I can forgive Normandy everything on a morning like this. I've just got back from walking the dog in this first hard frost of the winter, and it was so gobsmackingly beautiful it took my breath away. 

The whole countryside looks like it's been dipped in sugar: every catkin, every withered leaf, every blade of grass (the photo at left was taken just after dawn). The fields were peppered with crows, waiting for the sun to thaw the maize left over from the harvest. My neighbour's willows were reflected in his lake, preternaturally blue and lined with ochre bullrushes. A solitary heron was hunting by the stream, and the dog and I seemed to be the only other creatures on the surface of the earth as the sun came blazing out and turned the whole world into a mirror.

I didn't see another person or sign of life, nor heard a sound until I reached my gate again after an hour of walking, when a solitary tractor appeared on the brow of the hill. Not even a single cow was in any of the fields - this temperature drop was forecast, and the farmers have taken the cattle in. 

The dog is always happiest on a frosty walk, but now that he is 12, I put a coat on him when it's below freezing. He looks very sweet in his scarlet Land's End fleece, which (other than the colour) matches my Squall Parka. No more perfect coat for dog-walking was ever invented, btw, with its fleece-lined handwarmer pockets and hood, drawstring waist, and screaming daffodil yellow colour that I hope will prevent me being mashed by a tractor. Luckily, no-one could tell this morning that I still had my polkadot pjs on under my layers of fleece.

Yesterday we had the 1000-litre fuel oil delivery, just in time for this freeze, so we actually woke up to a warm house, ye gods. Until now, the mornings have been a rush to get into my down dressing gown (Lands' End again - I should take out shares) and Uggs and get down to the living room to bang on the paraffin heater.

If we're frugal with the heating, running it for just two hours a day, the oil lasts a year, at a cost of just short of 1,000 euros (and right now, this office is 17.5 degrees, which seems to me stiflingly hot - about 16 would suit me better, as we're just not used to being this warm).  The wood will be, what - another 1,000 euros this year? For six cords. Plus maybe three lots of paraffin, and say the same of butane, and about 200 euros a month for electricity. No wonder we're broke when it costs over four grand just to heat the house to a moderate temperature, LOL, though of course that lot also includes cooking gas, hot water and lighting. 

Oh well, enough whingeing. Lunch is in the slow cooker (rabbit and lentil casserole), the birds have had their second feed of the day and I've put vegetable scraps out for the deer, so I'm now off for a bath before we get the wood in.

Wrap up warm, people.  

One of the ideas I really liked in Sue Donnelly's lovely book Feel Fab at 50 was that of coming up with a new word for each year, to sum up the feeling you want to gain that year from your clothes and personal style. 

Last year I was feeling cuddly, and I chose a soft colour scheme, with lots of pink in my clothes and in my bedroom, etc. It played into a need for femininity I felt last year, and I very much enjoyed wearing it.  

This year It's taken me a while to think of my word for 2012, but I've decided, finally, that it's CRISP.  That's what I want to be this season: crisper, cleaner, smarter, more pulled-together. I have in my mind navy blazers, Breton tees, polka-dot dresses and clean white shirts: summer in the sunshine by the sea in Brittany. 

Because I'm going to be crisp, I've decided that my base colour will be navy. This is a less harsh colour than black, but just as smart, and I've already dyed quite a lot of my clothes navy over the past few years. This will be followed by white, grey, black, stone, beige and other shades of blue. And after that, pale pink, primrose, soft shades of aqua, and scarlet. The overall look I'm aiming for is quite coastal and fresh, but also comfortable and easy to wear. Brown, green and khaki will be banished from my wardrobe altogether, along with anything grungy or hippyish. As I get older and more haggard, I am definitely feeling the need to look smarter, though not in any way formal. 

I am not a great lover of patterns, so I'll restrict myself to stripes and polka dots (I don't generally find I wear many other patterns in any case). I'm too short for checks other than quarter-inch gingham, and florals other than one colour on white leave me a bit cold. Maybe the odd dress can be floral, as these aren't so dependent on other items. 

Once again, when thinking of new items for this season, I've looked towards Lands' End, which has pretty much become my go-to brand these days and which has been having THE most stonking sale. I don't need pants this year: I already have jeans, navy jeggings, navy chinos, grey chinos and white capris, so to top them, I've ordered some striped 'sailor' tees and longer striped crewnecks in soft cotton. Back in November, when this idea was percolating, I also bought a navy and white striped tee from Armor-Lux - the most money I've ever paid for a teeshirt, by a very long chalk. And these long tunic tees from Lands' End, with pockets, are ideal for my life of slouching around the place, lugging my laptop from pillar to post.

The two jackets pictured are Lands' End canvas field jackets. I bought one for the DH earlier this year, and just fell in love with its soft, thick brushed fabric.  So this pale one and navy one, both with chocolate corduroy details, will do me as casual popovers (£15 each, reduced from £50). As a town coat I already have a navy Burberry polocoat and my navy blazer, and for the seaside - which we visit whenever we can - I've plumped for mineral yellow as a colour accent, in a lightweight parka, down jacket and wellies.