It pays to be paranoid. We thought we had the final approval for the shed so Joe could start insulating it and hook up the propane heater. Andy checked just in case.
I’ll spare you the details, but it turns out that idea was too good to be true. Someone has to go up to do one more inspection. Besides the fact it’s a long trip that no one wants to make, the county doesn’t have a key to the Forest Service lock, and it’s almost Christmas and more snow is expected. What do you think the chances are that this will be resolved before Spring?
It pays to have patience and a sense of humor.
I wouldn’t put money on it.
One of the ‘advantages’ of living in rural area of a ‘backward’ state like Arkansas is not having to deal with building inspectors. Best of luck on getting it earlier than spring.
We weren’t told we’d need ANOTHER inspection before we could insulate & hook up heater- lol. Last night it snowed another foot AT LEAST up there- Haha. The inspector has to drive like 60 miles (one way) if from Santa Fe & add another 65 one way, if from Albuquerque- LOL. The shed was built by an extremely reputable company so NO inspection is needed but there’s always the *&%$# RED TAPE- LOL HAhaha. 🙁
Jean, put a humorous spin on this. I’m not doing a very good job. 😀
I forgot about the county not having a key to the forest service lock so arrangements must be made & another person to go up there to unlock the gate. That gets another LOL. 🙂
If it’s so bad that it’s funny, you just laugh. (Jean’s not available but this is like what she’d say.)
It all seems a bit odd…the regulations require yet another inspection. I would just go ahead with the rest of the work required based on the fact, that the visit Andy made was not recorded; in fact by Spring that person may not even be employed at the county office, so it will be your word against them and vice versus 🙂
When they come to inspect your house, they can check all the property out…
Evan,
I agree!
bikehikebabe,
We’ve been up there long enough that we knew we were bound to have some problems. Some people are surprised that at our age we’re willing to go through all the hassle of rebuilding. I can afford to be relaxed because I love my life down here. I don’t have my heart set on any particular outcome, so I can treat the whole thing as an adventure.
Cathy,
Some people up there do build without bothering to be legal, but we’ve decided not to do that. One never knows when they might decide to enforce the laws. I once read of a person who built a house and was forced to tear it down because he didn’t have a permit. Even if we didn’t get caught in our lifetime, it might be a mess for Kaitlin and Torben when they inherit it.
They can’t inspect the structure of the shed from the inside if we insulate it, so we have to wait.
Mike,
For some reason WordPress marked your comment as “pending”. I just saw it now.
Sandoval County was like rural Arkansas 35 years ago. Now we have the problem of being several hours away from the county seat, the last few miles being dirt roads, without the advantages of being left alone. For instance to build a small shed in the middle of 80 acres before we built the footings for a house. It’s best not to think about that very much. 😀
That’s odd.
We drove through your area several years ago (~2003) on our way to Farmington. We left via NM 4 and NM 126, crossing over to Cuba, N.M. That drive was before we had GPS and I was trying to keep from backtracking to the east or south. Pretty country. 😉
Hello Jean,
(May I call you by your first name? Given that we haven’t met in person?)
I don’t understand how things work in your neck of the woods (quite literally!), but I do hope you aren’t forced to tap into too much of your patience and humour reserves. I agree though, that both are vital to enjoy the flow of life as opposed to merely getting swept away by it.
Kate
For you, Daddy,
Where is your neck of the woods? I didn’t see it in your sort-of bio. There’s someone from India, from New Zealand, Australia, Oklahoma, Arknasaw, New Mexico (Jean & I), who comment here. It explains, like weather patterns, etc., to know where the person is coming from–literally.
Kate,
Yes, of course you can call me Jean. Thank you for joining the conversation! I’m with bikehikebabe, could you tell us where you live? What is it like there?
Mike,
Yes, it is pretty country. I think it’s neat that you’ve been through here.
Frankly, I did not know that your bureaucracy can be as frustrating as ours is. Yes, patience and a sense of humour is all that can help us!
I think bureaucracy is just a big business that makes a lot of money from keeping people waiting; charging like bull; and then telling Joe Bloggs Public it is broke!
However, in NZ (as probably elsewhere) the system can break down quite easily…
Rummuser,
We spent 13 months in France in 1964/1965 and at the time were so glad the U.S. wasn’t as weighed down by bureaucracy as France was. How times have changed!
Cathy,
In fact the charge for the permits was only a couple of hundred dollars, but Andy figures we ended up paying around $3,000 because of all time and effort of the architect and contractor, plus the $800 we paid Tuff Shed to get the permit. We thought that would simplify things, but it was not to be.
When my daughter remodeled in a suburban area she figured it cost them an extra $10,000. The permits cost more there and she and her husband had to rent another place until the remodel was finished.
I have no idea about costs for permits and the like are here as I’m not a home owner…or in need of a permit. So I can’t comment on whether that is good or bad, in relationship to what NZ has and so on…
Cathy,
I’m happy that you don’t have to mess with it! 🙂
hi guys. just got back from an early christmas celebration with my brother’s little grandsons and his son and wife. it was wonderful. mike is stationed at kirtland. it snowed GIANT snow flakes while we were there. so beautiful. like little kitten paws touching your coat.
they closed part of i-40 the day we were to leave so we got to stay an extra day. just now reading all your comments on the red tape nightmare of small shed building! holy moly! but cheerful monk that you are… you shine through.
much better than i. it is true. i’m only part pollyanna. i get riled. which solves absolutely nothing i know. i’m working on it.
happy egg and nog to all our little blog family around the world. and to newcomer, kate.
tammy j
Wowee! Thanks for informing me, bikehikebabe. I had RSSed Jean’s page and would have popped in after I got, uh, pinged about her next post. As I normally do, I would have looked back on my comment to see if Jean (or owner of the blog I commented on) said anything in response.
Right. Your questions. Thank you for telling me where your little group is based. This whole ‘going public’ thing is still very new to me, so please bear with me as I tippy toe into the very much out there, online world. That also means I will be very guarded about certain personal stats, which includes my location right now. With people I know and have learned to trust, I’m an open book. With the rest, it takes time.
But since your request is fair and I want to respect the transparency that is prevalent around here, I will say this much for the time being – I am based in Asia right now. It is my favourite part of the world.
When my own blog was in the planning stage, I had decided that it would not trump my established cyber life. Which is the main reason I have chosen to post twice a month. I took into account meeting new people via my blog and communicating with them, but again, not if it meant neglecting those who have been with me in person all these years. I do not log in to check on my own blog on a daily basis, and I visit those I’ve RSSed only when they’ve posted anew.
As a recent follower of Jean’s blog, I’ve enjoyed reading her stories about their new home in the making because a lot of it is completely new to me. Specifically, the rules stateside, a home in the woods and one that is being constructed pretty much hands on.
Along with personal greetings to a few of my closest contacts, I have drafted out a note to wish Jean as well for Christmas. I have planned to merely mail those wishes (post my wish via a comment, in this case) on Christmas Day. (Tomorrow … for me, yaay!) But since I’ve seen this note of yours, I’d like to wish you, too, bikehikebabe, a merry Whatever Festival You Celebrate At This Time Of The Year! (I don’t want to assume that it’s Christmas.)
Thank you for including me in your conversation here. I look forward to hanging out with you all when I feel like I have something worthy to say.
Kate
Hi there Kate,
To get you up to date, Jean’s house (that they didn’t live in; they live in an apartment in town), burned down along with the forest around for miles.
Google says ‘Since the beginning of the year, New Mexico has reported 455 fires that have scorched more than 666 square miles.’ They are rebuilding for the fun of it.
tammy,
If you were using I-40, then the Kirtland you mentioned must be the one in New Mexico? You say Mike is stationed at Kirtland, so that must be the air base? Not that far from us.
Glad you had a good time and that you got home safely.
Actually the red tape isn’t that serious. I’m quite happy down here and my main concern about the fire was that Andy got out in time. We’re thinking a bit about decisions we have to make for the cottage, but it’s nice to have a vacation from it. We’ll probably go to Santa Fe sometime next week to start to decide what kind of shades/drapes,whatever for the windows. It’s best to decide that before we make the final decisions about the size and placement of the windows themselves. I want to make sure we leave enough room for everything.
That’s not my favorite use of my time, so my challenge is to enjoy the process as much as possible. I’d rather play with my toys. 🙂
Kate,
So you’re in Asia right now. That is one big continent with a lot of variety. You can be sure we won’t be able to guess your location!
Merry Christmas!
bikehikebabe,
The project and Andy’s pictures sure do make it easy to come up with blog posts. 😀
Jean says “I’d rather play with my toys. :D”
What are your toys?
yes monk! sorry. military family. don’t think in terms of towns just bases. 🙂
i received a red pepper wreath to bring back for my door here at home. this is the first christmas mike has not been deployed in a while. so it was bittersweet. his mom died in sept. as you recall. but at least he’s home safe and sound.
and btw… the favorite part of all for me is the part you’re finding a challenge! and i bet your “toys” are electronic which i find a challenge to turn on much less know what i’m doing!!!
smiles and christmas cheer,
tammy j
Dear Jean,
First off, thank you for allowing me to address you by your first name. Nice as Cheerful Monk sounds, it is a bit too stern for me as a first name. (Still scarred by the nuns iron fisted rule in school; therefore, any religious denomination title causes me to stiffen a little.)
It has been a pleasure stumbling across your site. I like the name of your blog, what it means and what it promotes as a incidental message.
I’ve noticed that you have a nice little community of commenters here and it’s nice to see everyone pitch in with experiences and humour which always works as encouragement. I’m looking forward to spending more time here, most likely as a lurker because I’m still largely a learner. Like I told bikehikebabe above, I’m very hesistant to opine if I’m uncertain.
So if you happen to celebrate Christmas, have a lovely one with your family, Jean! May 2012 be a healthy and happy one for your own family and this e-family you have here in the blogosphere!
Kate
P.S.: bikehikebabe, will respond to your comment tomorrow.
tammy and bikehikebabe,
Yes, my favorite toys are electronic. I will spare you the details. 🙂
Kate,
Thanks, we had an enjoyable low-key day. 🙂
bikehikebabe, thanks for updating me about Jean’s home. Whoa.
I had read online and watched news on TV about the wildfires in the US (can’t remember when exactly), but for some reason, I remember only parts of California being affected and probably, Nevada. I didn’t know the disaster extended down to New Mexico as well. 455 of them and all that land. 🙁
And Jean is still so upbeat. Something else for me to learn.
Kate
P.S.: Jean, what is that check mark for below the Submit button. It links to my post. So does that URL show up as part of my comment here? I have been un-checking it because I don’t know its exact function.
Kate,
Arizona’s fire was even worse than ours was. We were unlucky enough to be close to, and downwind from, the starting point of ours. It was one hot fire!
The little box is supposed to tell people the title of your last post on your blog. Look at Evan’s and Mike’s and Rummuser’s comments above.