1. While I’m waiting for Lily to wee, I strip out the old crocosmia leaves to make room for the new shoots. The planters look a little bare but the patio looks a lot neater.

2. A perfect pinwheel of pancake.

3. I put my leg on the cushion as a guardrail but Lily uses it as a pillow.

1. A pumpkin *explodes* underneath my foot. The chickens step back and cluck quiet complaints.

1b. The pulp washes away from the seeds. Set on a piece of kitchen roll, they’ll just have time to dry off before I need to start the cycle again.

2. I am quite fond of the pyjamas & wellies aesthetic. (Though I’d only wear it in the garden.)

3. John says the salad he’s just made is “handsome”. He’s right – and it’s delicious too: fresh and fruity.

1. The weather is as good as you could expect for this time of year – and it’s lovely to be out enjoying it. I’ve missed being in woodland.

1b. To learn new techniques, ways to refine existing skills and completely new things.

1c. The shavings of white wood at my feet.

1d. My first fox is a little lopsided but I’m happy with him. I’ll make the rest of his pack soon.

1e. The smell of woodsmoke lingers in my hair all day.

2. We show off our dogs over Facetime.

2b. Everyone on the screen wants to chat to little J but she keeps looking at me sticking my tongue out at her.

3. My phone buzzes with messages all evening – some are serious and difficult but most are full of excitement and enthusiasm for fun things.

0. Frustrating yet creative insomnia.

1. I flick through the pages of the little booklets and see ideas upon ideas.

1b. I’m surprised how quickly our pages – and our collaborative zine – come together. My drawings come out better than I thought they would in such a hurry – I particularly like my little portrait of John: I’ve finally figured our how to draw his hairline and facial hair.

1c. Laden with boring shopping, I rush down through the town in the raining and arrive at the bus stop at the same time as the bus — but unfortunately then remember that I have more chores to do before I can set off home. I manage to get them done in the ten minutes between buses and for the second time, arrive at the bus stop just as the bus is pulling up.

2. I don’t quite nap but it’s nice to curl up in bed with a book for half an hour. It’s almost as good as a nap really, and I don’t end up quite so disorientated.

3. We share a few dishes and they’re all interesting and delicious. The staff are super friendly too.

1. I seize two bulls by the horns sending out a few emails. I spend the rest of the day waiting for replies that never come but still, I’m glad I sent them.

2. At dusk, the blue light on the cherry-plum blossom makes it looks like snow.

3. Stitches, neat in a line, carefully space and recursive, make the felt suddenly more interesting.

3b. I make more felt – colour blocks in single, and blended, shades; an experimental tube of felt is cut open to reveal its colourful core; and a final piece of completely blended fibres, will curls of stark white on top, which forms a beautifully natural shape.

1. The chaff seems essential context but once it’s stripped away, the wheat that’s left seems so much stronger.

2. Next door’s silky kitten visits me at the chickens and their other cat, the fluffy tux is waiting when I return to the top patio. It’s only after stroking her for a few moments that I realise Strange is nearby and the two ladies are fighting. Every now and then Strange emits a low growl and the other cat echoes with a hiss — but her heart isn’t it in: she makes the noise but her eyes, her tail, her attention remain happily on me.

2b. Tilda stands on the back of my office chair. When she jumps off, Kaufman on the seat spins a good 90degrees.

3. I can’t find a film to watch – I just want something nice and calm, with interesting characters and a dearth of contrived antics. A David Sedaris audio book ends up fitting the bill perfectly.