Elegy to Joy

Friday started out so nice – lazy morning, call from an old friend, swimming in Katzensee while the kids were at school (why don’t I do this more often?! why is it so hard and weird to just do something nice all by myself?) – and then our lovely Joie de Floof was run over by a car. So. Not my favourite week, then.

The kids are ok. M shed a lot of tears but he calmed down; C was calm for two days and then cried her heart out at 11pm. Venus has been wandering around looking a bit confused and insecure, which means extra cuddles, which we all badly need. We’re all a bit heartsore and moody. The conversation has moved on with great but perhaps unsurprising rapidity to the possibility of getting a dog, since this doesn’t seem to be a safe place for cats. I kind of really want a dog, but I’m not at all sure Venus is a cat who will be happy with this arrangement, so it largely depends on how well she settles down by next spring. Meanwhile, she’s just going to have to learn to put up with at least double the cuddles she was getting before. And stay far away from the damn road.

Life expectancy for the neighbourhood voles has just increased dramatically, which isn’t much consolation for us, but it’s nice anyway.

Nos 44-46 of #52recipes: yeah, lots of cooking again. Coconut & chickpea curry from this excellent book; roasted tomato tart (soggy bottomed yet still tasty, much like Ulysses Everett McGill), broccoli melts with added mushrooms and goat’s cheese. That last one was a Moment of note: I expected grudging acceptance, I got enthusiasm. Literally every single ingredient but the bread was something they both claim to hate (or did until very recently, in the case of broccoli – C – and mushrooms – M), so I count this as a significant turning point.