Builder HAL's Amaretti

The batteries on Kitty's electronic cat-flap (which Hay calls HAL) expired last week. Replacing them is always fraught, as you have to arm it and then wait for the first chipped cat to pass through before it recogises said cat and locks the flap against all others. Of course, we have two of our neighbour's cats wandering into out house with abandon, and hence there's only a one in three chance that the flap will be programmed to Kitty.

That said, the neighbouring cats have learned that the flap is barred to them, so it was funny seeing one of them sat patiently outside of the cat-flap, waiting for either Hay or myself to let him in, when he could have simply walked in at any time while the flap was in learn mode.

Given it's the end of winter I bought a Mountain Equipment waterproof down jacket off eBay for a very reasonable price. This made me wonder why there's not a range of equipment called Builder, as they're out in all weathers. Then, watching the roofers busy on a neighbour's house, I thought nah - the range would comprise scratty hoodies and a couple of tatty jumpers. They're just a different breed and are naturally hardy.

Been trying to fine tune my amaretti over the last few weeks. I first used spoons to form the balls and then rolled the dough in my hands. I finally bought a silicone piping bag from Amazon and achieved the best results.

I'll make someone a good wife one day...