Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 25th June 2017

We’ve had a busy week getting back into routine & catching up on emails, phone calls & chats. After breakfast on Sunday, Wes took Barbara shopping & helped her around the house for a few hours.

We had decided to try getting up at 6am instead of our usual 5.30am & the best time to make a change is when Bilbo has returned from the routine of Eureka Kennels. He has been happily sleeping in that extra half-hour & coping with his dinner being moved to 6pm at night instead of 5.30pm. Bilbo can’t do the full circuit of Lake Daylesford anymore, so we compromise by doing half the walk, and I have been taking him for a short extra walk most days as well.

I went back to gym at 8am on Monday, only to discover that our friend, Andrea Holmes, has joined Barry as an instructor & she will be taking Mondays & Fridays. As Barry pointed out, he turns 70 this year & would like to be easing down instead of working 5 days a week. It won’t hurt to have a different approach & I think everyone enjoyed meeting with Andrea & learning her new warm-up & cool-down procedures.

We had an unexpected visit from our old friend, John Smith, who had driven to Daylesford to have lunch with Glenn Mack, caught up with Terry White & spent an hour or so with us before driving back home. He is a staunch Dees supporter & enjoying their exciting play this year. Like many Melbourne fans, he is finding himself attending more games in 2017!

On Tuesday morning, there was a lovely frost everywhere. We talked to Barry the fisherman on our walk. Before we went away he was having a cataract operation done on his right eye, and we were delighted to hear that he has perfect vision & experienced no pain or discomfort during the procedure. Barry has been & worked everywhere, so it was no surprise to discover he had spent time in Hong Kong & even walked across all their mountains in one day back in the ‘90s.

Karen at Cheung Chau island with junks in the harbour & bikes galore behind me

Wes was projectionist for the film, ‘Viceroy’s House’ starring Hugh Bonneville & Gillian Anderson, as well as Simon Callow & Michael Gambon. I really enjoyed it, but Warren was annoyed that it wasn’t historically accurate, although he thought he was well-directed.

After that we met up with Gillie Gough for lunch at The Food Gallery. Gillie & her best friend, Irene, headed off overseas yesterday for 8 weeks or so & we wanted to wish them Bon Voyage.

After gym on Wednesday, I did enjoy playing Mah Jong with Dot, especially because I won more games – just for a change. Wes spent the morning helping Barbara, mainly with NDIS, as well as some practical stuff.

Later in the day we visited David Hall, who moved into a new home recently & was keen to give us afternoon tea & catch up. It is always good & stimulating to spend time with David, who has been responsible for many of the good ideas that have come to fruition in Daylesford.

Sitting in the Hong Kong Qantas Club filling in the Arrival forms with my Welcome Drink in front of me!

We both drove to Strathmore on Thursday to visit Leanne as it was a while since she had seen Wes & she had asked him if he could help her with a few things that are just too hard for her to do on her own. It was a most successful visit & we particularly enjoyed her curried egg & lettuce sandwiches for lunch!

While we were there, Wes read on Facebook that our niece, Jessie, was in Monash Hospital after suffering a couple of seizures. An MRI scan revealed a lump in her brain & a needle biopsy is needed. As you can imagine, we were all very shocked & I rang Mary & Terry to let them know we were thinking of them & wanted to be kept informed.

Great photo of Jessie & Michelle with their mother, Mary, taken in 2015

On Friday, after a mammoth shop at Coles, I drove to Ballarat to see my podiatrist, who pronounced herself delighted with my feet, which have improved a lot since I last saw her 9 months ago. At that time, we were still with Medibank Private & their contribution to her $70 fee was $17.50. This time, now we are with Qantas Assure (underwritten by NIB), $17.50 was my contribution – it’s a big difference.

Meanwhile Wes & Brian Nash went out together to visit the Hepburn Pool, Clydesdale & Newstead. They had a most successful morning & came back with lots of ideas.

Yesterday we drove to Melbourne to see Collingwood play Port Adelaide at the MCG. We parked near ‘Square & Compass’ café & enjoyed a yummy brunch there. Matt assured me that he had spiked the coffees of the Port players when they had visited for breakfast that morning, but whatever he did was unsuccessful, as Port outplayed us from the very first minute.

As you can see Bilbo was very pleased to see us back at home & leapt up onto Wes’s lap for a cuddle after his dinner