Beyond Laundry: Taos' Sustainable Laundromat

It's been almost a year since I last posted, and I have so much to tell you about--the gorgeous attached greenhouse, the beautifully vibrant red earthen floors and so much more. And I will soon. I promise. In the meantime, however, I have to post about a totally inspiring project that *one day* I hope and plan to be a part of. My dear friend Susan of Home Sweet Hive just launched her Indiegogo campaign for a laundromat utilizing rainwater catchment and greywater reuse right here in Taos. If you have any interest in sustainability projects, which I'm guessing you do since you're on this blog, please check out her campaign here and get inspired! I am!

The Baby Has a Bedroom and I Am Still Alive

You may have noticed that I don't post much these days. The honest truth is that the last time I posted was eight months ago. Wow. I used to post like four times a week. But that was before I had a baby, a dog, two (living) cats, chickens, a boyfriend and a job.

Of Mice and Chickens

Baby and I went out of town for a month. Coming home at 9pm I discovered that my french doors, toward which I have developed a vehement hatred, blew open while we were gone. It seems that the fixed side wasn't really in the locked position. Thankfully, they were chained shut so they didn't blow open more than an inch or so, but it was plenty of room for some mice to come on in and make themselves at home.

Goodbye Summer!

Winter is here...or at least came in last week's frost and is coming again soon. I have been at the house, loving the quiet, solitude and new neighbors. Getting work done with the baby is a completely different experience though; what would have once taken me a good day of work drags on for a month or so.

Progress in Pics

Moving Back Home

I've been meaning to write for a while. By a while I mean months, of course, or even a year if I mean a juicy posting that's actually conveying what I'm doing. As you may have noted early last fall, I was a little behind because I was just too busy trying to get done everything I needed to get done before the baby came, which was a bit early anyways.

The New Addition

When doing anything it's best to be prepared for the unexpected. That was true of building and held even more true for pregnancy. I had just entered the third trimester, was about to go on vacation, and was trying to figure out how to get the last few things I needed done on the house when boom! Xiomara Nightingale popped out at 24 weeks, on November 13th. Three months early! Could never have prepared myself for that. Luckily we were in California and got transferred to amazing Stanford--which is now my new home for the next 2-3 months as I wait for her to grow. Tiny, tiny, tiny but healthy, beautiful and strong.

Installing the Overflow from a Cistern

Though I certainly knew that overflow piping from cisterns existed, it had never hit home that I was going to have to put it in. Let's face it, all sorts of plumbing things intimidated me before...now. A couple months ago, my friend was putting in an overflow for his cistern and told me I needed to absolutely do it. I accepted it, mentally putting it on the list of stuff I would do before winter but didn't want to have to do any sooner than necessary.

That's a Wrap

Whoo! Finally a moment to catch my breath, catch up and actually update the blog. In addition to the physical and emotional turmoil of being pregnant, I've been working like a maniac trying to get the house finished up *enough* to give birth in it in February, and getting it winterized before I leave...left today.

Wild Desert Flowers in My Yard

Plaster and Floors and Bottle Walls!

Finally! Things are happening in my house. I have a helper--Raymond, who was also a huge help doing the roof last fall--and I am functioning again! I worked five days this week which hasn't happened since May.

Life Changes

Things have been moving a bit more slowly around here. I haven't been getting as much done, and have felt the pressure building. The unexpected happened and I'm eleven weeks pregnant, and until Saturday night pretty low on energy and generally nauseous. At this point, I'm looking for someone that I can hire for the next month to help me plaster the rest of the house and do the floors, in addition to a few other things. I'd like to get the house "done" before I have the baby in February!

Mouse-Proofing

This post has been sitting as a draft for quite some time. Back before I insulated I had to mouse-proof the outside. The biggest problem I came up against was the propanel ridges--there's no way to close them off. A friend suggested steel wool--mice can't chew through it. So I stuffed all those cracks with a couple boxes of steel wool and threw some silicone sealant around for good measure. Time will tell.

Bedroom Plaster

I had my first work party to get mud my bedroom and it was a great success. Kerry and Richard, who I'd heard of but never met, showed up with their two kids on Saturday. Also that day, David and Simone came over. They were all a huge help, especially David and Simone who returned the next day when Susan and her daughter also came over. We got 99% of the first layer done and about 95% of the second layer of plaster and it looks great!

Stairs!

The stairs going into my house have been treacherous ever since I put them in last fall to avoid having to jump down three feet into the house. I had considered finishing them with mud, but a friend of mine suggested that I make them out of wood and hinge the stairs for storage space. Great idea! They're not finished because I think I might like to shorten their width so that there's more floor space on the left-hand side by those red bags. Meanwhile, I'm waiting to see before I make them permanent by sheathing the sides, bottom and back with wood. 

500 Lbs. of Wool in the Ceiling

Finally! The seemingly endless bags of wool that ruled my house have disappeared...they now live above plastic sheeting between my rafters, keeping my house cool underneath the beating sun. All the wool is gone, and in fact I'm 10-20 lbs. short. I'm going to find that in the next week or so, hopefully close by, and finish up the job.

Mud Party!

Next weekend on both Saturday and Sunday (14-15) I'm hosting a mud party to get my bedroom done! We will be plastering the wall, working on a cob-bottle wall and doing an adobe floor. How much we get done depends on how many people show up. I'll have snacks and lunch. If you're interested in participating, email me or write a comment with your email and I'll get back to you. Thanks!

Chicken Coop

Upgrading the Shed

Solar Electricity!