Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 26th November 2023

Poor Snoopy!

We enjoyed a good visit with Leanne last Sunday. Wes planted three lovely salvias, watered everywhere & weeded. Meanwhile Leanne & I tackled a couple of jobs in the kitchen, and enjoyed a good chat while we did it. She is very fortunate with her current crop of NDIS staff, who are all very focussed on her continued well-being, and she likes them all. We stopped at Gusto bakery on our way home for a quiche for dinner & slices of cake for afternoon tea.

We arrived back home to find Morse exhausted from checking out the driveway next door, where James & a friend had been filling a trailer to take to the tip. Morse was very thrilled to see us again and promptly fell asleep, relieved from his guard dog duties. I sat down to watch the AFLW semi-final between Geelong & Melbourne, which the former won by 5 points in a nail-biting finish.

We went to bed giving Australia no chance of winning the ICC One Day World Cup, and were amazed to discover when we woke that they had, against all the odds. We couldn't wait to sit down and watch a mini of the game, and when we eventually did, over lunch, we were very impressed.

We spent School talking about and doing a first draft of our Christmas letter - something that is always better with two heads, as it is amazing what one can forget & the other remembers about the year. Wes had hoped to go fishing that morning, but School really ate into his time, and the fishing trip was postponed. Afterwards, I had an excellent massage with Sarah Hunt, who freed up all my stressed muscles and nerves. 

I had a big morning of chatting on Tuesday - started with my aunt, Jeff, in Lincolnshire, where the rain & wind made for a poor quality catch up; followed with Leanne, who was excited about all that had been done on Sunday; moved onto Jan in Maleny, where the skies were grey, but that didn't stop us having an excellent chat that ran out of time, and finally travelled to Hepburn to have a manicure with Juls, who doesn't stop talking and takes 75 minutes to perform her magic on my fingernails! Later, when our neighbour, James, arrived at the front door for a chat, I directed him downstairs to Wes in the study, as I was all talked out.

Tomatoes looking good in the greenhouse & happy herbs enjoying the sunshine and rain

Judi & I played Mah Jong again on Wednesday, and visited the new spice store, Gewurzhaus, that has opened in Vincent Street afterwards. It is full of exciting produce, which can be bought in small containers or loose, and I suspect it will be very popular, with lots of free recipes and suggestions for how to use well-known & lesser-known herbs and spices.

On Thursday, I caught up with Kathy, Lib, Joyce & Karen on a great Zoom that finished before we were ready. Joyce had some beautiful craft work to show us; Lib debriefed on her great-grand-daughter's 5th birthday party; Kathy showed us a beautiful Australian designed & made T-shirt she had bought at Vic Market, and Karen told me that my one and only patchwork quilt, made for her first-born, Lauren, over 40 years ago, was still in use!

Finally spent time with neighbour, Glen, on Friday morning, after Zooming with Leanne. She is looking so good these days, but knows she has to take it easy as her leg gets very sore if she overdoes the walking or attempts anything other than flat paths. 

First blooms on our standard Red Riding Hood

We've had heaps of rain over the past two days, enough to fill water tanks, and have everywhere looking green and lush again. I can barely see the birds for roses, lavender, daisies and catmint, which have all appreciated the soaking as Spring comes to an end.