Dear Friends, we enjoyed a wonderful New Year’s Eve by going
to see The Hobbit, Part 2, in Gold Class
at the Regent Cinemas in Ballarat in the morning. We got the last two seats, so
were in the front row, which isn’t ideal, but the toasted banana bread took
away some of the pain. We loved the film and were pleased that we were in
comfort for the 3 hours of the session.
We decided to have a very late lunch, so I spent the
afternoon taking down decorations and denuding the Christmas tree, while Wes
gardened and helped Barbara with some computer and phone issues. Which reminds
me – I keep forgetting to tell those of you who have indulged in e-Wallet, that there is a very good App
for the phone which enables you to carry all your passwords around with you
very easily. It synchronises with your computer e-Wallet and costs about $9. The website is http://www.iliumsoft.com/ewallet
This is a photo of
Wes’s cactus in flower – the first time it has done it and it is rather
spectacular.
Wes cooked us a very yummy dinner of squid ink pasta with chili prawns, and
we indulged in some more of the Christmas pudding with brandy butter before
joining Barbara in the walk down to the New Year’s Eve Parade in the main
street. I haven’t made it to the last couple of parades, so was very excited to
feel well enough to get there. We left just before the end as the fumes from
the Fire Trucks were getting to us. However we enjoyed the spectacle, said
hello to heaps of friends, were congratulated on the return of the wanderers,
and especially appreciated the music played by our two town bands – the
Daylesford Brass Band, who led the parade and the Daylesford Pipes and Drums
Band, which finished it.
We didn’t stay up for midnight, although I woke briefly when the fireworks
(about 6 in total) went off at the Lake
House. Instead we were up early and walking the boys around Lake Daylesford
at 5.30am and it was a beautiful sight.
I had suggested to Wes that we go to the Glenlyon Sports Day, which is a fun occasion, and he decided to
invite lots of others to come with us. However, the weather forecast was most
unkind, predicting 36° and rain, neither of which was particularly attractive.
Wes didn’t want to let anyone down, so decided we would have a Games Afternoon instead.
Barbara arrived with mince pies and shortbread; followed by Judi &
Michael with bottles of wine and a berry strudel, and finally Jenny & Eddie
walked in the door to join the card players and share the afternoon tea. Judi
& I played Scrabble, but could hardly concentrate with the hilarity coming
from the card table, where no-one seemed to know what he or she was doing most
of the time!
On Thursday we had a sleep in as it was quite wet at 5.30am, and after a
yummy breakfast at Gracenotes Café with
Wes, I drove to Brunswick Private to
visit Viva. We had a good long time together but it was obvious that Viva
probably wasn’t strong enough to come home. However, the doctor okayed her
departure for the next morning. Leanne
and I were worried that she wasn’t well enough, but thrilled that she would be
coming home again.
Wes decided we should have a lovely long walk yesterday, so walked the boys
to Twin Bridges and back, which took about 90 minutes and was most enjoyable.
We both worked hard before the cricket started and then I sat down to listen
and watch Day 1. After lunch I rang Leanne to see how things were going and
discovered that she needed Warren’s help, so he immediately dropped everything
and drove to Strathmore to help her.
Wes has stayed overnight in Strathmore and will return this afternoon when
Peter arrives from Canberra. Viva has slept well and eaten breakfast, both good
signs. Meanwhile I walked the boys early this morning and they are sleeping at
my feet. It is raining so I probably won’t take them with me to the Farmers’
Market as I had planned.
A lovely thing happened on Thursday, when I turned on my computer. There
was an email from a chap in England saying we didn’t know each other but he had
woken to find New Year’s Day wet and cold and windy and decided to google ‘Bill Longley’ on his computer as he had
lost touch with him over the years. My blog celebrating Bill’s 80th birthday
was the first item that came up, so he emailed me asking if I could forward his
details on to Bill. I immediately sent the email on and Bill is thrilled to
bits and was getting in touch yesterday.
I hope your New Year celebrations were good; that you are enjoying the
cricket and time with family and friends and that 2014 will be a happy &
healthy year for us all.
Daylesford
Pipes and Drums in the New Year’s Eve Parade
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