4-17-08

I am bad about keeping this site updated lately, so please excuse my lack of diligence.  The film I am working on with my partner Max Mitchell is about to be released mid May and we are confident of good sales in spite of a slumping economy.  History has shown that comedies  do well in a down market so we are hoping history repeats itself this time around.  The site for the film is at www.horrorinthewind.com

9/14/07

My dear Mom passed away in her chair on the ranch on August 8 with me holding her hand. Even though you know the end is coming it doesn't make it any easier or bearable.  I miss her but know she is with Dad, not in pain and can hear again.  Her love will always be with me. 

3/02/07 

Just found old friends that moved like we did and it is always wonderful to find fun people again. Welcome back Joe and Kay Livermore and daughter Kathy of Rochester and Davisburg, Michigan!

1/26/07

I was hospitalized on the 10th with pneumonia and after three days of improving I contracted MRSA which is a hospital nightmare. It is something you should never get if you have had a lifetime of asthma, it is devastating and resistant to most antibiotics.  As a result, I am on oxygen nearly 24/7 and learning to live with that has been very difficult. It hampers travel and time away from home and adds complications to general life.  I refuse to let it get me down although I have my moments when you just want to cry or scream.  Progress is still being made on the ranch but at a much slower pace than before.

11/27/06

Saturday was put up new fencing day.  My hands ache from cutting fence wire all day.  Alas, we live in an era that you have to not only fence people out of your property but post it every 300 feet or less in order to receive police protection if you have aggressive trespassers The police will come out if you call but in court they can't press charges unless you have your land posted and fenced.  We are considering becoming a gated community of 13 owners since most of the road is private and not maintained by the county. You would be surprised at just how militant and demanding young people can be these days.  The dangerous part is they often carry guns and concealed knives and could assault you on your own property if you don't choose your words carefully.  Today it pays to take a course on verbal disarmament.

11-21  Mom celebrated her 92nd birthday on 11/10/06 and although she is confined to a wheel chair her mental abilities are sharp....just let me forget the slightest detail and she remembers  :-)    Its hard to believer but we have been in the new house for one year last Friday.

6-28   As you get older and have a little more time on your hands you seem to remember a lot of wonderful people in the past that you now miss because you've lost touch.  Today was a rare treat, finding a lost friend and striking up memories of good times in Bloomington, Indiana.  Those were Grad school days, the time of communes, Ben Spock, Angela Davis, Hippies and great friends.  Today is Welcome Bob Brookshire day!  Hope we manage to keep in touch from here on out!!!

6-22  Summer begins and progress is slow - but steady.  Still need to decorate the inside of the ranchhouse but am pretty well moved in.  This season will find the focus on landscaping and clearing along the riverbanks - everyone is welcome - no experience necessary :-)

4-15  The new tractor arrived Saturday 4/15/06 .  It is all I had hoped it to be and more.  It has a Front End Loader, Backhoe, Boom Pole and Lift Forks to allow its operation as a fork lift truck.  It is a KAMA made by Shandong with a TY395E diesel engine by Jiangsu. 3 cylinders, 35 horse power and lots of low speed power with its creeper gears.  Soon the tractor mounted wood chipper will arrive and allow us to turn branches and large limbs into wood chips. See photo on the gallery page.

4/10-17/06  This was the week from Hell for me with both Mom and the new dog in the hospital in different towns. It truly was a 'Good Friday' to have them both come back home, even if it was a lot of driving to get them home and a lot of paperwork to fill out.  Mom had a fever of 104.6 with violent shakes and a semi-conscious demeanor but she came out of it with antibiotics and forced fluids - thank goodness.  The dog had a prior hernia operation go bad and had to have it re-done by our skilled veterinarian that we have had for some 16 years.   Both are doing well and I am recuperating good from the stress of it all.

4/1/06  Its not an April Fools Joke - our new diesel tractor did arrive as scheduled and it is a beauty.  More about it on our "Latest Updates"

3/24/06  Our new dog arrived today to grace our lives with love and companionship.  Her name is CONNIE and she is already training us to serve her needs after seven years of neglect in her early life.  She is an absolute delight and loves Mom.  She will be Mom's 'ears' and signal her that someone is at the door and offer her protection should anyone enter the ranch house while I am off to the store. She is a 46# mixed breed (some Boxer, some Lab and some traveling salesman) who was found chained to a stake with no shelter in El Paso.  An El Paso Animal Rescue Group rescued her and put her up for adoption. She is a sweetheart with a gentle loving disposition and large brown eyes that radiate devotion. Come meet her and give her the hugs that she needs after years of neglect. Before and after photos of Connie are on the Gallery Page.

03/12/06   The first three RV sites now have full services - sewer, water, electric and phone and the ditches have been covered and waiting for the new tractor to arrive on 3/28 so we can begin spreading gravel on the roads around the "RV Park"  Friends Butch and Janet Bowman from Michigan tried out the water and electric outlets on the side of the ranch house and were our first guests - hope more of you stop by on your way to somewhere and stop to visit.

3/02/06  On Valentine's Day, in anticipation of my 65th Birthday on the 2nd of March, I ordered a bright red KAMA 354X tractor, complete with front end loader, back hoe, forks for the bucket to double as a forklift truck and maybe even a chipper if the money holds out. It is an awfully big step money wise but necessary for future work on river paths, driveways and landscaping.  It is fully assembled, tested and broken in a little by a knowledgeable dealer and is not one of the crate tractors you see advertised.  Perhaps I should have bought a new car instead, but at least with farm plates I can drive the tractor the three miles to the store and bring back my groceries in the front bucket  :-)

2/18/06  Having always wished that all or part of the waterfalls were on the ranch came to fruition on February 3 with our purchase of Lot 4a which includes the big old cottonwood tree in the pictures and the top portion of the waterfall.  It was much more than I had hoped to pay but someone not of our gentle nature could have built there and kept us out.  It was a chance I could not afford to take, so I went into debt for the purchase and it is now part of the ranch.  The large fall is owned by a gentlemen from El Paso that has promised it will be placed in a land trust for future generations of his family.  We are already caretakers of that parcel.  We are beginning to have people park at the gate, climb over the fence and head down to the falls - its something to deal with in the future. 

1/31/06  Guess its time to start updating the site again and get current with life  :-)   We finally got DSL on the ranch after our little phone company replaced some equipment and did a yeomans job cleaning up lines to the ranch.  Now we can update photos and other things without the interruption of being bumped off in the middle of an upload to the site.  Still unboxing and finding new things that I didn't remember I had saved.  My New Year's resolution is to be less of a packrat than in prior years - ho ho ho - lets see how long this resolution lasts.    

8/13  The moving starts in earnest this morning, taking delicate items down the the ranch in the car and my cousin's small pickup.

8/11  The ranch's new Dell Inspirion 9300 Notebook computers have arrived complete with 17" screens, Y-fi wireless etc - we will have our own 'hot spot' on the ranch for those of you visiting in the RV sites or the ranch house.   Hopefully, before long, the entire 30 acres will be internet accessible to all.  

8/10  The move has been forwarded to Monday the 15th of August to allow a little more breathing room at the other end.  I'm having to move two special cats to the new ranch and want to make the move in the least traumatic fashion for them.  Their new home will be the over sized garage complete with a cat lookout window.  Another chapter in our lives comes to an end and a new one looks at us in the face - all will be well.

8/08  Three more days till the big move to the ranch.  There will be a lapse of updating this site until new phone lines are available at the ranch house and there is a spot for the computer. Please excuse the delay in getting new information uploaded.  Email may accumulate for a spell, but we all will be back on before long and promise to answer all inquiries.  Hugs to all of you that have been watching the site for updates.

7/30  Only ten more days in the Alto home then we will be on the ranch permanently.  The garage sale went well thanks to my cousin Carole Wall and we both got rid of a bunch of stuff we otherwise would have taken to the landfill.  One truckload will finish the move and we will have space to store the things until the house is completed.  It will be strange not having a specific place to comfortably call home for a month but I will be staying with my friend Brian Seale in his home on the ranch until the move in date happens.

7/27  Since I am moving two cats with me to the ranch, I added a window into an already stucco'd wall of the garage - probably giving my cousin/contractor ulcers - but as usual, he did a great job of retrofit.  If that's all I forgot, it will be a good omen :-)

7/18  The crew is now on the second coat of stucco.  Soon the color coat will be on and it will look much more finished.

7/15  There is a flurry of activity in the house with tradesman tripping over each other as the plumbers, air conditioning, electricians and carpenters complete various phases of their work.  Its sort of a sad day today for me after putting a 13 year old inside cat down in preparation for the move.  She was not in good health and definitely would not have survived life on the ranch.  I am sure she is with our 15 year old dog that preceded her last month and hopefully they are now enjoying one another's company.

7/9/05  Electrical boxes are now in place awaiting wire to be pulled between them - just hope I have remembered everything and that  light doesn't exist that can't be turned on and off :-)    The stucco paper, wire and metal stop are all installed and ready for the first coats of cement to be applied.  The distributor sent the wrong heat pump although the air handler is correct and we can begin to install ductwork and registers while awaiting the proper pump to arrive.  Good vendors that make things right are also a blessing.

7/1/05 - Happy Independence Day everyone, hope all your dreams and wishes come true for each of you.  Blessings from the Seventh Heaven Ranch.

6/30  I am blessed to have a plumbing contractor with years of experience, a wonderful crew and a patron of the arts to boot.  Ned's Plumbing and Remodeling of Carrizozo, NM began drilling holes and planning on the piping layout for all the fixtures today.  They will also be installing the radiant floor heating.  Ned was the contractor on my first house in Alto and did one incredible job.  Leo Martinez Stucco is about 80% done with the doubletex and wire and is now installing metal stucco stops around the window and door trim.  All is well on the ranch with these quality vendors.

6/29  There has been a delay in moving Mom to Mescalero until Wednesday, a little disappointing to her but I understand their reasoning on a Holiday Weekend with the admitting doctor out of town.  The ranch house is progressing according to plan, new photos will be posted this weekend.   Happy Independence Day to all!

6/28  Today is our visit with the orthopedic surgeon who will be evaluating Mom for hip socket replacement surgery and hopefully getting her walking again.  We have been accepted into the almost brand new Mescalero Apache Reservation Convalescent Home and we make the move from Ruidoso to Mescalero (11 miles from the ranch) on Friday.   Our home in Ruidoso has sold and I am 70% packed up and ready to move to the ranch.  Most everything seems to be going according to plan with only a few unplanned events getting in the way. 

6/24  Every day I realize how blessed I am to have two talented contractors looking after things until my healthcare situation with my Mom is settled.  Thanks to my cousin Scott Parker and his friend Carl McDaniel for their skills in keeping the vision under construction without my being there every day.

6/23  The Ruidoso Care Center is being closed by the State of New Mexico so I am scrambling to get Mom into a facility nearer the ranch since we are packing up our home of 17 years and putting it on the market.  Stressful times hopefully make one stronger and more adaptable to life.  If you have elderly parents, be sure to transfer assets into their caretaker's name before serious illness hits them, otherwise their care will consume everything you have worked hard to acquire for YOUR retirement.

6/11  To add more stress to my plate, I have some idiots spamming this site and posting several hundred commercial messages a day.  If I had the time and expertise I would track them down and prosecute them to the full extent of 'western' law.

6/2  I am more confined to the Ruidoso Care Center than before Mom's fall but today, Ruidoso Home Care comes to give me a break and will give me free time to visit the ranch and arrange the purchase of more gates and home necessities.

5/17  Mom fell and fractured her right hip and left shoulder.

5/13  Its disheartening to watch the available funds dwindle so fast when you launch a major project like this, primarily due to dramatic increases in price, partly because I have this desire to do things the best way and a few unavoidable vendor errors that added costs. Although I thought I could do it without borrowing, a loan is in process to allow the ranch to finish out and get some basic equipment in inventory.  I'm always amazed at my cousin's ability to rebound when major obstacles are thrown into his plans - but that's why he is building the ranch over anyone else.  He is such a blessing.

5/11  Every once in a while you find vendors that are so pleasant to do business with, they almost become family.  Such is the case with the commercial contractor's service desk at Lowes in Alamogordo, NM.  They are not only incredibly competent but they always go out of their way to provide exceptional service with a great smile and caring attitude.  The manager has an uncanny ability to find people that not only get along together but seem to operate this big box home center as if it were a family business.  They sure are a very refreshing experience in one's day to day life.

4/12  It was exciting to see the walls in place upon our arrival today.  The vision is gradually becoming a reality.  Thank goodness for a talented and dedicated contractor and crew.  So far the only surprises have been drastic cost increases which everyone is blaming on the price of motor fuel.  It makes our own future biodiesel production even more meaningful now. 

4/07  The crew is glad to see the winds diminish, the blowing sand can be very irritating to eyes.  The garage and solarium floors have been filled and compacted in layers so there will be minimal concrete cracking when poured this weekend.  We are striving to make every part of the ranch house perfectly level so there are no steps to negotiate.  Maintaining a fully ADA compliant structure is our goal.

4/01  April Fools Day started out with my window supplier saying my windows  would be here in five weeks - whoa, did I fall for that one, talk about gullible.  Fortunately they will be here in the two weeks previously promised.  I am now ordering 'stuff' that you can't see but needs to be here at specific times to get installed - like soffit vents, ridge vents, Raft-R-Mates to keep the attic insulation from blocking  air flow up from the soffit vents.  If you want a good house, it takes a lot of 'stuff' to make it a special home.

3/26  It is not until you elect to live in the remote countryside that you realize there are many products you need that are not available quickly in your area.  It can be frustrating when you find a great item that you can use tomorrow to learn that it can get to you in two weeks if the mules don't stumble -  :-)   Happy Easter Weekend to all!

3/24  Yesterday the crew experienced 35-58 mile an hour winds and most construction things ground to a halt.  Two door jambs got installed on the shop building but it was way too dangerous to be handling ten foot sheets of steel paneling.  Time was devoted to repair an ailing crawler tractor by fabricating a part that is no longer commercially available.  Friday through Sunday, the site will shut down for the Easter Weekend and we will resume on Monday by starting the floor of the ranch house. 

3/17  The crew was installing bracing against the stem walls for the pour tomorrow - we don't want any blowouts or tipovers.  I made cookies for the workers although they probably would have rather had green beer and corned beef on St. Patrick's Day.  (Cookies are safer with power tools) :-)

3/15  Would you believe that we were snowed out  in Tularosa, NM??  Well, it was a very cold blustery day and it brought construction to a halt. The metal building shell is up and ready to tweak into square before the siding goes on - but not today.  Everyone is huddled inside the trailers awaiting the storm to blow over. Like most of the southwest, there is always manana :-)

3/10  Watching the new styrofoam blocks being put into place on the footings was exciting - it is a sign that the beams, floor joists and decking are next.  We have been experiencing great weather. Since the house is only 100 feet from the creek, digging down to create a crawl space is not a wise move, so we are building up 4 ft. with the forms and backfilling against them to make the house level with the ground.  The ranch house will be 100% ADA compliant.

3/4  The footings for the new ranch house were poured today, I'm glad I wasn't the one that had to spread  the 40 cubic yards of concrete it took.  The next step is laying the ReddiForm blocks for the stemwall.  Progress has been great. I sure will be glad when Spring finally gets here and the money tree has a new crop!

3/1  Great progress is being made in the good weather.  The 20x40 foot building's footings and slab took 24 yards of fiber laden concrete.....I tend to overbuild :-)  The concrete will cure out in time for the arrival of the building on the 9th.  A lot more clearing has been done along the river, soon all 668 feet will be walkable.

2/24  Rain has delayed construction for a few days, the crew is hoping to resume on Monday.  After five years of very dry weather its hard to complain, just wish my water harvesting hardware was in place to capture this blessing.

2/22  The weather held while the footings were being formed up for the pour.  Definitely a good day!  All in all we have really only experienced minor problems that have been economically solvable.  Line anything else, the higher talents of the crew and their overt congeniality makes molehills out of mountainous problems.  I am BLESSED!

2/20  Fingers crossed for a few dry days to get the footings poured for the shop.  We need the space to store building materials out of the weather.  I am constantly amazed and the new and innovative products you can find on the internet that you would otherwise never learn about.

2/19/  There are several sure things to halt construction on a new home. One is an overabundance of rain or wind and another is a lack of materials or money.  Anyone trying to pick up a sheet of OSB today could easily end up in the next county...winds are at 30 mph.  Its a good day to contemplate the next moves and not pick anything up unless you are in the traveling mood.

2/17 The process of putting  down base course for roads and access paths has begun, to keep delivery trucks from sinking into the mud while delivering products. We are anxiously awaiting the Heritage Metal building to show up so that it can become our shop for producing trim and other needed products during the construction of the ranch house.  The little pump house is just too small!  We now have all the necessary permits in hand - whew, what a relief!

2/11 Alas, the weekend is here, it finds me spending time trying to squeeze the most out of a tight budget by shopping wisely and looking for bargains that I otherwise might not afford.  I am finding that building green does cost more green than conventional ways.  Maybe I should have taken time to cultivate a money tree first?!

2/10  Footings have been dug for the house and the well plumbed out with a maze of filters and pipe that would make an aerospace engineer drool.  We are ready for steel and hopefully we can pour concrete by the end of next week.  It looks like rain tomorrow and a good excuse to celebrate Carl McDaniel's 42nd Birthday, our all around carpenter/heavy equipment operator/plumber and whatever you need dude! 

2/8  Yesterday was a rain day when nothing physical happened on the site. It is hard to complain about rain when you live in the desert, so we just schedule around the blessings from heaven!  Today, all footings were laid out, checked for square and matched to the prints of what is to be. Lines were  then chalked  so tomorrow's excavator can get everything dug. It was a good day and I am blessed to have a very capable cousin as my general contractor.

2/6  Although its Superbowl Sunday I find myself thinking about pushing some nice looking top soil out of the way of footings so I can put it back on top of whatever fill I find.  Its amazing how your mind goes over and over details on major projects. I am hoping the much needed rain has not delayed our schedule.