Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 23rd February 2020

We enjoyed our busy Sunday morning last week, particularly as the Sunday Market was quiet & we were able to get everything done before Lewis & Morse got too excited. Both Gillie & Aileen joined us at breakfast – Gillie with the sad news that her friend, Hilary, had died suddenly. We were all sorry to hear this as we had enjoyed Hilary’s company whenever she had visited Gillie & she will forever be remembered as the creator of Betty, the scarecrow.  

  

Gillie, Betty & Hilary some years ago

By the time the Carlton & Collingwood women were playing footy, I was in bed, exhausted. I seem to have very little energy since my gastro attack & feel as though I have regressed with bouts of anxiety & an inability to do anything much. Wes suggested I spend Monday in bed, which I did and enjoyed reading, doing crosswords & watching Midsomer Murder episodes.

On Tuesday, I drove through pouring rain to Ballarat to see the film Emma. I had pre-purchased my seat and didn’t want to waste it. The Regent Cinema was buzzing with lots of us keen to see this film & it didn’t disappoint. Jane Austen would be amazed if she were to see it – brilliantly cast & directed – it is very true to her book and most entertaining. Miranda Hart, in particular, excelled in the role of Miss Bates & Bill Nighy swanned through his part as Mr Woodhouse, Emma’s father.

On Wednesday, Wes went to Carlton for a 55 year reunion of his St Bernard’s Matric class at the Great Northern Hotel in Rathdowne Street. He had been delighted with the 25 acceptances, as quite a few of his classmates have died or can’t be traced. 28 turned up, which was amazing & he had so many stories to tell when he got back home the next day. Meanwhile, I met Dot & Judi for Mah Jong at Muffins & More, where we enjoyed a fun morning.

On Thursday, I took the boys for two laps around Lake Daylesford – one in the dark & the next in the light. It went without a hitch until two girls with a young bulldog arrived unexpectedly on the path & gave Morse a dreadful fright. One of the girls helped me hold him, while the other moved away with her dog.

Wes visited Leanne on his way home from Tom & Deb’s house, where he stayed overnight. He took her some red gladioli, which thrilled her to bits & they had a good chat before he got back on the road to Daylesford. We were all pleased to see him & enjoyed his stories.

 

Peter Marshell & Tom Tyrrell are two I recognise above & John Hardwick is with Joe Rollo below

I had made a pumpkin curry for dinner, but it was inedibly hot – I used what we thought were medium chillis, but they were fiery, and added to the curry powder, ultimately too much!

On Friday we had our usual dog socialising outside The Food Gallery. We were joined by Jane Barrett, who had not yet met Lewis & Morse & brought treats for them from our pet shop. As well, Fiona & Annie turned up to have a pat & chat & Fiona took this lovely photo.

Morse & Lewis on their best behaviour

Our neighbours, Rob & Dene, arrived back after a week in Wye River, where they walked & relaxed & no doubt ate & drank well! We missed them.

Yesterday, after our early walk, the boys had a bath & bones & Wes went to the front garden to do some pruning. I had a walk along Vincent Street, as usual, and when I got home, realised, after a message from our other neighbour, Glen, that I had forgotten to visit the Craft & Food Fair at Victoria Park. I headed off & we ended up parked next to each other. It was very well organised, with lots of stalls, but no local producers or suppliers, which was disappointing. I had promised to bring Wes home a treat for lunch, so I popped into Muffins & More on my way back & bought him & Barbara sausage rolls. He assures me it was the perfect lunch!

We had mixed fortunes with the AFLW – Carlton won well, but the Magpies went down by 3 points to Freo over there in a thriller. The Australian women lost to India in their opening T20 International match, but the men had a big win in South Africa with Ashton Agar taking a hat-trick. We have such a soft spot for him – will never forget seeing him at Trent Bridge in his first game batting at no 11 & making 98 off 101 balls!

Our big excitement this week was being accepted as Age Pensioners, with all the concessions that brings. Our Super Fund had really suffered last year & we realised we needed to supplement our income or we would run out of money. We applied last December & two months later our cards arrived. We immediately notified the Medical Centre, the Pharmacy, the Optician, the Post Office & Council in person & the utilities etc over the Internet. So far, Central Highlands Water has been the most generous, reducing our current bill by over $100 back-dated to December!

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 16th February 2020

Once again we had a fun breakfast last Sunday after walking the boys & visiting the Sunday Market. We had hoped to go to Victoria Park, Abbotsford, to see Collingwood play West Coast in the AFLW. However, after the humid weather, neither of us had the energy, so we watched it from home instead. The Pies had a good win after a slow start and hopefully will be more competitive this year. I’m thrilled that there are now 14 teams playing, although they don’t all get to play each other yet. We have to wait for the season to be extended I guess.

As well as the Women’s footy, the Bushfire Appeal Cricket game was worth watching with some greats of the game including Tendulkhar & Lara, Akram, Ponting & Hayden, Gilchrist, Lee & Watson. Also, Nick Riewoldt & Luke Hodge represented AFL footballers with distinction, Cameron Smith was there for Rugby League & a few of the women cricketers participated, including 16 year old Phoebe Litchfield, who batted with Brian Lara, and wasn’t disgraced. Melanie Jones did a wonderful job umpiring & made sure there was a tie in the end, when Brett Lee forgot the script & fielded too enthusiastically.

  

While Wes pruned & mowed on Sunday, I refreshed all my herb & vegetable pots on the decking. In front are the chilis, beans & parsley. Behind lurk chives (2 kinds), lemon savoury, basil mint, hot & spicy oregano, marjoram, sage, French tarragon & thyme. The basil is flourishing in the greenhouse & there are three other varieties of mint, as well as curry plant, a bay tree, pennyroyal & golden marjoram happily growing in the garden.

It was raining when we woke on Monday morning, so the boys missed out on their walk and very happily had an early breakfast. I went off to gym & Wes spent time cleaning up under the house rather than get wet in the garden.

Morse & Lewis doing what they do best!

In the afternoon, I attended a lovely U3A piano music class organised by Graeme Boscoe. He had chosen a selection of 8 female pianists, who played works by various composers. A dozen of us sat happily in the Paddock Room of our Neighbourhood Centre learning about these pianists & appreciating their work. I find afternoon activities very difficult, but made sure I was well rested so I could be at this class. I remain very grateful to Graeme for many years of delightful piano music – sometimes at his home, occasionally at Coreen & Klaas Kimstra’s place, and these days at our Neighbourhood Centre. As well as being an expert on piano music, Graeme is also a Crime Fiction buff, who introduced many of us to authors from countries we didn’t even know wrote Crime Fiction.

He is personally responsible for our visiting Iceland, as the very first page of the first Icelandic crime novel I ever read (‘Jar City’ by Arnaldur Indridason) mentioned in passing that the Iceland phone book was in alphabetical order by first names. I immediately wanted to go there & we did in July 2013. We loved Iceland & havent finished with it at all – museums to revisit, ‘hidden people’ to find,  Northern lights to see, & hot springs, geysers & volcanos to explore as we didn’t have time in our first visit.

Wes admiring a colourful Reykjavik fire hydrant

On Tuesday it was a beautiful morning, which Wes spent in the garden, working & playing with Lewis & Morse. I had a cuppa with Annie & Fiona, who had dropped by with home-made pumpkin dog treats for the boys, and Glen loaned me her 5 series DVD set of Vera to watch, as we are both such fans.

Tags from the dog treats

In the afternoon Nick Massaro came to give me a massage & told me he wants to retire in September this year. I am pleased he can retire, but will be sad if we can’t continue our friendship of at least 20 years – perhaps we’ll have to meet for cuppas instead. Lewis & Morse love Nick’s visits as he always brings them a treat.

On Wednesday we did our usual walk around the whole of Lake Daylesford & then made the boys walk around the smaller area again. They were worried about their breakfast being late, but went with the flow & proceeded to sleep most of the rest of the day. I went off to play Mah Jong with Dot & Judi, while Wes spent time with Barbara.

Lovely photo of Danny Millman with Jeremy Ellsmore, who is about to turn 1 – where did that year go to I wonder?

On Thursday, it was my turn to visit Leanne. I drove through rain & fog from just before Woodend until Sunbury. The scary thing is how many drivers don’t have their lights on & don’t realise they are invisible in these fogs. Even on the freeway, more than half the cars were driving without any lights. I had my lights on full & fog lights as well to make sure I was very visible & could see in spite of the conditions. Leanne & I had a good visit with lots of laughs.

On Friday we took the boys out socialising at 9am outside The Food Gallery. We chatted to a delivery man, who remembered the boys from his last visit, a few locals, including George Jackson & Harry, the very friendly Wheaten dog. I had done the Coles shopping & been to early gym, so was very happy to sit quietly with tea & toast, spending time with my three boys. One of the young women who walked by called out ‘chili chocs’ to me as she passed. I had bought my traditional Valentine’s Day gift of chili chocs for Wes the day before at Sweet Decadence and discovered that she had no idea they had been designed with him in mind. I pointed out the plaque that has sat in the café since 2004 & she was quite embarrassed that she worked there & had never spotted it.

We had about 20mls of rain that day, so decided to sit & watch early episodes of Vera, which we enjoyed immensely. Brenda Blethyn is such a superb actress & the series is so well written & cast, it is a delight to watch again. Wes made us a beautiful tomato, cheese & basil pizza for dinner – yum!

A little bit of Sally logic

Yesterday Daylesford was very busy with Motorfest at Victoria Park. The volunteers started work at 7am to be ready for the thousands expected through the gates. We did a big walk around Lake Daylesford (the main lake twice), and the boys came home to a bath after their breakfast. They love having a bath because they get bones as a reward!

Once again we’ve had an extra long walk this morning but the boys are full of beans & ready to go to the Sunday Market as soon as we are. Then we are off to breakfast at The Food Gallery and this afternoon our AFLW teams are playing each other. We saw some good footy yesterday & hope it is the same today!

More roses-  mostly Freesia

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 9th February 2020

We were a small group at breakfast – us, Barbara, Judi, Janine & Glen. The Food Gallery was busy with lots of locals & visitors as there was plenty on in the Shire to attract weekend & day visitors. After breakfast, Judi & I drove to Regent Cinemas in Ballarat to see the latest Shaun the Sheep film, Farmaggedon. We were the only patrons until just before the lights dimmed & then three people came & sat right in front of us. We moved back to the last row, which was for wheelchair patrons & their carers & had a lovely uninterrupted view. It was a fun film to watch – a bit too much science fiction stuff for me, but I do love the cleverness of the Aardman company, who also produce Wallace & Gromit.

Wes had been busy washing floors, cleaning up & gardening while I was away, and it was lovely to come back to a clean home. That night we tested my tummy with our favourite meal of spaghetti with cooking salmon, olives & red capsicums & all was well – thank God!

A delightful Peppermint Patty cartoon especially for Wes!

We woke on Monday to find that Thiem had taken Djokovic to 5 sets, which is a wonderful effort in the 2020 Australian Open.

After walking the boys on our own around Lake Daylesford (not even Barry the fisherman was out), we came back home just before it started raining gently. I headed off to pump water from Leitches Creek and then gym, which is back to normal hours.

We enjoyed our first home-grown beans with fish for dinner that night – these were planted from seeds marked Dwarf Beans – imagine how big the giant ones are! I was able to pick another crop for dinner on Wednesday night & it looks as though there will be plenty again for tonight if beans are required. As well, our strawberry plants, courtesy of Bill & Sue Longley, are producing in small, but steady numbers – just need the tomatoes & zucchinis to get a move on.

On Tuesday morning I was able to chat with my aunt, Jeff, in Lincolnshire via Skype. I am pleased to see her looking so much better than she was. Being a fulltime carer for someone you love is very demanding & you don’t realise how exhausted you are until you stop. We had a good talk about Kev, about her, about her formidable mother, Doll, and some laughs about the changes wrought at her home by her wonderful son-in-law, Simon, who cooked the meals & cleaned her car – tidying things up in the process.

Wes spent some time with Barbara, as he has every day since she burnt her foot. The good news is that the bed-rest is working & it is most unlikely that Barbara will need a skin-graft. While he was doing virtuous things helping others, I had my fringe trimmed & a great chat with Lyndal Conroy, followed by a delightful facial & even better chat with Emma Ford at EKO Skin Care Spa.

Wednesday saw the return of Dot to Mah Jong and, although she didn’t win any games, she played well & could see the tiles much better than before Christmas. Hopefully her eye will improve even more & she’ll be back to wiping the floor with Judi & me. After we had finished I walked Maisie, the Irish Water Spaniel, as she was having a day home alone. She was thrilled to see me (nothing to do with the liver treats) and we enjoyed the perfect day up at the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens.

Wes visited Leanne on Thursday morning & fixed a laundry door, as well as various other small items that needed his help. Back here, I had a cuppa with our neighbour, Glen, at Pancho, where we were able to sit in the courtyard and chat for an hour or so. Afterwards I took her to the Information Centre, which she hadn’t realised was full of info for locals as well as visitors.

On Friday morning, I met Wes & the boys outside The Food Gallery for our regular socialising. This is what Wes wrote to our dear friend, Terry McDonald in Sydney, giving him a glimpse of our lives in Daylesford:

“Sitting in the Village main street on a Friday morning with the boys is now part of the ritual as we chat to all who pass by – Jude (one of our naughty ex-nuns) popping into the optometrist, but wanting to pat the boys as she has just lost her 16yr old dog; Fiona & Annie wanting to chat about the fun of their train ride yesterday to the Big Smoke to see “Chicago” and what age you need to be to get offered a train seat; Big George (the Scottish frame maker) complaining about charcoal artists who don’t properly seal their drawings; Peter (the current Australian Gay Games Ten-Pin Bowling Champion) showing a photo of his work in progress for the Archibalds (Max in gold leaf dress highlighting kidney dialysis needs), and Pasquale (the Italian Opera tenor) describing the correct way to prune olive trees – Such is life on a Friday morning in Camelot”

I wish I had his gift of painting a picture – it was fun & everything he said was true.

Yesterday we were back at Pancho Café, this time having a breakfast catch-up with our neighbours, Rob & Dene. They were impressed with the coffee & the service, and hopefully enjoyed their breakfasts, as we did ours.

About to drink a lovely bottle of Penfolds Bin 389 – with thanks to Peter & Anka!

Women’s footy is back & Carlton had a good win on Friday night. Fingers crossed for the Pies against the Eagles this afternoon. While I was watching yesterday afternoon’s matches, Wes visited Bill & Sue Longley at their home. Sue was glad to have him there so she could pop out & visit a friend & do a few chores.

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 2nd February 2020

We started our week catching up with Janine Hawker over breakfast & hearing all about her recent trip to Morocco. She had brought home lovely bottles of rose essence as gifts, of which we were most appreciative.  The Sunday Market had been very busy at 8am, when we arrived, and true to her word, Yvonne, had dog pumpkin to add to the dog carrots, celery & apples. Lewis & Morse are loving this regular addition to their meals.

After breakfast at The Food Gallery, we walked across the road to the Town Hall, where a Terra Nullius breakfast with speakers was being held. There was a good sized group & most visitors were supportive. When we got home Wes unfurled our Aboriginal flag & replaced the Collingwood flag on our flagpole. It is certainly bright & colourful & a reminder every day of what we did to our original inhabitants.

We had promised ourselves a drive to Lexton, which had been slightly impacted by the recent fires. We enjoyed our drive which went through Waubra, (where there is a viewing platform of the wind farms) and found ourselves in a very dry, small town, with nothing open and no way to spend our money, which was one of the purposes of the visit. We found the footy ground & golf course, which had been close to the fires, and stopped at the lovely reserve to let Lewis & Morse stretch their legs. This little town (pop 150) had been discovered by Major Mitchell in 1836 & became a town in 1851, preceding many bigger gold rush towns. It relied on agriculture for its survival.

That night we had promised ourselves tinned salmon sandwiches on yummy pumpkin bread from the Sunday Market. We enjoy our meal, downed a glass of wine, and went off to bed happy with our day.

Sadly, I suffered a severe bout of gastro during the night and spent the next three days in bed trying to recover. Tinned salmon is off the agenda forever and Wes has nearly gone crazy trying to find things to tempt me to eat. I couldn’t even keep down cups of tea at first.

By Thursday I was well enough to get up & dressed for a few hours & catch up on emails, post etc. Lewis & Morse were delighted to see me, as they had missed my company, which is rather lovely. They had been allowed into the bedroom each morning & evening to say hello with competiitve amounts of licking & tail-wagging.

Meanwhile, Wes was kept busy looking after me, helping Barbara daily, cleaning out our pond, watering the garden & keeping the weeds under control. I was so thrilled I had washed the windows last Saturday as the view from the bedroom is so clear & delightful, it was a pleasure to be confined to quarters.

The first thing I did on Thursday morning was pick roses as they are still blooming profusely.

On Friday I was able to do the shopping at Coles & dog socialising at The Food Gallery with Wes. The highlight was George Jackson’s partner, Terry Stroud, arriving & being greeted rapturously. Terry works in Canberra & he had driven down the day before, glad to escape the fires & smoke haze.

Yesterday I walked early with Wes around Lake Daylesford & we were the only ones, which was blissful, after a hot, horrible night. It was 23º at 6am, but the temperature didn’t rise much above that & when the rains came, we all cooled down. While the boys were drying off after their baths, we visited the local Farmers’ Market, and caught up with the Daylesford Rotarians manning the sausage sizzle & all their news. When we got home, Wes hosed down Glen’s car as it was covered in a film of red dust. Rob was doing the same to their cars. We were lucky that ours were under the carport & didn’t suffer too much.

We are sorry that Ash Barty wasn’t able to progress to the final of the Australian Open, but very proud of her efforts & her winnings, that she donated to the bushfire relief appeal, will be very gratefully received.