Goodness gracious me. I'm glad – this is for GrannyPurple and Helen in Greece – I'm glad we don't have centipedes in Drummond Place.

Christmas

I got the supplementary cards written, and the cranberry sauce made. No wrapping. What do I do all day? Cook lunch, is the answer.

Have I made the sauce too soon? Delia Smith's recipe is not a preserve, more a fresh fruit compote (I think would be the word). Will it last for nine days? But it does contain a fair measure of sugar, and some port. I'll have to keep an eye on it.

Amazon emails to say that they can get Life Afer Life to me in time for Christmas after all. I thought they'd manage it.

Today's big treat – I think this belongs under the heading “Christmas” – is lunch with our niece, F's sister, at the Botanic Gardens. They do a splendid lunch there, fresh food, as local as possible, in a pleasant room. The tables are far enough apart that conversation is possible. One wall is glass, offering a view of the Gardens. We celebrated C's 80^th birthday there, shortly after her death – my husband and I, her three daughters with a selection of spouses. We've all been back in subsequent years.for her birthday weekend in early June.

But this time it's just us chickens. The venue is sufficiently genteel that with any luck we will escape that scourge of the December diner-out, the Office Party.

Knitting

I polished off one shoulder of the front of the Milano, and found myself too tired to undertake the second one – figuring out stripes, short-rowing the shoulder shaping, decreasing for the neck, all at once. I retreated to the Pakokku sock, the first of which is now progressing nicely down the foot. I'll polish off the other Milano shoulder this evening, insh'Allah, and perhaps even proceed to the three-needle bind-off at the top. I love three-needle binding-off.

Many thanks, Foggy Knitter, for the news that Meadow Yarns now stock madeleinetosh. I've dealt with them often, ordering superior circular and dp needles. My experience has been like yours -- the service is always good.

Herzog's CustomFit, as you know, is high on my must-do list for '14. Herzog herself has been talking us through the design process recently. She wants us to look at our wardrobe and think what we like to wear. Good idea – but what I really like is my dear Relax, perhaps not terribly flattering but deliciously comfortable. I'll wear it to lunch today. And I don't really need CustomFit for something which, essentially, doesn't fit.

So – on to Ravello? Or something snugger from CustomFit? And, if so, what? Madeleinetosh sock, in any case.