When we first rented this house the most obvious problem for me was the lack of usable outdoor space.  There was no way I was moving to Mexico and sitting in my house looking out the window.  I absolutely must have a place to sit outside and drink morning coffee or evening wine while I read a book or pray or think.  Or eat coconut popcorn.  There is a pretty good balcony off the bedroom which is great in the morning.  But I wanted a garden.  And what I had was cement.

 

 

 

 

 

So being a woman of great faith – Grant would call it something less flattering – I proceeded to find yard furniture that would work in ‘the garden’.  I knew if I could imagine it, Grant could build it.

I got permission from our landlady to paint the walls and we (ie Grant) set to work.  Even though we were totally exhausted from the last few weeks of construction in Canada, we couldn’t begin to relax until we had the right environment.  I bossed, the Kids helped and Grant’s creative side had fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then set to work gathering plants and pots and dirt from one end of the Bay to the other.  We had bougainvilleas in the trunk of our VW and palm trees in the truck we borrowed from the orphanage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now we have a Garden!  It’s small and we are still waiting to buy some tile and a piece of turf – but it’s definitely a peaceful place where we love to sit throughout the day.  We eat all our meals there and sometimes I take my computer and work out there. But mostly we just spend time together chatting and laughing and listening to the crazy activities around us.  We have no idea how to grow tropical plants – and are already shocked at how fast they are growing.  But I have a garden.  And if you look closely in the pictures, you will see a smiling metal pig amongst the flowers and trees just as I dreamed!