In early 2018... Dust be gone!

 Not sure I mentioned this but post-construction, I was wrecked. Months of working hard in real estate, making thousands of decisions and spending more money than I'd really ever seen left me feeling physically, mentally and emotionally spent.

We moved in, built furniture, hung window treatments, organized and arranged, cleaned and cleaned and cleaned up again the dust and filth that got tracked in the house by sweet selves and pets from the mud-pit we called "front and back yards". We took little weekend trips away but always returned with joy - and dread - to the project that still needed doing.

Then January 2018 rolled around and I found I had the inspiration and energy to work on the landscaping once again. It's one of my happy places and as we suddenly lost my beloved Smokey Joe to cancer, I threw myself (escaped) into the yard to release grief, create beauty and lose myself in something that symbolized new life in many ways.

Finding the ol' river bed was a mission in itself. Digging it back out from packed construction debris and dirt was harder than I thought it would be!

With the idea of hiring a rototilling guy to loosen the dirt in prep for amending and installing sprinklers, I first had to clear the yard of "stuff that isnt dirt". Then along came this chap... I just love him!

After the first rototilling event, I had healthy composty soil delivered and we spread it. Rototilling commenced again! 

Next came Jeff and his nephew, Nick. They had one of the harder jobs... first the sprinkler system, then the fountain (God bless them for this!!!) and finally the sod.

As for the 1200lb fountain kit.... Yeah, I may have underestimated the planning and execution of that!

It took 4 engineering minds to figure out how to install it. NEVER AGAIN!

The miracle of 2017-2018 was that I didn't develop a drinking problem. Perhaps in no small part in thanks to my tight budget?

What difference day makes, eh?!

From here on out it did seem easier, I admit. 

Even the 'yet-to-be-planted' front yard was looking more special. But for sure, the time had come to put more effort into that too...

Trans-Mongolian Railway : Vital Visa Applications

Russia and China both require those of us on US passports, to get a travel visa ahead of time.

Russian Visa
To apply for a Russian visa you need to fill out a rather extensive application online - Im not exaggerating when I say they want info about your parents, past employment, countries visited in the last 10 years, your education, military history and more. They want to know when you are arriving, leaving and where you'll be staying. Most importantly they want to know who invited you to visit Russia!

Chinese Visa
The Chinese Embassy also requires a lengthy (albeit not as long as the Russian) visa application and an invitation to visit China from a legitimate source.

A Russian and Chinese Invitation to Visit (aka visa support document) can only be obtained from an authorized travel consultant after you have booked flights, hotels and/or tours with them, so that was our first step.

In short time, we found ourselves a Russian travel agent friend:  Alla Menshikova at RealRussia.com. And a Chinese travel agent friend: Ruby Zhou at ChinaHighlights.com. Both have been nothing short of awesome.

Alla booked us a hotel in Moscow and took a deposit on rail tickets. You see, railway tickets are only sold in Russia 90 days before departure, and internationally, only up to 60 days ahead of time - and those would be our Mongolia and China legs. We were now "in line" to buy tickets.
Ruby, armed with dates of arrival and departure, booked us EVERYTHING... an English speaking guide to escort us through sites, into parks and exhibits, drive us to and from hotels, trains and airports and in between, to recommend local eateries etc.

Next we booked flights. Allowing up to $700 to get to Moscow from Denver, we were pleasantly surprised to one day be surfing Cheapoair.com and find stupidly cheap airfares! $458/person. Bonus! We chose a red-eye flight to NYC with a day to explore before our connecting flight to Moscow. Mark has never been to New York City and I was excited to give him a little taste before we left the continent.

Our flight from Beijing to Denver (via DFW) through Travelocity.com was also really inexpensive. $393/person including taxes and fees.

The requirements for specifically sized passport photos (2) to accompany each visa application meant we found ourselves at Mike's Camera. There, I was assured that they had the "Russian Visa Template" and the "Chinese Visa Template" and for $35 per country they could supply us with the pictures that would be of acceptable sizes to the Russian and Chinese consulates.

With our filled out applications, visa support documents and weird sized passport pictures (no smiles included!) we began looking for mailing and application fee paying details. No luck. Where the heck do I send the applications?  The Russian Consulate in Washington appeared to have no mailing address and when I stumbled upon a page requiring an appointment, I began to become suspicious about a need to walk the applications into the consulate. Absurd right?  Not so much!

With no joy in getting information from the Russian Consulate via phone either, I resorted to calling a Visa Service in Lakewood CO. Apologizing for my questions, I explained the situation and asked if they knew where/how to send in visa applications.

BEST decision ever was calling MileHighVisas.com!
Mike was super nice and informed me that as of 9/11, the Russians don't like opening parcels from people they don't know, so you are required to walk the applications in... to Washington DC or one of the other consulates around the USA.
Mile High Visas for a per visa fee, take care of it all without a trip to DC. We paid them $79 each for a Russian service fee and $69 for the China Visa service fee and felt good about it. Yep, a darn site cheaper and quicker than doing it ourselves.

Here's the other thing; Mile High Visas found multiple ways to improve our applications. Based on their 20 years experience with this sort of thing, they knew what info was really required, what was TMI and would start round two of info gathering (possibly including in-person interviews and/or requests for bank statements) and also informed us that the passport pics that Mike's Camera had taken of us, were sure to be rejected. My pictures were cut the right size but my head was too small!  Story of my life, LOL.

As of this date and $960 later, our visa's are in process. Apparently within about 3 weeks, we'll hear some good news. To put it in perspective, one Russian visa would have taken a minimum of a month for us to do without help.

Next post, I'll give you and overview of the whole trip.  :-)

Trans-Mongolian Railway - Bucket List Item

You haven't heard from me in a while, I know.
Not because I have had nothing going on but... well... it wasn't me travelling, adventuring and bringing you along for the ride, so I didn't feel compelled to write about it.

But all that is about to change!

In December 2017, I mentioned to Mark that the Trans-Mongolian Railway was on my bucket list. I asked him if he'd like to come along for the adventure of a lifetime and without missing a beat, he replied "yes". You could have knocked me down with a feather for just a second and then... overwhelming excitement and a bunch of gratitude followed.

By February we had both procured copies of Bryn Thomas' book titled Trans-Siberian Handbook; The guide to the world's longest railway journey with 90 maps and guides to the route, cities and towns in Russia, Mongolia & China.

Opening the pages, was opening the door to a world of new things. We discovered some scary and wild Russian superstitions, oodles of sights and activities to partake in, a new way to travel and a sense of amazement that motivated us to begin planning.

And Mark... well he was about to ask for a month off work, for the first time in his life!

Life changing. Pure and simple.

New Driveway?!

 While I  can't say it was in the original plan, I can say that because Storm Form got our house done on time and on budget, I had some "extra" money - emergency money - burning a hole in my pocket and decided to buy myself something nice for Christmas! 

If you have read this far, you'll know by now that I'm not inclined to go the 'sparkly necklace' route when I'm treating myself.  Let's just say my me-to-me gifts are more like; baby tree, bird fountain or new driveway kinda things.

New driveway?! With extra width? Let's do it!

When Ken offered to come back in early November and pour a driveway and front path while he was concreting his latest Martin Acres project, I signed up. Willingly and enthusiastically.

Who doesn't a visit from these guys and their cute little John Deere friend?

Very exciting... 

It was a fascinating process and all these guys worked their tails off to make sure the concrete looked good before it set. What a tough job though. Certainly not the sort of project I'd ever aim to do without Ken and Co.

But by mid December, our new home was way less muddy and way more festive looking!