Location, Location, Location – Where do you belong in this wild & crazy world?

January 25, 2016October 11, 2016 / Laura Lee Carter / 7 Comments

power outage

Picture this: We now live a southern Colorado county with only two traffic lights. Yep, in the whole county!

So, our recent experience getting stuck in our worst traffic jam ever in Denver, convinced us that country living may be a better choice. After a quick trip up there this week, I am even more certain that we have found the best place in the world for us.

What happens when I drive up to Denver? The first thing I notice is the foul air, and then everything starts crowding in on me. When you’re used to a one stoplight town, traffic in the city can get very intense, very quickly. Try sitting in that traffic for 30 or 40 minutes after living in the southern Colorado outback for a couple of years. UNBELIEVABLE!

Did you know my original goal in leaving northern Colorado was to never waste another minute of my limited lifespan sitting in a traffic jam?

Don’t get me wrong. I do see the appeal of the city, just not for me anymore. I now totally appreciate what a fine line it can be finding the right size city for each of us. Too small and it can get boring, too large and it’s ugly in so many ways.

From my experience, it is important when you start searching for your forever home, to spend some serious time there first. Spend at least six months to a year there before choosing anything permanent. Try to make a few friends and learn as much as you can about the area.

As we age we find out how important the simple pleasures are in our lives. When you have more past than future, you learn.

Want to learn more about the experience of moving from the city to the country to live a quiet, relaxed life? Check it out here!

My Next Project: A Journal of Retirement

January 12, 2016February 11, 2017 / Laura Lee Carter / 8 Comments

I’m just beginning to get excited about writing my next book! This week I started collecting all that I have written in the past few years, and enjoying (in retrospect!) the process of how our retirement came about. Retirement for us was a bit of an ungraceful process, sort of like that joke about making sausage, but it happened all the same and most importantly, we survived!
It’s surprisingly fun and funny reading my old entries about trips to Ecuador, renovating our old house for sale, falling down the stairs, etc. I would guess this could make for some interesting reading for those who are just beginning to consider their retirement options.

Mike fooling around down below!

I have decided to write it in journal-style, much like if the reader was reading my diary, as it happened. I have always enjoyed the intimacy of books written in this style.

This book will answer such questions as when and why did we first get interested in moving to Ecuador? Why did we lose interest? How did we decide to check out southern Colorado as a site for a solar home? How did we choose the architecture of this home? etc.

Basically this will be a summary of how this wonderful place all came about for us. How did we end up here, doing this at age 60?

I am filled with gratitude that I can now live like this forever. Please go learn more about our move from Fort Collins to here in my new memoir!

“I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.” – David Bowie

Solar Heating & Weather Patterns Northeast of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range

January 7, 2016October 15, 2016 / Laura Lee Carter / 5 Comments

Clouds over the Spanish Peaks in January 2016

After a few nice sunny days, we’re having a cloudy one today, with snow expected tomorrow morning. I am happy to report our first ‘winter’ electric bill was really not bad, less than we ever expected. This passive solar heating is definitely doing an excellent job of keeping us warm and happy!

It has been interesting to study and learn more about the weather patterns down here. The Sangre de Cristo mountains south and west of us, are the best predictor of snow storms coming this way. They almost always come from that way. When we see a storm up in those mountains, there’s an excellent chance we’ll also be snowing here soon.

I just released a new book about what we went through in the past two years, packing up our life in suburbia, moving to rural Colorado, and starting a whole new life.

Want to learn more about this move from busy, noisy Fort Collins to this place of silence and great weather watching? Go here!

And please follow us on TWITTER!

After the fog clears in southern Colorado!

December 1, 2015January 4, 2016 / Laura Lee Carter / 4 Comments

“The sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses. Won’t you stay, we’ll put on a day, and we’ll talk in present tenses…” — Joni Mitchell

Yes, I know I’ve been talking about snow and fog quite a lot here, but the best part is after the storm lifts. The views are incredible from every room in our house!

This was the view from my bed this morning when I opened my eyes. Not a bad scene to wake up to, eh?

And the full view looked like this!

Even better than that is the wonderful sun pouring in to warm our home into the 70s within an hour or two. Natural solar heating is the best, and you can’t beat the price!

I have become the total sun worshipper living here. Where would we all be without it? I love to lay on my bed and simply soak it all in!

Living in this place is a great help to focus my mind on the present moment. To hell with all that stuff from the past or worries about my unknowable future. I challenge myself moment to moment to be present with where I am right now. What a blessing that can be!

Snowed in for days and loving it!

November 29, 2015November 30, 2015 / Laura Lee Carter / 3 Comments

“There is only one success, to spend your life in your own way.” — Christopher Morley

This is our first glimpse of the sun in a few days…

Since our foot of snow on Thanksgiving night, we have been entertaining ourselves quite well. In fact we have been totally fogged in for a few days.

But how can we be bored with fun photos to take, a good book to read, Netflix and lots of snow to shovel?

Not to mention one of my favorite new pastimes, coloring! I am presently coloring mandalas, which represent a microcosm of the universe.

Did you know Carl Jung used to have his patients color mandalas to help them access their subconscious? It works! When I’m coloring I completely stop worry shopping, and focus on my bright future:
Love what interacting with so many colors is doing for me. It sets my underdeveloped artist free! Everyone go try this! It’s wonderfully relaxing.

We have also been slowly getting out our Christmas decorations. This is exciting because last year everything was packed away.

Yes, we are finally home for good!

Our pets are very slowly getting used to each other, kind of…

Rasta’s still mad about that evil intruder Charlie. We joke about Rasta’s favorite present being the disappearance of said CAT!

The marvelous SUN came out this morning. It is glorious! I am a total sun worshipper! So now we are ready for some quiet holidays, watching our pets growl and chase each other around the Christmas tree…

Did I mention? The views are incredible up here, especially after a great big snow storm! We get a 180 degree view of the Sangres!

And BTW, I will be writing soon about that wonderful new book I’m reading…please stay tuned!

Passive Solar Heat & the First SNOW!

November 18, 2015November 20, 2015 / Laura Lee Carter / 2 Comments

Monday night was exciting up here! We saw first sleet and then snow falling, and it snowed all night.

As some of you may know, I’ve been recording precipitation data for the CoCoRAHS project since 1998, at the seven addresses I have lived at in that time. Yesterday’s reading was particularly difficult because of high winds and drifted snow, although I did record almost an inch of precip!

Let me put it this way, it was difficult getting out of the house on Tuesday morning. Some places there was almost no snow and it was a foot deep elsewhere. We live on a county road so they took care of the road plowing.

And our solar heating has been working great! For example, outside we got down to around 20 degrees last night and inside we were around 60 this morning, but as soon as the sun started coming in, we jumped up to 66 quickly. We do have supplemental electric heat, which we use sparingly, and I also have hot flashes, which help a lot!

The sunset was beautiful here last night, a constant reminder of why we choose to live up here!

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