A "Sharper" P.o.V.

Things have been frantically slow this summer. It seemed that for a while several times a day we Pirate Dogs were bundled into the car and shuttled off to Bucksnort and the cousins because some stranger wanted to see our house. (Very unusual odors awaited and excited us whenever we returned home.) It was so frequent that our beloved CSS Nargle was moved over there!! That made it very difficult to improve our phaser marksmanship on the Klingon Kats....

But there have been no offers on the house despite the showing activity. Our mom is frustrated and gets exceedingly grumpy with each episode of frantic picking-up and hauling us off to Auntie's. I was listening to our parents talking the other night about some guy who's supposed to be a fighter pilot that loves the house and wants us moved in three weeks---but the bozo hasn't made an offer and needs his daddy to see it first!!!! If he'd made an offer when he first saw it, we'd be moving out by now. Of course Mom got all excited and now there's boxes in the dining room full of stuff we don't use much---- They said he looked again Friday with his daddy and now the Realtors won't call and tell us what's up!!! Seem the real estate market here only operates Monday thru Friday. What a way to do business......

Then there's the midshipman----Seems Bertequila has sensitive underarms. He got some rash on his left arm and kept licking and niggling to make it worse. When Mom tried to assuage his suffering with aloe the dweeb licked it off. So Mom raided the stuffed animal collection and (would you believe???) found a sweater on a stuffed penguin that fit the midshipman!!!! With his garment on, Bert can't lick the area and the meds stay on the sore spot. So now Bert's arm is healing. That sweater is getting a little tacky though. Hope Mom knits him a new one soon. That chihuahua isn't olfactorially pleasant at the best of times........

But I got my dad all weekend so life's good and the bone turks are flowing.

Leny the Sharprador

First Mate of the CSS Nargle

AAAAAHHH!!!!

Today is one of the best days in Clovis. Even though we were marooned at Bucksnort's with our cousins Seymour and Esmerelda, the olfactory pleasures we experienced when our parents picked us up were so wonderful. That delectable smell when we bundled into the car--like something roasted but not burned; something spicy and maybe wonderfully hot....And when we entered the house, it was all but overpowering, in a deliciously sensual way-----They had been to the Farmer's Market and gotten our supply of green chiles!!!!!!!!! If you've never smelt the delightful aroma of fresh roasted green chiles, we can only pity you. You haven't even made it up to a dog's life.......

The Pirate Dogs---'Roid, Leny, Weetz, and Bertequila

Circles

"The wheel in the sky keeps on turning...." Journey was certainly right about how strange the patterns in life can be. This blog has, on occasion, commented on recurring themes over the years. And now, here we go again...............

It's 2006. She's had it with the attitudes in junior high. He works for a national company. They've just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a family reunion in Yellowstone Park. Now the family's dispersed back to their own lives and the couple wends their way down I-25 through Colorado and into northern New Mexico. Wouldn't it be great if she could retire and he transfer?? They would be closer to the grand-kids but far enough away to avoid the politics of extended families and in-laws. And perhaps they could settle in a "destination," a place that might be alluring enough to entice other friends and family to visit them. With these dreams occupying their mental processes, they visited places like Trinidad CO, Pecos NM, Santa Fe.

Then they found a town named Cochiti Lake. About 40 minutes from Albuquerque and 25 from Santa Fe. A giant dam across the Rio Grande forms a picturesque no-wake lake. The town of some 400+ people nestles into ridges across the two lane state highway from the lake and its recreation area. The people they met were very welcoming and friendly. Ahhh, she could retire, he could transfer to Albuquerque, life would be good---the pueblo and territorial style houses they had fallen in love with, the hiking and biking possibilities, the lake access....Paradise after the years in New Hampshire and enduring those winters.

Returning to New England, they set the wheels turning. She put in for retirement. He began the transfer process. They had a realtor set up a portal for them to track prices and house availability. Alas, the prices were steadily rising. And the number of houses on the market decreasing. Would there be anything both desirable and affordable by the summer of 2007 when she retired?? Would they be able to sell their cape in the already slowing NH real estate market?? Why was his transfer taking so long??

Then in June 2007, the house sold, she retired, and he was offered a better position----but in Clovis, not Albuquerque. So they packed up their family of multi-legged "children" and moved. It wasn't the style they wanted but at least it was New Mexico!! (In truth, it was more west Texas.)

Through the economic downturn of 2008 into 2009, the agricultural businesses near Clovis expanded and did well. The nearby Air Force base underwent a change of mission and flourished, with the expectation of as many as 5,000 new families coming to the area. Meanwhile, the real estate sorrows that afflicted the rest of the country had descended on northern New Mexico with a vengeance. Prices were plummeting. Properties were spending hundreds of days on real estate agencies' listing services.

So our intrepid couple decided to plunge again. They found a wonderful property in Pecos but hadn't sold their place in Clovis. They contacted a realtor and listed. The action was hot and furious but no contract yet. The Pecos owner reduced his price. Oh horrors---it's now under contract!! What to do, what to do.....

A few other abortive attempts to find a suitable place...Then, as Bokonon would say, "as it was meant to happen", they recalled Cochiti Lake. Que un milagro!!! The prices had DROPPED. Imagine a territorial style house on a ridge where the worst view is the faint glow of Albuquerque some 50 miles to the southeast?? A ravine below your backyard where there are coyote dens?? Looking west, there's no towns for about 100 miles.

There's a realtor who will be pushed hard the next few days. Really want this place!!!!!! And the wheel continues to turn...................

Of Cheeseburgers and Properties

Oh, my, another weekend, another 600 miles. We need to get moved............

Our house has been on the market about 40 days with over 30 showings. I wish some of these people would open up the checkbook already!!!!! It's nice to get a lot of positive feed-back but I'd really rather have a signed contract.

Yesterday we went to Estancia, this time we met a realtor, to check out the 2 houses on 20 acres. Now the property is on the side of a hill, which makes for some great views:

There are wonderful outbuildings---a marvelous barn and a separate tack room/horse stall that would make an ideal kennel as well. Problem is that the houses are too close to the property line and the outbuildings are in better shape than the houses. One is definitely cognizant of being in a 15 year old or so double wide. I've seen manufactured houses and mobiles that are very nice. We considered one in NH before we found the Podunk place. These two are very spacious (one has 4 bedrooms, two and a half baths, formal dining room, a breakfast nook and 2 fireplaces!!!) but all in all, you're in an older trailer. Afraid I just can't do that. So hopefully we get an offer this week and can go buy the Pecos place next weekend.

Now about them burgers----as you can tell from my new profile photo on this blog, as well as the photo on Facebook, I love green chile cheese burgers. I study them. I'd drive miles for one. I'm always willing to try out a new source of one of these culinary fiestas. So when I saw that a place in Santa Fe called Bobcat Bite had won awards for its green chile cheeseburger, I had to go there. Now I'll say this---it's the largest of the good samples I've tasted. But I'm afraid I can't rate it higher than number 3, behind The Owl and The Buckhorn in San Antonio, NM. The Owl is the gold standard---home-made patties, dare I say poignant green chile, and a wonderful atmosphere. The Bite has a friendly staff, an old adobe building, and seats only 26 so there's frequently a line at the door. But the burger just doesn't stand with The Owl. But after we move to Pecos, I'm sure I'll frequent Bobcat Bite when the craving for one of my favorite foods assaults me if for no other reason than The Owl is 100 miles away.