Dear Everyone, we
had a fun breakfast last Sunday with John & Jan, Judi, us, Barbara, Maureen
Peterson (who grew up here and recently moved away, but was back
house-sitting), Margot, Aileen & Glenn. I asked Maureen where she was
house-sitting and when she answered Radium
Avenue, Margot piped up that she lived in that little street and they
discovered they were living across the road from each other!
After breakfast Wes
headed to Melbourne to visit Joan Testro in rehab and it was a perfect day for
a drive. I mulched the last of the front veggie patches, caught up on paperwork
and then settled down to watch the Footscray vs Box Hill VFL Grand Final on the
ABC, which the Doggies won after a close nail-biting game in front of 23,000+.
Newborn Alessia Spiteri being
held by her sister, Katia – daughters of Shane & Melinda
Wes arrived home
around 4.30pm after a very good visit with Joan and a surprise visit with Ben
Sudano, who has moved into Rathdowne Place in Carlton.
Monday was a very
cold morning which ushered in a perfect Spring day. Wes got stuck into the
garden, planted one of our lemon trees in the orchard and moved the other lemon
and lime into the sun in the hope that the frosts are just about over.
We had been invited
to lunch at Judi & Michael’s place with Glenn Mack, so headed off with some
Asiatic lilies and good wines to share a very enjoyable afternoon sitting on
their balcony looking out at their beautiful view and chatting away happily.
Both Maddie & Major were very well-behaved once they recovered from their
initial excitement. Judi had made a smoked trout pasta dish which was very
moreish and accompanied it with a fennel & zucchini salad.
Sadly their guests
had to leave early as both Wes and Glenn had to be part of separate Skype
conference calls. Bilbo was thrilled to see us arrive back and sat up with me
watching the Brownlow Medal presentation until we were both too tired to last
any longer.
Danny Millman ran into our old
friend, Murray Godso, & his partner, Teo, at a birthday party recently
Tuesday was another
cold morning which rapidly turned into a perfect day. Wes spent ages in the
garden, mowing everywhere, and shifting the remaining sheltering plants out
into the air, so that they can be rained on while we are away. I went to gym,
and then bought a new printer (my last one according to Wes) from Keith at Jenkin & Thomas. My old printer had
suddenly given up the ghost the day before and I can’t exist without one. My
hand-writing is so poor that I prefer to print address labels rather than sent
post-people crazy trying to read it! I managed to install it OK and we are
getting used to each other.
Wes cooked a
beautiful mushroom & pumpkin risotto for lunch and we watched an episode of
Silk together. I think this is such a
great show and each successive episode I am persuaded is the very best. We
spent the afternoon fine-tuning our trip with me choosing seafood meals for us
on the flight and Wes checking all our accommodation was confirmed and paid for
if required.
The next day we
were due for rain, but the day dawned dry, so Wes decided to water everywhere
using our two tanks, which are both full. I spent some time making my new
printer wireless connected and am very pleased with the quality of the print so
far. Sandra came to clean so we all tried to stay out of each other’s way. Dot
& I had been going to play Mah Jong, but her sister was unwell and she
preferred to visit her instead. So I drove to Kyneton to see the Avenue of Daffodils
and visit the NAB. It is one drawback for us living in Daylesford that the NAB
doesn’t have a branch or ATM and I’ve experienced difficulties taking money out
of other ATMs and prefer to go to a NAB if I can.
Wes spent some time
with Barbara as usual and arrived home in time for me to make special fried
rice for lunch – so nice for him to be waited on for a change. We watched the
first episode of Hinterland, set in
Wales and were most impressed with the storyline, characters and vibe. Later
that evening the rain finally arrived and gave everywhere another soaking as
well as replenishing the water tanks.
Wes & Bilbo
were up at 4.30am on Thursday, but it was too wet to walk, so Bilbo settled
down to a bone from Leanne (Aunty), and it was over an hour before he stopped
munching and came back inside. I headed off to gym and did a few chores while I
was out.
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Good friends and excellent
winemakers – Rob & Marg McDonald -at the Daylesford Pipe Band 10th
Anniversary celebration
There have been
many changes to shops again here – sadly they continue to be replaced by cafés,
home shops & clothing shops – most of them directed at the visitor market
and not the locals. I don’t know how some of them survive, especially in
Vincent Street, where the rents are high and the landlords heartless. Our IGA
store is closing down as parts of the building they inhabit has been condemned.
It has been no match for Coles Supermarket, but it did offer an alternative,
which is a good thing and its wine section championed local growers and makers.
We watched the
first episode of the ABC drama The Code,
and were blown away by the use of technology, the storyline, the settings and
characters. Before going to bed we saw 360°
on Foxtel, where lovely footballer, Robert Murphy, awarded his Rascal of the Year. He and the cameramen
at Fox have perfected finding those special moments, that Channel 7 cameras
often miss – Geelong’s Stevie J listening in to the Port centres discussing
tactics without them noticing, Collingwood’s first year player Tom Langdon
giving his mate in the crowd a couple of drink bottles from the trainers, a
youngster taking a spectacular dive in a Little League game much to the
confusion of his opponent, and a cameraman on the boundary line shouting
instructions to an Essendon player rather than taking photos.
On Friday Wes and
Bilbo walked very early and settled down to a morning of gardening while the
rain held off. I had appointments for a haircut and face rub, manicure and
pedicure, which occupied my morning, before coming home for a lovely lunch and
a henna application.
The crimson
rosellas are loving Fawlty Towers and
only desert it when the magpies swoop in or the cockies come too close. We have
discouraged the cockies as much as we can because of the damage they do and
there is no seed around that interests them.
Rob & Dene, our
next door neighbours invited themselves in for a drink to show us their photos
from their very recent Italian holiday, spent mostly in Umbria with a rest in
Kuala Lumpur on the way home. We had been depleting our food supplies, so Wes
raced out to Tonna’s and brought back a nice supply of cheeses & fruit to
accompany the Morris Sparkling Durif and Pepperjack Shiraz that we demolished
while sitting on the balcony watching the sun set.
Leigh & Simon’s home in London
the day they moved back in
Yesterday was Grand
Final day and I set off at 7.15am armed with my paperwork for collecting my
ticket and arrived at Melbourne Airport to pick up Jane Knox who had flown in
from Sydney for the game. Her flight had left late, and I had to drive around
the block a few times, but we found each other and headed off into town via Brunswick
Road & Rathdowne Street, as I didn’t know if she had ever been along those
roads. We got a park in Spring Street nearly opposite The European, spotted one of our favourite footballers, the
aforementioned Robert Murphy of the Doggies, strolling along in his suit to the
ground and nabbed a great little table for two for a late breakfast at The Europeon. Jane always has the same
thing for breakfast there – baked eggs with chorizo & black pudding, and I
nearly always enjoy the omelette special.
After breakfast we
drove to the new car park that services the MCG, Tennis Centre & Rugby
Stadium, where I had booked a spot. I collected my ticket very easily and we
strolled around the ground, until we ended up at the Coodabeen Champions broadcast tent, where we laughed and sang along
with all the other devotees of this wonderful programme. Eventually I left Jane
and went to find my seat, which was 9 rows from the front and on a flank – it was
a great position and I was at the end of the row which suited me very well.
The first quarter
was fast & furious and the pressure was enormous, but Hawthorn always
looked in control after 10 minutes and so they were – running out comprehensive
winners by 63 points over a shell-shocked lacklustre Swans team. I left the
ground before the end and had a good drive back home, arriving in daylight,
where I was greeted by my two boys and a very yummy pasta dish accompanied by a
bottle of Angove’s Shiraz. We were all tired and in bed early in preparation
for today.
Wes had spent most
of Saturday with Barbara – he took her for a big shop, brought her over here and
showed her our downstairs in case there is an emergency, and watched the Grand
Final with her. She will miss his company and assistance very much, as he is
always just at the end of the phone and across the road.
Our flight leaves
at 9.25pm, so we are off to breakfast shortly, then home to finish washing,
ironing, packing, backing up computers, charging phones, turning off switches
and eventually dropping Bilbo at Eureka Kennels in Ballarat before driving to
Melbourne airport and checking in.
As usual while we are away I will
post on Facebook with a link to my blog, or else you can follow our adventures
by going directly to http://karenmaloney5.blogspot.com.au/
We will be back in
Melbourne on 5th November, so normal Dispatches should resume the
following Sunday. Please stay in touch via Facebook, emails or Viber – it is
always lovely to read about what everyone else is doing.
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