Dear
Friends, after an enjoyable breakfast last Sunday, Wes and I drove to Clunes in
the sunshine to visit Booktown. We
haven’t been for a couple of years and were most impressed with the changes and
improvements. There were lots of things for kids and lots of kids’ books for
sale; plenty of inexpensive hot food & drinks; books galore; bands playing,
and a very busy main street. We enjoyed walking around and picked up a handful
of books. Catherine King and her husband, Mark Karlovic, were there with their
son, Ryan – they spent the Saturday at Spudfest,
like us.
We
came home to a quiet afternoon and just as Wes thought he would get out into
the garden, the rain came down. We’ve had over 40mls during the last few days
and everywhere is looking very green and healthy.
On
Monday it was too wet underfoot for golf, so I went shopping early, while Wes
worked on the computer and planned an assault on the garden at 9am, by which
time it was raining steadily again. We had quite a busy day – John Scarffe came
back to drink coffee, eat biscuits, discuss Ancestry with Wes and sand the
kitchen ceiling. After a yummy fish lunch, I visited John & Dot Smith to
see if the back of his jumper was the right size and it is! While I spent a
quiet late afternoon in front of the fire with Bilbo, Wes had a meeting with
Kate Redwood, Jenny & Eddie Beacham planning a meeting to change the ALP’s
mind about treatment of refugees. That night we received the worrying news from
Judi that our friend of 15 years, Lorelle Hall, was in emergency in Ballarat.
Wes with Nick Massaro
at Porcupine Ridge
After
gym on Tuesday, I had my nails done; John Scarffe came back to finish sanding
the kitchen ceiling & fix the bathroom basin; Wes filled a bin with weeds;
Glenn Mack dropped in some King Island cheese wedges and Nick Massaro came to
give me a massage.
Leanne’s
cat, Smokey, had been in Lort Smith Hospital since Saturday night and she
received the very welcome news that she could bring him home that afternoon. It
is very worrying that Smokey continues to suffer from this problem of being
unable to urinate...we can only hope that the issue has been sorted this time.
It
was very cold again on Wednesday morning, but Wes and Bilbo went off walking at
5.10am and arrived back an hour later – cold, but invigorated. Wes usually
works on the computer for a couple of hours after the walk, and then spends an
hour or two in the garden. The chore this morning was trimming the rosemary. We
must have at least 50 rosemary plants, so it was quite a big deal. Sandra came
to clean and I went off to play Mah Jong with Dot, Valerie & Gail.
We
spent a very happy morning together at Muffins
& More and Valerie & I had lunch together afterwards, while Wes
took Barbara to Gracenotes Café as part of their usual Wednesday date. The sun
was shining that afternoon, so Bilbo and I walked up to the Post Office and
back. As the weather for Thursday was expected to be 0° in the early morning, I
harvested all the remaining chillies and pulled out the plants as they wouldn’t
have survived what turned out to be quite a frost.
After
gym I had a fringe trim with Morgan at Spice
then Wes and I drove to Bendigo to see the Genius & Ambition Exhibition on loan from the RSA. For the past few years Bendigo has
managed to stage an important and interesting exhibition around this time and
this was no exception. We did enjoy seeing some paintings we had never seen
before as well as revisiting some Australian art that was included in the final
room.
This was my favourite
– ‘On the Scheldt’ by W C Stanfield AKA C F Stanfield
Wes and I were in agreement with the paintings we loved
and thought the Australian section more than held its own, including the
painting below by G V Cole, entitled ‘Autumn
Morning’ ....when you were looking at this you could feel the mist rising.
Outside
the Gallery was a very friendly woman manning a pop-up Information Centre and
she directed us into town where we found Khong,
an adequate sort of Chinese restaurant and enjoyed chilli prawns & ginger
scallops with tea. Every time I have been to Bendigo for one of these special
shows, the Info Centre is there and it is such a great example of a city
working together to give visitors the very best experience.
Many
years ago when everyone went to Bendigo for the pottery, there was similar vibe
– you felt the whole place was proud of the pottery and keen for visitors to
experience as much as they could of this beautiful old city.
We
came home via Malmsbury, which was
decked in Autumn splendour as well as Glenlyon.
I was quite tired on our return as I had done all the driving to give Wes a
break and by 4pm I was in bed and struggling to keep awake. We both ended up
having a 12-hour sleep, which we obviously needed and felt much better the next
day. Bilbo didn’t mind missing his walk, as long as he got a bone!
Wes
had a meeting in Trentham which took most of the morning and then went to
Ballarat that afternoon to see if he could buy us a small greenhouse, which is
my Mother’s Day present from Bilbo. He arrived back having ordered one and we
have decided it will live on our decking, which gets plenty of Winter sun. That
night we were able to stay awake for the very exciting Swans vs Hawks match,
which the Swans won when Buddy Franklin finally got his kicking boot on and
slotted a couple of goals after seven straight behinds.
Recent photo of Barbara in the Anzac
Day march
We woke to
another rainy morning on Saturday, so all gardening was postponed and we spent
the morning sitting at our computers. At lunchtime we attended an Afternoon Tea
celebrating World Lupus Day, as one
of our friends here suffers from lupus, as do several other non-Daylesford
friends. We arranged to meet up with Gillie at the local footy, where Pink Day
was being celebrated. Daylesford beat Creswick in an entertaining game, and we
enjoyed spending time with Gillie, and lots of other local friends.
Pink afternoon tea for Breast Cancer
at the footy
This
morning has been much quieter than usual. We are off to Adelaide on Tuesday,
primarily to see Collingwood play Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday
night, where we will be joined by Danny Millman. We are taking the opportunity
to spend a few days in this beautiful city, and will go to McLaren Vale on
Saturday, stay overnight and head home on Sunday. I’ll be in touch with you as
soon as possible after our return.
So, no
trip to Daylesford Sunday Market this morning, but we are sharing breakfast
with Judi, Gillie, Aileen & Barbara, and later in the day we have been
invited to participate in Peter Widdop’s birthday celebrations, which will be
just lovely.
This is my
first Mothers’ Day without Viva – thinking of her and especially today. Happy
Mothers’ Day to all our friends who are mothers – hope you are spoilt by your
loving families.
One of my favourite photos of Viva
enjoying a stay in Daylesford with Leanne, Peter & Anka
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