It has been raining quite a bit these past few months.  Since all the landslides in August, we have been staying close to home when it rains a lot.  To keep busy, we have been working on a few projects.  And of course, Rusty the cat is always there to help out!

Eddie worked on and completed the coffee table for the living area.  It’s made from a slab of Guanacaste (Costa Rica’s national tree) with teak stumps for the base.

I have been busy hemming flat sheets to use as curtains.  My niece Megan gave me this idea.  They work great, too!

We have a rain gauge out by our pool to record the daily rainfall.  The amount of rain is always a topic of conversation here (especially with us Gringos) and you might even say some of us are obsessed.  To give you an idea of how much rain we have been getting, Eddie has compiled the rain chart below.  So far this year, we have had 143 inches (12 feet!).  The average for our area is around 160 inches per year.  We should easily surpass that this year.

With all the rain, we are having a problem with mold in the kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and on some pieces of furniture that we brought with us from North Carolina.  So, I spend a tremendous amount of time cleaning.  Finally, the mold seems to be under control, thank goodness!  Maybe now I will have more time to devote to my hobbies…after all, I’m supposed to be “retired.”

Taking a break from cleaning to catch up on our reading.

Rusty is taking care of some business while Eddie looks on.

Rusty and Olivia enjoy the view as much as we enjoy it.

The clean up after the storm took several weeks.  We thought everyone would enjoy seeing a few photos after the big storm.

One of the landslide areas on the mountain road after repairs are done.

Our driveway after repairs and replanting.

Repairs to this slide in front of the pool area will wait until the dry season.  Rusty is making sure everything is secure!

Cleaning up the dry muddy film from the tile was very time consuming.  It all had to be scrubbed by hand. Eddie worked on the carport and front entrance and I worked on the tile floor inside the house.  Rusty was always close by either trying to help or supervising!

Just when I thought everything was good, we discovered mold in the bathroom and kitchen cabinets.  It took several days to clean the cabinets with a special solution.  All the dishes had to be washed, too.  Who knew that living in “paradise” would be so much work?  Go figure!

Meanwhile in between all the cleaning up, Eddie worked on several projects.  He managed to find time to make the tile framed mirrors in both the guest and master bathrooms.  They turned out beautifully!   Also, he worked on the coffee table.  It will be a while before it’s finished.

A rack of home grown bananas hanging to ripen – probably 40 pounds.

Look closely at the yellow palm fruit and you’ll see a pizote (inset photo) eating them.

Give me a smooch, baby!