Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 29th March 2020

Last week, we were pleased to be able to buy our fruit & vegetables from Yvonne at the Sunday Market, as well as eggs, bones & treats from Jeff & sourdough bread from Steve & Ken. The Market stalls were set wide apart & easy to access. Yvonne had pre-packaged everything & we were happy to fit in with her quantities. Corey wasn’t there with his butternut pumpkins & organic zucchini & squash, but we were able to get everything else we usually buy. I had sterilised all our coins & Ken was thrilled to have some pristine ones for change.

Morse in his favourite place, cuddled up next to Wes

Lewis & Morse weren’t too happy with the new arrangements as it didn’t include them, but we left them at home with treats & somehow they coped! It did seem strange not to be setting off for Sunday Breakfast, but we did have an outing to the Springs Medical Centre for our flu injections. This was very well handled and the two large waiting areas were utilised in turn. After the injection had been administered we were asked to sit in our cars for 15 minutes in case we had an adverse reaction. We had none & came back home, where we stayed put for the rest of the day, watching what turned out to be the last games of footy until at least June.

That night we heard that Victoria & NSW were going into lockdown starting Tuesday. We immediately changed our plans and decided to visit Leanne the next day instead of later in the week. As well we planned a trip to Ballarat to collect my bracelet, get some cash & pick up some spirits from Dan Murphy’s, all of which we accomplished easily.

Our beautiful weeping Japanese maple

Our trip to Strathmore went smoothly – lots of roadworks, but very few cars. We were able to get everything Leanne needed & help her with some chores around the house, garden & garage, before heading back home. Glen Tandberg next door sent a photo of the boys watching her through the fence. Nick Massaro had dropped off marrow bones for them & they were in seventh heaven.

The kindness of friends has been wonderful. Gillie has not only delivered a big bag of tomatoes to me, but also quinces for Rob & Dene, who have given us some plum jam; Janine gave us lemons & we delivered some messmate honey in return as she had never tasted it & Judi gave us some quince jam.  We love buying O’Toole’s honey from their roadside stall with honesty box. I visited Tonna’s on Wednesday morning to get pasta & discovered they had decided to operate via online or phone orders. They have set up trestle tables out the front for us to collect our orders when they are complete. Danielle Tonna gave me an A4 sheet setting out their instructions, so I promptly scanned it as a PDF & emailed it to as many friends as I could. Those who responded were most impressed, especially as not everyone wants to continue shopping at Coles if they can avoid it.

  

Even though I was quite tired after our trip to the Big Smoke the day before, I got very domestic on Wednesday morning and stewed peaches & pears, cooked pumpkin for the boys & made 8 containers of tomato pasta sauce, courtesy of Gillie’s wonderful rouge marmandes. I was able to use our own chilis, basil, oregano & parsely as well, which was very satisfying. We’ve tried it & it could be my best batch ever. Not that it compares to Tom Tyrrell’s first chocolate cake, a photo of which he put up on Facebook for us all to admire!

Our roses continue to bloom & provide us with beautiful sights & smells

Wes did Barbara’s shopping for her on Thursday and took her for a drive to see the Autumn colours, while I did umpteen loads of washing, brought in all the bins (wearing gloves) and caught up with my aunt, Jeff Hoolihan, in Lincolnshire, via Skype. I also try to ring Leanne every day as she has realised we will probably not be able to come and visit in the near future, unless there is an emergency.

That afternoon Wes brought Maisie back after he had walked her, so she could spend some time with us & the boys. She is a lovely dog & is quite lonely now that all her socialising has been put on hold.

Spot Maisie – at least all three dogs are smiling & having fun together

On Friday, after walking the boys, I headed to Coles at 7am & was very impressed with their procedures. I was able to buy just about everything I needed. Quite a few friends were shopping at that time – Gillie, Janine, Bruce, John & Peter to name a few. I wore gloves and didn’t need their sanitising wipes and used the self-checkouts as the staff are no longer packing bags anyway.

We had decided to take the boys on a second walk – a special Friday treat to replace socialising. We parked at the bottom of Fulcher Street & walked to Twin Bridges & back. Lewis & Morse were quite bemused with the narrow paths and steep steps, but found that treats were forthcoming, so they persevered. We hadn’t done that walk ourselves in ages & it was lovely to be the only ones there, listening to the birdsong & smelling the gum leaves & bark as we walked. By the time I sat down to tea & toast we had been up & about for 4 hours! No wonder I was tired by the afternoon.

Yesterday was another beautiful day – Wes washed the boys after their walk & they promptly went out and rolled in the dust. I needed to visit the pharmacy, the newsagent & the pet shop. All three shops had good protocols in place, as did the bakeries which were serving one customer at a time at their front doors.

A beautiful Daylesford sunset courtesy of Frank Page

Like many of us, we had planned a holiday that we have had to cancel. We had hoped to drive to Sydney & back during June, but with all the state borders closed, we won’t be doing that. I was pleasantly surprised by the attitude of everyone I contacted, including our Sydney accommodation which was fully paid. We have received our refund already. As well, Eureka Kennels advised they are staying open for the duration, which is good to know. I had wondered what we would do if both of us were infected with COVID-19 as we couldn’t ask anyone to take on a pair of young Labs.

We are enjoying the Fox Footy offerings – watched a very exciting high scoring game between Carlton & the Western Bulldogs at the MCG in 2007; as well we are enjoying rewatching every episode of As Time Goes By with the incomparable Judi Dench; I’m making my way through the entire Vera series thanks to next-door neighbour, Glen; as well as Midsomer Murders with both Barnabys, and A Touch of Frost. We have some wonderful old Sherlock Holmes DVDs starring Basil Rathbone; the complete Fawlty Towers; the complete West Wing, and everything else that our smart TVs offer. Apart from that we are keeping busy with the Lewis & Morse; with our garden; our computers, & Wes visits Barbara every day to make sure she is comfortable & has enough to eat, drink, read & watch & helps her prepare for open house each Saturday in case someone wants to view her home.

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 22nd March 2020

We were so pleased that the Daylesford Sunday Market is still going ahead, with the regular stall-holders in attendance. We usually arrive around 8am & the five stalls we need are the first five we see. Ken Rae from Spring Park Nursery is the there with his beautiful array of roses & I give him our week’s worth of newspapers, as he can never get too much paper, especially with Winter & bare-rooted rose around the corner.

Next to Ken is Gary, who has a huge range of dried dog treats. He happily removes plastic covers from bones for me & always give me a great price on everything I buy. Naturally, he also sells eggs! After him is O’Toole’s honey stall, where you can choose from a good range of flavours & sizes or bring your jar to be refilled.

Then we come to Yvonne, who is helped by her late partner’s son, Corey. Yvonne knows what all her locals want & strives to provide it each week. For example, when we rock up, she has 2 bags of dog carrots, half a cabbage, a piece of pumpkin & a huge bag of seconds apples ready for Lewis & Morse. As well Corey has set out some sliced cabbage on a suitable tray ready for them to demolish while I shop. Yvonne always has a fennel for me & sometimes a salad onion. She does all her calculations in her head, weighs fruit & vegetables from scales hanging from a tree, and trusts me to tell her what I have bought. This is the best shopping experience ever!

 

On the other side of the walkway are Steve & Ken with Stella’s sourdough bread, which costs $1 less if you are a local. They make a great fruit bread, olive bread, pumpkin bread & even gluten-free bread & you can choose from tall squat loaves or short longer ones & no-one minds.

There were only 5 of us at breakfast, mostly saying Nameste in lieu of any kissing or touching, just in case. The Food Gallery was pleased to see us as visitors were thin on the ground & they were very happy to have their loyal locals. We were all disgusted with the incitement by that morning’s Herald Sun newspaper that we should stock up with two week’s worth of food at once & our local Coles Supermarket had queues at 5.30am, 90 minutes before it opened.

Afterwards, we went back home, I made my first pot of vegetarian minestrone for 2020 – using fresh ingredients from Yvonne & herbs & chillis from our pots. I must confess that after a few chores, I was very happy to sit with the Sunday Age & watch AFLW for the rest of the afternoon.  

On Monday, I spent a couple of hours in a very quiet Vincent Street, buying things that I hadn’t been able to venture out & get the previous week. We needed a new bread knife, kitchen sink plugs, printer ribbons & USB port, prescriptions, Arnica, serviettes & yellow wool for me to knit Wes a bright, fisherman’s beanie. I finished up with a pot of Jasmine tea in The Food Gallery, which was very quiet with just a few loyal locals coming in for late breakfast, cuppas & early lunches. When I got home I washed both cars, as Wes arrived back from taking the boys to the vet for their annual vaccinations, just as I finished cleaning the little car. The boys got a clean bill of health & Morse, who has been know to misbehave, didn’t!

For all of you who feel a Dispatch isn’t complete without them!

We had decided to both visit Leanne on Tuesday when our date with Terry Borg was postponed and set off around 8am getting to Strathmore in record time of one hour & twenty minutes. She was very pleased to see us & have some help. The NDIS are being very supportive & her various visitors are still arriving; they are keeping her supplied with hand sanitiser & allaying any fears she may have. We tackled a couple of big jobs that were worrying her & got back here around 3pm. Our neighbour, Rob, had worked from home that day & it was such a relief to know that he was around & able to chat with Lewis & Morse every time he got up from his desk! Apparently they spent a good part of the day eyeballing him & waiting for just such action. We invited Rob in for a thank you drink when his workday ended & enjoyed the chat.

On Wednesday morning Daylesford Coles instigated their new hours, which allows seniors, pensioners & health care card holders etc to shop between 7 & 8am exclusively. Wes decided to do Barbara’s shopping for her & was most impressed with the care & organisation of the store & staff, many of whom had been there since 5am making sure shelves were stocked.

Not quite the quantity I had hoped for, but these home-grown tomatoes taste as good as they look!

 I did our shopping at Coles on Thursday morning at 7.30am after we walked the boys. It was busy, but not frenzied & everyone was polite & being helpful. I found it quite tiring as I usually shop early & only have to chat to a handful of people, but every where I turned, I found a friend. I thanked the staff for getting in so early & having as much available as they could. There was plenty of toilet paper, no meat, some rice & milk, but no tissues or paper towels. I came home with nearly everything on my list, but was too tired afterwards to achieve much else for the rest of the day.

We were surprised the AFL decided to go ahead with the men’s footy and it was quite strange watching traditional rivals, Richmond & Carlton face off that night in front of no-one! Carlton looked over-awed at the start, but rallied to lose by only 24 points by the end, although they have injury concerns.

On Friday, The Food Gallery decided to close before it becomes compulsory, so Sunday Breakfasts have been suspended. On the plus side, our wonderful Springs Medical Centre set up a Sunday Flu Vaccine clinic for over 65s. We booked in as soon as we knew & disseminated the information as widely as we could. We are off shortly to have our injections.

We had decided to have a last hurrah meal out & visited the newly-opened Beppe Kitchen & Bar, owned by Liam Thorneycroft, who runs the very successful Cliffy’s. We enjoyed a very yummy meal in lovely surroundings, with plenty of space between diners. That night we lasted until half-time, when Collingwood were too good for the Western Bulldogs, in a game that would have disappointed their fans.

Whole snapper cooked to perfection at Beppe

Yesterday Wes did Barbara’s care after our walk, while I cleaned the fridge & collected a few grocery items I had forgotten on Thursday. Coles was quiet & most of the shelves were stocked.

We watched the AFLW Finals yesterday – Collingwood lost to North by 2 points in a most exciting match & Melbourne beat GWS by 3 points in another thriller. Freo, the flag favourites, thrashed the Gold Coast & today Carlton plays Brisbane in another cut-throat semi final.

We have been trying to stay in touch with family & friends as much as possible. Wes has been sending Jacquie Lawson e-cards & we have been delighted with the response to them. Thank you all for your replies. We’ve also tried to make phone calls every day & disseminate information when we receive it. We are so very lucky to be living in this beautiful part of the world, where we can still walk Lewis & Morse every morning around Lake Daylesford & the view from our windows is tranquil & Autumnal.

P.S. We are sad to be saying good bye to long-time friends, Bronwen & John Scarffe, who are leaving Porcupine Ridge next month for Moonee Ponds & the high life. They have been good friends through Rotary initially, and Bronnie always responds to my Dispatch with an encouraging word or two. She is promising to come back for Rotary Farmers’ Markets & meetings, so our paths will continue to cross.

Great photo of Bronnie & Wes on the Rotary train to Musk some years ago   

         

I’ll leave you with this wonderful arrangement of roses we are                                            enjoying at present                                                               

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 15th March 2020

As promised last Sunday, here are a few photos from ChillOut with thanks to Jane Barrett who usually takes a good selection & shares them on Facebook.

        

We spent a very quiet Sunday afternoon watching Collingwood AFLW win well against the Doggies in Morwell, before the Saints were too good for our men’s team. The best viewing was at 6pm that night when the International T20 World Cup was held at the MCG in front of 86,000+ (including my brother, Peter, and his wife, Anka). Australia played the way we had expected them to do all tournament, in spite of being without their two best bowlers. It was an exhilarating & powerful display of batting, especially by Alyssa Healy & Beth Mooney, who carried her bat. The Indians crumbled to be all out for 99, when we all expected them to be a very difficult opponent that had beaten us in the past.

It was a lovely day on Labour Day holiday Monday & Wes was delighted to get back into the garden again, as were Lewis & Morse. I went for a walk along Vincent Street, watching tired revellers emerge looking for a cooked breakfast before going on their ways. The cafés were doing a roaring trade, but most other shops hadn’t opened yet, or were doing reduced hours.

We should have realised when we were both so tired that we were about to come down with colds & sure enough they arrived late Tuesday afternoon. I had driven to Ballarat that morning for a mammogram and been rewarded by a lovely facial with Emma at EKO Skin Care Spa. When I arrived back home, Wes was resting with Lewis & Morse & I was ready to go to bed. We both cancelled everything for the next couple of days & took it in turns to occupy the bed!

On Thursday, I was able to get up & dressed as I was feeling a little better, but Wes was worse. I was sorry to miss seeing Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears, at the Regent Cinema in Ballarat, which was our birthday gift to Judi. She went anyway & enjoyed it very much. I also missed out on visiting Leanne, who is always very understanding when health issues prevent me from driving to Strathmore.

On Friday, we decided not to socialise with Lewis & Morse at 9am as usual, as it was rather cold & we were still not keen to be out & about. I had gone shopping early at Coles, where there were many more shoppers than usual & all of them clutching packets of toilet paper. We are yet to add to our supply – I buy a packet of 4 double length about once a month and expect we can survive for quite a while before we need to panic. I don’t understand all the Kleenex tissues, rice, pasta & rolled oats being snapped up as well.

Yesterday I went walking early with my three boys – first time in a while & it was good to be back in routine. Wes bathed Lewis & Morse & they enjoyed bones while we caught up on some house chores. So good to be feeling on the mend.

We are in total agreement with the cancellation of huge group activities and although it impinges on things we like doing & being part of, we can see it is necessary. It was strange to watch the first One-Day game between Australia & New Zealand at the SCG on Friday afternoon. However, seeing & hearing the Collingwood & Brisbane AFLW teams make lots of noise during their game yesterday was quite inspirational & they played as though their lives depended on it. The Pies won well, which was quite unexpected, as the Lions were more fancied. And last night, Carlton rallied after an awful first half, to beat Melbourne. We might be playing finals against each other – that hasn’t happened for a while.

I rang Kathy Lazzaro to see how she & Ged were after they arrived home this week from Mexico, England, Italy & Spain. She said they left each country before the coronovirus had spread & were self-isolating at home now and checking the Qantas website to see if any passengers on their flight had tested positive. So far, so good.

We had hoped to catch up this week with dear friend, Terry Borg, for a breakfast date that has already been postponed twice. Terry very kindly emailed this morning suggesting it might be a good idea to postpone yet again & we agreed. I am better, but still asthmatic & Warren’s cold has freshened up again.

We were shocked to hear from our Pommy friend, Paul Jackson, who emailed to say he had suffered a major heart attack & was lucky to be alive. We will try to have a Skype call with him when he is well enough to sit up & chat. We met Paul when we visited the Rotary Club of Daylesford & Kingham about 10 years ago. Paul & his wife, Pauline, have visited us in Daylesford & we have caught up whenever we are in each other’s country.

Paul wearing his Collingwood scarf in 2018

Thanks to Leanne Lazzaro for sending this lovely photo of Jack & Olivia

The boys are ready for the Sunday Market, so I’ll have to sign off. Thanks for your email responses – much appreciated.                                  

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 8th March 2020

We’ve seen quite a few wedding photos of Kyahl & Loz, but this is my favourite. They look so happy together & must be delighted that they were able to marry exactly the way they wanted.

  

We regaled everyone at breakfast last Sunday with stories from the ceremony – it was a small group, us, Barbara, Judi & Janine, so we shared our respective weeks while enjoying yummy breakfasts at The Food Gallery. Today is going to be a much bigger affair with 11 attending an earlier get-together before the annual ChillOut Parade in Vincent Street.

Our footy teams had varying results – Carlton women beat Adelaide for the first time in an excellent game, while the Collingwood team was well beaten by Melbourne. The Carlton men lost to Freo, but Collingwood men won their practice game against Richmond in front of a sellout crowd at Wangaratta. I spent most of the day reading The Age, and watching the footy & after an early dinner, we were all tired & ready for bed.

On Monday it was quite cold after a warm night and people were asking for the heaters to be put on at gym. Wes got back into the garden again, much to his delight after the past few days had been spent getting the computer up & running to his liking. Meanwhile I had a lovely long chat with Jan Pengilley, who we miss very much since she moved to Maleny.

It was cold enough to have the heater on & be knitting beanies again for Keeping Daylesford Warm. Thanks to Barbara & Judi for their generous donations of good wool, which are much appreciated. I am knitting Fair Isle & other patterned beanies at present & they look & feel much better when made with wool rather than acrylic.

Lewis & Morse taking advantage of the afternoon sun

On Tuesday we attended Marilyn Testro’s funeral here in Daylesford at Verey’s. It was a beautiful celebration of her life, led by Sylvia Johnson, a most accomplished & empathetic local civil celebrant. Between her words & Glenn’s well-crafted eulogy, they covered the three phases of Marilyn’s  life – unhappy childhood, blissful marriage & debilitating depression. There were 32 of us at Verey’s Chapel, which was the perfect setting for a small funeral.

Wes spent time with Barbara on Wednesday, while Dot, Judi & I played Mah Jong and had a surprise visitor, Gail White, who popped in to say hello. Gail & Terry are headiing to the Blue Mountains to live, close to family, but Gail has promised to join us for a game or two before she goes. It’s a long time since there were 4 of us playing the game.

On Thursday it was Wes’s turn to visit Leanne and a very wet drive it was, with 50mls of rain falling here. It was too wet to walk the boys, but not too wet for them to play chasey and get very muddy, which meant they were confined to quarters until they dried.

We had hoped to socialise them on Friday morning as usual, but it was very cold outside The Food Gallery, and we were confronted by a visitor who was keen for us to let her use our shower & buy her a coffee. We decided to go home instead, but I went back later to have a pot of Jasmine tea & apologise to Pasquale, who had started to get our order going when he saw us out the front.

Danny Millman & his friend, Kim, arrived to stay for a couple of nights & share ChillOut weekend with us. We decided to invited Rob & Dene to join us for a barbecue, but it was too cold & windy, so we reorganised our living area & had a dinner party instead with T-bones cooked outside. It was a great night & we chatted & ate & drank far too much!

Yesterday morning, Wes & I managed to walk the boys early, then had tea & toast with Danny & Kim, before we three drove to the Daylesford Farmers’ Markets, followed by a stroll around town, soaking up the atmosphere. We had a quiet morning reading the Age until it was time to go to the Daylesford Station for our trip on Spa Country Railway Bubbles to Bullarto, which was sold out. It was great fun & we were regaled with live music (featuring friend, Richard Bevan & two others), while we ate & drank & admired the countryside.

  

Above: Wes, Kim & Karen before boarding the train & 

Below: Wes & Kim on the train

Eating our boxed lunches at Bullarto Station – Wes, Kim, Danny & Karen

Needless to say, we had a quiet night. Wes made his spaghetti & cooking salmon dish, we watched races, footy & cricket & went to bed after the Carlton AFLW girls won their match well against St Kilda.

This morning has been too busy for me to send this off before we went to breakfast. We walked Lewis & Morse early, then took Danny & Kim to the Sunday Market with us to see the boys eating their shredded cabbage. While I bought up big on vegetables (dog & human), dog bones & dog treats, Danny & Kim went for a walk around the Market, which was peaceful at 8am.

We had breakfast at The Food Gallery along with Barbara, Judi, Janine & her friend Darryn & Janine’s daughter, Peta. Peta was thrilled to discover that Danny & Kim had been to Ngoya in Japan, where she lived & taught English for many years & conversation flowed.

Then it was time for the annual ChillOut Parade and we voted it best ever. It was happy, colourful, loud & inclusive and a big audience really appreciated it. We caught up with our neigbours, Rob & Dene, and their friend, Polly. Wes and I left to come home when the Parade was doing its second sweep of Vincent Street. It can be quite difficult to get back into our little bit of Duke Street, as everyone is heading past us to go to Victoria Park, where there is a full day carnival of activities & entertainment. Danny & Kim were going to Bendigo after the Parade finished; Judi was on duty at the Daylesford Museum; Peta was helping Daylesford Rotary, and the rest were going back home or staying around enjoying the atmosphere.

I’ll have some photos from ChillOut next week, but now I am looking forward to a pot of tea, the Sunday Age, Greta Bradman on ABC Classic FM & a double header of Collingwood teams playing in Morwell this arvo!

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 1st March 2020

We started our Sunday in fine style last week with a good walk with Lewis & Morse; a fun visit to the Sunday Market & a chatty breakfast with Barbara, Judi, Janine & Rob. We arrived back home to find that Wes had lost Microsoft Office on his computer, so he spent the rest of the morning trying to retrieve it with online help. When that didn’t work, I asked if he would like the online help to try on my computer. That was going very well until the Help signed off not having solved Wes’s issue & leaving me without Office as well! By the time it got to 5.30pm & time to feed the boys I was a wreck & we both needed stiff drinks.

Roses & herbs from the garden with camellia leaves to brighten them up

We had hoped that everything would magically fix itself overnight, but Wes still had no Office & I could retrieve everything except People (Contacts). After walking the boys & gym, we met at Muffins & More for a light breakfast, hot drinks & a chat to get ourselves settled again!

I was able to get People back up, but Wes had no luck after a day spent on the phone to the Windows Help Desk. He eventually was given an appointment with a tech wizard on Friday morning.

On Tuesday, Glenn Testro rang to tell us that his dear wife, Marilyn, had died peacefully the day before. She had been unwell for some time, but had been thrilled with their move to Newbury, just outside Trentham & enjoyed the country view from her window.

Love this photo of Glenn & Marilyn in the early 70s around the time they were being forbidden to come to Christmas morning at the Maloneys!

We had offered to mind Maisie, the Irish Water Spaniel, for Annie Smith, as she & her daughter, Fiona, were in Ballarat all day. Wes collected Maisie at 9am & walked her around Jubilee Lake. Lewis & Morse were thrilled to see her & played very well together, especially as Maisie is 10 & not interested in puppy games. They all slept together in harmony, but when it came to dinner time, I fed the boys outside, while Wes took Maisie behind closed doors, as she eats in a more leisurely fashion than labradors!

Maisie at Jubilee Lake & with Lewis & Morse being obedient

On Wednesday, I met Dot & Judi for another good morning of Mah Jong, with each of us winning a game. It was a cool day and we were all pleased to be inside out of the wind. Wes helped Barbara as usual before coming home to find a couple of sleepy boys after their busy day yesterday.

Barbara has decided to return home to New Zealand soon – many reasons, but mainly the call of family & friends. Her home is on the market and she has chosen somewhere to live which will be close to her sister, Margaret.

Barbara in NZ in 2018 with Margaret (left) & her friend, Helen

It was quite cold & foggy when I left here on Thursday morning to visit Leanne in Strathmore, which made the blinding sun quite an unexpected obstacle to driving, especially from Tylden to Woodend & the freeway, where the temperature was 1° & most drivers had their foglights on, but were crawling as the sun was in their eyes at the same time! I had a good visit with Leanne & arrived back home early afternoon. Our neighbour, Glen, dropped in for a drink and catch up, which was lovely. We don’t see her often enough & she had kindly put away most of the garbage bins for me while I was in Melbourne.

We socialised Lewis & Morse on Friday morning, but it was quite cold, so there were very few friends wandering around & Russ, who did come up for a chat, only patted Lewis, which meant Morse was quite grumpy. I suspect Russ is a cat person, as most dog people realise you can’t pat one dog without the other.

The rest of the day was spent with Wes on the phone to Microsoft trying to get Windows working again. Eventually Office was successfully downloaded and we started on everything else. We hit a snag with Norton, which refused to download, so ended up with us both doing online chats on our computers at the same time.

I had hoped to attend the funeral of an lovely old Daylesford friend, Joyce Rodgers, that afternoon, but decided to stay at home 1/ as I didn’t feel up to a crowd & 2/ to help Wes if needed. While we were trying to download Norton a Skype message came through from Barbara saying 60-70 had attended, which was very pleasing as Joyce was much-loved. In amongst all this, next-door neighbour, Rob, arrived with unbaked croissants for us to have for breakfast yesterday morning. They were very yum, especially with Nick Massaro’s blackberry jam.

We drove to Burnley Gardens yesterday morning for the 2pm wedding of Kyahl Anderson (son of Wes’s nephew, John, from his first marriage to Robyn) and his partner, Lauren Sanders. We were very honoured to be invited as it was a small wedding in a beautiful secluded part of these gardens. It was a very personal ceremony with Kyahl & Loz making special promises to each other. I hope to have a photo of them next week. Meanwhile here we are with John & Dannielle & their kids.

L-R John, Dannielle, Malachi, Kalarni, Karen & Wes

Front: Dublin & Irish

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