Got both my freezers cleaned and reorganised while it's literally freezing outside, cause you can just leave frozen food in a bag outside. The cheap one is no longer full of frost and the good one no longer has random peas/crumbs all over it. Yay!

I have known Chris for 3000 days! I made cupcakes, cause I make cakes on arbitrary dayaversarys, because annual celebrations are a bit artibrary anyway. I failed at stenciling, but they're very tasty.

Got a rush of endorphins as the charity shop actually had the specific thing I went looking for (a small tulip style whiskey glass), and it was a mere 80p. Tis a Christmas miracle.

We have somehow got 12 comedy shows booked for next year already! Considering how few comedians come to Belfast, I'm pretty impressed. One per month is absolutely perfect for enough social stuff without burnout. Unfortunately there's 5 in March (currently), but I'll worry about that later.

Batch cooking tip - a stand mixer will shred cooked meats like poached chicken (or pulled pork butt) in seconds. And then your cat can help with the washing up.

Text from my GP asking me to book in for an annual review. I call them within 15 minutes of receiving said text. No appointments, try again in a week or two. It's ridiculous.

I have made 30 portions of lentil and mushroom ragu, which is arguably too much.

This year's glove repairs have begun, and will be yellow! Winter one was purple, winter two was green (and I met a very good pupper who wasn't trained not to chew gloves yet).

I am rewatching the menu. I used to be a line cook. Anyone who hasn't tried to kill an asshole customer (slowly) with butter and/or salt is lying. Even as a pizza chef. Enjoy your extra cheese and lifetime of statins. Cunt.

This is my doodle fridge and I love my doodle fridge. It's largely symmetrical, doodles are small, and erasing is not an option. A collaborative work, with my partner, done while waiting for things to cook. What does it mean? It means art is important, even if it's shit and on a fridge.

@joznorris.bsky.social Any idea if and when the recording of Blink will be released? The brief mention in the salad tapes made me remember how much I want to see that show again! (I will be telling my friends who live in sensible places to see your current. I do not live in a sensible place.)

The handle to my fridge broke a couple of days ago. I fixed it with superglue, but there's residue and it's bound to break again. A new one is £34.95 plus postage, with reviews like 'I've bought four in two years, they just keep breaking!'.

Tried to buy one of those supermarket basil plants today, which involved walking 7 miles and checking every supermarket. Failed.

Strawberry and basil is so good together, I'm annoyed no-one told me sooner.

Got myself a grown up lego set yesterday and spent pretty much all day making it. He's called Fucker, after the Eels song of the same name which mentions a little black cat. I have saved Spunky for potential use on a future real cat.

Who can get both their cats to eat worming tablets first time with absolutely no fuss at all? This bitch! Bwahahaa! ... Seriously, if you knew the stress and cost of trying to get spot on stuff on them when they were first adopted, you'd understand.

We've made it to the loitering at the airport stage of the holiday. I am sad to be going home, but utterly exhausted both physically and mentally. I desperately want to sit on a comfortable chair, touching absolutely no-one.

Well, last night I had my first show I didn't enjoy, which is a shame but this morning I've looked at a photo my cat sitter sent of Epi sitting with dreamies in front of her looking really pissed off. Cheered me right up. (She is fussy, she only eats certain brands of freeze dried chicken as treats)

I've done well in eating some vegetables every damn day. Just ate a family sized salad with some hummus and bread and feel all the better for it. My secret? POCKET SPORK!

If you want to know things like the shows I saw and what they're about, probably see what Chris is doing. He's actually documenting this properly. In limerick form, because.... Erm?!

I have survived? Enjoyed! six shows while being mildly drunk all day. Back 'home' for a nightcap, a second nightcap and a reminder to drink some bloody electrolytes in the morning. Hey future Katie? I love you, look after yourself. Xx

Bringing the 'Monday at the Fringe' vibes by having a drink before we head out for a midday wip. Tomorrow is a rest-ish day when we're home til 4pm, so it just makes the most sense to be mildly drunk all day today.

Out til 2am last night, still awake before 7am. I don't even need to be up before 8.30. And that wouldn't exactly be a lie in. Thank god for coffee.

Pre-holiday panic cleaning is almost complete. Tomorrow I must hang laundry, final hoover, and that's about it. Then away! I dunno why I bother, the cat sitter sees the usual state of the house when picking up the keys.

It's Friday, I have pizza made, I have wine open! Only one more Friday til I head to Edinburgh and try to cram in 30 shows in 5 nights and not have a breakdown. The Fringe excitement all over my social media is palpable.

I have spent 4 days redecorating the bedroom. I no longer have four layers of wallpaper (with a creepy Disney mural behind it) on my wardrobe wall, I have a black wall, as one would want. Consequently, full of wine. I deserve it.

Hey, do you know about my Instagram 'art project' I've been running for almost 10 years where I exclusively post money I've spotted on the floor? If not. www.instagram.com/mandolele314 If you like pennies, and the very occasional note, it's the Instagram feed for you.

Wow, the edfringe site which only exists to sell tickets is really struggling to sell tickets this evening.

Well, Belfast Airport doesn't have a smoking area airside anymore, the flight was delayed, then the train was delayed. I have necked a bottle of wine and sent Chris to fetch me vegan sushi, for I must attend two (2) comedy shows and have no spoons left.

I am going away for two nights this weekend. I have a packing list and my bag started already. I am travelling to areas of England I'm very familiar with that definitely have shops to purchase anything I forget. I don't know how or why I became like this.

Happy birthday to Greg Davies, Joz Norris, David Byrne, and little old me. (I am quite old now.)

I have been trying to renew my disabled smartpass (NI railcard/bus pass thing that gives a tiny discount) since February, but they've struggled to get a form to my address. One has finally arrived. The only details it wants I had to say to them via email/phone multiple times to get this form.

Even though I have made bread pretty much every week for at least four years (and frequently before that, including a year as a pizza chef in a place that made it's own dough daily) I am still pleasantly surprised that it actually rises every time. It's a magic happy thing that makes me smile.

I had a tiny tiny twitter following and I think none of them have joined me here? So I'm pretty much shouting into a void, and I honestly don't mind it. I don't have much to say. Just occasional pictures of cats.

I should not have put the camera so close to the bed. This fucker keeps messing up my preset camera positions, by tapping the bloody camera.

I made Chris a big tray of meat in a spicy beer and tomato sauce, as I express love through cooking things I won't eat.

I read the cats the rime of the ancient mariner when they yell for no reason (usually because they think it's dinnertime and it's not, to be fair). It's weird how well it works. I think they like the bit with the albatross.

Playing a game with Chris where we name songs called... I said things on the high street. He went with 'if you tolerate this, then your children will be Next'. And that's why I love him.

Old bed dismantled, area under the bed hoovered and carpet shampoo'd and hoovered again, dehumidifier ran for an hour to make sure the carpet is super dry, and I am ready for new bed delivery between 11-1 then an afternoon of flat pack.

I'm having the same issue over and over again with Sainsbury's. I'm collating data, because 21 contacts to customer service about the same issue means I now know, statistically, only 66% of them understand the issue and refund me without problems.

Yesterday we had our gutters cleaned, and they did the windows too for good measure. Today, biggest storm in 30 odd years, windows filthy again. At least they haven't fallen out and don't have a tree in them, I guess.

Put in a tiny cat door to the bedroom, because it's absolutely fricking adorable.

Yesterday I drilled through a door to attach through bolts to a handle without waking Chris, this morning l drilled through metal to widen holes on brackets for a light fitting I'm making, tomorrow I won't drill, as I'm scared of drilling into walls. (I fear hidden dangers.)

Treated the cats to some new beds for their wall - the old ones were very frayed and saggy. Same brand, so no new drilling, yay!

The best part about being the only veggie at Christmas is that I get to make myself a fancy bake.

Box o'cats

Brexit still hasn't got in the Christmas tree. He wants to. I want him to. Last year he waited til Christmas eve. I think he thinks he's not allowed.

I live at the end of a cul de sac, so this weather means I get to see all the stuff my neighbours didn't think to secure fly down into my front garden. I'm currently the involuntary bailee of an empty builders bag. I expect more.

I have made three veggie pies and three meaty pies and six portions of veggie korma this fair morn. I am ready to do very little for the rest of the day.

Chris - largely consistent and on the good side. Me - mostly bad to awful, when all hope is lost and there is no chance of a win, produce a turkey from nowhere. Bowling is too much like real life.