Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 3rd June 2018

 

I missed last Sunday’s breakfast – could tell when I woke up that it was going to be a quiet few days, so after the Sunday Market with Bilbo I headed back to bed & postponed or cancelled everything I had arranged for the next few days. 

All the books from Clunes Booktown came in very handy as I had plenty to read after The Age, the crosswords & Word of the Day each morning. Wes was wonderful as usual – providing yummy meals & looking after Bilbo, as well as pruning all the fruit trees, stacking up firewood & finding lots of kindling to get us started now that Winter is here.

On Monday I heard from Margaret Nolan that her husband, Eric, had died suddenly the previous Friday. I am very grateful that I spent time with them both recently at the footy, where we made plans for their next trip to see us in Daylesford. Eric had health issues & was 92, but his death was most unexpected. Not only have Margaret & I been friends since the early 80s, but she worked at Hilton Hosiery with Wes’s father, Ray, so we have always felt a special affiliation.

Eric’s funeral was on Friday at Fawkner & we were disappointed when we were unable attend & give our support to Margaret. This is the second time she has been widowed & each time the death has been unexpected.

While Sandra cleaned on Wednesday & Wes & Barbara went to Ballarat for hydrotherapy, I played Mah Jong with Dot. I had cancelled gym, but a couple of hours spent in a warm café chatting & trying to win games from a determined Dot, was very manageable.

Since then, I’ve gotten up & dressed each morning & achieved something early, before retreating back home & resting. Compared to what others are fighting, this is nothing – just frustrating & certainly not life-threatening.

Now that Winter has arrived, the birds are even more desperate for food & welcome our contribution each morning. In fact, Floreat has taken to serenading me on the decking or outside the study door, which is glass, to remind me that they are hungry.

  

Bilbo having an impromptu nap after the effort of getting up on Wes’s lap

We had hoped to go to the footy this afternoon, but I have had to cancel it as well. We are off to Tassie on Thursday & the next few days will be busy getting ready for that trip.

This morning, after Bilbo & I go to the Sunday Market, we will head to breakfast at Larder, where we will be joined by Kathy & Ged Lazzaro, who are on their way to Adelaide & are dropping in some wool for me on their way. I’m very grateful for the wool, and we are both delighted to be seeing them as well.

This is Montacute Pavilion, a stunning accommodation place near the Botanic Gardens here.

We drive past it almost daily & would love to go inside. Inspired by a Baroque banqueting pavilion in the gardens of Montacute House, Somerset, it is architecturally intriguing and festive, with obelisks and dragon water-spouts & is nestled among ancient chestnut trees in a historic garden. I imagine the amenities might be a little more modern that the pavilion that inspired it!