I like these cold, gray winter days.

Days like these let you savor a bad mood. (Bill Watterson)

It's not me in a bad mood though, that will be child #1 with her headache, and child #3 with her not eating thing and her 'I don't want to tidy my room' thing!

After working for a couple of hours this morning, I took Jane for a Full English at Cafe Oswalds, at Cranstons Food Hall. Then, fortified, we took the dogs to Pooley Bridge for a little wander and a blip hunt. It was -4 when we got there at 11.20am, but the frost was amazing. The day, as Jane said, was full of shades of grey. (Which got the tune Fade To Grey stuck in my head!!!)

I prefer the frost to snow. Even if it is so cold that my fingers have forgotten what it feels like to be warm, there is something crisp and clear, and dare I say refreshing about being out in the frosty air! The frost makes everyday things, like trees, seem ethereal and uncanny, even in the daytime.

Now, I am going to get back to my essay - I got 500 words drafted yesterday, which is not quite what I was hoping for, but better than nothing!!