Luigi is learning fast

Blogging came crashing to a halt last week - in other words, I went back to work. I find the task of writing a daily editor's letter quite cures me of any creative writing urges. (You can find me on page 3 of the i newspaper every day next week.)

I haven't finished my Seattle posts, and I have a queue of articles to write or organise. Luckily, Graham Rice has helped ease the load by agreeing to write a piece for The Independent Magazine about the theme of his new book, Planting the Dry Shade Garden. It's published by Timber Press on 1 September, but you can read Graham's article on 20 August.

I've only had time to have a very quick flick through the book so far (it arrived in the office yesterday), but it looks great - full of advice, ideas and planting suggestions.

I'm supposed to be writing a piece about opening my garden, which is, erm, three weeks away. Eeek! The photographer is coming on Monday morning, which means a frantic tidy-up. So have I been busy gardening or thinking up ideas for articles? Er, no. I've been taking silly pictures of the cat.

He's so cute, I felt you'd like to share an update on how he's getting on. As you can see, he's turning into a very useful member of the household ...

He's been learning to sort the laundry...

... and fold the ironing

... and hang up the washing

(must just straighten these trousers)

... and load the dishwasher

... and clean the kitchen floor

... and recycle the rubbish

... and check whether the kitchen plinths have been wiped recently

... and found time to appreciate a bit of classical music. What a clever kitten!