1. The woods are humid and for the first half of the walk, I’m sticky. Then the wind starts blowing in the birch leaves far above me and the rain begins. I’m absolutely drenched – and feel totally refreshed – by the time I get home.

2. The big lilac flowers on the clematis.

2b. He meows as soon as I enter the house and drools on my jeans as soon as I give him the chance.

3. We lie across the bed, surrounding the dog, a tangle of limbs and tails. It’s at times like these that I imagine how much if it would confuse future archaeologists if a Pompeii-style volcano exploded over us.

1. There is nothing obvious for lunch until we realise there are bagels in the freezer and both brie & bacon that need eating.

2. Lily sniffs at the bottle. She initially reacts in horror – it’s perhaps stronger and more complex than she’d expected – but then leans in and licks at the drops in the neck. John holds out his empty tumbler, and a long tongue stretches further than we’ve ever seen to lick the slick from the sides and bottom.

3. We watch The Descendants, but being us, we undermine every single touching moment with inappropriate jokes and comments about Clooney. I also try to do Cleveland-sans-moustache’s voice for the first time and don’t do a bad job of it.

1. I stand on the balcony to make my phone call; Strange is curled up on the patio chair below. Her little pink mouth opens and closes in meows of “what’s happening up there?”. By the time my call has finished, she’s relocated to the chair on the balcony instead.

2. I like living in a world where you can get both a potters wheel and your dinner delivered to your door. (The two things happened in quick succession this evening.)

2b. It’s a lazy dinner but just what I want.

3. She wheezes in her excitement at seeing her dad again – he had, after all, abandoned her for HOURS.

1. Pleasantly peppery noodles for lunch.

2. Trimming back the weeds along the pathway between the long & fruit bush beds, I find a rough stone path. The weeds had covered all the stones like a mat but once uncovered, it looks both neat and sweet. (And saves me a job: I’d already mentally allocated some paving flags for making a path there – now they can be used elsewhere.)

2b. We pause in the gardening for a quick walk around the park. I do a series of reps on the outdoor gym weight machines: between these and digging, I’ll hopefully be stronger for (pottery) throwing.

2c. Trimming back (and starting to dig over) the long bed makes the whole allotment seem neater and under control. (For now!)

3. Painting my toe nails on the balcony, in the still evening air.

0. I have a dream that I’ve been hired to take over The Daily Show from Jon Stewart. It’s a fun job.

1. We’ve decided to take a “little and often” approach to clearing out the garage: a boot load goes to the charity shop and the tip, with a wheelie bin filled with recycling too. Soon there will be enough space for a potters wheel and a little kiln – woohoo!

1b. Starting to make plans – what consumables I should buy and how I should manage the processes. I find ways to make it easier (at least to start with) and resources to help me work out what to do next.

2. I’m always surprised by the brownie. It’s soooooo good.

3. Dinner is patchy – it’s good food but there is a mix up with my order, the pub is noisy and technical problems cause an unrelated but simultaneous annoyance — but afterwards, we walk around Nunroyd Park and Lily’s tail wags and wags.

1. My pots from Friday are too dry to work with as I’d wanted but I can soften the edges of the two best cylinders and make nice, simple brush pots.

1b. The bone dry clay absorbs the water with a hiss. It looks like chocolate as it breaks down for reclaiming.

1c. Swirls of dark particles in the water.

2. I made, possibly, my best Jamaican-style fish stir fry yet. (I use this recipe as a vague guide, sometimes using salt fish, other times using frozen haddock (today was haddock), add more carrots & peppers but no cabbage, and add a couple of tbsps of lime juice after the soy. It’s delicious.)

3. Evening chores in the garden, followed by a little sit on the balcony. The air is cool and still.