Time for a new life and house update.
It’s been quite a whirlwind lately. After spending a whole month with my brother visiting and then going through a breakup with my boyfriend, getting back to everyday life has been challenging. After dropping my brother off at the airport, I returned home feeling pretty drained. Thankfully, while I was away, the workers made significant progress on the house. They finished their tasks and left, and I returned to find half a dozen guests waiting to keep me company.
The new room at home is now completely finished, and I absolutely love it. This is the area where our Airbnb guests usually stay, so we each have our own space. Although the new room is a little smaller than the previous one, it’s cozy with a comfy queen-size bed and plenty of storage. The stones are sealed tight, so there’s no worry about any pesky insects sneaking in at night.
From the bed, it feels like you’re on a cruise, and stepping out onto the terrace, you find a seating area and a hammock (which will soon have comfy pillows!). On the top, we have a bar area. Instead of wooden doors, we opted for steel so we can lock it up and keep the liquor safe when we’re not around. The stools are wooden, though. The view of the lake from here is fantastic. We plan to add a toaster oven and cooking hobs so we can have our dinners there, especially when guests use the other terrace.
Now that the workers are finally gone, I’m enjoying peaceful mornings again. I’ve kept one handyman who usually works on land development, keeping things neat and tidy. He also comes by once a week to help with gardening, and his sister helps with cleaning when Airbnb guests are around. The rest of the time, I take care of the cleaning myself, which I prefer over having someone else in my space.
The animals are now living downstairs by the lake. They struggled while we were away for a month. Sadly, the big turkey passed away, likely from old age, and its mate managed to keep just one offspring alive, which we think is a female. This might mean an end to the turkeys by Christmas. The hens have had a tough time breeding as well, likely due to raccoons eating the chicks when they’re a couple of weeks old, which has been really frustrating.
On a happier note, our little Great Dane, Napoleon, is still the cutest dog in Central America (yes, I’m a proud momma!). He’s growing incredibly fast and is quite the spoiled, delicate only child who insists on having a pillow to sleep on in the car. He wouldn’t leave a blue pillow or otherwise he’d try to sleep on my lap while I was driving. I had to constantly push him back to his seat since the back seat was full of books from a donation I received. If BF’s theory about dogs being purer the finer their breed is true, then Napoleon is definitely blue blood! At home, he won’t sleep on the floor if there’s a mattress or pillow nearby. Even in BF’s carpeted house in Guatemala City, he prefers the rug on top of the carpet, as if the carpet isn’t soft enough.
Despite his pampered ways, Napoleon is also tough when it comes to long walks and enduring 8-hour car rides when we travel home.
How are things going on your side of the world?