I have a terrible habit.

Sometimes I want cats to do something. I want them to sit next to me, or to use the new cat basket I bought at great expense.

I lift them unceremoniously from where they are, innocently fast asleep, and plonk them where I want them to sleep instead.

I don’t think they’ve ever actually stayed in the place I’ve plonked them. They put their ears back (the cat equivalent of rolling the eyes) and go back to the place where they were before, or leave the room in disgust.

I disguise this habit by pretending I’m moving the cats because I think THEY would be more comfortable in their new cat basket, if only they had a chance to feel how soft it was. Or that they’d like to have my company in front of the television.

Whenever we think someone else would prefer things a different way, we need to be wary of ourselves. If we suggest something once, fine. If we suggest it more than once, what is it that WE are secretly hoping to gain? What is making us uncomfortable about that person’s current behaviour? Is that really our business?

Yesterday I found myself on a different sofa in my living room, the one I’d quickly designated as ‘the uncomfortable one’. It supported my back as I read, and shielded the bright orb of the sun from my eyes whilst letting in streams of sunshine. I could see the big tree against the sky. If you’d plonked me down here a couple of weeks earlier, would I have stayed?

My cats will try out their baskets in their own good time, or not at all. That’s none of my business. They might go the same way as the last ones, and get donated to cat-owning friends with basket-loving cats.

Repeat to self. Must not plonk cats.

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Something strange is continuing to happen, Amazon tells me that someone out there is buying The Blue Handbag. Different people, every day or two. Who are they? How did they find it? What do they think about it?

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In other book-related news, I’m getting excited about Thaw coming out on the 1st of February – only 26 days to go… have you pre-ordered your copy yet?

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The sky is beautifully pink this morning, a pale salmon pink that’s picking out all the fluffy edges of the clouds. The roof of the outbuilding is still frosted, and blackbirds and blue-tits are meandering about the big tree. Good morning world. How did your morning start?