My husband is coming home from hospital this afternoon. I am seriously apprehensive but we can't go on like this forever. A district nurse will come in twice a day, at least at first, to give him his insulin injections. I'll ring the GP's office soon in the hopes of hearing that arrangement confirmed. An ambulance will bring us home, obviating several problems.

Maybe when he is here I will be able to formulate what sort of “help” and “care” we need, if any. Other than a 24-hour resident daughter or sister or son or friend.

On a more optimistic note, we may have found a cat. There is a website called Gumtree where people advertise cats. The sort of cats which in My Day they were grateful to you for taking away and which now cost silly prices. I had visited the site several times without spotting the kitten Greek Helen saw yesterday. I have emailed the owner and am waiting to hear. It's not old enough to leave its mother yet. It lives in an Edinburgh suburb. It might be possible – on the idea several of you have suggested, of having two indoor cats to keep each other company – to get her sister as well.

Amelia, yours is a very good point, which hadn't occurred to me: that we are old, and today's kitten might well outlive us. I think I can trust our family on this point. Except for Greek Helen who has gone over to the Dark Side and got herself a dog. But it would be a good idea to speak to them specifically on the subject. (James and Cathy, remember, have moved their cat from Beijing to Sydenham at no small expense and inconvenience; they know what's important.)

Knitting

I did a bit more of that Tokyo shawl stripe yesterday. Once my husband is here we will surely revert to Mindless Television – I have scarcely had the thing on since he left – and more knitting will be done.

A new post from Kate Davies! I thought maybe she was going to offer some advice and comfort to those of us who love her Fantoosh shawl and are frustrated by not being able to buy the yarn. But no! It was about her new raised beds, which are indeed enviable.

The new issue of Knitting magazine has an interesting article about Annette Bugansky who renders knitting in porcelain. I was interested to read about how and why a plaster mould becomes blurred and unusable after a number of pots have been cast from it. I have some china of my mother's, probably wedding presents – and a few of the pieces are noticeably blurred. Presumably she was replacing breakages, and presumably Lenox went on using their moulds for a little too long. It is rather gratifying to find a (possible) explanation for something that had long (slightly) puzzled me.

And, goodness, I'd like one of one of Bugansky's Yarn Ball Yarn Bowls. It probably costs even more than a kitten. The link includes an interesting video of the making of it. The finished object is clearly bigger than one might otherwise think from still photographs. You could probably get two balls of yarn in there.