01. The sweet, sweet smell of chlorine… Outdoor pools have opened again, and I fluked a booking on day one (haven’t been able to get another!). Doesn’t matter. It was the best swim I’ve ever had.
02. My son received an early entry (in the course of his choice) for university next year. Such a relief to have some certainty after such a tumultuous final year of school.
03. The tiny cans are so cute and the contents are so delicious – Curatif.
04. This roast duck ravioli. So good (I made the simple mushroom sauce suggested on the packet to go with it).
05. 100s & 1000s chocolate bar.
06. I’m not going to get into US politics, but I’m sure everyone’s thinking about karma right now…
07. Olive is trying her paw at online dating.
08. You’ve watched The Social Dilemma, right? Eek. Especially the bit where Cathy O’Neil said “…algorithms are opinions embedded in code…”.
09. Two author talks this week – Hetty McKinnon spoke about her new cookbook, To Asia, with Love, and the link to family, her mother, and her cultural heritage.
10. And Trent Dalton spoke to Clare Bowditch about the power of story-telling and his new novel, All Our Shimmering Skies – “When times are tough, good writing comes out of it…”. Also, a reminder of what is surely the most spectacular book cover of the year –
What little things have made you happy this week?
1. The news from the Nullarbor this week is hot weather coming your way, 34 deg. So, good swimming weather ahead.
6. My big worry is he’ll die before he can be jailed.
1. If only I could get a booking! Swimming slots are selling out in five seconds Yes, seconds.
6. Agree. You somehow get the feeling that he’ll slither away from the chaos he has caused.
Absolutely with you on American politics. Many congratulations to your son!
Thank you!
We had a *big* thing to make us happy this week. We had a (socially distanced, masked, legally within 5k) picnic in a local park, with a couple we haven’t seen since March. Our Local Providore made us a scrumptious hamper, and we drank champagne, and all the local dogs from the dog park entertained us, and we plotted which restaurants we will go to first and then where we will go for a weekend away together, and it was just *wonderful*.
PS Yaaaaay for No 2!
This whole COVID business has really reminded us to enjoy the moment when it happens, hasn’t it? Was it the best picnic you’ve ever had?
Truth be told I am not keen on picnics, or The Great Outdoors, or even being outdoors at all.
But meeting dear friends, that’s a whole ‘nother thing!
Great news about your son, plus your swim looks and sounds lovely!
Dare I say the best thing to happen in lockdown (the swim!)?!
I can understand that!
wonderful news about your son. I hope by the time he gets there, universities will be in a better state than they are in the UK right now.
Yes, it will be a few months before he starts (late Feb/March), so hopefully campus life is back to… life!
Margarita! Swimming! University! Love it! And that 6″ 100’s and 1000’s pizza?!
IKR?! ALL THE THINGS!
That pool! That book cover! Such beauty 🙂
And I was the first to dive in, in my group and it was so exciting.
I can miss the swimming, but very glad for you that it’s an option again. And also very glad that your son has an option in place. I got an early entry to ANU way back when. In the end I didn’t use it, but it was such a relief to have.
Re 6, have you seen that tweet: goes something like “Looks like RBG has successfully argued her first case before God”! Love it!
Not much made me happy this week, but a lovely lunch at a place called Chairman and Yip yesterday did help.
Yes, the university place feels like a very good safety net at this stage.
no. 6 I have been very much enjoying the RBG-related tweets. I RTed the one you mentioned (so good), but also liked this one –
“Trump and Republicans held a mask-less, crowded, superspreader event at the White House in order to jam through a Supreme Court justice who may strike down the Affordable Care Act in the middle of a pandemic.Doesn’t get more on brand than that.”
😀
Haha yes. I don’t go read Twitter a lot. My daughter shared the one I quoted with me via Telegram.
Congratulations to your son! That’s terrific for him.
And yes. Karma, sweet karma…
And now a week on, after the sudden ‘recovery’, I feel increasingly nervous about the November result…
I feel the same.
That pool looks so good! So good.
I can assure you it was.
Congrats to your son! My daughter got an early acceptance too, but she’s torn between two courses and the other uni doesn’t make offers til November, so she’s still in limbo sort of. It’s such a tense time!
Well done to your daughter 🙂 It’s reassuring to have something locked in.
1. Pools never did open here and now it’s fall again.
2. What wonderful news!
6. … I just can’t with it anymore. Thankfully the election is soon.
We hear enough about the election in Australia… it must be unbearable to be living in the thick of it…
The picture of the pool made me SO happy and I’m completely jealous. No open pools here.
The Social Dilemma was disturbing. The line that gave me the chills was the guy who, when asked what he thinks will happen next in America, calmly said, “Civil war.” I don’t think he’s wrong and believe it could be this year. Which is horrible.
That line sent a shiver down my spine as well. I wonder about the news we get about America, and the bias – it’s hard to get a sense of day-to-day living and the prejudices when all we see in the news is the Trump meta-story and race riots.