1. We get a new toy for the cats – a giant mouse for scatching and wrestling – but Lily decides it’s for her instead. She picks it up and carries it around by the ear.

2. Smoked ham always reminds me of holidays in Eastern Europe. (Ditto caraway seeds and dill.)

3. As part of her investigations, Strange stands up on her back legs, leaning against the coffee table. She looks just like a kitten on a postcard I found tidying the day before – a postcard someone sent me from France two decades previously.

4. It took a bit of bedding in – with frequent oiling and adjustments – but now my spinning wheel treadles effortlessly.