Dear Florence,

It suddenly struck me that I am having the most amazingly perfect day, so I thought I ought to write it down for posterity. We managed to leave home early(ish) and headed to Rozelle for a browse in Vinnies, a coffee, and some spice shopping at Herbie's. All very satisfying and delightful. I now have a few goodies for the spice cupboard that I have been meaning to track down, as well my impulse purchase. I may never get around to making my own kimchi, but if I do, I now have Korean chilli flakes for the task.

I should perhaps mention at this point that despite the fact that the Winter solstice has only just passed, today is the most glorious weather you could possibly imagine, which makes it hard to have a bad day (unless you are stuck inside and cooped up all day). It's sunny and warm, and the sky is a perfect Sydney sparkling blue.

Baby Girlbooker is now asleep, and I have been browsing through a few cookbooks trying to decide what to cook for dinner tonight. That's when it really hit me that I am having an awesome day. It is the middle of the week but I can indulge in the luxury of thinking about what to cook. I only have a few more weeks of maternity leave left, and I am trying to squeeze every moment of joy out of the days while I still can. I am all too aware that soon life will be back to that crazed whirlwind of trying to cram too much into the day, and dinners will return once more to that boring rotation of the 5 things I can cook quickly(Pasta sauce #1, pasta sauce #2, stir fry, steak and veg, frozen dumplings).

For tonight's dinner, I will be breaking in my new Lebanese cookbook with Okra and Lamb, and making a nice, fresh salad that I have adapted from Moro East, a book I've had for a good half decade. I will also be using the Baharat spice mix I bought this morning. Once Baby G wakes up we will head off to Ashfield to buy what we need, but I am going to spend the next little while happily pottering about.

GB