I need to create a New Mexico Bucket List

Most people are probably familiar with the Rob Reiner film “Bucket List” with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. It is the story of two terminally ill men who leave a cancer ward and head off on a road trip with a wish list of to-dos before they die. I admit up front I have not seen it but do want to. I also admit that I am not saying I want to create a list of things to do before I die.

Rather, both Mrsfabp and I see our lives right now as an adventure, an adventure in many different parts. After the parts about our childhoods and school years and early adult lives, we found each other. Some may even say saved each other. And then the real adventure began. Living together and getting to know each other was one. Deciding to leave NYC and move to the country was another. Deciding to have and raise two great kids was another. My own medical issues, still another. And now, we have an opportunity to take part in another adventure, together, and are raring to go. The plan to retire to New Mexico, away from our families, friends and the place where we lived the last 30 years is not one made lightly. It is a decision born of much thought, discussion and chance, wrapped up in enough emotion to power a small city for weeks on end. But it is our decision, one we have not taken lightly.

One thing that really drives us right now is the chance to explore. I am not comparing us to Columbus or da Gama but really, when one thinks about it, this is a trek into the unknown. We won’t have to barter with the natives (though we might) and we don’t have to worry about storms at sea but still the intrigue and lure of a new culture is so very exciting. This is why I think I need to create my own bucket list for the adventure, to make sure that I see what I want to see and experience what I want to experience, along with mrsfabp, my life partner. I’ll miss my family and friends and even New England at times but I don’t want to miss this adventure either. Next post, I will start my own New Mexico bucket list…Time is “a wasting.”

Mass Exodus Update: Remodeling Disaster…

You saw that headline and admit it, you thought well the toilet is screwed up or the wallpaper peeled or the trim paint looks terrible. No, none of these are true but there was a disaster of sorts this weekend that has set us back.

Our current project was painting the living room. The bathroom remodel is done except for a couple of minor things, so we moved on. The living room trim was done, warm cream color, and we went to the local hardware store for some paint. We chose a nice medium green color, very popular right now. If we were staying, we would have gone darker but we want to give prospective buyers the sense of the space and ability to see their things in the room so we went lighter to highlight the size of the room.

After removing the pictures and décor, there were some grime and cobwebs present so a bucket was prepared with cleaner and rags to wipe down the walls. Mrsfabp was on a sturdy stepstool, went to get down, missed a step and fell on her wing, ...errr... arm. It hurt, felt warm to the touch and the doctor at the ER confirmed our worst fears, broken arm. More specifically, it was a clean break mid forearm, consistent with putting your arm out to break a fall.

She spent the rest of the weekend resting, taking pain relievers (TGFV Thank God for Vicadin) and trying, not too successfully, to sleep. The orthopedist office says they can’t see her until April 6th. We have a great health care system don’t we? Luckily she was able to call a different orthopedist who will see her tomorrow. Of course, she has to go get her x-rays and bring them with her but at least she can get a cast and start the healing.

(not the mrsfabp broken wing, but an incredible simulation of what it will look like tomorrow...)

As for the house, we will scramble and figure things out. Miss Nicole has offered to come over next weekend and help with painting so we will get it and the foyer done we hope.

I just have one question for our New Mexico friends. Do they have step stools in Las Cruces? I hope not...

The Blue Canary Cream Ale Report

As has been reported here and on the CSA Podcast , CollegeBoy and I have endeavored to make our own home-brewed beer. It has been an unmitigated success across the board.

A quick summary – we purchased a basic brewing kit from Midwest Supply which came with everything we needed to begin. We also purchased 24 16 oz bottles and 3, 1 liter bottles for putting the beer into. We chose cream ale as the first beer to do, mainly because it is said to be an easy, straight forward recipe that gives you the time to figure out the rhythm of brewing. We have made 3 successful batches of this beer, christening it Blue canary Cream Ale, a tip of the hat to They Might Be Giants and their song “Birdhouse in my soul” which has been the inspiration for our podcast title, and now our beer. This brings us to the next step of our brewing experience.

Of all the hassles of brewing your own beer, the one that takes the most time and energy is cleaning and sterilizing the bottles and caps. The solution is to go directly to a tap system but these can get to be expensive. The question is do we move up to brewing in a draft container so that we have a tap beer – currently we brew in 5 gallon pails and then bottle from that but it takes almost 4 hours to clean, prep, fill and cap the supply. There is an inexpensive kit that allows for the beer to be brewed in 1.5 gallon batches and have a tap adaptor so that you can put it directly into the fridge – like a mini keg. This is the direction I believe we will head toward.

One issue with the homebrew is the fact that it is a bit cloudy. That doesn’t harm the flavor at all but esthetically it is not the best. I understand that there is a seaweed extract that is used to clear the beer. I have research this and it is a cheap, easy to use step in the overall process. Inexpensive too, so this will be included in our next order. This brings us to the next issue.

We have now used a kit three times to make the same beer. The kit is for what is called Liberty Cream Ale. We are feeling experienced enough to try another kit beer that gives a different taste. However we don’t want to make too many changes at once such that if there is a problem in a future brew we can pinpoint the issue. Thus we are going to make the same beer a fourth time, using a different process, directly into a keg from the initial wort. If all goes well with this procedure and process, we will branch out to a second beer. One being considered is honey ale. It would be similar to the cream ale but gets its priming sugar for carbonation from some honey. We will use the kits honey the first time but there is some room for experimentation in using say, a local honey – clover or other type. I expect New Mexico has some good local honeys too so I am looking forward to this variation.

Finally, we have found a great Reddit source of information, the homebrew sub topic. I am planning to write there soon to ask about the mini-keg system and other easy beginner recipes to help keep us moving forward. Until then, we are happy to drink our current homemade beer and enjoy the satisfaction of our accomplishment.

CoME: Episode 9 - Freecycle, Cheapcycle, Recycle

Are you familiar with the Yahoo group Cheapcycle. This has got to be the greatest discovery since sliced bread and E-Z-cheese in a can. Let me tell you about it.

This is a Yahoo group that espouses the philosophy that one man’s junk is another’s treasurers. You got an old lamp in your basement, needing to go to the dump? Well there is someone out there that wants a lamp, NEEDS a lamp and is willing to come to you and pick it up if it is free. Yes, curb side pick up service, for your stuff.

We have been using this “service” for a number of years and have gotten rid of many, many “treasures” including old bicycles, computers and parts, magazines, books, small furniture, big furniture, computer programs and the like. We have gotten needed items like computer parts, cooking items, a Nordic Track and other similar things.

One of the first things I did when we decided that LCNM might be the place for us, was to begin to follow their group. It is a very active community that makes tons of stuff available. I think it could be possible to furnish a house and outfit it with all the comforts of home just by watching the posts.

When you join you can opt to get individual posts as they are made or daily or weekly posts from the group moderators. We have found that the daily and weekly posts have the problem that items that are most desirable are gone by the time you see the listing. Items can go quickly so I opt for the individual emails and scan my Gmail account regularly for the treasures. Doing this in the recent past I have gotten a Laser printer and mp3 player. The early bird gets the worm.

One final note on this is the fact that you can post on the site looking for items. We did that looking for a small hard drive for a computer. Someone wrote they had one and we picked it up. Sometimes these requests go unfilled but most groups allow repeat posts on a biweekly basis so try and try again. Also some of the “cheapcycle” groups allow for you to charge a small price for items. This has been problematic as these group become sort of a flea market clearing house for items. What I have done in this circumstance is to simply block individuals who only sell items and this has eliminated the issue.

A practical example. Mrsfabp and CollegeBoy worked last week on clearing some of the junk from our basement/garage area. He gave me a list of potential items for freecycling. I put up 4 items on Saturday afternoon – a dorm size fridge that needed lots of cleaning, a dehumidifier, an electric chainsaw and an electric weed whacker. Within an hour, all 4 items were spoken for and across the evening I got 40 offers to take one or more of the items. Three are now gone and a fourth will be picked up by 3 pm today.

I love the convenience!

Here is a link to the main Cheapcycle site

CoME: Episode 7: Landmark Days

One of those things that people say to us when we reveal our plan to move to LCNM to retire is “Won’t you miss having four seasons?” And I guess the answer would be yes EXCEPT that LCNM does have four seasons. People hear desert and they think Death Valley, but high plains desert is very different. Las Cruces sits at an altitude of about 4000 feet. Think Denver, the “Mile High City.”

We visited LCNM in mid-February, the tail end of the winter. The temperature got to the mid to upper 50’s each day. A little ways further into the mountains, Ruidoso, at about 9000 feet, there was still snow around. In LCNM it got cool in the evenings at this time, lower 30’s and Ruidoso got to the lower 20’s each night. But the sun shine was bright each day and the temperature jumped 25 degrees in just a couple of hours. Our friend Clairz, wrote recently extolling the early spring weather, which has arrived now in LCNM.

So, LCNM gets winter, spring and summer, no problem. The issue, could be autumn, but I don’t think so. Fall is my favorite time of the year with the crisp cool air and warm days early in place of the summer heat. I think LCNM will fit that bill. I know people ask about the leaves changing colors and while I will admit that the number of trees may be less so than in a New England forest, there are still colors to be seen. Check out this Google image of some New Mexico color.


New England seasonal change is identified in my mind by “Landmark Days.” By this I mean there is a day in each season that heralds the next coming season. It is not the “date” that spring or autumn start, but rather an event day. Spring arrives here on the first evening in late March or early April when there is a warm, light rain and the “peepers” come out, the little frogs you hear all spring long. Sure, there can be snow after that first night but hearing the peepers means spring is here. Summer arrives on that day when it is warm, sunny and you smell cut grass for the first time usually in May. Winter is announced by the first light snow on a weekend day when you have something cooking in the oven with that wonderful smell. It could be bread or cookies or even a pot roast. You could substitute wood stove for cooking here. Burning wood too is an autumn smell. Autumn in New England comes gradually. You see some color showing up in mid August even if the weather is still hot and muggy. But it is the trip to the orchard with the warm cider and apple dumplings and fresh honey and that cool crisp New England air that seals the deal.

I’m sure that LCNM will have its “Landmark Seasonal Days.’ I look forward to figuring out each and every one of them.

CoME: Episode 6 Unintended Biblical Metaphors

When I named this blog series “Chronicles of the Mass Exodus” I was thinking of exodus as a leaving, not the biblical book. However, the realities of the last few weeks have hit home hard and have necessitated a change in thought, a reevaluation of the plan, a readjustment of the threshold, so to speak. The dream lives on, even stronger that before but we have had to rethink a few things.

Here is the rethinking part: we have had 2 different realtors into our home in the last week or so and the news is not good, not good at all. In the last 4 years our house value has dropped somewhere in the range of 35%. It is at the point that if we were to sell tomorrow, we could cover our current investment but have no funds to buy in LCNM. A sobering thought and I blame and hold GW Bush and his henchmen directly responsible for this financial debacle. Because of them and this, my ability to retire is compromised because of the payout of my retirement. With little available to put down on a home in a new place, it is more difficult to retire on what I will make if I retire now. So where do we go from here?

Well the dear wife, sensing my own disappointment in all this quickly gave me the old pep talk Saturday morning over coffee. She will not let that dream die. We will need to make changes, reevaluate what we want to do and how we will do it. It might take a bit longer than first hoped, but we will do it. We had a nice taste, a great taste of what our lives would be like in LCNM and we are going to do whatever is necessary, WHATEVER, in order to make it happen. Our new timetable may have to stretch until July, 2012 but that is only 27 months away. It can happen! It will happen!

Step one is one of our realtors looking into the possibility of splitting our land into two lots and selling one off in order to come up with a down payment. Step two is to look into a couple of leads regarding our house. Step three is to have another realtor in, her office does work in the area of special needs housing which we consider our home with handicap ramp and accessible shower and bathroom.
So like the biblical story, when Moses was presented with an obstacle, his approach was one of “can do” not “woe is me.” That will be our approach too.

More on this and the readjustment of the threshold in some later posts...

Chronicles of the Mass Exodus Episode 3: The Bear Story

I was looking at some modern New Mexico sculpture on day and ran across some pieces by Frank Andrews. He is an interesting artist who is not shy about sharing where he gets his ideas for petroglyph sculptures from. "I hike into prehistoric rock art sites in the desert Southwest, take photographs and make drawings, then convert them into sculpture patterns in my studio. My raw materials are copper tubing and copper welding rod. I bend different sizes of tubing to the image of my pattern, hammer the pieces flat on an anvil, then assemble the figure by welding the elements together with an oxy-acetylene welding torch. The design is then coated several times with copper welding rod to build up a texture that replicates the texture of the original stone image." His pieces are nice, the kind of thing you would find hanging on a wall somewhere.

This got me thinking about the different Native American symbols prevalent in these cave/wall carvings. Avia Venefica wrote this about the symbolism of the bear: the bear imparts this advice to both our ancestors and us today - Because the bear is cautious, it encourages discernment to humankind. Because of a fierce spirit, the bear signals bravery to those who require it. Because of its mass and physical power, the bear stands for confidence and victory. Because it prefers peace and tranquility (in spite of its size), the bear calls for harmony and balance. These seemed to me to be such strong yet gentile images, I felt drawn to them. Years ago I had bought my DW some green Jade bear fetish earrings. This past Christmas I bought her 2 more different pairs as well as a couple of hand-carved bear stones to make into a necklace.

This summer we had a visitor. I got a call from our next door neighbor and he said a bear had attached his bird feeders and made off with one of them. A couple of my DW’s early morning walking buddies had seen a bear, near a creek where we live, with a couple of young cubs. They dashed across the road. No more early morning walking for a while. We also heard about a couple of reports of a bear sighting no more than a couple of roads away from our house. It was against this backdrop that my story about the bear is set.

I am in the habit of drinking my coffee while sitting on our deck off the front of the house. I look into the forest that surrounds our property and listen for the birds and various rodents of the day. I only do this when the weather is not too cold, not too wet, not too hot and humid. That is about 6 days a year in Massachusetts. No, I kid you Commonwealth, it really is a few more days than that but not too many more. One Saturday morning, working on cup #2 (or maybe #3) I heard some noise coming out of the bush. I looked carefully, seeing nothing at first, but then a large black shape broke out of the woods. My initial thought – wow, look at the size of that dog. My second, more correct idea – WOW, LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT BEAR! He was in a full four paw gallop across the edge of our yard, up the driveway for about 40 feet and then made a sharp right turn near the old abandoned pop-up camper. This sight was interrupted by a phone call from our neighbor telling us the bear had struck again and was last seen headed for my yard. For the next couple of minutes there was the crashing of a large animal through the underbrush deep in the woods before the silence indicated the coast was clear.

Now, I never thought that I was in danger or anything like that but I must say I was enveloped with a sense of calmness. Earlier that morning the DW and I were discussing the possible move to New Mexico and how interested we were in the Native American culture. This bear sort of was the exclamation point to our discussion. A sign that we were doing the right thing.