January 21, 2023: The 5 Rs

1: RENOVATE restore to a former better state (as by cleaning, repairing, or rebuilding).

2: REVIVE: to restore to life, vigor, or activity,

3: REJUVENATE: Suggesting the restoration of youthful vigor, powers, or appearance.

4: REFINEMENT: The improvement or clarification of something by the making of small changes.

5: RENDER: to cause someone or something to be in a particular state.

Merriam-Webster, 2023

That’s what we’re doing. All five at once. (Think that’s too many “Rs”? Check out the “8-Fold Path of the 4 Noble Truths”!)

I have no idea why the previous owners never finished the bathroom. They got busy with kids, jobs, or having too much fun I assume. Or they just didn’t care about privacy. The walls, made of homemade adobe bricks built from dirt taken out the arroyo, and glass bricks and a shelving unit make up about 1/2 of the walls. The adobe was to create a thermal mass/fire wall behind the original wood cookstove (wish it were still here!)

But, Alan and I, being older and maybe more private, want a bathroom that is actually it’s own space.

That said, finishing these walls was quite the process, as nothing, and I repeat, NOTHING, in this house is square.

(Of course, being square was always uncool in our book, so maybe that’s why we love it so much).

The doorway is neither square AND closes on an angle and there’s logs to work around.

The hanging is my first piece of weaving I did when I was 17 at Franconia College. I actually dyed these wools using natural ingredients. Everything else I wove at Franconia was burned in the house fire in 1979. It, too, is not square, nor even rectangular.

Above, Alan’s fitting in a trapezoid over the door. The center framed area will hold a stained glass window we found on Etsy.

Next, Alan turned to finishing the kitchen lights. One of the pendants arrived broken, so we had to wait for a replacement. Now, they are up.

Everything in the house, including the floor, posts and beams, was finished with linseed oil. It is harder to find these days, and the price has tripled since Covid…..but eventually, I will get to that chore.

Now, we are starting to look at the kitchen remodel. We probably won’t start til spring, as we’ll have to move the stove and sink out into the sunroom for the duration. The goal will be to get more counter space and closed cupboards, and look less “busy”.

Ultimately, you can see that this house will never look like a suburban home. In its own way, it is a work-of-art. It was hand-built using local materials with love and care by people who were mindful of their impact on the environment, with fitting a home into the landscape without overwhelming or harming it. The shell is solid and has stood 25 years of the harsh northern NM climate without damage. It is a working home, where projects and dreams happen. It is also our refuge and retreat.