...and repeat.

I am counting down to the Winter Solstice: only nine days to go. It has come round very fast this year, thanks entirely to the warm autumn when I was able to con myself that winter was far far away.

Of course it wasn't, and it is most definitely here. We have responded with another lovely snug morning in the study. Bean sleeping. Mima painting and reading. This afternoon will be a repeat of yesterday: a long brisk walk and a couple of hours' work in the tunnel house and garden. Whatever the weather.

My latest book is "The Good Ancestor: How to Think Long Term in a Short-Term World" by Roman Krznaric. It is an excellent read: challenging and thought-provoking. One of those books at which I find myself nodding in agreement frequently.

The blip is a mobile which my lovely niece made for me many years ago. Created from sea-glass and pelican feet shells (found at the Dhoon Shore near Kirkcudbright) it hangs in the window which overlooks the village down in the valley. Today it also overlooks the approaching weather.

Can Orkney blippers help me with some information? My sister-in-law is trying to contact Lesley Murdoch from the Yellow Bird Gallery, but is having no luck. Does anybody know if she's still in Orkney and if she's okay?