Does not compute!

Here in Dr. Seuss-land the bright red of the bottle-brush trees has given way to the mad mauve jacarandas. Spring is definitely here.

And that's the problem.

For a northern hemisphere girl Christmas is firmly ensconced in the winter. It comes when the days draw in, the weather turns colder, and all the pretty lights appear in town centres. Christmas in the summer just isn't right.

Yes, there are fairy lights and decorations (inflatable snowmen, anyone? Yes, really) but the sun is shining, the temperature is starting to soar into the thirties and promising to go higher, and the days are long. We are enjoying time at the beach, swimming and beach-combing. In my head it's July or August. It is not approaching Christmas.

During the rest of the year I am pretty organised - I manage to send out birthday cards 3-4 weeks early so they arrive on time - I am always looking ahead on the calendar to make sure I don't miss anything. But it hits November and all of that seems to go out of the window. All of the environmental cues are wrong.

I lose the plot.

So now you know. For the next few months I will be disorganised, unfestive, and too hot. Such is life.