Sidetracked Charley

It all began with walls and rug   When I began the project of the short term rental I was not even sure it would work. I just knew that for the last ten years of being a land lady it wasn't working for me. Tenants had changed in the years since I bought the duplex. First couple which rented the attached apartment stayed for nine years. They treated the places as theirs and even planted flowers and a couple trees and painted walls. I expected the next tenants to be not as wonderful as Jeff and Susan. But some did not come close. I wound up having to file eviction papers, even defend myself in court. But worst part was spending all my money to put the rental right so it could be rented again. It was not helping with my mortgage payments. I could not even get tenants to contribute to clearing the driveway of snow. In the end it seemed wiser to drain all the pipes and shut of the electricity and keep it empty. Covid-19 pandemic happened and the studio was shut down by the governor. To ...

Wheeler Sans Snow with the new lens   In consideration of the question - which should go - I decided not photography. It is my window to the world, and a tool I use for painting and marketing and recording. But I could alter my approach to it a bit. I opted for a new lens, 18 x 400mm zoom. It lightened my load. The world with my 300mm It doesn't always have to be all or nothing. Moderation in all things including moderation, says the person with over 20 orchids. That was not entirely my fault. I had 13 and I ordered four baby cattleyas. Somehow I received 10. I gave a couple to a friend. Split one of my old cattleyas and gave one of those away. A Moth orchid is having a keiki. Okay, so I am failing at moderation. Well, except for the camera bag. It is smaller. Yesterday, I spent the day in the studio cleaning up the orchid space so they are not so crowded. Besides I had to find space for the humidifier. Cattleyas like the world more moist. I also adjusted painting supplies. The new...

Charley's Hideaway   I need to take new photographs. March 2021 was when I wasn't ready to open, but Russell, the handyman laying my floor, said you need to get listed in order to have bookings by Christmas. He has his own vacation rental so I decided to believe him. I ran into him yesterday and he asked how it was going. First I rented the week after I listed. In the midst of things I do not often stop and ask myself those sort of questions. To be utterly honest I figured I did not have to be wildly popular as a vrbo. For one I am five miles from the ski area so in my mind I had written off Ski Season when most other vacation rentals make all their money. Summer and Autumn will be mine. And that was fully booked. I will shut done during winter. Ha! Absolutely no open dates in December. Up to yesterday half of November was open and I had this list of improvements I was going to make. Had purchased materials and had them staged in my entry hall. I was wondering about ski racks ...

  The only photos I have taken this summer have been in my yard. Or while taking care of another's yard. I did not make it out to the high plains to capture the Cholla in bloom or to see the bison calves. Summer is almost over and my garden shed has not been erected. And it took two friends to lure me into one day with camera at a close park. The time without masks when restaurants have been open is almost over but I have not scanned a single menu. Haven't been to Santa Fe to walk down the aisles of a real fabric store. I have listened to a bunch of friends but only talked with a precious few. I know their dogs better. I didn't even know Thicke was pissed with me. Oh, yes I have gotten a lot accomplished. But why? It reminds me of my first year in Washington DC. I was so looking forward to an eastern fall. Even had plans to drive up the coast and see Maine foliage. But I got involved in a political campaign and then found myself enmeshed in Watergate. And the next thing I k...

  Probably not. Certainly not critical thinking on any demonstrative level. We are great examples of what we once termed GIGO during the early days of computer programming: Garbage In and Garbage Out. I noticed an uptick in this in the early days of the 2020 Pandemic when I was trying to argue that I did not add a second floor to my house built in 1981. I had the plans to prove it. Yes, I did. And yes, the assessor for the county could just drive out and see the evidence for himself. But no it was the pandemic. We were solidly locked down well and good. I could not take the plans to Raton and pound on his desk. In fact I could not even take the plans to the Chamber of Commerce to be copied on a large format copier so then mail to Raton. So they were going to go with a vague report by some one who disliked me that I had built a second floor on my aging house. And because it was the pandemic and we were well and truly locked down I missed the official period to challenge their decisi...

Bedroom number one at Charley's Hideaway   When I first began this project of turning my attached apartment into a short term rental I figured it would be mostly about money. Covid-19 caused the Governor to close down art studios as non-essential businesses. And so I had time on my hands. In the first few weeks last year I cancelled all my private lessons, Art Up cancelled all the fairs. Even Dog Gone park suffered as people cancelled month and longer trips that left their dogs with me. I would have been looking into mortgage forgiveness rules if I had not just a few months before refinanced my house and taken some cash out. Cash which was suppose to be used to beautify the the outside and maybe even buy a green house. Instead it went into paying the mortgage when I fell short. I started thinking about short. I began a policy of taking dogs just for the day - Dog Bark Camp. That was a bonus idea because it seemed those trapped at home with their dogs all day were looking for r...

Supposedly I am on the last lap of having my apartment ready for short term rental. I had a goal of being ready to take guests on the 1st of April. And per advice attempted a listing on AirBnB as of the 15th of March. Best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry. "To a Mouse" by Robert Burns.  After days of building my listing it still insisted it was in Taos, New Mexico. And nothing I could do got the attention of the site managers. Would have been frustrating enough without going through another virtual battle with Lowe's Building site to get a reasonably priced washer and dryer delivered. And then the plumbing issue. And Amazon failed me with their two day delivery schedule going to nine days on the little amenities required to please guests. Oh, did I mention the succession of snow storms. Whatever snow we didn't see in "real winter" we got shoved into a couple weeks in just before spring and after. I truly harbored thoughts of admitting this was stu...

  When the pandemic had just plunged us into a lock down a long time renter had just bought a house and moved out. As was my practice I did not want to immediately rent my apartment out. A month or two empty was good for repairs and improvements. But with the passage of legislation to get us past this crisis I changed my mind. If I had a renter I could not press them for rent payments or could I evict them for non-payment. I decided as converting my rental property to short term -- VRBO or AirB&B. And so I began. My previous renter had left some furniture. The big things she didn't want to move. I certainly had art for the walls. And the carpet needed replaced. A friend sold me some laminate flooring she had overbought. I love to paint. Yes, even walls. And as I knew I was redoing the floors no drip cloths required. Living room looking toward entry hall As it is what is called and open floor plan downstairs there is no painting just one room. I picked up more paint cards than i...