Colorado Springs Homes & Colorado Land Blog

If the Spring Bug hasn’t caught you yet, it surely will shortly, and what better time than now to start going through your house top to bottom?

• Do a once over of your roof. If you notice debris collecting or missing/broken shingles, clean and fix.
• Clean out rain gutters. The 3pm showers will start up again soon, and to prevent water from coming into your house you need to have clean gutters. Don’t have gutters? Consider putting gutters on to help with those run-off areas around the perimeter of your house. Going green tip – have one or two troughs dump into a large barrel with a spiket. Use this collected water for watering plants. Particularly important in the hot, dry days. To prevent bugs from laying eggs, stir the water daily, and place a mesh on the top of the barrel. This will also help keep leaves, grass, and other debris out.
• Power wash the outside of the house. This is more important for those living in moist areas where mold and green grow, but is a nice touch to get the dust and dirt off. Especially good if you plan to list your house for sale in the near future.
• Wash windows. Vinegar and water do the same trick, work better, and is cleaner for the environment.
• Sweep the entry way and walk ways.
• Plant and weed all flower beds. Replace dead plants, add new fresh blooms, and add new mulches.

Now to the inside!

• Start with the attic. I know, this is where all the treasures are stored, but go through the boxes and decide what you truly want to hang on to and what you can let go of. Shelters for both humans and animals accept blankets, pillows, and bedding. If you think you might have something of value that you’re willing to let go, try selling it. If what’s up there is what you want to hold on to, organize it in a way where you can find the items quickly.
• Assuming  you have an second-story, start there. Go room-by-room and involve the whole family. Start with the closets and clear out any unused items. Decide if you want to sell them at a consignment store or drop them off at an organization who can give you a tax-deductible form for your donation. As you move through each room, clean the inside windows, dust the light fixtures (if they have bugs inside, take down and thoroughly scrub), vacuum and if you want to do it right, steam clean the carpets and rugs. If you have wood floors, wash and wax.
• Don’t skip over the bathrooms. Go through products and check expiration dates. Keep a note pad nearby to write down what you will need to replace or buy more of if running low on items. Organize the towels and products.
• On the main level wash all windows, light fixtures, vents, baseboards, etc. Dust, wipe down, scrub everything.

Recycling is more than sorting paper, plastic, aluminum, and cardboard, recycling and reusing can be done with household goods, appliances, old TVs, clothes, books, etc. If you don’t want to go through the hassle of listing and selling items, donate them and receive a tax deduction, or donate them for good karma.

If going out with your crew seems like too much of a hassle, consider hosting a delicious brunch at home. Here’s some menu ideas that are big crowd pleasers:

Breakfast-brunch:           

• Sticky buns, cinnamon rolls, muffins, and/or monkey bread. All of these items can be prepared or made ahead the night before, and simply baked the next morning. With muffins, you could bake those the night before if you wanted, but then you’d miss that delightful smell in the kitchen the next morning.
• Omlette bar. Slice and dice all of the ingredients the night before and put in baggies. The next morning put out several bowls and empty the baggies. Scramble the eggs and let adults make their own eggs the way they like! If you’re feeling up to it, go ahead and jump in.
• If the idea scares you a little with the omlettes, another great idea is mini frittatas. Use a muffin tin and slice and dice the night before. The morning of, pre-heat the oven to 350, spray the muffin tin(s) with cooking spray, place about 1-2 tablespoons of meat, cheese or veggies, then cover 2/3rd up the tin with scrambled egg mixture. You can use egg whites if you like.
• Yogurt bar. I personally love the idea of waking up to see fresh fruit options like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries set out with a bowl of yummy yogurt, a bottle of honey and one or two granola options. I can make it the way I like, I know that it is healthy, and best of all from a hostess standpoint, you just need to wash the fruit, empty a large container of yogurt into a bowl and set out some granola! Easy, and it looks amazing.

True Brunch

• Brunch is a funny meal because it is breakfast and lunch, so for a “true” brucnh, you could include the items above, and add in a baked ham.
• Scalloped potatoes go so well with baked ham! Of course, mashed potatoes also go well with any kind of meat.
• Rolls with little pats of butter. If you wanted to get festive, you could use candy molds to shape the butter pats, or for added flavor to the butter you can soften butter, add seasonings or honey, mix, place on a piece of plastic wrap and form into a log. Refrigerate then slice the log.
• Green beans, spring peas, early carrots are all great in season and spring veggies.

An Easter gathering wouldn’t be complete with an egg hunt. No one is ever too old for this time-honored tradition. Dollar stores sell colored eggs perfect for filling with little treats. Make a map or write down all of the hidding places, particularly important if you are using real hard boiled eggs!! Set out little baskets or ask everyone to bring their own baskets for a fun and lively time.

If you haven’t already, it’s time to call around and make your Easter Bunch (or any spring-time brunch) reservations. Here is a list of our favorite places around Colorado Springs:

The Sunbird 230 Point of the Pines Dr.
The buffet offers a number of wonderful options to appease any palate, including made-to-order pasta, omelets, carving stations, fresh seafood, decadent desserts and more. The website allows you to make reservations direct or call to confirm. Champagne is included from 9:30am-1:30pm.

Adam’s Mountain Cafe  934 Manitou Ave, Manitou Springs                                                                                                                                                                                
 A wonderful dining spot no matter what meal you’re craving. Set in a peaceful area next to the flowing creek, dine outside and enjoy the soothing natural sounds while dining and enjoying the food as you like it. “We always look for product that is organic and/or local, first. 70% of our menu is vegetarian, 20% vegan and an additional 25% can be easily converted to vegan by eliminating or replacing 1 to 3 items.”, Adam’s Mountain Cafe.

Smiley’s Bakery Cafe 323 North Tejon                                                                                                                                                                                                                           This is a wonderful little spot on North Tejon (across the street from Poor Richard’s), perfect for a downtown stroll with a delicious pastry and coffee.  Besides serving amazing pastries, this shop also serves full breakfast items and can make it as fancy or homey as you want it, just let them know when you order.

The Lake Terrace Dining Room @ the Broadmoor                                                                                                                                                                                                    It’s been mentioned before on my blog, but for a truly exquisite brunch, there is simply no better place. The brunch features over 100 items to choose from, ice sculptures to feast your eyes on, and twinkling ivories to listen to as you enjoy your brunch.

As Spring springs, we tend to think of flowers, bunnies and chicks. Whether you live in the suburbs or country, you could raise your own chickens. You will need to check with your local ordinances before you place your order or start building the hen house, but many areas still allow the raising of chickens in the backyard.

I found another blog site that has a very cool idea of a hen house design, along with additional information about how to get started, found here: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/a-quick-guide-to-raising-backyard-chickens.html. There are books and other sources of this topic online as well, who can speak to it on a more personal level, but has me intrigued nonetheless to consider. The health benefits alone make me want to think about it more!

When we close real estate transactions, it’s easy to forget to say, “Thank you.” It’s also easy to not follow-up a few days or a week after the closing to check in and see how everything is. This is a big mistake. Even if the deal wasn’t the smoothest, it’s important to say thanks and remind your clients that even though they no longer need your services, that you care about them, the property and future business.

Before getting into the business I worked with a great agent. He was really nice, funny, and laid back. He dotted his i’s and crossed his t’s, but never seemed to let on to his other business dealings. You were his #1 client, perhaps his only, you never knew. I never expected anything after the closing, it went well, but later that afternoon we’d received fresh flowers as a “Welcome Home” gift from him. It was extra special since it happened to by my birthday too, and I thought it sweet that there were two cards, one saying, “Thank you, it was a pleasure to work with you. I hope  you enjoy the home,” and the other a Happy Birthday card.

About 6 days later he stopped by the house with a basket of goodies. He said he remembered hearing about various projects we’d like to tackle and he gave us gardening tools, seeds, a watering can, and a gift card to Lowes for $100, along with a note saying, “It takes time to turn a house into a home…so don’t drop it all in one shopping spree.” We did of course, and called to tell him as much. It was the beginning of an actual friendship, and we had him over several times for cook outs.

When a deal gets a sour taste, it’s easy to shy away from clients. When we had friends who needed to sell their house, and later our own, there was only one name. Remember, if you did good people will only tell 3 people, but when you do bad they’ll tell 10. While this may hold true, I know I told at least 10 people about how amazing this agent was, and it was all because he took a few extra steps after the closing. Was it hard to do? Doubtful. Pick up a phone (1-800-Flowers) and send a thank you. You can even do it while sitting at the closing table with your smart phone, or step out of the room for a minute to place the call. You know the address after all! A basket idea is a nice touch after a few days for things to get settled, and the clients are settled down from the excitement.  If the deal does get a little sour, don’t remind them of it in a note, rather say, “Thank you for the opportunity to work with you. I hope you enjoy the house and find ways to make it your own. The first weeks can be tiring, so here’s a spa day on me.” You can have a basket of spa products for them to enjoy in their new home, or a gift card to a nearby spa could be nice too.

Stairs are an often overlooked place for additional space and storage. If you cut away the drywall from under your stair case you’d find three-and-a-half to four feet of extra space. What can you do with it?

1. Create a reading nook. Under this seating arrangement you can put drawers in to stash books in, leave open and have a mini library, or a slide out that can be used as a tray for holding a drink, snack, or your book mid-page.

2. A home library.  Some of us can only have so many bookshelves sticking off the walls that we have to look for better storage areas that aren’t so in the way. This is easy to do, a quick weekend project and a stunning look when it’s complete.

3. Secret storage. If you’re tired of tripping over winter boots in the middle of July or flip flops any time of year, this is a great solution! This is brilliant for stairs that open up in front of the main door where storage spaces are limited, closets may be down the hall, and shoes gather by the stairs and door. If you find that one step drawer isn’t enough, go up another two or three steps.

By T. Stevens

Kelly often posts about ranches and ranch properties, and I decided to share a weekend story from a recent trip to my family farm. It was once my Aunt’s, who sold it to my Grandparent’s as their “retirement hobby farm”, who sold it to another Aunt. I’ve been on this Wisconsin farm visiting family for 25 years.

The day started as any other, up and at ‘em at 4:45am. I’d promised my Aunt the night before that I’d take care of morning chores and let her sleep in. I’m currently regretting that decision. I stumble to the bathroom in a grogy daze to climb into my clothes I’d laid out the night before. As I’m pulling my hair back I look out the window to see the thermostat Grandpa had hung on a tree years ago. Turns out, he was completely brilliant in doing so. I read the arrow somewhere between 35 and 40 degrees, and quickly realized it is seriously cold out…I need more layers. After hunting down a warmer jacket, hat, neck warmer, and pulling on my boots, I set out to chore #1 – check the pipes in the barn.

The barn is ancient, built in 1889 as the cement says, so needless to say the pipes were put in after the fact and sometimes they get a bit frozen. I was happy to turn on the lights and see water flowing freely to the cows and quarter horses, and began setting out food for the cats, Fuzzy (a huge white dog), the cows and the horses. My Aunt mentioned needing to clean the pens later in the day, so I took care of the hog pen, but figured the cows and horses should go out to pasture when it gets warmer. Please God, let it get warmer today.

Next was the Clydesdales, feeding, checking the water supply (their home is a brand new, state of the art building, so I wasn’t too concerned about their water pipes), and again hoped it would be ok to wait to clean the pens until my contacts unfroze from my eye balls. It was a bit warmer in this barn, but I’m ready for a hot shower. Can you tell I’m used to modern conveniences like alarm clocks and hot showers first thing?

Then came the hen house. I had a bad experience as a kid with a rooster. The bird started to attack me out of no where, and my Grandpa beat him off of me with his cane. I’m sure it was funny to watch, but I am skiddish around these birds. We ate that rooster that night of the attack, my Grandma even let me shake it around in the Shake n’ Bake bag. I collect the eggs and feed the birds, trying to go in quietly and quickly. As I collect the eggs I imagine my breakfast today, hoping my Aunt makes it half as good as Grandma used to. I can almost smell the bacon sizzling.

I return to the house and it is now 6:30. Bill has arrived at the house and wondering where I’d been for the last 20 minutes. Normally breakfast is ready by now, and where is my Aunt? Bill trains the Clydesdales for pulling, and works on antique tractors in the old machine shed. I tell him I gave her the morning off, give me a few minutes to take a warm shower and I’ll start making breakfast. I took my sweet time in that shower. It took the first 7 minutes just to defrost and get the chill out of my bones! After lathering up my hair I could smell bacon and coffee, which made me get on with the shower hoping there would be something left over by the time I got out. What a spread! Pancakes with cinnamon apples, bacon, scrambled eggs with cheese on top, coffee, juice, and cereal if I wanted (but took a second pancake instead!).

At 8am we headed out to the barn again to start the dirty work, and I alredy couldn’t wait for my next shower. It was a long morning cleaning everything down, organizing some items, and talking with visitors as they came in. Apparently the “strange” car was cause for folks to stop by. By 11:30 I was surprisingly hungry again and we stopped to have lunch. After lunch we headed to the feed store to pick up the new baby chicks that’d just arrived. I was excited to hold the little critters. I can handle them when they’re that size.

The afternoon was slow, and without my smart phone I wondered what was going on “out there”, yet was finding ways to enjoy this freedom of time. What if we all just slowed down a little bit? Would we really miss out on that much money? That extra activity that is causing more stress and poorer health? Why do so many turn their nose up at country living? Aside from cleaning pens, which is unpleasant and I believe my Aunt purposely skipped a day or two for my sake, there is nothing bad about it. It’s quite rewarding actually. If you haven’t tried it, I’d highly recommend contacting a farm near you, perhaps an organic farm that sells at your Farmer’s Market, and ask if you can help out for a weekend. Bring the whole family because no help is turned down, and there is always something that needs doing.

That night I hit the hay at 8:30 after shower 2, and slept better than the last three months. I did not volunteer for the early hours and my Aunt said she was so thankful for one morning sleep in, she’d happily take it Sunday. I woke and made breakfast instead for her. She loves quiche, but never has enough time to make it unless it’s meant for after church, so I made a bacon and asparagus quiche. It was a big hit. Later we went to church, this tiny stone building where my parents and Aunts and Uncles have been married in. After the service it seemed only right to go visit my Grandparents, may they rest in peace, and let them know about my visit. I’m so glad to have this place to come to every once in awhile for perspective. I always get perspective here; not sure if it’s the fresh air, the “fresh country” air, the hard work, or the amazing food, but I wonder how I can keep this heavenly feeling with me as I head back home to my husband and daughter.

In the previous post I talked about the idea of prepping, mostly because it’s been on my mind, and I wonder how prepared I really am should something happen. How are my skills, do I have the skills or knowledge to survive without the aid of the internet? Where should one even start when taking on this idea and getting a plan together for their family? These are vague ideas so you may consider what will work best for you and your particular situation.

1. Shelter. People die from exposure sooner than they do from lack of water and food. Can you stay in your house, or do you know how to create a temporary/permanent shelter in case of emergency?

2. Water & Food. What will you eat and drink? Remember, when disaster strikes (slow and drawn out or immediately),  once it hits it’s too late to run to the store.

3. Cooking & Heat. How will you make your food? Stay warm?

4. Hygenie. How will you get clean? Where will your waste go? How will you wash your clothes without machines?

5. Health. Do you have medical supplies? A book or books on herbal remedies when a doctor cannot be found?

6. Entertainment. Without your Kindle, DVD player, TV, radio, iPod, iPad, or any other electrical device, what will you do to stay entertained?

These are simply topics to consider, and worth exploring further for your personal needs. These and more are covered in: Suviving the Apocalypse in the Suburbs; the Trivalist’s Guide to Life Without Oil, as well as other websites about Suvivalism.

I was watching the Today Show this morning when an interesting segment came on reminiscent of recent pantry posts. The segment was heavy on the doomsday aspect of reportedly 3 million of us preparing, aka “prepping” for the worst-case scenario, but it’s become a reoccurring theme in recent months. One gentleman who was interviewed kept repeating, “The end of the world as we know it,” and this is where I’d like to start this blog post.

Last month I read an interesting book titled, Surviving the Apocalypse in the Suburbs; the Thrivalist’s Guide to Life Without Oil by Wendy Brown. The book, along with this gentleman’s interview are along the same lines of, “Listen up folks, we can’t keep living life this way because it isn’t sustainable. We either need to prepare now, like the segment shows, or we need to drastically change the way we live today to prolong the inevitable…life without oil.” Can you imagine what that would be like? Granted, some believe the Mayan Calendar and the end of the world to fall on December 21st, or everyone will become zombies, but let’s focus on a drastic change in oil production.

Life without oil will mean no cars, no grocery stores, homeschooling for children, no library runs, no fast food, no restaurants really, no Target runs, really, a different life than the one we know today. Certainly there will still be commerce as there has been for thousands of years, but the transportation of goods will change, the ability to get the goods will change, and the type of goods exchanged will change. Some items like sugar and coffee which we depend on other continents for supply may become too expensive to purchase.

Does all of this sound a little too… conspiracy theorist? Look no further than today’s news headlines with predictions of $5 per gallon fill-ups predicted for this summer, rising food costs which are already limiting some people from feeding their families, rising airline costs, etc. Many people have turned to coupon clipping in the last two years, shopping at consignment and second-hand stores went from low brow to fun and in vogue, and others are gardeninig for the first time in their lives in hopes of growing a few tomatoes. When we were hit with the large financial downturn, many people thought we should’ve seen it coming, been prepared, but weren’t.

Where do you fall in the spectrum of a new world? Or prepping? It’s certainly worth a look at if you haven’t given it much thought.