Three Beautiful Things

1. Buying a new printer to replace the old one that only takes a sheet of paper at a time. 2. A few pieces of juicy chorizo in my supper. 3. We watch an adventure film set in the 1930s -- The Shadow . He fights crime using his mind control skills to make himself seem invisible. One of the franchise's early manifestations was as a radio drama -- how fantastic to write a radio script about an invisible protagonist.

1. We are finally given an official date for the closing of the subs' desk -- very sad, but huge relief. It'll be good to have the summer off -- there's not much work going at the moment, so I'm not expecting to find anything soon. 2. My mother-in-law has so much on her plate; but she still found the energy to bring by bus a couple of plastic troughs for me to plant up with tomatoes and lettuces. 3. I make Nick a round of sandwiches when he comes back from hospital visiting; but he likes the look of the greens, mince and potatoes on my plate. There's some left in the pot; and extra potatoes too so I can indulge him with no resentment. We'll save the sandwiches for tomorrow's lunch.

I'm in the Courier this week -- see page 27. 1. Wherever you are, whatever time it is, there is always some form of Star Trek on television. 2. I like showing Nick's mother the containers of flowers and vegetables along our window ledges. Some of them are plants that she has given me. 3. With satisfaction he says: 'The alarm will go off in nine hours. Nine whole hours.'

1. A day of wind and rain, and no good reason to leave the house. 2. Putting a potato and a ready meal from Cook in the oven. 3. It is suggested that as I was well enough to spend the day playing Lego Star Wars, I'm well enough to go to work tomorrow.

1. Anna emails a soup recipe she says will help a cold; and Fenella offers to drop in some supplies if we need them. 2. Bryan Talbot's Alice in Sunderland has spent a lot of time lying heavy in my lap in the last 24 hours. It's a lavish and ambitious comic that guides the reader round a fascinating part of England by way of a variety performance of illustration, photographs and collages. 3. I discover that chewing treacle toffee helps earache.

1. Nick wakes me up and to tell me I'm his two-year girl. It's hard to believe that it's the second anniversary of our meeting at Tim and Rachel's wedding -- sometimes it seems as if we've been together since always; other times it seems we are walking into new territory. 2. A church round the corner has an embroidery exhibition. To give me a change from the flat's four walls, we go and have a look. My favourite was a pair of blue egg-shaped panels covered in lacy white images of magnified planckton and algae. 3. BBC2's South Pacific documentary included footage filmed inside a 12ft high breaking wave that left me with my mouth hanging open.

Hi everyone. I've got a bit behind with posting, and with my inbox because I'm ill (sore throat that has migrated down to a chest infection -- yuck). So if you wrote to me and I haven't replied, or if you should have been added to the Roll of Honour by now, I'll be with you in due course. 1. He puts the deckchair out so I can sit half in sun and half in shade. 2. I picked up Russel T. Davies' book, Dr Who: The Writer's Tale (finally, Clare. What took you so long?) Even with brain preoccupied with deploying antibodies and maintaining white blood cell morale, I'm taking in so much about the writing process. I am always thrilled to read books about writing by respected writers. I find myself thinking 'yes, yes, this is how it is. This is what I feel, too. That's what I'm trying to do.' 3. 'Dinner's ready', he calls. And it's waiting for me on a plate.