Letter from Key West, May 23 2020

1,635,836 covid cases in USA
96,370 covid deaths in USA

Key West continues to open up - restaurants are now at 50% capacity, the check point will be lifted on June 1 and tourists can come and stay in accomodations at 50% capacity.

We had neighbours over last night, and amongst lots of other things the virus in Key West was a topic.  The general consensus was to enjoy the next week and a half and be prepared to bunker back in again when the visitors come.

It is hard to see how the spread of the virus can be controlled in a tourist/partying area like Duval Street.  People come to Key West to socialize in the bars, enjoy great alcoholic drinks, listen to music, make new friends, talk into ears, congregate in groups etc etc etc....how do you get drunk people to practice proper social distancing?? Although, the bars are not open yet, only those that serve food.  Maybe that is the answer - no standing-only type of establishments, table service only.  Maybe that sets the tone and the parameters??

On a nicer note, it was a really lovely evening.  Our neighbours are the best and have been beyond helpful to us recently with flat tyres on the jeep!!! Yes flat tyres - two!! B and his young sons are car crazy and always tinkering on their own, but still, what they did for us was above and beyond.  So this little get together was a thank you for that.

Not pictured is the hummus, guac, salsa and chips. And key lime pie! And beer.

We started with rum and coconuts (from the garden, cut down by Patrick).  How cute do they look with a bamboo straw?!

And then Ciproskas by moi.  Which co-incidentally was one of my very first blog posts back in March 2012! A recipe of how to make a "caiproska" - spelling seems to have changed in my mind over the last 8 years lol!

Summer is coming...Summer is HERE??

Today marks the third day of what feels like Summer in Key West...aka as hot as all hell.

I am off work and my day is going like this:
* Lying on the tikki hut day bed dying with the heat
* Jumping in the swimming pool to cool down
* Lying on the tikki hut day bed dying with the heat
* Heading back into the house to the air conditioning
* Lying on the tikki hut day bed dying with the heat
And repeat

It's 3pm now and around 5pm I am thinking it will be time for a pre dinner cocktail.  Something with limes I am feeling - either a Pilar rum Cuba Libre, or a Caipiroska.

See here for my caipiroska recipe which would you believe was one of my very first blog posts back in March 2012. Hard to believe I have been blogging that long, just over 7 years at this point.  I do love blogging as a hobby and "as a result, or something to show (concrete output) for the time I spend on the internet".  And most of all, I love to think that at sometime in the future, maybe 2/3/400 years from now people might look at my blog just to see how an ordinary person lived her life, back at the beginning of the 21st century.  

In fact! 

In future when people ask me what I blog about, or what is the topic of my blog, I will tell them I am "chronicling the ordinary".  

Lol, or does that just sound like the most banal boring blog of all times??!!

Photo is from my blog post of March 2012.  

Before Instagram and filters on camera phones I would like to point out!!

What I have been up to...

I had Enid and Cousin Kasey over for drinks and chats last night. 

Quick and easy, I made Falling Water cocktails (sprite, vodka, cucumber and ice). 

I wish I took photos of the food - it was all really nice. And quick and easy as well (Ha! For "easy" - read "Marks and Spencers")



I finished a book!

I have been reading lots lately, as I normally do.  But I have been finding it really hard to see the books right through to the end and I've been picking up and putting them down for the last month.  Finally I finished one and it felt good!  Anne Tyler has written quite a few books so I am going to ask Enid to get me some more from the library and hopefully I will finish them too!

The French rugby team are staying in The Merrion hotel beside me. Ireland v France is on in the Aviva stadium today - and Enid just texted me to say she got a ticket for it , the lucky sucker :-)

The Irish team is staying where they always do - around the corner in The Shelbourne - handy location for them for their traditional kick/throwabout in St Stephen's Green on the morning of the match.

 

Christmas is coming...

Christmas is coming and that means one thing!

 

Two large cheques from the staff of Irish Life to our two chosen charities.

I am proud to work for this company and with people who are so generous. €172k raised by staff through all manners of events and fundraisers, and then matched by the company.

 

We just never stop!

Our last fundraising effort of 2016 - selling a Christmas CD produced by the work choir.

 

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Luna!

 

On Friday, Enid and I went to Luna for lunch - our usual Christmas get together (boozy lunch!)  and she was celebrating some good news too.  Go Enid!

 

Food was good - not the best I've had in Dublin but very enjoyable.  The ambiance and general setting of Luna is the real winner in my opinion.

 

Dessert arrived on a trolley which made us smile. When we were 17 we worked weekend jobs in the restaurant of the Gresham Hotel where they too used a trolley. We normally worked the breakfast shift (6am - 2pm) but on the rare occasions we worked dinner service we covered the dessert trolley.

 

 

Then that evening I hosted my two friends before heading into town. 

I made basil gimlets (gin, lime juice, sugar syrup, basil & ice) and we also had beer and pizza.

The party really got going,,,and very nearly ended when it emerged I had no shot glasses.  Quelle horreur! Luckily my espresso cups saved the day and we had a couple of Frangelico and Baileys which I thoroughly recommend.

 

We then headed around the corner and did a small crawl of The Shelbourne, 37 & Sam's Bar. 

 'Twas a fun night!

 

A fun night generally means a sore head the next day but thankfully I felt fine!  And even better after a lovely breakfast of fried avocado and rashers. 

How to cook scallops.... and drink wine and cocktails

I had a lovely evening yesterday over at afriends of minne for dinner.  The deal is I bring the steaks and cocktail ingredients and they look after everything else.

I made ciaproskas for everyone and some craft beer/pale ale was also served. I had a taste of the craft beer and surprisingly I liked it.  It was much lighter then I thought it would  be and it had an unusual grapefruit after flavour which was very nice.  As I said that surprised me!

If you would like to try a Ciaproska, here is my recipe/instructions for making them.



My wonderful host is an incredible chef and for starter made scallops on a cauliflower puree with celery oil and pancetta all served on a brown bread crumb.

With the main we had a lovely bottle of Chateauneuf  du-Pape which is a really great wine, the hosts truly spoiled us.

Main was steak and fondant potato with a  red wine sauce. 

Dessert was pecan pie.

As always I had a great night with my friends.