1. Things go smoothly: I make my bus, I find the building, and the code for the elevator works first time.

2. A quick stop for a wee changes my perspective on my plans: I no longer feel the need to rush home straight away and instead wander around some shops (buying comic books and boots I’ve been dithering over for weeks), and have some delicious lunch.

2b. I burp delightfully complex flavours all afternoon.

3. I suddenly appear in a gap in the wall which surprises the woman and her beagles. Her dogs bark but are settled with some tickles. Like always when I stroke beagles (and beagle-adjacent) dogs, I’m surprised how bouncy their fur is.

3b. After a day thinking about old pictures, I find some pictures of the woods from 100 years ago and plan my walk to take current day photos en route. The great Needle’s Eye gatehouse is long gone (replaced by a boring metal access gate) but the top of the Cutting and the bridge are very much as they were, just surrounded with more greenery.

1. As soon as the strange men with their strange chainsaws leave the garden, the cats all dash in with tales to tell.

1b. Lily sniffs the branches that have been dropped into the garden. They probably smell like squirrels.

2. I pull up the remnants of the bolted lettuces and the yellow-leafed volunteer potatoes to give extra space for the autumn/overwinter crops. It neatens up the crop to a surprising extent – the patches of soil look strangely clean in their nakedness.

2b. I won’t harvest anything today. Well, maybe just a couple of courgettes for dinner tonight and Thursday; and maybe the tomatoes that are ready to drop; and of course the fat raspberries … I end up with a bag full and we have to carry a pumpkin too.

2c. A column of rainbow rises from the valley. By the time we come down the hill a little, it’s filled out into a full, strong arc stretching from Apperley Bridge to Woodhall. But its beauty has competition: looking around as we cross the road, we see the sunset is painted in an equally amazing array of colours.

3. When I start a 100 Mario Challenge on Super Mario Maker, 99 little Mario sprites dash onto the screen in tight formation, followed a second later by Mr 100. It slays me every time – so cute!

1. We both feel rested after a relaxing week: our heads clear, we skip through our tasks for the day.

2. Dinner is inspired by the contents of the fridge more than anything, but it fills a craving we didn’t know we had.

3. As I let Lily out for her last wee, I see the fuchsia has bent over under the weight of its flowers and it forms a vivid pink blur in the dark.

1. I have a dream that I’ve lost Lily and thankfully get to find her before I wake up. We hug in the dream, then when I get up, we hug in the same way in real life (except John joins in too).

2. I finalise my Game of Thrones themed Mario Maker level – an epic journey across Westeros rendered in Super Mario Bros 3 graphics. I hit the tile limit filling two full courses (above ground and below) with multiple paths through each stage and dozens of references. It turns out far better than I expected.

3. John saves a ring of green pepper to decorate the top of the curry. With turmeric yellow, seeded rice, the dish looks as pretty as it’s tasty.

1. I dither with Mario Maker levels that don’t go anywhere then I hit upon an concept that makes me jump about with glee every time another idea occurs to me.

2. The mist over the fields make it look like it’s very early in the morning rather than the golden hour.

3. We buy a ridiculously amount of pizza. (In fairness, there were nine of us and someone else showed up later.) It’s very nice. Lily even takes advantage of the chaos to steal a slice of the tuna one.

3b. D & E hand out gifts from their recent trip to Korea. My cat socks get put into action within the hour.

3c. (Pre-pizza) Lily’s obsessed with the treat bag so doesn’t fully appreciate the hugs that are being bestowed on her.

3d. After being embarrassingly bad at it a fortnight ago, and only winning my first single point last weekend, I win a whole round of the game. I really didn’t mind being bad at it, but I think it’s more fun for all of us now we’re at a similar level.

1. With no time for more elaborate plans, we walk over to the allotment and Mum leaves with a selection of fruit and veg.

2. We’d spotted a French cafe while waiting at the bus stop yesterday, and though we’re in a bit of a hurry, we call in for some lunch before Mum’s train. The croque monsieurs are deliciously rich. Later, the macarons are deliciously sweet.

3. The (organic, local) beef even smells great raw.