Cat flap installation

Oh Monty!  

Monty is a very vocal cat, I mean like seriously vocal.  His noises range from little chirps to big yells.  No real pattern to the shouting, no consistency, and no real reason.  He shouts and yells at different times of the day/night and we cannot identify why he is doing it. 

The worst is when he comes into our room in the middle of the night and yells at the top of his lungs.  Another favorite of his is to roll around on the carpet on my side of bed chirping to himself, plus giving himself a bath - noisy licking and chomping noises go along with that.

You can only imagine the effect this is having on our sleep! So, to try address the issue we decided to install a cat flap for him.

I assembled all the equipment and tools needed.  Yikes! A jig saw.  Pretty scary stuff, eh?!

So first things first is you tape a template to the door and drill some pilot holes.  I found these extremely hard to do and that started giving me some clues that this job was going to be far more intense and difficult than I thought it would be.

I had imagined myself zipping through the door, sawing 4 lines nice and quickly - like cutting butter.

Well! It turns out that what I thought was a wooden door was actually made of metal on each side and lined in the middle with foamy stuff.  I guess it is a hurricane proof door?  Which is good I suppose! But very, very tough for sawing through.

Okay, I did it!

To get to this point - took me about 4 hours.  I was originally thinking that this job, all in, would have taken about 1 hour.

The final job was to install the cat flap on either sides of the door.  This was difficult too - the screws supplied were not adequate - and I had to jimmy some things and come up with some work arounds.  But I got there.

Final hurdle was to train Monty how to use it.  He got the hang of it pretty quickly I have to say #proudmomma

 

Vacation Inc Suncream

I met the team from Vacation Inc. at a recent event, mentioned how much I loved their products, and a few days later this package showed up. They were kind enough to send this to me, so let’s see what’s inside!

Don't you just love their branding?! Their marketing too - their instagram is clever and just so enjoyable - who doesn't like nostalgia lol.

I made a little video for my social media.  Click here to view

 

Bits and Pieces

Did you know that it is the 10-year anniversary of the release of La La Land? One of my favorite films...

Read my initial review of it here.

In honor of the re-release of the film, I treated myself to the soundtrack on vinyl.  I am a tad obsessed as you can imagine and listening to it over and over, every chance I get.

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Upon my return from Ireland I detected a small crack in my retainer.  I rang my dentist here in Key West and got a quote of $635 to replace.  What the heck!  That is some serious money, right?  I was discussing with my twin and we were both a little mad that we hadn't thought about getting it done in Ireland (a spare) while I was there.  I did get my hair cut during the trip (way cheaper than Key West) but there were a few other bits and pieces (retainer, one example) that I probably should have taken care of when in Ireland.  We both agreed next time I was coming I should make a list and make appointments in advance.

I decided to go the online route and landed on Say Cheese Club.  The price was right (approx $140) but as of yet I have not received the retainers so be warned, it is SLOW! Don't use this option if your retainer is completely cracked/broken but for me, with the retainers still useable, it is an "ok" option.

They sent me trays and putty and I had to make a mold of my top and bottom teeth.  Pictured is the top I think?  It was a weird process - you have to let it set in your mouth for 5 whole minutes and then when you go to remove them they are stuck pretty hard!  There also is a whole lot of drool during this time ugh.

I sent the trays back to them and from that they make the retainer in their lab.  Will update when they arrive... 

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Enid had a great find in a charity (thrift) shop in Dublin of a beautiful Laura Ashley Christmas dress for our niece Leia.

I popped on to poshmark and I found the dress - literally one - in the exact size of her little sister, Celine.  It arrived during the week, and Enid and I had a lot of fun texting each other pictures of the dresses and describing them as just "darling".

Here is the little "darling" my dress is for.  She is 2.5 years old and completely wild.  She spent the morning digging this hole on the beach in Spain and the rest of the day jumping in and out of it

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Foods...

The one day I don't go out on the water and Patrick catches this monster Wahoo!

First night, we ate it lightly seared, pictured above.  Second night, we ate it completely raw (sashimi).

This fish was so big that it was divided up between us, Patrick's fishing buddy, the dockmaster, the assistant dockmaster and we gave some into our next-door neighbor also.

As a thank you for the fish, Lisa our lovely neighbor, sent us in a loaf of her beautiful sourdough bread.  Oh my gosh, I slathered it with Irish butter (Kerrygold) and you can only imagine how it tasted. Heaven!

Yes, I am still making my bone broth on a weekly basis.  I don't know if it is doing anything for me but it a very nice lunch every day in work: Chicken and broth.

I attended a very cute little baby shower recently.  Look at this spread!!

 

To be finished....

Home

Took a flying visit home recently and turned out to be a just wonderful weekend! Boy, did Enid and I pack it all in.  Also, the weather was incredibly mild and of course, as we all know, Ireland when the sun shines is one of the best places to be in the whole wide world.

Hit the ground running with an airport pick up from Dad and then breakfast with Mam and Dad.  Sneaky little nap afterwards in my childhood bed to try beat the jet lag - sadly, I didn't - the jet lag was the only negative about the whole trip.
Dublin bus into town.  Can only say good things about Dublin transport.  Bus and Luas, I was leap(card)ing all over the place.
Bought a few essentials in Dunnes and Penneys - some things are way cheaper over here, some things better value there.

Met with Enid and started our weekend of fun.  Including, but not restricted to:

• A perfect evening with our best friend Alice
• L'Guelton on Fade Street - steak frites, red wine and bubbles mmmm
• Dions - incredible views!  And nice nouveau cuisine.  I knew I would love this place.
• Lunch at The Shelbourne, an amazing seafood platter.
• Yoga at the most beautiful new studio in Ringsend.
• A concert with 50,000 other people.  Take That were just great, as always.
• Little family get together to meet Katie's new fiance - exciting!
• A stroll around our favourite Dead Mall (ahahahahhahaha)
• Visited Stephens Green and found a new little area that neither of us had seen before which was just lovely.
• A couple of Full Irish breakfasts!  Doheny & Nesbitts, a highlight.  But always good in the casual cafe in the basement of Dunnes in Stephen's Green.
• I introduced Enid to Bloody Marys :)
• Enid introduced me to a great new health shop near her :)
• We both got our hairs cut in a lovely little salon just off Grafton Street.

Phew! I think that is it!

Want a more extensive report on my visit? A report that includes Lots of Photos, pop on over to Enid's blog to have a read.

Bloody Marys of Key West

Bloody Mary tastings!

While Patrick was away recently I may or may not have eaten out a lot 🤣🤣 And at each of these eatings, I may or may not have had a Bloody Mary.

Some highlights! 

Shout out to Kaya Eats for serving theirs in a tiki style glass - always fun!

Alonzo’s - the guy gave me a free shrimp - also fun 🤩 

Key West Yacht Club’s one was excellent as expected and as always - of course. 

But my favourite was Two Friends. It comes with garnishment and the saltiness of the bacon was just tremendous with the tomato. 

Are you a Bloody Mary fan??! How do you like yours? Drop a comment below!