01. I accept that this looks like a log in the water BUT IT’S A PLATYPUS! We watched it play in the riffle for half an hour.
02. One of my kids has had a really hard time during CoVID in terms of his studies (specifically, wasn’t able to do any work experience). This week, things are looking up – some work experience in the area he’s keen on, and a TAFE offer for next year.
03. Finally got to see my brother (he lives in regional Victoria). Last saw each other in February.
04. My uncle gathered all of my grandmother’s recipes and had them bound into a book for me. Her specialty was Neenish tarts – tiny, rich and delicious. Felt a rush of emotion when I saw her handwriting, and where she had attributed the recipes to others (‘Mother’, ‘Mabel’, ‘Joan’, ‘Doris’).
05. Author clock.
06. This Jane Austen puzzle.
07. This week’s author talk – Hannah Kent, discussing her new novel, Devotion. Kent said she wanted to avoid writing a story similar to the last two, so chose to write about friendship and love.
08. Watching: American Woman (on Stan) – the casting is excellent.
For me, it was lunch out at a nearby bistro. We’ve been really well served by local eateries but there’s nothing like a bit of banter with waitstaff and perfectly plated food!
Agree, restaurant dinners at home are nice, but so, so good to be out and browsing a menu!
A platypus, that is so exciting!
Your grandmother had beautiful handwriting. What a priceless gift from your uncle.
My grandmother had perfect handwriting, and was instantly recognisable. She was famous for her desserts and baking (not my strengths in the kitchen!), but I’ll slowly work my way through her collection.
Any other week (04) would be the highlight but a platypus in the lower Yarra! How good is that.
It was thrilling, Bill! I was thinking about it afterwards and, apart from a glimpse of a platypus years ago, I’d never seen one in the wild. That might not seem surprising however, I spent most of my uni years and ten years in my first full-time job standing around Victorian rivers, so you’d think I would have spotted one before now.
I do love old family recipes, especially handwritten ones! And a platypus – amazing!
And now to begin baking…
What a lovely gesture by your uncle.
Yes, and so glad he didn’t type them out.
Oh, what a lovely idea about the recipe book! And to see a platypus in the wild, what a treat!
The platypus was in Templestowe, near Westerfolds Park – amazing!
A real live platypus!! Lucky you. They are so shy and retiring usually. And your uncle is a real gem – that’s such a beautiful thing to do with your grandma’s recipes.
This platypus was playing! We watched it for at least half an hour. We had a walk and went back, and it was still there, playing.
Neenish tarts… that’s very Australian, I believe. I am watching the Great Australian Bake Off (season 2) and they had a retro week where Neenish tarts was the technical challenge! I’m not sure I’d like them myself, especially with the difficulty of making this strange buttercream for the middle, but at least I know what you’re talking about!
Not sure I knew that Neenish tarts were an Australian thing! There are very commercial ones in bakeries but my grandmother’s was smaller, and the chocolate icing was thick and rich. They were sensationally good.
I never heard of them until I watched them being made as a technical challenge on The Great Australian Bake Off. They don’t really sound like my thing, though…
Very exciting about the platypus. We’ve been told there are sometimes otters in the river/canal at the bottom of our garden, but so far our dusk vigils have been fruitless. It will have to be a serendipitous sighting one day.
Oh, I’d love to see an otter!
I don’t really have a bucket list, but the thing I say I really want to do is see a platypus in the wild. I have once, but it was so far away that it doesn’t really count. They can be seen sometimes in the Wingecarribee River so on my annual (Well, not during COVID) Southern Highlands visit, my friend and I always look, but no luck so far.
I love 4, and of course, I love 6.
Next time you’re heading to Melbourne, let me know and I’ll tell you the magic spot (it’s in the suburbs, so no day-trip required).