We made it to Malaga!

We are in Malaga - us and all our 5 bags!!!

After a hectic day of final packing and organizing on Thursday, I was up early on Friday morning (4.30am) to do further work before going to the airport for our 11am flight.

We had planned to get the Blue Aircoach which has a stop that is only a short walk away from our house. However, after adding a last minute extra bag to our booking and given Ciaran's injury we decided a taxi was a better option. Also we were travelling at rush hour so the taxi gave us the option of taking the tunnel to the airport which helped us get there with no delays.

After we got all of our bags checked in (which included 2 fold up bikes in hard cases which needed to be brought to the oversize drop off) and getting through security fairly promptly we were able to relax. First point of order was to have a double espresso from Butlers and then we decided to have a "last drink" in Dublin so went to the bar and ordered beer and bubbles.

I got a little teary as we walked past the old Dublin airport terminal. It felt like such a momentous thing to be saying goodbye to Dublin for a year. But very exciting to see what awaits in Malaga.

When we arrived in Malaga it was so bright!! We had to dip our head as we emerged from the airport. I thought it was just me but when I said it to Ciaran he was in complete agreement.

We got another taxi at this end too - in Spanish we were able to tell the guy directing the taxis that we needed a big taxi because we had so many bags. And then when we got in to the taxi we managed to give directions for where we were going in Spanish too.

And then when we arrived to our AirBnB we discovered (1) it was above our favourite cafe bar Te-Piko but that our favourite coffee shop El Mortal has closed and is now a pub.  Ah well things never stay the same.

It was amazing how quickly we got back in to the swing of things, with Ciaran calling straight to the guys in the gallery and then walking with them to his studio space where he then got the keys. 

And later we went for some tapas in a 2 favourite places, one being Te-Piko followed by an early night by Spanish standards - after a long day for me, I was asleep by 10.30am!!

Here's a few pics of what we ate on our first night and also the view of the plaza from our balcony.

Tunnock's Tea Cakes

For Christmas this year Ciaran gave me a Monika Crowley Tea Cakes print.  He then got it framed after Christmas and we hung it recently in the kitchen area of the house. 

I adore it!!

I love the fact that art can resonate so personally with each viewer.  When I look at this print it brings me right back a few years ago to a time where, along with 2 other staff members, I worked in a small library in Fingal. One of my colleagues brought in a box of Tunnock's Tea Cakes in to the library and we all tucked in......and thenbecame hooked. We each brought box after box in to the library and then some relief staff started bringing a box with them when they were sent to cover in the library.There were stacks of boxes of Tunnocks Tea Cakes like a shop. We literally turned in to the Tunnock Tea Cake Library branch!!

And then when one of our original team was leaving the library, I decided to make a "Tunnock Tea Cake Mountain". I bought a load of Tunnock's Tea Cakes and took them out of the box and piled them high. It was quite the sight and a lot of fun!!

So when I saw Monika's artwork and her print of the two Tunnock's Tea Cakes, it brough me right back to that fun time when I worked in that library that I loved. Good times and great memories!

The Good Neighbour, Rathmines

The Good Neighbour is now open in Rathmines across from the Swan Centre.

This afternoon, I took a wander to Rathmines in order to drop off two bags of donated clothes to the Oxfam Charity Shop. 

Afterwards I popped in to the newly opened Good Neighbour store (it is where The Source used to be located).  It's a zero waste shop that allowes you to measure out exactly what you need of any item and fill your own container, or use a brown paper bag that they have available for use there in the shop.

I bought some Onion Powder along with a selection of seeds in order to make some Seed Crackers. I had Chia Seeds and Psyllium Husk at home so I only needed to buy some mixed seeds which includes sunflower, pumpkin and linseeds. I also got some seasame seeds.

And here's the seed crackers that I made!

They are easy to make and taste great - and are perfect with cheese or butter. They kind of remind me of a ryvita cracker and it is awesome to be able to make crackers at home rather than buying commercially made store bought ones. I highly recommend them and with seeds available just about everywhere it's easy to source the ingredients (especially if you visit The Good Neighbour, which I highly recommend too1)

Happy St Patrick's Day!

 All the best to you, wherever you are, on St Patrick's Day

It's a quiet one here in Dublin for us, we had a brunch of rashers and eggs while we watched the Dublin Parade on RTE1. 

In past years I've cycled in the parade with the Dublin Cycling Campaign but they aren't taking part this year.

In fairness, it's a fine day here in Dublin with no rain. About the best you can hope for in Ireland!

So wherever you are in the world - have a great day.

Bank Holiday chores

 I was up early this morning to start on a big chore - cleaning my oven....which had not been done, let's say "in awhile".

I started the cleaning at about 7am by applying "Oven Mate" to all of the surfaces in the oven that had baked on grime. This was pretty much all of the sides and the door on the mini oven that we use the most and just the bottom of the regular size oven that we generally only use at Christmas time or when we have friends over for dinner.  Along with the two ovens, there is also the built in microwave but I cleaned that the other day. 

I bought Oven Mate in Supervalu and looking online it got lots of good reviews, so I was interested to see if it would work.  If it didn't work, I was going to go with Plan B which was to get a professional oven cleaner in to do the job.

After I applied the gel, I had to leave it for a few hours (or it can be left overnight if it is really bad) so I headed off to my parents house for a visit. I drove over to their house after booking a "Go Car". This was my first time to use a Go Car and my first time to drive in since about 2020!!  

When I returned home after a few hours, I started on the removal of the Oven Mate gel which had turned to a disgusting brown gunge.

Here's the oven before I cleaned off the gel:

And the results speak for themselves, here's the after!

It was a dirty messy job and it took ages (and a lot of paper towels). But I was very pleased with the results and I highly recommend this product for the job.

Next time I won't leave it so long!!

When life gives you lemons....

Got a cute new wreath for my front door and I adore it!

I had a browse in TK Maxx for a Spring or Easter wreath and among all the ones with eggs and bunnies on them, I found this unique one with lemons on it. To me it looks more Spring like and less Easter like which is exactly the look I was going for. I added the yellow ribbon in order to tie it to the front door and it is all set. So cheery and uplifting.

And speaking of when life gives you lemons....

Ciaran had a slip and injured his knee. Currently awaiting MRI report to see what the diagnosis is. Fingers crossed it is not as bad as it currently seems, given that he can't put any weight on his leg.

Hopefully we will know more early next week, but for the moment he is icing it and taking medications as prescribed. Watch this space....

Cheese O's delivery!

 I haven't had Cheese O's in ages but I saw some being delivered to Super Valu the other day as I was walking through the car park so it prompted me to put in an order for delivery.

Since the last time I ordered some, I saw that some of the flavours have oils or other ingredients that I don't want to consume. However, I think the Cheddar and Salt & Vinegar flavour are clean enough and contain only ingredients that I am comfortable eating.

Cheese O's are shipped from Fermoy, County Cork and with my order made on Sunday, they arrived to my door on Tuesday morning. So convenient and all nicely packed up (see pic below).

They certainly ship to Ireland and the UK, but beyond that I am not sure. Maybe they are available through Amazon to other desinations?  Not sure about this - let me know if you have ordered from far afield and I can edit my blog.

They are seriously tasty - particularly the Salt & Vinegar flavour and the Cheddar flavour is very cheesy too. A really nice keto snack!

There are some carbs in Cheese O's but the full ingredients and macros are listed on the website so you can check all of this out before you decide to order. The Cheddar ones are probably the cleanest and are literally made of Cheddar cheese with no added flavourings. 

What I like about them is that they contain a fair bit of protein and I'm currently working on increasing my protein intake. So they work for me!

Do let me know if you have tasted Cheese O's or if you prefer to eat other low carb/keto snacks. Drop me a line in the comments below.....