1. I notice that the grey in the hearts on her collar matches her fur. I don’t think this is a coincidence.

2. A fox runs down the path before us and then ducks into the trees. A few months ago, it would have been camouflaged by the russet leaves on the ground but today it stands out starkly against the dark mud and the green.

3. Dinner is an absolute bodge – I get about halfway into it before realising we’re missing an absolutely key ingredient (the tortillas in enchiladas). I end up making a crazy Mexican-flavoured risotto-type thing instead: it’s not brilliant but it could have been a lot worse.

1. The neighbours’ little dog and silky kitty come to visit for an hour and a half while prospective buyers look around their house. We keep them separate from our animals but it’s still a chaotic 90 minutes – cute too though. M-dog sits on my knee, facing away from me, as I scratch her back and R-kitten rolls around on my office chair when I show him my secret stash of cat nip in my desk drawer. Meanwhile Strange stands on her hind legs to peer through the window in the office door at the guests/interlopers.

2. Little domes of moss – green with silvers fronds – reminds me of the type of furry hats once worn by rich women.

3. Saltiness within the sweet.

1. Pink streams from planes.

2. Lily is the oldest dog in the world on her way out for a walk but a little puppy when she gets back. She bounces about with excitement over her post-walk treat, and chases the bone that I throw for her.

3. I’ve been looking at these paths all week but suddenly, at the last minute, I realise how I can make them more efficient and effective.

1. A parcel filled with good quality socks in pretty colours.

2. I notice the sunset turning the mud pond to gold, then realise the stream feeding the pond is the same way too.

3. I start work on a new crochet project: a fox shaped scarf. I’m not too keen on the crochet patterns out there for it – they seem a bit blocky compared to the knitted versions – so I try to devise a pattern myself. It takes a few tries to get the slope of the tail right, then I have to start again when I realise I’ve made the pale tip too long – but the do-over works up quickly, as is a good way to test my pattern. I even get to work the rippled colour join (while still increasing the length of the rounds) before bedtime.

3b. For various reasons, we’ve mentioned the film Clueless a few times recently and since he’s had a strong beer, John readily agrees when I suggest watching it. It’s always funnier than I think it’ll be but this time we also noticed the fun direction too.

1. I accidentally tear a hole in the bottom of the bag but then I use it to my advantage – funnelling the layers pellets into the feeder rather than messily pouring. I watch the pellets smoothly drop away.

2. I add some lines to the blank shapes and suddenly they’re a lot more interesting.

3. After a couple of years of objecting to the slightest movement, Strange is becoming quite the little duvet surfer of late – I move from sitting to lying down without a break in her purring.

1. Little F sings us a slightly unseasonal Christmas song and his mum tells us about his critiques of carol singers.

2. A feature in the game that I’d always ignored turns out to be exactly what I wanted.

3. I spend the evening reading back through old diary entries and memories: it’s not what I intended to do with the time but it’s enjoyable all the same.