John’s birthday.

1. I spend the day playing with numbers in spreadsheets, something I always find strangely pleasing.

2. Two types of marinated chicken, yum.

2b. Lily plays up to her granny and pop-pops because she knows they’re soft on her.

3. Strange misses us when we’re out in the evening. She cuddles into me as soon as I get into bed.

1. My laundry helper joins me on the bed.

2. A pan filled with soup appears alongside dinner with minimal effort. By the time it’s poured into pots, it’s a warm golden colour.

3. The fleeting moment when I feel like I truly understand the maths topic du jour. (Fleeting because then it goes onto the next stage and I get lost again.)

1. It’s wrong to say we’re wandering aimlessly as we have allsorts of things on our mental lists to buy (or at least check out), but we move inefficiently around the DIY store. Then John hands me one of the bar clamps he’s buying and we shoot each other as we wander.

2. Bacon rolls. The fluffy bread pushes down to nothing but the crust keeps its integrity.

3. Sitting with my white-belly crew. Later, watching my boys cuddle near the stove.

3b. Clouds of breath. Orion has shifted to east-south-east.

1. On a bit of a whim, we try a different curry than normal – a fish Sindi. It’s saucy but fresh.

2. My new hoodie is delightfully cosy.

3. The first truly cold night of winter. The sky is clear and I watch the stars. Orion is to the east and I admire the different glittering colours of his shoulders.

1. I go the laundrette to wash/dry some bedding. It’s changed hands recently and the fantastically styled (yet presumably inefficient) dryers have been replaced with super modern ones. The new managers come in to collect the morning’s takings and refill the powder/softener and I am allowed a peek behind the scenes. One of them tells me that it would cost £1000 to replace the dispenser so its retro design (and decades of dents) are allowed to stay.

1b. We discuss our desire for proper snow.

2. I teach John to make something I usually cook. I feel a little like Ratatouille (though slightly less hairy).

3. I finally finish my stripey blanket – I hooked the vast majority of it at the end of the summer but as usual, have dithered on the last 5%. I tie off the last row of short stitches — and immediately pick up another ball of yarn to start work on my next project.

1. Short stints of blue sky throughout the day. The ivy in the trees and on the woodland floor look like leather – specifically, the leather of the old Chesterfield sofa that we briefly inherited from John’s mum and dad.

2. Nutella on a bagel.

2b. Because the rest of the soup is surprisingly simple, I take the time to arrange the side plates: mirrored slices of lime, curves of red onion like rainbows, super green coriander leaves and a puddle of thin sliced chillis in the centre. (I leave the beansprouts separate, to bring down the colourful platter.)

3. We meet New Friendly Black Dog at the canal end of Eleanor Drive and I get a hug while Lily sneaks away. A few seconds later, I spot the original FBD playing fetch in the field.