1. So many of the early interactions between the dog and cats were fraught with confusion – a wagging tail means one thing to one and the opposite to the others – but thankfully they quickly learnt there is overlap between Lily-dog’s desire to sniff the cats when they come and their desire to rub their scents on her.

2. The biggest dandelion tap roots I’ve ever seen – it’s beautiful that they’re out of the ground and hopefully won’t steal any more nutrients from my blueberry bush.

2b. The little girl and Lily see each other at the same time. Lily watches the girl play with the ball then I hear the girl run into the house and tell her grandma that there is a pretty doggy outside.

2c. It’s ever so cute when John comes to meet me at the allotment: today it’s on his way home from the office and he brings us ice lollies. He takes Lily for a run in the park while I clear up then we walk home together.

3. John has bought me some presents – well, the main two are to share (a bluray player and the three seasons of Game of Thrones boxset) but the third one is all mine. (It’s perfect because it’s nerdy but also something we joked about in passing a few weeks ago.)

4. Strange has a habit of cutting across into the dining room without saying hello but if we call to her, she comes back into the living room as the friendliest cat in the world.

1. Dancing with the dog, making her tail wag, then this little incident, which made me laugh and laugh.

2. The smell of freshly cut wood.

3. John’s guffaws bounce off the trees, filling the whole wood with (smutty) laughter.

4. I pick up Kaufman and ask where his sister is. The answer comes as a mew from behind me: I turn to see Strange’s head poking out the pop-hole door.

1. Lounging around until lunchtime.

2. I keep hearing little noises behind me on the allotment – one way, it is a bush label against a cane, but the other way… I turn around and there is a pair of squirrels gnawing away at monkey nuts on the fence.

2b. I get more done than I thought I would – and I also decide what I’m doing next. (The little herb beds next to the path, so it smells nice as I walk by, with a special lemon balm bush next to where I see to discourage bugs).

3. A lovely light dinner – just pasta and salad, but perfectly done.

1. We sit on the bench looking out over Wharfedale, just chatting about this and that. A guy – covered in tattoos and looking tough – zooms down the path on his bike, then stops just short of the drop. He slowly looks back and forth, enjoying the view, then finally takes out his camera to take a snap, before he moves on.

1b. Two more cyclists come barrelling down from the trees. One points down the near vertical hillside and asks the other if they should keep going. The second man thinks about it for a moment before realising the joke.

2. Lily feels especially silky after a trim and a wash.

3. We stroll as a group through the hot rain, glad the heat has broken and strangely not getting wet.

3b. To see friends behaving differently, sweetly, in the presence of newcomers.

1. Raku firing is scary – our clay pieces are heated to past red hot in a gas kiln, then they’re precariously plucked out with a pair of tongs and dropped in a bin of sawdust (which immediately bursts into flames) – but it is exhilarating too. The resulting work is shiny, metallic and gorgeously unpredictable.

1b. We kneel in a row, letting horse hair dance across the dangerously hot surfaces. I flick a pinch of sugar over my bull too – its bubbles and burns the clay a deep matte black.

1c. Because of all the fire and death heat machines, we have to wear heavy gloves and sturdy boots. The only strong boots I have are my winter snow boots: when we’re done, I take them off and stand on the cold tile floor. Bliss.

1d. I put aside what needs to be done to have an hour or so on the wheel. I make a cylinder and some bowls – not great works but nice to know that I haven’t forgot everything over the last fortnight.

2. The contrast between the spicy marinade and the cold meat.

3. I’m tired and I go to bed.

1. We take a short break – me with a glass of squash, John with an ice lolly – and look out over the sunny garden.

2. I let some dead leaves flutter down and am given a meow in protest. Apparently Strange doesn’t like having things dropped on her head when she’s weeing in my flower bed.

2b. The pink flower is denser than I thought it would be: it looks fluffy and light but is actually a solid bloom.

3. Lily is asleep when John comes home. In days gone by, he wouldn’t have been able to get through the garden gate without her velcroing herself to his legs in excitement but today, he comes in, says hello standing over her then sits down — and she still sleeps. About ten minutes of chatter later, she wakes and sniffs the air: she starts to cross to the doorway before she turns and sees him on the sofa. She’s limping – the old lady’s fallen asleep on her leg again – but her tail wags like a puppy.