diff --git a/atom.xml b/atom.xml
index 98e8718..5d824e6 100644
--- a/atom.xml
+++ b/atom.xml
@@ -8,7 +8,11 @@ layout: none
     <description>site updates and blog posts by mana</description>
     <link>{{ site.url }}</link>
 
-    {% assign updates_posts = site.collections.updates.docs | default: [] %}
+    <!-- Combine blog posts and updates -->
+    {% assign updates_posts = site.collections.updates.docs %}
+    {% if updates_posts == nil %}
+      {% assign updates_posts = [] %}
+    {% endif %}
     {% assign all_posts = site.posts | concat: updates_posts %}
     {% assign sorted_posts = all_posts | sort: 'date' %}
 
@@ -26,4 +30,4 @@ layout: none
     {% endfor %}
   </channel>
 </rss>
-</rss>
\ No newline at end of file
+</rss>