test the UTV on the trailer and make sure I can get it strapped down. I need to research the off-road vehicle laws of Valencia county to make sure I understand the legality of driving our Can-Am on streets. I do have a horn and turn signals on the Can-Am, but I don’t think that’s enough. And after driving it for a while, I think I need to replace the tires as they are a bit unstable at higher speeds and in some of the loose sand. I’m thinking a cross-country tire is a better fit for this Can-Am. Just need to tweak it a bit, but it’s fun as heck to drive.

Tomorrow is laundry day, as usual. Need to wash off the dirt and clean clothes. I’ll wash the Can-Am, get the trash in for my in-laws and change a door handle. It’s kind of annoying that my days off are spent doing things for everyone else and not for me. I’m going to have to have a conversation with Wendy about volunteering my time off to do chores for everyone else. I’m NOT stoked about redoing the bathroom for Jim and Ann. It’s a lot of work and will take a lot of time that I don’t have. If I was retired completely, then maybe but not in this part-time state.

Speaking of part-time, I’m starting to think that this isn’t for me. I really don’t want to do anymore Itron work. If I work, I want to work for myself and do things that I want to do. I’d start my drone business but this current, lawless administration and the whole stupidity of “China fear” is making work with drones made in China impossible. There are so may laws about using China drones that make no sense and are passed by representatives that have NO understanding of reality of using drones and what’s available in the market. I may get my part 107 and try to do drone work on a piece meal basis and not start a company. Too many regulations about usage that make it hard.

I think I’ll do the part-time thing through the summer and see how I’m feeling. Having the workshop unusable with all our crap in it is starting to cause me angst. It’d be great to have the house done, but patience is required – which I’m not sure I can endure until the house is done. I really don’t understand how people can live in a trailer long-term. It’s DEFINATELY not for me. Too cramped and restrictive. It’s clearly a different lifestyle. I’ll endure.

Time for bed, need to get some sleep and rest. Pretty beat up (in a good way) from riding today. I’d love to go again tomorrow but can’t really go yet as I’m not familiar with the area. And I need more familiarity with our Can-Am and driving it. I think it’s smart to go with a partner as it’d be easy to roll the vehicle and get hurt with no one around. Safety is important.

Have a good evening.

Gary’s post: Haven’t posted in a few days as I was up in Seattle for an appointment with my Cardiologist. Things were in good shape, and he didn’t have much to “ping” me on. He was happy that I was starting Ozempic as it has some significant impact on heart events, i.e. a 20% decrease in potential events. Interesting side benefit. I house sat for my oldest and took care of his cats. He has two “Rag Doll” cats that are insane but really loveable. They are brother and sister, both neutered.

The house. Thursday the foundation crew finished up the insulation and covered it up with gravel fines. Those will be smoothed out and then packed right before they concrete is poured for the foundation.

Friday was crazy. The wall and roof panels were delivered and stacked. It’s amazing to think that the house is stacked and wrapped up waiting for the foundation to be poured and the frame to be built.

The large vehicle is used to lift the panels in place once the fame is built out. Foundation is scheduled to be poured this coming Friday, then sets for a week to harden. Then things begin to move forward pretty quickly. We’re looking forward to seeing the shell of the house to get a sense of the space.

Now we really have to start watching budget as we have all the fixtures and kitchen to pick out. And that’ll be easy to quickly overrun the budget if we’re not careful. We have a meeting with our General Contractor about budget and timing. We’re going to have to have a cabinet plan done also so we know how and where cabinets are installed. We’ll get Wendy’s friend to do the cabinet design and then drop shop the cabinets here. We’ll have out framing guy do the install.

Wendy finally got the stucco samples and picked out a color and it goes well with the brown windows. I think we have the major stuff done so it’s all about the small things – lightening, faucets, fixtures and wall switches.

Enough for tonight. It’s been a long day of travel. Time for a glass of wine and then bed. Tomorrow is Easter and breakfast with Wendy’s brother. Lookin’ forward to that and maybe a ride in our Can-Am in the desert. No dust now that it’s rained.

Take care and more later.

Gary’s post: Lots of work today on the foundation. They came and resized the foundation and adjusted the forms so that they fit the plans perfectly. There was work to clean out the foundation and compact the dirt so that the plumbing trenches are compacted and the foundation was even and level. I took the shot above at dusk this evening with my drone. It shows how the house is sited on the property and aligned with my brother-in-laws mobile home. The picture turned out pretty well and looks a lot like the site plan in the construction drawings. The house is sited a little bit different from the drawings, but I’m happy with it as it’s oriented on a true north/south axis.

The electrician was out also, and we discussed how to power the house and provide electricity to the site. We talked through the permanent solution and then providing temp power to the site. He also measured for the in-floor conduits and power for the island.

Met with our contractor a while ago and discussed a number of items. Friday the house panels are going to be delivered. Two semi’s for the panels. I talked to Dennis and Margaret and they are going to let us use their back pasture so the semi’s can exit after unloading the panels. Then next Monday the North gate get updated so Dennis and I have better access and easier ability to move things around both properties without having animals escape.

Tomorrow will be more of the same with the foundation folks putting down the insulation and then the gravel over the insulation. It’ll all get packed down. Next Monday will be the foundation pour.

More to come. Exciting times (and expensive times) with two years of planning finally coming to reality. It’s going to be really fun and educational watching this happen. I’m going to try and take lots of pictures and put together a timeline. We’ll see if I have the discipline to do that….