Time for a new life and house update. It’s been a hectic month. After my brother’s month-long visit and a breakup with my boyfriend, I had to get back to reality. Returning home from the city after dropping my brother at the airport, I wasn’t in the mood to do much. Thankfully, while I was away, the workers made significant progress on the house. Although they had packed up and left, I came back to a half dozen guests to keep me company.

The new room at home is fully finished, and I love it. It’s a bit smaller than the other one but cozy, with a comfy queen-size bed and plenty of storage. The stones are sealed to keep insects out at night. The view from the bed feels like being on a cruise. Outside, there’s a terrace with a seating area and a hammock (comfy pillows are on the way!). On top, there’s a bar area with steel doors for security, and wooden stools. The view over the lake is fantastic. We plan to add a toaster oven and cooking hobs so we can have dinner there if guests are using the other terrace.

The workers are finally out of the house, which means peaceful mornings! I’m only keeping one handyman who works on land development and comes over once a week to garden. His sister cleans when there are Airbnb guests. Otherwise, I prefer to clean myself.

The animals are now living downstairs by the lake. They didn’t fare well while we were away for a month. The big turkey died, likely of old age, and his mate only managed to keep one heir alive, which I think is female. Christmas might mark the end of turkeys for us. The hens have also struggled with breeding, as a raccoon seems to eat the chicks when they are a couple of weeks old. It’s been frustrating.

Thankfully, Little Great Dane Napoleon is still the cutest dog in Central America. He’s growing fast and is very spoiled. He needs a pillow to sleep in the car and wouldn’t leave his blue pillow, otherwise, he’d sleep on my lap while I was driving. At home, he won’t sleep on the floor if there’s a mattress or pillow nearby. He’s also a trooper on long walks and car rides, even when we travel for 8 hours back home.

What’s new on your side of the world?