My Sunroom

This is my sunroom. That big white thing is a banco. A real one made with adobes. What for? I like it for the contours that provide relaxing support for my supine body when I read or just relax there and watch the clouds rolls over the Sandia Mountains. My husband (Jim, the green builder) likes it for the thermal mass it contains. Either way when the sun comes into the room and shines on the banco I get the very best cat naps ever. Jim – likes it because the sunrays are absorbed by the adobe blocks the banco is made from. After the sun sets and the inside of the house is no longer getting direct warmth from the solar room we close the doors and the magic begins. Jim loves to point this out to me each and every time the mass of the banco and the adobe walls surrounding it begin to give their warmth into the house. It’s all part of his plan for the passive solar home he (he likes to say “we”) built here in Placitas.
Gail McGough Maduena, Associate Broker, GRI

Wow, what a gorgeous day after so many days of rain, snow & sleet. Today is especially good as I am closing on a house I sold here in Placitas. It was such a synchronistic deal. I made a listing presentation during the week and that week-end, I got a walk-in while I was on floor duty. As he described what he wanted, I thought of the home that was not on the market yet, but I felt it was a good match for him. I called the Seller and set up an appointment and then proceeded to locate every other home in Placitas that might also work for him. We looked at all of them and sure enough, the one not yet on the market was a perfect match. My Seller was ecstatic, avoiding all the hassles of home showings for months and my Buyer is ecstatic with his very smooth transaction. All is Well. Life is Good!
~Sandy Poling, Associate Broker, e-Pro

Wonderful sunshine streaming through my bathroom windows at home allowing my geranium plant to continue flowering adding cheer during these cold and sometimes dreary days of winter. This is the joy of living in Placitas--- because even if it's cold, the sun still shines most of the time.
~Lynn Koch, CRS, CDPE
Associate Broker

Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My!

Placitas is a truly a special place bordering the National Forest with over 30,000 acres of wilderness. There are endless opportunities for hiking, biking or horse back riding within our lovely community. But it is wilderness! And we do have an abundant and healthy population of wildlife. This Bobcat was found taking a “cat nap” on a homeowner’s porch until it heard the click of the camera!
~Mindy Prokos, Associate Broker, ABR

New Mexico is Full of High Peaks

New Mexico is full of high peaks, but the one pictured is Wheeler Peak. It is the highest point in New Mexico at 13,161 feet above sea level. Imagine if Wheeler Peak were next to sea level you would look up over two and half miles to see it. Looking up like that hurts my neck, It amazes me when I look out my kitchen window I can see 80 miles to Mount Taylor near Grants, New Mexico. Out the bedroom window I see part of the Sangre De Christo's outside of Santa Fe 40 some miles. The Sandias are to the south that view is up close and personal. I love the name Sandia meaning watermelon which most evenings as the sun is getting ready to set, the mountain is the color and similarity of watermelon, you see a pink mountain and the trees are the seeds. My husband, Randall, spent our first summer mostly staring at the Sandias at different times in the day just watching the colorful changes. From my living room I see clear to the Jemez, North and a bit West for another 30 miles, this view is very different with mesa's in front of the mountains. Funny, but I am in Placitas Trails close to I-25 and not at a high elevation where the views grow way beyond the distances I see.

Having spent many years on the Southeast coast where you could only see about one mile I love the freedom I feel of being able to see such great distances. I feel like I can breath really well. And the ever changing colors are awe inspiring for the creative soul.
~Jennise Phillips, Associate Broker

Happy New Year!

Happy new year to all of our wonderful customers and to all Placitans. We certainly hope that 2010 is a prosperous year for all.