1. Apparently the key to success when framing artwork or embroidery is to finally give up trying and just bung it in.

2. I add chunks of red onion and some cherry tomatoes to the roasting tray and suddenly the meal seems so much more complete.

3. An evening of crochet – and a personal best: one and two-thirds squares! At this rate, I might be able to use my blanket before it’s no longer needed.

1. Is there a word for when you only spot an interesting newspaper article when you’re on the verge of destroying the paper, for example just about to use it light a fire or line a chicken coop? If there isn’t a word, there should be and that would be my title for this entry.

2. I like bread that grows more enjoyable with age.

3. We are distracted from the chill by a conversation that loops and winds as much as our path.

4. I *finally* discover Garfunkle and Oates; amazed that I haven’t found them before but better late than never. I found them after someone linked to this video (“29/31”) without comment/explanation, so I shall (by and large) do the same.

1. To finish an hour earlier than expected.

1b. To return home to a really good batch of pasta sauce. I change my t-shirt so that I can enjoy the spatter of spaghetti without worry.

1c. Puppy paws – two front legs flapping in unison, back legs like happy lambs – also greet my return.

2. To closely examine the precise mechanics of something I do through muscle memory.

3. A surprisingly enjoyable film: considerably richer (no pun intended) than I thought it would be.

1. I perform a calculation mid-sentence during a conversation without pause or thought. A few seconds later, my conscious mind kicks in and questions what just happened – did I really just get the maths right on the fly? My face becomes blank and I say “what?” several times. We laugh at the sudden change.

2. Nothing gets Lily as hyper as getting out of the shower. She soaks the whole bathroom then, when I open the door, runs down two flights of stairs to tell John she’s clean.

3. The smoothness of my new crochet hook; the speed at which a square works up.

* John’s joke while I was “what”ing

1. Breakfast on the balcony for the first time this year: the bright sun taking the chill of the air and underfoot. Lily lies down, alert but not anxious, and the cats stretch out on the wood store’s roof.

2. To finally understand properly something – and to have an easy to apply rule for the future too.

3. The soft green shoots have shot up at an amazing rate. I gently tuck them down under the hoop.

4. Carla makes her own hammock with John’s hood, suspended between the dining room chair and table. I make cooing noises but she sleeps on.