Winter rain in the desert.

It's a cold, rainy day here in Alice Springs - the perfect kind of day to be snuggled up inside with a cup of tea. Which is precisely what I'm doing, thanks to 'staycation' week (as much as I hate that word, it works for this purpose!). A holiday at home. I've got a stack of magazines, from the trashy (yep, NW it is!) to the aesthetic and thoughtful ('green' magazine) and then there's the Quarterly Essay on 'Sex, Freedom and Misogyny' and The Monthly. All the while the rain is steadily driving down onto the tin roof and I have dressed purely for comfort with not an inch of style in sight. (A bit like this 'uniform of sloth'!) Burning gently on the mantelpiece is a delicious fragrant candle and Sufjan Stevens is the perfect soundtrack to accompany the rain.

There's leftover chocolate self-saucing pudding and a Distinction from Semester 1 to celebrate. So, join me in raising your cup of tea! Salut, winter!