artwork – Ex-pats in Mexico

2022…and so it begins!

Happy New Year!

The holidays were very good for us here in Mexico. We enjoyed a visit from our daughter, Stephanie, and we had a great Holiday Open House to show off the home renovations and let Stephanie meet some of our friends and neighbors. Ziggy and Marley liked the attention Steph heaped upon them!

Having the Open House also forced us to get the artwork on our walls. Now we can show you the finished product — part of it, at least.

Here’s a short video showing the living room (no sound this time). We are particularly pleased with how the fireplace turned out:

You may remember there was a lot of purple in the living room, especially on the fireplace. We decided to make the fireplace the same color as the walls and add a row of tiles from our local vendor of Talavera style pottery and art. We hope to put more Talavera artwork in the front courtyard and on the patio. Love the colors!

Here’s what our office/TV room looks like now:

And here’s the guest room and guest bath:

There’s more artwork to install. Deciding how to decorate the master bedroom comes next. But with most of our art on the walls, Leslie and I feel much more “at home” now.

What’s next? Landscaping and an improved front courtyard. We know the fountain in front needs to be moved because it’s right in front of the door and a few people have come close to falling because of its location. We’ll be working soon with a landscaper to develop a plan, ensuring that we have blooming plants all year round and a nice herb garden as well.

A few photos below to show our Christmas decorations. And we hope 2022 will be a better year for everybody!

Hasta luego!

*The stockings were hung and the tree was trimmed!*

*A great place for our olive wood Nativity set from Bethlehem.*

Living overseas, Mexico, Retirement

Kitten update, painting update, and Halloween fun

*The front of the house looks great in blue, but we have more work to do before it’s finished. At least there’s no more purple*!

Lots of pictures and videos this time, not much text.

Leslie and I have a freshly painted house — inside and out! The painting crew, led by Enrique and Fabian, did a fantastic job. We were most impressed with the cleanup, both during the project and at the end. They even painted the propane tank blue to match the house!

So the outside is finished but the inside is a different story. Now we have to figure out where all the artwork goes. We may need to supplement our collection with a few works by excellent local artists. I’ll post interior photos when we get some of that work done. Hopefully it won’t be too long, but these are tough decisions!

We’re taking a short break from renovation now. Phase 3 should begin in the spring. That’s going to be upgrading the landscaping, much of which is overgrown, and renovating the front courtyard. Any large-scale planting will probably be done in May or June, closer to the beginning of rainy season.

*A reminder of how the house looked when we bought it a little over a year ago.*

Ziggy and Marley continue to grow and cause more problems every day. Ziggy loves to chew on our newspapers and on paper towels his fishes out of bathroom trash receptacles. And they both insist on playing with the laces on my hiking boots, which are on the floor in my closet. Do they have real kitty toys? Yes, we bought several! Oh, well.

Marley is definitely a lap cat, and Ziggy is learning as he gets older. They are still just three and four months old.

More next time! Hasta luego!

*They just keep getting cuter every day.*

Ziggy and Marley love to play-fight with each other. Of course, they’re kittens so they are easily distracted.

Some neighbors up the hill threw a party Oct. 31 for Halloween. Several people got their faces painted in the “catrina” style popular here on the Day of the Dead. Here’s Leslie — who got a “glamorous” catrina — with our dear friend Esther.

*Our neighbors Stephanie (left) and Kate enjoy the Halloween party.*

And finally, a whole-sky sunset from a few nights ago, panning from east to west from our “mirador,” a sitting area on the roof designed for exactly this.

Living overseas, Mexico, Retirement

Painting begins

It’s important to patch cracks in the walls before applying paint. This is an outside wall, so water gets into any cracks and creates salitre inside. This is normal in this area, but the repairs should last for several years.

Our home renovation in Mexico continues! Interior painting has started. In about another week, the master bedroom will be pretty much the same color as the new bathroom and the laundry room. That will make the master suite all the same color. The guest bedroom and bath will be a soothing light teal.

But best of all, according to Leslie, is that we’re getting rid of the purple accents in the living/dining room. The main area of our home will be much lighter and brighter, and will accommodate a variety of artwork.

Once the inside has been transformed, Enrique’s crew will start on the outside. We hope everything will be done before the end of the year. Then we’ll turn our attention to the front courtyard and the landscaping.

Hasta Luego!