Hola chicos and WELCOME!

In addition to brainstorming green building and living, this blog will also serve as a NEWS page for the other areas of my website which are not updatable and for sharing personal discoveries. Check in often and please add your thoughts and any new findings on the ever-emerging technology of sustainablity!

I will also include new books I've come across that are visionary, and I encourage you to do the same. One such book which has turned me around is called Little House on a Small Planet by Shay Solomon. I believe it can be ordered on Amazon--try Googling it.

VACATION RENTAL:

Taos insider opportunity: Does the idea of skiing or snowboarding Taos this winter appeal to you? Or just of having a cozy place to escape to for R & R, writing or doing spiritual work? Would you like to have a full-service spa 30 secs from home, with hot tub, sauna, swimming pool, work-out equipment, yoga classes and more? Read on.

I'll be sub-letting a truly charming one-bedroom apt, beautifully furnished with all amenities, fireplace, many extras and an incomparable location for November 1st to May 15th while I return to MX. I was on a waiting list for the place, and it's a one-of-a-kind situation! Click here for details and photos!

Hola mis amigos, June 21st, 2008

This is a lush season in Taos and the Solstice is here! It's good to be back in this ever-growing and thriving community of artists and spiritual friends. There's a lot to report about this past season in Mexico and budding projects here in Taos, but for now I'll just share an edited email I wrote to friends this past spring with some exciting personal news:


Dearest friends and family, April, 2008

This update is from a happy girl. My trip has been full of all kinds of adventures and I'm alone, finally, and have a moment to write.

I have some thrilling news. Some of you knew I was seeking a place which had certain qualities missing in Baja. I have lived there in winters since 2003 and have formed deep community there. But Baja is desert and I want the tropics, it's got a dangerously rough, cold ocean, and there are just too many North Americans, making it a challenge to speak Spanish on a daily basis, which is soooooo important to me.

One of the first places I was told to check out was a Santa Fe-esque town north of Puerto Vallarta, though one person told me that it was already beyond discovered and therefore ruined.

It's so sad when a place loses its soul to tourism. It's my belief that a strong performing arts community, especially community theater, can keep that from happening, because it involves EVERYONE local from adults to kids--organizing, fundraising, PR, ticket sales, sets, costumes, writing, directing, acting, singing, dancing. And then the tourists keep the town alive by attending and donating and sending other arts lovers who are KNOWN to feed a community on many levels. Arts lovers are the BEST tourists because they appreciate beauty, support creativity, travel frequently and spend money. I know this from my past work in Taos.

Anyway (don't get me started on that) someone mentioned a little town just outside of there, right on the ocean. And just a week later a friend told me of a close sister of hers from Santa Fe, who had a home there. SO that's where I landed on 2/19.

I fell in love from the very first moment I drove into town.

It's a tiny beach town, tropical and jungle-y, and the main street dead ends at the most BEAUTIFUL tiny plaza with mature trees right on the BEACH which has two restaurants with little tables on the sand. Local folks gather there each night to watch the main event, the sunset. It's a very sweet feeling...

It's about an hour from Puerto Vallarta, which is like La Paz (for gov't biz like FM3's and the airport) only much prettier. There's a wonderful interaction between the Mexicans (plus other native Spanish speakers, like the many Argentinians) and other foreigners there, generally more mixed nationalities and a slightly younger median age than in Baja.

I spent a couple of afternoons doing art projects with the local kids at a a non-profit run by a very gifted bilingual woman in her late 30's who's raising her two blond kids there. She's a dynamo and I plan to help her raise $$ for her project, which is responsible for a lot of the meaningful interaction between the English speakers and the local folks. There are after-school English and art classes for school children who are kids of the locals, which makes it a very different sort of thing from the work I did with the migrant kids in Baja, especially as the parents are also involved.

I could probably do very well teaching Spanish on the beach--I met and talked with the two Mexican women who teach Spanish there and we all agreed our styles and experience/ areas of expertise are complementary--and they have a paid position for an ESL teacher (Do we know anyone good for this job?), but I've been wanting to segue into green real estate in MX ever since I got my license.

So here's my big NEWS: Starting in November, I have a JOB there in real estate, and my bosses gave me ALL the necessary papers to get it added to my FM3!! Best of all, I don't have to go into the office (this is important to me) except to use the fax, copier, etc. My desk is wherever I happen to be, out talking to people. Of course, it means no real down time, as I'll be working in Taos June--Oct 15th and in Mx Nov 1--May 15th with two weeks' transition only each season. Travel alone is five days. Woof! Good thing I love the work.

Sorry for raving on for so long, but I really wanted to try to give you a feel for what's going on. I have intentionally and for obvious reasons not mentioned the name of the town, which is not included on most maps. We all know what happens when a place becomes "discovered." But if you'll write to me and let me know your intentions, I will tell you more about it.

I would love to have an update on you, as I think about you all and feel my friends are by far the richest part of my life--in fact, I KNOW I have the coolest friends, hands down, anywhere.

I send you a big mushball hug from the cliffs above the ocean in La Manzanilla (on Tenecatita Bay), which is truly lovely but which isn't home.


xxx, Feeny


PS Just so you know, it's too chilly here right now to swim--NEVER happens--and everyone is talking about the drastic change in the weather.


Hola amigos, February, 2008

This year instead of leaving in November for Baja, I stayed in Taos for reasons of both health and biz and was rewarded with the coldest winter Taos has seen in 30 years. I miss the ocean, the whales, the tortugas (sea turtles) and the slower pace of seaside life with all my heart and will leave, finally, on Feb 15th, returning in late May for the magnificent Taos summer, which should be lush and green with all the snow we've had this year.

It's amazing how upbeat this small mountain artist colony and ski resort has become--the pace can be dizzying, with a daunting array of events daily: artistic, physical, spiritual and mental. But the consciousness of the community here makes it a magnet for me--27 years and counting--as for others who come to visit. The people are truly amazing.

I am excited to report that there are constantly new sustainable options in real estate, and if you have interest in finding out more, please email me at feenylipscomb@mac.com. I so enjoy working with environmentally consciousness folks. If that's you, get in touch!

Con muchisimo carino,

Feeny