A New Week in a Spectacular New Home In The Southern Colorado Foothills!

August 3, 2015November 3, 2016 / Laura Lee Carter / 12 Comments

So relieved to have our final move behind us!

All I feel is gratitude for the many ways my life has changed since I decided to make love my highest priority back in 2004. I see now that if I hadn’t decided to find a way to believe in love again back then, none of my other goals could have been achieved.

First there was my fortuitous meeting with Mike in early 2005, which led to having the courage, time and energy to begin a new writing career. My books followed as Mike and I’s relationship grew.

Then, when the time seemed exactly right, we decided to move out of the city forever and found this lovely valley to build in with 180 degree views of the Spanish Peaks and the Sangre de Cristos. But if Mike had not had the vision and the proper skills to create this home, it would have never been built.

The peace and quiet, the chilly air in the morning as the sun comes up, this is heaven or close enough for me.

How did I end up here, feeling so fortunate?

It’s a long story, one I can now share with you!

An undeniable peace…

July 31, 2015August 1, 2015 / Laura Lee Carter / 3 Comments

Our mountain retreat is a DREAM COME TRUE. We’re both completely exhausted, and yet quite pleased with the result of our two years of change, stress and labor…

The view from our bed through the sliding door:

You just have to love those resilient sunflowers!

I see some serious cloud-watching in our future…

I FINALLY HOOKED UP WITH KRISTY!

July 23, 2015July 23, 2015 / 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.

Here 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.

Here’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!

I’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!

July 17, 2015July 19, 2015 / Laura Lee Carter / 5 Comments

You 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!

What’s been happening up at our new home?

July 3, 2015August 20, 2015 / Laura Lee Carter / 6 Comments

Big improvements! First we got the first layer of stucco applied and then all the lights and ceiling fans went in! Do you know how stucco is made?

Well, I didn’t until I saw the men applying a special mix of concrete, sand, and who knows what else to the outside of our house.

Then they slap this mixture onto every surface of the house. This is only the first layer. After this dries and cures they’ll come back to add the second coat with the color in it. We have chosen a terra cotta color for the outside of our house. Can’t wait to see it! And speaking of color…

the wildflowers are at their best up there right now! I cannot get over how much of a difference six inches of rain can make!

We have millions of these yellow flowers plus native Lupines, and Indian Paintbrush!

And this mystery flower is a lovely purple, my favorite! Thanks to my botanist friend Jan we now know this is the Showy Four O’Clock, (Mirabilis multiflora). It only blooms in the late afternoon and then all night. I’ll try to get a better photo of the flowers in bloom soon.

In the meantime, here is a great photo of it! Isn’t it amazingly PURPLE?

In the disturbed land around our new home we already have hundreds of volunteers. Lots of sunflowers that will bloom a bit later, etc.

Inside we have most of the tiling done…

Then it’s time to finish the kitchen and baths, and we FINALLY have a move-in date!

The end of July we are out of our rental and into a whole new world up in the foothills. I’m already fantasizing where everything will go in each room.

Now comes the FUN part!

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Sharing difficult times with a life partner

June 17, 2015June 23, 2015 / Laura Lee Carter / 2 Comments

I had an insight this morning. I have most certainly experienced more difficult times in my life than this past year and a half; struggling through the process of leaving our old home, past lives and dear friends behind to build in this new, rural setting.

A number of tough times in my twenties, thirties and forties come to mind, but I have never struggled like this while sharing my life with a partner. Now I know it is both easier and harder to struggle with major life challenges while intimately involved with someone else.

It is easier for the most obvious reason. With the right partner you can experience understanding, encouragement and support in your darkest hours. This is an amazing benefit to someone like me who has spent most of my adult life living alone.

The hard part is when both of you get down at the same time, what I call “Who stole the bright side.” It is so essential that we work together and not push each other away with guilt or blame when things get tough.

So glad we have each other to turn to. I cannot imagine this experience without Mike’s loving support and caring. This is “sustainable living” at its most basic, and Rasta our little dog helps immensely too… comedy relief is ESSENTIAL!

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