Domestic bliss?

Bedtime last night was not cosy. I had just settled down to sleep when Kevin got up and gave his best impression of that scene in The Exorcist - you know the one - full, loud, dramatic projectile vomiting. Thankfully not on my bed, and his head did not turn full circle. Then he wandered off downstairs, yowling in a self-pitying way, and as I cleaned up, tried to convince me that as he was now a very empty little cat, maybe he should have an early breakfast? Cruelly, I ignored him. I know he wasn't ill, because, like other cats I have known and loved, I believe he can throw up recreationally, and has done so for all of his 18 years. The degree of drama that accompanies it is his speciality.

Back to bed. I was still barely asleep when someone rang me at 1.05 a.m. from a mobile phone. I vaulted out of bed, on full alert, cats startled (dog indifferent, of course - nothing short of being poked with a stick and having her basket deliberately tipped over would get her out of bed in the middle of the night). In my fuddled brain, calls at such an hour certainly mean a catastrophe of Biblical proportions, but the phone only rang once. Once was enough. An hour later, I was still awake; believe me, the radio is dismal at that time of night, and with both cats trying to persuade me that it really could be their breakfast time, sleep was not going to come easily.

The same unrecognised number rang me again around 10 a.m. today and if I find out who it was, I shall have serious words. You might wonder why I didn't just ring back and demand to know why I had been disturbed in the small hours, but in some vague foolish way, I lost my nerve. I am feeling so harrassed by the sudden spate of spam coming through my email, that this felt somehow like an extension of that harrassment, or a possible scam that would charge me a zillion pounds for calling. Is this ignorant/naive/paranoid of me? But if your mobile number ends in 566, you need to start grovelling now, and stop sitting on your mobile phone.....

Baking today, to order. Lemon drizzle, and chocolate cakes. These seem to be steady favourites, although I sometimes think I would welcome requests for something slightly different now and again. I have a cupboard full of interesting ingredients, a heap of recipe books, with glorious photographs, boxes of decorating implements, but what does everyone want? Lemon drizzle cake, chocolate cake, and an occasional loaf of some description. I know I will never reach the artistic standards of Keiko, whose glorious Nordljus is a joy to behold, but maybe something that doesn't look so much like a school pudding awaiting custard? Sigh....

I did fancy trying my hand at sugar spinning, despite the risk of third-degree burns, but what do you do with it once you've produced it, if you don't have some wonderful creation to adorn and a table full of impressed dinner guests ready to swoon with delight? For those of you who aren't familiar with spun sugar, I shall post some pictures. I have never tried it, so I still have hope, so far unsullied by experience.