Three Beautiful Things

1. The wind and rain woke me at 2am and I couldn't get back to sleep so I played Morrowind until 5am. After that, knowing that there were fewer Ash Zombies, priests of Dagoth Ur and Cliff Racers on Vvardenfell because of me and my glass longsword Magebane, I slept well. 2. My father describing his work on my French windows as 'vampire-proofing'. 3. Terry Pratchett's latest -- Wintersmith . I finished it last night, and I decided one of the things I really like about the Tiffany books is that although she is a very self-assured, competant and powerful witch, the reader never forgets that she is also a young teenager who enjoys letters from her mother, a paintbox and spending afternoon not knowing what to say to Roland-who-is-not-her-young-man. And although she has complete professional confidence as a witch, she has moments of self-doubt which she overcomes in a very human fashion.

1. I love hot puddings with icecream -- but for some reason, even when this offered on the menu, the order often gets confused and I end up with pudding and custard (which I loathe). This time, instead of quietly eating it up, I stood my ground and sent it back. 2. Getting my laptop off the sofa and on to the desk in my room. 3. Discovering a bonus Bugs Bunny cartoon on the DVD of March of the Penguins.

1. I am tapping away in the sitting room first thing and Katie comes in with a mug of tea. 2. PaulV goes into Katie's room to get changed and emerges wearing her pyjama bottoms. To get him back, I put a bra in his coat pocket. Wish I'd thought, as Kim suggested, of putting a thong in his wallet. 3. Guests sitting on our big red sofas eating icecream and chocolate sauce.

1. My father dropping me off and staying to help put books on shelves. 2. The smell of sage, oregano and thyme (present from my cousin) and compost (present from my father) as I planted them in a big blue ceramic pot (present from my aunt) out on the balcony. 3. The magic of Freecycle means that instead of cluttering up our new flat, the boxes I moved with are helping other people.

1. Riding high up in the front of my brother's van so I can see over hedges and into gardens. 2. Walking in the woods and seeing other families darting in and out of trees. 3. Sharing a room with my brother and sister and giggling with them before we went to sleep. Robert teased Rosey, who was poking at her phone in the dark with: 'Rose and [a selection of boys she may or may not have fancied in the past] in a tree T-E-X-T-I-N-G.' We retorted: 'Robert Grant in a tree S-H-U-T--U-P.'

1. My father saying that dressed up for Christmas day I reminded him of my great aunt -- who was always said to be very stylish. 2. The grandmother twittering with pleasure about the photo album our cousins made for her. 3. My brother making me a hugely strong gin and tonic because he thought I needed cheering up; and Rosey sitting on me for a cuddle; and settling down to do a jigsaw of old books with my mother.

Extra special Midwinter Beautiful Things to Sgt Dub in Afghanistan, and to Kimono Hime in case she is homesick for England; and to everyone who is far away from the ones they love. 1. Waking up under my new blue cotton quilt from India. It's a present from Katie. She has a matching one in red in her room. She carried them both for nearly her whole holiday. 2. Scrambled eggs on crispy toast. They are bright yellow because they come from freerange chickens; and they are the first thing we've cooked in the new flat. 3. Opening a box and finding the Christmas decorations.