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Pretty exciting day today. Construction started on our house after 3 years of trying to get permits and infrastructure. It’s been a really long process but we’re finally getting to the last stages and the reality of building a house.

The crew managed to get all the sill plates down on the foundation and erect one part of a wall. The foreman said they would have a couple of more guys tomorrow and planned to get more walls erected. They want to work on Saturday also to get ahead of the windy weather. It’s exciting to see all the planning, changes and replanning finally coming together. I’m pretty happy that we’re finally going to have a house. We do need to get budget sorted out and figure out how much we’ll need beyond the proceeds from our house sale and how we finance that portion.

I got a couple of appliance quotes for the kitchen today and DAMN they are expensive. $40k. I don’t think the rep is doing any work on discounts or trying to save us monies. The best discount we got was $5k off $40k and that’s with no tariffs. I think we can do better doing our own sourcing of appliances.

I think we’re going to run into the same issue with the plumbing and fixtures – inflated prices. We’re probably going to have to do our own sourcing and installation. Not the best option, but nothing I haven’t done before. We’ll figure this out.

Well, tonight Jaret comes to stay the weekend with us before fire season takes him away until October. He’s picking up some stuff and visiting Juni. He’s also going to straighten out his motorcycle endorsements. The Los Lunas DMV is awful, but that’s where he needs to go to get things cleared up with his license.

Tomorrow is more construction, Juni to the Vet and work on the Can-Am a bit. Need to sync the lighted whips to the brakes and turn-signals.

Off to bed, it’s late. I’ll leave the trailer unlocked for Jaret. He should be here around 1:00am or so. I’m sure the dogs will go off and everyone will be awake.

Enjoy the evening and tomorrow is another awesome day.

Lots of activity in the last few days. I’ve been watering the foundation when it’s not raining, so it’s cured pretty well and has only one crack in it. The foundation guys are done and I’m moving $75k more into the building fund for our contractor. We’re meeting with the contractor tomorrow night on budget to see how much more we’ll need to complete the house. Still lot of choices and decisions to make.

Lumber for the inside of the house was delivered today. They also delivered the beams for the inside and the trusses for the garage. The entire house is here now. The forklift was also delivered so they could put up the panels and roof. Tomorrow starts the construction and putting up the frame and walls. I’ll be flying the drone and taking lots of pictures. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. We’ve had lots of rain (and mud) the last few days. Much needed and a cooler weather. I ordered some NM wildflower seeds, so I’ll see if I can get them to grow for the hummingbirds and bees.

I managed to get the new tires and rims put together for the Can-Am. Giant pain the ass. I mounted the tires and rims on the Can-AM today then ran it around the property to seat in the tires and tighten the lug nuts up. Don’t want to lose a wheel out in the desert. I have to say, these new tires really hook up much better than the OEM tires. The knobs were starting to tear and show a lot of wear after 100 miles. These new ones should be better. I’m using one of the old tires as a spare, so if I lose a tire, I have a replacement on the vehicle. Hopefully we can ride this weekend and check out the setup so it’s ready for Mansano forest ride on the 17th. Super stoked for that ride with 10 vehicles.

Hoping to get my Endocrinologist appointment set up today. Needed a referral for my doc in Seattle, and she sent that yesterday. I need to get my diabetes under control. I’ve slipped up and was eating a lot of carbs, sugar and honey. With my Ozempic therapy, it’s really cut down the cravings and bored eating of snacks and junk food. Blood pressure is way down, almost too low. I do need to check my glucose on the regular now. I’m considering doing one of those arm monitoring puck things that binds with my Oura ring so I can monitor it for a month. My cardiologist visit really shook me up. He made the following comment: “I’m surprised that your cardiologist in Seattle didn’t mention a bypass. Normally someone like you with three bad arteries is recommended for a bypass. Fortunately, you have one bypass that occurred naturally, and the stint fixed the really bad artery. We’ll monitor the last artery for any blockage growth.” That really hit home as to how bad my heart and arteries have become because of this diabetes and bad eating. Every life ends, but I’d like mine to keep going for a few more years so I can actually enjoy retirement, do some more traveling to new places and finish out with my beautiful wife and kids, knowing they are going to be okay. I need to do everything I can to extend my health and stay active, see my friends and keep going until I can’t. And we need to update our estate plan for NM.

Okay, enough philosophizing. It’s time to watch the hocky playoffs, have a glass of wine and relax. Lot’s happening tomorrow including our youngest coming down from Utah before his fire season begins. Take care and have a good evening.

-Gary

Haven’t blogged in a few days as life here is pretty routine at the moment. Biggest events have been the weather and storms coming across the state. Yesterday was crazy weather with our location getting .2″ of rain, which is huge for us. Love the rain but hate the mud. Dogs’ paws were a mess. I think I’m going to get a bedpan and whenever it rains, dunk the paws in the bed pan to get out the mud. I’d rather have wet feet in the trailer than muddy paws.

We’re letting the foundation cure for 7 days before we start framing. I’ve been watering the foundation once a day in the morning for the last couple of days. Slows down the curing and keeps cracks from happening. The foundation has one small crack in it and our contractor is amazed by how solid it has been. With the rain and colder weather, it’s been perfect for the foundation curing.

Framing should start Wednesday if the weather allows. Forecast isn’t good as it’s more thunder shows and unstable weather. We need the rain for sure, but it’d be nice to get the house framing started. Lumber is supposed to be delivered tomorrow along with a dumpster to start collecting all the trash. We’ll see if it all happens.

Yesterday, Wendy and I went to breakfast at a great place in ABQ, with Seattle pricing for food. Locally sourced food and interesting menu items. We spent the morning looking at tile, flooring and plumbing fixtures. Wendy found her bidet – $19,000. That’s almost as much as the entire kitchen appliance budget. We’ll probably do a toilet with a bidet lid. Our house calls for outlets near every toilet. We made progress in picking out granite counter tops, tile and flooring for the entry. We need to get wood flooring picked out soon. Thinking engineered hickory or engineered cork but finding it will be the trick.

Friday, I met with the appliance rep and we went over options for the kitchen appliances. She suggested 3 options: GE Cafe for the ovens and cooktops with GE Monogram for the refrigeration and wine cooler; Thermador for the refrigeration and Wine cooler; Jenn-Aire for the refrigeration and Wine cooler. We’ll do a Miele dishwasher. Then I’m going to give my brother-in-law the quotes to see if his guys can do better. The Rep said to expect a 20% discount off retail which should help a lot.

This coming week will be busy. I need to keep the Ozempic from making me tired, one of the side effects. It does kill your appetite and sugar craving and I’m dropping weight on it as I’m starting to get dizzy when I stand up. I test my blood pressure to make sure it is getting better and aligned with the guidelines for heart and diabetic patients. It’s on the low side. Next week, I need to get the dogs accepted into a boarding location so we can board them while we’re in Seattle during Memorial weekend. Juni gets her shots on Friday. I still need to make arrangements for the wine tour in Walla Walla. I have a dental appointment with a new dentist and I’m working on getting a referral for my new endocrinologist.

I did meet with my new cardiologist on Wednesday. He’s a good doc and from Seattle. He reviewed my charts and ordered an echo test for June so he can see how the stint is working for blood flow. He did say the normally the recommend a bypass for patients with 3 bad arteries, but since I have a stint in one artery and my blocked artery has created its own bypass he’s not interested in invasive bypass. The Echo test will show if I need another stint or not.

Yesterday afternoon I played auto mechanic. I mounted new UTV tires on new rims. What a total pain in neck using the mounting tool I bought. I managed to ding up the edges for the rims, but they aren’t great rims anyway as they are made in China from cast aluminum which isn’t great for trails. They do have a lifetime warranty, so I’ll register them in case something happens. I’m just not impressed, but what can you expect for $130 a wheel. Thankfully flat black spray paint covers a lot of bad scratches. After that workout, I’m pretty sore as I was using a lot of muscles that haven’t been used for a while. I need to get more active around here and do more aerobic work. I think cleaning out the north fence by hand will help – it’s a workout for sure.

Tomorrow, I think I’ll mount the new tires on the Can-Am and take it for a spin so it’s ready for next weekend. Need to make sure the GoPro mount works too. I should be getting another set of rims that I’m going to send back or sell, and I’ll get all the hardware to finish the day whips and mount the flags. I’ll make an appointment for the dogs to meet at the boarding location and see if I can get slots for them over Memorial weekend. And of course, Monday is laundry day so that takes all morning till about 1:00pm. It’s too bad that it seems like I never have enough time to get everything done. It’s crazy. I’m starting to think I just need to retire completely, but I think I’d be bored stiff eventually – so I’ll keep on this part-time gig for this year. My contractor wants me to start shooting drone shots for her of her jobs, so I may do that. It won’t pay the bills, but I’ll keep me occupied and force me to get my Part 107 license.

Well, enough for today. Storms are rolling in with wind, rain and lightning. Need to run some wine over to my brother-in-laws place then go to my father-in-laws place to drop off some holistic supplements that seem to be helping him.

Take care. More in a couple of days.

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.