Building up to xmas was rather interesting here, but we got there in the end, and  looking back I kinda have to laugh as we never seem to do anything without drama somewhere. We had a few minor hiccups on xmas eve (vacuum cleaner smoking and a bar fridge left open and iced over resulting in an emergency  late night defrosting of icebox so we could shut the door).

The major hiccup though belonged to our cat on xmas day. Unfortunately we awoke to find one of our cats curled up on the fire hearth under the xmas tree (the hearth is his go to when not well). So while the family were unwrapping gifts, I was sorting him. Luckily we are only 5 mins from the vets and as they have an animal hospital attached to it, they had staff already on duty. We were in and out before 8 am (and thankfully it was a very respectful bill). Some pain killers, and some urgent care food, and we were able to continue with our xmas plans. After a few days of close monitoring, he is much better. 

With  over a week before we go away, I have been pottering a bit in the garden. Mainly just a bit of harvesting, and deheading and more work on the area by the chicken coop (I should be done tomorrow). We do have another project to sort as well now. Hubby thoughtfully bought me some tanks for xmas which can be attached to our downpipes and gravity feed into the gardens. With a slight downwards slope on our section we should be able to use them for the back gardens/bbq area in droughts, or even to use fresh rain water when we can. We can attach multiple tanks to the set up so can expand over time. 

I have also planted a few more tomatoes. My uncle (actually a close friend of the family as opposed to a blood relative)  gave me some more tomato plants on xmas day. These are special tomatoes from his own ones he grew commercially so I am honoured to be given some. Up until a few years ago he owned the most renowned strawberry gardens in Whangarei, and sold a few other things as well including these tomatoes.  Due to health issues, they sold the gardens, but kept enough land to build a new house and keep some personal gardens going for him to potter in. While it was a squeeze to find room in our garden, I am very appreciative of the gift.

Today I've also done a bit of guilt free shopping using my gift card from Yates. A few necessary purchases were made (a new end for my hose). I also bought some pots to finish off my area by the chicken coop, and some plants to go in there. I've also bought myself another alstroemeria (I love growing these in pots as they flower for such a long time), and a bay tree (and a pot for it to go in). I also bought some pots to plant up some of our indoor plants. We will save the rest of the voucher for autumn when I plan to put in a nectarine and a few more roses.