I had an offline day off yesterday, bliss. I didn't answer the phone, didn't check my email. Just sloped around in my painting clothes, painting. I did the woodwork round the french doors -- two coats of primer and a coat of gloss white. Also washed the car, and did some extremely light housework. The living room is a bomb site. Tomorrow I'll continue moving stuff upstairs ready for Dougie next weekend. So the upstairs will be a bomb site as well. Maybe I should go and live in the shed, it's marginally tidier than anywhere else, with the added bonus that it doesn't matter if I drip paint/varnish on anything.

This morning I did some quality loafing with the paper, a big mistake -- the glorious sunshine had become heavy rain by the time I was washed and dressed.

I've turned a non-smoking corner (if you get my drift...) -- my sense of smell is back. I went to the supermarket on my way home on Friday and was blown away by how good everything smelled. Mmmmm fresh basil! And the broccoli! Yum! The fish section smelled so deliciously of Arbroath smokies I suspected Tesco of installing some kind of automatic scent machinery, like the ghastly air-freshener in the toilets at work (there's a strange little hum, and suddenly you're choking on concentrated Spring Breeze) but nicer. I did have a cigar in the pub during the break on Friday, one of the little skinny ones. But the return of lovely smells is a real incentive not to go back to my peak consumption of 10 a day. Cigarettes, not packets, I never was a heavy smoker.

The Sims extension pack is slightly disappointing. The llama topiary was exciting for a minute, but there doesn't see to be much in the way of architectural extras.