My cats no longer flinch with the evening fireworks.

They don’t even seem to notice them, it’s just a part of life on this Canarian Island. So, to echo that, some of the other adjustments we have made as an expat cat family:

(Aside, reading back, it’s embarrassing quite how many of these are food related!)

– We have locally sourced cat litter rather than World’s Best; delivery was the same price as the litter itself, at £30 for 7.5kg including delivery, it became a bit silly to continue that tradition, new litter is €6.90 a bag from the pet shop four doors down.
– Especially hard to rely on Amazon nowadays, since post only arrives once every two months, New Look excluded; somehow they can deliver within five days, whilst Amazon only managed to deliver something to me I ordered in August, from Spain, in December.
– I walk 45mins each way to the one and only Waitrose to buy English cat food, there is no Ocado delivery equivalent here, and the local stuff doesn’t agree with my old lady cat.
– Lighting scented candles is a huge treat, as replacements cannot be found out here (the ones you get in the Chinese shops smell so fake they don’t count), however, I was super lucky to get a lovely selection for Christmas from friends and family: yesterday I lit TWO!
– I have become someone who bulk buys and freezes vegetables because I don’t know when I’ll next see fresh ones, and (even half mushy) berries are hot property on the rare occasion they arrive in supermarkets.
– They have finally started selling Alpro soya yoghurt, but they insist on flavouring it with coconut.
– Edamame beans are not available, even to the Asian restaurants, however, I have discovered green beans make an excellent alternative.
– I permanently have less than perfect nails; partly due to sailing life admittedly, partly due to not knowing where one would get a decent shellac.
– Sailing life also means I can’t plan with certainty more than ten days ahead; of all the items on this list, this one requires the most mental adjustment to accept; plans changing makes me very nervous, but sometimes there’s nothing you can do but breathe.
– Mostly because the weather does not follow any sort of regular pattern, a la British standards, out here we can have weeks of idyllic sun and calm followed by force eight wind and a day of rain; it is unwise to ever leave the house without both waterproofs and suncream.
– I wear waterproofs.
– I wear suncream.

It’s a life of bizarre extremes; you can feel quite isolated, the distance and the ridiculous postal service means it is easy to feel a bit left behind with those back home, yet we live on islands out here, so everything is familiar and everyone is connected. Once you find your place, and your small routines among the unexpected and the unplannable, the adjustments don’t feel like sacrifices.

Especially when you wake up, the sky is clear, your soul is free, there is a whole new day and new experiences ahead, and your commute is a walk along the promenade.