Babet drew in from the east, not the usual direction for a storm. Normally they come in off the Atlantic and the North Sea. This side of the island of Orust we are sheltered from the west winds and they don’t bother us much. This one was scary, we’re much more exposed to the east. It blew down a fir tree and pushed in through the cracks and gaps in the summer house causing icy cold draughts.

A crackling fire in the fireplace, a glass of port, and good thriller on the TV when the storm is raging outside is cozy and great way to end an intense working week in October.

At breakfast Saturday morning we warm up the house with a fire and take it slow. Call my brother in Sydney and have a facetime chat. Text with my good friend John in Adelaide about AI, the housing crisis, and life in general.

We decided to take walk down to the water as the rain cleared. The wind still blows but its dropping off. The worst is over. It’s classic autumn; cold, windy, wet, but amazing colours as the leaves on the trees are turning before the wind rips them off. A week or so from now they will all be on the ground, the trees will be bare and the colour will be gone. It’s a good and refreshing walk but it’s nice to come inside into warmth again.