Hmmm... I woke this morning to quite a sharp frost!

Maybe I shouldn't have been so wistful in my memories yesterday!

It reminded me that I recently had to say to my last flatmate "be careful what you wish for" when she was wondering if her flight home to New Zealand would get away on time because of all the snow. Earlier in the autumn she had said that she hoped it would snow before she went back home (for good)... She got her desire in bucket loads!

Those sort of coincidences are just that - coincidence. We can't order the forces of nature!

But there are times when we say something in all innocence or even with a hint of mischief and others hear it in a different way. They take it more seriously and try to deliver it. 99 times out of 100 there will be no harm done but there are times when our inadvertent words cause harm.

Though it's always tempting to point the finger at the indiscretions of others (especially today when political rhetoric appears to have influenced an act of aggression) I'm not going to quote any examples because we've all been there.

One of the benefits of a crystal clear sky in winter - apart from the frost - is that dawn is just a wonderful palette of colours. As I looked out this morning a window on the house opposite was the colour of polished aquamarine. I thought it was a new light/lampshade at first and then I realised it was just the reflected light of dawn...

Utterly breathtaking...