We had sorrel soup yesterday, from a recipe as recently adumbrated, and with the main ingredient harvested from our own doorstep. Very tasty it was, too.

Here is June virtually gone – the summer solstice passed, always a sad moment. Plenty of excitement left this week, however. I don’t have a vote of my own, not being a British subject, but Archie says he has no idea how to deal with the referendum and is happy to cast my vote. I have told him to vote Remain, although with many misgivings. I won’t be entirely sorry if it goes the other way.

That very day (=tomorrow) is Rachel’s birthday. And two days later, her husband will be 60. If you want to feel old, try having your younger sister living in a retirement community and then finding that you have a son-in-law of sixty.

Yesterday was a day much like other days. My husband is still not walking at all, even with his zimmer frame. “Transfers” are slow and difficult. A dr will see him tomorrow.

I knit happily on with Gudrun’s hap. Purling alternate rows is bearable. I have twice found myself knitting when I should have been purling. Both times, I tinked, and re-did it right. I continue to enjoy this project enormously.

There are lots of interesting colour ideas in KD’s new Haps book, and two whole pages of colour schemes in Sharon Miller’s haps book. I like the notion of having the centre a blaze of colour, as in the picture on page 21 of KD’s book. All I need now is lots of great-grandchildren.

I’m glad you’re enjoying the book, Melfina, and very happy to take credit for inspiring you to buy it. Godrun’s Hansel pattern provides an excellent template for centre-out hap-knitting. Though essentially an edging-in girl myself, I think I’ll be coming back to this one often.

Thank you for the suggestion, Carol, that I look again at the Mason-Dixon knitting blog. I’ve signed up. And I wandered for a while through the old favourites, to the Men’s Knitting Retreat with Queer Joe, to her mountain top (with bears in the yard) with the Socklady. I’m glad to hear that her energy levels are back to normal – her pulmonary embolisms were more recent and I think more serious than mine, but I don’t yet feel properly energetic, and have begun to doubt that I ever will. How fortunate we are to have in knitting a passion that doesn’t demand much in the way of energy!

Andy Murray was pictured in a rather good cabled sweater last weekend. Telegraph magazine on Saturday? I must go back and try to find it before it gets totally submerged in our newspaper pile. The cables had been particularly well planned to fit the space available. Wouldn’t it be nice if he won Wimbledon again?