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happened to encounter this fine vehicle parked opposite the Co-op on Sunday!

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this car was parked right behind my mine......... thankfully i didn't have lumps of subaru embedded in my boot

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no tricks, just exactly what was visible out of the bedroom window

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after all this time i found another critter today hiding in the gold frame. how long has this been here???

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the winter solstice.

the turning point in the year,

and this afternoon there was a blue sky and a bit of sunshine.

that must be a good omen, right?

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another view from under my umbrella.

leicester square, in the rain.

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so we have both succombed to the winter bug.

i don't know how i made it through a day at work today.

all i wanted was to be at home under this blanket.

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the annual staff party. costumes galore.

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we walked through the vineyard this afternoon.
from the top of the valley there was this amazing hazy view right into the distance.

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the sky in itself was like a landscape today.

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no, i didn't visit Tate Modern today, but on the way to collect my car from its service, i took some more pictures of boat hulls on the quay .......

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i liked the idea of a limited colour palette

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out come the xmas baubles ........

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stopped by appuldurcombe - was rather a dull afternon, but i love the way the house reveals itself amongst the trees

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was back at Freshwater today - this time the wind howled and the sea was crashing against the rocks

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sandown bay early thursday morning

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had to delve to reveal today's picture .....

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had a meeting at dimbola on tuesday - in the bay the sky was blue, the sea like a millpond and not a person in sight

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i love old trees

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i'm trying to take a leaf out of helen's book and not look at the whole picture

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colourful chillies during our friday night pudding run to morrison's.

i think we have discovered the world's best cheesecake.

oh my.

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we brought our little christmas tree in from the garden today,

complete with about 500 living residents.

every now and then i catch sight of one scuttling across the floor.

the tree has sprouted new green shoots like little fingers,

and looks pretty comical.

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we're in the deep freeze.

our heating and hot water haven't been working properly for two weeks.

it's so cold that you can see your breath in the house,

and you don't even have to refrigerate food any more because the room is cold enough already.

in fact, we have been considering leaving the fridge door open to warm the place up a bit.

on my walk to work this morning, the hedges were covered in icy spiders' webs.

it was as if they had been decorated with silver tinsel ready for christmas.

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i had to be at tate for 8.30am this morning.

i walked over via westminster bridge.

everything was icy cold, and the sky was a little pink.

i love seeing those puffs of steam coming from all the office buildings on cold days like this;

it's like they are alive and breathing.

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so. the great Wrapping of the Presents has begun.

i do enjoy it, in small doses.

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there are few things in this world as good as home-made bread.

it's so satisfying to MAKE something with your hands,

to create something from scratch.

it requires the same rough handling as clay,

the same energy to work the ingredients,

except unlike pottery you get to eat the results.

i think i want to quit my job and re-train as a baker.

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we spent the afternoon christmas shopping in guildford.

above all the bags and bows and hats and scarves, this amazing soft pink sky stretched into the distance.

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the dreaded christmas card mailing.

all that repetition.

i am so glad it only comes round once a year.

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i'm in a black and white mood this week.

 

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we opened the curtains and everything was white.

but it didn't last long ...

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hello, my name is tracey.

i live in the british museum.

i've been feeling quite stressed lately,

as i have so much christmas shopping to do

and it's been so busy

that i haven't had chance to get myself organised.

to make matters worse,

i've been given this new stand which i have to balance on

and it's really uncomfortable.

i mean, i like the look of it, i think it's really smart,

but i get such terrible cramps at the end of the day.

my boss has been really brilliant about it

and has offered to let me try a spare one next week.