There is little to report today, but that little, good.

I passed all sorts of landmarks today with the borders of the baby shawl: (a) I turned over from page 3 to page 4 of the old mimeographed pattern which I am finding so much easier than the new charts; (b) if I were still using the charts, it would be true to say that I have finished F and embarked on G – the final one; (c) the current ball of yarn is about to expire. The yarn is wound on cardboard cylinders, so the balls never seem to get smaller – but suddenly the cardboard shows through. I should polish this one off tomorrow, if not this evening.

I’m currently engaged with row 85. Row 99 is the last one with lace in it, although, as I’ve said, some decrease rounds follow.

Otherwise it has been a peaceful day of non-achievement. I must face up to those papers I told you about finding. Tomorrow I am having lunch at the Portrait Gallery with Greek Helen and an old friend from both Kirkmichael and Edinburgh. The climb up that hill will do me good.

I have missed the Mindful Chef. It seems a long time until Monday when I will have him back again. I made myself a tasty chowder for lunch today from a recipe in the newspaper, but it involved not only a trip to the corner shop for a missing ingredient, but also (somehow, worse) having to rustle around in my own larder for a chicken stock cube and some chilli flakes.

That’s interesting that you found jackfruit to be trendy, Mary Lou (comment yesterday). I’m not aware of having heard of it either, until the end of last month. I would say it’s dull as dishwater. I can imagine that it might be sustaining if one was on a subsistence diet, but for that purpose I would vastly prefer freshly-dug potatoes with salt and pepper and – if one were lucky enough to be acquainted with a cow – a bit of butter.