Over the last few weeks, I've been waiting for winter to really begin, thinking any day now it's going to get colder, and then I realised we've hit August and winter's probably over. We hardly seemed to have a winter at all. Except for a few days in May, co-incidentally, when there were large holes in our house, we've not had the heater on at all this year. I've worn my dressing gown maybe twice, and not bothered to put the electric blanket on the bed. Lauren, who last year slept in thick pyjamas, dressing gown, socks, duvet, blanket, and sometimes a cat, this year has not complained of being cold at all. We've not thought to have a fire and gather around it roasting marshmallows and telling stories. The trees in our garden have only just lost the bulk of their leaves - after we had some strong winds last week - so we now have a garden of autumn leaves with spring just around the corner.