Home today to the most intense blue sky and crisp white frost blanketing the ground. The frost did not melt all day here – our garden was as white when the sun set as it was when DM climbed out of bed this morning.

Since getting home, I’ve done my day job (corporate whore), my night job (photography), my other job (DIY) as well as been the housekeeper (dinner) and Chief Elf (trying again to get some sort of Christmas vibe going here).

I do feel incredibly ambivalent about Christmas. As a dyed-in-the-wool atheist who believes that religion is the scourge of the earth, designed by early man to instil morals into people…..then it all started to get out of hand, I find myself wondering ‘why bother’.

I suppose the answer for me is there is a craving to have a mid-winter break. It’s the time when the nights are starting (hurrah) to get shorter and therefore the days longer, the hens will be laying again in a few short days time (it’s usually New Year’s Day though the oldies that they are now might mean we have to wait a bit longer this year for the first one of the new year) and to be honest, I’m plain old dog tired. I need some R&R time when I’m not running around like a headless chicken.

So, despite being very very anti ‘Christmas’ we are still going to put up a tree and give gifts – we’re just calling them ‘winter-fest’ gifts.

Oh and we’ll probably quaff a bit of this while we’re about it – it’s the sloe gin that’s been steeping in a jar for the last three years – I’ve finally got around to filtering and bottling. Looks a bit good doesn’t it?

Last year, we were on top of a hill, trying to stay out of the house while waiting for our big move.