Winter approaches...

Although the days are getting shorter and the mornings and evenings are definitely cooler I love this time of year. It's the time of year when you can have comfort food, casseroles, soups and winter stews. It's the time of year when we can light the chimenea and watch the flames flickering. It's warming glow reflecting on mugs of hot cocoa and marshmallows. When you can snuggle under the covers with the children and say "just a few minutes" in order to delay the inevitable cold chill of the tiles on your feet. I still long for the winters of my childhood. There is something special about crisp frosty mornings where the grass crunches underfoot. To see a spider web wet with dew is a vision but when that dew is frozen it is even more magic. To feel snow ticking your nose as it falls and to try to catch snowflakes just to check out whether they are all different or not. These are the things I miss living in the tropics but as the days draws to an end I will fire up the chimenea, sit and watch the flames and be grateful for another day.