Good morning everyone! Today, I want to talk about what’s been going on around the house lately. After a busy period with contract workers, it’s now quieter since they’ve finished building. However, our handyman is still around taking care of things. He has a morning routine of watering the plants and washing the deck, where ducks and turkeys like to spend their nights. Recently, he also tackled some DIY projects around the home.
Firstly, he re-painted the entire house, which got really muddy during the rainy season. We use lime-based paint since it’s super cheap, like $5 for the whole house, but it does require a yearly touch-up. He even re-painted our entrance wall to help Airbnb guests find the place easily. Now, all we need is a little sign by the road for visibility.
Inside the house, he installed better mosquito nets in both rooms, and I sealed them with petate—mats made from aquatic plants. These mats not only provide shade and keep the rooms cool but also keep bugs out and look quite nice.
The handyman also built some neat little doors for the shelves to keep out dust and bugs and did the same for the new room. I haven’t seen a scorpion in months, which is a huge relief. One ongoing concern, however, is the thatched roof of the old house. It’s old and starting to rot, making it impractical to fix small sections. We have two options: replace it with new leaves at a cost of about $1,500, plus labor, or use laminated plastic tiles for around $500. The palm roof looks nice and keeps the house cool but only lasts about eight years.
He also built a wooden ramp in the garden to help navigate the steep stairs and partly covered the stone stairs with cement, making them less rugged. We had a scare with the lake rising constantly due to nonstop rain, but thankfully, the sun has come out, and the water levels are going down.
Our deck had underwater lights for night swimming, but with the high water levels, the wires got messy. We worried the deck might fall apart from the constant wave action, but after temporarily removing some planks, we managed to put them back, much to the delight of our guests.
The heavy rain washed away some of our grass, so we replanted it. We also moved the animals to the back of the property to reduce noise and protect the plants. Unfortunately, the rooster was still too loud, so I had to take care of that. Moving forward, we’ll only have chickens for eggs.
With the guest house running smoothly, I wanted to get some nice pillows and bed covers. The local options were mostly synthetic and low quality, so I went to the paca, a large thrift store that sells items from the U.S. I scored some great finds like small decorative pillows from Pottery Barn for $3 and a king-size goose feather duvet for $4. Finding a duvet cover was a challenge, but eventually, I got a beautiful white cotton one for $7.
I found quality pillows for the price of one synthetic pillow at the supermarket and duvets for all the beds, making the colder months cozy. Now that it’s getting warmer, these will go into storage.
We also added curtains in the main room. The paca didn’t have matching ones for our wide French doors, so I went to a tailor. We chose beige drapes and dark brown rings that look like wood. The local sewer put it all together, and it turned out great. It keeps the morning sun out, perfect for sleeping in.
Lastly, I want to share a quirky local sight: how Guatemalans carry their children on motorcycles. Motorcycles here love the left lane, and it’s quite a sight to see. See you next time!