We have a guest who absolutely loves the nature.
Yesterday was his first day- he went for a hike and came back telling us all about the lizards, plants, birds...and that he had heard both common scops owl and genuine nightingale in the village. This is a turkish gecko, I've now learned.

To need or to want?
There was nothing wrong with the window in the 'new' house which we made into our office. It didn't really need to be replaced. But: 1) It was made from aluminium = it was pretty ugly in an old house. 2) it was a sliding window = you could only open it halfway. And 3) It was frosted, so you couldn't see out of it. At the end it had to go. But it didn't go to waste, because once it was out and put in the back it varnished - so no need to feel bad. Right?

Besides, I've seen an old photo of our facade at Rafae'ls house. And it showed a wooden window frame. Much smaller though, but they all were in the old days. They hade no glass in them. I'll ask him to borrow the photo again so I can scan in and put it up here-

I don't know if there is any plant that has more integrity than a bouganvilla.
Or is it stubbornness? They don't like too much care, they don't like to be neglected, they don't like to be too close to anything, they do like walls...just when you think they are at the best, they drop all their flowers within a couple of days. This is a memory from last year - right now I don't even know if it is dead or alive. How does one tell?

(Although, it has looked worse.)

Year 2005. We have actually already done a bit of work here- because the new floor is in! The old one was long gone.

You can't make a window towards someone else's property. We didn't own the garden yet. It took some negotiations with Gertrudis and Miguel. We finally settled for maximum 50 cm x 50 cm. Today I am glad it isn't larger. It frames the mountains in the distance beautifully. And when the occational winter storm sets in with cold winds from the north, it feels good to just close up.

The table we found at a used store. We didn't have to do anything to it - except haul it up and take it in through the balcony, because it didn't fit through the stairs.

The pillows are from Tangier, Helsingfors, Rebecka, Marrakesh, homemade, Stockholm, Malaga Ikea ...

The baskets on the floor  : one is bought at in Stockholm, the other at the weekly market in Caleta, but they originate in Senegal and are traditionally used to store food in. TV, not the fanciest one, but on the wall, on an altered stand that allows you to turn it. And the lamp you can make go up and down at any hight you want. Actually though, since this photo was taken it's moved to the middle of the table. More practical. The sofa - it is Chris' junior bed. I couldn't bear getting rid of it. It was bought in 1984 at an antique store at Puckeln,Stockholm, and once took all the money the family was supposed to live on for 2 weeks. It was an impulse buy.

Outside the living room, to the west, we made a balcony. Some said we should have made the room larger instead, but we didn't. You couldn't have bouganvillas inside the room, and you couldn't sit in the shade with open doors, or hang over the railing and talk to the neighboors.

A year later we bought the house next to ours, and connected them both. This house wasn't a ruin, but needed a lot of TLC. Among other things, everything made out of wood was painted with thick layers of chocolate brown paint, and the walls had been painted with latex paint, which doesn't hold up to the climate. It should have been lime.

The location is the best though. In the winter time the sun reaches into the rooms to the front and warms them up. In the summer the sun is much higher.

We stripped wood, and we stripped wood, using a hot air gun and scrapers. And we repaired and replaced furniture and textiles.

Cútar is 4 hours from Tangier in Marocco, if you drive to the ferry. That's where the rug comes from.The iron bed frame we got at a store for used furniture in Velez-Malaga. When I went to get mattresses I hadn't measured the lengths, I  thoought all beds where 2 meters just like in Sweden. It turned out they are all different here, and all are  a bit shorter.

Before and after...examples...

We have had the house since 2005. And we  have renovated and made improvements all along. Actually it wasn't really liveable at first...even if we did stay here. We haven't had very much money, and we have made a point to keep the heart and history of our house. But some things just have had to go.

Our 'private' kitchen: we decided to put it on the second floor, and I knew I wanted a small balcony out to the street.

When I used to go to warmer countries on vacation I envied people living in the old buildings in the cities. Around 2 p.m. you could smell garlic and fresch seafood cooking, hear the sounds of tables being set behind shades, chairs being put out, glasses clink...families  talk and laugh together...

Cútar is a small village. But my kitchen is on the 2nd floor. Pilar cooks across the alley, and often we do the dishes at the same times. Her mom, Getrudis, watches soap operas- novelas - during siesta.

The doors and the reeling for the balcony was bought used, the pink high chair remind me of the traces of pink we found in the old ceiling. It's been sitting out all winter. I should oil the seat again.

A hike w/ visitors. The grapes are blooming. No water needed. The roots go 30 meters down, and since the vines are cut to stay low to the ground, the warm summer winds won't do them any harm. Rudy helped the kids down the hill, and the 1,5 year old fell sound asleep on his shoulders (!).

Well, we figured it was more fun to finish the new WC first...Bathroom ceiling comes later. Low budget, recycled and home made material. The sink was easy once R found the right material at a Fereteria in Velez-Malaga. They had a box of old dusty faucets. Paco helped out with a pipe, and I made some tiles. Magic to suddenly have hot and cold wtaer coming out of the wall!