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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….

Gary’s post: A pretty routine day today. We shared breakfast with Wendy’s brother (who’s dealing with some back issues) at TJ’s New Mexican Restaurant. Then we went to the Albuquerque Home and remodeling show. It’s definitely NOT like Seattle and Dallas home shows. Much smaller and many fewer vendors. We did find a couple of good vendors at the show. One for sconces that are custom which we’ll use outside for lighting and another that does countertops – which are amazing. We talked to a landscaping company that does beautiful work using native plants and water conscious designs. Most interesting part of the show was the RV’s. We toured a beautiful 37′ 5th wheel that was a 4-season trailer so it would be much warmer and cooler than our current trailer. We’ll see where we are financially after we get the house built. We may trade in our current trailer for a new one that’s 4-seasons and livable full-time.

Did the Sunday shopping at Whole Foods for fruit and veggies. Didn’t get to ride the side by sides this weekend as Wendy’s brothers back issues precluded us going out on the UTV’s. Since I’m in Seattle this week, we’ll try for Sunday next week and maybe do a 40-60 mile ride in the desert. Should be fun and nice to take out the UTV. After we do the ride at the end of the month, I’ll do some maintenance on the vehicle and get it ready for our ride in May in the Monzano Forest out by Mountainaire. That should be fun.

I’ll keep this short tonight as today as pretty laid back and nothing huge happened with the house. Tomorrow will be more activity with foundation work continuing. I’ll post pictures.

‘Night

Gary’s post: Not much happening on the house yesterday and today. Yesterday things sat and I went and schedule to have an induction loop put in for the gate. That will let people out automatically without having to have a “clicker” or the entrance code. Simplifies things a bit.

Today Wendy and I went a looked at “stuff” for the house. It’s mind-numbing how many decisions we need to make for everything in the house. It reminded me of when my late wife and I tried to build a house early in our marriage. It was a complete disaster. We couldn’t agree on anything. She had a degree in interior design from Parsons School of Design – very prestigious design school on the East coast. I was an arrogant, pigheaded engineer who knew everything and wanted it all my way. Total disaster and largely my fault for being an idiot.

SO, this time I’m learning and trying hard to work with Wendy on this project. For me, the issue is the massive number of decisions we need to make. At this point in my life, I’m okay with just about everything Wendy picks out as her sense of style is similar to mind. One point of contention is that she is a big mid-century modern person and I’m not. I grew up with mid-century modern and it’s not my thing. I’m more into Shaker, modern and Chinese Chippendale – so there’s a disconnect there. Generally, I’m trying to stick to the construction, plumbing and mechanical stuff and let her pick floors, tile and colors. There are so many items that we need to decide on that I don’t really care what we get as long as it works and looks decent.

Today was a bit overwhelming but we did make progress. We found some lighting that we liked for outside. And we did make progress on cabinets, but we need to make sure they fit in budget. I think we’re going to have a professional friend of Wendy’s do the cabinet layout and design for us. Too many choices and options for my old brain – so let someone who does it for a living do ours.

Tomorrow we’re going to the ABQ Home show and wander around to get ideas and talk to people about fixtures, bathroom stuff, tile and landscaping. We need to get tile for the entrance picked out, flooring for the house, carpets for the bedrooms, hardware for the cabinets and the list goes on and on…

As for building the house. Next week a lot will be happening, and it’ll happen while I’m in Seattle (of course!) Monday, the foundation guys come and fix a few things and begin to lay out the insulation. Then the electrician comes and puts in the conduits for the electrical needed for in-floor and kitchen island. Then they put in crusher fines and pack things down. Week after is the slab pour. Then things sit for a few weeks while panels are delivered, and windows come. Then things begin to happen. May should be an interesting month. I need to talk to the electrician about how we power the house. And I’m a bit concerned about the heating and cooling. Our architect only has three mini-splits in the house. Two in the living areas and one in the garage. I know the house is super-efficient, but I would think we’d need them more in the bedrooms. That’s a conversation I need to have with our HVAC guys so we can wire for proper outlets.

Well, that’s pretty much it for today and yesterday. Life is a bit slower down here, which is a good thing. Tomorrow will be more house stuff, so I’m sure that will be interesting. It’s time to put out the puppies and get ready to wind down. More blogging tomorrow evening.