On the 23rd day of Advent ...

Mein Gott! Is it really nearly Christmas Day itself! Fortunately, the prep is going according to schedule. I managed my penultimate pre-Christmas shop today – a trip to Borough Market to pick up the final vegetables, plus some lovely Caerphilly cheese (aged for around two months and full of flavour) and a rather large bag of chocolate for cooking (or making into truffles or chocolate bark).

I came back via Moorgate and, in an indication of just how cold it's been – or at least, just how cold I've been feeling – I bought pyjamas. A spritz of perfume doesn't really keep you very warm.

Then there was a 2010 diary for my Filofax, plus some face cream from Boots.

All that's left tomorrow is a few basics, plus picking up the meat order from the farmer – and then a spot of cookery.

It barely seems a week ago that Advent was starting – now we're almost at the climax!

Walking through the park to the bus this morning was beautiful. Bright blue skies and the sun, slung low on the horizon. There was hardly anyone around as I scrunched through the iced-up snow, and I took time to test out the camera on the iPhone.

The results, for something on a phone, are extraordinary. Look at the detail on this pic – see how the ice crystals echo the pattern of the timber itself; the delicacy of the formation. It's water – that's all: H2O. But look how exquisite the formation that it makes is.

It was impossible not to feel a real sense of wonder and awe. Nature really does create miracles. And Apple's phones are close to miraculous too.