We were lucky that Wink’s vaccination was on Saturday, no later. As it was, after heavy rain, I had to drive through floods where water was pouring from fields onto the road, but it wasn’t scarily deep. I do have quite a dread of getting stuck in floodwater. All went well, she was quite tired and headachy yesterday but fine today. There’s been snow ever since and the roads have been blocked in places – it’s not so much the quantity of snow but that strong winds have caused drifting and snow ploughs haven’t been able to keep roads clear. Especially as cars and lorries have got stuck and nothing can get through. Farmers help out a lot with their tractors and they got most roads clear by this afternoon, though I see on Facebook that it’s all getting bad again. Some vaccination centres had to close and a local friend couldn’t get down her road to get to her appointment anyway.

When I went out to the chickens this morning, I found a neat path with the snow banked in an elegant natural drift alongside it. I went in one end of the chickens’ greenhouse, to be met by silent, shocked chickens. I thought it was the darkness, because snow on the roof cut a surprising amount of light, but they were afraid because the other door had blown open. Only a few of the chickens have ever seen snow before and, after a very windy night, to have the door bang open and snow blow in upset them a lot. Luckily, no harm done, nothing broken, they all stayed inside. So I gave them treats and several scoops of food, to cheer them up, put some water down to replace the ice in their water dishes and, when I checked on them later, they’d eaten, though they were still quiet and subdued. The barn cats aren’t happy either, so I’m giving them extra food too. Eloise cat is also put out. That is, she’s put out because she can’t go out. She hates snow and sits on the windowsill staring at it. She hasn’t used her litter tray yet, but she’ll just have to, or else brave the white stuff.

As for the three of us, we’re hunkered down nicely. I’m so bored that I’m teaching myself to crochet – Wink has lent me a book (she can’t crochet either, but it’s all sorts of needlework) which explains it very badly and it doesn’t help that the only wool I have is black, so counting stitches isn’t easy. Still, it hardly matters. Keeps me busy, one way or another. Drawing isn’t producing anything worth showing, but also helps to keep me quiet. Otherwise, there’s cooking. Pillar of domesticity, darlings. But Tim is cooking tonight, which is always excellent. And the cleaners did manage to get here, so a clean and tidy house too. They have taken the ironing, too. With this idleness, I need something to keep me out of mischief.

No drawing today, I couldn’t find anything. I really disliked doing the chair drawing, which was the reason I tried the photo of Eloise. I did manage a decent drawing of a stool on the glass, but I was so bored by it that I couldn’t be bothered to try to transfer it to paper. I think that it’s a combination of straight lines and symmetrical curves, neither of which I’m able to do and don’t care about. I’ve been looking about for something else that would encourage me with the negative space thing and not be off-putting and I haven’t come up with it yet. I’m fighting myself and this is silly. Never mind.

Good news of the day is that my sister has got a booking to be vaccinated on Saturday. I’ll be a while yet for me, there’s a gap between over-seventies and under-seventies. But it was only nine days ago that she registered with the practice here so this is pretty efficient.

The Head at the high school has been appointed CEO – overall Head – at our fairly new Multi-Academy Trust from September, so Yagnub needs a new Headteacher. Three candidates are shortlisted and they were each giving a ten minute presentation online today. That must have been so difficult, knowing that dozens of people – staff members and governors – were watching, but were silent and invisible. There was a feedback form and I filled it in and sent it. Good wishes to all of them – I did have a 1-3 list and comments and I’ll be interested to find out the result in a week or so, when interviews have been completed. I’m not interviewing so I have no more input, which is a good thing. I’ve let go of stuff like that.

I drew the cat picture upside-down. The angular face was better but the neck was far too wide and actually she did look rather like a gorilla. I drew it again, right way up. I still had the knack of the face, more or less, but the neck was too narrow and her body looked rather like the flamingo croquet mallets in Alice in Wonderland.

I sighed and took stock. What I really wanted to do was get the head right, so I thought I’d try that. I cropped the photo and had another go. Here you are.

Starting at the top, the ear is too wide. It was my second attempt; first time the ear was too narrow. The angle isn’t dreadful, though.

The shape of the face isn’t dreadful. I don’t know how to do that lovely little light on her eye. Her eye bulges and she has a Homer Simpson side-eye. I can improve the bulge but I don’t know how to get the eyeball right.

Between the eye and the nose, it’s slightly more angular than it should be but I’m not too unhappy. The chin is a bit fat underneath. Considering it’s fur and I don’t know how to portray fur, I’m not too miserable about the shading. No idea about whiskers either, but I had a go and there is an impression of whiskers.

Improving. I need to do a grid. I could more or less manage the proportions here but anything bigger was so difficult. Betty said that her pupils counted the squares and they aren’t supposed to, so she banned them, but I am sure I wouldn’t count the squares and I need them, at least at this stage. Is there an easier way than measuring every damn page and painstakingly marking it?

I almost got the nose right and I’m quite pleased with the shading, considering I have no idea what I’m doing with it. But I think I need a break from the cat.

A week on from his first vaccination, Tim has had no side effects at all, not even tenderness where the needle went in. Eleven weeks until his second, which will probably be about the time I get my first dose. Ho hum. I suppose I should start getting the greenhouse ready for seed sowing, in case we’re stuck here for months.

On an entirely different subject, being reminded because I helped Wink change the bedclothes today, I can recommend a duvet under the bottom sheet if you have aches and pains. I discovered this 37 years ago when, pregnant with Ro, I had bad backache. A decade later, I suggested it to my mother when she was laid up for a week or two – and then I completely forgot about it until Wink mentioned she was waking up uncomfortable in bed, a week or two before her op. It sprang back into my mind, I went and found a single duvet and cover and made the bed with it in place. She says it feels lovely and that’s what I remember – like a feather bed but firm underneath, so you’re supported.

Nothing else, darlings, It’s quite hard to think of things to blog about when nothing is happening (the carpet has dried out nicely, by the way) and I haven’t done any drawing today because I’ve been cooking and lazing.