1. We wake up so late that we have no option but to write off the day. A good excuse to have an afternoon of crochet & Parks and Rec.

2. The sunset stains the hills red. I wish our friends lived to the west so we could chase it as it falls.

3. I’m comically bad at the new game we try – partly because I’m not as familiar with the mechanic as the others and partly because my head is still foggy. If I was a little better, it would be embarrassing but I’m so bad that I have to laugh.

1. We haven’t been gone for long enough for Lily to start worrying – she’s snoozing on the bed when I pop up to collect her. She looks at me disbelievingly via the mirror.

2. To revisit an old game for the first time in years. I enjoy the fond memories from university that it inspires as much the gameplay itself.

3. The reliability of hot & sour soup to clear my foggy head. (Tom yam works the same way.)

1. Making nerdy plans is always fun.

2. A surprisingly good lunch.

3. After the pounds of beans the other day, I harvest berries and pea pods. The autumn raspberries are bigger than their summer counterparts, and there is a unexpected flush on the new summer canes too (I thin out the old growth to let them breath). I wasn’t going to pick any blackberries at the plot (since I can get plenty in the woods next to our house) but they’re also too big to resist, flush from the rain of recent weeks. Finally, I pick as many peas as I can see: the perfect mange tout, the ones swollen with peas and the ones that are a bit damaged (the chickens can have those). The peas plants are tiring now but unladen, we might get an additional flush on there too.

3b. The moment the pods pop open.

1. The internet is out all day so I abandon my plans (such as they were) and take to the sofa with my crocheting. I (re-)watch an Noah Baumbach film Margot at the Wedding while I’m hooking: I wouldn’t say I like the film as a whole but some of the exchanges are perfectly written and executed.

2. A walk in the woods with just Lily and my thoughts.

3. Chilli Ramen soup for dinner – always a favourite but the broth is the best yet. I enjoy every drop of it.

3b. For speed, I throw the chilli in the blender rather than chopping it by hand. It smells fruity.

1. The tip of a tail betrays the cat’s attempt to sneak into a hiding place. I stick a hand into the washing basket to feel the fur of another.

2. Blue sky overhead tells me the heavy rain shower will be short lived. When I emerge from the shed, I see the bean leaves are coated in sparkling droplets.

3. The light over the armchair illuminates the bookshelves too. I tell John that as much as I like the coolness of the house (particularly the office) in summer, this really is a house built for winter: blankets, and books, and woodstoves, oh my.

4. Heavy lemon cake.

1. Our Parks & Rec rewatch continues. We’re in its prime now – mid-late season 2 and season 3 – and it’s just so good.

2. Dinner feels basic – just an old school pasta standby – but it’s surprisingly moreish.

3. I keep thinking I’ve used up my favourite colour sequences already, then I hook a new few rows and think this is my new favourite one.