Dear Friends,
Sunday again – not sure where the weeks go these days. Last Sunday we had a
lovely breakfast with some good stories being told about Christmas. Aileen
joined us for a while and we caught up on some of her news. Since her mother
came to live with her, she has been very busy indeed and visits to Sunday
Breakfast are no longer the norm.
Wes and I had
decided to spend a quiet day as our week was looking very busy and so we did.
We pottered in the garden, I made a fruit cake, we read and listened to music
and had yummy pumpkin & olive pizzas for dinner.
On Monday Wes
decided he could walk Bilbo, which he did, while I prepared for my trip to
Strathmore to visit Leanne. While I was away he did some mowing and gardening,
so by the time I got back again, he could hardly move with the pain of his
ankle and after lunch, had a rest as he was hosting an ALP Christmas break-up
barbecue at Eddie & Jenny Beacham’s house that night. Barbara drove them
there and apparently it was an excellent night, very well-attended.
Apart from driving
to and from Strathmore through very heavy rain, my visit was most enjoyable.
Leanne loved her birthday rose and we sat around chatting for ages before
tackling the shower, which need some heavy-duty cleaning. We were very pleased
with the result – as always those jobs are much easier when there are two of
you doing it.
The next day was a
busy one for me – I walked Bilbo as Wes needed to rest his ankle and catch up
on sleep. We had a good walk, and before going to the gym I got the first two
loads of washing on, did some computer work and prepared the lounge area for my
massage which was happening straight afterwards.
Dawn around the Lake
Poor Nick never
knows what to expect when he arrives to give me a massage. I announced that we
couldn’t miss the start of the cricket and had set up the radio & TV. We
were able to see the Phillip Hughes Tribute at the start of the game, much to
my relief and I thought once again, that it was very well done. Eventually I
tore myself away from the cricket and Wes drove me to the Daylesford Bowling Club for the U3A
Christmas Lunch, an event I have not been able to attend for a few years.
I was lucky enough
to meet up with Di Lyttleton and David Hall as I walked into the restaurant,
and Di, whose daughter had chronic fatigue for some years, was very
understanding and appreciative of how I was feeling. We found a quiet little
spot at the end of a table, saved a seat for Judi, who had another appointment
beforehand, and settled down to an enjoyable chat. Fortunately I hadn’t gone to
the lunch for the food, as the non-meat eaters were given roast vegetables and
a small dish of gravy, after everyone else had been served their pork and
turkey. I lasted 90 minutes at the lunch, before feeling overwhelmed and
needing to go. Wes very kindly picked me up and later cooked us both a very
yummy chilli-infested pasta dish.
The cricket was
wonderful, with Warner, Smith & Clarke making memorable centuries and the
Aussies posting an excellent first innings score. I watched it whenever I
could, although I had made appointments that didn’t clash with the original
Test dates and now, of course, they all did.
Once again I walked
Bilbo on Wednesday morning before heading off to gym. As we were off to dinner
at Gillie’s that night, I thought it would be wise to go to gym a day early and
recover from being out at night without feeling I should be exercising. There
were only 8 of us, which was very easy and enjoyable. Then off to Mah Jong to
spend another fun time with Dot & Valerie again.
Early pink light over Lake
Daylesford
Dinner at Gillie’s
was lovely, as always, with Nick & Robyn as expected and Glenn a surprise
guest. Gillie had made a wonderful antipasto platter for us to share beforehand
and then a prawn dish served over rice, before producing some yummy cheeses. We
left at 9.30pm as we were both tired by then.
Bilbo had to make
do with a bone and no walk the next morning and I stayed in bed until 9am
before getting up. It took me until Friday to recover from dinner, so I guess I
am not quite as far back to normal as I had hoped and I will be avoiding
evening activities as much as I can in the run up to Christmas. We both spent a
quiet day on Thursday, with Wes doing some gardening and computer work and me
watching the cricket.
I went shopping at
Coles early on Friday and then Bilbo and I joined the Friday Bushwalkers for a
hot walk around Muckleford. It took about 30 minutes to get there and by the time
we had driven along a dry dusty road, the car was looking very dirty indeed. I
drove Josie and her friend, Shirley, and we joined up with Malcolm and Helen
for the short walk, which took us ages to complete. Nearly everyone had an
apple at morning tea, so Bilbo scored well and he had two dips in a small dam
which cooled him down.
We got home at
1.15pm to find Wes relaxing in the lounge with a whisky after having spent the
morning gardening and then cooking a very yummy asparagus risotto. Bilbo and I
were quite tired and very content to watch the cricket all afternoon.
Cardboard replicas of Glasgow churches
in their Modern Art Gallery
Yesterday I washed
the cars early while Wes walked Bilbo, then off to Wombat Hill Nursery for some
pots, soil and seeds as my Summer task is to grow some seeds in the greenhouse.
That job will be done today, as the last day of the cricket beckoned and I had
to be near the radio & TV.
We had accepted an
invitation to attend an opening at Tussock
Upstairs Art Gallery in Point Lonsdale, where our friend, Wendy Owen, had
some sculptures on display. The main exhibition was Seagulls by Julie Stafford (of Taste
of Life fame) and we thought it would be good to see Wendy and experience art
by the beach. It took about 1¾ hours to drive there via Geelong and we were
horrified to see how dry everywhere was. We used to visit Point Lonsdale quite
a lot in the 70s with our friends John & Helen Hanrahan whose parents had a
holiday house there. It was a sleepy hollow and nothing was open after about
7pm.
We parked in the
main street just outside the Gallery and went upstairs full of expectation,
which was never met as Wendy didn’t arrive. We had a glass of wine each, looked
at all the art on display and decided to have a hot drink in the café next door
and wait for her. We did that and there was still no sign, so at 4pm we decided
something must have happened and headed back home. We have since discovered
that she attended the exhibition early after having lunch with her mother, then
went back home, before returning later after we had gone.
Wendy in her studio
The final session
of the cricket, which we listened to as we drove, was riveting, as the stand-in
Indian Captain, Kohli and Opener, Vijay, did their very best to snatch an
unlikely win. An amazing bowling effort by Nathan Lyon, which saw him take 7
wickets in the second innings for a total of 12 for the match, turned the tide
and the Aussies were always going to win once Kohli went out to a great catch
by Mitchell Marsh. The bad news is that our Captain, Michael Clarke, looks most
unlikely to play cricket again for quite a while as he has torn his hamstring.
We woke this
morning to a lovely cool still day, although it will get hotter this afternoon.
Wes took Bilbo for a long walk around Victoria Park and shortly we’ll head off
to the Sunday Market and then Breakfast. The magpies and rosellas are chirping
and circling each other in their anxiety to get to Fawlty Towers and food; the roses are blooming in profusion and Wes
is winning the war against the weeds!
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An unexpected second bloom of our
poppies
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