Much to my surprise i found myself cleaning one of the cottages this morning. It was a bit unforunate as I had started a pre-soak overnight loaf of bread. The results were, shall we say, leaden, but they taste OK and will sog into tonight's soup quite happily. Tonight is egg-drop soup with fried rice on the side. Egg drop soup is basically chicken and corn soup without the chicken and corn - chicken stock, sesame oil and soy sauce for flavouring, with beaten eggs stirred in at the boil. The fried rice was barely more complicated, being pre-cooked rice with peas and carrots and a scrambled egg mixed through. Add soy sauce and you have a strangely appetising meal.

Cottage cleaned I drove home through the fog and lit the fire, got some more cooking done and some reading and am now settled in for the evening.

Since when is it dark at 7 in the morning, BTW? I am always awake at that time but had not noticed until today that it is actually quite dark then. Only a week more till the turn of the year, but the mornings will continue to get darker for a while longer than that.