Connecting your home

I've written about this before, but there are some new devices I've read about which I like, so I thought I'd pass it on.

Something I use at home is called a powerline adapter. This is a small device that plugs into the wall outlet. You need to start with 2 of them. The inherent problem out here with WiFi is getting through thick adobe walls. My house does not have that, but it's still an issue getting the WiFi everywhere. I bought a pair of TP-Link power-line adapters without WiFi built in, because I have extra WiFi routers, but I suggest getting the WiFi built in for most people. The way it works is the small device plugs into your homes wall plug, and your internet plugs into this device. That puts the internet into your home's wiring. You plug the other end into another outlet and it provides internet wherever you've placed it. What's really cool about it is that you can add more devices to other rooms, as needed. 
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For us, the internet comes into my office on one side of the house, where I have a WiFi router, but the far side upstairs didn't get a good signal. This pair of devices resolve that problem. What's more, if your casita on the other side of the garden uses the same wiring as the house, then you can put one in the casita for instant WiFi. A link to what I am talking about is HERE. A version that's similar to what I use is HERE. I'm not too brand loyal with this stuff, Netgear, TPLink, Dlink, Zyxel, they are all fine, just make sure it's got good reviews.
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Another product that I've read about, but NOT yet used is a "mesh" network system. It's neat because it creates a single WiFi network thru multiple devices you place throughout your home. It does all the work, and when it's setup, you pass from device to device seamlessly. It's a bit spendier, but it seems very fast, and effective, and if you can't use the power-line in your scenario, this may be a great alternative. See the product HERE.

Something I was reading about during the Cyber Monday sale onslaught was a smart plug. These days a lot of items are being made with a way to attach to the internet and then your smartphone. The Internet of Things movement is really in it's infancy. If you'd like to try it out, get a smart plug. It's basically for a simple device, like a lamp, but it should allow you to plug a lamp into the little plug, and then program it to go on & off. The cool bit is that you can access it from anywhere that you have internet access, so you can turn it on & off from another country, and really mess with your house sitter, freak out your dogs, manage your indoor garden, whatever. That is available right HERE. It apparently plays nice with Alexa too, so there you go.