Monday Meanderings

~ I really need to finish a book before I start recommending it. There were parts of "Come Rain or Come Shine" that were rather disappointing. In the words of a friend, "There's a whole lotta whining going on" in one section that deals with problem relationships. While I want friends who are honest, loyal and steadfast, I think it's ridiculous to expect a friend to turn down work because it involves someone you have a personal problem with, but has nothing to do with them. There were other essays I took issue with as well, but I won't bother going into those. Just know that while I still think "Come Rain or Come Shine" is a good book and worth reading, I felt I needed to temper my unbridled enthusiasm of the other day.

~ While cleaning recently I came across my make-up bag. I don't think I've ever talked about make-up on the blog before. It's not something I spend a lot of time thinking about, so why would I talk about it? The fact is that I have über sensitive skin and am allergic to 99% of the make-up I've ever tried. In fact, I've only found two brands I can wear and both of those for only a few hours at a time (and not on a regular basis) and they're rather pricey. Since make-up can go bad, and you're supposed to buy new every so often, I always end up throwing away almost full containers. Being of a fiscally conservative nature, that's painful! But I also don't want to get an eye infection due to icky, out-of-date mascara or a skin rash due to fermented foundation. Okay, so I doubt foundation ferments, but you know what I mean. Make-up can and does go bad with time, and I don't want to be applying anything toxic to my already senstive skin. Anyway, I realized everything in my make-up bag is at least two years old, and some of it much older. Pretty sure it would be a good idea to splurge on new make-up when we go on furlough in May and I have to start getting gussied up on Sundays again. Does anyone have any suggestions? It would be especially great to hear from others with sensitive skin. I really wish I could find a brand that (1) wouldn't cause me to break out within minutes, and (2) sells small containers, rather than the typical size. Is that too much to hope for?

~ After months of waiting to get the front of the casita repaired, Taní and his crew started work on it this morning! They're also plastering the side of the house that borders our neighbor's yard; it's the last portion of wall to get plastered since Ivan did the other side and the back before we moved in (with help from our friends). While they're here, Ivan has asked them to dig the remainder of the trenches for the gray water system since his shoulder is keeping him from finishing the work himself. And they'll be pouring a patio/sidewalk in front of the casita as well. Hurray for progress!

~ We'd planned to install simple wood baseboards throughout the casita, but realized while painting that the walls are so wonky, baseboards aren't really a viable option. We briefly flirted with the idea of using narrow tiles but although the tiles would be shorter and work better than long lengths of wood baseboard, we're concerned that the walls are SO wonky, we'd STILL have problems getting them to fit around all the bulges and curves. So after much discussion we've decided Ivan will go along all the edges, filling in cracks and spaces with the same red grout to create a more seamless, finished look, and I will paint the walls right down to the floor. Hopefully our solution won't leave it looking unfinished. Vamos a ver.

~ I've got a "bee in my bonnet" about painting the doors to the bedroom and bathroom a color other than white. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we've gone predominantly white in the casita; it helps the small space appear larger and brightens rooms that only have one window each. BUT... that said, I do miss injecting a little color into my space and I thought the doors would be a fun -- and unusual -- place to do it. I'm leaning toward yellow for the bathroom door (since that room is mostly yellow) and blue for the bedroom door. Not just any blue, but either Tiffany blue or a pretty aqua. It will be a while before I need to make a decision, but just wanted to throw it out there and see what kind of feedback I get. Which camp do you fall in? Camp Color that says, "Go for it!" or Camp Caution that warns, "You'll regret that!"

~ On another color front, we've been talking about what color to paint the exterior of the casita, now that it's finally getting a facelift. White is a common choice in this mostly hot climate, since it reflects the heat of the sun rather than absorbing it. But I'm not a fan of a white exterior for two reasons: (1) it gets dirty quickly, so unless you want to be constantly doing touch-ups, you have to learn to live with a certain level of messiness; and (2) bright white can be blinding on really sunny days, and we have a lot of really sunny days. We've agreed on a lighter shade of greige for our future house, and frankly greige goes with almost every other color so that leaves us wide open for choices for the casita. Those of you who know me, know I have a thing for yellow. I was especially drawn to the many yellow houses in Ireland, and even bought a watercolor print of a little yellow cottage to take home with me. So naturally I'm leaning toward yellow; a lovely shade of butter yellow. Which would go well with greige AND do a sufficient job of reflecting the heat of the sun as well. But we aren't 100% decided on yellow yet, so there's time to add your two cents worth, if you're so inclined. What color would you choose, and why?