Dear Friends, there was a big turn-up of 12 at breakfast
last Sunday – Margaret & Noel, Anne & Eddie from New Zealand; Judi
& Michael, Gillie, Janine, Aileen, Wes & me. Unbeknown to the rest of
us, Wes had organised a Death by
Chocolate cake, which Toni made, and Barbara seemed delighted with the
extra attention. Judi found a sharp knife and doled out the slices after the
candle was blown out.
Barbara & her
cake with L-R Aileen, Judi, Janine, Michael & Gillie; Noel, Margaret, Eddie
& Anne
After breakfast, I walked Bilbo up to the Wombat Gardens and
back home while Wes took Barbara, Margaret & Noel on a tour of the Shire.
He was away for nearly 6 hours, having driven everywhere, including a visit to
the Chocolate Mill, and a tour of the Mill Markets. I persuaded him to have a
small whisky, fed him some minestrone and sent him to bed. He slept for nearly
12 hours and looked much better on Monday, although his hearing was not
improved.
When he visited his doctor, there was still no solution, so
an appointment was made for Tuesday afternoon with a specialist in Ballarat. Meanwhile
Bilbo and I had a walk around Lake Daylesford, where we met two unpleasant
dogs, but lived to tell the tale. I spent most of the day washing &
ironing, while Wes worked on the computer and made risotto for lunch.
Mid-afternoon Barbara, Margaret & Noel arrived with rum for Wes, gin for me
and the remnants of the cake, which Wes, Noel and Barbara enjoyed. It was a
short visit, as Margaret & Noel had to pack and drive to Melbourne in
preparation for an early flight the next morning. That night Wes went to bed
early again after a bowl of minestrone and slept for 10 hours – not sure if I
can take the credit with the minestrone or if it was the slices of chocolate
cake.
On Tuesday morning, I walked Bilbo at 7.30am and we met no
dogs and only 4 other walkers. Barry the fisherman was still around, so I was
able to catch up with him and let him know why Wes hadn’t been walking early.
Wes set off to the Daylesford Cinema to show ‘Woman in Gold’, followed by
‘Inside Out’, while I stayed home to catch up on various jobs while waiting for
the phone call to say the dishwasher was on its way. Of course that call never
came!
Wes arrived home at 2.30pm with time for a mug of soup
before heading to Ballarat. Barbara had been to see ‘Woman in Gold’ and
discovered that the hoist for her wheelchair on her car wasn’t working, so Wes
offered to drive her car to Ballarat to get it fixed. This was probably far too
much in hindsight, as he was already nervous about his appointment without
loading himself up with an extra job. He couldn’t find the place to get the
hoist fixed as he couldn’t hear
anything on the GPS. However, the visit to the
specialist went well and he arrived home with better hearing than when he had
left. He has to do some exercises and go back next week. We celebrated with
fish and chips for dinner – a rare, naughty treat.
Bilbo sitting
patiently by the Honey Stall at the Sunday Market, waiting for me to return
after putting bags into the car – you can see bits of cabbage leaves around him
– his weekly treat from John & Yvonne. This photo was taken by Ken Rae of
Spring Park Nursery without our knowledge – a lovely surprise to find on FB
On Wednesday, Wes had offered to help Leanne, so drove to
Melbourne early as he had promised to be there by 8.30am. It was a cold, still
morning when I headed off to gym, which was followed by a fringe trim and then
a walk with Bilbo, which got him out of Sandra’s way while she was cleaning.
Wes arrived back in time for lunch and a rest before tackling paperwork
downstairs. That night we lasted until lunch time in the cricket and went to
sleep thinking the Aussies were in control – which wasn’t the case at all as we
discovered the next morning.
Finally, on Thursday morning our new ASKO dishwasher arrived
and was installed. We delayed lunch until it was done and did enjoy stacking it
after one of Wes’s yummy pasta meals. I now feel I want to wash everything we
own through it, as hand-washing doesn’t produce the same sparkle. That night Danny
Millman arrived for a three-night stay and we did our best to get the Pies over
the line against Port, but fell at the last hurdle.
The Bushwalk on Friday was at Tarlita Creek, off Sawpit
Gully Road in Dry Diggings area. Bilbo and I enjoyed a good stroll through the
bush with 4 others, while the larger group did a longer version. Danny had
given us a very generous Gift Voucher to use at Kazuki’s Restaurant, so we set
off for lunch in high expectations, which were not disappointed. We had the
degustation menu with matching wines, chosen brilliantly by Martin yet again.
Pre-lunch drinks,
Danny looking mellow, and exotic appetiser with even more exotic butter for the
rolls
Needless to say, we
had a very quiet evening with lots of water being consumed as we tried to
encourage Carlton to play slightly better footy against Richmond, but to no
avail. We all went to bed during the 3rd Quarter and watched the
cricket instead, which wasn’t much better.
Yesterday we had a big lunch party with Judi & Michael,
Rob & Dene as our guests. We promised plenty of hot food, good wines and a
roaring fire, as the weather was so cold. Lunch lasted for 4.5 hours, which
suggests that our guests enjoyed themselves. I put 10 empty bottles in the recycling
bin afterwards, mostly reds. Rob popped home at one stage to collect a bottle
of ‘Laphroaig’ which he offered around and had a couple of takers. We provided
a couple of small plates of antipasto, before Wes excelled himself with turkey
breast, rack of lamb, fish pie, roasted vegetables, beans & peas. Don’t ask
how he managed to fit everything in the oven! Judi & Michael had brought a
very generous cheese platter, which we sat over for ages before coffee and
chockies, and more wine.
Once again, we were all in bed early. I looked up from
hand washing the wine glasses, (we had used our best Riedel glasses and I
wouldn’t dream of putting them in the dishwasher), to discover both Wes and
Danny had fallen asleep watching the footy. We all slept well and awoke this
morning to discover that we missed the snow, which fell overnight around 2 or
3am. We also read that the Poms won the 1st Test, so the Aussies are
going to have to improve their bowling if we are to retain The Ashes.
Bilbo and I are off to the Sunday Market shortly and then we
will all go to breakfast at The Food Gallery. I suspect that Wes and I &
Bilbo will have a very quiet Sunday indeed. Danny wants to go home after
breakfast – we will miss him, as he is the perfect guest – perhaps when he is
retired we will be able to persuade him to stay over more often.
More photos from
Kazuki’s – me with Spanner Crab omelette and Wes with scallops in lime juice and
below the seafood course.....and the famous Icelandic jumper!
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