Moving somewhere new and making friends

October 17, 2014October 18, 2014 / Laura Lee Carter / 6 Comments

Moving is never easy, at least not in my experience, and I have changed residences more times than I can count at this point in my life. That is probably why most older Americans don’t move past a certain age. That, plus the enormous amount of energy needed to change homes!

Recently we moved from Fort Collins, CO, a major metro area, to a very small town in southern Colorado, population 3,000. Contrary to what I had expected, it is not easy making friends in small towns. Yes, most are friendly when you first meet them on the street, but becoming friends is a whole different concept.

Whenever I meet people I feel I have some connection with anywhere here or in La Veta, I offer them my card with my contact information. In four months here, none have ever called me back. This is a time when having a primary relationship with your husband is essential. I think it would have been very tough to move here without one! And since we don’t have jobs here in town, the people we do meet are limited.

Luckily our new landlord has been friendly and welcoming. He has made us music CDs and invited us out to his country home twice, even offering us produce from his garden. Every other social situation here has gone nowhere.

Yes, everyone is busy in the summer months especially here. Everyone has their lives and priorities. But please be aware when you meet someone new to town, they could probably use a friend. Were you ever new in town?

Delays and Over-Budget Items!

October 15, 2014December 7, 2014 / Laura Lee Carter / 2 Comments

As you all must know, construction is not for the weak of heart or stomach! I’m new to this game. I have never been involved in a major construction project, especially in a rural area. So far I am reminded of that famous movie quote from Betty Davis:

“Fasten your seat belts… It’s going to be a bumpy ride!”

Once we had our blue prints together with full engineer approval, we had a month and a half delay just to procure our building permit!

This was because the ONLY INSPECTOR IN THIS ENTIRE COUNTY had ten building projects ahead of ours. Yes, this county is getting more popular, probably because of the amazing natural beauty in combination with quite reasonable land prices.

Then we got some bad news about road set-backs on our property, leading to the need to spend $10,000 extra on backfill materials. We chalked that up to no use building a home on a less than solid foundation!

Then it seemed like we were making some great progress… for a while. We got the footers in quickly and then the foundation. The plumbing was going in and the slab looked imminent.

That was until Mike realized the builder has forgotten about the foundation insulation. This is essential in a passive solar home. The heat that gets absorbed into the slab floor must be retained by insulation under the slab and at the foundation walls.

That meant another week delay to get the insulation here. Now we’re waiting to get the excavator back up there to install it and finish the slab so the actual home construction can begin.

In the meantime we have been living in a 1,000 square foot rental in Walsenburg built in 1911. For the past four months we have been waiting to get this show on the road! With half of our stuff in storage, we are constantly saying, “Yeah we have one of those. We just don’t know where it is!”

We are so anxious to get out on our land and I can assure you, I am NOT a patient person! Luckily Mike is a master at calming me down when I go off the deep end…

Our solar home is FINALLY taking shape!

October 14, 2014December 27, 2022 / Laura Lee Carter / 4 Comments

For those who are new here, my husband Mike and I sold our perfectly good suburban home in Fort Collins Colorado four months ago, to move 225 miles south and build the home we have always dreamed of.

When I first met Mike at age 49 in early 2005, we fell in love quite quickly. He told me then that he wasn’t moving again unless he got a great view, and could design and build a passive solar home outside the city. Nine years later that dream is coming true!

This is the view from our foothills land three hours south of Denver, a fantastic view of Spanish Peaks! A few weeks ago we got the trenching done, and watched them put in the footers… We are ecstatic!

This process has been painfully slow! But we know it will all be worth it in the end. The silence, the views, and the many different birds and wildlife up there, this looks like the perfect place for us… and check out our future commute home!

Adventures of the NEW??? Old Farts

Beauty is the garden where hope grows

Building in southern Colorado

Moving somewhere new and making friends

Moving is never easy, at least not in my experience, and I have changed residences more times than I can count at this point in my life. That is probably why most older Americans don’t move past a certain age. That, plus the enormous amount of energy needed to change homes!

Luckily our new landlord has been friendly and welcoming. He has made us music CDs and invited us out to his country home twice, even offering us produce from his garden. Every other social situation here has gone nowhere.

Yes, everyone is busy in the summer months especially here. Everyone has their lives and priorities. But please be aware when you meet someone new to town, they could probably use a friend. Were you ever new in town?

Delays and Over-Budget Items!

As you all must know, construction is not for the weak of heart or stomach! I’m new to this game. I have never been involved in a major construction project, especially in a rural area. So far I am reminded of that famous movie quote from Betty Davis:

“Fasten your seat belts… It’s going to be a bumpy ride!”

Once we had our blue prints together with full engineer approval, we had a month and a half delay just to procure our building permit!

This was because the ONLY INSPECTOR IN THIS ENTIRE COUNTY had ten building projects ahead of ours. Yes, this county is getting more popular, probably because of the amazing natural beauty in combination with quite reasonable land prices.

Then we got some bad news about road set-backs on our property, leading to the need to spend $10,000 extra on backfill materials. We chalked that up to no use building a home on a less than solid foundation!

Then it seemed like we were making some great progress… for a while. We got the footers in quickly and then the foundation. The plumbing was going in and the slab looked imminent.

That was until Mike realized the builder has forgotten about the foundation insulation. This is essential in a passive solar home. The heat that gets absorbed into the slab floor must be retained by insulation under the slab and at the foundation walls.

That meant another week delay to get the insulation here. Now we’re waiting to get the excavator back up there to install it and finish the slab so the actual home construction can begin.

In the meantime we have been living in a 1,000 square foot rental in Walsenburg built in 1911. For the past four months we have been waiting to get this show on the road! With half of our stuff in storage, we are constantly saying, “Yeah we have one of those. We just don’t know where it is!”

We are so anxious to get out on our land and I can assure you, I am NOT a patient person! Luckily Mike is a master at calming me down when I go off the deep end…

Our solar home is FINALLY taking shape!

For those who are new here, my husband Mike and I sold our perfectly good suburban home in Fort Collins Colorado four months ago, to move 225 miles south and build the home we have always dreamed of.

When I first met Mike at age 49 in early 2005, we fell in love quite quickly. He told me then that he wasn’t moving again unless he got a great view, and could design and build a passive solar home outside the city. Nine years later that dream is coming true!

This is the view from our foothills land three hours south of Denver, a fantastic view of Spanish Peaks! A few weeks ago we got the trenching done, and watched them put in the footers… We are ecstatic!

This process has been painfully slow! But we know it will all be worth it in the end. The silence, the views, and the many different birds and wildlife up there, this looks like the perfect place for us… and check out our future commute home!