Dear Friends, we
had a fun breakfast last Sunday with Gillie & Gail both joining us after
some weeks’ absence. Films were once again a topic and Gail entertained us with
her stories. Bilbo did very well out of leftovers, especially from Margo, who
refused to give him toast unless it had a smear of butter and a scrape of jam
on it.
We had expected to
feel very tired after our late night, but rallied well. I spent the afternoon
watching the India vs Pakistan game at the Adelaide Oval, which had lots of
atmosphere and a brilliant century by Virat Kohli. Meanwhile Wes tracked down
Jenny Gidley, who was a very good friend of both of us, and who was to have
been in our wedding party until Mick Griffiths died, shortly before we were
married. We often think about her and her friend, Sue, both of whom I met at
Melbourne Uni. As usual neither of us can remember how we drifted apart. Jenny
is now a Doctor of Psychology & President of the World Futures Studies Federation. She was equally delighted that
Wes had found her and we are making plans to catch up soon.
On Monday, we were
visited early by Rohan, the Collingwood supporter plumber, who works for Gary
Wilkinson, also a Collingwood supporter. Rohan plays for Hepburn Football Club
and is as nice a young man as you could wish to have in your home, but perhaps
you wouldn’t want to meet him on a footy field as he models his game on Joel
Selwood of Geelong. Rohan fixed the loose fitting & dripping pipe in the
downstairs basin; installed a new showerhead that can be handheld in the
downstairs shower; changed the washers on the taps in one upstairs basin, and
tightened the spouts on both basins, all within 2 hours. We were very happy
indeed.
Wes went to see
Andrew Gallagher, physio, during the afternoon, and came home sore, but with
massage exercises for his ankle. Meanwhile I watched Ireland beat the West
Indies in a surprise result in the ICC World Cup. It was great for the Irish
& they had plenty of supporters in NZ to cheer them on.
Stunning photo by Dale Callahan
of last Friday’s storm
On Tuesday it was
very chilly early and I decided not to go to Trentham for a game of golf and
risk coming home with a cold as we were hosting Aperitifs the following
evening. Wes spent the morning in the garden, mowing & hosing &
cleaning up in preparation for Aperitifs. I did some shopping, re-potted some
growing chilli plants, and tidied inside the house.
.jpg)
Pink & white roses enjoying
the sun in our front garden
After lunch I
washed the decking windows...not that anyone will notice, but we feel better
for doing these jobs, especially with about 50 visitors on a perfect afternoon.
Bilbo and I enjoyed
another dark, cool walk on Wednesday before I went to gym. As I was putting out
the bins, I discovered that there was a leaflet, delivered sometime after 7pm
the night before, alerting the street to the information that our road would be
resurfaced after 7.30am that day. As we live in a dead-end street, we were in
danger of being imprisoned or not being able to get back in, depending on the
timing. I was lucky enough to get back from gym, get changed and leave again
before the road was done. Wes was gardening out the front when it happened and
was able to make sure that the surface extended right into no 80 next door,
which should solve some of the problems we encounter with cars unable to gain
purchase on the shale there.
Dot, Valerie and I
had a most enjoyable morning playing Mah Jong, even if Dot won every game bar
one! After a sandwich with Valerie, I returned here to pick flowers, rearrange
the furniture and prepare for Aperitifs. Wes had hosed everywhere, put up the
umbrella on the decking and brought up extra chairs.
About 30 minutes before
the start, Bronnie & Lee arrived with all the yummy food we had ordered –
platters of mini toasted brushetta with three different toppings, sausage
rolls, Thai chicken cakes, coconut prawns & Indian carrot fritters. We also
put around bowls of various nuts, rice crackers & chips, all of which
disappeared as well.
Glorious Valentine lilies
We were thrilled
with the turn up of 50 or so – if you don’t know about Aperitifs, or can’t
remember, it is a fortnightly event that has been going for about 12 years or
so. People are invited to come with their drinks & glasses and mingle with
others at a different host venue during the hours of 5.30-7.30pm. The hosts
provide snacks and the guests take home their dirty glasses and empty bottles.
This was our 6th hosting – we roster ourselves on every two years
during February, which has sometimes been boiling hot, sometimes we have broken
a drought with heavy rain, and last night we enjoyed perfect weather of around
23°. We met about 10 or 12 new people, welcomed many who had never been to our
home before and said hello to some old friends.
Predictably we were
exhausted the next morning, but Wes somehow got up and walked Bilbo, leaving me
to spend a couple of hours in bed with the Age and a pot of tea. I decided to
walk into town to get the mail and a couple of other things and took Bilbo with
me. Just as we were about to start, a huge truck arrived putting a topping on
our new road surface, so we walked along the side of the road out of the way of
the hot tar and as we got to the end of our little bit of Duke Street, up came
the garbage truck. I tried to let the driver know, but couldn’t get his
attention, and he couldn’t see the tar truck as the driver was down Rob &
Dene’s driveway making sure he did a good job of surfacing there. Wes assures
me there was fun and games as the trucks met outside our place. Glad I missed
it.
We decided to go
out for lunch to celebrate surviving the night before and we chose ‘The Argus’
at Peppers’ Springs Retreat, in Hepburn Springs. It was a perfect day for
sitting in the garden and we both ordered the poached salmon with broccolini
& hollandaise. We weren’t prepared for the magnificence of the fish – it
must be the best cooked piece of salmon ever! Afterwards we shared a platter of
Victorian cheeses with a glass of Spanish sherry.
.jpg)
That night Wes went
to the Volunteers’ Monthly Meeting of the Daylesford Community Theatre and got
to see ‘The Imitation Game’ as a bonus afterwards.
Ben Lazzaro had
rung Wes and suggested an early game of golf at Trentham on Friday, so I walked
Bilbo in the cool before doing some Coles shopping, pumping water at the
Mineral Reserve in Hepburn and apologising to the Bushwalking Group that I
would be missing today, as I had a chance to catch up with good friends. Leanne
& Jack met Wes & Ben at Chaplins Café in Trentham after the golf, and I
arrived about 5 minutes later. We spent a very enjoyable hour or so catching up
on each other’s news and reacquainting ourselves with Jack, who is now well
over 2 years old and has loads of energy matched by a beautiful smile.
Ben & Jack
Karen & Leanne
The Lazzaros drove
off home to Brunswick via the berry farm and the Maloneys drove back to
Daylesford and enjoyed sitting out on the decking having barbecued fish &
fresh salads for lunch.
Late afternoon we had a visit from Rob next door bearing a large bag of
pears from their trees, so I invited him in for a drink, and then called across
the fence to Dene who joined us as well for an hour or so. They are delighted
with the new road surface and thrilled that they no longer have to cope with
shale when they are backing out of their driveway.
Yesterday we were
up early again – Wes walked Bilbo and we gave him a big marrow bone to occupy
him while we drove to Melbourne – me to visit Leanne, and Wes to catch up with
Joan Testro. Leanne wanted us to have an old cabinet that used to hold pianola
rolls, because we had always admired it, so we drove the Mazda 6, which was big
enough to hold it. Wes brought a trolley, which helped very much and we
cushioned it well in the back. After a coffee and quick look around the garden,
he headed off to Caulfield North, and I spent the rest of the morning with
Leanne. I had promised to clean the china cabinet for her – it’s been my job
for most of my life, even when I no longer lived with my parents, and I do
enjoy doing it, although I never wanted to own one myself! After re-arranging
furniture in the lounge, we then tackled the shower screen, and made some
headway there, all of which pleased Leanne very much. She is doing a great job
of looking after the unit, but there are some tasks which are much better attacked
by two than one.
Salvia in the front garden
We arrived home for
a late lunch, a bit of a rest and then off to Barkas Street, Daylesford to
celebrate Malcolm Boadle’s 60th birthday. His partner, Chris Soper,
is the real party person, but Malcolm was enjoying being in the limelight for a
change. There were about 30 people there, nearly all of whom we know, and it
was most enjoyable to have a catch up chat with friends like Paul & Robyne,
Glenda & Joe, Denise & Rodney, Elli & Al, Peter & Cathy, Penny
& David.
We stayed for two
hours then came home and were in bed early after Wes watered the front garden.
It’s just as well the One-Day Match between Australia & Bangladesh was
washed out at the Gabba, we would never have lasted until the end.
It’s a hot morning
today and Bilbo and I are about to go to the Sunday Market. We’ve had an early walk
and he cooled down with a dip in the Lake. After the Market, we three are off
to breakfast and then a very quiet day is planned here as we are off to
Melbourne again tomorrow, this time by train, to meet Kathy & Ged in the
city for lunch and wish them well for their big European holiday, which starts
shortly.
Congratulations to our uncle Kevin Hoolihan, pictured here
marrying our aunt, Jennifer Munro, all those years ago – he has just turned 80
and enjoyed a lovely family celebration with his family around him. We managed
to find a café in Balham, that makes lamingtons, so cousin Leigh very kindly
bought a box yesterday on her way to visit Kev in Lincolnshire...they went down
a treat I believe!
No comments:
Post a Comment