In lieu of breakfast, the most handsome cat in the world, baklava
1. After a day apart, we catch up before getting up. He tells me his news and I tell him mine. At half hour intervals, we discuss making pancakes for breakfast but neither of us moves. 2. The cats look delightful on the new duvet cover. It’s spotty (like Smarties, Katherine says) and multi-coloured, a [...]
Warm-up, someone made some effort, starting the sauce
1. Around the time of her usual lunchtime walk, her tail starts wagging even though the rest of her is dozing on the sofa. “It’s a warm-up, like stretching,” I tell John. 2. The boxes are coloured to indicate who they’re for – the big cat, the little cat or the dog. The colours – [...]
Three Beautiful Things before breakfast
(Well, actually, during the night/before my alarm went off to start the day, but that “before breakfast” has got a better ring to it.) 1. When it is dark: the world is as silent and still as I’ve ever heard it her. No wind in the trees, no traffic noise, no birds or animals making [...]
Crack, a pretty coincidence, accomplishment
1. The sharp snap as I break the twigs. 2. The arrangement of the washing on the line looks deliberately composed. The duck-egg blue of the bath towels, the washed out mid-blue of the dog ones and the soft turquoise & cream of the tea towels all coordinate while standing out against the leafy green [...]
Office humour, passing over, step by step
1. Sometimes our banter is so perfectly timed that it sounds almost scripted (in a good way). 2. A flash of red reflected in the stream as John steps from bank to bank. 3. The design evolves step by step until it’s just right.
Breakfast, animals x 3, showcase x3
1. The sweetness of the crisp bacon, the sourness of the muffin, the silkiness of the scrambled egg and the substantial chewiness of the sausage. A great breakfast. 2. Animals: a) The chickens cluck around me, interested in what I’m doing to their drinker, to their grit hopper and to their coop. When I’m working [...]
3BT – keeping separate, worth the work, evening walk
1. The clear oil cuts through the beetroot-stained vinegar on the plate. 2. I’m re-reading ‘I Capture The Castle’ by Dodie Smith yet again. The introduction to my edition tells me: “[Dodie] rewrote every line, under [husband] Alec’s critical supervision, hearing every line of dialogue in her head and unable to stop thinking about it [...]
3BT – once our own, the afternoon’s colours, nightmare-inducing
1. It’s still early for Armley and the woods are our own again. I tell Lily about the adventures the cats got up to when they lived here. It feels like a million years ago now. I thought I’d never been able to let it go but it’s been surprisingly easy. 2. The dusky pink [...]
