Looking back...

So let's start from the beginning. 

The beginning of what you might ask?
                   The beginning of our house.

It started back in the 70's with a group of hippies who wanted a mountain hippie compound.
This man:

 is Richard Young.  Also known as "Fedora" in the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  He is the character who gives Indy his fedora in the movie.  He's been in many other things since then and is a fairly successful actor and director.  He is also the son of Robert Young who played Marcus Welby, MD...

But, I digress.

He was also the mastermind behind finding a remote location in the Sacramento Mountains just outside of Ruidoso, NM.  He and several other friends had a few buildings/homes scattered on their 17 acres.  The goal, we believe, was to be off the grid away from society.  Well. Life happened and not everyone's visions had the same plan or timeline so after building on his home for 20 years or so it was virtually abandoned.  

That's where we come in.

We bought it a couple years ago, as is.

The property had been shown many times before with the idea that you were buying the land and what ever buildings were left would have to be leveled.

In everyone's eyes except ours.

So here's an across the canyon view of the original home

 see... we're sort of on the side of a mountain....

 

Ok, I know you're thinking - level that house? It doesn't look that bad.  

Well let's remember it's been sitting around 20 years...in the southwest sun, through mountain monsoon seasons, wind...oh the wind!  

And critters.  Lots and lots of forest critters.

yuk.

I am sure you are wondering what the inside looked like...   Here's some early shots:

 

 

 So that was the inside.    Yes it was filled with his things he'd left here 20-ish years ago.

But that sunset right there?  That's what did it for us!  That and in the middle of that sunset is Sierra Blanca peak.

Over the next few posts I'll take you through the changes that have occured over the last couple years as well as a look back at the interesting things we've found during our deconstruction and reconstruction.

Most of these changes were done by just Dave and myself with help on occasion from some friends and of course a power tool or two, 

or ten.

More to come....

Life above the clouds....

So, this blog is called A Life Above The Clouds... Why you may ask?

Well, I'm glad you did.

Quite frankly it is because our home is often above the clouds.

Or even with the clouds.

Or in the clouds.

Well, you get the point.

This phenomenon is known as inversion, I believe.  It happens occasionally in the mornings over Sierra Blanca peak. 

Sometimes were lucky enough to have a rainbow or two.

...and beautiful sunsets.

And sometimes... Hopefully only once in our lifetime... We have clouds of smoke...

This was from the Little Bear fire of 2012.  More on that later..... And more on how this front of the house looks completely different in another post.

It is Time....

So, It is time that I resurrect this blog:

Having said that let me explain why this blog has been in hiberbation.

As you can see from my last post, we had a celebration.  A wedding to be precise.

We exchanged our vows along the banks of the Bonito River last fall with a host of friends and family.
(More posts of this to come)

So now that things have settled - and by this I mean settled to a steady Mach I pace - I have decided I have some time to begin sharing all the things happening around the mountain we live on.

I will post wedding photos and building the ranch photos and traveling photos and who knows what else will tickle my fancy!

But. 

I am on a mission to resurrect this blog and hopefully in the near future my other blog: Passions and Pastimes  This blog too has fallen off to the side because of many reasons - the least of which is that I have crafting materials scattered between our home, our cabin, my dad's house and storage in the barn.  I will be working toward rectifying this in the coming months.  I have really missed sewing, jewelry making, crafting, painting and really missed designing and making stained glass.  Now with our house building project in full swing, I will need to get busy at least with the designing part so I can get windows designed for our home!

Well, I broke the ice.

The blog is on the recovery and... now I have to go help erect walls.  
Details to come!