You know the old saying, “You get what you pay for.” ?
Well, I have decided to pay Typepad to host my blog. I used to have a Typepad blog a year or so ago, and I decided to try Blogspot, then on to WordPress.
I have not been comfortable at either free blogging platform.
So, I have moved this blog over to Typepad. If you have me linked to your blog, thank you!, but I need to give you my new address!
http://nomadicfanatics.typepad.com
It is great to be back with Typepad…the formats are better, I can put my Etsy banner on my sidebars, and so much more…sure, I have to pay 90 dollars a month, but it is worth it.
Thank you!
I opened up a bank account a few months ago, and while talking to the bank officer I had to explain our living arrangements. It scared her. She actually said, “The way you live sounds scary.”
Huh?
Believe it or not, many people that we come into contact with while we live our daily life feel the same way about our not having a permanent structure that we call “home”. Are we defined as homeless? No. We live fully in each short-term rental we occupy. My home is where ever Shayne and Sadie are. I don’t have to have a bunch of ’stuff’ in my immediate surroundings that I have bought over time to let me know I am home. Everything that we “need” fits nicely into our 2001 Subaru. In case you are interested, this is the list of our personal possessions that we travel with:
1. 5 bags of clothing-winter and summer- that includes coats, scarves, gloves, swimming suits, jammies, socks, exercise stuff, shorts, sweats and a few nice outfits. I travel with 2 pair of sandals (Burks and Teva’s), 1 nice pair of dress shoes for summer, 1 pair of nice boots for winter outfits, 1 pair of tennis shoes, 1 pair of winter muck around shoes. Shayne essentially carries the same stuff for him. Our five bags of clothing are in big, green trashbags that we stuff into a big black all weather canvas car topper. They don’t get wet or damp that way when we travel long distances and it rains.
2. We travel with 3 laptop computers. 1 is a work computer for Shayne, 1 is a computer for me and the other is a backup for Shayne’s work as well as a Linux box.
3. Two cameras. One is a Canon Sure Shot, the other is a Panasonic Lumix. I use the Lumix Lumix more then the Canon since it is pocket sized. My Lumix has 14 megapixels, can shoot a 60 minute video and is the size of a pack of cigarettes. I love the thing.
4. 1 Bathroom Bag as we call it. It has all of the stuff you need in the bathroom. For my medicine that I take, we use Wal-Greens since they are national and you can fill a prescription from anywhere in the U.S.
5. 2 purses- one is black and leather for winter, the other is green and canvas for summer.
6. 5 books- I have about 5 books that I carry with me everywhere we go. They are all written by Jane Roberts of the Seth Material. I find something useful and new every time I read Seth…it depends on my growth metaphysically as to what I will understand from his and Jane Robert’s books.
7. 2 plastic bins filled with my jewelry making studio stuff- That is it! I also carry a small portable jeweler’s bench so that enables me to saw and use the bench pins.
8. 3 portable 4×2 tables from Sam’s Club- I use two tables for my studio work, and Shayne uses 1 for his computer programming.
9. A small box of computer cords and electrical extension cords for the computers and all my studio stuff. You never know about the electrical needs at each house.
10. 1 box of kitchen items- I carry with us a Joyce Chen wok/skillet with fitting lid, 1 butcher knife, an Ulu, 1 paring knife and 1 medium sized all purpose knife. We each have our own handmade pottery coffee mugs, 1 can opener, 1 wine opener, 1 bread loaf pan ( I make homemade, gluten free bread), 1 Pure water filter pitcher, 1 HimalaSalt (sea salt) and 1 bottle of Agave Nector. I can make do with any kitchen set-up with these essential items. I can cook all three meals with this wok/skillet-including boiling water, cooking meat, cooking eggs..you name it.
11. 1 fishing pole with small tackle box- I can find a stream or lake anywhere. I just buy the appropriate tackle for the region. I use a simple, medium casting Zebco and I have caught catfish, trout, and bass with this rod.
12. 2 yoga mats-Shayne uses a mat to put on the floor for his bicycle trainer set-up. He uses this to exercise when the weather is bad and on his lunch hour. I use it for stretching and Pilates floor work if I can’t get outside. I also have 2 exercise videos that I can use too.
13. 2 bicycles (both Shayne’s- 1 road bike, 1 mountain bike) We are going to ship my road bike to us in Eugene, OR in January.
14. 1 super huge computer monitor for watching movies on if we don’t have a television. We have a Netflix account and just have movies mailed to our location. We can also stream movies from Netflix.
15. 2 Computer speakers- we can use these for movies and for music. All of our music is digital.
16. 1 set of headphones and an MP3 player.
17. Sadie’s doggy bag and crate- she sleeps behind me in the car in her crate. This takes up a lot of room, but it is safer for her and she loves her crate.
18. We each travel with our own pillow and a blanket.
That is pretty much it. There are a few more little odds and ends, and by the time Shayne packs the car, there is no room left for anything else. I have to carry my purse in the front seat literally because there isn’t room for it anyplace else.
We have a storage unit in Chattanooga that has our ’stuff’ in it. We have enough to outfit a small apartment if need be. I barely remember what is in there. I don’t miss any of it, with the exception of my grandmother’s roll top desk. I love that desk, it was built in the 1860’s and still smells like her house when you open the roll top, but other then that, I really have a vague idea of what all is in there. We rent furnished homes, so the furniture is usually just fine. We try and rent places with a Queen bed since that is the most comfortable for us and the rest is just functional.
I find that living this way is very freeing. I don’t have a need to shop for useless crap. If I do need to buy something, we can afford to buy the best of whatever that something is since we don’t shop that much. But it means that I am either replacing something that we already had, or I have to get rid of something to make room for it. I find that I am more interested in capturing photos of our experiences rather then shopping for things to remember our experiences. Photos are much less expensive, more meaningful and easier to store!
We owned a house in Eugene, OR for two years. It was like a chain weighing us down from actually DOING things. When you own a house, you spend an awful lot of time maintaining the yard, the interior, re-arranging things to suit your mood or new purchases. We seemed to “have” to stay home on weekends to get “things done”. There are always things to do when you own a home. You rarely get to spend the whole weekend doing fun things, because of the “have-to” or “honey-do” things that must get done. If you do leave for a weekend, you have to worry with the “what if someone breaks in” scenario or who will take care of the animals? or who will water the plants? and pick up the mail? questions if you leave for longer then a week. Plus, the costs associated with owning house-house insurance, mortgage insurance, home protection services, property taxes, maintenance, garbage services, the list goes on depending on how much of a house you own. And that is just monetary! The costs of your time, worry and not to mention this increasingly worrisome trend-you lose your job in a town where there are no more jobs that can replace the one you lost. You still have the expenses, you still have the responsibility but you don’t have the means. If you need to move to find another job or take a job offer, you have to deal with selling your home. In this market, that can be tricky.
Then again, the benefits of having a stable home and environment are wonderful if you have children. The soul growth of seeing your children grow and learn how to be adults in one place and the joy you have of providing that environment far outweighs the costs. I know that argument. I accept that as many people’s truth. But…there are many out there like us that choose to live differently. It is not scary, it is not weird and we are responsible! Shayne and I carry absolutely no debt! We pay taxes, and we contribute in our own way to the communities we are in. I have volunteered in New Orleans both before and after Katrina, and in Singapore, and in other places we find ourselves in. We are just not tethered to a particular place long-term. And as we continue to live this way, we make loops and go back to re-visit places we like, complete with visits with our friends that are scattered all over the country. And we are seeing more of our family, as they are coming to us and staying for a few weeks at a time. They get to enjoy a nice vacation where their only expenses are getting to us and pitching in a little for food.
Again, we chose this lifestyle because it suits us to a T…and we made choices over the years to develop our particular skill set to make money on the road. I decided to delve into making jewelry so I too, could contribute to our lifestyle while traveling full time. I completely understand that it is not for everyone. But I do want to put it out there that it is a possibility with the advent of the internet. If you are a firefighter you obviously could not live like this…but, that doesn’t mean you can’t rent a house instead of buy…my point is that owning a home does not always make financial sense…there are alternatives to owning.
Shayne’s job is one that can be done remotely. But if the time comes where that is not a possibility- major disruption in internet service, his contract is over, ect., we need to be able to move quickly to a job site. This ability to move at the drop of a hat in the computer consulting world means you may have an edge over someone that is stuck in a house payment and can’t move in a week. That is an important distinction. We don’t have children. This was a choice we made before we ever got married. It was a difficult choice, but one that is absolutely right for us. I know of some nomads that live like this and they have children. I think every family must make their own decisions about what is best for their family. Soultravelers3 have a child, and they are teaching their daughter about the world. Imagine having a history lesson about the Greeks and being in Greece to see it firsthand! Wow! That makes an incredible impression. Travel is the best way I believe to understand the world we live in. We are now globally connected. Most Americans, to the tune of about 85%, don’t even have a passport. This is not exclusive to the U.S. I have spent a lot of time in Great Britain and have met people that have lived their entire lives in Scotland and never ventured out to England, Ireland or the rest of Europe. But paradigms are shifting rapidly. The playing field for a better life is not necessarily one that rests in your land of origin.
I am seeing a great unrest in our country. People are losing their jobs to people that can and will do it cheaper in another country. Those jobs may never come back here. I see this in manufacturing, technology, financials-across the board. The global marketplace is quickly changing to involve emerging economies. The United States had a great run. But the desire to live way above our means and the ramifications of those individual decisions to live on credit and not save for the future is coming home to roost now. The decades of buy, buy, buy…is turning to save, save, save. Free money in the way of credit creates huge bubbles of inflation. Housing was and still is inflated in terms of real money. A house is just a structure to live in. Nothing more. It is not an investment when you are talking about a typical family of four. Investing means saving your money, living on less then you take in–and trying to make your savings work for you for your eventual retirement. There are so many people now that will never be able to retire. They will have to work until they die. That is, if they can find a job. My point with this post is that you can choose how to spend your money to have the kind of life that you will love. There are alternatives. Choices have to be made, though-consciously. Sacrifices have to be made, if you choose to view it in such a light. We don’t. We feel like we have made no sacrifices at all.
Here is a great video from Peter Schiff about home ownership. He is running for the Senate…trying to take Chris Dodd’s seat. I hope he makes it. He makes a lot of sense, and people like him are the ticket to maybe saving our economy-possibly even our country. He tells it like it is…and is interested in making our country great again. I hope he wins.
A great friend of mine, Mary Helen, sent me this video. It made my day and I thought I would share.
We had a snowstorm today, and just as the snow stopped, the Taos sunset raced up the canyon road and made everything this eerie pink. It only lasted about 10 minutes, but I had to show you the light. These photos have not been edited with a pink filter…it really looks like this!
I freakin’ love this place for photography! The light here is something else…I have never seen such light!
Pink Snow!
Pink Snowstorm with Taos Sunset
I am just speechless…never seen anything like this. Note to self: Always keep your camera loaded and ready to go! Wow!
Yesterday, my uncle Michael and his partner Tim drove to Taos from Albuquerque to visit with us. We met them in Taos, had lunch at Doc Martin’s and then decided to drive to the Rio Grande Gorge to see the suspension bridge and walk across it. As we were there, we decided to see if we could find the Earthship Vistitor Center and see what being inside an Earthship was like.
There are two Earthship communities here in the Taos area. Instead of trying to explain what an Earthship is and why they are so cool, check out their website. It has a few videos about Earthships, how they are built and why it will most likely be a concept you will hear more about in the future as we transition to more environmentally sustainable living practices.
I can report to you after visiting the community and walking around and seeing how these things are set up that it was a fascinating way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Shayne has been very interested in Cob House building for years. Using native dirt, straw and water to build a lasting living structure that is more sculpture then building is an interest of both of ours. Shayne was gung ho on this idea for many years before I finally came around to seeing the benefits. Nature does not use right angles. Being inside of a home with no right angles gives the inhabitants a feeling of being nurtured by their home. I don’t know how else to explain it. Once you have experienced the building as nurturing, it is hard to see a contemporary home as anything other then a stress inducing place to sleep. I am not sure how financing a completely self-sufficient home would work, though. I have a feeling that cities with building codes would not allow an Earthship to be built.
Earthships are built out of used tires, bottles, aluminum cans and whatever else can be used to form the concrete structures. They collect rainwater, and it goes through several incarnations in the house. Water is collected from the roof and it used as drinking, bathing water, grey water and black water. The grey water from the sinks passes through an indoor filtration system consisting of planters and man-made filters. The solar energy is captured to keep the inside temperature around 70 degrees year round no matter what the outside temperature is. These homes are off the grid. You don’t have to be hooked in to power or water or sewer to live in one. Total utility costs for the year average about $100! I am going to show you what we saw…I am really fascinated by this concept of eco-living! They work, they are immensely comfortable, and they make use of material that would otherwise fill a landfill. Oh, and they are really beautiful too!
Rio Grand Gorge Bridge...walking on it is not easy!
Mom and Tim on the bridge, they never walked the whole thing!
Earthship Community northwest of Taos.
Entrance to Earthship Visitor Center-so beautiful!
Photographer's dream...
New Earthship being built as Visitor's Center
Earthship Tub...so inviting!
Earthship Cistern in middle of house...fountain is nice to listen to1
Earthship Nightly Rental...we need to do this!
Earthship structure...solid, and nice to look at!
I love this shot of Mom and Tim....could not have planned it!
It would be meditative in a way to build one of these things...
There is a small taste of our day yesterday…we had a great time, and we went back to Taos where we shopped at some galleries. When I am around art, that is the only time I wish I had a permanent place to live…and more money too! But that is another post!
We woke up to snow this morning! Yesterday, it was sunny and 65. But then the wind came and then the snow, and in one hour the temperature dropped 25 degrees. I had always heard that snow comes in fast in the higher elevations, and yesterday was a testament to that!
Our house backs up to the Carson National Forest, and yesterday morning a coyote came into our backyard, sniffing around where Sadie does her business. He was big for a coyote, obviously well fed, and he was not worried about us looking at him through our window at all. I kept Sadie away from the window so she would not go ballistic, and so far, so good. She did smell him though when I took her out yesterday as she started trying to follow his path…she is becoming an outside lover all of a sudden!
This morning, I took her out in the snow, and from her behavior, I am guessing she has never seen it before. We got Sadie a year or so ago from my father who took her in since her former owners couldn’t care for her properly. She was two, and that is a lot of time to make up for when getting a dog. I have no idea what her life experience was for two years, other then being outside was a completely new experience for her. When I first got her, she couldn’t hardly make it around the block in Chattanooga without having to rest. I don’t think the other owners ever took her outside. She sits down still when the wind blows, and occasionally barks at trees when they move in the wind. She is still skittish around garbage cans and pipes of any sort that come out of the ground.
So, she has gone from never going anywhere to having the whole country to roam around in with us. We try and take her to as many places as we can as we sightsee, since we don’t like to leave her at the house. She loves to go, and as soon as Shayne gets her crate from it’s spot in our bedroom, she is anxious to get in and go. She sleeps like a log in the car, as long as she is in her crate, and is no problem at all to travel with. I leash her everywhere, so she won’t get into trouble. The only thing about her that I wish I could change is her behavior around other dogs. The bigger they are, the more aggressive she becomes. Taking her to street fares and the like is a bit of a bobby trap situation for us. If a big dog comes into view, she gets hysterical and freaks out.
Here are some photos of the the wonder dog from this morning and the beautiful view of the snow covered trees we get to enjoy…
Snow?
She quickly figured out how much fun digging in the snow is!
She is always up for an adventure!
Our backyard this am
Did you know there is a over 1000 year old Pueblo here in Taos? Or that the native Puebloans still live there, without running water or electricity? I did not before we moved here. I have been to the Taos Pueblo twice now, once with Shayneś mom and again yesterday with my mother.
I really enjoy walking around the Pueblo and imagining what life was like hundreds of years ago in this area. I have been reading about the history of Taos and the Spanish Conquistidors that arrived here 400 some years ago, looking for the lost cities of gold. Taos was the community of choice for the mountain men of the early 1800ś. They would overwinter here and enjoy the many comforts of the community while it was cold, and return to trapping in the Spring. I do not think that many people think of Taos as particularly mountainous. At least, when I talk about the high elevation that we are currently experiencing, people act surprised. Denver, CO has an elevation 5280 feet…we are sitting at 8200 at our house. My mother has finally gotten a bit used to the elevation, her headache is gone and although she is still suffering from sinus issues, she is feeling better. Poor Mom!
It is believed through archeological evidence that around 1200 AD or so, the Native Americans that were from the 4 Corners area around Chaco Canyon, Hovenweep and Mesa Verde left their agricultural wastelands due to drought and traveled to the Rio Grande area (here around Taos) to have a more reliable water supply. A few years ago, I took a trip to the 4 Corners area and walked around the ruin of the cliffdwellers in Mesa Verde and the kivaś and the brick structure of Hovenweep and Chaco Canyon. Walking around the Pueblo here and talking to the ancestors of the people from the 4 Corners area is a national treasure. On the Pueblo, you are able to see how the community interacts, see the dogs wandering around the grounds, watch the children playing outside in the common areas and just seeing life go on. There are around 150 people that live on the Pueblo. There is no indoor plumbing, the water is from the Red Willow river that runs right through the Pueblo and there is no electricity. There are many shops that are open so you can go into the structure and see what they are like. I thought they were warm and cozy, as neat as the owner is or as messy…just like in our own homes. The addition of doors and windows is fairly new. Before, the only way to access the inside of an apartment was to climb a ladder and descend from the top. This was a defensive measure against raids from other Pueblos… you could just pull the ladder up and the raiders could not enter.
The artist Jeralyn Lujan Lucero is there on the Pueblo and she is very well known here. She also makes the best homemade soap I have ever tried. I picked up a bar from her on my first visit, and my mother loved the soap so much that she insisted that she buy some on our trip together. When we got to her shop, Sagebrush Deer Studio and Gallery on the south side of the Pueblo, we all got to talking about our grandparents. My grandmother would regale us with stories about getting a hogś head after a hog was butchered in the neighborhood. Jeralyn started laughing, saying that the elders in the Pueblo considered it a delicacy as well, and then the three of us started laughing about pig brain and eggs and other pork delicacies that are not so much in vogue these days. We really enjoyed our visit with her as she explained how she makes her soap and where her inspiration for the scents come from. I f you are interested in her amazing soap, you can contact her the old fashioned way: (I personally recommend the Honeysuckle scent!
THE SAGEBRUSH DEER STUDIO/GALLERY
PO Box 253
Taos, NM 87571
James & Jeralyn Lucero
505 751-0580
Here are some random images of the Pueblo…hope you enjoy!
Pueblo Cemetary
Taos Pueblo
Dog with Green door, Taos Pueblo
After our balloon ride last weekend, I started looking around on the ground where the basket came down and found a little, quartz crystal. I picked it up and decided then and there to try and incorporate it into a piece of personal jewelry for myself. On Friday, I decided to tackle the job of setting it into a small, sterling silver disc with the words SOAR stamped on it. The bezel is lopsided and not very pretty since the stone is natural and not cut, but this is for me to wear to remember how it felt to overcome my fear of heights and flying.
I attached a small, Carnelian bead on the end of the sterling disc with a small Bali bead to simulate the basket and balloon. This piece of jewelry is strictly symbolic for me. A totem perhaps, to remember the feeling of letting go and trusting in All That Is, or God, to effortlessly take me along for a great ride.
My mother once asked me why I fight life so hard. At the time, years ago, I did not think of myself as fighting life, I thought that I was fashioning my life the way I wanted it. I did not understand what I am beginning to know about life, and that is to live in the moment. And to accept whatever that moment gives you as your truth. Soaring is effortless. Birds soar by riding the wind and not flapping their wings. I flapped my wings for years without getting very far. I like soaring better.
Here is a photo showing just how large these earrings are….
Here is a quick look at some of the earrings I have been working on since we have landed here. I am inspired by the big space here and the lightness of air. These earrings are incredibly lightweight even though they are quite big. My mother just arrived from Arkansas about an hour ago, and as soon as she wakes up from her nap, I plan on photographing the earrings using her as a model. They are pretty stunning on if I say so myself…she has already indicated that I have to make her a couple of pair too! Mom has silver hair, so we will have to pick a stone that really stands out.
