Cat Diary: Gingerbreadcat Lights the First Fire of the Season

The first properly cold morning of the year arrived today, and Gingerbreadcat was up before anyone else to make the most of it.

7am. Woke up on the rug in front of the fireplace. Checked the sweetie buttons: red, yellow and green, all present and correct. Gave each one a little polish with the corner of the rug, because if you are going to be the face of Christmas, you have to look the part. (Gingerbreadcat's words, not mine.)

8am. The ovens went on and the whole bakery began to smell of ginger, cinnamon and treacle. Gingerbreadcat took a very deep breath, declared it the best smell in the entire world, then struck a pose in case anybody had a camera. Nobody did. Gingerbreadcat held the pose anyway, just to be safe.

11am. Quality control on the first tray of iced biscuits. This mostly meant inspecting every iced edge very closely and announcing, kindly but firmly, that none of them were quite as neat as the original. Pumpkincat, still busy with Halloween at the front of the shop, just smiled and passed the icing bag.

2pm. Talked everyone into putting up the little tree by the fireplace. Yes, it is October. No, Gingerbreadcat does not care. A few wrapped presents appeared underneath it, and Gingerbreadcat arranged and rearranged them until the bows all faced the right way.

4pm. The light went soft and golden, and the fire was lit for the first time this season. Gingerbreadcat shuffled the rug a little closer, admired how shiny the buttons looked in the firelight, and asked everyone else whether they had noticed too. Everyone had.

6pm. Fell asleep halfway through describing the perfect Christmas jumper. Woke briefly to say it would have three buttons. Back to sleep.

Gingerbreadcat's verdict on the day: cold outside, warm inside, and exactly two months to go. Perfect.

If Gingerbreadcat has put you in a festive mood, come and meet Gingerbreadcat properly, or have a look at the Gingerbreadcat Christmas T-shirt and the ceramic ornament in the shop.