Lots today!

0. The ruby coloured jam is perfectly fruity and exquisitely sweet.

1. One dog, two cats and six chickens: I like having company as I go about my garden chores.

1b. The hose coughs up shards of ice.

2. We’re just finishing lunch when the doorbell rings: it’s our neighbour R asking, essentially, if we’re playing out. We are. As always, our conversation flows at 100mph and bounces from topic to topic but every moment of it is interesting and I learn a slew of new things (and suddenly have another pile of things to read up on).

2b. R gets my fascination with the history of rope. At last, someone understands!

2c. M, R’s dog, wags his tail as R strums the ukulele. Later, after a post-walk nap, he demands a constant flow of tickles.

3. Eight fat rolags prepared before bedtime. Future me will be pleased.

1. The dog’s hopeful expression, eyeing my sandwich.

2. In the distance, the gold and pink drops behind the Welsh hills. Inland, the  blue is turning mauve. The wind makes my mum’s hair stand on end.

2b. The pool looks shallow but under the water, the sand must suddenly drop away. Lily finds herself swimming – something that she usually avoids – and she does it well, with no fuss and no danger.  She’ll only fall for it twice though – after that, she skirts around the shallows as she runs between us.

3. I joke but it is really the truth: you really can’t turn off a game of Tetris in the middle. Our conversation continues but is punctuated with exclamations over mis-dropped blocks.

1. Kaufman thinks the cardboard box is a solid surface to land on but the unsupported flaps give way underneath his weight. He crashes through but doesn’t stop playing – he still grabs after the toy while wearing the box like a tutu.

2. Slowly scraping and shaping the clay.

3. D has bought Lily some treats. This touches me greatly. (He has also bought the humans some surprisingly nice popcorn.)

3b. I love that my friends get it when I make obscure jokes about things that happened 20 years ago.

1. The beck is very busy – it has clearly been raining a lot – but right now, there is nothing but glorious sunshine.

1b. Strange stretches out on top of the wood store to sunbathe. All our cats have liked sunbathing there: it is a sun trap, close to the house and sheltered by a holly bush so no one (feline, canine or human) can sneak up you from behind. Strange is a bit too lively to just sit back and relax though: she lies still for a moment then is up, chasing flies.

2. I don’t really do revenge in real life but in this computer game, when their little sprites have repeatedly attacked my village and destroyed fleet after fleet of my ships, I mentally tell the Greens and Reds: YOU. WILL. PAY.

3. As tops, the wool is navy and a cold violet, the silk is white and red, but all blended together and spun finely, they make the most beautiful, rich purple.

0. Tilda has been waiting patiently for a tickle. When I lean forward, it’s almost too much for her – with glee, she drops and rolls onto her back so I can tickle her fluffy tummy. These cats have learnt some very doggy habits from their big sister, Lil.

1. The clay is soft and pleasantly malleable underneath my fingers: I’ve missed it. I start two projects I’ve been meaning to make for a while.

1b. My two refining-my-work bowls are ready to fire and all the glazing I did just before Christmas is in the kiln – meaning next time I go in, I’ll have a lot of fun things to bring home.

2. The speed of the tail’s rotation increases as John rounds the corner.

3. “He is a GENIUS of exaggeration.”

1. To be saved from having to deal with my phone company by John’s contact spray.

2. The beef smells delicious as it browns in the pan. The onions smell delicious as they brown in the pan. The parsnips… I’m clearly hungrier than I thought – thankfully the stew doesn’t take too long.

3. The lecture series isn’t quite as good as I’d hoped – too much emphasis on poetry, points pressed for too long, his voice a little too forced for clear articulation – but every lecture, I learn something that delights me.