I have way too much practice, Christina. Way too much! And it will take months and years to make this place int its garden refuge to shine again. I am starting with grime inside and outside the house. And then I’ll move on to the guest apartment, repairing the stucco on the garage, weeding the extensive cottage garden borders, and so on…. Every step feels good though. :)
Thanks, Emily! Keep that dream alive--it will come real for you in time. (It only took me about four decades to get here, but then, I'm a slow realizer, to quote a character in one of Kurt Vonnegut's novels.) Hugs to you.
Susan, you have a very nice home, and a really beautiful rose to cap it off. I'm glad you have found your eden in this perilous age. I wish you a joyful period of adjustment!
I well know how satisfying (and terrifying) it is to finally start making a house into a home. Fortunately I had Lynda and the girls, plus a few friends, to change our pumpkin orange adobe with dark brown trim to a white adobe with forest green trim. The inside went from dirty tobacco-stained off white to a crisp white, except for the girl's bedrooms, which we (probably unwisely) allowed the girls to paint as the wanted, only vetoing Julia's idea to paint her bedroom black! The backyard lost the dead cottonwood and was transformed into a vegetable and wildflower garden.
David, That was quite a project for your Mesilla Park adobe! I'm glad you had the girls to help, even if their color choices for their bedrooms may not have been the wisest! Those must be fun memories though.
My house is mostly just grimy, and needs me to patiently clean it inside and out, which I will do a bit at a time. And prune the trees, about which ditto. And weed the borders, also about which ditto. And see if the writing "hut" in the side yard is actually rotting into the ground or if it can be jacked up and saved by putting a foundation under it and new sills. And repair the stucco on the garage and guest apartment. And get the heat and a/c serviced. And replace an aging water heater in the house (24 years old is long in the tooth for a water heater!). And do some other things. But all will come in time and as I have money.
On top of all that, there was a very ratty yellow carpet, which I immediately pulled up, revealing a oak floor. The contractor I hired to refinish the floor reneged on the deal and we had to move in, so we waxed the floor instead.The current owner refinished it and it looks great now.
What a gift to find that oak floor under the ratty carpet, Dave, even if the contractor you hired to refinish it bailed on you. At least you had good floors to live on instead of icky carpet! And good for the current owner for refinishing those floors. Every house deserves caring owners!
Hooray, it looks like home is in the making....... Happy Solstice to you, I too walked at daybreak, remember the lyrics, "just before the sun breaks the darkness, just before the shadows move on," it is my favorite time of day without a doubt. Your home looks beautiful. We too live in 900 sq ft. It is different, but wonderful.
Thanks, Susan! I am glad that you were out at daybreak before the wind got going, and that you two are happy in your 900 square feet with the writing treehouse.
My house is beautiful, if you squint past the grime of years of neglect. But in time it'll shine again.
I agree with Christina. Your agility with homemaking is heartening. Because my 81 year-old husband is not keen on moving his books (who wants tomato an 81 year-old husband unhappy), Placitas is our last home. It is such a beautiful place that I cannot complain. But I do admire how adept you are with such a huge challenge. It's not surprising considering how well you've managed your career!
Placitas is a wonderful place to be, and I am glad you ended up there, Phyllis! I've been looking for a place to land for a while, and I'm glad to have lucked into the house that I loved when I first saw it 40 or so years ago. It needs a lot of love, but I'm good at that. :)
Thank you, Sue! It feels right, even as I contemplate how much love this place needs to shine again. First comes just cleaning everything inside and out, the house, the writing studio that may or may not be rotting into the ground, the guest apartment and garage. And then replacing some aging appliances, pruning trees, and weeding the very neglected cottage garden and borders. All of which will take a few years!
You did it. Guided by summer, your heart passion and your calling to make this your place. I love it. The realness of it. May you be happy here. May Inspiration creep into your unconscious Creative Writing Being while you sleep so when you awake the words fly from your fingers to the page. May you dance more here than you ever have.
Helene, Thank you. I am already happy here, even with the work ahead of me to make the place shine, even on a day when the wind is howling, not the usual weather here, even when I am tired from the move. It just feels like where I belong!
Right now my prayer flags are waving wildly in a rare and unlovely afternoon of howling wind. But I am indeed turning with the earth into a new season, and I am very happy to be here. Blessings to you. :)
Beth, I hope for you that the longer days linger and you have your fill of light before autumn begins to signal the slowing-down time.
And thank you. I haven't unpacked anything but my bedroom and the great room, but I'll get to the rest, and to hanging my many pieces of art, in time. I have way too much practice with moving, and this time I am going to take my time settling in. Blessings!
Lynn, I love the slowing-down and reflective time of fall and winter, so summer solstice is something I look forward to. But I honor that not everyone is as charmed by long nights as I am! Enjoy the summer while it's here, and the writing too. :)
Re-reading your June 5th post is even more meaningful to me now.
I have a sense that you knew this house before you found it the first time, and you dreamed it into being when the time was right. Many blessings to you and your new home. I have a sense you will be very happy and at peace there♥️🙏🕊️
Thank you, Camilla. I believe this place was meant to be my home now, in this final furlong of my life, and that the time is right for me and the house to work together. It needs a lot of love, beginning with a really good cleaning inside and out, not just the house, but also the writing studio in the garden, which may or may not be rotting into the ground, and the garage and guest apartment, which need stucco repair and then power-washing to remove the years of grime. All in time! Blessings to you.
Sounds perfect for this season of your life. Enjoy. I've been a wanderer with many homes. There has never been a perfect one for the entire journey. My dad called me a gypsy, and he was right. It fits. I've loved traveling and moving. It was always an adventure to me. I've been settled with work and the animal rescue for almost twenty years, and I miss the freedom of just knowing I could go.
When you have dozens of animals in need of homes, Penny, it is definitely not easy to move! But the work you are doing is so positive--thank you. And perhaps you'll be able to be a gypsy again before it's all over. In the meantime, enjoy what you have. :)
I marvel at how quickly you can make a house a home. I am glad you are where you need to be.
I have way too much practice, Christina. Way too much! And it will take months and years to make this place int its garden refuge to shine again. I am starting with grime inside and outside the house. And then I’ll move on to the guest apartment, repairing the stucco on the garage, weeding the extensive cottage garden borders, and so on…. Every step feels good though. :)
This makes me so happy! I love the pictures and the rose is amazing. Just wonderful!
Thanks, Emily! Keep that dream alive--it will come real for you in time. (It only took me about four decades to get here, but then, I'm a slow realizer, to quote a character in one of Kurt Vonnegut's novels.) Hugs to you.
Ha! Here’s to the slow realizers:)
We can be charter members of the club.... :)
Yep, and I also think it has a "long and rich" history:)
Happy Solstice, Susan. And congrats on your new home. This is such a powerful time for you.
Thank you so much, Patricia. May the Solstice "turn" bless you with positive changes.
I hope we're all blessed with abundance and peace.
Amen to that!
Susan, you have a very nice home, and a really beautiful rose to cap it off. I'm glad you have found your eden in this perilous age. I wish you a joyful period of adjustment!
I well know how satisfying (and terrifying) it is to finally start making a house into a home. Fortunately I had Lynda and the girls, plus a few friends, to change our pumpkin orange adobe with dark brown trim to a white adobe with forest green trim. The inside went from dirty tobacco-stained off white to a crisp white, except for the girl's bedrooms, which we (probably unwisely) allowed the girls to paint as the wanted, only vetoing Julia's idea to paint her bedroom black! The backyard lost the dead cottonwood and was transformed into a vegetable and wildflower garden.
David, That was quite a project for your Mesilla Park adobe! I'm glad you had the girls to help, even if their color choices for their bedrooms may not have been the wisest! Those must be fun memories though.
My house is mostly just grimy, and needs me to patiently clean it inside and out, which I will do a bit at a time. And prune the trees, about which ditto. And weed the borders, also about which ditto. And see if the writing "hut" in the side yard is actually rotting into the ground or if it can be jacked up and saved by putting a foundation under it and new sills. And repair the stucco on the garage and guest apartment. And get the heat and a/c serviced. And replace an aging water heater in the house (24 years old is long in the tooth for a water heater!). And do some other things. But all will come in time and as I have money.
On top of all that, there was a very ratty yellow carpet, which I immediately pulled up, revealing a oak floor. The contractor I hired to refinish the floor reneged on the deal and we had to move in, so we waxed the floor instead.The current owner refinished it and it looks great now.
What a gift to find that oak floor under the ratty carpet, Dave, even if the contractor you hired to refinish it bailed on you. At least you had good floors to live on instead of icky carpet! And good for the current owner for refinishing those floors. Every house deserves caring owners!
If you want to see it after the new owner finished it, Goggle 304 Calle Florista, Mesilla Park, NM. It was built in 1946 for returning veterans.
Hooray, it looks like home is in the making....... Happy Solstice to you, I too walked at daybreak, remember the lyrics, "just before the sun breaks the darkness, just before the shadows move on," it is my favorite time of day without a doubt. Your home looks beautiful. We too live in 900 sq ft. It is different, but wonderful.
Thanks, Susan! I am glad that you were out at daybreak before the wind got going, and that you two are happy in your 900 square feet with the writing treehouse.
My house is beautiful, if you squint past the grime of years of neglect. But in time it'll shine again.
I love the plants and especially the rug in your kitchen. It's a wonderful place to live and practice.
Thank you, Karen! I am fortunate to be here, no doubt about that.
I agree with Christina. Your agility with homemaking is heartening. Because my 81 year-old husband is not keen on moving his books (who wants tomato an 81 year-old husband unhappy), Placitas is our last home. It is such a beautiful place that I cannot complain. But I do admire how adept you are with such a huge challenge. It's not surprising considering how well you've managed your career!
Placitas is a wonderful place to be, and I am glad you ended up there, Phyllis! I've been looking for a place to land for a while, and I'm glad to have lucked into the house that I loved when I first saw it 40 or so years ago. It needs a lot of love, but I'm good at that. :)
Looks like a lovely home in a beautiful landscape! A solstice move into your dream home sounds right on every level.
Thank you, Sue! It feels right, even as I contemplate how much love this place needs to shine again. First comes just cleaning everything inside and out, the house, the writing studio that may or may not be rotting into the ground, the guest apartment and garage. And then replacing some aging appliances, pruning trees, and weeding the very neglected cottage garden and borders. All of which will take a few years!
You did it. Guided by summer, your heart passion and your calling to make this your place. I love it. The realness of it. May you be happy here. May Inspiration creep into your unconscious Creative Writing Being while you sleep so when you awake the words fly from your fingers to the page. May you dance more here than you ever have.
Helene, Thank you. I am already happy here, even with the work ahead of me to make the place shine, even on a day when the wind is howling, not the usual weather here, even when I am tired from the move. It just feels like where I belong!
I really Love the style and feel of this house! Yeah for you Susan!
Thanks, Sue! The house reminds me of the brick houses in Salida which I always admired. It makes my heart happy to be here. Hugs to you.
Love seeing your prayer flags signifying you are home! What a lovely way to be celebrating solstice - the turning toward a new season!
Right now my prayer flags are waving wildly in a rare and unlovely afternoon of howling wind. But I am indeed turning with the earth into a new season, and I am very happy to be here. Blessings to you. :)
Hi Susan,
Happy solstice to you, as well. I love the longer days of spring and summer, preferring them to the short days of winter.
I love your new home! You really unpacked quickly, and your new place is lovely, with nice color. Congratulations again!
Beth, I hope for you that the longer days linger and you have your fill of light before autumn begins to signal the slowing-down time.
And thank you. I haven't unpacked anything but my bedroom and the great room, but I'll get to the rest, and to hanging my many pieces of art, in time. I have way too much practice with moving, and this time I am going to take my time settling in. Blessings!
The only thing sad about the summer solstice is that the days will get shorter. At least they'll do that slowly.
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Lynn, I love the slowing-down and reflective time of fall and winter, so summer solstice is something I look forward to. But I honor that not everyone is as charmed by long nights as I am! Enjoy the summer while it's here, and the writing too. :)
I will and you look forward to fall and winter.
Re-reading your June 5th post is even more meaningful to me now.
I have a sense that you knew this house before you found it the first time, and you dreamed it into being when the time was right. Many blessings to you and your new home. I have a sense you will be very happy and at peace there♥️🙏🕊️
Thank you, Camilla. I believe this place was meant to be my home now, in this final furlong of my life, and that the time is right for me and the house to work together. It needs a lot of love, beginning with a really good cleaning inside and out, not just the house, but also the writing studio in the garden, which may or may not be rotting into the ground, and the garage and guest apartment, which need stucco repair and then power-washing to remove the years of grime. All in time! Blessings to you.
Solstice blessings bouncing back to you too Susan✨💖
Happy solstice!
Thanks, Penny! Happy Solstice to you too. :)
Sounds perfect for this season of your life. Enjoy. I've been a wanderer with many homes. There has never been a perfect one for the entire journey. My dad called me a gypsy, and he was right. It fits. I've loved traveling and moving. It was always an adventure to me. I've been settled with work and the animal rescue for almost twenty years, and I miss the freedom of just knowing I could go.
When you have dozens of animals in need of homes, Penny, it is definitely not easy to move! But the work you are doing is so positive--thank you. And perhaps you'll be able to be a gypsy again before it's all over. In the meantime, enjoy what you have. :)
Yes, I do enjoy what I have and making a difference, just in a different way.