Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 24th November, 2013

 

 

What a wonderful birthday lunch we enjoyed at Kazuki’s. Martin & Bronwyn had remembered which Japanese whisky Wes enjoyed, as well as which wines we had preferred and we were served course after delightful degustation course, with the Ocean Trout winning the best dish award from us. This is my spring vegetable option while Wes enjoyed slices of rare beef tataki. Thank God we had organised taxis there and back. Needless to say very little was achieved apart from feeding the boys when we got home.

 

On Monday we were very busy getting ready for Danny Well’s arrival. He asked to visit for a few days, as part of his holidays, so Wes did some early gardening then drove to Melbourne Airport to collect him at 10.45am. They arrived back and Wes made fish pie for our lunch, which we ate on the decking. We all spent a quiet afternoon, and I headed off for bed early leaving Wes and Danny watching TV. Danny is Wes’s Godson & son of Deane Wells.

 

Our latest favourite rose – Angel Face 

On Tuesday we went to gym and arrived back to find Danny up and dressed and ready for his massage with Nick, which we had organised for him. Afterwards we drove him around Smeaton & Clunes and had lunch at Tuki. He took a while to catch his first fish, then caught two in a minute. Jan & Rob looked after us very well and Danny voted this a very good experience. Needless to say neither of us was hungry for the rest of the day, but Danny tucked into some pasta that Wes made that night.

 

Happy Birthday to Bilbo and Frodo who turned 9 on Wednesday

There was no Mah Jong on Wednesday as the Harvest Café is closed for renovations, so I had a quiet morning while Wes drove Danny around the sights of Daylesford, including The Chocolate Mill, where they stopped for hot chocolate and chocolates. Danny bought some for Deane, who was picking him up from the airport on his return. They then had lunch with Barbara at Gracenotes Café,  and while Wes had a rest in the afternoon, I chatted to Danny, and attempted to show him that there are other ways of looking at things, something Wes had also been doing. Danny has never met a couple who share bank accounts, belongings & cars before, so he was curious about our lives.

That night Wes took him to the Daylesford Police Station for a Rotary tour and dinner at the Daylesford Royal Hotel, where Danny tucked into another big meal. I had a quiet evening at home, and like Wes, couldn’t have faced dinner after a good lunch.

Daylesford Rotarians at the new Cop Shop

We went to gym on Thursday and found Danny up and about on our return. Wes asked him to bring his sheets & towels up to the laundry, so he stripped the bed down to the electric blanket, which was a little more than we expected! However, we didn’t complain as Danny is not used to doing anything without being asked and not even then. Wes took him to Ballarat to teach him about the history of the Eureka Stockade as he knew nothing of it, and then off to the airport. Meanwhile I rang Viva before the cricket started and she was sitting waiting for it to start, and like me, anticipating a good game. Many of our Sydney friends are there, and we wish we could have been as well, but we’ve spent too much time away from home this year already!

On Friday I had my first appointment with Donna Andrews and we got on very well. I think she will be a big help with my involuntary anxiety, and it is even better that she is 5 minutes drive away. Many thanks to Caroline, Hanna & Jane for their incredible support of my CFS – I appreciate your emails and thoughts very much. Of course, without Wes’s daily encouragement I don’t know where I would be.

Wes set off to find some horse manure as the boys are finding the chook manure to their liking and he came back with enough bags to cover the front garden. We had a debrief, then settled down to watch the cricket, and after our poor early display with the bat, were delighted with the lower order, who then bowled us into a winning position.

Yesterday morning I washed the cars and was rewarded with poached eggs and asparagus and we enjoyed reading The Age. There were so many things on – Daylesford Show, Open Gardens (Paul Bangay & Stuart Rattle), Passing Clouds new wine launch and the Hepburn Wind AGM with Tim Flannery as guest speaker. Of course it rained on and off all day, so we only got to Musk Farm to see Stuart & Michael’s wonderful garden created in the grounds of the old Musk Schoolhouse. It is constantly bewildering to think that local objected to their purchase and plans for enhancement – no-one could have done a better job and this weekend’s funds are all going to the Wombat Hill Botanical Gardens group, which benefits us all.

 

Frank Page talked us into a glass of bubbles and we walked around the vegetable patch sipping and admiring, greeting friends and listening to the chooks. We were quite damp by the time we had finished, so decided to come back home and watch the cricket and what a wonderful day it was!

Today has dawned cold, windy and rainy, because the Open Gardens are on again and it is Ballarat Cup Day – hopefully by the time the Cup is run the temperature will have reached the giddy heights of 17°. And just think, next Sunday is Summer. I’m not complaining…I much prefer cooler temperatures and the more rain we get the better it is with the bushfire season approaching.

We’re off to the Sunday Market soon, then Breakfast, and back to watching the cricket. Warren, Barbara, Gillie, Judi & Michael are all off to see a play at the Williamstown Little Theatre this afternoon, so I hope we have wrapped up the 1^st Test by the time Wes has to leave. 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 17th November 2013

We started our week with a good breakfast at The Food Gallery. Aileen brought her 99 year-old mother, Dorothy, with her. Dorothy still lives independently in her own home in Adelaide, and apart from the usual failing eyesight & hearing, looks wonderful and at least 10 years younger than her age. Judi regaled us with the highlights of their recent trip to Canberra, Sydney & the Blue Mountains, and Gillie told of driving Aileen & Dorothy to Olinda during the week to see the rhodadendron garden.

At lunchtime we drove to Castlemaine to visit Valerie again for some more tuition on her new laptop and Windows 8. We kicked some goals, but then found an update to 8.1 and left her to negotiate that on her own. I suspect we will have to borrow her laptop, update everything and simplify the programme for her as the Start screen is too overloaded with confusing icons.

Sunday night is pizza night and Wes is getting better and better. We buy the bases, and he experiments with the toppings, helped as always by the sous-chefs.

 

On Monday we prepared for Remembrance Day by listening to Eric Bogle’s And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda. Wes had been asked to lay the wreath for Catherine King, our local member, who is the Shadow Minister for Health, and when we arrived at the Daylesford Cenotaph, the MC, John Goullet, asked him to read the Requiem as well. It was a lovely, simple ceremony with old diggers, war widows, relatives, friends and school children. Our Mayor gave a good speech, Wes read the Requiem, the wreaths were placed in position and the surprise of the morning was the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate a local farrier who died in the Boer War in 1900. For some reason he had been overlooked all these years until the Museum discovered him and his medals.

 

There was no-one representing the Daylesford Football Club at the service, so MC John spotted a member of the Club and asked her to lay the wreath, much to her surprise and delight.

Wes made his famous fish pie for lunch, we did some gardening, he got lost in Ancestry and I got lost in another Vera book by Ann Cleeves, as well as playing Scrabble on my phone. I gave up Words with Friends as it became too addictive, but Scrabble is more difficult and the friends I am playing with sometimes only make one move a day.

On Tuesday Wes went to the doctor and was told he was in the best health he has been for 20 years, so celebrated with a Tim Tam or two. We are just thrilled for him as he has done everything he was told to do from the moment he lost sight in one eye as the result of a blood clot. He has managed to get his blood pressure right down, the clot eventually dissolved, he regained his sight and now he is reaping the benefits of having taken his tablets and gotten fit.

Meanwhile I drove to Ballarat to the dentist and received the news that two of my old fillings were starting to wear, so I have repairs and maintenance happening in a fortnight or so. It was pouring rain everywhere and when I got back here to Daylesford I was just in time for the U3A Lunch upstairs at The Food Gallery. Lunch was well-attended and we were very well looked after by all the staff with yummy reasonably priced meals and good service.

Later that afternoon I had a massage with Nick Massaro – now that Ann Holden has retired I have gone back to him and it is lovely to have the contact again. Bilbo & Frodo were delighted to see him as they met him when they were puppies and he was still doing massages. He took a break from massaging, which is why I started going to Ann, and it is great to be back with another very experienced masseur who a good friend to boot.

On Wednesday it was another rainy day, but Dot, Valerie and I met at Harvest Café, for a fun morning of chatting and Mah Jong. Sadly I didn’t win a game, but Valerie in particular was on fire and wiped the floor with us. The owners have decided to do some repairs while they have a holiday, so the café will be closed for the next fortnight or so, giving us a break from playing.

 

Beautiful lilies

Wes cooked Barbara lunch instead of taking her out as she isn’t well and needs to rest. He had just come back home from doing that when I turned up so he made me lunch as well and a very yummy pasta it was. I had a doctor’s appointment to check up on some of my CFS symptoms, mostly anxiety, so Greg has given me a referral to a clinical psychologist to see if she can help with getting me to relax (not an easy task I am told). I was exhausted by the time I got home so missed out on Aperitifs at Roger & Val’s place in Dry Diggings. Wes enjoyed meeting an interesting artist there as well as catching up with other local friends.

That night he attended Rotary, where the Club decided to donate $2,000 to the Philippines Appeal. The Art Show has made about $9,000, so there is plenty to give to local and overseas causes. Jan Pengilley, the President, has encouraged some new members and it looks as though the Club is in good shape with next year’s President-elect named and everyone keen to continue with the Art Show.

On Thursday I went to gym, then did some chores around town, before coming home to rest. Wes drove to Melbourne to visit Joan Testro and learn more about her early life. They enjoy spending time together and he is a good interviewer….not that Joan needs encouragement to chat!                                                                   

 

 One of my favourite photos of Joan Testro with Dot Maloney in 1956

We had breakfast with Warren’s sister, Denise, and her middle son, Leon, at Red Star Café, on Friday morning. Leon was visiting Denise and it has become a rite to finish his visit with breakfast there. It is always lovely to see him – he is funny, generous and good company. Afterwards Wes mowed the lawns while I had a haircut – trying out my third hairdresser this year, Renee, from Spice Hairdressing. Daylesford was busy as people start to pour in for weddings, long weekends and day trips.

Yesterday was a very social day. Wes took the boys for a long walk, then did some gardening before preparing lunch for Georgina Borg & Richard Tweddle who were in Daylesford for a wedding. I went for a walk into town and met up with lots of friends, including Georgie & Richard, and assured them that knowing where Duke Street is, as they claimed, is not the same as finding us! I left them heading to EKO for a massage and returned to set the table and do the flowers.

Lunch went very well – Georgie is one of those people who finds friends everywhere and she turned out to have known Emma from EKO for years, so they had a lovely reunion. We sat outside on the balcony with our bubbles, then came inside for Wes’s stunning prawn risotto and green beans, followed by a wonderful cheese platter courtesy of Tonna’s. We eventually threw them out at 3pm as they had to get ready for the wedding which was at 4.30pm at Captains Creek Winery.

Georgina & Richard

 

We had just finished cleaning up and stacking the dishwasher when Judi arrived with a bag of gifts for Wes and lots to chat about. It was a lovely visit, but I was so tired that I went to bed at 5pm leaving Wes to unpack the last dishwasher load.

Today the boys and I are about to head out to pump water, then collect fruit & vegetables, dog bones and a rose at the Sunday Market. There will be a small group at breakfast and we will eat sparingly as we are off to Kazuki for a degustation lunch to celebrate Wes’s birthday, and this time we are catching the local taxi there and back!

 

Two lovely photos of Wes - dancing at Blairgowrie in 1988 and smiling at Ballarat Races in 2011

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - 10th November, 2013

 

Last Sunday was exhausting for some of us – the boys had a long walk early, then we went to the Sunday Market, and had the excitement of friend, Margaret, accidentally taking one of my bags of fruit & vegetables home instead of her own. Fortunately she lives close by, and I was able to persuade her to swap bags. Ken & Chris from Spring Park Nursery had brought lots of lovely tomato plants in preparation for the great tomato plantings that go on after Cup Day. By the time we arrived back home, we didn’t have time to unpack our bags as we were due at breakfast.

 

John & Jan Smith were there, and told us the sad news that their brother-in-law, Colin, had died suddenly the previous Wednesday, in the arms of his wife, Jen. Because of John & Jan’s good relationship with one of our local undertakers, Central Highlands Funerals, they asked Steve & Anne to take care of everything for them, which was a big relief to Jen, Jan’s twin sister, who was in no shape to be organising a viewing & wake.

Barbara was in good spirits and told us what she had been doing during the previous week, and Gillie tried to persuade me to abandon the Art Show and play golf with her! We agreed to have a game as soon as possible.

When we arrived home I unpacked the bags, fed the boys their celery and lettuce and we settled down to a very quiet day while the wind howled, the rain spattered and people outside rushed for cover.

Our second shift at the Art Show was much quieter than Saturday, as it was cold and windy and we suspect visitors stayed indoors. The Show was a success with about 30 paintings sold (just under 10%, which is the norm), as well as ceramics, cards, books and prints. We continue to be amazed at the dedication shown by Brian Nash & Roberta Donnelly, who are not Rotarians, but give so much to this Art Show. Brian had donated another beautiful $3,000 original painting as the raffle prize, and he was at the Show every day, helping to put up & pull down the screens, hanging the paintings, giving advice to potential buyers and being available for any odd jobs. Roberta did a beautiful display in the Info Centre and was also available to help whenever she could. We are very lucky to have had both of them onside for each of the 4 Shows run by Rotary.

On Tuesday, Wes spent the morning at the Town Hall helping dismantle the Art Show while I made a potato salad in preparation for our first Cup Day party in a few years. We had been invited to Rob & Marg McDonald’s winery, Sailors Falls Estate, and it was a lovely, low-key, bring your own everything affair, with some long-time friends from the bushwalking group. We did better in the sweeps there than in our bets, although, like many others we did back Fiorente. However, we weren’t as clever as our friend, Gail White, who got the trifecta using a cunning selection of birthdays and an owner she liked.

 

We were both very tired and probably a bit emotional after the Art Show – it felt very strange to be part of it, but not running it, and it was a big relief that the Show was a success and will continue on.

Wes had a free day on Wednesday, and apart from shopping and playing Mah Jong, I had a very quiet one too. He took Barbara to the ALP meeting that night and endured another very ordinary meal afterwards at the Daylesford Hotel. It is a great venue for the meeting, good choice of wines, but all the dreams of another gastro-pub seem to have vanished into thin air.

After gym on Thursday we drove to Ballarat to see About Time in Gold Class ($25 which includes morning tea) and a very lovely film it is – Bill Nighy heads an excellent cast revelling in a well-written and totally engrossing story. Back home for lunch and a couple of bets, which were more successful than Cup Day.

On Friday I drove to Melbourne to visit Viva and give Leanne a well-deserved morning off. When I arrived I discovered Viva was asleep and Leanne couldn’t go anywhere as she was waiting for a man to quote on a new ramp at the front of the unit. She and I had a good chat and she finally got away at 10.30, which was too late for a trip to Queen Victoria Market, one of her favourite spots. I polished the furniture while she was out…I like doing it and Leanne doesn’t…win, win. Viva was looking good and we chatted while I worked.

I arrived home in pouring rain to a lovely late lunch with Wes, who had been busy with Ancestry in lieu of a few hours in the garden.

Yesterday we drove to Clunes as I was keen to see the latest bookshop there, which was a disappointment. However, we walked up and down Fraser Street, came home with 6 books including a splendid History of Scotland, and enjoyed a yummy, simple lunch at Lucky Strike, which is a café/wine bar run by the chaps who opened De Fermier for Annie Smithers in Trentham. It was bitterly cold in Clunes and when we arrived back here, Wes lit the fire and we spent the afternoon reading in front of the warming flames, thanks to Judi & Michael who have given us lots of lovely firewood.

Beautiful Iceland…

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 3rd November 2013

We headed off to Castlemaine last Sunday after breakfast and spent a very useful 2.5 hours with Valerie making her computer more easily accessible and sorting out a few issues with her new phone. She was tickled pink and is enjoying using Skype already. When we arrived back here there was an email from Yvonne at the Sunday Market – her father had died during the week and she desperately wanted an A4 photo of him to sit on his coffin during the service the next day. We had one sheet of A4 photo paper left and miraculously were able to produce a perfect photo. She was in tears when I delivered it to her at Wheatsheaf.

On Monday I had hoped to play Mah Jong with Jane & Liz again, but as we had guests for lunch, and as I had to do last-minute shopping, ring Viva, set the table, arrange the flowers and do a quick clean-up, I decided it was too much to have everything ready and be at Hepburn Springs by 9.30am. This was a very wise decision – I even found time to clean our dirty cars, which encouraged the rain to fall even more heavily.

Lunch went well, we hadn’t seen two of our guests for many years and it was good to catch up with them and local friends, Di & Jeff. Wes cooked pork ribs and his famous fish pie, with green beans followed by yummy cheeses and Eton mess for sweets. The last guest left at 4.30pm, by which time we were all exhausted, but very happy it had gone so well.

Lovely photo of Wes on Girvan Beach, Scotland

Tuesday was another cold day, but not as wet, so Wes was able to do some weeding after gym. I think he was ready for a sleep by lunchtime as he had walked the boys early and then bathed them before gym. I had a manicure with Michelle in between tackling the washing and ironing.

Beautiful purple rhodadendron in our front garden – thank you Glenn Mack

Even though it was another cold morning on Wednesday, Wes walked the boys, then gardened for an hour or so before settling down to the computer. He took Barbara to lunch at Gracenotes Café and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at Rotary. It is Art Show time, and although we are no longer the organisers, there is plenty for all Rotarians to do in setting up and manning the desks. I went to Mah Jong with Dot & Valerie, and we had our usual fun morning with lots of chat before, during and after the games.

During the afternoon I received two lovely welcome phone calls – the first from David Lazzaro who had time for a chat as well as  a tip for Cup Day, and the second from Celia who rang to say she had finally received our card and parcel welcoming Isla. I didn’t realise she & Cory had moved, so sent the package to their old address and have been feeling sick since I discovered this. When Wes finally arrived home at 8pm, he was very weary, but had enjoyed a delightful interlude with Brian Nash, Ron Brown & Secundus at the Daylesford Hotel.

On Thursday we both had lots to do before settling in for the Art Show. I am in search of a round tin tray to replace the beautiful one I bought in Liberty, London in the 80/90s and it seems that round tin trays are no longer in fashion. Gail had found three in The Mill Markets, but none was quite right, so I will continue to look. Judi & Michael offered us their firewood so Wes collected a boot load before settling into gardening and mowing for the afternoon.

 

This amazing maple, which lives in our front garden, starts to fan out its foliage from the base of the trunk before slowly moving upwards…stunning

I have been reading a new author, Asa Larsson, suggested to me by Mary Goodall, who also enjoys Scandanavian detective fiction. Asa is Swedish and a tax lawyer by profession, so she has made her heroine, Rebecka Martinsson, one as well. I found her first book, The Savage Altar, remarkable in that I didn’t really like any of her characters – she does a good job of presenting them warts and all. However, the two dogs that featured were very lovable indeed! This book is set in Kiruna, in the far north of Sweden, which seems to be a very, very cold spot indeed.

While Wes spent most of Friday at the Town Hall preparing for and then being part of the Opening Night of the Daylesford Art Show, I attended a Special General Meeting of the U3A upstairs at The Food Gallery, to adopt the new Model Rules, which were passed unanimously. We are so lucky that many of the businesses in town see themselves as part of the community and are happy to host events such as this and foster goodwill among the locals, not just the visitors.

It was such a lovely day that we were able to sit outside for lunch, which Wes made – a very yummy vegetable risotto using our own spinach. We sat looking out over the Lake, over the Wombat Forest and over the many beautiful trees that are looking at their best at present, and thought how lucky we are to be living here with two of the best Labradors you could meet at our feet.

Another special labrador, Casper Cuddlepie, in Becky & Paul’s carry basket (no longer required by 1992) in the kitchen at 246 Brunswick Road

Later that afternoon a beautiful arrangement of flowers arrived from Jan Pengilley to say she was thinking of me and grateful for all the work I had done in the past three years of the Art Show. What a delightful surprise! Wes went off to look after the judge, Gordon Morrison, and his wife, Trish, while Jan had a break from the Town Hall and prepared for the evening. Wes was supposed to be on the floor canvasing sales, but he ended up being MC and dishpig, not at the same time. The night went well and 9 paintings were sold, which is a good start.

We did the early shift at the Farmers’ Market yesterday, which was quiet early as many of the locals and visitors were in Hepburn preparing for, and then enjoying, the Swiss & Italian Festa Grand Parade. We decided to have a late breakfast at The Good Food Store, in Howe Street, where we each enjoyed a very yummy omelette filled with mushrooms, spinach & tomatoes. The boys running this place used to have the Chowder House in Hepburn and are very popular. The little café is bright, bustling and very friendly – we’ll be back.

Our afternoon shift at the Art Show went well and there were lots of happy visitors. The Show is improved this year by a garden setting as you walk down to the entrance. Sales are steady and everyone seems very pleased with how it is going. We arrived home exhausted to discover that Ruscello, part-owned by Robert Preston, had won the Lexus Stakes, and was now into the Melbourne Cup, even if the trainer had to be persuaded. We watched the Victoria Derby, which was won in fine style by Polanski.

One excited owner & one very calm horse

We are planning a very quiet day after the Sunday Market & breakfast as we are on duty for the Art Show again tomorrow.