Building in rural Colorado

My MOST stressful year is almost over!

/ Laura Lee Carter / 3 Comments

Surprise, surprise I found our builder out there this morning BEFORE 8 AM! I guess he just figured out we are moving in, in a few days! Time to get the stove in…

I was VERY DISAPPOINTED to find out my entire counter will not be finished until after we move in. And guess what? He won’t get paid until that’s finished either…

I have been trying not to totally stress over these final days, but I would say it’s not working… I am having daily meltdowns lately.

Poor Mike, perhaps this wasn’t the year to get off my estrogen patch.  🙂

IMGP3926At least Kristy helped me get my fancy bath back splash done this week! I planned the whole bath around the colors in that tin lavender sign, and I’m really happy with the results! This photo doesn’t show the colors exactly how they look.

IMGP3919And on another positive note, the native sunflowers are numerous this July. Check out the view out of our front door.

IMGP3923This is the view back towards the front door. I have to remind myself daily that all of this stress will pass, and then we will be set for some SERIOUS rest and relaxation!

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I FINALLY HOOKED UP WITH KRISTY!

/ Laura Lee Carter / 4 Comments

I finally met the person I wish I had met a year ago, just this morning! She seems to know everybody in the area and can get things done easily and cheaply.

I told her we needed some help getting my backsplashes finished FAST and she hooked me up! Mike said he couldn’t find anyone to do our gutters and BLAM, she knew of 3 possibilities.

This woman should work for HGTV!

Of course the builder is not thrilled, but then I am frustrated to the point of steam coming out of my ears at his slow, easy-going style. He does not seem to care that we’re moving in NEXT WEEK! THIS has no meaning to him.

IMGP3900Here is the present state of my kitchen, the counters are done and the sink is working, but that’s about it. We do have electric and plumbing done with inspections coming soon, but I cannot get our builder to even come out to the house before ten or eleven each day. He just does not care.

IMGP3902Here’s my bath vanity waiting for my fancy purple and green backsplash. Kristy found a young man for me who can get started on it possibly TODAY!

IMGP3916I’m so anxious to get things done so I can start cleaning up all of the sawdust, etc. and make it feel more like a home instead of a construction site.

Somehow it didn’t occur to me until now that builders don’t leave you a sparkling clean new home when they leave. Well duh!   😦

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Into the home stretch we go!

/ Laura Lee Carter / 5 Comments

IMGP3887You are probably wondering what’s happening up at our new custom home in the foothills west of here…

Right now the electrician is almost finished, and the pine trim is going in around all of the rooms and windows. Mike is busy installing the small stuff like the closet systems, phone and network boxes, etc.

The counters in the kitchen and bath should be done on Monday, with the final plumbing visit on Tuesday and Wednesday. We still need our sinks, faucets, toilets and water heater to start working, and then it’s time to finish up all of the county inspections and MOVE IN!

Words cannot adequately describe what a long and difficult process this has been for both of us. Really only one word describes the step-by-step process of collecting just the right workers at just the right time to complete such a large and complex project. STRESS! Then you add in the phenomenal price of bringing all those experts to this rural area! YIKES!

Another major problem with taking on such a difficult project is we have had all the stress with no real reward for over a year now. We are still left sitting in our dumpy 100-year-old rental in Walsenburg no matter how nice our new home becomes.

Now, the rewards are within reach.

When the county inspector says: “YOU MAY MOVE IN NOW!”  

Hang on, it all changes!

The NEW look of our new home in the foothills!

/ Laura Lee Carter / 4 Comments

IMGP3882I was up there bright and early today to see the new (and final!) stucco color on our house. What do you think? I LOVE IT!

We plan to paint the white door and maybe even the garage door red. We also will add a red awning over the front door.

IMGP3886Here’s the view from the south-facing side of the house as you walk around it.

IMGP3887 And the view from below the house.

These photos don’t portray the adobe color of our home exactly how it looks, but trust me, it looks great sitting up on that hill… and only two weeks to move-in day, yikes!


IMGP3857This is a shot I’ve been trying to get for at least 6 months here in Walsenburg. We have coal trains coming through here 20+ times a day, and we have to drive over the tracks constantly here in town. This shows the Spanish Peaks behind the train as it enters downtown.

The noisy trains are something I will NOT miss about living here in town!

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A day in the life of small town USA

/ Laura Lee Carter / 8 Comments

This morning was glorious here in Walsenburg. It was around 60 degrees with a nice cool breeze blowing, so I took a walk. I found a lovely set of hollyhocks a few blocks away…

IMGP3816so nice  I had to share them with you. There’s lots of hollyhocks here! They remind me of growing up in a small town in Kansas. Walsenburg is basically very small town and traffic-free except for Main Street and Highway 160 headed west. Most people never get off the main drag and see what a friendly town this can be.

IMGP3834Then we took a drive over to La Veta to visit our friends at Two Fox Cabins. Pat and Doug beautifully maintain this best place in the area to stay! They have a way with wildflowers, and they are constantly improving their place for visitors, so much so that they’re full for most of the rest of the summer.

On the way back from La Veta we stopped off at our almost finished new home in the foothills.

IMGP3839I just had to share the view from our new front door! We now have the first layer of stucco on and on Monday they will finish it with an adobe-colored finish. Can’t wait!

IMGP3842It was looking so glorious up there that I had to take another photo of the Sangre de Cristo mountains in the distance.

IMGP3846Inside, my custom bathroom is looking wonderful! I chose white marble tile with mint green walls, with green and purple glass highlights in the shower and on the backsplash. What do you think? This is the first time in my life I got to choose everything myself… What FUN!

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