Jag watching TV

The painting is done - we have one accent wall

The accent wall was a play off the drapery color

The new sage green really warms things up

View toward the kitchen

View to the front door

We ordered furniture from Fabrica De Muebles De Mimbre in David. Website: www.fabricademimbre.com - they delivered the master bedroom suite today. They built the furniture based on two pictures that we gave them. The set is BEAUTIFUL! Solid teak - we just love it! We would recommend this company to anyone without reservation! The people in the picture were the design/delivery team, except for the guy in the middle of course.

Mirror

The rest of the set

First harvested egg plant - this comes from a beautiful bush.

New wall color - we hired a painter to paint the entire first floor a soft sage green, with the exception of the den - the bright white walls were just to cold. The painter charges $20 a day.

I made window curtains - my sewing friends wanted to see so here they are.

I used my new machine to sew the scallop design.

I took this picture to show the difference between the old white and the new green that has just been applied in the corner.

We are definitely into the rainy season - yesterday it rained most of the afternoon and into the evening. Mike and I don't mind it, but the dogs hate it because they don't get their evening walk.||

The kittens are growing up quickly - it is fun watching them play - except in the middle of the night!

A night on the town - some friends have asked to see more pictures of me and Michael on the blog so I thought I'd post this one - we were at the Panamonte Inn for a special tasting dinner.

Mike, Chris and Christine went on a rafting trip yesterday. I stayed home with the animals. Our new neighbors, Cindy and Bob, as well as their visiting son, Ely (wearing the blue shirt) went along too. Everyone had a tremendous time - Chris our son was a river raft guide in Colorado - he said that this class 4 run beat anything he'd done before.

Mike and Chris during the raft trip

A surprise birthday party - Mike turned 59 on the 4th and the garden work team surprised him with a cake!

Mike with the cats - they are getting big fast!

The bodega roof goes on and the windows are in

Christopher our son and his best amiga, Catherine, are visiting from Philadelphia. They are both entering their second year of dental school this fall.

A couple of Boquete cowboys - they are the brothers of our gardener Ricardo

Ricardo carries a hanging geranium that will be planted in the well

Back of Bodega - I had them put in a sink and a potting bench. In my design I had the roof overhang extended here to offer protection from the rain

We installed a bano for the gardener with an outside entrance.

View from the toilet - Mike says this bathroom has to have the finest view in the province!

We are so pleased with Mingo's construction on the bodega. Everything is straight and level

The inside will be painted - Mingo put in a polished concrete floor - he asked if we wanted tile, but we decided not to tile it at this point. We can always do it later.

I woke to this view - we continually are blessed with unbelievable weather - We had to put the sprinklers out today because we haven't had rain for about 4 days

Sissy and Noche love their view from the upper terrace - as you can see Noche is about half as big as Sissy and he is just 3 months

The iron is going up on the entrance - the gate will be installed Monday - it will be motorized with remote control from the house as well as the car

The grass is growing like crazy - we have decided to make Ricardo's life easier and buy a lawnmower - he has been cutting the grass with a weedeater

We are having a whole house water filtration system installed - overall the water is good, but this system keeps everything fresh and clean.

Mike is surveying the vines - Mike looks thin in this picture - it must be all the fresh fruit and walking - his beer consumption hasn't waned any however

The plants in the lower garden are beginning to thrive

I took this picture for my sister, Peggy, who said she didn't believe that the vines we planted to cover the barbed wire would grow fast enough to cover the fence within a few months

Mike's banana tree

This plant will be bordering the garden walk paths

Our stone walk paths are looking great - a few stones are still settling - the green ground cover along the path is spreading nicely

The gate for Finca Dracula, an orchid farm in Cerro Punta





Miniature orchids

Miniature orchid - left of Mike's finger - about the size of his finger nail.

Our first iron trellis gate.

Stone walkway from house to gazebo

Smaller gate leading to gazebo

Kittens are settling in

Looking from upper road - our house is on the left

Melissa, Mike's daughter, is visiting from Minneapolis. She loves the scenery, but isn't enjoying running on the steep roads

Sissy has become a mother to Noche (name changed from Baru) - you can't tell, but Noche is nursing on Sissy's fur. He has decided that he needs to do this a couple times a day - Sissy even rolls over exposing her tummy, but Noche seems to prefer the fur on her legs.

Melissa standing on the bridge - they will be installing the wooden walkway soon

Sunday morning breakfast - we had our new neighbors Bob and Cindy over for breakfast also. They just moved into their home next to us.

Melissa on the lower property - a gate will be installed here - it is leaning against the tree

We took a day trip to Volcan - it is a town on the other side of Volcan Baru. While there we visited Finca Dracula which is located in Guadalupe, Cerro Punta. It is at an altitude of 6,600 feet. The farm name, Finca Dracula, was named in honor of the Dracula orchid which is cultivated in their botanical garden. The farm is world renowned in the orchid universe.