C. came, and we walked twice around the garden on a beautiful spring day. Everything was in bright focus. 2815 steps so far today. I had a good Zoom meeting with my sister at midday. I followed my own advice and made myself some pasta puttanesca this evening, and found it very restorative. Knitting has progressed to the first rounds of (what I hope will prove to be) the final ribbing for the Evendoon.

 

That pretty well covers things. My sister recommended The Forsyte Saga (Galsworthy). I can remember when the whole nation was transfixed by the television adaptation – it was in the late 60’s, I think, before we (the Mileses) had television. It might well make comforting, slightly sub-Trollope reading.

Beverly (comment yesterday), the problem with Thursday’s Mindful Chef meal was that I found it simply inedible: meant to be a quick meal: tempeh, pre-cooked rice, carrot, red pepper fried up together, soy sauce; kimchi on top (that’s what had attracted me). Tempeh is absolutely tasteless, it turns out. I cut the carrot up small, and left it stir-frying long enough to take away some of the crunch. But the total effect was…well, inedible. And having gone to that much effort, I didn’t feel like doing anything else. A mistake.

 

The pandemic numbers are going down, here and in the US. C. and I are hopeful that we may actually be allowed to go on the cruise we have booked, sailing May 1. Third time lucky. This is a small-boat cruise, the Majestic Line, sailing from Oban to the upper left-hand corner of Scotland, billed as a “wilderness cruise”. We were booked to go last May, and on a different Majestic Line cruise in October, of more modest dimensions. Neither happened, although in the latter case we got close enough that I ordered some cruise clothes. There’s not much call for them, walking up and down the hall or even round and round the garden. But if we actually sail this time, I might add one or two items.