Coming back to home base was emotionally overwhelming. First there was the long gorgeous drive home along I-8. It was like many other drives we’ve taken in the southwest: long stretches through the desert scenery, sharp reddish mountains framed against clear blue skies, the occasional dust storm blowing by … but when we saw the first saguaro cactus standing beside the highway, it was seeing a gatehouse guard in uniform standing by to welcome us home. The saguaro, which grows only in the Sonoran desert and only in a narrow band of altitude, is sort of a symbol of southern Arizona. When we see them, we know we are close to home base.
Opening the door to the house was another sort of emotional upheaval. Inside we found the mess we left behind in May, plus a few dead beetles in the corners, and the living room full of boxes left by the mover. The boxes seemed to have multiplied since we loaded them on the truck last summer, and the house looked dingy and depressing. Problems were everywhere: bad lighting, grout stains, messed-up paint, things to be demolished and many things needed to be fixed. I didn’t remember how much work we had left undone. It was too much to contemplate last night, so we closed the door and went back to our nice safe low-maintenance Airstream.
The Plague Doctor says, “Don’t lose hope!”
But things are already moving in the right direction. I had made some calls from Borrego Springs last week to alert certain people that we were coming back. Early this morning I started making lists of tasks and supplies needed, and we began to map out the next couple of weeks of work. By 10 a.m. today I had already met with two contractors who had previously given us quotes, and now we have a schedule for at least the first phase of things to be done.
Getting contractors to show up is usually a challenge. In Massachusetts and Vermont, two other places we have owned houses, we struggled for weeks to get people to show up and complete jobs, but here in Arizona we have had much better luck. One trick is to “jump the line”, meaning that once we find a good contractor (excellent customer relations, quality-focused, prompt, businesslike), we ask him for references to other people for things we need. Usually the really good contractors only work with others who share their standards, so this saves a lot of calling around and interviewing. We don’t always pay the lowest price using this method, but it pays back in reliability and promptness.
On Wednesday afternoon, the day after Christmas, preliminary work will begin. First task is to rip out the remaining kitchen cabinets and replace the damaged drywall in that room. Then the carpenter will install all new baseboard in the house (the original was removed during tiling last spring), and fix a few other small things. By Jan 2, we’ll have a crew of painters in here to seal the slate floors, remove and replace the “popcorn” ceilings, and paint the entire interior.
Our task during the first couple of weeks is to pick paint colors, start planning the kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, and write checks. Lots of checks. We have paid out more money in deposits this morning than it usually costs us to spend a month traveling. I don’t need any further reminders that houses aren’t cheap, but I think I’ve got a few more coming anyway.
Coming out of Anza-Borrego yesterday, we passed through the town of Westmoreland and spotted this hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. I can’t resist Mexican from a place that only has signs in Spanish, so we parked the Airstream in back and went in. The interior was dirty, the ambience was zilch, the seats were cracked and hard, but the waitress was nice and the carne asada, whether on a taco or burrito, was amazingly good. One of the best Mexican lunches we’ve ever had, for three people, $11.
