countdown until Christmas

Well a lot has been done.

Yesterday we got the couch and armchairs cleaned.

I vacuumed the floor in the lounge room and exposed more floor than ever before.

We are keeping it clear and tidy until Christmas and anything that doesn't need to be there has been secreted into other parts of the house.

Today I cleaned and emptied out the upstairs fridge and restocked it with food from aldi and the markets.

The downstairs fridge is full of Christmas food.

Uni has got the pantry downstairs assembled and we are well on the way to filling that up too.

One shelf so far is devoted to Xmas stuff and after Christmas it will hold a stockpile of food so I don't have to go shopping as much.

There are fish in our pond outside, although it is leaking a bit. Uni will try to patch it up over the next few days.

Our menu is sorted, our guests have been asked to bring various things to help with the smooth running of the day.... and I have a to do list with a rough idea of what needs to be done and when.

This morning it poured with rain while I was at the markets. Something I have never experienced before because if it rains on a Sunday I sleep in and don't worry about the markets.

This time though was the last market day before Xmas and would have been to expensive to stock up on everything we needed at the supermarket.

Especially as we have vegetarians amongst us!

There was no rain when I arrived of course and it started to pour when I had my first trolley load of goods.

Everyone huddled under market sellers tents waiting for the rain to stop or ease ... but not me ... I had things to do and food to buy so I just got in amongst the elements.

I love my trolley! It was packed to the brim, but did not hesitate through mud, dirt, puddle, stream (ok just kidding about the last one).

On Friday we even took it down to the beach. It stood beautifully in the sand and was easy to wheel around.

I washed the wheels and frame well to get rid of the sand ... but need not have worried ... as today's downpour would have taken care of that for me anyway!

I found everything on my hefty shopping list, in some cases having to go into stalls I was unfamiliar with. It was a good excuse to look around and seek shelter at the same time ...

Came home soaked to the skin, so I unloaded the shopping and jumped into a hot shower and washed my hair.

Then I tackled putting things away and realized I should also clean the fridge out while I was there.

I am unlikely to give it this much attention for a while again so having so many guests over who may be likely to use the fridge was a good incentive.