Upper West Side? Left Bank? The Heights?

We have mostly settled into the cabin. We still have loads of exterior work to do and some of the interior furniture is temporary (and to be replaced with items from he house in Corrales if we ever do sell it) but the whole place is now a functioning home, especially since the refrigerator and stove have been delivered.

In some ways we have come full circle: from our small apartments in New York and now to a small cabin in New Mexico albeit via a side trip through two other houses, each larger than the last (and with the last one, the B&B, being truly large). And our furniture has come full circle too. Our old cast iron bed from our New York days now sits in our bedroom in the cabin. It had been residing in Susan’s sister’s (Tanja) guest bedroom after we upgraded to first a queen, and then a king and is the perfect size for us in the new place.

The kitchen table and chairs are also from the New York apartment after also having been vacationing in Tanja’s house. It is a lucky thing we didn’t discard them and that Tanja has no more need for them as she is in the process of moving herself.

As for the title of this post, I was thinking about the geography of Madrid and the section we are in. Clearly we are not downtown (roughly the areas along the highway and more specifically the section closest to the Mine Shaft Tavern) but it would be hard to call it the suburbs since we are clearly in town and are walking distance to everything.

We are north-ish and on the western border of town, which would correspond to Manhattan’s Upper West Side if one were to use that kind of terminology. And with all of our New York furniture having joined us, that might almost be apt. But only for us.

One neighbor gleefully calls the area the Left Bank, given that we are separated from the bulk of town by a dry arroyo. I rather like that description. Another, on seeing our renovations, thinks that we’re becoming the “tony” part of town. Since we’re quite elevated, maybe “The Heights” would work.

Of course we need no further description than that we are on “Back Road” since the town is tiny and everyone knows where everything is.

Quick update on the lawsuit:

Nothing big to note except that I received a call from another attorney representing another client of the evil s.o.b. who defrauded me. He believes that the whole thing is a scam and that the evil s.o.b. (my words, not his) is a crook. He was pleased that I had started litigation (well, arbitration) and was going to call my attorney to see if we could all have a sharing of the minds.

First Night In The Cabin (Posted on July 4)

Last night we made our move into the cabin. We still don’t have a fridge or stove, but the plumbing works and the windows have been “treated.” Even at a somewhat slight 600 sq ft it is a tremendous improvement over the back of the gallery.

It is now time to focus our attention on the outside. First I have to get the place really dog-ready which means installing the doggy door and a fenced area for them to use for their “business.” This will be trickier than it otherwise might be since the yard in question is solid rock and so setting posts is out of the question. But I have a plan that will work very well and will share it anon (when my plan has been proven the right one).

I will also have to put in a ramp to the deck since poor old Clint is not longer able to climb stairs and he loves hanging out on the deck.

After the dog-ready business, we will have to paint the trim and stain the new wood. We’ve picked up all the supplies so all we need to do is the actual work.

And there are some other odds and ends such a burying several exposed PVC pipes that risk being frozen over the winter (something that apparently did happen previously). And I will have to put up a chicken coop so that we can move the ladies up here from Corrales.

Of course, Susan has some master plan about getting the rest of the front yard cleaned up and landscaped in some way. I will likely play some role in that since in a previous life I must have been a very bad man.