A common question people ask when inquiring about our building process is ‘Can you build all year around?’ Of course, the answer is yes, mostly. Every now and then we have a weather condition that stops us from working safely. Well, that day was yesterday and today! Our first winter ‘storm’ of the season arrived on Sunday. The Organ Mountains are beautiful. Since I live at the base of those beautiful Organ Mountains I usually get to enjoy the snow fall up close and personal. This morning was particularly beautiful. The snow was thick and heavy. It made for great snow play! Check out this Snow person that my granddaughter and I made this morning! Topped off with strawberry eyes, snap pea eyebrows, potato nose and olives for a smile!
The construction on the two homes we have going was put on hold for two days. We’ll be back on them by tomorrow. 
The sun is shining again! The rammed walls on the house in Desert Mirage are taking shape. We will be ramming over the next couple of weeks or so. We should be finished with the ramming by Christmas. As always, if you are interested in seeing the process of ramming the walls let us know and we’d be glad to show you.
The house on Rincon de Amigos has really become a house-interior framing is complete, the windows are scheduled to be installed by the end of the week, the heating and cooling duct work has been installed, and we will be doing an electrical walk through early next week.
I usually try to get this E-news out around the middle of the month. I am behind on my self imposed schedule by a couple of weeks. The activities in my life over the last month+ have kept me busssyyy! Since our last E-News I have much to report on! First off I want to thank my dear friends/clients the 
Ross’ for the evening dedication of “Calle de Bellestri.” Barb & Irv have erected a street sign on the road just next to their home. They dedicated the sign by having a few Soledad Canyon Earth Builder Homeowners over for a potluck dinner. What a special evening. I was so touched by the support of everyone. Especially as the first year anniversary of Mario’s passing was upon us. Contrary to popular belief, I love mixing business and pleasure! I have the best clients in the world! So many have become my friends and I love it!
The next big event in the month of November was the High Heels for High Hopes Runway Style Show to benefit the March of Dimes. Oh, what a night! I was so nervous! The room was packed with 350+ guests, the 60′ runway was ready, and the spotlights were on us! Three minutes of my life I will treasure forever! I want to thank everyone who so generously donated to the March of Dimes on my behalf! My total was $5,339!!! It was a fun evening despite my jitters. I want to especially thank my fellow builder, Kevin McGinley of McGinley Construction, who really went all out with his high heels and raised a large portion of my total. Thanks so much, Kevin. And a special thanks to all my sisters who are always there by my side supporting me.
The Jones had an Open House in November (we completed their home this summer). Oh what a joy it was to see how they have turned their house into a home. It was especially cool because it is not our typical southwestern style home. It is “our” contemporary rammed earth home. The owners have done a beautiful job of decorating their home. It felt so good to be there.
New Mexico State Aggies have begun their Basketball Season. As a season ticket holder I look
forward to the excitement of Aggie Basketball! Although the game with UNM was a disappointing loss I have much hope for the team. I love watching the athleticism of the players. They play hard for two hours, and win or lose I love ’em. It’s great family entertainment. If you haven’t enjoyed a game at the Pan Am Center I encourage you to take one in!
Speaking of sports, we were in Dallas over Thanksgiving week and enjoyed the Dallas Cowboys show at the new amazing Cowboys Stadium. What an architectural masterpiece. We were able to take an hour and a half stadium tour while we were there to get a peak at behind the scenes and on the field. I was in awe of the structure of the building as well as the whole dynamics of marketing a football team. Building a home seems pretty simple after looking at that building!!!
The month was filled in with many other special times with family and friends. Girlfriend dinners, a few good movies, Renaissance Craftsfaire, Dia del Muertos, a visit to the Fort Worth Zoo, and a shopping trip to Ikea.
I do want to take a moment to give a mention to Mario. I don’t understand how a year can go by so fast. Now I don’t have to say to myself ‘a year ago Mario & I were doing such and such.’ It is a milestone for me. Not that this day is different than a month ago. It’s just another way to look at it. There are a lot of things I miss about Mario. As it relates to our business it is that excitement that he had for starting a new project. It was his favorite part of building…laying out the house, doing the dirt work, placing the house and pouring the slab. Beginning with nothing and ending with a home….. I miss being able to talk for hours on end about our business. He was always ready to take on a challenge. He began the business with a challenge. What other home builder would start out by building rammed earth homes and promoting them as what they were-environmentally friendly, healthy homes. That was 24 years ago. Today we stand ready to see the next 24 years come before us with Max coming into the business in a couple of weeks. He will be graduating from New Mexico State University on December 12th!! A new journey is ahead of us, and we are looking for passengers! Thanks to everyone for your unending support. Max, Melissa & I look forward to our continuation of Soledad Canyon Earth Builders.
One last note. During the weeks after Mario’s passing many, many of you wrote in his Guest book online. The words & thoughts you shared are so precious to me. The book will be going off line by the end of the month. I am going to print the book and pictures the last week of the month. I will treasure the words in the book forever. If you would like to add anything to it I welcome it. Here is the link to the site: http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=8740379237402
Salud,
Pat Bellestri-Martinez
The morning glory blooms but for an hour, and yet it differs not at heart from the giant pine that lives for a thousand years. Teitoku Matsunaga