Two ducks, the Ikea queue and chocolate nemesis

1. There were two ducks on the grass in the garden this morning. I'm guessing they are the ones who were living across the road in the garden of the naughty neighbour. (His 'naughtiness' is a potential "beautiful things" candidate for another time, in case anyone should wonder or care). He has a square concrete formal pond in his front patch which these two had claimed for their own. I've enjoyed (for so many reasons) watching him chasing them out. In the last few days I noticed that he had put a metal grill over the pond. Perhaps to save children from drowning but I think its more likely that he is attempting to evict the ducks. The comic irony for me is that he has two hilarious grey (possibly plastic ducks) that float about slightly aimlessly on the little pond. They've gone too. Anyway this morning the ducks appeared in my back garden in the rain looking quite settled. There isn't a proper pond so I very much doubt they will stay but I was very happy to see them anyway. I'm just hoping that Mrs Norris doesn't have a go at them.

2. The queue in Ikea at Leeds can be frustrating. But I enjoy the few minutes rest it provides between the browsing for yet more stuff and the return home to find somewhere to put it. Today, mindful of my recent allegiance to 'enoughism' I decided (perhaps not quite for the first time) to make this my last ever trip there. In my head I needed just one more object to make this little house complete. I found the perfect thing and we had a cuppa tea in the restaurant. Then there was the queue. Ikea have little signs saying that they aim to get you through in eight minutes. It's a perfect amount of time to enjoy observing the behaviours of the other happy shoppers. The woman in front looked around and apologised for the lack of conveyor belt dividers. She did this several times despite the fact that she had so much stuff there was no room for my purchase. She had a pile of useful objects which ended (on the conveyor) with a pink ice cream scoop. "It was only 99p, what a bargain?" she enthused. I didn't actually consider running back along the yellow brick road to find one for myself but it was nice that she shared this find with me. I drifted for a bit to the handsome and not so handsome men, perhaps partners of the keen lady purchasers.I relish the time stuck in queues or on trains or before the film starts at the cinema when one gets a chance to people watch. I'm very grateful for the voyeuristic opportunity to dip into a moment of someone else's life. It's a bit creepy I suppose, but wonderfully free and with no apparent material responsibility, unlike the wooden slated venetian blind I know own from Ikea.

3. Being invited to Sunday lunch is a pretty good treat. Today was no exception. We were invited by friends who live in Wakefield to come for a meal. Firstly it is always good to catch up and gossip about everyone we know and then it's wonderful to have food cooked by someone else. We were served the very finest sweet I've had in a long time. My friend described it as 'chocolate nemesis' a recipe adapted from one in the River Cafe Cookbook. Adapted because the one in the book doesn't work by all accounts. But this version was about perfect. It was something between cake and mouse which melted, quite literally in the mouth. One slice provided heavenly sufficiency without the feeling that one had overindulged. Thank you Joan.