Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 29th October 2017

We’ve enjoyed getting back into the garden this week – I’ve moved daffodil bulbs & put some punnets of extra hot chillies into the greenhouse to get them started. The tomato seedlings in there are doing well & I hope to put them in the garden this coming week. The tulips are just finishing & the roses are about to bloom. Each day I go exploring looking for the first one – not yet!

Wes tried everything to get my computer going again, but to no avail, so we’ve had to buy a recovery disk & start from scratch. Very frustrating indeed.

There has been a lot of work done at Lake Daylesford & the latest involves new seating & tree-planting, both of which are much appreciated. There are families of ducks & geese anxiously shepherding their young out of our way as we stroll around early in the morning.

As well, the roundabout is finally finished & we are all pleased with the design & the difference it makes to traffic flow when entering or leaving along the Trentham-Woodend road. We were hoping for some colourful & exciting plantings in the middle, but native grasses seem to be the current choice. Perhaps next year we could have some lavender or roses.

Apart from our usual activities, we spent Thursday in Melbourne, mostly at the Cinema Nova, seeing films. We started with breakfast at Brunetti’s, and finished with a cuppa at Strathmore with Leanne. In between I saw two very good & thought-provoking films – Ali’s Wedding, which is a true story set in Brunswick of a Muslim romantic comedy, with plenty of serious undertones. I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it. Then I went to Suburbicon, which is set in 1950s middle class America, with frightening racial & murderous themes masked by a tranquil setting. Wes saw Bladerunner 2049 & was entertained & engaged by it.

There has been a demand for a Bilbo photo – here he is wearing my Greek fisherman’s hat

We have been worried about Bilbo recently – he can no longer jump into the back of the car & is slowing down on our walks around Lake Daylesford. When we got home on Thursday, he was nowhere to be found & he usually greets us at the door with his tail wagging, so we feared the worst. Wes eventually found him sound asleep on our bed (we had left the bedroom door open by mistake). It seems that he can still leap after all!!!

Yesterday morning we had breakfast with our lovely neighbours, Rob & Dene, to hear all about their wonderful trip to Japan & Hong Kong. They very kindly brought us back some Japanese chocolate, which we tasted last night – very rich & decadent.

We had a few bets during the Cox Plate & made enough on the first quinella to see us through a couple of meetings during the Cup Carnival. We actually had the trifecta, which would have been even better! Winx won her third Cox Plate, but it wasn’t in convincing fashion as Humidor nearly ran her down. There was a capacity crowd at Moonee Valley creating a wonderful atmosphere.

No breakfast with friends this morning – Janine & Margot are on their way to the airport & China; Judi & Gillie are off to Stawell to see an Open Garden; David & Sandy are moving from Box Hill to Port Melbourne, and that leaves just three of us, which is not enough to justify heating & lighting upstairs at The Food Gallery. 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Monday, 23rd October 2017

 

It’s been a very busy & emotional week for us both & just when we thought life would get back to normal, my computer died. Apparently, it is a Windows 10 compatibility issue & could take some days. Hence this late Dispatch. I have set up the laptop on the dining room table, plugged in my back-up USB & am back on line this morning.

The best news of our week was our visit to our niece, Jessie, on a very wet Thursday morning. We left Daylesford at 7.45am armed with flowers & gifts from ourselves & Leanne & arrived at Narre Warren a couple of hours later. Our first surprise was to be greeted by Jessie’s mother, Mary, who had swapped shifts with Michelle to be there; our next surprise & thrill was to see Jessie, not just up & dressed, but having put a slow cooking meal on for dinner, and our final surprise was a very unexpected visit from my brother, Terry (Jessie’s father). We spent 90 minutes there & Jessie talked most of the time. We were delighted to be able to enjoy such a long visit, to give Jessie plenty of hugs & kisses & to catch up on her progress.

Terry, Jessie, Karen & Mary – all of us thrilled to be together at Jessie & Anthony’s home.

On Saturday, Jessie & Anthony held a ‘Bugger Off Cancer’ party, which also celebrated their 42^nd birthdays, which are a week apart. They had 80 guests & Jessie didn’t seem at all fazed that she would have to cope with all these people.

After our visit, we drove back home via Beacon Cove, where we delivered Lovely & Malcolm’s painting & saw them both briefly, & then via Northcote, where we delivered Danny’s painting & had a quick chat with him & his friend, Kim, who is living at Danny’s house until he finds one of his own. We were also able to congratulate them all on becoming grand-parents again, as Patrick Millman & his wife, Kate Adams, welcomed Clara Joan into the world last week.

The next afternoon, along with most of Daylesford, we headed to the Convent Gallery for a Memorial Service for Al Ebenreuter, who had died a fortnight previously & been buried privately. It was a very bittersweet affair – Al would have loved it, especially as friends came from near & far. Our friend, Caroline Storm, aged 86, came from Clifton Hill, & enjoyed seeing us, as well as old friends like Ginger, Peter & Cathy, Ann & Kevin, as well as giving her condolences to Kathy Hancock.

Our favourite photo of Al, taken at a Daylesford picnic

We are still in shock over the news that our friend, Trish Nield, died last week, after falling while walking her dog. She never regained consciousness & will be very sadly missed by her family & friends. We first met her when she joined Rotary about 10 years ago & enjoyed spending time together.

Lovely recent photo of Trish with her great grandson, Jax

On Saturday, Judi & I travelled by train to Melbourne to see the ‘Wallace & Gromit’ Exhibition at ACMI, Federation Square. We were blown away by the size & scope of it. It was due to finish this week, but has been extended to the end of January, so if you love Wallace, Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run, the Pirates, the Were-Rabbit, or any other characters, don’t miss it. We paid $20 each & spent 90 minutes there, which is fabulous value.

Afterwards we walked to the Kino to see ‘Final Portrait’ with Geoffrey Rush as the painter, Alberto Giacometti. He does a wonderful job with his role, but it is a very slow, monochrome film & we were delighted when it speeded up towards the end!

Yesterday, we had a fun breakfast – Margot & Janine are heading to China for 10 days & very excited about the trip. Barbara had been unwell again during the week, but recovered sufficiently to join us. Judi regaled everyone with our visit to ‘Wallace & Gromit’, which made Barbara, Janine & Margot decide to go & see it before it finishes.

Wes showed the documentary ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ yesterday afternoon to a very appreciative audience, on the last day of films at the old Daylesford Cinema, which has closed now while the new one is being built. We’re going to miss the luxury of being able to see films without going to Ballarat or Melbourne. 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 15th October 2017

What a busy Sunday we had last week. Bilbo & I had a fun time at the market & collected Wes for breakfast, where we were joined by David & Bam Bam, after a few weeks’ absence. Barbara was well enough to attend, but didn’t get too close to anyone in case she was still infectious.

Wes & I got into the garden – he needed to finish Barbara’s lawns & had bought some seedlings which were anxious to be planted. I put the tomatoes into separate pots in the greenhouse & transferred the coriander & baby spinach into the boxes on the decking. I also planted Italian parsley straight into one of the boxes & put up plenty of shiny stuff to deter the birds from investigating.

Wes asked for a yellow plant from the Sunday Market, but there were no complaints when I brought home a small pot of Lavender Sensation White!

In the early afternoon, Wes went with Barbara to put Bobby into the cattery as Barbara was having new double-glazed windows installed this week & didn’t need to be worrying about an escaping cat.

On Monday, after gym, Wes & I met for breakfast at Larder to celebrate the anniversaries of our retirements – me on 2^nd October 2000 & him on 11 October 2002. Those work days seem far behind us now. We enjoyed  delicious meals before heading home – Wes to work in the front garden & me to do some computer work. I went for a walk up to the Post Office afterwards with some mail & was delighted as I passed the Daylesford Primary School to see the children marching back into class after playtime, to the strains of We’re from Tigerland. Today was the first day of school since the Grand Final & it was a lovely gesture by the Principal to celebrate Richmond’s historic win. In fact, the tune played so often I wondered if he was a Tiger supporter himself!

Happy photo of rellos – Leigh, Kev, Anka, Jeff & Peter at Lincolnshire last week.

Wes was due to show the film Victoria & Abdul on Tuesday morning, but the cinema wasn’t allowed to screen it until Friday, plus work started on the Rex Arcade, so Tuesday films are now finished until the new cinema opens in some weeks’ time. It was a perfect day in Victoria, so we took advantage of the morning off – I went for a long walk into & around town, while Wes did wonderful lots of weeding in the garden. I felt guilty on my return & did a bit as well.

Judi had given me a beautiful jigsaw called Tea Time featuring a small girl giving her teddies a tea party, while the Labrador is snaffling the cakes when her back is turned. I have been dying to do it & decided after my latest batch of beanies, that I had earned a break & could spend some of my relaxing time on the jigsaw.

Dot wasn’t well enough for Mah Jong, so I came home after a muffin at the café. Wes had taken the Mazda 6 to Ballarat to have the passenger air-bag replaced & when he arrived back, he visited Barbara to see how she was going. He had collected her cat, Bobby, for her the day before.

We decided to go to the Regent Cinemas in Ballarat on Thursday morning to see Victoria & Abdul & loved the film. Judi Dench is at her finest & most memorable yet again in a beautiful portrayal of Queen Victoria in a little-known true story of her friendship with an Indian, who was chosen to present her with a gift.

We had lunch at Boathouse Daylesford on our return & enjoyed a glass of merlot with our perfectly cooked calamari. Wes had read on Facebook that Joe Rozen was in Daylesford Hospital, so visited him there after a 2pm appointment at the Men’s Shed. Joe has reacted to medication, so he will be in hospital for a few days while the doctors get him back to normal. I had been told that another friend, Trish, was also in hospital in intensive care in Melbourne, after falling while walking her dog.

Good news with a very happy Andrew Kierce & his fiancée, Kate, & their daughter, Lily Rose, born on 9^th October.

Yesterday, we were delighted to have been invited to share in the wedding of Jessica Lazzaro to Eri Carbajal-Ruiz at St Andrew’s Conservatory at the Pumphouse Hotel in Fitzroy. Wes had his new pink shirt from Hong Kong to wear, but I discovered the top I was going to wear no longer sat nicely, so did a panic buy at Creswick Woollen Mills shop in Daylesford on Friday morning, which turned out to be a much better alternative after all. It was a beautiful day here & even better in Melbourne where the weather was slightly warmer.

We really enjoyed the wedding, which had a decidedly Mexican flavour, in honour of the groom. After a simple ceremony, we spent time in the bar with the other guests, while Jess & Eri had their photos taken. We were seated at a table with Jess’s brothers, David & Ben, & their lovely families. It was wonderful to catch up with their wives, Helen & Leanne, as well as their offspring – Jessica, Maya & Daniel; & Jack & Olivia, who were page boy & girl. I hope to have photos next week.

We arrived back here just after midnight, so it’s going to be a very quiet day for Bilbo & I. We’ve been to the Sunday Market, shared breakfast at The Food Gallery with friends & now it’s time to rest. Wes is screening Victoria & Abdul this afternoon & we’ll all be in bed early tonight!

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 8th October 2017

We’ve had a lovely week – starting with cold mornings that usher in beautiful Spring days – the temperature has reached as high as 20˚, much to the delight of everyone who is sick of the cold, rainy weather.

I am looking out into the garden where the camellias are in full bloom, the roses are leafy & budding, the rosemary & lavender are in flower, and the seaside daisies are about to explode into a profusion of blooms.

Our grandest pink camellia courtesy of Marjorie Atkinson many years ago

In the greenhouse, the coriander is flourishing, the perennial rocket has come back to life & baby spinach is in abundance. On the verandas, the new dwarf lemon tree is budding, the snow peas are ready to harvest & the chives are green & almost ready to be cut.

Our lovely next-door neighbours, Rob & Dene, are in Japan at present, so we have been feeding their worm farm, watering their plants, collecting their mail & local papers & looking after their sour dough culture (which is a first for me).

Here is Dene enjoying a drink in an amazing Shinjuku Robot Restaurant in Sapporo

On Tuesday I set off to see the film Gifted at Daylesford Cinema, but the children’s film, Captain Underpants, had also been advertised at 10am & there was a crowd of children & parents waiting to see it. As I had already bought a ticket to Gifted, I was asked what I wanted to do & of course, I relinquished my ticket & agreed to the children’s film being shown. It would have been very cruel to have disappointed them all.

It was a beautiful morning, so I walked around town & took the long way back home, where I settled down to read The Age with a pot of jasmine tea. There is still plenty to read about Richmond’s Grand Final win, as well as Melbourne Storm’s triumph in the NRL (a game that fails to engage me in any way).

Bilbo Baggins enjoying the sun & my company (I think)

Judi & I caught up for a cuppa after gym on Wednesday – there was no Mah Jong as Dot & John were away helping one of their grand-daughters. The new owners of Muffins & More have the same attitude to their customers as Ann-Maree & Heather did & always greet me & their other patrons with a smile. Business seems to be brisk & lots of locals are continuing to turn up to this popular & inexpensive meeting place.

Wes mowed lawns on Thursday & Friday mornings – ours & no 80’s first, followed by Barbara’s. Her gardener has lots of weeding to do, so Wes thought he would help out by mowing. Meanwhile I drove to Ballarat to find some sheets to go with a beautiful quilt cover that Leanne gave Wes & I as a thank you gift. We were keen to get a bright colour, like yellow or red, but they are not being made this season, so I bought black instead. We are very thrilled with the result & are enjoying the new look & feel of a brand-new bedlinen.

In the afternoon we were shocked to read in an email that our friend, Al Ebenreuter, had died very suddenly when warming up for a gym session that morning. He had recently celebrated his 80^th birthday & was in good form. We had seen him at the Exhibition Opening on 28^th September, never dreaming that would be the last time we spoke with him. I first met Al & Kathy in 2000, when I started volunteering at the Info Centre on Monday mornings & they did the afternoon shift.

Wes visited Kathy to see what practical help he could offer & she was most appreciative. She was receiving gifts of food & flowers & offers of help from all their local friends.

P.S. Yesterday I delivered 9 beanies to Jodie in Wheat Sheaf & was asked to keep knitting as everyone loves them, which is very satisfying indeed. 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Monday, 2nd October 2017

Sorry this is a day late, but I was too tired yesterday, when I returned from 48 hours in the big smoke, staying with Danny Millman at Northcote, which enabled me to get to & from the Grand Final with ease. And what a wonderful day it was! Danny & I had breakfast at Square & Compass, which was packed with excited, confident Adelaide supporters, before I walked down to the ground & found my seat.

I spent time with Gayle Gibson before doing my traditional walk around the stadium watching the colourful crowds arrive. Unlike the Adelaide supporters, Richmond fans were nervous & anxious, as well as excited.

The pre-match entertainment was fine; every seat had a seat cushion on it courtesy of a sponsor; the sun was shining; the MCG was full with thousands next door at the Punt Road Oval watching on a big screen as well, and the setting was perfect for a great game. Adelaide started well & I wasn’t the only worried person at quarter-time. However, the Tigers got their game going in the second quarter & kept the Crows goalless, which is no mean feat. The second half belonged to Richmond & they posted an unexpected, but richly deserved win by 48 points (8 goals).

I cried when their coach, Damien Hardwick, gave a modest, but emotional speech, and again, when Tiger hero, Matthew Richardson, presented the Premiership Cup to Damien and captain, Trent Cochin.

What a lovely surprise to find Greta & Penny at Danny’s place when I arrived home after the game!

The past week has been a very busy one, especially for Wes. He spent many hours at the Wood Shed helping Brian Nash display the paintings & words of the Villages of Hepburn Shire. He also spent many more hours at the computer typing up the catalogue, producing the stories to accompany the paintings, and making up all the signage that was needed. It brought back memories of the three Rotary Art Shows we organised – with only one artist, this was certainly less stressful!

There was a good turn up to the Opening on Thursday night – lots of locals, lots of our friends who came to support Wes & quite a few paintings were sold, which thrilled Brian. The Wood Shed is a perfect venue for an art show, with lots of wall space, good lighting & plenty of parking close by. Wes gave a lovely speech, when invited to do so.

On Friday we had breakfast at Boathouse Daylesford with everyone who had travelled here & stayed overnight – Karen & Malcolm, Wendy & Roberto, Warwick & Carol. It was a huge success, considering the three couples didn’t know each other before then. Everyone was most impressed with the venue, the service & their breakfasts.

Warwick, Karen, Wes & Wendy deep in conversation.

My week has also been busy – I went to gym twice & was able to do most of my exercises, although not all. Dot & I played Mah Jong; Wes & I were both able to see the beautiful film, Maudie, at the Daylesford Cinema, and I was able to do a few short walks without getting too tired. Most afternoons were spent reading or knitting beanies, as I really needed to conserve my energy for the weekend.

And I am so pleased I did, as I was quite exhausted by yesterday – it was emotional being involved with the Exhibition, (Brian has sold 10 paintings to date); with catching up with friends, both local & not; with the footy, and with worrying about whether I had to fit in jury duty as well. Fortunately, that was cancelled on Thursday afternoon, as I don’t think I could have coped.

Wes was busy while I was away – Barbara had been unwell at the start of the week, rallied to come to the Exhibition, but then became quite sick the next day & has been in bed recovering ever since. He has been looking after her & making her meals.

Yesterday, after Danny was kind enough to drive me to Spencer Street post breakfast, I caught a blissfully quiet train to Ballan, where Wes & Bilbo greeted me. It is always lovely to be home, although Danny is a very thoughtful host & I did enjoy staying with him & appreciated his generosity.

  

This is our latest very stunning rose, called Fearless – can’t wait for all these new plants to flower!

Enjoy your week & I hope to be back on track next Sunday.