Surprises and delights

Contains random moments of joy and a cracking tomato soup recipe.

Hello friends. I’ve had a little holiday from Fancy Butter, and then a little actual holiday. I also felt so cross at the world that I was worried that if I sat down and started writing I wouldn’t be able to stop having a jolly good moan. And I think there’s enough of that, don’t you?

Instead, here are some things that have brought me joy recently, starting with the Easter Bunny at my local supermarket:

Admittedly, he looks a bit like he’s had a few Easter eggnogs, but I do admire the skill that’s gone into his creation. Not pictured but in the same location: a bunch of Spanish-speaking shoppers cracking up and dancing when the Macarena started playing over the sound system.

Whoever said imitation was the finest form of flattery probably wasn’t thinking of pretend brandy, or at least of pretend brandy many decades past its use-by date. After bravely giving this a sniff I’d say it now does a very good job of being Imitation Vinegar.

Crown Lynn devotees will recognise this as Vintage Pat. 982 - praise and thanks to the Westport Salvation Army Store where I got four of these lovely, never used bowls for $8. (Should you have a casserole dish in this pattern that you’re willing to part with, my former workmate Kimberley is on a life-long search for one.)

Here’s a wild apple tree at Cape Foulwind, with the very best fruit tantalisingly out of reach, or at least hard to pick when you’re also holding a dog lead (there’s a metaphor in that somewhere). I think the second-best fruit had been snaffled by passing mountain bikers or (more likely) passing weka, who will apparently eat anything that’s not nailed down. There were more of these random apple trees on the road between Murchison and Nelson. I’d like to think they’ve grown from cores chucked out car windows, but can that really be true?

Speaking of apples, here’s the sum total of our courtyard apple harvest. Pesky wind knocked lots of baby apples off the tree in December, so this was all we were left with. Worse still, cheeky blackbirds snacked on them while we were away. Still, the salvageable ones do taste good - and they did remind me of a soup I used to make years ago when a flat I was in got an organic fruit and veg delivery and we couldn’t keep up with the apples.

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Good Things

Gardening with passion

More gardening good news: Two years ago I planted a $3 passionfruit seedling between two struggling feijoa trees in our small city garden. Against all odds - wind, drought, poor soil, neglect - the vine has grown vigorously through the trees and along a fenceline. Last week, we ate our first ripe one, with many more on the way. Given that passionfruit are about $2.50 each in the shops, this one has already earned its keep. (I wish I could say the same for the feijoas.)

The Safekeep

Speaking of passion… I COULD NOT stop reading this last week - the absolutely gripping debut by a Dutch author that scored a Booker Nomination and won various other prizes. Intriguing characters, sharp writing, and a gut-wrenching story.

Malcolm in the Middle 2.0

I really, really didn’t want to watch this reboot of the 2000s hit show Malcolm in the Middle. It would be inane humour made for adolescent boys, I raged. Why can’t we watch The Other Bennett Sister? Then I sat down and watched three episodes in a row and had to be forcibly stopped from bingeing more. It’s silly, big-hearted and a wonderful antidote to everything else happening in the world right now. Plus, it has Bryan Cranston!

Hope you can find some moments of joy this week. Thank you for reading x