My own environmental plan

I understand today is being recognized as a blogger environmental awareness day. Let me say I do not consider myself a greenie by any means. I think global warming is a lot of hooey. I don't worship the environment as a religion. I don't see much evidence of concern for the environment among most people that I know.

However, I DO feel a personal responsibility to be a good steward of things that I can do to make a difference.

We will be moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2008...and I have been compiling a list of things I can do personally to help the fragile high desert environment where I will be living:

1. Save rainwater to water plants.
2. Recycle! (Plastic bags and containers, cans, glass, newspaper)
3. Library and second hand book stores instead of new books.
4. Eat leftovers; throw away less food.
5. Lights out when not in a room.
6. Purchase locally grown fresh products (farmer's markets, farms)
7. Vegetable/herb garden.
8. Use the concept of xeriscaping for gardening.
9. Put up some bird feeders to attract and feed the local bird population.
10. Make a bunch of reuable cloth dinner napkins.
11. Turn off water when showering, brushing teeth and washing dishes.
12. Soak dishes prior to washing; makes washing very quick. (I don't use a dishwasher!)
13. Low water washing machine.

I add to my list as I think of more things.

Nothing scientific for me; just common sense.

We are heading to Santa Fe.

It's time for a trip to Santa Fe. We will be leaving in two days.

This is not a pleasure trip (although EVERY trip to New Mexcio is a pleasure). This trip is to determine our future plans.

We have appointments with a builder and a real estate agent. We will get information from the builder about how much he is bidding to build us a home on our property in Eldorado at Santa Fe.

And we will look at some homes for sale in Eldorado, to get some idea whether it might be more feasible for us to buy an existing home. We've been doing our homework, and have a folder of about 15 homes that are possiblities that will meet our needs...that we wish to look at.

Not much time for fun this trip .... BUT we will enjoy seeing the aspens in their fall color in the mountains above Santa Fe ... and EVERY trip to NM gives us an opportunity to eat great New Mexican food at our favorite Santa Fe restaurants.

Getting anxious to hit the road west ....

Traveling New Mexico with Tony Hillerman and Michael McGarrity

My two favorite New Mexico authors are Tony Hillerman and Michael McGarrity.
I read the Hillerman books some years ago - following the adventures of Navajo tribal policemen Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee as they solved crimes in northwestern New Mexico; the names Shiprock, Crownpoint, Farmington, Gallup, Bisti Badlands, etc. became familiar to me. Also, I learned a lot about Navajo culture from the Leaphorn series.

Just this past year, I began reading the series of police mystery novels written by Michael McGarrity, set in locations all over the state, following the cases worked on by fictional Santa police chief Kevin Kerney and his son Clayton Istee, a Mescalero Apache from southern NM.

I like the style of both writers, I like the tales of mystery they weave, I like the characters they bring to life … but maybe what I like best is the setting: New Mexico. Their books add to my education about the state.

I heartily recommend these two authors to anyone who loves New Mexico and has not discovered their work.

September waning...

September is nearly over. It was a busy month for us. The work work work work continues on our house here in Kansas. Two weeks ago we had carpeting installed throughout the house, and it does wonders to make the interior of our house look fresh and new; it will make selling it quicker and getting the best price for it much more possible. It looks like we can get the work on the house finished in time to put it on the market in the early spring 2008.

Our other focus during the month of September was the wedding of our son on September 22. Many relatives were in from out of town, and it was a busy and wonderful time. It was a nice break from all the work on the house and the move. And we have a wonderful new daughter in law!

NOW with September waning ….we can get back to working on the plans to move to New Mexico in the coming year. A decision between plan A and B will come early this fall, I would imagine.

We are going out to Santa Fe the first weekend in October! We will meet with a builder and interview him, get references from him, and hopefully a bid for building a home on our property. We will also look at some existing houses in Eldorado that are currently on the market. It’s strictly a business trip…but of course we will find time to have some great New Mexican dinners in our favorite Santa Fe restaurants…and enjoying some of the fall scenery with the golden aspens in the mountains…I can hardly wait!

New Mexico - what it's not

I saw this on a T-shirt in a New Mexico magazine the other day:

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"NEW MEXICO ...

Not really new and not really Mexico"

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I like that.

Aspen dreaming

We took the above picture several years ago when we were in New Mexico in the fall. It's our favorite time of year to make our trips there, for several reasons: the green chile is in season and the smell of them roasting is so wonderful ... and the aspens in the higher elevations are turning color and it's glorious! We will be heading to northern New Mexico in several weeks, and one of the things I am looking forward to most is seeing the quaking aspens up in the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez Mountains. Hopefully in another year, New Mexico will be our home and we can enjoy every season there. I think the fall will still be my favorite time, though.

New Mexico Magazine, what a great resource!

We have been subscribing to New Mexico Magazine for many many years. It has served as our connection to the state, a source for wonderful articles and excellent information. We have gotten much of our education through the monthly issues. The pictures are fantastic; I clip out recipes for great New Mexican cuisine; it gives us ideas for places we want to see some day, and we can follow all the events that are happening throughout New Mexico. Even the ads are cool!

For the many years that we have dreamed of moving to New Mexico, looking at New Mexico Magazine every month was like looking at home. It is just a superb resource for anyone outside of the state who has a special love for New Mexico.