Decorating The Nickel and Dime Ranch Headquarters Part 3

All these years I didn't realize we were on the cutting edge when it came to decorating, but a quick look through Country Living, Real Simple or any of the frugal living blogs on the internet solidifies the idea that Tom, the Resident Decorator, aka The Inferior Decorator, is a house decorating genius!

We have lived frugally for years, gathering old furniture from family and friends, frequenting second hand stores, and generally allowing our furnishings to drift into our lives with little planning. At first when Tom has a decorating idea I tend to freak out and not like it, but for many of his vignettes, their time has come and I grow to like what he has arranged. I never did like the nooks he made out of crates to accommodate all our books, though. It was too hard to clean and dust and a squirrel Miss Bonnie brought into the house got caught between two crates and it smelled to high heaven.

But I kind of like what Tom has done for our television area. We bought a big screen tv, but the ironic part is we have chosen not to get the satellite dish hooked up and of course there's no cable or signals through the air in our area. Too many traveling nights in trailer parks and motels with cable have proven there is little to watch on tv. It's easier to get dvd's and watch them when you want and the diggers are wending their way here and there with their fast internet fiberoptic stuff and will eventually get to our place. Then we will be able to hook up the computer to the tv and stream! Woo hoo! Stimulus money well spent, I must say.

Below is our setup. On the left are Swiss Army chests Tom ordered from Sportsmans' Guide, the Surplus Catalog, to hold dvd's and a tangle of wires and cords that we might need some day. That's the dvd player on top of the Swiss Army chests along with a pair of binoculars because you never know when you might need to look out the window and spot something. The telly is setting on Aunt Patricia's trunk from when she was in the military. Her name is stenciled on the top.

On the right is another trunk we bought at a second hand store for 30 dollars and gave to my mom for Christmas. She restored it inside and out. There's another set of binoculars there along with several pairs on the spinning bookcase right next to the trunk. You never know when you may need to grab some binoculars and have a little look-see.

The trunk with the books on it is our coffee table. We think this was Aunt Patricia's too, because there is a Duluth Trunk Company metal tag attached to the top. The rug is from overstock.com.

In between are some snow shoes that will decorate the walls someday.

Here's how these Swiss Army chests look inside. We used old milk crates to hold the dvd's and other stuff.

I think this stuff goes well with our cabin. We look like we might be ready for an expedition or something, don't we?

And unrelated to military surplus, but still important is the photo below of the amarylis I got for Christmas from Trudy and Pat. It's setting on the window sill above the kitchen sink, adding some winter color. After I took the photo I noticed the dome outside in the late afternoon gloaming.

Stolen Quilt Last Seen In Albuquerque

The Quilty Blogworld is working together to get out the word about this quilt that was recently stolen. Since it was last seen in Albuquerque, NM, I thought we should publicize this.

Here's more info:

http://quiltville.blogspot.com/2012/02/help-get-word-outanother-stolen-quilt.html

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's been a busy couple days, but it's always nice to wake up to a bedside cup of coffee and a makeshift Valentine written on the back of a pharmacy bag. Thanks, Tom!

Here's our Valentine to you. Gracias for being part of our adventure.

Nippy and Sunny

This post's title sounds like a comedy duo I might have seen on the Ed Sullivan Show when I was a kid, but really, it's about the weather. Warmer than usual here like much of the country, we have our cold mornings, around 15-20 degrees F or so, and if the sun stays out, temps rise into the 40's or 50's.

For you folks born to cold weather, 40 or 50 probably sounds incredibly balmy, and we, too, are beginning to appreciate how "warm" it is. Hell, that's sweater weather!

Last night it snowed Dippin' Dots and when I forced gently carried Miss Bonnie outside so she would have her morning cat excursion, the round pellets on our wooden deck crunched.

Here's what it looks like from the deck, just before the sun peeks over the rim rock.

 Looks frigid, doesn't it? And it is, around 16 F this morning.

This is looking toward the Buddha tree circle. Buddha, way at the top of the path, doesn't seem worried about the cold.

Have you been watching Lillyhammer on Netflix? I just saw the first episode and watching it made me realize cold is relative. Norway is freaking cold. If you are from Norway, let me know if I'm right about this one.

I know two buddies who aren't inconvenienced by the weather, as long as they are inside. Let's name them Nippy and Sunny.

That quilt is a shredded mess. I should make a new one. Yeah. Put it on the list.

Bent Street: Taos, NM

Bent Street is one of the most picturesque streets in Taos. The adobe buildings have been lovingly cared for, offering visitors a satisfying mix of history and beauty. Inside the old adobes are curio shops, museums, art galleries and an awesome independent bookstore called Moby Dickens.

The streets were clear when we were there last week, but yesterday and last night the snow fell both at the Nickel and Dime and in Taos. I found this shot by Mona Makela which perfectly captures Bent Street in winter. Enjoy.

Missing in Action

The blog posts have been sporadic lately because Stuff and Nonsense, that comedy duo that takes up all your time,  have punctuated the month of January. Here's a sampler:

1. On the day the steers were slaughtered, I backed the Polaris into the Tacoma's front fender. So the Tacoma had to go to the body shop for an estimate. We traveled back home with the injured truck and then again to the body shop a couple weeks after that for the repair. So we left the pickup, drove back home,  and returned to pick it up (yeah, a pun) a few days later. Since the body shop was in Santa Fe, we were on the road mucho. Round trip to Santa Fe is 200 miles.

2.  I took a tumble (and let's just say I was goofing around when it happened and leave it at that) and landed on my tailbone, hit my head, and sprained my fingers. NO, I was not drinking!  The body is mending, but it has slowed me down. But here's a good thing: In the meantime we drove to Albuquerque (340 miles round trip) and bought an additional Tacoma for moi. I am now a 4 wheel drive pickup with satellite radio lady.

3. My tooth's crown came off when I was flossing and so I needed to find a dentist (we haven't weaned ourselves off the California one.) He popped it back on, but I'm not sure if he will really be our dentist in the future because he didn't wear gloves when he first looked inside my mouth. (70 miles round trip)

4. Another tooth needed a root canal so I had to find an endodontist.

5. The meat from the two steers had to be picked up in Taos. The butcher said bring "A couple big coolers." When I saw four freezer shelves full of meat, I almost fainted, pulled myself up by the big girl panties and Tom and I started loading. There was way more meat than our coolers would carry, but luckily the Taos Economic Development Agency had enough loaners for us. They saved the day. So we packed and loaded almost 800 pounds of beautiful beef into our truck. (100 miles round trip)

6. On the way home we stopped at the post office and dropped off a quarter steer for Postmistress Teresa and friend Betsy, who were sharing the order.

7. The next morning we dropped off another quarter steer to our friend Ann who is sharing with her friend.

8. Then we drove to Santa Fe to meet a guy in the Whole Foods parking lot where we sold him a quarter beef. He found us on Craigslist. Tom went inside to see how much organic beef cost and realized we had a gold mine in the coolers.

9. While in Santa Fe, I had a root canal. It was actually restful at the endodontist, who periodically murmured, "Suction," while 80's hits played softly in the background. I dropped off to sleep a couple times during the two hours I was in the chair.

10. Tomorrow friend Sue will pick up a quarter steer which is to be shared with her parents. I am taking 3 Advil at a time to deal with the residual pain that goes with a root canal.

11. So I must drive back to Taos tomorrow in the morning to return the coolers. It's snowing, so that one's not going to happen! Yay! I guess Taos is Monday.

12. Next week I will pack up a quarter steer for a friend who is mail ordering from us and drive to the Albuquerque airport for shipping.


13. I have one quarter beef left to sell and there's a remaining half steer in our freezer.  We will keep a quarter and mail Grandpa Pat some ribeyes since he has been wanting steak from our cows for a year now. It's coming, Pat! Soon!

I have been dreaming of beef. Shanks, brisket, ribeye, chuck, sirloin, you name it, they've been parading through my subconscious every night for a week.

That's why I feel like that teakettle photo at the beginning of this post.

That's why Tom, who went grocery shopping while I was getting my root canal, bought me a box of "Tension Tamer" tea.