Octopus, trout, eel, artichokes, cabbage, tomatoes, eggs, pickling cucumbers. Pickling cucumbers?!
Yes I'm writing out the shopping list for next week's photo shoot. A super fun job working with the blokes from
A Common Ground on a new cookbook. It's very exciting stuff, if not a challenge to find pickling cucumbers at this time of year.
That is one of the many projects on the go at the moment. Another is the new
Mona Market known as MoMa that starts in January on the roof of the museum. I've been scouring the state for the most delicious and delightful stallholders I can find. Lots of emails, phone calls and driving to visit folks. It's a lot of fun, and something I love to do.
Oh and Elsa's birthday is next week, there's a birthday party to plan, sixteen guests in all, plus a sleepover Elsa's getting her own room for her birthday, which in itself sounds do-able, if only she wasn't moving into the spare room (aka dumping ground for the past four years) that has half ripped-off wallpaper and shiny varnished wood panelling. I see a lot of nights scraping and painting in my future this week. And a few trips to the opp shop. Time to pass on those Vogue Living mags from the last decade. We're painting it duck egg blue, just like the beautiful shells we bought from the butcher last week.
The oven has arrived, and it looks gorgeous, just waiting for the planets to align, I mean for the builder and the plumber to be free on the same day, so we can hook it up. That is very exciting too. Truly, I can't wait to fire it up.
And my bees! I have a bee hive in my garden! But I'm too frantic to even begin to go there and visit them and I don't have my equipment yet. I think I'll leave them in the capable hands of my scythe bearing friend until everything calms down.
Now there is something else happening in addition to the end of year school plays, ceremonies and parties. A holiday! We are driving to Thredbo! For Christmas, staying in a huge ski lodge with all our family. We shall sail across Bass Straight with a boot full of Tasmanian goodness and head straight up to the Snowies.
Do you know in all the madness I have misplaced my camera. I can't take any pictures. We have no decorations up, the chooks are on strike demanding fresh straw, the laundry is piled up high and don't even ask about the vegetable garden, or the meadow that is our front lawn because the mower is broken. Again.
Heck, despite everything that's going on, I am trying to move slowly with grace and mindfulness through this special happy time. And not use the B word after reading
Pip's post. It sure takes the pressure off.
Now, does anyone know where I can find pickling cucumbers?
PS. Thank you so much for your kind words about Mabel, I'm afraid she is still missing, but we took great comfort from your thoughtfulness. xx
