Category: September 2017

Argh!

The house we liked went pending this morning. Sometimes, I hate this shit.

House #3

Yesterday I started a blog version of a “House Hunters” episode, but I only posted 2 houses. As you all know, the convention is 3. Here’s the third house!

From the outside, it looks normal enough for this area.

But on the inside, the paint job is crazy-amazing.

You can barely see it in this photo, but the wall to the right of the turquoise is purple.

This will wake you up in the morning. Hello! Good morning world!

There’s also a more conventional bathroom in case you’re not up to dealing with turquoise and yellow at 6 AM.

Here’s a closeup in the kitchen. Look at that backsplash.

I was taking photos of her art and rugs when I should have been looking at the house:

I think think the paint job looks great with the owner’s artwork, but I have no idea if I could pull that off. Of course, paint can easily enough be changed. Look at the enormous sliding glass doors!

So this house isn’t really southwest style either. There is a kiva fireplace. But mostly it’s just eccentric. My agent calls it “whimsical” and she’s nicknamed it “the rainbow house”.

Regardless of what you think about the paint colors, the real advantage to this house is the location is fantastic. It’s a much better neighborhood than the other two. It’s close in, within WALKING DISTANCE to my new job! It’s also within walking distance to Trader Joe’s! I could not pick two more useful places to be that close to.

Yet you think you’re in the countryside, with an enormous, tree-filled, half-acre lot that backs to open space.

As you can imagine, this house is over our budget.

 

 

Poop pics!

Obviously you aren’t all as fascinated by our new compositing toilet as I am, but a few of you have shown a bit of curiosity. So read on! (It’s not too gross, I promise.)

We bought a new-used camper van that came with a sink, single bed, and 2 big solar panels. We’ve added an air conditioner, microwave, cooler, (it’s amazing what you can power with two big solar panels) and we’ve also added a wider bed and a bunch of other things including a composting toilet. The toilet is fantastic.

Here’s how it works. There is a front container that holds the pee, and the back part, where the poop goes, takes peat moss or similar. I use coconut coir (the shredded outside husks of coconuts), because I read online that it works better than peat moss and doesn’t have the little plant gnats that peat moss sometimes has.

Coconut coir comes in compressed bricks that are too hard to break apart by hand. You have to put them in water to get them loosened up. Then you break it apart, fluff it up, and let it dry again.

The toilet also has a fan and an air vent.

The fan runs continuously (on solar power) but you can hardly hear the fan unless you’ve got your ear right next to it. John vented it out the wheel well, so you can’t even see the vent from the outside.  (He’s clever like that.) 

When you sit on it, there’s two little holes toward the front for the pee, which goes into a container that can be easily removed and dumped.

The pee container holds a lot, so only needs dumped every few days (unless you’re having a camper van party with lots of friends drinking lots of beer).

The first time we used the van this spring, we only used the pee part, and were too chicken-shit to use the poo part. But on these recent two trips, the time came and we went for it. There’s a lever that opens up the back part.

Then when you’re done, you close back up the opening, and you turn this little crank on the side, and a bar inside mixes it all up.

Does it stink? No. We totally couldn’t smell it the whole trip. (Except, obviously, right when someone is using it, hello, there’s nothing you can do about that.) And the pee bucket stinks at the time that you’re dumping it. But the toilet does not stink. It’s amazing.

You may be wondering where the toilet paper goes. You could put it in with the coconut coir. We put it in a separate, sealed container. John and I are experienced backpackers, so we’re used to packing out all our used toilet paper. So it’s not an issue for us. (I hate it when casual hikers just leave paper on the ground, seriously, OMG PACK IT OUT! No one wants to see that! I hate paper-scatterers in the woods. Ugh!)

Ok, sorry, I’ll get off my soapbox and tell you more about the van.

We used the compositing toilet for the week in Idaho to see the eclipse, and then the camping trip in the Gila wilderness over the labor day weekend. Then we decided we ought to clean the poop out (even though it still didn’t stink). I got nominated for the task. Because I love this toilet! And I’m the one who uses it the most.

Here I am, cleaning out the toilet. First I unbolted it and set it outside.

Then (drumroll) I opened it up and peeked inside. (Warning, poo pics!) Here you can see the used coconut coir, and the mixing bar.

Can you believe it still didn’t stink? Now you don’t believe me. Seriously! It just smelled very slightly of potting soil. Like plant dirt, guys!

The coconut coir bricks come in different sizes. I buy little ones and use 2 of them, but it’s just a guessing game. Too much coconut coir and it’s hard to turn the crank that turns the inside bar. Not enough and maybe you wouldn’t have such a pleasant ratio of poop to coir. LOL.

Next I put a bag over it and turned it upside down.

And into the bag it went!

This was a total BREEZE compared to, say, poop scooping the backyard after 3 little dogs. Or kitty litter (eww). Or poopy baby diapers, or doggy puke, or (ok, ok, you get the point). This was nothing! Easy!

 

More house hunting

Yes, seriously, will it ever end?  I went looking in Santa Fe today with a friend and an agent (if you missed why, here’s why) . So here’s your house hunting show!

HOUSE #1

TOTAL IRONY if I were to buy this house. Who goes to Santa Fe to buy a contemporary almost-Asian style house? Umm, maybe that’s why it’s not selling? Also it is some sort of split level and has short runs of steps everywhere.  Stairs don’t bother me any, in fact, it gives it character, but it could negatively impact resale. Also there is only one garage space. Also ok with me, also a potential resale issue.

Pretty good neighborhood. A bit close to a high school for my taste in that there could be some traffic in the morning or sports noise after school. But the school is not right on the same street – it could just impact getting out of the cul-de-sac.

What I love about this house is the bright light, clean lines and simplicity. Also it’s the newest of the ones I saw today.

It even has some Asian-style interior sliding doors (but not the whole wall). In Japan the entire walls slide.

Laura, there’s even tatami mat upstairs! (But just under the bed, not the whole room.) There’s 2 bathrooms, both beautiful, understated, simple, although not large.

The yard is small and uninspired. It would take a lot of work to get it looking the way I’d like. And it’s not fully fenced, so that would have to happen before the dogs could join me. It has potential though. It’s up above the surrounding houses, so could be a beautiful, private space.

And there’s some views.

I like that’s it’s on a hill; it makes it quirky, and I like that it has several small decks. It’s interesting to me how the layout has an open, bright feel, but also enough variation; little nooks and turns and stairs – that it seems larger than it is. This house is only 1,500 square feet.

My main concern with this house is resale – lack of Southwest styling, and too many stairs everywhere. Funny – that’s the same problem we have with the house on the hill in Placitas! Lack of southwest styling and too many stairs. Yet it’s open and bright, with clean, simple lines. Hmmm, do I sense a trend here?

House #2

This house is not heavy on the southwest styling either, but it’s definitely got more than the first house. It looks very typical from the front (for this area). So many houses around here look like this.

I should have taken my own photos of this one, because I’ve just discovered that the on-line photos are really poor. So I can’t show you a fair comparison to the first house, which was staged and photographed well. This one does have saltillo floor tiles and the traditional round ceiling beams in the living room and dining room ceilings, and a modest kiva fireplace. It is 1,600 square feet and only about 5 years older than the first house. They are similarly priced (both a bit more than I want to spend, of course).

Also a fairly standard, somewhat updated kitchen.

The main appeal to this house is the views. Looking out, you’d think you were out in Placitas.

The backyard is a blank slate. It’s good sized, and walled, but contains almost nothing except a large rectangular brick patio and the rest is gravel. It has enormous potential, because it’s large and located up on a hillside so it would be private. And it would have great views. But it would take a lot of work. My agent kept saying “but landscaping is cheap”, until finally my friend, Clarice, said, “You don’t know how Kristina landscapes.” Thank you, Clarice. That is one way of putting it!

That says it all

This is how I felt last night after eating too many pretzels at bedtime.

Cheating on Thai food

Or, “How to make Thai food when you don’t actually have Thai ingredients in the house”

I just made tom kha seafood without going to the store for special ingredients. Score! Although I admit, I use canned coconut milk for other things, so I did already have that on hand.

Here’s what’s in this soup:

  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 or 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 package frozen mixed seafood from Trader Joes
  • 1 package fresh mushrooms
  • 1 package snap peas (they were a bit tough, I should have stringed them, but I was too lazy)
  • A spoon of dried minced ginger (fresh sliced ginger root is best, but ANY kind of ginger will do in a pinch)
  • generous splash (maybe 1/4 cup?) of lime juice (kaffir lime leaves is best, but who has that?)
  • crushed red chile flakes or sriracha sauce or whatever you’ve got to add some heat
  • mint leaves (Thai basil is best, but it’s similar to mint)
  • Salt to taste
  • Fish sauce would have been good but I didn’t have any, and anyway, I did add the frozen seafood mix, so that was something at least.

More green chile

We had gotten a green chile shipment on the Friday before the long Labor Day weekend, and I hadn’t gotten the promised email telling me the shipment was arriving. We left town and the chiles cooked for 4 days in the metal mailboxes on the street. Ooops.

I contacted the company and they were great; they sent out a new batch right away! And this time they emailed me when it was due to arrive. So let me recommend them, https://www.newmexicocatalog.com/ And if you want green chiles, it’s time to order now!

Or you can try to talk friends and family members into shipping some to you themselves. It’s a thing here.

Here we are with the new batch on the grill:

Mmmm, blackened chiles!

Next we peel them all. Then some of them we are freezing whole, with the stems and seeds intact. Others I’m removing stems and seeds, and then I’ll chop them before freezing.

Green chile makes me happy 🙂

 

 

A down day

I have been down all day, for no apparent reason.

I got my job offer back on Friday afternoon, so I was happy all weekend. I guess what goes up must come down! Now, 4 days later, I’m just blah. I think it might be just the weather. It’s been gray all day and that’s not common for New Mexico. I get very spoiled here and expect my sunshine every day!

Just now I was talking with a potential client on the phone, and I’ve done those kind of calls hundreds of times. Usually they go very smoothly because I’ve been doing it for so long. But today I just felt like I was stammering around. I think she’s still going to sign up for coaching, but not because I made a stellar impression this afternoon.

Hopefully tomorrow should go better. I have an appointment to look at houses, which I don’t feel like doing. I’m not happy about the difficult market and the expense of everything. But luckily I’ve got a good friend who has agreed to go with me. That should help! Maybe it will even be fun.

And I am truly happy to have the new job and I can’t wait to start. When I accepted the offer, my new boss said that I just made her day! Well, that made my day!

Another house?

What? Yep, seriously, we’re thinking of buying a house in Santa Fe. Or at least I’m going to look into it. We still plan to keep the one in Placitas that we’re remodeling, but I just got a new job in Santa Fe and I don’t think it’s going to work for me to do the commute once winter starts.

As you know, I frequently get migraines. Typically they don’t get very bad, so I can continue to sit at my computer and write blogs, or read and write reports, or even coach clients with a moderate migraine. But what I cannot do with migraines is drive at night on freeways. And even if I didn’t have a migraine, that’s an activity that could bring one on, because of the glare and contrast between the headlights and the darkness. So I’ve always avoided commuting on freeways.

Possibly I could take the train or carpool, but I have moved all of my coaching clients into the evenings. I don’t want to quit coaching, and a commute would not leave much time for my clients. Plus, John works long hours, and is often away on travel. So he’s not around much during the week anyway.

I’m really excited about my new job, but honestly, I’m really tired of buying houses. I don’t want to sound ungrateful. I’m glad I CAN buy a house. I feel very lucky and privileged. But I’m just so tired of the process.

And the Santa Fe housing market is an anomaly. It’s a major tourist town with a double economy. Ideally I’d love to buy something small, cute, centrally located, with lots of southwest style. Vigas, kivas, latillas, nichos, saltillo tiles, bricks and Mexican tile! And quaint little high-walled Spanish courtyards!

But those properties are insanely expensive. They are Bay Area California rates ($400- $500+ per square foot), and no one makes Bay Area money here. Those houses aren’t for us locals! Those houses are second homes and vacation properties for well-off people who live out-of-state.

Luckily there are houses in Santa Fe for regular people, with regular state jobs. But they’re just regular houses, without the character that makes Santa Fe famous. And even those regular houses are twice the price of the ones in Albuquerque! I just need to keep my confidence up and my expectations realistic, and it’ll work out.

I bet you’re tired of hearing about houses! And surprise! We’re not done yet! (Oh, you’re not surprised? Well actually, I’m not surprised you’re not surprised.)