SSG Manor 2.0 finally has a fly screen to its back door.  I’ve been pretty vocal about this all over the place today but what is up with Sydney and its lack of fly screens?  The company from whom I ordered this fly screen door was a little perplexed at why I wanted it and why I was so obsessed with whether the mesh would be strong and safe enough to enable the door to be used for safety at night.  Hasn’t the steady flow of Perth people from across the country gotten the locals used to our obsession with fly screens?  You can’t buy or rent a place in Perth without it coming fully fly screened.  Feeling the Fremantle Doctor through the back door or through the kitchen is one of those quintessential Perth things.  Besides $5 coffees in Cottesloe.

Anyway.  I’m in clover and fly free as of today.  And gee that breeze is lovely wafting in through the fly screened back door.  It’s the kind of feeling that makes you feel like a house is now finally your home.

It took me two hours to do the grocery shopping this morning.  Well actually, it was a combined Christmas lunch, gifts and essentials shop.  My menus for Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas lunch aren’t complicated at all but the thought of doing the shopping and meal prep all on the same day wasn’t one I was particularly keen to entertain for longer than it took me to think ‘it’s not going to happen’.  So today was meat, dry ingredients and cheese board shopping day.  I think you probably heard my sigh of relief when all the meat fit in the freezer from where you are right now.

This is the cheeseboard.  Well, not literally, but these are the cheeses who will be key players.  Pondering the contents of the Woolworths fridge and cheese room with my iPhone on Google proved to be the perfect time for me to finally understand the difference between Brie and Camembert.  The lovely lady on cheese room duty this morning helped me find this camembert and she promises me it will be perfect for Christmas Day.  It was quite a complicated process, unboxing wheels of cheese, sniffing and then prodding their centres gently before finally pondering the results.

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She was also pretty confident Toddler SSG (who was present and simultaneously eating his free banana from the Woolworths instore kids’ fruit basket  whilst kicking off his gumboots from the front of the trolley) would enjoy a slice as well.  As she confidently said this in her wonderfully accented French English, memories of Pamela Druckerman’s ‘French Children Don’t Throw Food’ came back to me and I felt like my French fromagerie lady was part of my very own ‘French Children’ moment.  All will be revealed come Christmas Day…

It’s obviously a testament to the durability of Lush’s packaging because the Summer Garden gift tins I ordered for Toddler SSG’s daycare educators have survived in our house since they were delivered a few weeks back.  They only need to make it through a few more days before we drop them off next week.  There’s going to be all sorts of excitement at day care next week with a very exciting (to the parents and staff, at least) VIP set to officially open the centre over morning tea.  I’m workshopping appropriate outfit, googling the finer points of etiquette and thinking that it was perfect timing that I figured out that whole home blow drying thing when I did way back on December 3.

Here’s to the home stretch to the Christmas break!  If you’ve just started the school holiday break with your children, may the force be with you.

Boom tish.  And a smooth segue into this brilliant Jimmy Fallon video clip to celebrate the international premieres of the latest Star Wars film.

The critics’ reviews have been great so far for The Force Awakens which fills me with hope that I’ll enjoy it more than the prequels released a decade ago.  It’s going on my list of films to catch when I go on annual leave.

Have a good one.