Daylesford ANZAC Day Dispatch - Sunday, 25th April 2021

Morse & Lewis after playing in the rain at Eureka Kennels, Ballarat - the owners sent us this photo while we were in Melbourne

We started our wonderful holiday week with a fun breakfast at Woodshed Café with Judi, Janine, Di & Glenda. When we told the staff we wouldn't be meeting up this morning because of ANZAC Day, they were worried we were going to stop coming, which was lovely. 

Our drive to Strathmore in Pearl went well & I learnt more about all the safety features we paid for as an extra package with the car. We spent a couple of hours with Leanne before checking into Quest Moonee Ponds, where we had a large apartment with KS bed, big lounge/dining/kitchen area & bathroom/laundry. It is in a perfect spot opposite the Moonee Valley Racecourse and close to public transport as well. 

That afternoon we caught up with old friend, Josephine Ward & her husband, Tony D'Aloia, at The Quiet Man Hotel in Flemington. We stayed for an early dinner & were very pleased to have coped with our first visit to a pub in over a year. Fortunately our table was well away from other patrons & I sat with my back to the crowd, pretending that it was just us there. 

Next morning was breakfast with Kathy, Ged, Karen & Malcolm at Code Black, Brunswick. This wasn't our first choice of venue, but was recommended and it was a perfect spot - probably the best breakfast place we tried. The staff were wonderful, we were able to sit for two hours away from others at a very roomy table, and the food was interesting & yummy. 

from the top - Kathy & Gerard, Malcolm & Karen, & Wes

I had spent the time before meeting everyone trying to reserve seats for today's ANZAC Day match against Essendon at the MCG. I was just filling in the last bit of info when I was timed out, so instead of being on Level 1, we are in the gods on Level 4. We have a reserved carpark, and are very excited to be seeing our first live AFL footy game since 2019. 

Later that day we visited old Daylesford friends, Bronnie & John Scarffe, who moved to Moonee Ponds a year ago. It was lovely to see them again & catch up on their new lives over a drink & some very yummy tapas plates made by Bronnie. 

The view from the Scarffes' balcony at night

On Tuesday we walked up Puckle Street to Chew Chew Café, where we met up with Danny Millman & Marilyn & Robert Preston. Once again the café was very obliging, letting us sit around for a couple of hours, catching up on each other's news. Robert gave me a most unexpected, but very welcome gift, which I will show you when it makes its way to our place. It was too heavy for us to carry back to Quest, so Danny took it home instead. 

Wes & Marilyn above, with Bobby & Danny below

Marilyn had suggested to Wes that we consider Sun Theatre, Yarraville, for a film and we took her advice. We loved the old theatre with its comfy leather seats, wide carpeted stairs, friendly staff & amazing choc-top selection (including my favourite, coconut, which didn't have a choc-top on it!) We saw the film, The Father, starring Anthony Hopkins & Olivia Colman. What a stunning experience that was!

We went back there again on Wednesday afternoon to see The Dry, with Eric Bana. I really enjoyed it, especially as it is set in Victoria, and is a successful adaptation of the very popular book by Jane Harper. Wes wasn't so impressed, but we both loved visiting the Footscray Market beforehand - hadn't been there for at least 20 years - so many wonderful smells & sights!

Breakfast that morning was at an old favourite, Square & Compass, with Gayle, Fraser, Tom & Deb. Once again we enjoyed catching up & hearing how everyone coped with COVID-19. It really has been lovely to see & speak with old friends again. That night we went walking along Puckle Street, Moonee Ponds & found Oriental Flavour, which served good meals with happy smiles. 

We had planned to spend time with Terry Borg on Thursday, but she had come down with a virus & wasn't well enough. We have been trying to meet each other for 15 months & will just have to continue with Zoom chats for a little longer. Instead we had breakfast at a little café around the corner from Quest. Next step was catching the 59 tram (90% passengers wearing masks) into the city, where we headed for the NGV to see the Australian impressionism exhibition She-Oak & Sunlight. We were overwhelmed by the sheer weight of numbers of paintings on display and particularly enjoyed Frederick McCubbin, Tom Roberts & Jane Sutherland. Back home on the train, where masks were the exception rather than the rule.

That night we walked to Angie's Kitchen just off Puckle Street, for a delicious meal of dumplings & other yum cha goodies, finishing with hot custard dumplings for sweets. Among other items for discussion, we laughed at ourselves arriving at the Shell Service Station & having no idea how to open Pearl's petrol cap. Eventually Wes consulted the manual & discovered that a light touch of the hand is enough to open it!

Our last day was Friday and after a light breakfast back at North x Northwest, had a walk around Queen's Park, which brought back lots of memories, before driving to Keilor Road, Essendon, to find The Maltese Pastizzi Bar/Restaurant. This delightful spot is small, but crammed full of Maltese memorabilia & all the famous dishes of this tiny country. We bought 4 dozen pastizzi before heading to Strathmore & lunch with Leanne at her place. 

After a couple of lovely hours together, it was time to drive home before the traffic got too busy. We were thrilled to arrive back here, but a little sad to find the frost had taken our basil & some of our chilies & cucumbers. Judi had left some limes & tomatoes, which sorted dinner & drinks for us - thank you so much!

Yesterday, while I went shopping at Coles, Tonna's & the Farmers' Market, Wes drove to Ballarat to pick up Lewis & Morse. They went straight into the laundry trough for a bath & were rewarded with bones, much to their delight. That afternoon we tried very hard to get Carlton over the line against Brisbane, but they just weren't good enough. 

Morse & Lewis thrilled to be back to normal - watching the footy with Wes

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 18th April 2021

 

Last Sunday was very cold with an icy wind & occasional misleading glimpses of sunshine! We took the boys to the Sunday Market so they could socialise, which they did very happily & consumed lots of shredded cabbage at the same time. Afterwards we met Judi & Janine at Woodshed Café for breakfast & debriefed Joe Rozen's celebration of the day before. 

Two wonderful photos from Jan Pengilley in Maleny - top is her dragon/bat plant & below is a camellia with a pumpkin vine growing through it & a pumpkin almost at the very top - they do things differently in Queensland!

On Monday, Judi & I had brunch at Bad Habits Café @ the Convent Gallery, where we were brilliantly looked after by Marija as usual. It was quite busy with lots of families looking for something warm to eat & somewhere interesting to explore afterwards. We caught up on each other's news & I was able to tell her that Annie Smith's daughter, Fiona, had rung to tell me the sad news that Maisie had died last week. She became very unwell & had to be put to rest. Fiona is going to bring her ashes back to Daylesford, which is lovely as Maisie enjoyed every minute of her life here. 

Maisie at our place with Morse & Lewis last year - all of them expecting a treat

The big news this week is the arrival of Pearl, our new Mazda 3 hatchback replacing Dolly Grey. We had been saving for our next overseas trip & when we talked about it, decided to spend the money on a new car a couple of years earlier than planned. There are no overseas trips in the pipeline until we feel safe flying away from Australia. 

Above, Pearl under wraps with a big bow & Below, unveiled. We are still learning all the many features of this beautiful car & are looking forward to driving her to Melbourne later this morning. 

While Wes did a U3A poetry session on Tuesday morning, I had a lovely manicure & pedicure with Alanna in Hepburn Springs. I visited Lyndal for a fringe trim on Wednesday & overspent my appointment time talking about her young foal, Sugar, who likes playing with a footy & with sticks when the mood takes him. 

We've both worked hard to make sure the garden will be self-sufficient while we are in Melbourne - Wes has trimmed & swept & watered, while I've pulled up all the summer vegetables that have finished & put in some broccolini, Winter savoury & found a spot for our pink rosemary.

We've also done some painting - second coats for me on two of our yellow (rich cream) doors & Wes is doing all the posts he can reach in their original shade (soft mauve). Just in case we needed a distraction, I found a dead rat in the laundry one morning and we were both thrilled that neither dog had done anything to it other than bring it in. We briefly accused our lovely neighbour, Glen, of dumping her unwanted rat, but she assured us she only re-houses live vermin!

Thanks Facebook - this is our Lewis to a t!

On Friday night, we went to bed at half-time in the footy, tired & quite convinced that Collingwood had no chance of winning after a good first quarter, followed by an extremely ordinary second. We woke to discover the Pies had lost by 27 points - not quite as bad as we expected.

Yesterday Wes took Lewis & Morse to Eureka Kennels in Ballarat, dropping me off at Victoria Park to watch the local footy - Daylesford vs Hepburn - the biggest game of the year. Sadly, we were about 10 minutes into the 1st quarter when Daylesford Captain, Josh Cowan, was tackled, fell awkwardly & broke this leg. There was no ambulance at the ground and by the time Wes returned to join me at 3.30pm, it still hadn't arrived (45 minutes after the incident). The game was abandoned as the lights at the oval aren't good enough to allow for playing footy in the dark, which is when it would have finished. 

We arrived back home in time to watch the last quarter of the AFLW Grand Final, where Brisbane, in their 3rd Grand Final, finally won, beating Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval in front of 30,000+ fans. We had been barracking for the Lions & were pleased to see them win. 

Last night Carlton were disappointing against Port Adelaide at the MCG, losing by 28 points. Most of the games were one-sided, except for the very exciting match between Sydney & GWS, which the Giants won by 2 points in the last minutes, after the Swans had led all day. 

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 11th April 2021

 

Dear Friends, we had a wonderful Easter Sunday & hope you did too. It was the most perfect day here in Daylesford & the Sunday Market was buzzing early. We got our fruit & vegetables from Yvonne, then took the boys home & drove back to the Woodshed Café for breakfast with Judi, Rhonda & Glenda. We were all thrilled to see Glenda & spent lots of time sharing memories of her husband, Joe, who recently died. 

Afterwards, Wes & I drove to Castlemaine to the monthly Farmers' Market there, but came home empty-handed. We were hoping to find some spelt bread for our neighbour, Glen, but were out of luck. Quite a few of the stall-holders were known to us & some had been at Woodend the day before. It's a hard job - you grow or create all week & spend the weekend selling it or trying to!

After watching Carlton have an unexpectedly good win over Freo, we had fish & chips with Peter Rumball sparkling red that night for dinner - perfect end to a lovely Easter Sunday. 

Chilli prawns with Lake House garlic aioli on our decking

We continued our Easter theme of something special every day & on Monday afternoon at half-time in the footy, we took the boys to the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens for a walk around, hoping most of the visitors would be gone, and they were. Wes baked a whole trout & served it with Dutch Cream potatoes (what else?) before we attacked our Easter chocolates - thanks to Judi & Rhonda. 

On Tuesday, after I had a lovely Zoom chat with Leanne, followed by another good catch-up with Terry Borg, we took the boys with us to Ballarat as Wes had been given a Gift Voucher that was supposed to work at Bunnings and didn't - however it was recognised by Dan Murphy's so we stocked up on spirits. 

Wes has continued his painting & has now finished the downstairs doors & windows on the two sides of our home that abound in them. We can't believe what a difference the coats of paint have made. I think that happens when you move into a new home (as we did, after previously living in pre-loved ones) - you expect everything to stay new-looking forever & it doesn't. Quite a few of his clothes are now definitely "painting gear", so he might need to brighten up his wardrobe sometime soon as well. 

At Mah Jong, we had fun, but not many games were won - we all seemed to be going for the same tiles & so we had to play a few Goulashes, where you can include blanks. Judi is starting to wipe the floor with Dot & I and any minute now will find herself not allowed to play the easy hands any more.

On Friday afternoon, Rob & Dene came in for a drink & nibbles & catch up, mostly so we could hear about their very recent trip to Tasmania, which they enjoyed. We had been to most of the places they visited & could picture where they had been with ease. In no time at all, a bottle of champagne & another of sparkling shiraz were demolished & it was time for dinner. 

Rob & Dene at Wineglass Bay

Yesterday afternoon was the celebration of Joe Rozen's life. Wes had been invited to speak & was one of ten, after Glenda & Joe's two sons had spoken. His topic was our time with Joe at the Information Centre (Joe & I worked together there on Monday mornings for over 10 years & Wes joined us for 7 of those years). Wes also reminded us of Joe's ability to sell raffle tickets to anyone & everyone & his wonderful way of making people feel special when he could find something in common with them (e.g. where they lived, what they did, where they came from). He finished his short speech with a rousing rendition of Carlton's theme song, We Are the Navy Blues, which was sung with great gusto by most of the guests. 

This photo was taken on our decking back in November 2010 when Paul & Pauline Jackson visited Daylesford

L-R Anna Szwed, Joe Rozen, Warren & Karen, Paul & Pauline

It was my first experience of a large group since COVID hit and I was comfortable while we were all sitting, but not keen to be mingling afterwards, so we left as soon as everyone got up. Joe's wife, Glenda, and his family, must have been delighted with the strong attendance & wonderful words spoken about an unforgettable character. I know we feel very privileged to have known him & to have been invited to his wake. 

We arrived home to find sticky buns waiting at our front door - a gift of Rob & Dene - and promptly demolished them with cups of tea, while we watched the Collingwood AFLW lose their Preliminary Final to Brisbane in a nail-biter at the Gabba. Next match was St Kilda, who after an indifferent start, overcame the West Coast Eagles and then I went off to bed to watch Collingwood be very lacklustre against GWS & lose by 5 goals. Meanwhile, Wes & the boys got Carlton over the line against a depleted, but spirited Gold Coast Suns. 

Daylesford Easter Dispatch - Sunday, 4th April 2021

 

Once again, we enjoyed a fun Sunday with a lovely early walk in the dark, followed by a trip to the Sunday Market with Lewis & Morse, and then breakfast with friends at Woodshed Café. Afterwards Judi came back here to be monstered by the boys and to do the last layer of plaster on our Hole in the Wall. 

Sadly the Collingwood AFLW couldn't overcome the Adelaide girls, who played brilliantly to relegate us to 3rd on the ladder & a game against North Melbourne. Meanwhile the Carlton girls finished their season on a high, beating GWS by 1 point. 

Lewis & Morse ignoring the excitement of the footy & luxuriating on their new pillowcases!

We were about to head off to visit Leanne on Monday morning when I spotted something lying on the dog decking. It was a large, dead possum. Lewis & Morse were busy ignoring it, which was wonderful. It appeared to have died of natural causes, and although I can remove large spiders & small dead birds, I had to call on Wes to do this particular job! 

We had a great visit with Leanne, sorted out a few issues for her, chatted over French vanilla slices from Bourkie's in Woodend, and arrived back here in time for Wes to have a telephone consultation with his doctor as he needed new prescriptions. Neither of us has suffered any side effects of our first COVID vaccine and we look forward to receiving our second injection & feeling more positive about mingling in society again. 

We have decided to make another, much shorter trip to Melbourne next month, and will visit with Leanne at the start & finish, as well as catch up with a few of those friends we had hoped to see back in February. At present, touch wood, Victoria is COVID free as far as local infections go. We realise that will change as more International flights arrive here, but hopefully the hotel quarantine will work & all those dealing with new arrivals will have had their vaccines. 

Once again, I have enjoyed a busy week of computer face-to-face chats - twice with Leanne, and once each with Jeff in Lincolnshire & Jan in Maleny, where masks are being worn again & there was a three-day lockdown. As well I visited Brian Nash, our wonderful local artist, to order some more of his beautiful cards.

Just when I thought our roses had finished, up popped these beautiful blooms

Judi, Dot & I played Mah Jong at Muffins & More where we had to contend with a couple of young women shouting at each other & their young son - all very friendly, but not conducive to good concentration. However, it is always fun to be together & we are such an institution that one of the early diners, Tommy, shifted table when he saw me arrive as he realised we prefer to play at the table he was occupying. I bought him a coffee, which will be a nice surprise for him next time he visits. Meanwhile Wes took the Mazda 6 in for service, mainly because he couldn't open the driver's door from inside, which was quite inconvenient!

We've enjoyed Easter - on Thursday I obeyed instructions to get some clothes & consulted Matt at Creswick Natural Fibres. I walked away with a couple of pairs of pants, a good woollen vest & a couple of tops to wear under it. I've done the right thing & binned two pairs of pants & two tops won't be far behind them! When I was shopping at Coles Supermarket, they were offering $20 WA lobsters again, so I bought two & we had them for dinner that night. Wes did a wonderful chili sauce & Dutch Cream potatoes to accompany them. 

That night the Pies were beaten by a point after the siren by a Brisbane side that refused to concede, even though they were never ahead after the first three minutes of a most exciting game. 

This wonderful cartoon was on FB this week & it reminds us of  Lewis, our super-intelligent Labrador

On Good Friday, we took the boys on an extra long walk before socialising them again at The Virgin Café. We bought some oysters at Daylesford Fish Supply and enjoyed them that night, after overdosing earlier on Cliffy's Hot Cross buns. 

Yesterday, Wes & I drove to Woodend to their monthly market, mainly to get some seedlings from Allandale Nursery. We met up with a couple who used to run Harvest Café, and bought some Dutch Cream potatoes from them. The market was well-run with lots of genuine farmers' stalls & plenty of patrons, without being too crowded. We came home via Kyneton & particularly enjoyed the colours of Lauriston. 

The afternoon was spent watching footy - first getting the AFLW Melbourne team into the next week, & then, against all odds, watching the Collingwood AFLW team come from behind in the last quarter to book a spot next Saturday against Brisbane in the other Preliminary final. 

Another beautiful sunset - we've been very spoilt this week

We finished our day with chili prawns sitting on the deck enjoying a sunset like this one. And all our talk to Lewis bore fruit - the boys slept through the night & coped with an extra hour in bed. 

This morning we've enjoyed walking in dawn light & appreciating the beautiful Autumn tones around Lake Daylesford. We're all off to Sunday Market soon & then breakfast at Woodshed Café with friends. 

 A glorious Easter bouquet from Bronnie & John Scarffe - thank you both so much for this lovely surprise