Waking up to rain in Santa Fe is a strange and wicked thing. You’re not thinking about its relative absence until you hear it beating on the windows, and then it feels like you’re indulging in a secret luxury. Like dark chocolate. Especially when - like me - you come from a number of far-fetched wet places like soggy Seattle and the foggy, chiaroscuro mornings of southern Oregon, and the lush golf-course green valleys of northern California and the white soapy skies of New England and straight into the blaring sun and dust of the high desert. If nothing else, it reminds you of what’s missing and challenges you to live without it. This I love.

The thunder in the middle of the night last night was amazing. Every clap barked, shuddered, and then rolled on forever and ever and it felt like I’d fall asleep again and then wake up to the very same thread of it, still rolling.

The house smells like coffee and wet dog.

Posted by tee in sense of place
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“The world needs dreamers, and the world needs doers.
But most of all.. the world needs dreamers who do.”

-Sarah Ban Breathnach

Posted by tee in quotes
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Shane just fell asleep minutes ago after staying up all night to solve bugs and accommodate last minute changes and tweaks for the final phase of a project due today. Last night was pretty turbulent, props to Daniel and Mike for pitching in to help solve a rogue code puzzle.

I’ve got a phone interview to conduct in less than an hour, and a previous interview to transcribe from recordings before that. We were hoping to get to Albuquerque today for some business down that way and to look at some recycled materials for the house - more on that later, but with other projects and deadlines piling up this week I don’t know how we’ll get away long enough.

Perhaps the very best thing about our plans in the San Luis Valley is the idea that once we get that house built and we’re free from under mortgages, debts, utility bills and other typical living costs - we’ll be able to focus solely on the work we really enjoy, and on the things and experiences we find value in, and we can stop spending 40-50+ hours a week on work that satiates financial obligations and little else.

That, my friends, should be the New American Dream.

Posted by tee in de la vida
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“Normally I like crickets, but this one is something of an overachiever.”

- me, to shane, lying awake at 2am.

Posted by tee in quotes
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