Today we had the first snow of the winter, as usual just in time for Remembrance Day, and the not-Christmas cactus is in full bloom. I think it likes its north-facing window.

On Friday, I had a visit from my Stratford friend Alden, who is in town staying with her sister. Poor thing; the sister keeps a spartan table where dessert never makes an appearance, so she ordered the most indulgently calorific thing on the menu at the neighbourhood pub. She was dreading supper, due to feature the BIL’s famous chili — full of beans that she can’t digest. It doesn’t occur to her to tell her family that beans give her belly-ache. Or to provide herself with a private stash of whisky and chocolate.

Note to file: Always have a private stash of whisky and chocolate, especially when visiting.