1. Lily is clearly in a cuddly mood. She crept up between us during the night before retreating again, but as soon as she sees I’m awake, she returns. She rests her head on my pillow and snuggles with me until John wakes up too.

2. I spend longer than I intended writing the review but it’s enjoyable to get my thoughts straight – and to learn what I should avoid (in order to appeal to someone like me) in my work.

3. Like magic, I can suddenly twist my neck another few degrees.

1. Lounging around, snacking on various leftovers and making jokes. I am deeply envious of the others pyjamas though.

2. Lily shuffles around on the throw until she is under it completely then sticks the tip of her nose out of one end. After a minute she shuffles again until she is perfectly swaddled by its camouflaging stripes. She poses while we all take pictures.

3. As soon as we get home, I change into my pyjamas at last and a Strange cat glues herself to me.

1. I tell John that I’ve put Strange in charge for while we’re away and he laughs heartily. Worst choice ever.

2. The lights reflected in the reservoir.

3. After dithering for two days, we make a surprisingly quick decision about dinner.

3b. The kitchen fills with a sharp citrus tang. We all take a moment to place it before we see the pile of lime zest growing in the icing.

3c. The amount of cheese and cheese accessories on the table is almost overwhelming. Luckily we have a cunning plan to deal with the abundance.

3d. We induct the newcomers into the Showgirls hall of insanity then try and fail to draw masterpieces using the steam controller. We laugh a lot.

4. Lily has been anxious all night – overtired and fearing a car journey home – but when things quieten down, she settles too and when we go to bed, she curls up between our legs and is snoring within seconds.

1. The other John wasn’t wrong: it has a pretty great cheese and beer selection. I wouldn’t want to do my weekly shop there, but it serves our needs very well.

2. The air bed inflates at a remarkable speed. Such witchcraft alarms the cats and the dog – the latter of whom sees it for what it really is: a fancy balloon.

3. Strange’s little searching face when she wants some attention. Tilda’s little jump into our hands when she wants a head tickle. Kaufman’s solidness.

1. I like soup.

1b. We watch the cat – the one I think that has been sneaking in to eat our cats’ food – exploring the elder tree and sniffing the sycamore stump.

2. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: black cats look awesome on bright geometric patterns.

3. Reading in French is enjoyable but slow going: everything is anchored around the content words (the verbs and nouns especially), tense and belonging only come after that, and only when the literal is understood do I apply my metaphor/idiom interpretor. I wonder if I read in English in the same way – just faster.

1. Tilda watches my hand as it stretches out and back in again.

2. The golden sun over the hills to the south.

3. The lucet cord grows and grows.

3b. I have to look very closely at the yarn to see whether it’s handspun or bought. I take this as a good sign.