Tomorrow the length of daylight will be 6 seconds shorter. And then! Yes, then the days get longer.

And that’s about as much excitement as I can take!

But seriously, it has been an unusually exciting, scary day. Woke up to discover there was no power. So I donned my headlamp and got on with my day – very excited when the electricity kicked in again at about 8.15 a.m.

And then I was able to do laundry and go shopping. I bought a very good bottle of French chardonnay – my Christmas Eve treat! Yes, I am saving it and not drinking it tonight. This is what is called will power. This is also called having a bottle of cheap plonk in the fridge to drink instead.

I also woke up to discover that now that the rat is apparently gone, I have mice – or possibly I have rats and mice.

I have decided not to panic. I shall scatter traps randomly all over the kitchen and tell myself I’ve done all I can. When I go to bed tonight I shall pull the covers over my head and if there are noises in the middle of the night, I shall stick my fingers into my ears: lalalala – I hear nothing.

Yup – I know how to deal with these problems. Dealing level: expert.

And then, after a nice walk with Abby in the back 40, Simon and I had the most fun, “short” phone call. I think (but am not sure) that it came in under two hours.

All I know for sure is that it made me laugh and smile. My heart is happy. And with that, I look forward eagerly to the 21st and to a Solstice labyrinth walk tomorrow.