Villa Visit 2020: Day 3: Saturday 11 January

We were awake very early and decided to take advantage of a likely lack of shoppers in the shops!

First stop was Lowes for a mailbox and post and possibly some vinyl fencing, having been gently told off by our HOA for not having our bins "out of sight of the community" as they put it. That has been the situation since the house was built in 2005, so it has taken them some time to notice that!

Then it was on to a deserted Walmart for some groceries and back to the house to see the remainder of the Arsenal v Crystal Palace lunchtime match (0730 start here)

On the way back we saw that there had been an accident involving several vehicles, but the sheriff seemed to have it all under control, thank goodness.

It was finally time to get down to this serious business of enjoying ourselves!

Having considered the vinyl fencing in Lowes, I decided to go for the budget option! They're now definitely "out of sight of the community"!

All these jobs to do to make sure you're enjoying yourself!

A rare privilege to be able to see a 3pm kick-off Premiership match on TV. Note to self: must take the Christmas tree down!

Some of our neighbours are clearly getting ahead and have got their decs up in good time before the end of the year!

I don't drink straight out of the bottle and I think this will be the first time I've ever drunk out of a jam jar!

Two of the 'bread' options you can have with your salad at Bob Evans -- "biscuits" in North America on the left (scones to us and all rather like a mini cream tea) and cinnamon coffee bread on the right - more like a slice of cake and very tasty.

As a villa owner, there's always another job! This time, it's getting a mailbox sorted.

We had a mid-afternoon tea break and then for a stroll around Burford Circle and The Hamlet development next door so that Elizabeth could try to get her 10,000 steps in today.

Then it was back for a beer and time to start to take the pool safety fence down.

Children's Play Area

Communal pool. Two disadvantages: it's unheated and, although we pay the same HOA fees as every other community, in fact more than most, this is one of the benefits we aren't allowed to enjoy. All villas on Burford Circle have their own pools, often almost as large as this one!