This little Huon pine chopping board came back from Tasmania as a rough sawn circle. Elise and Nick bought it for me for a few dollars back in the days when none of us could afford a sanded new swanky chopping board.

‘Just sand it yourself,’ Elise said. Well I tell you, it sounds easy in theory, but actually was nearly impossible in practice. The timber is so dense. I think I went through a million bits of sandpaper to get it to a usable but still imperfect state.

And all I ever did was one side. I couldn’t face the bottom. And then I oiled it. And since then I have used it every day. And any marks I missed in my sanding have been hidden by the cutting and chopping it has seen over 15 years.

It is one of the three every day chopping boards in my kitchen. And it does double duty as a cheese board on occasion.

What I like the most about it is that it just looks like a bit of tree. Which it is of course.

Oh, and the colour gets more beautiful all the time.

Oh, and it smells good (I love the smell of Huon pine).

Thanks Tasmania. Thanks Elise and Nick.