1. Strange cuddles into her floppy-eared sister to form a yin and a mini-yang.

1b. Toes stretching on a white paw.

2. Lily wants to play. Her eyes shine and her tail wags as she chases the ball around the room.

3. I finish my quicky crewel project – a small Jacobean tile kit. As I approach the end, I take the time to unpick two sections – I know I can do them better. The flourish becomes more curved, the spine of the leaf smoother. There is still room for improvement (especially in my silk shading) but I’m proud of my work: a year after my first attempt at crewel work, the progress has been enormous.

3b. I’ve brought a pot home to burnish. I alternate between rubbing it generally and specifically filling in divots and scratches. On each iteration, the imperfections become smaller and the surface smoother.