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Dear Friends, I
hope you had a very good New Year’s Eve celebration and that you have been enjoying
the few days we have shared so far of 2015. Since I retired it always takes me
a little while to get in the swing of the New Year and I have been guilty of
sending Irish Anderson, (born on 2nd January), a card suggesting she
was a year younger than she really was!
We spent a very
enjoyable time sitting under Glenn’s walnut tree on the afternoon of the 31st
with Glenn’s partner, Denise; Judi & Michael, and Glenn’s good friend, Bob Waterhouse.
Red wine and bubbles flowed as we celebrated Glenn’s birthday and the end of
2014. Back home we had oysters and prawns sitting out on the decking, and
somehow found room for a slice of pudding & brandy butter.
We were in bed
early as usual but were woken at 11.57pm by lots of noise created by the crowds
that had gathered to see the fireworks at the Lake House, which is just across
the road from us. I hadn’t realised they were celebrating 30 years in business
in Daylesford with a full 10 minutes of fireworks and our main concern was that
Bilbo was OK and not spooked. He was very happy to be with us and showed no ill
effects of the constant noise. It is always sad to read about all the pets that
get very scared and escape from home when illegal fireworks are set off nearby.
I had promised to
walk Bilbo in the morning, but didn’t feel like it at 5am when he came around
to my side of the bed and started pushing his nose into my face. Wes gave him a
bone and we went back to sleep again. But I didn’t get off completely– from the
minute I got up until I finally relented and took him for a long walk at 10am,
he was at my heels, making little noises and trying to push me in the direction
of the front door. When I did agree, he did a little dance of delight – á la
Snoopy!
On Christmas Eve, I
had a long Skype call with my aunt, Jeff, (aka Jenny Hoolihan), who was looking
forward very much to spending time in London with daughter, Leigh, her husband,
Simon, and son, Mike, with his wife, Kelly, and their two children, Archie
& Amelia. However her husband, Kev, came down with a bad case of the ‘flu,
which she promptly caught and they were confined to quarters. Leigh visited
them in Lincolnshire for a day and promised that they will all catch up once
the sickies are well again.
I love this time of
the year when you have to think twice to remember what day it is, let alone the
year, and we have enjoyed the first few days of 2015 very much, with no regular
commitments to observe. Wes has spent hours in the garden and it is looking a
picture – I can pick roses almost every day, which is very indulgent, and his
borders of seaside daisies are in full bloom as well.
On Friday I decided
to take down the decorations as the tree was just starting to lose its
freshness, and we removed it with a minimum of fuss and mess – looks as though
that small, squat size is the way to go for the future.
Denise and Warren’s
uncle, Bert Barnes, celebrated his 100th birthday on New Year’s Eve
at Ardmillan House, where he has lived for the past few years. His wife, Norma,
died about 3 years ago, but Bert was determined to get to the century. Denise
& Barry, John & his 5 children, and Leon, all celebrated that
achievement with Bert, who quietly died the next day after fulfilling his
dream. He had a very long and fruitful life, and he and Norma were especially
close to Denise and her family.
Yesterday we had
hoped to go to the Farmers’ Market here, but it was cancelled with the total
fire ban and strong winds that were expected. I walked Bilbo early to let Wes
rest his ankle and I expect we enjoyed the best of the day, although it was
already 26° just after 5am. Later, while Wes hosed, I bought some larger pots
for our tomato plants as they are thriving in this hot weather after starting
life in our greenhouse.
As usual
Daylesford, like many other holiday spots, is full of visitors, which is great
for all the traders, and just means we locals get out and about early to do our
shopping, when we can still get a park. Apart from that and the very full
recycling bins, (which are emptied fortnightly), the only area of complaint is
the state of the Peace Mile walk around Lake Daylesford. However, it may well
be locals who are sitting there eating and drinking until all hours and
forgetting to put their cans, bottles and cardboard boxes in the bins. The
Council has doubled the number of bins and there is very little rubbish left
sitting at the base of them for the birds to pull apart. Yesterday morning I
filled two plastic bags with cans & bottles, left the rest for the next lot
of walkers, and left the towels, bathers & thongs for their owners to find!
Today started with
a walk around the Lake with Bilbo in the cool, after the very welcome rain last
night. There was very little damage with only a few small branches on the path
and a few puddles to avoid. We had stayed awake late (for us) last night watching
the Melbourne Stars beat the Melbourne Renegades in the T20 game at Docklands,
where the temperature would have been very warm as the roof was closed. I had
to wake Bilbo to go walking, which made for a pleasant change and we avoided
all the crying that goes on when he is wide awake and we’re not.
After shopping at
the Sunday Market and breakfast at the Food Gallery, Wes and I are driving to
Melbourne to spend some time with Leanne. I had hoped to visit her on Tuesday,
which is the anniversary of Viva’s death, but it looks like being a very hot
day so we are going today instead. As I look out the window the rosellas are feeding
on Fawlty Towers for the first time since New Year’s Eve and everywhere in the
garden is looking a little greener than it was yesterday.
Enjoy your week and
let’s hope the Aussies can win the Pink Test in Sydney.
Releasing the doves at Viva’s
funeral – Terry, Karen, Peter, Leanne & Paun
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