Sam, curious to know if I have any more carrots for him.

One of the most popular questions is “What are some of the pros and cons of this lifestyle?”. Listed below are a few of my typical responses. These usually lead to a more in depth conversation, and I am happy to elaborate here if any of you would like more specifics (you can leave your questions in the comments section and I will reply).

PROS:

• We get to experience new places in a way that most tourists don’t (we live like locals, if only temporarily).
• We meet people from all walks of life and form beautiful friendships along the way.
• We get to care for and enjoy a variety of pets, knowing that they will be just fine when it is time for us to move on.
• Our living expenses are much less than that of the average homeowner/renter.
• The possibilities are endless and pondering our next locale is part of the fun.

CONS:

• Caring for someone else’s loved ones and belongings is a huge responsibility.  There will be stressors.
• Some places and people (and pets!) are harder to leave than others.
• Some people are harder to caretake, or sit for than others (we’ve learned to respectfully decline ridiculous requests).
• Setting up house in a different state every few months to a year comes with it’s own complications.
• Sometimes, there is “amazing opportunity” overlap and the decision making process can be tricky.

So, there they are, off the top of my head.  Again, if you have any questions, feel free to ask.  If you share a similar lifestyle, and have something to add to the list or comment on, we would love to hear from you as well!

Kimonos, Slippers, and Buddha Chocolates. Ahhh.

Paul and I wanted to do something different for our Birthdays this year, so we treated ourselves to two days and nights at ten thousand waves, a mountain spa in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

A Warm (Toilet Seat!) Welcome

Perhaps I am easily impressed, but I was pretty much in heaven before we even left our room.  The toilet included a heated seat and a bidet.  Another first for me.

The Star Lounge

I loved this little section of our room.  The ceiling was full of starlight that flickered through the night.  I am going to see about having this installed in my Airstream one day (I don’t yet own one).

Happy Head

This guy kind of freaked me out at first, but he grew on me.  We had our own little courtyard.  We spent all of our waking hours out here or at the spa.

Hibachi

Seeing this pleased me greatly.  My Dad used one of these as his main cooking source ~ probably still does.  My favorite hibachi (shichirin in Japanese) meal was veggie shish kabobs with teriyaki sauce.  We brought groceries with us (the restaurant doesn’t open until this fall) but having access to an outdoor oven didn’t even cross my mind.  Next time.

Paul in a Kimono

I thought Paul wore this quite well.  We left our western clothes in the suitcase as the kimonos were so comfortable.  Paul surprised me with Natalie Goldberg‘s latest book, The True Secret of Writing, and I read almost all of it while we lounged.  Ms. Goldberg lives in Santa Fe and will be at Collected Works Bookstore and Coffeehouse tonight.  I plan on going and will most likely be blogging about my experience.

Another Cool Statue

This dragon statue lived next door.  I am really feeling dragons lately.  Not sure why.

Resting Along the Way to the Spa

We had a steep climb to the spa and thought this little outdoor couch was a great idea.  The small hike wasn’t an issue for us, but there is a shuttle for those who could use it.

Koi, or Nishikigoi

I love the sound of running water and the koi ponds definitely added to the feeling of serenity throughout the spa.

Serenity

Public Bath

We spent an entire day at this public bath and I was able to get a picture of it between waves of naked people.  I told Paul I was going to title this blog post “Me and a Bunch of Naked Guys” but thought better of it.  It was interesting to observe the difference between sexes when it comes to nudity.  Guess who let it all hang out and who didn’t?

Private Bath

We treated ourselves to a private bath, as well.  I love this picture of Paul, even if he is sunburnt (why he refuses to wear a hat I don’t know).  Along with the private bath, we each had a theraputic massage and salt scrub.  Thank you, Daniel and Dana!

This experience was so different for us.  I wasn’t sure how Paul would handle sitting in one place and relaxing for two days straight.  Come to find out, he really enjoyed himself and we are already making plans for our next little spa retreat.

My friend Sadie and I visited Ojo Caliente when she came out for a visit from Colorado, and I am looking forward to taking Paul there on our next spa adventure.  Are you a spa person?  If so, please share with us your favorite destinations.

Escape the 9 – 5, Create a Life You Love, and Still Pay the Bills

Soon after receiving the book, I found myself working for someone else and struggling to find the time to actually read it.  The irony was not lost on me.  Paul makes this “location independent” stuff look easy, while I have struggled to earn a decent living on the move.

I am enjoying my new job at Estrella Del Norte Vineyard, but it is important to me that I find a way to support myself financially from wherever it is we wish to be (our sit here in New Mexico ends in October) without relying on an outside job.

I’ve been able to save us LOTS of money with Caretaking Couple; now it is time to make us some money.  I want to be my version of a Free Range Human!

You may be wondering what free ranging even means.  According to Marianne Cantwell, “Free ranging is about creating your ultimate life.  Reaching your potential, building on that moment of magic you have to offer and creating a darn good income to boot.  Freedom and fulfillment and a great income.  No compromises.”

For me, free ranging means true location independence.  For some people I know, it means walking away from jobs they hate and towards a lifestyle they love.  This book will help you to clarify what free ranging means to you and encourage you to live accordingly if you aren’t already.

Be a Free Range Human is broken up into four parts.  The first half will help you to decide what it is you want exactly and the second half shows you ways in which to put your plan into action.  There are a lot of written exercises in this book, along with complimentary online resources.  Do not ignore either ~ both are invaluable.

You will be given projects to work on, as well.  Example: my current Play Project (i.e. a project that excites me) includes monetizing this blog with relevant affiliate links, setting up an e-Book shopping cart, and reaching out to potential sponsors.  I am giving myself one week to finish this project, with the help of someone who can actually set it all up in a fraction of the time it takes me.

In this book, you will hear from others who are getting paid to do what makes them come alive.  You will learn how to start a business for under $100 and how to set your salary.  You will learn about branding and niches and how to get free press.  You will be given advice on how to avoid “the beige army”, that group of scared but vocal people that try to talk you out of living your happiest life.  Prepare to be inspired.

My copy of Be a Free Range Human is full of ink and plans and dreams, so you can’t borrow it.  Two of my friends have purchased and are reading it at present, and I cannot wait to exchange ideas and epiphanies with them!

If you are interested in reading this book as well, please leave us a comment here on the blog.  It can be about what free ranging means to you, or anything else you would like to discuss.  I will have Paul draw a name next weekend (April 12th) and send a copy out to the winner.  Book club, anyone?!

Wine Tasting at Estrella Del Norte Vineyard

We just wanted to catch up with everyone real quick.  My new job at Estrella Del Norte Vineyard is going well and keeping both of us occupied (ha ha).  I am enjoying meeting wine-lovers from all over the US and Canada, learning about New Mexico Wines (YUM), and having fun playing with various marketing ideas for the vineyard.

I’ve finally been bit by the Pinterest bug and am working on a separate Caretaking Couple business page.  If you would like, you can leave your page in the comments section and I will be sure to check it out.  I am curious to know what people pin and why.  So far, my pins include Airstreams, maps, wine, natural cleaning product recipes, books…yikes…this site is addicting!

What else?  We are six months into our year-long sit here in New Mexico.  It isn’t crystal clear yet where we will end up next, but we’ve got some ideas up our sleeves (stay tuned).  What are you up to?  We would love to hear from you, so please leave us a comment and catch us up!

Award-Winning Estrella Del Norte Wines (Photo Courtesy of Estrella Del Norte Website)

I love to interview interesting people doing interesting things with their lives, and who better to interview than those who have provided yours truly employment?  Thank you for answering this first round of questions, Eileen.  I am sure I will have plenty more for you in the coming weeks and months…

Eileen Reinders at EDNV

1) So many people I know are fascinated by all things wine.  I would say it is up there in the top ten dream ways to make a living.  Who or what gave you the inspiration to create Estrella Del Norte Vineyard?  How long did it take you to go from vision to conception?

Our inspiration to develop a winery came to us when the house we bought in Nambe’ had an old run-down vineyard of pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon grapes on the property.  My husband, Richard, immediately saw the potential that reclaiming the vineyards and developing the property could bring as a winery in our beautiful valley.  I was born and raised in Santa Fe and our return here was “coming home” for me.  When Richard talked about the vineyard possibilities, I immediately felt that, indeed, the soulful thread of my history, culture, tradition and upbringing could be braided with our vision and our vineyard could become something truly special that could be shared with others.

Now that we were like the “dog that chased the car and caught it” our next step was figuring out how we were going to make the wine side of the business happen.  Richard sought out the other wineries in our area and got working with them, voluntarily, to understand the practical end of the business.  He also became a student of “Google University” and learned as much of the theoretical as he could.  Using his successful history of business development, very hard work, and discipline we soon got our license and opened our doors as Estrella Del Norte Vineyard. 

Jen and Valynne, Visiting Estrella Del Norte Vineyard (December 2012)

2) Tell us about the name of your vineyard.

My maternal great great grandmother’s name was the inspiration for naming our estate Estrella Del Norte Vineyard.  The Ute called her Nah-oh-kohs, the White called her North Star and the Spanish version we selected was Estrella Del Norte.   The property is very deserving of its namesake because it truly is very special — mostly because it’s unexpected in our mostly dry area. With the beautiful 200-year-old cottonwood trees and lush vineyards and gardens when everything is in bloom, it is an oasis in the north.

3) Everyone I know romanticizes this lifestyle.  Is it as romantic as it seems?  What do you find most fulfilling about it?  Most challenging?

There’s a tremendous amount of work involved with the winery – from growing the grapes to retailing the wine in the tasting room and working all functions of the business to make it effective and prosperous.  We are a true “poster child” for agritourism. 

There are challenges to all part of our work that come with owning and managing a business — regulation, signage, human resources, marketing, IT, etc., — and realizing that you are all of these departments and solely need to get it all done — especially for myself coming from a corporate background where these things were handled by others!  From the agricultural side, making sure we have water in the drier seasons, managing our three vineyards, orchard, and gardens with mother nature’s unexpected events, and making sure we stay ahead of the curve.  The rewards are tremendous.  Our estate Pinot Noir took a gold medal at an international wine competition where wines from all 50 wine-producing states, 19 countries and six Canadian provinces competed.  We entered our Pinot Noir 3 times and we medaled 3 times!  In fact, all of the wines that we’ve submitted for this competition have medaled.  That is such an honor and a badge of excellence for us.

Importantly, we’ve met so many wonderful people and it’s gratifying to be able to share the results of what we are working on with them in the form of the vineyard experience i.e., the wine, a vineyard dinner, a volunteer harvest, or a stroll through the property.  The other part of our rewards is the “winery family” that we have with our tasting room and vineyard employees and our pets.  We have been blessed in so many ways and for all things we are so very thankful.

4) Paul can’t get enough of your Zinfandel.  I am crushing big-time on your Barbera and Mourvèdre, and everyone loves Holy Mole!  What are your current favorites?

I stand by the cliché “our wines are like children – I love them all differently”!  Right now, for red wines I am enjoying our estate 2010 Pinot Noir and our 2010 Cabernet Franc!  For white wines our 2011 Riesling (Alsace-style off dry) and our 2011 Symphony!  We have over 26 Estrella Del Norte Vineyard wines, plus our Santa Fe Vineyards and Black Mesa wines which gives us over 65 wines to pick from – hey, it’s tough living in the “candy store” and having any one favorite!

Richard Reinders at EDNV

And, Holy Mole’ is such a fun wine!  Richard wanted to make a signature wine that was characteristic of our area in flavor but vinted as a quality wine.   Holy Mole’ is a blend of Zinfandel and other quality red wines with a little hint of almond, a bit of chocolate and a spark of red chile’.  It’s become our fastest growing wine!  Customers who try it love it because it’s very unique in its taste and not too sweet.   In fact, I had a doctor from Pennsylvania send me a great email.  He wrote,  “A couple of weeks ago my wife and I stopped by to purchase some of the SFV Rojo Dulce and ended buying a nice selection of Estrella Del Norte Vineyards wines. As a joke, I bought a couple of bottles of Holy Mole Red Wine. Wow! The joke was on me! What a lovely wine. It is exactly as described and goes well with anything grilled, pizza, pasta, etc. It is a perfect accompanyment to any chocolate dessert. My wife says it is easily her favorite red wine. I offer my most sincere and humble apology for even thinking about purchasing one of your “from the heart produced” wines as a joke. This wine is no laughing matter and anyone who enjoys a pleasant surprise must try Holy Mole Red Wine.”

5) I am so excited to learn everything I can about wine and to meet new people.  I know people come from all around to visit your vineyard.  Where is the furthest someone has visited from, that you know of?

Antarctica!  A lovely lady who had been working at a bio lab as a researcher visited Estrella Del Norte Vineyard during her visit to Santa Fe.  We’ve also had visitors from Croatia, Africa, Europe… I’d say almost every continent!  And, Valynne, we are also excited to have you coming on board to work with us!  You’ll learn so much about wine and other wine business things, and I know we’ll benefit from your great personality and talents. 

Holy Molé by Estrella Del Norte (Photo Courtesy of Estrella Del Norte Website)

6) Ever since owning my own small bath and body products business, I am a bit of a label fiend.  Tell us about your gorgeous labels.

Our Estrella Del Norte Vineyard label represents my great-great-grandmother reaching for the North Star with the vines behind her!  Our Holy Mole’, Luna Pera Especial and Geronimo’s Gold wine labels are done in a Dia De Los Muertos art style.  Our labels are designed to reflect both our personal and winery culture with some fun creativity.  When someone purchases a bottle of our wine we want them to get a sense of the terroir, the care and craftsmanship that went into the making of our wine and the influence of our Santa Fe culture in its presentation. 

7) There is more to your vineyard than wines.  You have a sculpture garden, wall murals, a gift shop, and a new community garden coming this spring.  Did you know you wanted to bring all of these facets together from day one, or have they evolved over time?

These items evolved over time.  Richard, has the gift of seeing the full potential of an opportunity, the talent, discipline and back-bone (hard work) to bring it to fruition.  With the balance of the things that I do well, our strict focus is on bringing fun new things to our vineyard for our customers to enjoy.  There is nothing more important to us than delivering excellent customer service in our business.

Wine Tasting with Friends Tom & Stephanie

8) Tell us about some of the events you are excited about this coming season.

We have four vineyard dinners scheduled for this summer season, each featuring a top chef from Santa Fe’s finest restaurants.  The chefs use our wood-fired ovens and wood-fired grills for the meal preparation, they talk with the guests about the foods they are preparing and a host of other culinary information.  They are really special and so much fun and they always sell out early.  More information about these events is available on our website www.estrelladelnortevineyard.com.

Also, through our partnership with Santa Fe School of Cooking we are scheduled for 7 cooking classes at our vineyard.  The chefs use our wood-fired ovens and wood-fired grills and we serve our wine with the meal.  We will also host some private events.

9) What is the easiest way for our out of town friends to get their hands on your wine?!

We have an awesome online store that lists all of our Estrella Del Norte Vineyard wines, Santa Fe Vineyard wines and wines from Black Mesa Winery.  Customers can mix their orders from the different wineries and create an excellent selection of different New Mexico wines.  

We love when guests are able to visit our tasting room so we can meet them and provide the full Estrella Del Norte Vineyard wine experience.  We also have a fabulous Wine Club which gives them an opportunity to try our wines based on their preferred wine types (red, white, both or sweet) and we select wines for them monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually — and it doesn’t cost anything to join our wine club!

Thank you again, Eileen.  I can’t wait to get started at my new job!  And thank you all for reading along.  I am looking forward to sharing many more stories and pictures with you in the coming months.

I was SO inspired that I have decided to do a drawing.  It has been a while, and I thought it would be fun to do something Valentines-themed.  Simply leave a comment on this post and your name will go into the drawing hat.  You can let me know if you have a favorite sculpture, or share a Canyon Road experience or whatever you want, really.

The Gallery at 822 Canyon Road

Helicon

Parking Lot Mural

Cool Classic Car

Imagine

Society of Friends (Quaker) Meetinghouse

Dominique Boisjoli Fine Art

Adieb Khadoure Fine Arts

Adieb Khadoure Fine Arts

Adieb Khadoure Fine Arts

SR Brennen Gallery

Patricia Carlisle

Shadows

Street Cred

Door Leading to the Santa Fe Historical Society

The Santa Fe Historical Society

Coyote Fencing

Street Address

Morning Star Gallery

Adobe

Sage Creek Gallery

Carol Laroche Gallery

Mark White Fine Art

Wiford Gallery

Canyon Road Contemporary

Old, Old Window

Meyer East Gallery

Meyer East Gallery

Meyer East Gallery

adobe gallery

CVG Contemporary

CVG Contemporary

CVG Contemporary

CVG Contemporary

Reflection Gallery

Charles Azbell Gallery

Charles Azbell Gallery

What a perfect day.  Remember,  I was SO inspired that I have decided to have a drawing.  All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and Paul will pull a name out of a hat on February 7th, so that one lucky winner (YOU?!) will receive their prize just in time for Valentine’s Day.  XOX,

Valynne and Paul

The Santa Fe Plaza ~ Inspiration Mecca

Recently, I’ve had a couple of  friends tell me they want to start blogging. They want to know how to get started. I’ve referred them to WordPress, because this platform has worked for me more so than the others I’ve tried. I am not an overly techy girl, and WordPress is pretty darn intuitive.

If you are somewhat computer literate, you can start a blog quite easily…and it will cost you nothing but some time and energy. Start with the link above, and then if you decide you love it and want to monetize it and all sorts of other fun stuff, you can upgrade it later like I did.

Backyard Blogging in Nambe, New Mexico

That’s my easy answer to the question of how to blog. The more complicated question that needs to be asked of anyone who wants to start a blog, is why? What do you expect to come out of this blog you are contemplating creating? This is important, as blogging can be a real labor of love…it can take quite some time to build an audience, and no time at all to lose said audience if you don’t keep at it.

It doesn’t really matter why you want to start a blog, so long as you yourself know the reason. Do you want to share your travel stories? Build brand recognition? Meet other Harry Potter fans? Post your head shots in hopes of furthering your acting/modeling career? Gauge interest on a new business idea you have? Establish yourself as an expert in your field? Great! Just know your “why”.

I began blogging because I enjoy both writing and photography and the thought of communicating with people all over creation excited me. Initially, I blogged about Mountain Girl Organics, a company that I have since sold. For the past three years, I have blogged mainly about our adventures as Caretaking Couple, throwing in suggestions and support to those who are interested in a similar lifestyle along the way (to date, there are over 160 posts on this site).

Like I said, I am not all that techy. Still, I have managed to capture an audience of like-minded people. My target audience or demographic is mainly caretakers (or house and pet sitters) like us along with people who are looking for caretakers like us. This demographic includes travel enthusiasts, animal lovers, and friends and family who enjoy keeping in touch on a more personal level than our other social media outlets allow.

New Year’s Eve in Nambe, New Mexico

My main expectation for this blog was that I would get the word out that we care for properties and pets across the US. This I have accomplished. We are now offered sits based solely on the contents of our blog. This has saved us tens of thousands of dollars, owing to the fact that when we caretake, or house and pet sit, we typically have no rent/mortgage/utilities to worry about. I have a looong list of other goals to accomplish as well, including publishing our e-Book and making SEO a priority.

Are you a blogger? If so, how and why do you blog? Has your blog met or maybe even exceeded your expectations? Please let us know via the “comments” link and share your blog address as well, if you wish. If you are considering starting a blog, please let me know if you have any specific questions, and share with us what you expect to receive in return for your blogging efforts.

V's 2013 Vision Board

Well, here it is…another year, another Vision Board!  Thanks to your interest, I have shared what is one of my favorite New Year traditions for several years running now.  I have had the pleasure of a few of you sharing your Visions with me as well and hope that 2013 is no different.

This year, I created alone.  It wasn’t quite as much fun, but I did get it put together a lot more quickly, which pleases the Brit greatly, as he gets the Ping Pong table back now.

Do you Vision Board?  If so, what do you love about it?  For me, it is a fun and simple way to visualize what I want to accomplish in the year ahead.  I take images from magazines and random mixed media and glue it on to a poster board.  I then display it somewhere obvious for a constant, crafty reminder.

Each year comes out different and always brings with new ideas, inspiration, and an occasional epiphany or two.  I won’t bore you with every little detail of my board (pictures tell a thousand words, right?) but I *will* happily engage in any Vision Board conversation if you care to comment!  HAPPY 2013, Everyone!

Binks says Goodbye to the Brit

Caretaking Couple officially moved to Santa Fe in October.  We are here on a long-term sit (a year or longer).  The drive from Oregon to New Mexico was an adventurous one, and we arrived just in time for me to help unload and clean before heading off to spend three weeks with family in Connecticut (stay tuned for a separate post).

Our New Neighbors

Sadly, I don’t have many photos to share.  My beloved Canon G12 is now beyond repair.  It was never the same after having broken a fall I took back in Oregon (lots of cracked and uneven sidewalks in Portland), and it finally kicked the bucket for good.  So, the few pictures I have are from my i-Phone.

Original Appliances

We are actually living on a reservation on the outskirts of Santa Fe.  It is full of peace and quiet and we are smitten.  There are horses and cows in the backyard, along with rabbits, roadrunners, lizards, and the occasional coyote.  The house is a 1950′s ranch with an open floor plan and a fabulous fireplace.

Keeping Warm

Our social lives are much different here than they were in Portland.  We had so much fun there, living right off Alberta Street and being able to walk everywhere.  Now, we are doing a whole lot of hunkering.  It feels right.  We’ve been out on the town (in Santa Fe) twice so far, and both times were great.  I will talk about our favorite spots to go and some of the cool people and pets we’ve met soon.

In the meantime, Happy Holidays to you and yours!  Love,

Valynne & Paul

It is official. We accepted a year-long sit in Santa Fe, New Mexico while vacationing in Florida this past week. We were setting our sights on something coastal, but this was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. Santa Fe is one of our favorite places, and the coast can wait. That is how it works with this go with the flow lifestyle.

Things are happening fast. As soon as we gave our landlords here in Portland our one month’s notice, they put the house on the market. So, we are packing away between showings. I am confident that this beautiful house will sell soon. It sure has been a pleasure to live in! Here is the listing, if you are curious.

Open House on Sunday From 1pm - 3pm

I am spending this weekend at a client’s house. Paul is in and out between showings. We have met so many great people and pets here in Portland…it will be difficult to leave. It seems that the pets know that we are moving on. Animals are amazing, aren’t they? Maybe it is me projecting, but I don’t think so. Sigh.

There is so much more to share with you (like how I am going to be in Connecticut for most of October), but it is going to have to wait. I have been sans laptop for two weeks now (My MacBook Pro has been in the shop), and have a lot of catching up to do. Of course, I took a LOT of pictures while in Florida and want to get them all downloaded and labeled so I can share them with you.

If I sound a little overwhelmed it is because I am : ) In a good way! What is your fall shaping up to look like? We would love to hear from you.