Tuesdays In Tartu

Finally, the snow has all gone, but not the small hill that sits on the tennis court side-lines. What is worrying (to me) is that we've had very litte rain. The air is very, very dusty from all the dirt left in the streets. The town's street sweepers have been busy, but a good downpour is what we need desperately.

I remember how frequently the school vacation week in April was usually so wet, that even one year the bees couldn't pollinate the apple blossoms. I think the trees & plants would like a good drink also. My crocuses & snowbells are blooming now, & the daffodils should be coming up soon.

Easter was this weekend just gone. On Good Friday I made Hot Cross Buns in the morning. I had mixed the dough up the night before & let it prove overnight. I under-estimated how much the buns would rise again & they really needed a bigger pan. But they were still delicious. I made a carrot cake on Saturday morning & in the afternoon helped Svetlana decorate some eggs for Sunday. When Jim & Svetlana, our closest neighbours since December, dropped in on Sunday morning I served the carrot cake up. Erik's mother sent us 10 chocolate 'baby bilbies' by mail which arrived on Saturday. Jim & Svetlana were given 2 bilbies so that there wouldn't be any fights over who received the extra 2 bilbies. Our plush Easter bilbies were sitting in a basket bowl with the small chocolate bilbies & a medium sized 'Made in France' chocolate egg for each family member.