BYOC and Finally Posting

First just the BYOC, then tomorrow I'll do a real blog post. Promise.

1. Describe the structure you live in. (apartment, condo, house, mansion, cardboard box?)
I live in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath single story straw bale house. We have solar hot water heat and generate 75% of our electricity via solar panels. Our house is situated on an 28 acre non-working ranch.

2. Describe the city you live in. (population, main attractions)
I live in La Plata county in southwest Colorado. There is no town. Closest government is our fire district which comprises 1500 households (appoximately 4500 people) and 250 square miles. We are close to the Four Corners and Mesa Verde National Park. Our closest town (18 miles) is Durango.

3. Why do you live in the town you live in? (job, to get away from a different town, family, schools?)
My husband, Will, grew up in Durango. We were living in California when his son graduated high school and his company offered him a job outside of Denver. We jumped at that move. Then his company laid him off and what did we do? Bought a property outside of Durango. After he was unemployed for nearly a year we realized how silly we were for paying a mortgage in Denver when we had a paid off trailer home (on acreage) down here. We moved here and built our house and both found jobs. Three of Will's siblings live in the area; my ex lives just four hours away (we are friendly), and it's just a nice place to live. It is expensive (if you are in town) and jobs don't pay that well and it's hard to travel from here, but it's a great place to live. I do have to admit though, I'm pretty easy going about my home-base. My ex was in the Air Force so I'm used to making my home "wherever". I'd like a bit more shopping opportunities (can  you believe the nearest Target is 50 miles away?) but I get my fix whenever I have to travel to my band doctor, 400 miles away in Denver.

4. What’s the view like from your backyard?
I think I have one of the most gorgeous view around. People come to our house and say "Wow, you have big skies here" and we have a great view of the La Plata Mountains (and on a clear day can see into the Weiminuche Wilderness). Here's a picture of my "backyard" view. To the fence is our backyard (about 1/8 of a mile). It's about 20 miles to the mountains.

5. Repeat question: How has your week been in blogland and in real life?
I'm reading all the blogs but not having much to say. Missing a lot of "old-timers". Wondering if my friends are struggling or doing well. Work is busy. Home is busy. Need to do better with the blogging thing.