Last Sunday, Wes picked me up from Strathmore Station and we had an excellent visit with Leanne. She was in good spirits and even Smokey, her cat, said hello for a change. We drove back here, where I unpacked and then had a quiet afternoon watching footy and catching up with minis of the Collingwood & Carlton games the day before. Wes watched a very instructive webinar on Family Tree Maker, and learned some new tricks from the presenter.
It was raining when we woke on Monday, so we couldn't walk Morse and it stayed wet all day, which meant Wes's plans for the garden were put on hold. I did the supermarket shopping, popped into Baker's Delight, visited Tonna's, went to the Post Office and the pharmacy, dodging showers all the time. We had booked a chat with each other about the kitchen - we felt it was time to see if drawers, cupboards or shelves could be better utilised.
It was an excellent use of our time and we made a few changes that make access to frequently used items a bit easier to manage. e.g. our Sunbeam blender was in a low cupboard, hidden behind the Sunbeam Mixmaster, and therefore difficult to reach. The blender ended up in the pantry next to the microwave and within reach of a power point.
On Tuesday, after an good WhatsApp chat with my aunt, Jeff, followed by a catch up with Leanne, I visited Springs Medical to see Dr James and find out what happens next. James told me I had a few cavities in my lungs, and the antibiotics had cleared up some infections, but we needed to try something else to clear up the rest. So now I am on a new asthma regime - Trelegy, which I inhale once a day and we'll see how that is going in three weeks' time. James also recommended I get the latest pneumonia injection, Pneumovax, so I had that while I was there.
The result of the injection was that I started to feel quite unwell, coughing & headachy, so missed out on Carmel Lazzaro's funeral the next day. Wes left here in fog and rain, but arrived safely in East Bentleigh about 2 hours later in time for the 11am start. It was a lovely celebration of Carmel's life and he was so pleased he was able to attend. Many of the roads out of Daylesford were impassable with water and fallen trees, but Wes left in plenty of time to give himself options.
On Thursday we both did very little - I had a short WhatsApp chat with friend, Terry Borg, in Burwood, and an even shorter catch up with Karen S & Joyce, as I was coughing too much to make the experience pleasurable for anyone. Wes had two chats booked, but neither was able to occur.
By Friday the rain gauge was showing 82mls for the week - no wonder everywhere is flooded. I had postponed chats with Leanne & Jan as we had planned to have breakfast in Gordon with Rob & Dene to say goodbye before they headed overseas for a couple of months. We had to cancel that & will catch up with them on their return.
We were sad to learn that Petrus Spronk had died this week. He was a most talented artist and his bowls are prized possessions. He found himself in Daylesford in the 1980s and walked in the door of Springmount Pottery to meet Tina Banitska. From 1991 when she opened The Convent, he curated her exhibitions for the next 25 years. We were very fond of him and Wes last chatted with him in May at Alan Harrison's funeral.
Vale Petrus.
You helped make this World beautiful, intriguing, simple, questioning, reflective, and pleasurable.
We were always a step behind you in our understanding but eager to be in your smile.
(Warren's tribute to him on Facebook).
Yesterday was another quiet day, although Wes was able to take Morse to the cemetery for a long overdue run. Morse loved it, but needed towelling down when he arrived back home. Australia was beaten by Egypt in a penalty shoot-out in the soccer World Cup, which will have disappointed their many fans, but we probably wouldn't have progressed any further. We've been unable to sit and watch the games as we find the lack of scoring too difficult to cope with.
We had scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast before settling down the Saturday Age, which is always full of good reading. In the afternoon there was plenty of footy to keep us occupied, including games by both our teams. All the matches had excitement - Melbourne were ahead of Hawthorn by 90 points before the Hawks slammed on 12 unanswered goals, falling short by 35 points at the final siren; the depleted GWS team beat the ladder leaders, Freo, by 21 points ending their 14 game winning streak; Collingwood & Gold Coast were neck and neck with the Pies holding on to win by a goal, and Carlton & Richmond played a close game with the Tigers storming home in the last quarter, but failing by 2 points.
