Our niece is feeling much better, and is going to come around here with a bottle of prosecco this afternoon to watch the Wimbledon final with me. That's gonna be fun. We will be cheering for Federer who has the appeal of fading greatness, not that he has shewn much sign of fading in the tournament so far. Djkovic has had a much harder time on his path to the final. Maybe if Federer wins, there will be a brief appearance in the Players' Box of all four of his children. That would be fun. He and Mme. Federer now have two sets of twins.

Knitting continues well. Another day or two will see me around the first corner. But I suspect there won't be much done today.

After writing to you yesterday, I decided that it would be a good idea to switch to Sharon Miller's way of attaching the edging to the Unst Bridal Shawl. Writing often has that effect, of arranging and clarifying one's thinking. But then you commented, Jean from Cornwall, and I thought again. Indeed, thought again of Epaminondas. But for the moment, I am proceeding as before.

Non-knit, non-tennis

Thank you for your help with window-box planting, Foggy Knitter. Our local florist does a singularly good line in succulents. They ought to have some idea whether any of them are hardy – although all their stuff arrives in huge lorries from Holland, so one wonders. I'll pursue the idea. We have one of Jekyll's books on our gardening shelves in Strathardle, I don't know which. I'll have a look when we're there this week,

That paragraph is a bit disjointed. Foggy Knitter patiently found the reference I was asking for, at the end of Chapter 14 of Jekyll's “Wood and Garden” – her advice on planting a windowbox. It's easiest to click on the link to Chapter 15 and then scroll up a bit. Foggy Knitter has provided the link (repeated above) to the Project Gutenberg text.

Cathy phoned yesterday from Sydenham, to discuss plans for James's arrival here tomorrow with his daughters. James himself was outside working in the garden – that sentence deserves to end with a !

I thought that might be a good moment to let Mimi out. Cats often like helping their daddies in the garden. But she said they are sticking to the idea of keeping him in for a fortnight. My husband agrees. She said he is very keen to go out. He sees other cats out there sometimes, and needs to establish whether it is his garden or not.