Thursday 3rd August - slug attack, and other distractions

 I was not happy when I came out this morning;

something has been eating my lettuces. How did it get across the copper tape?

I shifted the pot and had a look around; one slug and two snails were lurking underneath. Not anymore! As I type this, dusk is coming on, and I shall nip out soon with my slugging tongs and see what I can find.

I had a go with the 'flat present' that Ang included with her cross stitch parcel; some metallic markers.

 I had two surprises when I tested the colours; firstly, they are a lot brighter than the caps suggested! Secondly, as you might be able to spot from the way I folded the edge of the paper, they do not bleed through the notebooks that I usually use. Excellent; I will enjoy making notes in my diary with them. 

I had to deal with a sneaky intruder this afternoon; Aki, our next door neighbour's cat, slipped into the kitchen when my back was turned and nipped upstairs. I came back in shortly after to amke a cup of coffee and read my book. 

There was a rat-tat at te sitting room window; I looked up but there was no one there. Delivery drivers often knock on the window as they don't always recognise our door bell. (We have a 'Downton Bell', the sort where you pull down on a metal handle which rings a real brass bell just inside the door rather than the usual little bell-push). 

Puzzled, I wondered through to the kitchen, and there, the other side of the glass door to the hall was Aki, drumming on the glass with one paw! I opened the door to the garden first, so he could see a clear way through, before opening the hall door. He didn't waste any time getting out; was that a defiant expression on his face? He has been angling to be invited in for several months but has never been allowed through the door!