Another favourite

None of these beauties grows in my garden. Margret (next door) has some in a wilder area of her lawn. My blip was taken in a garden centre.

I popped into Hexham with the express wish to spend a birthday book token from Julie, in Cogito, our local independent bookshop.

I bought Noonday by Pat Barker, having read Life Class and being part way through Toby’s Room now. Then 1989 by Val McDermid having read 1979. (I may need to revisit that one first!)

Mum offered to buy Cuddy for me at Christmas. It is now in paperback, so I bought that and a final, impulse buy of One Small Voice by Santanu Bhattacharya.

Two days ago, Daisy brought me a present of a mouse and laid it near to me. I got up to dispose of it, but it was very much alive and evaded both of us, ending up behind a bookcase on the landing.

Hmmm!

There was nothing to do, other than to hope that it did not die there. Removing all the books was going to be a big task I could do without.

Tonight I went into the dining room to water an amaryllis. (They are all over the house!) The stench of dead mouse was overwhelming. Thankfully, the culprit was lying on the floor and not behind any of the large bookcases in that room.

Poor little mouse.