THE NIGHT BELONGS TO ME

My terrace in Bulgaria. I can sit there for hours in the velvety night.

I have always been a night owl and I have real problems going to bed at night. Not because I'm an insomniac - far from it - but because no matter how tired I've been earlier in the day I actually wake up when night time grows close. My husband will put it like this: "She's waking up now - darkness has arrived." And it's true. I can't protest. I will always find an excuse not to go to bed. And if I feel I really MUST go to bed, then I'll read for at least an hour.

Thinking back to my childhood and parents who knew the value of alone-time, I remember sitting upright in my bed for hours after bedtime - absolutely and totally awake. And again - I'm not an insomniac, on the contrary I sleep well and soundly. Except I sleep best from about 3 a.m until way into the morning. And I work better during later hours. I used to HATE going to work early during the days that I had to do just that, and thinking every morning that I'd actually rather die than get up.

Sometimes Big Mamas simply have to sleep in someone's garden during the afternoon

Enjoying the night in my own garden

Coming home from a party in the early hours - do I go straight to bed? Of course not. Heaven forbid. My husband wanders off to get his beauty sleep while reprimanding me over his shoulder: "Don't stay up ALL night. Blow out the candles. Lock the doors. Don't play music too loud. And try to be quiet when you come to bed." "Are you my Dad or what?" I reply. And so on. Nothing new in thirty-two years.

I'm also extremely sociable, so that if I discover likeminded people I immediately grab hold of them and make them my friends. I love nothing better than to talk all night! The best conversations are the nightly ones!

The above photo is one in a series of similar ones - taken between six and seven in the morning - in Bulgaria. Posting it on Facebook I try to fool my friends into believing that I'm up to watch the sunrise - which I am! Well, I believe a sunrise can be beautiful whether you're coming or going.

People keep telling me that I'm missing out on glorious morning time. I bet I am. But I really don't care. They're missing out on glorious night time.

Skinny dipping in the middle of the night in my French pool. How fantastic! (I'm the photographer however).