Charley's Place

Dawn Over Black Lake Artists' Retreat   The concept of converting my empty attached apartment to a vacation rental seemed like a good idea at the time. But in retrospect being locked down during a pandemic narrows ones vision. I had never stayed at a VRBO. My closest experience was eight days in a house boat on Lake Powell as I have stated in a previous blog. Stocking up for a week with my sister on conveyance which had no frills (we did the cheap boat) is hardly the same as readying a two bedroom/sleeps five apartment for a month reservation. Thankfully my first guest was for just three nights and my next booking is for four nights. But in the future there is a 28 day stay and a 30 day stay. Hopefully I will have the kinks out by then and at the least an ample supply of toilet paper and paper towels. I thought I was done with the endless list of amenities but I see I am going to need some chests of drawers for the longer reservations. Luckily a friend sold her house and it offerin...

Bedroom One   As of April first Charley's Hideaway was officially open. But not totally complete as I am still waiting for the washer and dryer to be delivered. That, as regular fans of my blogs are aware, has been a debacle of a whole other level. And if all now goes well I should have a new Whirlpool set in place on April 22, 2021. Meanwhile it has given me more buff and fluff time. I never really considered April, the beginning of the first mud and flood season, to be very popular. So I was very surprised and somewhat panicked, when I received a query for three days this weekend. I, at one time, wanted to be an architect but in the era when I entered University of New Mexico that was considered an unavailable degree for women. I was urged instead to go into interior design or home decorating. The emphasis on my own home while producing children to mess it up. I do enjoy remodeling and redecorating. But as my mother used to pronounce, "nothing is ever done with you." T...

Morning coffee? During this pandemic everything has just taken longer. Not just my opinion. I really thought I would be further along on this by this time. But I have also been totally surprised by what I have achieved without a whole construction crew.  Winter isn't exactly over yet. We are in what us locals term Mud and Flood season. Most locals left this weekend on what is the traditional month long vacation. Our part time home owners do not reappear in the migration cycle until first week of May. But friends with short term rental properties have urged me to get my new rental listed because of how far ahead people book. I have a friend coming a few of the last days in April then I imagined I had a month or two to refine and finish things up. I posted my listing on VRBO the third week of March. Black Lake Artists' Retreat was a reality. But on so many levels it was still my doll house. A representative of VRBO called yesterday to praise me on my listing. And especially appl...

The 1942 Case Tractor Lawn Art   I do not always think things through. As a painter I do not do detailed sketches and then a color sketch before pouring watercolor across the canvas. Just the bare bones. Maybe an application of masking between sky and land. And as I move forward from the huge commitment of brilliant reds and oranges of the sky I change my direction sometimes. That seems to work in my paintings. And in the past has worked with writing. You can always edit a blog or a word document. But other sites are not always as flexible and since Covid-19 pandemic nothing seems as pliable as I would like. But we were in lockdown and I had time on my hands and I knew I never wanted a long term renter in my attached apartment ever again. Mother said to never say never or ever but even if I do not say them I think them. And so I began the process of making that apartment a short term rental. I had no idea of how difficult it would be. How many rigid and intractable things I would h...