Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 26th May 2019

Maureen & Graeme Dean joined us for breakfast last Sunday at Food Gallery. They walked in and discovered five of their friends sitting together & were very happy swell our numbers. We have known them for many years & Maureen’s dinner parties are legendary. She is a wonderful hostess, who can cope with any number of friends & their dogs all under her feet in the kitchen while she produces magic meals. We will miss them when they move to Kilmore later this year. They have decided to take a unit in a retirement village there because Maureen’s daughter is already living there.

Sorry these photos are so dark – above, Maureen & Judi chatting; middle, Graeme, Wes & Barbara & top, Barbara, Janine & Maureen.

We were all feeling flat after the election result, so cheered ourselves up with some funny stories. Wes had the best. He was on duty at Yandoit with Ian Tinetti, who was giving out Liberal votes. According to Ian, his wife, Trish, asked him not to forget to vote this year, as he talks so much while he is at the polling booth, he finds himself back home having neglected to vote himself! We could all believe this story about Ian, who is a well-loved local character & owner of Cricket Willow in Shepherds Flat.

Wes, Sundance & Ian – doing horse minding duty at Yandoit

In the afternoon, we met up with Judi & Michael again, as well as many local friends who had been invited to Jeff Bain’s 70^th birthday celebration. It was a lovely relaxed occasion and we were pleased it had been catered for, so Di could enjoy mingling with the guests as well.

We arrived home in time to watch Carlton play GWS Giants at the Sydney Showgrounds. Sadly, the game was all over in the first few minutes, as the Blues looked hopelessly out of touch & not a patch on the team that took Collingwood to the wire the previous Saturday.

I’ve had lots of appointments this week – blood test, hair, nails and teeth. All were done locally except for the dentist & I drove to Ballarat on Tuesday morning to see what it would be like under new management. My dentist, Jon, was still there, and he gave me the unwelcome news that I had split a tooth! When I finished with him, I met the dental hygienist, Lauren, who cleaned my teeth beautifully and sent me off with a free dental care bag containing toothbrush, paste & floss. I left her feeling quite clucky after she looked at photos of Lewis & Morse.

Wes spent his Wednesday morning with Barbara, as usual, but Dot & I couldn’t play Mah Jong, as her husband, John, had an appointment for his eyes. We hope to be back to normal next week. Wes also had a blood test & his flu injection. My biggest worry was getting good tickets for the Pink Ball Test against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval and I was ready to go at midday when they went on sale. Jane & David are joining us for Days 1 & 2, and I was pleased to get us good seats in the shade for all four days.

We were very excited to have Tom & Deb visit us on Thursday to meet Lewis & Morse. It did involve a bath for the boys & subsequent floor washing as everywhere is impacted by wet Labradors post bathing time. We took them to Jackie’s on Vincent for lunch and it turned out to be a good choice, quiet, warm & welcoming.

Deb, Tom & Wes – the visitors dressed more warmly than the local!

We managed our usual good walk on Friday before Daylesford was deluged with some heavy rain followed by light showers. I did the food shopping, then met up with Gillie at Food Gallery for a very enjoyable catch up chat over hot drinks. Afterwards, I delivered two lovely boys’ jumpers that Di Lyttleton had made & contributed to Keeping Daylesford Warm. My reward was some brightly coloured 12 ply wool in small quantities – not enough to make jumpers, but certainly beanies & mittens & perhaps a scarf.

That night, Collingwood was lucky to win against Sydney at the SCG. We were outplayed for three quarters but managed to get our act together in the last 10 minutes & take the points in a very close & exciting game.

Yesterday was quite cold & we didn’t need any persuading to light the fire & spend our time sitting & reading, knitting & watching footy.

Wes & Morse reading The Age

It’s a cold, misty morning here and the Lake is shrouded in fog. We’re off to the Sunday Market & Breakfast. Carlton plays St Kilda this afternoon & we can only hope they will be competitive.

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 19th May 2019

We started our week with a fun breakfast at The Food Gallery with Barbara, Judi, David & Glen. There was plenty to talk about over our yummy meals & hot drinks.

As it was Mothers’ Day, I had a lazy time watching Aussie Rules football & knitting a child’s long scarf in shades of purple.

  

Lovely photo of my sister-in-law, Mary Saundry, with her grandkids – Chiara, Mikaela, Dante & Michael celebrating Mothers’ Day together

On Monday, I went walking with my three boys again before heading to gym for the first time in 4 weeks. Barry was most helpful & I got through my programme but really knew I’d had a workout by the time I was finished! Wes started planting the daffodil bulbs as well as working in the backyard for a while to keep Lewis & Morse happy.

The next morning, while more gardening went on, I headed to Muffins & More for a lovely catch-up with Judi. This week has been full of cold nights followed by beautiful sunny, crisp late Autumn days & I enjoyed walking to and from our get-together. In the afternoon, Nick came to give me a massage, which involves treats for Lewis & Morse as well as persuading them not to put their feet up on the massage table. After about 5 minutes they fall asleep, preferably just where Nick wants to stand!

After gym on Wednesday, I caught up with Dot at Muffins & More for our first game of Mah Jong since October last year. We were a little rusty & pleased to have our Mah Jong books to help us remember our favourite games. It was so good to be playing once again & thinking of everyone we have played with over the years, especially Annie Smith, Carol Bruce & Valerie Lefel.

Daniel Lazzaro showing us his 12^th birthday winnings

After lunch I caught up with good friend, Annie Smith, for afternoon tea at her place with her & her daughter, Fiona. Maisie, the Irish Water Spaniel, was particularly pleased with the treat the Lewis & Morse had sent her!

Lewis & Morse cuddly under their blanket

Thursday saw me drive to Strathmore to spend time with my sister, Leanne, who I hadn’t seen for a month. On the way, I delivered my latest crop of beanies & mittens & a scarf as there had been an emergency call for these items in children’s sizes here in Daylesford.

Among other things, Leanne gave me some twisted willow that had been given to her, but it was so tall it overwhelmed her lounge & we decided it had to go. Lewis was absolutely delighted with these lovely sticks, although they were too awkward for him to get through the dog door and take to bed at night!

Lewis (black collar) is sharing this long stick with Morse on their outside bed

That night we were very sad to hear that Bob Hawke had died, aged 89. We had a lot to do with Bob, especially once he became our local member & we famously invited him to dinner at our place on a day which Channel 9’s 60 Minutes decided would be the day they did A Day in the Life of Bob Hawke. At the end he used our phone to ring Hazel to let her know he would be late as there was some serious number-crunching going on.

It was very icy on Friday when we walked the boys before I went shopping at Coles & Wes drove to Clunes to pick up some rocks for the garden. Wes washed the boys on his return as he had to leave early yesterday for the polling booth.

We frocked up at lunchtime & joined Judi, Michael, Jan, Di & Jeff for a lovely lunch at Boathouse Daylesford. The conversation flowed & we enjoyed everything – food, drink, laughter & ambience!

Judi, Jeff & Di

Michael, Di & Wes

Jan, Judi & Jeff

We arrived home for a very quiet late afternoon, although Wes headed out to the Daylesford Hotel at 6pm to catch up with other ALP Branch members & get his instructions & gear for opening the booth yesterday morning. He was joined later by Jeff Bain and they knocked back a few more red wines!

Yesterday the boys were appalled to be woken at 5am for their walk. Wes had to be at the Daylesford Secondary School by 7am. It was too early for me as well and I looked everywhere for The Age to read in bed with a pot of tea. It finally arrived at 7.30am by which time I was well & truly up & dressed. I headed off to the MCG to see Collingwood play St Kilda, in what turned out to be a very entertaining match that the Pies only won in the last quarter.

Meanwhile Wes did two polling booth shifts & let me know there was a lack of excitement at either of them, which was an indication of what was to come. I arrived home in time for the post-election count & it was obvious from early on that Labor would be struggling to form a government. Tony Abbott was defeated by former Olympian, Zali Steggall, which was a bright light in the evening, although I thought Tony’s concession speech was very gracious & allowed his supporters to celebrate his 25 years as their local member. 

Congratulations to the Coalition on their win.

Tara & Diederik Haneveld, Jan Pengilley & Warren Maloney outside Yandoit Polling booth

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 12th May 2019

It’s good to be back in the groove with Sunday Dispatches flowing again. So many of our friends are not well at present that I feel like a fraud with my pathetic chronic fatigue complaint, which isn’t life-threatening, but inconvenient!

We started our week with a fun breakfast on Sunday at The Food Gallery. Barbara expected 6 of us, but David & Sandy made a welcome late arrival & we were able to wish Sandy well before she headed off to Russia with over 100 other artists for an exhibition. As she is the organiser, this is no mean feat & we are all in awe of her talent, both as an artist & in taking responsibility for so many other women in countries all around the world.

Wes & Barbara headed to the Docklands after breakfast full of hope that Carlton would secure a second win with a victory over North Melbourne. Sadly, this was not to be, and the Blues played as badly as either of us can remember. The day was rescued by meeting up with Ben, Leanne, Jack & Olivia Lazzaro. Jack had been one of a number of kids excitedly waving flags as Carlton ran onto the ground & through the banner.

Wes’s good spirits were restored when Morse & Lewis gave him a wonderful welcome as he walked in the door & neither of them would let him out of their sight.

I’ve been making myself walk each day this week and I am feeling better for the exercise. The antibiotics have kicked in and I am able to do more each day. On Tuesday we met up with Dot & John Smith for hot drinks at Muffins & More. It seemed like ages since we had seen each other & there was a lot to talk about.

That afternoon I had a very overdue facial with Emma at EKO, which is a beautiful boutique environment for special treatments, much loved by locals. We enjoyed our catch up and Wes picked me up afterwards with the news that yet again our street was without water, this time because workers putting in drains had broken a pipe. When the water eventually returned it was quite dirty and we wasted plenty of it until the water ran clear again.

Lewis & Morse keeping Wes’s Jason recliner warm while he has a shower!

On Wednesday, Wes helped Barbara do a big grocery shop at Coles, while I made a pot of minestrone soup. I went out for my walk and returned to find Lewis & Morse very muddy and obviously taking advantage of the 20mls rain we had received overnight & during the early morning.

I mentioned that my big project at present, apart from knitting, has been going through our library & saying goodbye to books that we won’t read again. We are going to donate them to the Daylesford Primary School for their August Book Fair. I’m currently rereading Arnaldur Indridason, creator of the Icelandic policeman, Erlender, and enjoying them so much more now that we have spent quality time in Iceland. I’m also rereading Sue Grafton, with her junk food eating private investigator, Kinsey Millhone, and appreciating Sue’s ability to make a scene come alive.

Thursday saw me drive to Wendouree early as the Mazda 2 was due for its 100,000 km service. Paul, the courtesy car driver, took me into Ballarat & dropped me at Target with a promise to collect me at 12.30pm outside Regent Cinema. I bought the things I needed at Target & Lincraft, including 4 sizes of pom-pom makers (no more cutting imperfect circles of cardboard) before heading to the Cinema to see the film The Chaperone. I knew very little about this film except that it starred Elizabeth McGovern, who I loved as the Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey. I very quickly discovered this film was based on a true story about the famous dancer, and silent screen actress, Louise Brooks & enjoyed it very much. Paul was there to pick me up when I came out of the Cinema, which is a wonderful service.

We had over 30mls on rain during that night & on Friday. Apart from Coles shopping, we stayed put. The boys had a bath & after a good sleep proceeded to get themselves dirty again when they went outside.

That night we had an early dinner at Jackie’s on Vincent to celebrate Mothers’ Day, rather than squeeze into a heavily booked lunch or dinner today. The meal was spicy & enjoyable as always & we washed it down with a bottle of sparkling shiraz.

Yesterday Danny was my guest in the MCC for the Carlton vs Collingwood match. We had lunch in the Terrace beforehand & shared a glass of bubbles with Gayle Gibson. This was a most exciting game & Carlton were very unlucky to lose it after taking the lead in the last quarter & looking the goods. We Collingwood supporters had been dreading this game as Carlton always plays their very best against us & they were a different team from the one that had been thrashed 6 days earlier.

Wes had invited Barbara to join him in watching the game at home & apparently, she was given a wonderful welcome by Lewis & Morse who climbed all over her wheelchair.

This morning I joined my three boys in the early walk around Lake Daylesford. This is my first early walk in almost 4 weeks & it felt so good to be out & about. It was drizzling and the Lake was overflowing with water, which is always wonderful.

We are about to head off to the Sunday Market, then meet up with Barbara, Judi & possibly David for breakfast at The Food Gallery. When we get home, if the weather isn’t too wet, Wes will make a start on planting 100 King Alfred daffodil bulbs which arrived in the mail this past week. We were so disappointed not to be able to buy them at Trentham that Wes found a reasonably priced online site & ordered them. He plans to put them in the front garden where we will see them & they won’t be dug up by inquisitive Labradors!

Today is Mothers’ Day in Australia – Wes & I are thinking of our dear mothers and all the special days we shared with them both. We hope you have a wonderful day if you are a mother & that your offspring spoil you rotten!

Snoopy at his very best!

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 5th May 2019

Once again, I have to apologise for taking so long to get back in touch. This lurgy has been quite vicious & there hasn’t been much to report.

I did attend the ANZAC Day game between Essendon & Collingwood, which was one of the most exciting matches I have ever been to. The atmosphere was respectful during the pre-game ceremony, but was at fever-pitch during the game, especially as the Essendon supporters could sense a famous victory on the back of Joe Daniher’s amazing feats. The Pies were lucky to prevail by 4 points in a nail-biting last quarter. Wes had very kindly driven me to Ballan Station & picked me up at Woodend afterwards as I missed the Ballarat train by 2 minutes. We got home just as the next Ballan train would have been pulling into the station.

My next activity was Sunday breakfast and I lasted about an hour before Wes had to take me home. It was good to be out and catching up with friends at The Food Gallery.

On Monday there was a fire at the other end of our street near Cornish Hill. Four fire engines attended & Wes was able to show them where the fire hydrant lives (down at our end of Duke Street). It looked like burning off that had gotten out of control. Fortunately, it was easily managed, and our only inconvenience was dirty water for an hour or so.                      

   

Morse getting very comfy when nobody was looking

I had to collect refurbished orthotics in Ballarat, so Wes drove me there on Tuesday morning. While we were there we voted in the upcoming Federal Election. I used to enjoy election day, but since I developed chronic fatigue, it is yet another activity that has become stressful. The set-up in Ballarat was excellent with the Labor candidate, Catherine King, on hand to greet everyone & plenty of booths with room to spread out the ever-increasing Senate ballot paper.

The rains finally arrived & we had over 70mls in our gauge, which was wonderful. So many people had just about run out of water & with that quantity most tanks would be full again. Ours certainly are. The boys enjoyed it immensely & had mud baths as often as they could manage. Everywhere is looking greener & more vibrant with the influx of water. There are even more birds around, all singing happily as they forage for the seed we leave out for them.

A stunning sunset viewed from our windows

Sandra came to clean on Wednesday morning, and I took the opportunity to catch up with Judi at Muffins & More over pots of Jasmine tea & yummy muffins. We hadn’t seen each other for at least three weeks and there was much to catch up on (mostly from her as I have done very little). Afterwards I had my nails done & a fringe trim, before going home to rest.

On Thursday I had an appointment with my GP, Greg Stewart, who gave me antibiotics, a repeat, more asthma prescriptions & the flu injection. Wes & I were booked in, but not until 21^st May and Greg thought that was too long for me to wait.

Wes had two meetings that night: 1/Daylesford Cinema has decided not to continue showing films at the Town Hall as it is not attracting sufficient numbers to make it worthwhile. Volunteers were invited to get together over a drink & chat about the future when films will be shown in the next Rex Cinema. 2/The ALP branch met to discuss polling day & Wes, although he was happy to look after a small booth, was given Daylesford from 8am to 11am.

On Friday night, Collingwood played Port Adelaide at the Docklands Stadium. I had decided it would be madness to go as I wasn’t feeling well enough & I wouldn’t get home until 1am afterwards. I am sorry I missed the Pies play their best quarter of footy this year and they set up the good win in that first quarter. The match was made very poignant by the attendance of 6-year old Kyron McGuire from WA, who has aggressive brain cancer. The Club brought him & his family over from WA, invited him to training & lunch on Wednesday, gave him his own jumper with Adam Treloar’s number on, allowed him to run out with the team, organised for him to toss the coin before the game & finally invited him & his father into the rooms to sing the song after the game. Kyron will certainly have something to talk about at Show & Tell in school next week!

Yesterday morning we drove to Trentham for the 12^th Annual Spudfest. We went early to avoid the crowds as this has turned into a very popular & fun country event. We bought lots of Dutch Cream potatoes (our favourites), met our friend, Bob White, looked unsuccessfully for the family selling daffodil bulbs and came back home. We had hoped to have a cuppa at Chaplin’s, but it was already very busy.

Today we are off to the Sunday Market before breakfast at The Food Gallery. Then Wes & Barbara are heading to the Docklands to see Carlton play North Melbourne. The boys and I will have a quiet morning and spend the afternoon watching the footy. I’ve gotten back into knitting beanies & mittens now that I am up & about more hours in the day. Thanks to Kathy Lazzaro, I still have plenty of good wool in interesting colours to produce bright little beanies for toddlers & youngsters, which is the current demand.

Morse & Lewis waiting for dinner to be served!