Here is the outside of the front door. We had the stained glass made here in Mazatlan. Notice that we are greeted at the front door by Sparky, a dalmatian with a rather wooden expression. The flowerpots on the sides of the entry are (trying) to grow gardenias, Nadine's favorite flower. At the top is a retractable awning, that comes forward when the sun is out, to protect the nice finish on the door.

As you walk through the door, and look to the right, you will see this. The painting was done by Alin Aguilar, the daughter of our vet, Rafael Aguilar. See if you can find Gatita in the mix. The beautiful cobalt blue crystal came from Ireland, during our visit back in 1993. To the right of that is a statue by Paul Braslow called Unto each Other.

On the other side of the wall is a painting by Trinidad Osorio, an onyx penguin, a bronze ballerina by Villareal, and finally a little butler that greets you as you enter. Osorio is well known in Mexico for his use of bright colors and images containing little girls and flowers. He is one of Nadine's favorite painters, and she has quite a collection of his work.

The saga of the chandelier. When we built the house, back in 1995, we wanted to put a nice big chandelier in the entry way. We looked in every lighting store in Mazatlan, but to no avail. I happened to be in Culiacan one day (a two hour drive from here) in order to shop at Sears (can you believe driving for two hours to shop at Sears.) While I was there, I noticed a lighting store next door with nice chandeliers, but it was closed. I write down their phone numbers and called them from Mazatlan after I returned. My Spanish was very limited at the time, and all I could communicate was that we wanted to be sure they would be open if we made the trip back. So we made an appointment for the following week, and again drove two hours to the chandelier shop. We talked to the lady who worked there (obviously not the owner) and inquired about the chandelier we we wanted to buy. She told us it was $6000 USD. After picking ourselves up off the floor, we asked if the price was flexible. She said all she could sell it for was $6000, but perhaps the owner might give us a discount. She would call him. Well, a half hour of trying to contact the owner was futile, so we made the two hour trek back to Mazatlan.

Fast forward about 6 years, and Nadine is having Lasix surgery in Guadalajara. I decide to go for a walk, and come across a lighting store with much nicer chandeliers than the ones in Culiacan. I go back for Nadine, and we enter the store. The owner is there, and speaks perfect English. We inquire about one of his chandeliers, and he tells us it is imported from Austria, and make of genuine Austrian crystal. How much we ask? Well, $2000USD including shipping and installation. Sold! And here it is, hanging in our entry way.

Finally, as you look off to the left, we have the door leading to the bedroom area, and two more of Eileen's paintings. Eileen is a really talented artist, who has just graduated (2003) from university in marine biology. We wish her the very best, and plan to commission more paintings from her if she is agreeable.