End of crab trap season 2026

Busy day today! First on the agenda was end of stone crab season and bringing in our crab traps. The winds were high and the water was decently choppy making it hard work for us.

We were glad to have them in and loaded into the jeep. They are seriously heavy btw (concrete base etc etc).

My bike had a puncture so poor Patrick had to drive me everywhere for the afternoon: we first went and left the bike in for repair and then he drove me to a doctors appointment and waited outside while I was seen.

When we came back we each gave the crab traps a going over with the power washer. They look and smell a lot better and are now ready to be stored away until next year.

After lunch I realised that I had left something in work. I’m not back until Monday and while Patrick could have picked it up for me on Sunday I decided I would go for a slow cycle and get it myself. 

We were both tired this evening and while we had been thinking about going to Brady’s Irish pub for dinner we decided to get quesadillas to go from Paradise Cafe. They were huge - Patrick ate 2/3 of his, I ate 1/2 of mine and am saving the rest for lunch tomorrow! 

Pink!

 New toilet seat arrived. I’m in love! 

Valentine’s Day 2026

 Started out strong by getting up at 7am headed out fishing. Totally struck out at fishing lol. But did go check our crab traps and got a bumper quantity and this 8.5oz absolute monster, so there’s that 🤣

And finally! Wrapped up the day with our usual heart shaped Chicago pizza and a really good bottle of wine. 10/10 day

Elastomeric paint

 The shed roof was painted with three layers of elastomeric paint.

And then we waited. The big rain eventually came and we identified one leak. Actually, I think the roof would have been fine except that the day before the rain Patrick cut some coconuts down and some landed on the shed roof with a big thud…and the roof being so old and rusted, it created a few little minute holes and hence the leak.

Yesterday we added some more layers specifically on this area. I’m hopeful!  But I’m also realistic that likely we will get leaks like this now and again, and will need to keep applying more paint when needed. I think I can live with that! 

Part Three of what is hopefully a Three Part Series

You guys! The toilet. This freakin’ toilet!!! 

This morning I woke up to a small pool of water at the front of the toilet on the tile. I asked Patrick did he know anything, hoping he would tell me he spilled some water or something. I wiped up the water but noticed a small pool soon after. Over the course of the morning it continued to pool.

There it is. A tiny leak right there. Please excuse the awfulness of this pic - remember, my toilet is from the 1950s.

So, I did two things (1) I messaged my old boss asking him can I just seal this hole (a very bad idea according to google and to him) and (2) posted on Facebook asking for any plumber recommendations.

Well, when a guy posted that he could be there in 30 minutes and quoted his price, I jumped on his offer.

He arrived promptly and got stuck right in.

He texted me this photo after 15 minutes lol. While I know the principle of how to fix this issue and I knew all the steps he would have to take, this photo proved to me that I could not have attempted it myself.

And we are done! ✅ 

I am hoping the next and only post that you see about this stupid toilet is my cute little pink toilet seat I have on order!! Woohoo 🙌 

Happy New Year 2026!

Happy New Year! For those of you wondering, why yes, I did mark the new year with my traditional oyster shooter at the Half Shell Raw Bar. It’s a pretty gruesome affair - an oyster, spicy vodka and spicy cocktail sauce. 

But so much fun!!! Recommendation 💯

 

Part Two of Fixing a Vintage WC

 You guys, I did it!!!

Saturday morning I woke up early 6.45/7am ish. I had coffee in bed while two cats and Patrick slept beside me. I then left them in bed (Monty snoring 🤣) and cycled to Strunk for their 8am open.

Above is the part I bought. It is a piece specific for an “Elijer” loo which is what I’ve got. Those two little wings on either side is what differentiates it from other gaskets.

I worked on it for an hour or so: emptying the tank of water, taking the whole thing apart and putting it all back together with this gasket. I also added in steps of testing along the way so I could see if there was a problem before I reached the very end. All tests were pointing in a good direction and I was feeling more and more optimistic.

Well I was so relieved when I was finished and all is good. I dread the day something big happens in that bathroom (for example new toilet required) because one of my fears is that at that point a plumber may need to strip right back to internal pipes and that might mean the end of my cute little 1950s bathroom.

Not much storage in this little bathroom. After doing the work I wondered about buying a little shelf or basket for storage, for the back/top of the toilet. I briefly looked on Amazon and saw nothing…and then I went poking around my closet and I found this little cute pink thing left by the previous owners lol. I think it’s just fine!