1. I find a very pleasing little puzzle game: Prune. When we go outside, I look at trees in a new light.

2. The weather brightens as we walk. Down near the canal, we watch a dog bounce towards a duck then later, her brother swims directly across the water to greet some people on the other side – his little head and nose make him look like an otter. (They also both find my treat filled coat pocket.)

3. John’s best chapatis yet.

1. The pancakes are sweeter than usual and edges are a touch crispy too.

2. I stick the pictures I painted yesterday into my sketch book. I cut up the pieces I was less happy with and assemble them afresh – they become much more interesting and I get to think about composition a second time.

3. The amount of garlic on the special pollo pizza.

3b. I lose the game but at least my basic arithmetic is better this week.

1. The lightness of my silk scarf after a winter of my bulkier one.

2. Maintaining a consistent amount of paint on the brush.

3. We re-watch the final episode of Game of Thrones season 4 ‘The Children’. We keep thinking the episode is coming to an end but it keeps going, one stunning scene after another.

1. I make a pate for lunch and we both remark it’s “good mackerel”.

2. The water pressure has been low all day but it still takes me a moment to realise that there is now no water coming from the tap. It’s jarring like a shoelace snapping. Over the rest of the afternoon, I feel both frustrated – sudden aware how much I randomly rinse my hands – and grateful that this is a very rare occurrence.

3. Night falls while I’m on the phone to my mum. Still too bright for stars, only one light shines in the eastern sky – I guess it’s Jupiter. A hundred miles away, my mum, and later my dad, look at it too. After we hang up, I use the binoculars to proof myself right – I see three moons, even though the living room window, with the lights on behind me.

1. I know the greenhouse is dirty but I’m still quite surprised by how much difference a couple of hours of cleaning makes – the glass sparkles in the sun.

1b. All the cats (ours and our neighbours) visit me while I’m working – possibly because I throw out some old catnip plants.

2. Spiked flowers on the Easter cactus in a vivid magenta.

3. Good ham always reminds me of being little, at my grandma and grandad’s house. This is good ham.

3b. Later, sinus-unclogging soup.

1. I find the perfect phrase to sum up how I feel about my life at the moment.

2. The chewy smokiness of the aubergine.

3. The pattern is simple (both in theory and practise) but the variegated colour of the yarn packs it with texture anyway.