Happy 20th Birthday to the Blog

Ten years ago I wished the blog a happy birthday and then said:

I wonder if the blog will still be going in another ten years.  And if it is - I wonder what it will be telling us

And here it still is, trundling along. 

Ten years ago I knew we were heading back to Australia later in the year. I had absolutely no idea that ten years on I would be living in a flat in Docklands with a water view. Whenever I had come to visit Docklands I had thought it would be a lovely place to live (ignoring the scoffers who said it would be a dire place to live) but assumed that it would be well out of my reach, especially with a water view.  Turns out it wasn't out of reach and that I was right; it is a lovely place to live. 

I hadn't expected to be living on my own, although Jim and I knew that it was very likely that he would die before I did. We had had lots of discussions about it so when the time came there was a plan which could be put into action. I absolutely hadn't expected the dementia. Fortunately we had had the discussions before it became impossible to discuss serious things with him and, again, I more or less knew what he would have wanted had he been able to say.

So I think what the blog is telling us is that we should seize the day, have the discussions, get the paperwork in order, Be Prepared but be flexible as well. And above all - have fun.

Shall we aim for another 10 years? A celebration of Meanderings' 30th birthday in February 2036.  

Time

Today marks six months since I picked up the keys to my New Life in the City.

Monday will be six months since Brandy, Whiskey and I moved in and had our first night sleeping here.

Tomorrow will be twenty years since I wrote my first entry on the Meanderings blog. A Sunday afternoon shift at the Psalter Lane library, sun shining, few visitors and me looking to see what this blog thing was that I had been invited to explore by the computer system. (I didn't know then, really, what a blog was.)

If I am surprised to note that it is already six months since I picked up the keys to the flat (and I am) I am astounded that it has been twenty years since the genesis of Meanderings, both that the time has passed and that I kept at it. My attention span doesn't normally run for two decades.

Time is a funny thing. It has been passing at speed this week. Whole days have been vanishing without me properly noticing them. 

I did very little on Sunday. I managed to stagger out of the flat to go to the supermarket for some cat food and that was pretty much it. 

I went to work on Monday, which was more challenging than it ordinarily is. Trams aren't running along Spencer Street for two weeks while they repair the tracks.  So I took a tram up Collins Street and changed to the 86 at Gertrude Street in Fitzroy. I intended to  change in the city but I got on a tram which I knew intersected with the 86 at Gertrude Street, so figured I might as well stay on. 

Yesterday I finally gave in and went and bought a carpet sweeper for my two rugs. I had a carpet sweeper in Eilish Court. I didn't bring it because I knew the flat didn't have carpets. I did not want to buy another one. I really didn't. Moving is expensive enough without replacing things that you absolutely DECIDED you weren't going to need and now find that you do. My broom does sweep up the cat fur but it doesn't do a very good job of cleaning the rugs. The carpet sweeper does - and picks up quite a bit more cat fur. Money well spent, I suppose but if I should ever be foolish enough to move again I am going to take absolutely everything with me and sort it out once I am settled 😂

I met briefly with Freyja while I was at her end of the city and came home on the City Circle tram. If you catch a tram which was primarily intended for tourists, it should not be surprising that tourists use it. It does surprise me, though, how many people use it. I wonder if there will be as many visitors over the winter.

And now today is also in serious danger of disappearing on me. It is only mid-morning but I am still not dressed, nor have I yet done anything particularly useful. I had better put myself into gear and get myself moving!

Yes? Did you want something?

I am busy.
I am watching my favourite TV show

Food

 I've had quite a foodie couple of days.

Julia and Travis gave me a gift token for Dokutoku for my birthday last December. I deployed it on Thursday evening.

Lindsey came around and we had an early dinner. Even at 6:30 it was very busy (it's not very big) so I was glad I had booked a table. And we had their wagyu sukiyaki menu to share. It is thinly sliced wagyu beef, with a plate of tofu, mushrooms, cabbage, carrots and konjac noodles, with rice on the side. You cook all. this in a simmering bowl of a soy sauce based broth and it is very delicious. It also comes with a raw egg which you are supposed to beat in your serving bowl and use as a dipping sauce.  I did not do this. I didn't really need to. Lindsey did but gave up after a while. The food was saucy enough with the cooking broth.

I have experience eating in Dokutoku (it is right next door to the front door of Victoria Point, the building I live in). I did not wear one of my best shirts to dinner!

Lindsey almost never seems to spread
Japanese sauces over her clothes

Yesterday I went to a cooking class in Abbotsford that Freyja and Simon had bought me for Christmas. It was a cooking with native ingredients class and we made damper with river mint, barramundi cooked in a banana leaf with samphire and lemon myrtle and garnished with finger lime,  then kangaroo with a pepperberry salt and vegetables. The chef made a Davidson plum sauce to go with the kangaroo. We made a sesame paste to have with the damper flavoured with saltbush and samphire. Everything had garlic or black garlic. I don't think I learned very much, although I have never cooked kangaroo before and I hadn't cooked with fresh lemon myrtle leaves. But it was very interesting and I had a good time. And, of course, delicious food to eat.

We were supposed to cook in pairs but there was an odd number of participants and they got me to cook alone to accommodate my nut allergy. This meant that the second chef came to help me with chopping things while I was using the mortar and pestle. My very own sous chef, with excellent knife skills 😊 It also meant that I had double portions of food, because everything was organised for two servings. I didn't eat both portions. I brought the extras home (by invitation, I didn't just help myself).

I was very pleased with my cook of the kangaroo. It was pretty much perfect. Although let me assure you that I will never do it that well again. I don't eat a lot of kangaroo, it not being one of my favourite meats, although it must be said that kangaroo that is lightly smoked and then gently fried with rosemary, garlic, olive oil and butter is rather nice. We had it with purple potatoes, taro and mushrooms also gently fried in oil, butter, garlic and rosemary.

Our ingredients came pre-prepared.
This is the dry ingredients for the damper

lemon myrtle, samphire and lemon zest
for the barramundi

vegetables to accompany the kangaroo

banana leaf parcel

revealing lovely barra

damper flat breads

cooking the vegetables

Perfectly cooked kangaroo
(to my surprise!)

The afternoon was enlivened by one of the participants collapsing while the chef was demonstrating how to cook the damper. Her partner and another participant (who I assume was a nurse or a doctor - she knew what she was doing) sorted her out and all was well.  But it was a bit disconcerting - the chef nearly burnt his damper!!

I came home, got changed and pretty much immediately went out again to meet Freyja and Simon at Hamer Hall for An Audience With Tony Robinson (Blackadder, Time Team, amongst other things). It was very funny, very informative and very entertaining - although I could have done without the angry, white, racist man/men heckling from the bleaches whenever indigenous history or culture were mentioned. No need for that at all.

I bailed at the intermission, not because I wasn't having fun but because I was getting very tired. I wouldn't normally engage with a day that starts with an online 8:00 Japanese lesson for an hour, contains a 2pm cooking class for 2.5 hours in Abbotsford and then finishes with a 7:30 theatre engagement in the city for another 2.5 hours. Very poor planning on my part, I agree, but that was just the way it was. Only having the first half of an audience with Tony Robinson was better than having no halves.

Freyja tells me that there was no further heckling in the second half. I surmise that he/they had taken the chill pill that the host had suggested they take, or that they had buggered off home or to the pub, or that perhaps they had been invited to leave

The river from Princes Bridge,
a little before 9pm

I don't often go into the city in the evening. It was very busy. The trams were packed. There were people everywhere. There was an Indonesian (I think) festival in Fed Square and Freyja and Simon went to a different part of Fed Square to watch a footy match on a big screen after the show. It was, of course, Valentines Day and there were obviously other things happening around the place. It was all quite buzzy.

I started writing this at 7:30 on Sunday morning. It is a beautiful morning. And I am looking at a very rare day when there is nothing in my calendar, nothing I have to do, nothing urgent that I should do. There are, of course, lots of things that I could do, that need to be done. But nothing that absolutely has to be done today (Though I should perhaps iron my clothes for work tomorrow)

Back at Ghost's Place

So this week has been more or less a "rinse and repeat" of last week.

I came to Ghost's place on Saturday afternoon. Bourke Street was nearly as busy as it had been the previous week. It might be weather related - it was a lovely day for a trip to the city. I'll have to check in autumn and winter and see how many people are about.

I met Wendy at the Alphington market on Sunday. It too was quite busy. I couldn't buy very much; I was in the car but I wasn't taking the car from Northcote to my place. Anything I bought, I had to carry home on the bus and tram and I didn't have my granny shopping trolley with me. I could, however, buy vegetables for this week.

Wendy and I tried to have lunch in Kissaten but the kitchen was closed because of a power cut. So we went into Clifton Hill and had lunch in Rubber Duck, which I haven't been into before. I would definitely go again. My eggs Benedict with a side of mushrooms was very big and very tasty. I didn't need anything much to eat for the rest of the day. Just a tuna and cucumber sandwich in the evening.

There were two potato rösti under all that

I am planning, after the public holiday in March, to take my long service leave, with a view to retiring after that. Obviously, if I am not going to work twice a week, I need other reasons to leave my flat. Garden club - tick. In person Japanese classes once a week - tick. Sunday and other lunches out, from time to time - tick. What else? Someone suggested Lions or Probus. Tony was a member of his local Probus in Mornington and really enjoyed it. He and Stella went on lots of outings and adventures. I looked into Probus in Docklands and discovered there is a group that meets in the Docklands Community Hub by the library. I sent in a membership application, was accepted and yesterday went to my first meeting. There were several other new people. They meet once a month, followed by lunch. They do lots of other things - walking group, book club, film group, other things. I have registered to go on a day trip to Beleura House in Mornington in a month or so.

We'll see how this goes. Everyone was very friendly but I'm not really a meeting person. I'm not fit enough to head off on 5-10 km walks around the city, although that may change now that the local physio has me under control. I have absolutely no interest in films or card games. I do like food, you will be amazed to hear. I could perhaps be persuaded by the monthly Sunday lunch. I'll give it a proper go and see how I get on.

I didn't go to the lunch after the meeting. I came back to Ghost's place. The tram trip here was enlivened by a small truck blocking the tram tracks near the museum. The tram turned right and was brought up short by the small truck, thus blocking the intersection. We were stopped for around 10 minutes, which was enough to cause a considerable build up of traffic along Nicholson Street. I can't imagine that the truck driver actually intended to cause afternoon traffic chaos. Tram drivers are quite scary when they're annoyed - and our tram driver was definitely annoyed. It didn't really bother me. I wasn't in any hurry and I figured the truck would move eventually. Which it did.

And now this morning has settled in. I will head back to my place later, sort my cats out and then head to my Wednesday evening Japanese class.

Freyja and Simon are due back on Friday evening. My plan is to drop around on Friday morning to play with Ghost. But I think that this will have been the last overnight stay. For now.

Good morning, from Northcote

Ghost's Place

You find me this morning at Ghost's Place in Northcote.  Her people are in Aotearoa / New Zealand and I am sharing cat sitting duties with a friend of theirs. Ross is not available - he has gone to Aotearoa with Freyja and Simon.

Sunrise over the Dandenongs

I wonder if I can push the door open
far enough so I can go out?
Spoiler: Not this time

I came over on Saturday, more or less at lunchtime. I have no idea why but the tram was jammed and Bourke Street was packed. Gertrude and Smith Streets were unexpectedly busy. I had intended to get off the tram at Queen Street and take the bus to Northcote but there were too many people for me to get off with my (little) suitcase. This wasn't a major problem. There are plenty of options for getting off the tram and connecting with the bus. I got off at Clifton Hill, by which time many of the people had gone.

Ghost was very pleased to see me - or, more accurately, the supply of cat treats. She had plenty of biscuits in her bowls but she was impatiently waiting for cat treats.

I was reunited with Ziggy the car and drove to Station Street for a visit to Oasis, the Lebanese cafe and grocery store. Chicken shawarma for lunch, spanakopita for dinner.

Lindsey came over mid-morning on Sunday and we went to the Alphington market, which was also on the busy side. Mind you, the weather was very pleasant all weekend. Sunny, warm but not too hot, light breezes. There had been some rain overnight so everything was fresh. We had lunch at Kissaten and then went to the Bunnings in Fairfield. I needed a new toilet roll holder and, while I was there, I picked up a mature tomato plant, plus a mint and a thyme plant. The tomatoes in the community garden are finished and it is possible that I might get some tomatoes from a plant on my Sunset Strip. It's called a "winter garden" on the floor plan and it gets very warm. I'll test it to see how well it does as a "winter" garden. Mind you, it is still summer and March is often reasonably warm. See how we go.

I went to work on Monday. I am working on Mondays and Thursdays for five weeks while Mike the Practice Manager is away, then I am planning to take my long service leave. It is VERY confusing for my poor brain, working on Mondays and Thursdays after so many years of working Wednesdays and Fridays. I am struggling to remember what day it is and where I am supposed to be. This is further complicated by my overnight stays at Ghost's Place twice a week for two weeks. I am paying very close attention to my online calendar.

Tuesday morning view from my place:

I came back to Ghost's Place yesterday, this time catching the bus from Queen Street. It was a real (bus) trip down memory lane. The bus goes through so many places that I have lived in, hung around in, studied in throughout so many different stages of my life. 

There is a bus stop right outside Ghost's Place, which is very convenient. 

I must remember that today is Wednesday and that I have a Japanese class in the city at 5:30. I need to get back to my place and sort my cats out before that. But it's only 8:00 so there is plenty of time. I shall have a cup of coffee and ponder the day ahead.

Ghost, pondering the sunshine:

Another Sunny Day, Another Lunch Out

I found, yesterday, that even after one physio session, I was walking much better than I have for ages. Walking properly, not hobbling, not stepping gingerly. Walking. Almost striding.

When the tram driver, after inching slowly, slowly, slowly along Collins Street stopped at a tram stop and said: "There's quite a long queue of trams ahead. We will get going eventually, but if you're not going far it's probably quicker to walk" - I got off the tram and walked to my 5:30 Japanese lesson without thinking twice about it. Not bad, after one physio session.

It's not been quite so good today. A bit niggly. I had a second session this morning, which didn't hurt quite as much as the first. My knee isn't quite as happy as it was yesterday, but it didn't object to a lunchtime walk over to the Berth/Cargo restaurants with Lindsey, nor to the walk back.

We ate in Cargo, this time. We got there just as it opened and had our choice of tables, by the window, next to the water. Lindsey had an open souvlaki (not pictured). I had a capricciosa pizza, which didn't look as I expected (I didn't expect the anchovies to be quite so plentiful, nor quite so big, nor even quite so fresh) but it was very delicious.

I have added Berth, Cargo and the Urban Alley Brewery to my list of local eateries to visit again.

For some time now I have been watching little round, orange boats bobbing around on the harbour. Every now and then I wondered what they were doing. Then one afternoon, recently, when there were several of them out having fun on the water I enquired of the Internet: what are these creatures? It turns out that they are Aquadonuts and they are, in effect, floating picnic or barbecue tables. You hire them for a couple of hours, you fit up to 10 people inside them and you either have a picnic while you are bobbing around on the water or you can have a barbecue. You provide your own food and drinks and you can hire barbecue equipment if you are so minded.  We absolutely have to do this one day!

Aquadonuts, waiting for us

The Japanese class on Wednesday evening was good. There are six students, one of whom wasn't there. Of the others, one was born in Australia but with a Japanese mother; one is from Korea; one is from Canada but born in Serbia; one is Swedish and then there is me. The sensei is from Nagoya. I've moved from level E3 to E5, which is a better fit. I have done the material we covered in class before, but it's the kind of thing that I go over and over, whenever the opportunity arises. It's about the level of the online classes that I do. The material was new to the other students but our language level is very similar. I think I am going to enjoy these classes

A Long Weekend in Summer

It was very hot on Saturday afternoon. The morning was reasonable so I dropped to the supermarket for a few supplies. Then I pulled the blinds down, closed the windows and sat out the afternoon with the air conditioning on until the temperature dropped a bit in the evening.

Sunday was much, much better. Lovely weather, lovely temperature. I didn't go to the Alphington market because I had bought the makings of a fruit salad and a big green salad on Saturday so didn't really need very much at the market.

There was a message on the Garden WhatsApp group to say that one of "Urban forest" beds had been burnt overnight. Hard to say what had caused it. It had gone up in flames at around 10:15 pm so not likely to be a natural combustion. It might have been arson, although that was one of the smaller beds. Might have been a lit cigarette, I suppose. The CCTV cameras outside the entrance of the building don't reach that bed, although the stadium might have cameras pointing that way. Fortunately, no real damage had been done. Unless you happened to be the garden bed

I made my way to the Queen Victoria market side of town and met Freyja and Simon in the Bobbie Peels pub for a Sunday roast

Roast pork for me

Vegan and vegetarian nut roast for Freyja and Simon

Happy lunchers

Then we wandered down to the QV market. I don't go there very often. It is very big and I find it a bit intimidating. How to choose which stall to buy things from? How to choose what to buy? How to find things? However, Freyja had noticed my desire to buy some black garlic and had had a search to see if any of the stalls stocked it. She found one that did, so we located that stall and I bought some. (Although I have also ordered some flavoured butters online).

We were near to the newest of the Melbourne City Libraries, Narrm Ngarrgu (Which means Melbourne Knowledge in the local indigenous language) so we went in for a look around. It's lovely. Spacious and open and friendly with a glorious rooftop garden (which was closed to the public on Sunday, but which we could see through the windows and doors). It doesn't have the view that my local library (Library at the Dock) has, of water and boats and the Bolte Bridge, but it does have rather nice treetop views and you can see down along the market.

I nearly ran across Freyja and Simon again after we had parted company. They called into the Tokyo Hometown supermarket on their way home. I oh-so-nearly hopped off my tram and called in there too, but decided that I didn't really need anything and would call in another day.

Yesterday was a national public holiday and Wendy called around later in the morning. We wandered around to The District and had lunch in the Urban Alley Brewery, which I hadn't known about until somebody mentioned it on one of the Docklands' social pages. There are a lot of eating places around the Wheel in Docklands. It's not a food court, as such, more a collection of cafes and restaurants. I've eaten in the ramen shop several times but not really explored the other options. The pub is rather nice and my teriyaki salmon was lovely - both to look at and to eat. 

Wendy's chicken caesar salad was
ENORMOUS

It was beautiful weather for a potter around and people were out and about enjoying themselves. Today is forecast to be ridiculously hot. It's not too bad at the moment but the temperature is expected to rise to the mid 40s as the afternoon goes on. I went to a physio appointment at 9:30 and it was lovely weather for a stroll along the water. I do not think I will be going out this afternoon though. It's meant to drop back to more sensible summer temperatures for the rest of the week - but I do not expect that this will be last of the 40+d temperatures.  We have February yet to go!!!

A Busy Week

 I've had a busy week so far.

I went out to North Fitzroy on Monday afternoon to visit my podiatrist and came back via Melbourne Central. I had bought some sample butters at the Christmas food market and really, really liked the black garlic butter. According to the butter-maker's website, it was stocked at the Pantre Asian grocery in Melbourne Central. Alas - it is not. That producer goes to some of the markets I go to, so I'll ask them the next time I run across them. In the meantime, I could, of course, make my own black garlic butter. If I could find a supply of black garlic. That shouldn't be hard, if I keep my eyes open for it.

On Tuesday afternoon I went to my first class at the KonichiWhat Japanese language school. It's a fairly new, quite small  Japanese school and is in Collins Street. I could walk there but, being lazy, I took the tram. I had done an ability check before I booked my class but it quickly became apparent that I was in a class that was too easy for me. I already knew what we were doing and the other students did not. I have changed my class to a more advanced one, which will be early on Wednesday evenings. I've looked at the course material and I know some of it but not all of it. See how we go.

I will, of course, keep doing my first thing in the morning, twice weekly online classes which I very much enjoy.

I went to work on Wednesday.

Lindsey came around on Thursday and we walked around to the Newquay Promenade. Two of the heritage ships had been moored over there for a couple of days and I wanted to go and look at them. As you walk down the promenade there is a fish and chip shop on the waterside, plus two restaurants.  There are restaurants and wine bars on the other side of the promenade but they don't tend to be open at lunchtimes. The two waterside restaurants, Berth and Cargo, are very similar in appearance and have similar sorts of menus. We decided to try Berth and then Cargo another time.

We had a table next to the water

Lunchtime view

In addition to their regular menu, they also have a lunch menu, with all items a flat $25. This was my steak sandwich. You really can't complain about what you get for $25!

Then we went to look at the heritage ships. The Enterprize and the Alma Doepel were there. I'm not sure where The Wattle has gone. They had to leave their berths on the other side of the harbour at the beginning of January.

The Enterprize and the Tram Boat

Alma Doepel

We might have gone for a wander in The District before heading back to my place.

This was my view this morning as I walked along Harbour Esplanade to catch the tram to work

There are often people rowing on the harbour first thing in the morning but it's usually eights. I don't recall having seen lots of one and two person rowing boats at that time in the morning before.

This, in contrast, was Austin's view as he drove to work this morning

Today marks five months since Brandy, Whiskey and I moved into our flat. I no longer feel as though I am living in a holiday flat, especially now that I've cosied the flat up a bit. But I am still very much enjoying the waterside, city lifestyle

Tram Challenge: Route #35, City Circle

 

The City Circle tram is a W class tram that more or less circumnavigates the free tram zone in a clockwise direction. It was intended as a hop on hop off tourist tram and was free long before the free tram zone came into being. It starts and terminates outside The District shopping centre.

I catch it quite often, at least for bits of its route. It is one of the trams which stops outside my place on the way back from the city. On its way to the city, I catch it from The District, or sometimes from Central Pier if I am heading to Melbourne Central or to the Queen Victoria shopping complex. I often catch it if I am coming back from that end of town and am not in a hurry

I was surprised when it turned up on Christmas morning when I was heading to the zoo. I don't know why I was surprised - I knew the trams were running to a Sunday service but I had just assumed that it wouldn't be running. It was. And it was very busy.

It's nearly always very busy! Tourists love it. It takes a leisurely route around the CBD, with a commentary on what there is around it and where you can visit if you get off at the next stop. 

My only problem with it is that the steps to get on and off are quite steep. It is definitely not an accessible vehicle! So far, I can manage.

I have caught it the whole way round a couple of times now, just for fun.

The Week That Was

I have absolutely no idea why, but when I took the washing out of the machine on Monday morning there was a puddle of water next to it. I sorted out the washing, mopped up the water and then set about investigating where the water had come from. This required that I move the washing machine. It did not want to move! So I woman handled it out of its cupboard and checked the hoses, connections, pipes, draining pipe, everything. Nothing was wet, apart from the floor. So I shrugged my shoulders, pushed the machine back and ran the towels through that I had used to mop up the water.

No further water appeared. A mystery!

My right knee was not happy about all of this. It's been grumpy on and off for a while now. I suppose really, it's been grumpy on and off since I was about 15 years old.  It is especially grumpy after being required to help move the washing machine.

I took it to The Fox on Monday evening for dinner with Lindsey and Ian, a couple of long standing friends of theirs, and Freyja and Simon,  and had a remarkably nice seafood platter.

View from my bedroom window,
as I was on my way to bed

I reached this milestone on Drops
on Tuesday morning

I had ordered a second, larger rug for the lounge room, which arrived on Tuesday morning. I moved the original rug into the bedroom. I laid out the new, larger rug in the lounge room. I assembled the cabinet which had arrived the previous week. I attempted to attach the cupboard inserts which I had also bought. Their assembly completely defeated me, so I put them aside, thinking that I might return them to Ikea. Later I watched a video showing how to assemble them. It didn't seem that complicated. I will give it another go.

Wednesday, I went to work

My knee continued extremely grumpy, despite liberal applications of voltaren, the wearing of my knee brace and even taking ibuprofen. My hip decided to go out in solidarity.

I made an appointment to see a local physiotherapist, but not for a couple of weeks.

On Thursday I accompanied Lindsey to pick something up in the Eastern Suburbs and then we went to the Chadstone Shopping Centre. It is a very long time since I was in the Chadstone Shopping Centre. It was big then. It is ENORMOUS now.

We ignored most of the shops and visited Mini Maru, Daiso, a magnificent Asian supermarket, and had souvlakis in the food hall for lunch.

I was hobbling by the time we got back to the car 😢

I went to work on Friday

I took things fairly easily yesterday. I had to go to the supermarket because I was out of wet cat food and I did not wish to face Feline Fury when there was no tuna mornay for Sunday breakfast. There is never tuna mornay for Sunday breakfast for me, but Brandy and Whiskey seem to expect it. 

Well behaved neighbours on my
stroll to the supermarket

I went to the community vegetable garden for some supplies for (my) dinner, and came back with carrots, two tomatoes, silverbeet, spring onions and thyme

And I made this for dinner:

I had some feta, filo, snow peas and mint in the fridge so used them as well as the garden produce to make this not-spanakopita. I was a bit heavy handed with the mint but otherwise it was delicious. Carrot sticks on the side.

Afternoon view from my dining table

I am heading to the Alphington market in an hour or so. Will be interesting to see how my knee behaves. It's quite happy at the moment - but then again, it hasn't been required to do anything so far this morning