Remodeling

A big remodel that we did was knock a wall out to extend a room by the kitchen, into a indoor living room. Now it's one open room. The living room is to the left, kitchen to the right, free thrift store in it's own room past the kitchen, and across from that is recycling.  In the corner of the living room we're going to put in a Spanish rocket stove for the winter. It does eventually get cooler here at night. Now we can eat indoors or outdoors depending on the weather. We installed windows on both sides of the room that open and close to get the breeze going through. Next, the door was put in the entrance to the room. Windows have been top of the list. The gallery now has windows on both sides. One was particularly hard to put in being it was such a huge space to fill. In the end, shutters worked long ways.We put wine bottles and cement in between on the sides for a filler. Always have to jerry rig pieces of materials to make them work. That's the fun part. Nothing you can do the professional way. It's all about coming up with another way with the few materials you have to work with. A big thing for us to was that our gallery ceiling got painted. That's the room that the fire started in, in the past so it was chared before. Melly painted two paintings on the walls and a guy from Cuba painted the other one. Paintings are being put on display. We still need to paint the shelves and get it going on fully to be finished.
Stand alone structures are always being made by people. Shade spots. Some last and some blow down in the wind. We have a bamboo type of grass that grows around that is being used. The problem is it's not as strong as bamboo so it needs lots of support. We had a couple from Lithuanian build a structure. The secret was, to build it in the wind.It's the perfect hang out spot and big enough for a tent. Shaded all day. Fun to see what people come up with and construct.

Living courters

Over the time we have improved our living situation. In our living courters we have acquired a couch, two 70's style vinyl chairs, a huge rug, and table tops. All donated. In Seth's room we made him a work bench for constructing. In both our rooms, we sleep on bedsprings with a mattress on top and Joe and I with our tent on top of that. Seth is braver than I am to sleep with no bug net. We don't have mosquitoes but flies wake you up in the morning. Not too many spiders either except for a big spider just yesterday that Seth had to smash 3 times with a book. It was giganto.
Joe painted on top of old drawings in our room to brighten them up and to keep the original good art. We did a base coat of paint on the walls too since our room had black on them from a fire in the past. Definitely a more homey feel now. Not that long ago we took down our window in our bedroom to get a breeze going through our place and put up some netting to keep out the lizards n such. Funny thing is we got a huge breeze the next day for we had a storm come in. Our whole place was way too breezy to even hang out in. We put up with a wind tunnel for a few days and now it's so nice having the ocean air sweep through.
Another living area is the French Courters. Named after Vincent and Ulric that stayed with us in the beginning of Isla Bonita. They were from France and always be remembered. Kate and Simon from Russia, a guest named Herta, and Richard all sleep in the French Quarters on beds. Their room looks out onto a beautiful view of the ocean. Also in the middle of the ceiling is a swallow's nest. It looks like a upside down igloo. The swallows chew up piecies of mud and spit it out to form the nest. They have repositioned the nest three times now since the Spring. They fly in and out all day long up high so they are no bother. If anything their fun to watch and the babies are almost ready to fly. Melly is in a room with a shower (like ours) that has two nice windows. Her room is behind the French Quarters. Down the hall is Gabrielle's room that he is sharing with a guest named Francesca from Italy. It has a basement room down below. Next to Gabrielle's room is a old bathroom turned into a indoor nursery. The house is big. Let alone the phycadellic bar, free library, paint room, a storage room, and a art gallery. That's all indoors.
Thought I would write about our living courters since it's one of the most asked questions. How many rooms does the house have? 6 rooms, 2 showers, and the rest fun stuff.
Also I am amazed when I talk to someone and they say they read my blog. I love to see people's comments, or if you have a question, or just to say hello. Fun to see people like this. I do this blog to have a diary of my life in this particular moment in time. I'm so happy to share these moments with everyone.

In Loving Memory

We had a long time friend and family member of Isla Bonita pass and away, Samuel. We have all been trying to deal with our loss in our own individual way. Last Saturday we had a memorial drum circle and had a chance to share our feelings with each other. We remember best of all Samuel's smile. He was an amazing cook who always wanted to open his own kitchen. He spoiled us with homemade gnocchi and pizza dough for our Saturday night pizza parties. Every meal was made with love. Samuel contributed tremendously to Isla Bonita every day. He will always be with us in our hearts. We send our love and respect to Samuel's family.

Beautiful things around

Being summer n all, it's pretty dang hot outside starting as soon as the sun rises. It's been in the 90's and humid. We all dunk in the Mediterranean at least twice a day. I've been having a blast at snorkeling taking under water photos. Such colorful fish right as you walk into the water. The Mediterranean is the perfect temperature right now, luke warm. Winter it's super cold that your lips turn blue. Our beach down below our place is perfect for the fish since there's rocks and sea grass that the fish love to hang out in. Just have to watch the waves on getting in the water because the rocks are super slippery. Another thing to watch out for in the Mediterranean is jellyfish and sea urchins. Sea urchins if you step on them, the spike breaks off in your foot and shatters. Super hard to get out of you. Jellyfish not so bad. They give you a little sting like a bee. Goes away in a couple days.
I went around Isla Bonita and took pictures of all the flowers. Most of them are in full bloom and smell magnificent. Even the cactuses bloom flowers which looks so cool. As you ride your bike downtown, you can smell the flowers miles along. They even have my favorite flower here, Jasmine. It smells so divine. Also my best friend Mell, loves flowers and thought of her while taking the pictures.