We’re back. As ever, I suppose, we got some things done but not as much as needed doing.

The weather wasn’t too bad, but unconscionably cold for the time of year. I like to work in my vegetable patch first thing in the morning, while my porridge cooks. I would come in after half an hour with my fingers burning with cold. The soil warms up during the day, and is quite comfortable to work in the afternoon. But those poor little seeds have to manage out there 24/7.

My husband had some muscular trouble with his right leg, and was able to do even less than usual. It was fearful to see him so reduced.

But he picked a lot of dandelions, a favourite project this time of year.

And I planted potatoes, broad beans, and peas, and set out my plug plants, beetroot and climbing beans. I expect nothing at all of the latter, in this weather, so the only possible surprise will be a pleasant one.

Greek Helen phoned. She is keeping the car topped up with petrol, and laying in a good supply of lentils and candles. They are just back from a holiday in the Peloponnese. 

And now we are back to the Dining Room Problem. My husband has begun to wonder – and the notion had flickered across my own mind, but I hadn’t mentioned it to him – whether we could take a chance and leave the ceiling up there. Mr ChemDry is coming this morning. We want him to lift the Upstairs floorboards and tell us what he thinks of things from that viewpoint.

Meanwhile (my husband doesn’t know this yet) Upstairs’ insurers have turned down our request for compensation for damage to our furniture and books. I expected this, and will phone our nice solicitor this morning. His field of expertise is agricultural law. He would be more in his comfort zone if Upstairs had let sheep into the dining room.

So what about knitting?

Snoodknitter, it was wonderful to hear from you. I never did solve the problem of how to leave comments of my own on individual comments – so can only answer you this way. It would be great to meet – and compare snoods! – if we ever get to London again.

While we were away, I made a bit of progress with the Japanese shirt. I’ve put in a third one-row buttonhole. I’m getting better at it. Here, I’m knitting the foot of Lizzie’s second sock. A bit of progress there, too.

This is interesting, about the two sorts of Zauberball being made of two sorts of yarn, plyed and unplyed. An argument against on-line shopping? Except that I didn’t notice the unplyed state of the plain-vanilla Zauberballs when they arrived, and probably wouldn’t have spotted it in a shop. Now I’ll just have to go ahead and knit my sister’s cranberry socks with unplyed yarn and see what I think.