Mmmm...horchatas.

When Cliff and I visited my sister in northern California several years ago, they took us to a Mexican restaurant that served liquid gold wrapped in sunshine and sprinkled with a little heck yes.

I mean, they served horchatas, a cinnamony ricey milky drink.

And aside from a Mexican vacation a couple of years ago, we haven't had them since.

Until I found a recipe on Pinterest.

People?  You need to make these.

I'm not going to bore you with my un-appetizing looking photos.  Instead, here's one of David's from his original recipe post:

This is David Lebovitz's photo!  Not mine!

Yum, right?

Next time, I'm going to cut down the sugar slightly, but other than that, this recipe is perfect. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, my glass is empty.

A layout. I made this.

So I went to a crop with my dear friend Adrienne in July.  And in one day?  I completed six layouts.  Six.

That’s a new record, dude.

One was the “Blending In” page I showed you the other day. 

And to continue with the animal theme, here’s another:

That’s my dad with his dog and mine last summer on the trails near where I grew up.

This one started with this sketch from Creative Scrappers:

I even included some Jennifer-style scattered do-dads, stitching across my letters, and random cross-stitches.

Seriously, that woman has affected my scrapping in a big way.

Oh, and in a little way, too.  Those clouds up there?  Are from this kit I won from Jen and her sister Susan who are wicked embellishment-makers.

Wait.  I mean the they are wicked at making embellishments.  As in cool.  Not that the two of them are somehow wicked.  As in nasty.

Anyhow, it’s a layout.  And I made it.  And Jen and Susan helped.

“Installing a cat door” or “How to temporarily reverse your cat’s litter training”

Hello, dear friends.  It’s been awhile.

And as such?  I’m going to teach you something.  Like how to install a cat door.

Or, how to make your cat relieve herself on the floor for the first time in her life because she’s so afraid of a cat door.

Remember camo-cat?

 She was trying to blend in this day.

Incidentally, I recently scrapped this photo:

Based on this sketch:

And fell in lurve with these little clear bobbles (and tried to position them a la Jen!)

But I digress.

Let’s say you move into a new house.

And this new house has a basement.

And you have a dog with some strange issues because she was a stray.

And you’ve never had her in a house with a basement before.

And apparently she likes to poop in the basement.

Yeah.  Let’s say that.

And then let’s say that you have a cat whose litter box needs to go in the basement.  So you have to leave the door open for the cat and closed for the dog.

It’s quite a conundrum, but never fear, friends who are following me on this hypothetical ride!  I have a solution!

Enter: the interior cat door!

It was super cheap.  Like, $10.17 or something at Home Depot.

Plus?  It was really easy.  And fun.  ‘Cause I got to cut through a door, y’all.

Let’s begin, shall we?

First, take the plastic rim of the cat door and put it where you want it.  You may want to measure this part, but since I’m badass, I didn’t.  That’s right.  I said it.  My cat door may be slightly askew.  Whatcha gonna do about it, huh?

Then, drill through the door at the corners.

Next, take a Skil saw (I think that’s what they’re called – the handheld one with the jigsaw-type blade), insert it through the holes and cut from one to the next.  And no, I didn’t take the door off the hinges.  Just more evidence of my badassity.

You may need to cut the back side of the door a little if your cuts weren’t totally perpendicular to the door.  That’s where I freehanded it a little.  Did I mention I’m a total badass with no regard for proper power-tool usage?  Then, fit the plastic into the hole and attach it with the screws and foam tape.

And there you have it.  A cat door of epic proportions!

Excellent!  Check out that plastic flap with all its dog-keeping-out-ity!  This is going to be awesome!

And now to teach the cat to go through it.

I tried coaxing.  I tried treats.  I tried shoving her through. 

But you know that phrase, “don’t let the door hit you on the way out?”

Yeah.  Apparently neither did she.  So I woke up the next morning to cat poop on my kitchen floor.

So now we have a flapless cat door.

But at least everyone’s pooping in the right place again.

Dear Self, I've been busy.

Ok.  Maybe not "busy" in the normal sens of the word "busy".

But you know that phrase "pics or it didn't happen?"

Well, here you go:

 We spent a really rainy day at a rock music festival.

 And an evening at a pub for a local music contest.

 I installed a cat-door which the cat promptly avoided like the plague.  Or a really large dog.

 

We went to a Brazilian barbecue that had a phenomenal buffet...

 And sideways waiters, apparently.

 We went to IKEA and laughed at this parts machine.

 And to see a very blurry Jerry Seinfeld live.

 I bought a boatload of scrapbooking stuff, both new and pre-loved.

 I saw Molly and Maggie for the first (and only) time in the year they've lived together.

 I made brownies.

 And installed shelves.

 I scrapped at a Saturday crop.

 And when to Cliff's favourite restaurant with friends.

 I reconnected with my best friend from high school.

 And had a barbecue where we played Quelf, the funnest game I've ever played.

 I went to my grandpa's lakeside memorial.

 And played with my niece and nephews.

 We visited Cliff's family.

 And I painted some birdhouses that Cliff's nana gave me.

And, I made this Chocolate-coconut bar dessert, as well as Donut Muffins, and they were delish.

So.  It may feel like I've done nothing this summer?  But trust me, self.  I have.

Sincerely,
Teri