Our friend R’s lovely dog M died quite suddenly yesterday. Everyone loved M: he was a gentle giant, with just the softest ears (I regularly enjoyed stroking them). He was one of Lily’s canine BFFs because he didn’t get in her face but they would happily explore together (as happened last Sunday). She might not understand the concept of missing him but I suspect much of the neighbourhood will.

1. I clean out the chicken’s coop and chop kindling in the short window between rain showers. It feels like winter.

2. Yarn pulled taut on the niddy noddy. I count the strands.

3. Our friend D is in the area for work and pops by afterwards. Even though we think our fridge looks pretty bare for us, he laughs at the size and extravagance of the cheese & meat platter we offer him, and later, the variety of biscuits available for dunking in tea.

3b. To hear how happy he is. He doesn’t have to go to great lengths explaining to us what it is like to miraculously find someone who you want to be with.

4. Bedtime finds us at opposite ends of the sofa but stretched out, facing in, with our legs entwined in the middle.

0. I have a … not terribly nice dream but it’s not a full-on nightmare like I’ve had for the last two nights so yay, progress!

1. Reading the newspaper in the pub in the sunshine while waiting for our burgers to be brought to us.

1b. Fennel seeds in the salad and a smokey-sweet tomato chutney on the side makes up for the fact that there is only a delicious field mushroom on the burger (as opposed to the blend of mushrooms that we usually get).

1c. The big dog’s tail rarely stops wagging.

2. We both smile as Lily lollops around the lawn. Later she finds a mud puddle and makes herself very comfortable in it – which answers the question about whether she should have a dunk in the stream.

2b. Her white shiny fur after a shower. Her paws, which quickly turn grey, are a particular treat.

3. I ruin three pots (by pushing then too far) but I learn lots.

4. The stands ply together beautifully, evening each other out in terms of weight, twist and colour. When the bobbin is full, it looks soft and warm.

1. Boxes and bags go to the charity shop. I’m both glad to have the clear out and a little embarrassed about accumulating and hoarding bits and pieces for so long.

2. On the mezzanine, a regal English Springer Spaniel (not our lump) sits watching out while its fur is blown dry.

3. The collective silent look skyward as we all search around for the next pun.

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.

1. As I’m waking up, a sock repeatedly lands on my head followed by an excited dog.

2. The clatter of Lego is somewhere between jarring and warmly nostalgic.

2b. I purify our Lego collection by picking out all the fake Lego pieces and other random toys & whatnot that have accumulated. It’s surprising how easy it is to spot the fake pieces – the plastic is a touch too shiny, the edges not so sharp and the weight is just not right. The sorting is almost as much fun as building things.

3. It is years since I’ve had a Caesar salad but at that moment, it is exactly what I want.

3b. As always when we leave Lily home alone, we worry that she’s bothering our neighbours with her barking – but we needn’t worry today: our neighbours spot us as they’re leaving the restaurant and come over to our table to say hello.

0. We oversleep to such an extent that I decide to change my entire plans for the day – but it’s a lovely sleep in, so I don’t mind.

1. Hotel toast made with good bread. (If the butter had been a fresh bar, it have been, without exaggeration, the best toast I’d ever had. EVER.)

1b. Neither of us is particularly enthused about our plan to go out for dinner. Instead, we have tuna bagel melts and boy, do they hit the spot.

2. I enjoy seeing the ugly carpet – because it means I’ve cleared some more space of junk.

2b. While tidying, I find some forgotten craft supplies – presents from past me – and various papers and whatnot from my younger years. Some of them are difficult to read because they remind me of unhappy times but I have kept hold of them, lunging them with me from house to house, because it has felt like a betrayal to throw them away. Part of me wants to keep them forever – because they’re absolutely irreplaceable – but another part of me knows it’s time for them to go.

3. Lily freezes, mouth hanging open, near the gap in the wall – she would like to go over please. We both strike similar poses and her tail starts to wag.