The big-ass microwave left the building yesterday; straining every muscle and sinew, I hauled it up the basement stairs and out to the car. At Habitat for Humanity, it was greeted with glad cries and eager hands, and I drove away feeling substantially relieved.

I weighed myself this morning and found that — despite all the booze and sweeties I could consume without making myself sick — I gained less than a kilo over Christmas.

New Year’s Eve was spent cooking, and this morning I put two litres of jellied beef stock and four litres of ham-and-bean soup in the freezer.

It’s grey and damp today in Stratford, with very little snow on the ground and none in the forecast. Everything is closed except the emergency pharmacy and one gas station. I think I’ll clean the bathroom and spend the rest of the day reading.