6 Months Out

Next week will mark six months that we’ve been out of L.A. and into the “wild”. Ha. Like this wild could ever compare with West Hollywood.

It’s starting to feel like I’m living a week in a day. I just looked at the calendar to see what I want to highlight here and I’m thinking, “Holy cow, that was only a month ago?” Last week feels like a month ago and last month feels like 3 months….you get the idea. I suppose that means Tim and I are filling our days with lots of productive and fun things and the by-product is I feel like I left home a year ago.

We’ve had several visitors here in the last 7 weeks - Marisa and David, Tim’s business partner, Diana. Of course, the big guests of honor were Mom and Casey. They were here for a week of fishing, sight-seeing, eating and lounging. Coffee on the deck every morning was extra nice with Casey’s chai lattes (I really need to get one of those milk foamer doodads). Mom braved the rain by the lake only because it wasn’t cold and it paid off when she caught a fish. I am loving visitors as we still haven’t met more than a few people in Durango – it’s nice to talk to people who actually know you well. And it was extra nice having family here. Brian doesn’t seem to want to visit but I’m hoping we can talk him into it or bribe him or something. ;)

I ended up with a couple out of town jobs in the last month and one of them left me with 16 hours of delay and an overnight stay in Denver. And WOAH am I giving you the short version. The outcome was a 2 ½ page letter to United Airlines which resulted in a $300 travel voucher. So, at some point I get to come have a beer with my L.A. peeps, courtesy of United’s apologies. I’m thinking spring, after I’ve recovered – or maybe to help recover – from the Valentine’s Day jewelry madness for which I intend to be well stocked and very busy.

In the meantime I’m busting my butt building inventory for the online holiday shopping season. I’ve been learning new things, trying new things, buying new things and really like the new stuff I’ve been making. I’m also trying some new free promotional ideas and it seems to be paying off some – my Etsy store is getting more views now at least. I’m expecting sales to pick up quite a bit in late October and peaking in late November. July was my worst month, August was my best month, September was my 2^nd worst month. Hahah! So far, October is looking good.

Business is rolling right along for Tim, too. He gets random odd jobs locally from a Craigslist posting he put up. The rest of the time he’s making some of the AMAZING new shippable pieces on his Etsy store, or more recently building tons of furniture for Marisa and David’s new place. Which leads me to that news…

Marisa and David are moving to Durango in two weeks and are getting married on our deck! I know, big deal. HAHA! These plans have been in the backs of minds for some time now, especially the wedding. Once things were set into motion they came together really fast! David got a job right away at the Animas Surgical Center and Marisa quickly followed with a nursing job at Mercy Hospital, right across the highway from us. They found a great townhouse they’re renting about 5 minutes from us and they’re staying with us while they start their new jobs here and wait for their townhouse to be ready. Needless to say there’s excitement all around. We’re trying to keep Mom Hassemer reigned in as the bride and groom want very much to keep things nice and simple. Marisa and David can’t wait to be in Durango and start a new life in a new place together. I’m excited that now I’ll actually know people here. And Tim hasn’t lived near anyone in his family in 13 years (aside from our recent 3 month jaunt in NM). Guess who volunteered to shoot the wedding. I know, I’m retired. For this one, for my honorary sister, I couldn’t help it. I can’t let someone else capture a day like that.

I calculated recently that on average I’m living 7 day, 60 hour work weeks. Somehow amongst that, Tim and I still manage to find time to enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee in the morning, go fishing at Haviland Lake, watch movies at night, go have a glass of wine in town, or just sit here and look around and marvel at where we’ve already come and where we’re headed. I feel like I should be sacrificing something in thanks but then I realize my sacrifice was 36 years in Los Angeles. HA!

This morning, when I did the ceremonious Opening of the Front Door there was that thin, veily layer of clouds that are so characteristic of October. The back yard is quickly shedding it’s green summer dress and putting on it’s golden brown fall sweater. Yesterday there were bright yellow leaves blowing through Main Street and though there are still some tourists here to see the colors, the visiting population is starting to visibly die off. The air smells like dry pine and crisp high altitude. Later this month we are celebrating our 5 year/13 year anniversary at Tim’s parent’s cabin in Chama for a few days. Makes me think of days in the not-so-far past when I couldn’t “get away” often enough. Definitely cleansed myself of that syndrome. We are enjoying life immensely. Come see.

Oh yeah, and I pierced my nose. Don't be mad Mom, it's a little star stud and it's adorable and you can hardly even see it and I waited 20 years to do it so there. :)

Love you, miss you.

We had TONS of hummingbirds this summer. TONS. Now it's about time to take the feeders down. Apparently hummingbirds migrate too.

The sunset in Mom's glasses.

Dinner! Yay!

Tim's got a whole bunch of these fairy doors on his store now. He thinks it's totally gay but since they've been so popular he'll keep making them. :)

Look at the beautiful shelving Tim put in our bedroom. AND MY BOOKS! MY WONDERFUL BOOKS! Finally set free after being in boxes for almost 2 years.

Gorgeous sunrise in Toronto where I was working the independent film festival. Took this just after my shift ended. Yup.

Crazy face x3.

Dee caught one too!

Hot springs off the highway just outside Durango on the way to Haviland Lake.

We had this amazing day at Haviland Lake last week. It rained a bit when we first got there and all the leaves were changing - when the sun came back out....it was just magic.

This totally does not do justice to the colors on the mountains right now.

It took a couple months but I did finally get some blooms on the wildflowers I planted. I'm already looking forward to next spring. My gardens are gonna be CRAZY.

"Flight of the Phoenix"

My romantic desk. Roses from the garden and everything. Say it with me: Awwwwwwww.

One Month In Durango

I am exhausted right this second, but I know I'm overdue for a blog - especially now that I've realized it's one month to the day that we moved to this fine place. I'll do my best to catch you up on all the fun. Once again, I write this to indulge myself so go ahead and skip to the last paragraph and the pictures. Ha!

Let's see. Four weeks. How do I keep this brief and just highlight an eventful month...

We are completely moved in. There are beds in the bedrooms, pictures on the walls and we remember which cabinet the dishes are in. Cocktail hour on the deck is somewhere around 7:30pm so we can enjoy the gorgeous sunsets. Tim is still building us furniture - for instance, our TV is still sitting on a big red cooler - but he's got a lot built already. More on that later.

Our first house guests were Marisa, Jeremiah and 8 of his friends when they came up on the 3rd and camped out in our yard (2.5 acres leaves plenty of room for campers). The whole crew of us spent the entire afternoon on various flotation devices making our way down the Animas River, literally cruising from one end of Durango to the other. You can bet that Tim and I will be buying ourselves some inner tubes. Walmart has a floating cooler too - I think it would only be right to have that tethered to us. Right? When we all came back we grilled, drank some beer and played with my glow bocci ball set that Jeremiah bought me for my bday/housewarming. It was a great time.

Yesterday Marisa and David came up and we spent this morning making me (....drumroll....) A GARDEN! Two, actually. No, three. We tilled the front area of the deck, put in wood blocks, built up the soil for raised planters and planted my 7 rose bushes. We also tilled out the area where my veggies will be planted next spring and (while we were at it) we put in a little walkway from the deck to the veggie garden and David even made rows for me. AND (why not?) tilled out an area outside the garage where I scattered wildflower seeds. I also threw seeds along the sides of the planter by the deck, along the walkway to the veggie garden, around the veggie garden and next to Willy. In about 4 weeks this place should be looking very colorful. Oh, and we did all that in less than 4 hours. YEAH! Amazing. SO thankful for the help - if I were alone I'd be out there til next Tuesday.

Tim has been busy as usual, building a whole lot of awesome things for the house. Once again I'm awestruck by how quickly he works and how inventive the guy is. He gets this idea to build a corner bar in the dining area. Then, four days ago he says "I should make it a pirate bar!" As of this morning, the bar (a.k.a. The Baaarrrrrrghh) is now finished and in it's place, complete with wine bottle holders, a red light under the liquor bottle shelf  and a pirate sword across the top. It is the most amazing thing to me that he can put something like that together in just a few days and it's SO COOL! What a guy I got.

We spoke with a commercial real estate agent who says we have a good chance of finding what we want store-front wise by late summer/early fall when vendors close up shop at the end of tourist season. We want to open for business by late September....opening party date TBA. In the meantime we are building inventory for the shop and I've been building up my online business like crazy. Workin our butts off over here. Tim's business partner is coming to Durango next week and we're all excited to get some particulars ironed out, especially since we sort of have a new vision for the store. More on that to come.

Monsoon season started right on time - just after the 4th. We've had thunderstorms every day since which has kept the temperatures nice and cool, and which will also be good for the planting we did today. I just sat on the patio enjoying the breeze, the view of my new planter, the bright orange hummingbirds in their war over the feeder, the wind chimes tinkling and the sweet magical serenity that envelops this place. When you move to a new place far away, finding a space for things doesn't just mean where to put the coffee mugs. You have to find space for you, too. You have to find where you and all your little facets belong. So far, I'm happy to report, we are feeling awfully tucked in and cozy here. We feel at home. Mom and Sis will be here in less than a month and I can't wait to share it all with them.

Till next time, love you, miss you.

We were far from the big CO Springs fire, but we had some small local ones. Turns out fires make for great sunsets.

Weird little beetle guy. 

Willy's resting place. I scattered wildflower seeds over there today. He liked eating all my flowers before so....

Just another sunset from the deck. Ho hum. :)

We have these HUGE dandelions here. This isn't even as big as they get. Reminds me of when Mom and I were in Wisconsin when I was a kid. 

I don't know why, but I feel like maybe now is a good time to try something new.

Tim is REALLY good at chess. He and J both competed when they were in high school. I'm having fun learning from him.

Loving these summer storms.

So I pour a cup of coffee and go sit on my step like I do every other morning and I say, "What a glorious day, look how beautiful...HOLY SHIT that's a deer." He's a buck - see his little velvet antlers coming in? I named him Jerky.

Even the grasshoppers are friendly here! Hahahahh!

 Here's the progress of the garden(s) from earlier today....

David workin the ho.

Before. Ugh.

Rototillers are AWESOME! We borrowed this from Don and what would've taken hours to till took minutes.

Planter is up! Marisa is moving around the soil we shoveled in from another place in the yard.

David and Marisa making the stone walkway leading down to the veggie garden.

My little walkway! So pretty!!! You can see the garden square tilled out at the end of the walkway.

Happy roses! The little triangles on the left were Tim's idea and they hold lemon balm and peppermint. Off to the right leaning on the post - that's the monster aloe I brought from CA. He's still a monster.

The Baaarrrrrrgh. Complete with bar-style wine glass holder on top and a space for our wine fridge on the bottom.

A Loving Farewell To Will

For those who knew Willy the Cat, you will be saddened to hear that he took his last purr today. To make a sad story short he got extremely sick a few days ago. Midsummer 2012 did in fact feel like the longest day of the year in this house as we watched him decline all too quickly. Though the vet tried and speculated, there was really nothing we could do but put him to rest right around 10am this morning. He was 12 years, 3 months and 8 days old. 

Willy was a hellian of a cat and he kept it no secret...unless he was luring you in to swipe at you. It was a game for more than one friend of ours to do everything they could to get him to like them enough to not draw blood. Whether he chose to roll in your flip flop, rub on your handbag or head butt your feet, if he liked you he showed it. We always feel most fortunate to win the affections of the difficult critters. High as he was on the difficult scale, for Tim and I and a fortunate few he was loving and a great big crack up. Twenty-one pounds in his heyday. Our big fattie.

We buried him in our new yard next to where I want to put my vegetable garden in the spring. He didn't get to go outside for the first 12 years but he spent the last 3 months in NM rolling in the dirt, chasing lizards and loving every minute of it. I think if he had stayed he would've liked to hang out with us in the garden. And there he is.

So, great cat of many nicknames, we send you off to the next adventure with a whole lot of love. You will be missed terribly. We hope that you get to come back as a dog next time.

Phase 3: Durango Relocation

The cottonwoods are blowing soft white flakes through the air like it were a snowy December afternoon. The juniper beetles are click-tick-clicking, the locusts buzzing away. Hummingbirds keep their racket up by the feeders and in the nearby trees and a Say's Phoebe has little baby birds in a nest on the porch of the big house. The sky is overcast and the wind is still - Wendy calls this California Weather. I can literally get tan lines after 10 minutes in the sun. It's getting hotter by the day but last night we enjoyed a cool and delicious breeze....when it wasn't too windy to open the windows. The late spring is in full swing in northern NM, and I'M READY TO LEAVE AND MOVE INTO MY NEW PLACE! WOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!

Tim and I initially saw the rental listing at least a month ago and, for whatever reason, we didn't call. Maybe because we didn't expect to have neighbors on our property. Maybe because the photos of the place were unflattering. Maybe it was just divine timing. Either way, when Tim finally did talk to the landlord for the first time they spent quite a while on the phone together. That was a mere two weeks ago. This last Saturday evening, the two of us drove up to Durango to meet our new landlords and our new neighbors and sign a year lease on our beautiful new home. If Tim can get enough done on this big cabinetry job he's working on we will start moving carloads as soon as this weekend.

It's a two-story house on 2.5 acres of property surrounded by trees about 3 minutes drive to Home Depot and maybe 8 minutes to Main Street, Durango. We are in the downstairs unit which is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath place of about 1300 sq feet. The master bedroom has it's own attached bath and a big walk-in closet. The 2nd bathroom has a washer and dryer in it. One of the bedrooms will be used as the new Moonstar Charms official headquarters - the one on the east side so I get lots of light in there through the morning and afternoon. Tim is renting half the garage as a work space which is going to require insulation and a space heater in the next few months. The fridge is new. I'll have a functioning dishwasher for the first time in my life. The concrete covered deck is gigantic and overlooks wild lawn, then trees, then hills, then mountains. There is a ranch on the side of the far hill offering distant views of lush green pastures. There is already a small fenced area that has been used as a vegetable garden but (of course) I've already figured out where I want to plot my own - right next to an area that would be perfect for a picnic table. When I asked the landlord about putting a garden in, he said, "As a general rule you guys can do whatever you want as long as you leave the place nicer than it is now." I said that was pretty much our life motto. I'm gonna get a hammock and I'm gonna plant lavender and other smelly flowers near it and I'm gonna get patio furniture and..and...and....and I can't wait!

The upstairs unit is a two bedroom and the couple who live there just moved in this last weekend - they were moving stuff when we were introduced. They are also new to Durango from Colorado Springs and they both seem incredibly sweet, friendly and a little shy. Their master bedroom is sectioned off and that is where our landlords stay when they come to visit...which means there will only be life above our bedroom a few times a year. Tim and I had a lovely dinner with the landlords Saturday night.

Even though I really liked this place from the first time I saw it, I only wanted it to work out if it was right for us. I didn't want to will it to happen out of sheer impatience. So, in my regular chats with The Powers That Be, I asked to please make it obvious if it was right and I promised to wait patiently if it wasn't. When we walked down Main Street on a perfect Sunday morning to meet up for coffee and to sign our lease I was walking on air. It looked like a scene in a Nora Roberts romance novel: quaint shops, restaurants bustling with people, locals on bicycles, tourists with cameras around their neck looking everywhere except where they're walking....this is my town. On our way back to NM we stopped by the house to take some pictures....this is my home. It is all seeming so very right and words like excitement and gratitude are not even big enough for what I'm feeling.

Oh, I've also hosted a ladies tea for my 36th birthday, played some spades, knitted some stuff, made a whole lotta jewelry, stayed at Tim's parents' cabin in Chama, saw an eclipse, spent some time in Santa Fe with Adam and Dionne and in Albuquerque with Marisa and David, and joined a wine club. Not in that order.

Love you, miss you.

A small portion of our deck and view. The door is behind me and to my right. New morning coffee spot! And cocktail hour spot...and grilling spot....and afternoon nap spot.....

If you're standing on the deck looking out, this area is to the left. It's gonna be so preeetyyyyy.

Standing at the front door looking in. The owners want to replace the linoleum with tile (even though the linoleum is in good shape) and Tim is going to put new cabinet doors in the kitchen. They left that table for now since we don't have one yet.

Standing in the kitchen looking at the living room. The front door is to the right. That's a pellet stove - it is electric, works as a central heater and runs on pellets - each bedroom has it's own thermostat (so you can turn yours all the way up, Mom).

My soon to be office.

Enjoying a glass of wine in the shade with David and Marisa at the Wine & Balloon Fiesta.

The tents on the right were where the wineries were giving tastings. That balloon was up all of 5 minutes. Who plans a balloon fiesta during high wind season in NM? Lame.

My pretty table for my pretty tea. It was Wendy, Joanie, "Aunt" Linda, Dionne, Marisa and myself. I made 4 different types of tea sandwiches, a crab salad and a pureed vegetable soup. Marisa made a FANTASTIC cheesecake and thanks to Dionne we also had about 30 different teas to choose from.

Just after my tea, the Hassemers migrated to the gazebo to watch what I dubbed as the Solar Eclipse of the Heart. Yes, we did listen to the song while the eclipse took place.

Back-lit gazebo

What you can't see unless you have several pairs of sunglasses on.

Post-eclipse sunset.

My birthday - Tim taking photos of copulating insects in the rose garden of a local winery. (Yes, really.)

Chatterbox hummingbird

Rainy Day Un-Blues

I just sat on the little bench outside on our covered porch and let a thunderstorm engage the senses. I watched two birds fly together across the arroyo, presumably towards shelter. I watched the dirt turn to mud, spot by spot, drop by drop. I listened as the almost nonstop thunder rippled its way across the sky being chased by lightning in the distance. I watched the plants do a happy dance in the rain. The breezes blowing through were being kind - its cold enough to chill the nose but warm enough that everything else is comfortable. It smells like crisp, fresh life. Places like this are living, breathing poetry.

June marks the beginning of rainy season in Durango and I have high hopes to watch storms blow by while sitting on my own porch bench (though I'd prefer a padded swing) next month. The house hunt is still going - being that we're looking for very specific things it's not as quick as it could've been. We want 2 bathrooms, we want a garage, we don't want neighbors, we don't want to pay $1500 a month. It's all do-able - we'll just have to keep looking daily like we have been. Fingers crossed, everyone! I'm READY!

Last weekend we spent 2 days with Adam and Dionne in Santa Fe. Adam helped Tim with Marisa's kitchen so Tim paid him back by helping Adam with some fix-ups including cutting down an unruly tree. Dionne and I helped by drinking beer and knitting little animals to donate to kids in Equador. Details on that to come but first I'll say we had a great time with them and are already looking forward to next time.

We followed up those 2 days with 2 days at the parents' little cabin in the woods in Chama, NM. It was an excellent location for my imagination's horror film sequel. The rabid dogs were taken care of in the first mental movie but I'm still not done uncovering the types of madness that can happen at a place like that creepy little cabin. It was just creepy enough to be fun and not so creepy that I lost sleep. Tim and I had a great time - Tim built a log bench in front of the cabin and we did lots of loafing, guitar playing, cribbage playing and more knitting of small things.

On to that - Marisa is traveling to Equador in September on a hospital mission trip. They are performing surgery on 40+ kids over the course of one week and being that hospitals across the globe are all cold, I've campaigned for my creative friends and family to make hats, little blankets, booties, etc. for the kids. If we end up with lots more than we need (which would be amazing) there is a nursery at the hospital and there is also a girl who will be volunteering at a local orphanage. Whether you sew, knit, crochet or...whatever else....if you want to donate something that would be awesome. If you want to send me yarn that would also be a great and appreciated contribution.

I'm hosting a little birthday tea party here with some ladies on the 20th if anyone wants to surprise me and show up. 2pm. I'll make extra sandwiches. ;)

Till next time, love you, miss you.

Are you tired of sunset photos yet? I'm not.

Sadie is Marisa's dog. She wants to meet my cats. Zena declined the invitation.

I call this one Cinco de Liono. Last Saturday evening at Adam and Dionne's.

The bench that Tim made at the creepy cabin.

NOW are you tired of sunset pics? Me neither.

So here's one more for ya.