by Sandy Penny, Taos Writer
When I first arrived in Taos, I had no real intention of staying. It was just a convenient stop on my journey to wherever I would live. I didn’t have a destination in mind, I just kind of knew what it felt like and looked like from a dream I had before leaving Houston.
My friend Madeline, whom I had know for years in Houston, had recently been inspired to buy a house in Taos. She said if I made it to Taos, I could stay there, even though she would not be there when I arrived. I took her up on her offer and spent about six weeks in her home.
After the “stuck in a snow storm” scenario, I made a commitment to stay in Taos. The mountain had bewitched me. I had started dating a man who also wanted to move to Taos, and we decided to share a place for a while, until we both got settled.
I was looking for a sign that the location was the right one to inspire me while writing the angel book with Dr. Johnnie. I called him Johnnie Angel after the old song from my childhood. As I drove around searching for a sign, I saw a “for rent” sign right next to an etched metal angel. I knew immediately that this was the right place.
I followed the arrows leading me to an old hacienda. The place radiated a Catholic monastery vibe. I later found that, indeed, it had belonged to the St. Francis monastery at one time. The door to my little one bedroom casita even had bars and a tiny door in it so you could see who was there. It was a very sweet place.
The portal, covered outdoor patio space, was even equipped with a phone line and electricity, so I could sit outside and work on my book. The beautiful flowers bloomed all around the inner sanctum yard. A short walk down the driveway provided a spectacular view of the swirling multi-layered sunset. What better place to write about angels than a former monk’s residence?
However, that was temporary as the building had been sold and was to change hands in about six weeks. So, I would have to find a more permanent place to live.
The one thing the hacienda lacked was good cell phone reception. Inside or out, you had to hold the phone just right to get any reception, and it might not hold for long. One day, as I was driving around, I discovered a little church on Cruz Alta. My phone rang, and I pulled into their parking lot to answer it. What a beautiful view it was. And, wonder of wonders, the cell reception was great. Thereafter, I began using the little church as a peaceful place to sit and talk to Dr. Johnnie or friends from Houston.
After a few weeks of this, I thought, "Wow, I wish I could live on Cruz Alta. It’s a lovely view with cell reception." I asked the angels to make it happen. Just a couple of days later, I was driving down Cruz Alta after a phone stint, and a little “for rent” sign hanging on a fence jumped out at me. I immediately called the number, and asked what they were renting, expecting it to be a nice big house that I could not afford. But, it was just a one-room casita attached to a house that rented separately.
I began to get excited as this felt like a response from the angels. When I went to see the place, I noticed the distinctive smell of skunk. I learned that a skunk had recently been removed from under the casita, and that the smell would dissipate shortly. Because of the skunky smell, they reduced the rent to a very low amount, lower than I could have expected to pay. I was thrilled.
It took a few weeks for the skunk smell to completely go away, but lots of incense and sage covered it up and kept my clothes from absorbing the odor. That was almost three years ago, and I’m still in my little writer’s cottage, still paying the same low rent, and I’m thrilled to be here.
(Contact Sandy Penny at sandypenny@live.com for help with your writing, editing, or small business marketing needs. Sandy manages the ButterFly section of the Horse Fly newspaper in Taos, NM and will be working with the P.R. for the Horse Fly Summer of Love Events. She also coaches local writers.)
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