I am the first one awake this morning. It’s quiet except for the spring-frisky birds. Yesterday evening the mist was a soft blanket, hanging it out overnight has damply chilled it. Dog follows me outside, listens to the birdsong and seems to shrug before returning indoors to rediscover sleep. Cat stretches her back for scratching. She is purring before I’ve put my hand on her lumpy fur. Since Dog is happy snoozing and the air is cold I opt to settle on the sofa with coffee, toast and laptop. When the toast pops up the rest of the house wakes up, like some kind of sympathetic magic. While I am drinking my coffee, Boy talks. While my laptop bings into life, Mr tells me about things I need to finish the accounts. The TV is turned on. Feet tread the stairs in search of things. The marmalade is delicious.
There is weather today, I do note it: take a few moments to reckon the size of a cloud (big) and the frequency of rain (sporadic.) Centre of my interest though is a stack of magazines. Not the fashion kind. This is martial arts research. I'm not even sure what it is I'm looking for, but intuition calls loud. A range of old adverts skew some amusement. Contact pants, for example. Pants are not trousers where I come from. They are underwear. Professional contact pants: improved smirk value. But why would a person be likely to purchase a grappling hook and a lock pick set? For specialists and hobbyists only, the blurb assures. Guidance on the pheromone spray that attracts women against their better judgement? I doubt it works any more proficiently than the mysterious potion that defines your muscles while you sleep. But, then: I wonder is some sprayed on this paper? What was my intuition thinking, making this ghastly shout… Tea break time. There's a lot of words...

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