Sidetracked Charley

The Binford-Bell Studio Deck When I first bought my home in Black Lake it was in many ways a compromise. It didn't have a deck or even a porch for sipping morning coffee. But then neither did the house I was moving from. The house my husband of the time refused to entertain any changes to. And my plans and dreams of the changes I would make to my new home were put on hold by the changes which had to be made because of the lies the seller and his agent made. First there was the new well, and then the new lift station for the septic system. Costly things. I contented myself with cosmetic changes to my living space. And necessary upgrades to the attached rental unit. I tried modifications to the back porches on both sides but they are on the north side. Coffee in a rocking chair I bought specifically for the purpose was a chancy and very seasonal thing. It suited only dashing out in coat and snow boots to capture a fleeting dawn; quickly, very quickly. I began to plan an...

Touch Me Not It's April. More than just taxes or the end of winter tourist season. April is not spring flowers if you live in the mountains. April is suppose to be beautiful but it is not. One day winter and the next spring. And winds through it all. No place you live can be paradise every day and if it were I am sure it would be boring. The New Mexico mountains suit me most times. I even enjoy winter mostly. And summer is never too hot. But I hate April and November. It is not just the weather or I would conspire like many of my friends to vanish during these two pivotal months. It is maybe that they vanish when so much needs to be done. Or that so much needs to be done I cannot vanish. Or maybe that I feel there should be nothing to do in April and November. Not the case. There is taxes. And rotation of art in various exhibits. Or getting another painting done for the next show. Or no money left after the taxes, getting prints for the last show, etc. Diets begin in Apr...

At one time I worked in contracts for a major construction firm - at the time one of the five biggest in the nation. Every contractor we hired had to sign a contract that exceeded 100 pages at a minimum. General Conditions (that section which generally says it is our football and our field and we get it our way) ran 64 pages all by itself. The most important think I learned dealing with contracts was that the last piece of paper was the right piece of paper. So every dispute with a contractor required a letter beginning with the per-our-conversation-of epistle. Whatever a contractor claimed we had to counter with our version and within a few days. Our hope was that they would not counter what we claimed. That made us right, because to not refute our last letter made that letter law. I try to follow that bit of wisdom in my personal life. But when you are dealing with issues you are personally involved in it can become a bit more difficult. Still I write letters. All the time I write le...