riche moguls

And now for some good news about our townhouse. We have a tenant, paying actual money. Hooray for us! During the brief spell between tenants, we decided to get the place painted and to have new carpeting installed. At $2.50ish per square foot, the carpet was a sizable cash outlay given the massive dimensions of our 3 story abode and given the temporary lack of rental income.

We didn't (don't) want to be real estate moguls, but there are benefits. The best part will be subsidized trips to NM thanks to the tax write-offs. We just need to get out there (seriously, we hope to take a trip sooner rather than later). It's also nice to own a piece of land (albeit a rather small, very dry piece), even if we don't get to touch it so often. As Delmar says, 'A man's not a man if he aint got land.'

Check out my bench-scale reverse osmosis system (the stainless steel stuff on the right). Also note the rust dripping down the wall from the scary metal trap door (maybe it was a coal shoot?). Our building has seen much, from making coke during WWII to studying coal mine tailings to now studying water treatment.

Other moguls are in our very near future.