We had our usual fairly quiet New
Year’s Eve – had hoped to go to the Annual Parade along Vincent Street, but
were feeling rather flat & decided to stay at home instead. We went to bed
early, but got up just before midnight to sit on the laundry floor with Lewis
& Morse to make sure they weren’t too distressed by the fireworks, from the
Lake House, which went for 10 minutes. Morse was very pleased to have our company –
he is quite timid & this was a new noise for him to cope with.
We were the only ones walking
early the next morning. Sadly the walk was ruined by the amount of rubbish left
by thoughtless revellers. I had forgotten to bring a large bag, so we gathered
as many cans, bottles & food packaging as we could & hoped the next
round of walkers would be able to do some more cleaning up. Judi tells me that
she & Robyn Lawrence cleaned as much as they could, and we read on FB that
Denise & Rodney Robinson removed the rest.
Robert, Marilyn,
Maureen, Callum & Heath on Christmas Day
We had a most enjoyable and busy
day. Wes mowed his sister, Denise’s, lawn, as we had noticed it was overgrown.
His nephew, Leon, arrived to visit while Wes was mowing, and they enjoyed
catching up. While Wes was away I was able to speak with most of the members of
my family as well as good friend, Marilyn Preston. Judi rang me, which was
lovely.
After Wes had finished mowing,
& visited Barbara, we went to see Dot & John Smith in Hepburn Springs,
to chat over hot drinks about their daughter, Annette’s very recent death.
There is so very little you can say to grieving parents, but we shared hugs
& told stories & ended our visit with a good laugh, when Dot & John
each told their side of a funny story.
Our next visit was a very overdue
one to Ian & Robyn Robinson, neither of whom is in very good health at
present. Ian went in to have his gall bladder removed in October, (an operation
most of his siblings have already had), and is still unwell all these weeks
later, as there were complications & infections & the wound is still
not healed. Robyn neglected her health in worrying about Ian & is now
suffering from cellulitis & vertigo. They have a very restful country home
in Chewton, about 40 minutes’ drive from Daylesford (near Castlemaine), which
is much easier for us to get to than their Drummond Street, North Carlton home.
Donovan Tandberg
Hodge born on New Year’s Day – much to the relief of his grandmother, Glen, our
next-door neighbour. He was quite overdue, but looks perfectly cooked!
The next morning we walked around Lake
Daylesford equipped with a big bag, which I managed to half-fill with
discarded clothing, cans, bottles & Kleenex. After the walk, I set off to
visit Leanne in Strathmore, where we had a lovely time, chatting about
Christmas Day. I was able to help her with the end of the cleaning up. Like all
of us, she is appalled by the dreadful bushfires threatening so many towns
& villages all over Australia, but particularly those close to home in
Victoria & New South Wales.
Later that day I chatted with our
dear friend, Jan Pengilley, who moved to Maleny Qld, just before Christmas. She
sounded in good spirits, now that the unpacking is almost complete and sent a
couple of photos of her views from her new home, where she is living close to
her daughter, Tara, her husband, Diederich, and their son, Renier. Jan can see
scrub turkeys, bandicoots, geckos & azure kingfishers from her windows.
On Friday, after the walk (very
little rubbish this time – a few cans & Kleenex only), I went shopping at
Coles supermarket, before we took the boys for their socialising outside The
Food Gallery in Vincent Street. We had invited our friend, Aileen
O’Reilly, to join us, and were tickled pink when she arrived. Aileen’s mother,
Dorothy, died in December, and Aileen is still getting used to the empty house.
Wes mowed Barbara’s back lawn as
there was no-one else available to do it, while I caught up on some phone calls
& chores. Kathy Lazzaro rang for a chat, which was great and the rest of
the day was spent watching &/or listening to the Sydney Test, where the
Kiwis had been forced to make 5 changes due to illness in their side.
Yesterday we rose at 5.30am after
a very hot night and were the only people walking around the lake at that hour,
although a young couple were fishing with plenty of enthusiasm but not much
experience. Once again I filled a small bag with discarded clothes, cans &
food containers.
It was the first Saturday of the
month, so the Farmers’ Market was in full swing in the playground area of the
Daylesford Primary School. I enjoyed visiting, catching up with Daylesford
Rotarians & watching the generosity of locals & visitors as Gold Coin
donations turned into paper money. The proceeds from the Market were going to the
Bushfire Appeal & we are all grateful that we haven’t been impacted here –
yet!
It was another hot day with awful
winds, so we spent much of it indoors. I had lots of chores that can be done to
the accompaniement of the Test cricket & it was wonderful to see Marnus Labuschagne
reach his first double century at the SCG. He is an amazing young talent &
a delight to watch.
After a cool, damp walk this
morning, we are about to head off to the Sunday Market, followed by breakfast
at 9am @ The Food Gallery. Then Wes is going to Cricket
Willow in Shepherd’s Flat to help out at their annual day of foot
racing – Run for the Willow. The boys and I will watch the
cricket on & off and enjoy the last of the holidays before appointments
& commitments return to the calendar.
No comments:
Post a Comment