Milking Parlor/Crafting Kitchen

As you may know from reading this blog, two of three or more "at home" elements of life on Matrix Compound are our goats and my soap and other handcrafted products. We are EXTREMELY fortunate that the majority of work around these two hobbies (combined into one cottage business) are conducted outside of our primary dwelling. We have a detached facility that with the exception of a toilet, have all the amenities of a fully equipped kitchen, a milking parlor and a kidding area attachment.

We moved to this property from Gallup, NM, in late August, 2005. One vision I immediately realized that was a huge plus for this property over others we were looking at (the biggest draw was the fact that it was a "stick-built" home and not a modular/manufactured home like the largest percentage of homes out here on the high plains) was the fact that there was a "3rd" garage. Two-car attached to the home and then another single bay structure about 10 yards from the back door.

The Vision: It had 30 amp electric service to it. It had a foundation and slab capable of support a horseless carriage. It was sound in structure. I would make two wonderful rooms with its roughly 15' X 30" dimension. There was a solid slab of concrete on the back side of it that had been the resting place for a dog kennel 12' X 15".

We bought and sold the house in Gallup in a very good market so we had some cash burning our pockets. (No our savings account...) I was referred a contractor that will remain unnamed because his performance in the end was not worth what we saved... but I will NEVER blog about Jerry... I don't gossip...

The project had some major elements such as getting water out of the basement of the home to the structure, and the major construction of the interior and the installation of many doors, building the sloped roof addition (the kidding area) on the former kennel foundation, and related plumbing.

Sorry if this getting too long and boring....

Once the construction was completed (over budget AND over schedule, it was "usable" prior to our first goats kidding in February 2006.

In the summer of 2006, we decided to change our house colors so we wanted to try the colors out on the Parlor. So we slapped a couple of coats of paint on the weathered siding we inherited. We are not painters and although I have two brothers who are professional painters and drywall, I guess I never got the “prep” message.

Stay tuned for the next blog about the project on-going at this time....