Its nearly Christmas...

I've been getting ready for Christmas since June.... Don't ask! Its part of the business I suppose. But even so, I can't believe that its already looming up in 3 weeks.

No matter how much I watch the calendar, it always seems to sneak up on me and before you know it, BAMM.. its already too late to post your cards to the US. Next thing you know, that social snowball starts to get out of control with people calling and saying, 'we really must meet for a drink before Christmas'.

The guilty realisation that you may not in fact have seen them since last Christmas suddenly has you accepting every possible invitation that comes your way and,before you now it, you're already relishing the thought of going into post-Christmas detox. Well, actually, its just a thought - I've never tried the real thing. I don't think detox is my cuppa tea to be honest. I think my body might go into seizure or shock if I suddenly withdrew one of its staples.

Anyway, what was I ranting about....? Damn it... its gone - probably the first symptom of it then...

Now its starting to feel like Christmas!!

Its finally starting to feel like Christmas! F and I did the gifts thing a bit differently this year and asked each other what each wanted. The results were surprising and practical to say the least. F asked me for a pump for the shower - don't laugh - the one we had till now was just crap! Every morning we'd battle with the feckin thing. The problem was that the temperature control thing wasn't working. If you tried to adjust the water temperature to slightly below scalding, it would cut out completely! So every morning you did what you could by having enough contact with the water to wash, while trying to dodge the rest to avoid burn damage...

I opted for a wood burning stove for the kitchen.... It looks really cool and now this morning I have to leg it to B&Q to get the flue and other bits and pieces to try and fit it so that I can actually light it. Its like getting the toy without the batteries...

So, gift exchanges done - except for some stocking fillers yet to be done - we hit the city to finish our shopping.

That started 3 days ago and has been largely unsuccessful.... well unsuccessful in terms of actual purchases. Ireland being Ireland, we invariably hit the pub to say hi to someone and stay there for the rest of the day! Today is the last chance to get the last purchases done and we're due to meet up with friends at 1pm in the Clarendon for drinks.

I shall bid you bye bye until I have finished today's tasks and I will be back tomorrow with the results!

Happy Christmas Eve!