Three Beautiful Things

1. A couple of months ago, I was poking about on Tacky Treasures and found a feature about a book by Charles Addams (as in The Addams Family ) called Dear Dead Days . It's a collection of his source material for the Addams Family cartoons and features pictures of train crashes, circus freaks and adverts aimed at undertakers. I thought to myself: 'I want that book,' and followed it with: 'A copy will never turn up in Tunbridge Wells.' Well, one beautiful thing for today: I walked into Halls Bookshop and found a copy sitting on the counter. 2. As Fenella and Andy know all too well (because they've been doing my laundry (for which my heart overflows with gratitude)) my washing machine has been broken since I got back from Africa. What a relief to get a new (reconditioned) Zanussi washer-dryer plumbed in and working on my washing. 3.Walking in the woods with Rob and being cheered up.

1. On my way into work I pass a lady walking a Weimaraner . This dog has a gorgeous grey coat with a rosey tinge to it and wears a pink harness that really picks out the colour. 2. Having a wonderful neighbour (like Fenella) who is on hand with a glass of wine at times of crisis. 3. The whirring noise my scanner makes as it changes negatives into files on my computer.

1. A house with a brass sign on the door saying: 'Never mind the dog -- beware of the owners.' I didn't think people actually put things like that on their houses. 2. I've discovered another murder house . It's a huge Edwardian villa, exactly like all the other huge Edwardian villas on the road. But this one has a scruffier garden, and you can look through the kicked in front door and see daylight coming down the stairs. 3. The cheering sight of my own front door. We have recently had it repainted -- it's black, like 10, Downing Street and looks very smart and imposing.

1. Getting an e-mail containing some pictures from Africa -- I was so happy to see these that they put a smile on my face for the rest of the day. This is me meeting a seal called Bushman . (Picture by Julie Stephenson) 2. There are lawns on Frant Road that are dotted with deep purple violets. 3. A little girl wearing a white straw school hat with a blue ribbon. She had it pushed right to the back of her head.

1. Burrows. I think Alice in Wonderland may have altered some pathway in my brain because I can't go past a hole in a hedgebank without investigating. I spotted a promising one among the roots of an oak tree near work. I didn't tumble in while inspecting it, so I'm guessing it was just a regular old rabbit hole. 2. The shoots of stitchwort poking out among dead leaves. (Picture by Michael Grant ) 3. Italian ham -- the kind that is soft and sliced really thin and is salty and little bit sweet -- with bread and butter.

1. Stripey snails. I nearly tread on a foolhardy one that is crawling across the pavement. I pick him up -- he pulls everything into his shell -- and put him at the bottom of a garden hedge. 2. It is so foggy today that we can't see beyond the end of the field. Possibly the rest of the world has been covered up so they can put the leaves on the trees and touch-up the paintwork on the sky without us seeing. 3. The way paths move. Half a beech tree has come down in the woods -- it probably happened during the snow a couple of weeks ago -- and the top branches are blocking the path. Already people's feet have worn a new path around the end, however. When the tree is gone perhaps there will still be a kink in the path.

1. Spotting the crew from last night's party in a cafe. Caroline made a gesture encompassing the nine grey-faced breakfasters: 'All these people slept in our house.' She lives in a little Victorian terrace, so this was quite an achievement. 2. The soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies that appeared on a plate while I was watching a film. 3. Fenella, Andy and I watched The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It was once one of my favourite books, and when I got home I spent half an hour dipping into it to see what they had changed in the film. The dialogue is funnier in the film; and Edmund is a less sympathetic, likeable character in the book.