Dear
Friends, where do I begin? It has been quite an eventful seven days. When I
left you last Sunday Bilbo and I were off to the Sunday Market, where I bought
him a friend….I think it is meant to be a koala. He doesn’t quite know what to
think, and takes his toy outside whenever we are away from the house. However,
he wags his tail when he sees it again, so hopefully he will get attached to it
and not rip it to shreds. We enjoyed a fun breakfast with Aileen regaling us
with stories of her mother, Dorothy’s, 100th birthday in Adelaide
recently.
At
lunchtime Wes and Barbara set off for the airport for her trip to New Zealand.
Everything went as smoothly as it could, but Wes was there to play bad cop if needed.
Michael
had invited me to the Farmers Arms Hotel
for an early dinner and what a nice time we had there. The wine was wonderful –
Summerfield 2011 Shiraz – we have met the winemaker’s son, who is a friend of
Paul Tyrrell, at a race day at Avoca some years ago. I notice they offer
accommodation at their winery which is such a sensible thing to do when you are
as far from Melbourne as Avoca. Dinner was yummy, as always, and the pub was
bustling with locals. We were home in time to see Michael Clarke make a very
gutsy century.
That
night I brought Bilbo’s bed into the bedroom with me and he settled to sleep
until I turned off the light. The next thing I knew he had leapt onto Warren’s
side of the bed and stayed there without moving a muscle until 6.15am, when I
turned on the light. He woke, stretched, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and
trotted out to get his bone!
The
next day I took Bilbo with me when I went to the Post Office and we walked
around Vincent Street together in lieu of an early morning walk as my knee is
not yet up to the short hills required to do the Lake Daylesford walk. Wes
arrived back safely late morning and after lunch, (pasta with chilies, parsley
& tarragon out of the garden), had a good catch up sleep as he had only managed
about 3 hours the night before lying on a couch in Barbara’s hotel room.
Back
to normal on Tuesday with Wes walking Bilbo early, then gym for us both, and
then a facial, commonly referred to as a face
rub (in honour of the late, much missed David Smith) and very overdue
manicure for me, with Emma at Eko. I
arrived back home to discover the electricians from Fells, who had an
appointment to fix our bedroom ceiling fan, were in residence. According to Wes
they were up to Plan D, which was a complete new fan, incorporating a light and
a remote control. The new fan works very well and is very quiet.
I
spent the rest of the afternoon sorting out books for the Op Shop, while Wes
did some gardening and then some watering, which meant we had a wonderful
storm, which involved thunder, lightning and 25 mls of rain. We were watching
the cricket and occasionally lost touch with the picture, but the radio didn’t
suffer at all.
It
was a lovely, cool morning on Wednesday and the rain was the big topic of
conversation wherever I went – Coles, for early morning shopping, the Post
Office, Springs Medical Centre, and Muffins
& More, where Dot and I played Mah Jong very happily. When I arrived
home for lunch, Wes was entertaining Rotarian Gordon Nightingale, who had come
to borrow our light sleeping bag for his upcoming trip to Nepal for Rotary. He
is hoping to take laptops and small musical instruments to the Nepalese.
We
had home-made pizzas for lunch, and then Wes went to ChillOut Headquarters to
get his instructions for this weekend. He came home with a dilly-bag of
goodies, a very white T-shirt (won’t stay that way for long), and a name badge
for his shifts on Saturday afternoon and Sunday night.
Publicity is priceless
– great paragraph in Tuesday’s Herald Sun extolling the virtues of the soon to
be opened Smith & Daughters in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. Co-owner, Mo
Wyse, (left) is engaged to Callum Preston. Can’t wait to try the menu!
Bob
White’s partner, Kirk Bradbury, died over the weekend. He has been unwell for
some time and it is a relief that he is out of pain. We have spoken with Bob,
who is bearing up well. The funeral is on Tuesday in Trentham.
Our
friends, John & Jan Smith, have decided to sell their home here in
Daylesford and visit in their motorhome in the future. We are sorry to see them
go as we have enjoyed their company on many occasions and they were very
popular here. However, the ties of family and friends in Melbourne as well as
their regular haunts have proven stronger than the charms of Daylesford and
newer friends.
Daisy-Lea in Bridport Street
– a very cute and surprisingly roomy cottage!
Wes
wanted to get up to date with paperwork on Thursday, so I steered clear of the
study and caught up on phone calls etc. After gym, I took Bilbo on a date to
spend time with Annie Smith’s dog, Rosie. We met at Gracenotes Café, and after some initial excitement, they sat
together companionably while Annie and I caught up on each other’s news. I am
pleased that I was able to walk Bilbo to the café and back, and my knee was
sore, but not painful afterwards.
We
had a big day on Friday driving to Melbourne to have lunch with Ian & Robyn
Robinson. We decided to leave early and visit Leanne as it is years since she
has seen Bilbo and he was a lunch guest so would be in the car. She presented
him with a huge teddy bear as a new friend, as well as a bone for later. We had
a good visit, but Smokey stayed well clear while Bilbo was around.
Then
off to the Robinsons, where we enjoyed a feast of at least six courses of
memorable and beautiful food, mostly cooked by Robyn, with Ian doing the
thrice-cooked chips which accompanied our main course of duck (and tuna for
me). Bilbo was given some cooked chicken pieces in doggy shapes and would have
been very happy to stay for a few more hours looking for leftovers and crumbs
under the table.
Ian, Karen & Robyn
with our beautiful appetisers...Bilbo is under Ian’s feet.
We
arrived home to discover Danny was settled in for his visit and Wes cooked him
some pasta for dinner. I wasn’t at all hungry after our amazing meal, but tired
from all the travelling, so went to bed early and left the men opening a
Tempranillo to accompany their dinner.
Wes
walked Bilbo early, then after breakfast Danny & I strolled into town
before it got too busy. We bought some cheese at Tonna’s, some raffle tickets
and said hello to lots of locals who were out shopping with the same thoughts
as us. Wes made a very yummy prawn, fennel and zucchini risotto, and then he
headed off to spend the afternoon at the ChillOut Information Booth & Box
Office. Mate and I placed some bets and spent our time watching the races at
Flemington, where both Lankan Rupee
and Fiorente scored fine wins. Mate
headed off to The Rex Cinema to see 12 Years a Slave, while Bilbo and I
spent some time together.
Wes
and Danny met up after their respective activities and sat in deckchairs
outside the Daylesford Hotel watching
the passing parade, and no doubt solving the world’s problems. We were all
shocked by the loss of life on the Malaysian
Airlines plane and the early death of actress, Wendy Hughes. After sharing a cheese platter and a glass of white
wine with them, I went off to bed, and by the sound of the snores this morning
from upstairs and downstairs, it was a late night!
Bilbo
and I are off to the Sunday Market, and then we are walking to breakfast with
our neighbours, Rob and Dene, where we will meet up with Judi, who has been in
Caloundra helping her mother celebrate her birthday. Then we’ll get a good position
to watch the ChillOut Parade at 10.30, one of the highlights of the year here.
Danny
is heading home after the Parade, and we have a late lunch engagement with Jeff
& Di to catch up with friends, Roger & Valerie Roberts, who have moved
back to Adelaide recently and are in Daylesford visiting. I’ll be pleased to
put my feet up after that, but Wes has volunteered to be security on the door
of the Town Hall tonight with Danny Moynihan, so he will be hoping for a sleep
in between lunch and that commitment.
Yesterday’s
pickings from the garden – zucchini, chilies & Roma tomatoes
Yesterday
would have been Viva’s 92nd birthday – thanks to everyone who
remembered and sent their thoughts. I didn’t find it a sad day, as Viva died at
the right time, after a full and happy life, but I did think about some of the
many birthday lunches and dinners we had shared over the years and especially
her stays at The Windsor Hotel for
her 70th & 80th birthdays.
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