Last-minute shopping.

Keith was up early and went shopping for the Christmas weekend. I cleaned out the fridge and helped him put it all away when he returned. Our turkey is defrosting in the fridge so we're all set!

I wanted to buy myself some new walking boots so we drove down to Riverside, popped into Wilco's and Boots and then went to an outdoor shop tucked away in the corner of the retail park. I was worried at first that it had closed down as it used to be Blacks! I found a pair of Peter Storm black boots that were very comfortable and a good price at £80. Some of the boots on offer were almost £200!

We returned to the car with all of our purchases and I wondered why I hadn't thought to bring a shopping bag with me! We had so much stuff I nearly dropped it all! From Riverside, we drove to the Weston Favell Centre to get petrol and noticed there was no diesel. There is something going on with fuel at the moment - the Tesco garage at Kettering was closed this morning - and it's hit and miss whether you can get any petrol or diesel at any of our local garages. There's been nothing in the news about it, but there's definitely something going on!

We then drove over to Kettering to get some euros. The exchange didn't open until 10am this morning and Keith had already left by then, so we bought €600 worth, split between the three of us. As Keith had forgotten a couple of things this morning we did a little shopping as well. I'm glad that the supermarket wasn't heaving!

I have developed a nasty, little, niggling cough, which is all I need at the moment. I'm pretty sure someone has put a hex on me, as far from enjoying my first week off work, it's definitely not been the best I've ever had. And now I have what looks like the beginning of a cold!

The weather today has also been dire. We had thick fog this morning which turned into rain and it was chilly and miserable. I decided to have the afternoon off, and I curled up on the sofa with a glass of Sherry (yep, it was just after lunchtime) and I watched some seasonal programmes. I also fell asleep! Did I feel guilty? No!

I perked up a bit when Sophie came home and made dinner this evening, a fish pie with asparagus, baby sweetcorn, runner beans and carrots. After we'd eaten Keith went upstairs to watch the football, Sophie went to have a bath, and I indulged in a couple of episodes of Christmas Cruising with Susan Calman, who was very funny. The river cruise she took looked wonderful, and I was sorely tempted to book something like this for next year! Sophie is finishing work tomorrow at 1pm so we've decided to venture over to Market Harborough in the afternoon and do a little Christmas shopping. I'm hoping it will lift our spirits a little!