And the Walls Came Tumbling Down

OK. Only parts of walls and all of the adobe bricks from the kiva fireplace came down. Since most of the structure has held up to the steady onslaught of the winds here, Norbert, Carolyn and Stephanie have all voted that the house may just be ok after all.

Yes, y’all, work crew #4 has arrived and all is well on the Western, Eastern, Northern and Southern Fronts of the house. Our collective fears were quelled after the transit measuring was completed and nothing that crews 1, 2, and 3 did was a death sentence for the build or my finances. And that’s just the start of the good news! While the man in the too tight underoos at the bank is his usual overly-tight-sphinctered self and still questioning every breath I take, especially when my breath contains the words “ draw request”, everything else is swell and dandy. Even at school.

Remember how my view of my world proved that if work at the build site went well then I was guaranteed to have a lousy day at school, and visa versa? That proven theory is now out the window and school continues to go well with each passing day (only 2 weeks of class instruction left and a week of half days and finals left to go, minus one day—and, trust me, the staff knows how many exact seconds, minutes, and hours that is. The kids won’t do the math, so they’re still counting in weeks. Which explains my lack of calculation—I’m the English teacher: It ain’t over ‘til the curtain drops.)

Norbert is not all good news. He expects to be here until August. That will cause problems with the loan transfer. We’re hoping to elude that conflict. I’ll let ya know how it resolves itself. I’m sure it will. There’s been more work done here in 3 days than ever happened in 3 weeks with the past crews. Well, the one crew that lasted more than 3 weeks, anyway.

It’s been a journey. An adventure, too, but more like a journey; along the lines of Odysseus in The Odyssey. I’m my own worst enemy, but I still manage to get my heels out of the fire just in time to look like a heroine. OK, I’m not THAT skilled, but I’m not looking like the total shmuck every single hour of every single day of this past year that I felt like. We’ve only been at this for 9 months, give me a few months and we’ll see how it ends.

When it comes to this project I’ve made plenty of bad choices and carried on through times that I should’ve cut the ropes that bound me, ad nauseum, but the final outcome is really what matters most. Or so I’m told. I keep looking to that end and am letting the cow chips fall where they may: On my head, in my face, or really, really close by me. Granted, they’re close by enough to stink, but they aren’t leaving no telltale skid marks. It’s all good.

If I ain’t learninin’ I ain’t livin’ is the way I see it. And I’m livin’ as full a life as I can muster these days.

Muster. Musky. Must…get…hot…water…heater…fixed….There’s good news on that point of order, too. I swapped out the old thermo coupler for a new one ($28), still no pilot light staying on to light the main burner. Norbert futzed with it a bit ($25/hr.) and we both came to the same conclusion (priceless): The main valve unit was toasted. A new one was ordered today and should be in Wednesday ($100-$135. So much for the Mastercard advertising formula.) What’s two more days of boiling a pot of water in the evening to ‘bathe’ in and another in the a.m. to wash my hair with after nearly a month, I ask you? (‘Priceless’ comes back into the formula.)




There’s no need for the propane heater much anymore, either, except for a couple of warm up cycles just before dawn, so I’m not having to chase down propane on Saturdays every other week anymore. That frees up some time. And gas. And potential explosions as I drive home smoking a cigarette with the propane tanks in the rear of the Jeep. Life on the edge—gotta love it. (It’s all about spice here in Nuevo Meh-hi-ko anyway. This is just one of my personal permutations of that mentality. Surprised, huh?)


I am feeling very like a slumlord lording over my 20+ acres of ‘prime real estate’ since Crew 4 has arrived. C ‘n N (Carolyn and Norbert) have their work truck and 1976 travel trailer parked on the south side of the house (I’m on the north side) and Stephanie has her work truck and a VW Vanagon close to C ‘n N’s. It’s a veritable trailer park here now. And I’m pretty dang sure that there’s been phones ringing off the desk at the Tierra Grande Homeowner’s Association office with complaints about how the neighborhood and property value is plummeting. I’ll just tell ‘em I’m a republican and this is what my president has brought around, even for republicans. That outta produce some confusion among the dim lights around here;)








OK, so spring is flowering, and so is my mood. Enjoy the pics of tiny desert flowers. It’s all a dry desert can support until the monsoons hit in August/September. And! There’s another new baby bunny living under The Tin Can! Teeny tiny; just out on it’s own in the last day or two. She’s as big as Baby Bun was when she first came to live under TTC. So, naturally, I’m confused as to what to call the new one since Baby Bun is more like Adolescent Bun now—if not Adult Bun. I’ve decided that Baby Bun will always be Baby Bun to me, so the new tyke has been dubbed Lil’ Bit Bun. If I can get a pic of either one I’ll post it. Pet pics are always a good way to end a show.

Manana!