Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 25th August 2019

Last Sunday we headed off to a small group for breakfast at The Food Gallery – us, Barbara & Janine. Everyone else was either occupied or on holidays. We enjoyed a fun chat, mostly about Janine & Barbara’s busy weeks & headed home to find Lewis & Morse had uprooted a camellia in our absence. Not a good move on their part!

Wes drove to Franklinford Cemetery to meet with Erica Higgins (also a member of the Reconciliation Advisory Group), to discuss advising the Council to provide an Information Site outlining the Aboriginal history of the area, the location of their & other gravesites as well as the historical & cultural aspects of this cemetery which dates back to 1842.

He came back here, changed clothes & drove to Essendon Football Ground for a celebration of the life of Maureen Curran, an old school-friend, married to Michael, also an old school friend, who died suddenly in WA recently. He arrived in time for the speeches & caught up with quite a few friends before heading off to visit old, dear friends, John & Carole Hardwick. John had been unwell & wasn’t able to be at the wake. Carole is a Richmond supporter & was on Cloud Nine after their gutsy win over the West Coast Eagles. The three of them had a wonderful time together and Wes was sorry to have to leave to come back home. Fortunately he arrived just before the heavens opened & was warmly welcomed by me & the boys, who had all missed him.

Lewis sitting on my lap while we watch AFL 360

It rained heavily during the night and although we had been expecting snow, none eventuated in the morning & we were able to go on our usual walk. There is no gym for a few weeks, as Barry Spall is unwell – missing it already.  

It was lovely to catch up with Gillie on Tuesday morning before my fringe trim. We don’t see each other often enough & she always has lots of share. We sat in the front window of The Food Gallery, before we headed off to our respective 10am appointments. I had visited Springs Medical Centre the day before & was amazed to find some of my beanies available on a table with free blankets as well. Perfect spot for Keeping Daylesford Warm to offer knitted & crocheted items.

Snow in Grenville Street last Sunday – that little bridge would have been impossible to cross – thanks Gail White for the photo

Wes swapped days with Barbara as he had an important meeting of the Reconciliation Advisory Group on Wednesday morning, while Dot & I met to play Mah Jong at Muffins & More. When I arrived, Dot & John were there with their friend, Ted, and we all had a cuppa together. Dot couldn’t play but we enjoyed a good chat in lieu. When Wes arrived home, I was delighted to hear how well the meeting had gone & how all his suggestions had been adopted.

Wes spent Thursday in Melbourne – first off, he visited my sister, Leanne, & helped with gardening & computer issues, then he had lunch with old friend, Peter Russo, who is also our solicitor & a very lovely man. I had an early dental appointment in Ballarat, because an old filling at the back of my mouth had started to crack. Jon Marin, my dentist, was careful & patient & I can’t believe how white that tooth looks with a modern filling instead of the old silver-coloured amalgam.

I came home to find Lewis & Morse asleep in their room after happily demolishing bones that were meant to occupy them & stop them from noticing the stakes & chicken wire arrangement now protecting our herb pots on the decking. So far so good!

Our daffodils have finally come out – very slowly compared to everyone elses. The tête-a-têtes were out a week ago, but the daffs have been hiding away & I suspect some heads were bitten off when they first dared to open.

We had breakfast together at Muffins & More after the early walk & shopping. It is a very casual & friendly spot & Maria Viola was thrilled to see us there & catch up, especially with Wes. The cost was good – 2 hot drinks & 2 filling breakfasts for $36.

Lovely photo of Wes at Muffins

In the afternoon, I drove to Northcote to stay with Danny Millman, and we went to the final Home & Away game for Collingwood, which was against Essendon at the MCG that night. Before the game we caught a tram to The Grace Darling Hotel for dinner. It was extremely noisy & full of footy supporters with the same idea – more Collingwood than Essendon, but certainly lots of large mixed allegiance groups catching up before the game. Essendon started well & had a good lead at quarter time, but injuries & inexperience caught up with them & the Pies were able to win & move back into the final Four.

Yesterday Mate & I had breakfast at a lovely new café in High Street, Northcote, Bicycle Thieves, about 10 minutes’ walk from his home. Great service, interesting menu & a good vibe. We’ll be very happy to go there again.

Dear friends, Kathy & Gerard Lazzaro, arrived for the weekend yesterday after I got home. We’ve chatted, eaten, watched footy & cricket & emptied a few bottles together. It’s been lovely & relaxing & we’re off to the Sunday Market & then breakfast together.

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 18th August 2019

Last Sunday you may remember it was snowing as we went to the Sunday Market, which is at the Railway Station at the foot of Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens. There were very few stalls & the stall-holders weren’t confident of a big crowd, apart from locals.

Lewis & Morse in their jackets watching the snow fall at our place: our backyard, & Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens as seen from our parking spot at the Sunday Market

We had a wonderful breakfast – our next-door neighbour, Glen, had finally moved in on Friday, and had woken to snow on her first two mornings in Duke Street. We are taking all the credit for this! Janine arrived wearing a white alpaca hat suitable for Nordic climes; Jan was looking lovely in purple & full of funny stories; Judi was rugged up & looking good in a beret & scarf; Wes & Barbara had braved the snow to get her from the car into The Food Gallery, where we were all still excited about two mornings of falls.

That afternoon the Blues played their best, but lost to Richmond by 5 goals, which was to be expected. We had lit the fire & spent an enjoyable few hours sitting in front of it with Lewis & Morse happy to be inside & warm.

This has been a lovely week – Wes has managed to work in the front & back gardens most days, as well as solve little mysteries on Ancestry in the afternoons. I’ve been raiding the Botanic Gardens for pinecones, as well as catching up with friends for chats, either in person, or on the phone. I’m also back to knitting beanies & enjoying the lovely range of coloured wools I have thanks to Kathy Lazzaro & Barbara Simpson.

On Tuesday, Annie Smith & I walked around Lake Daylesford at 9.30am (great to see it in daylight) and then had a cuppa at The Food Gallery, which was full of friends, all of them coming up to our table to say hello. My new project is repotting all our herbs & replacing those which have grown woody or just don’t look like making it through Winter. I collected 4 bags of potting mix & 10 small plants & have managed to do most of what I hoped without any interference from inquisitive labs!

Dot & I were able to play Mah Jong on Wednesday morning & in a very rare occurrence I won all the games! Dot’s husband, John, was very upset, as he had told her to win them all. We had a laugh & enjoyed catching up. Wes spent time with Barbara, and in the afternoon, visited Franklinford Cemetery on a successful search for gravestones of ancestors.

While Wes & the boys gardened on a lovely Thursday morning, I spent a most enjoyable time catching up with Jane Barrett. She & her husband, John Webster, are about to head overseas starting with an Ashes Test at Old Trafford, a reunion of old school friends for John and a quick visit to Liverpool, before they head to France & travel around the countryside. We met in The Food Gallery, which once again was full of locals with very few spare seats. We both popped into the Creswick Woollen Mills shop afterwards – Jane to buy a brightly patterned throw rug & me to buy a warm vest, to replace one which I had worn out.

Yesterday was a busy & exciting day. We had our usual early walk and were finally able to turn the torch off before the end of it. The downside of being able to see is that Morse, in particular, gets very excited when he sees birds & ducks & want to chase them all. Our neighbours, Rob & Dene, came in for morning tea to say goodbye before they head off on holidays. The boys were very thrilled to see them but settled down quickly & went to sleep in the sun, tired after their walk & bath.

We had a big afternoon of footy – firstly the Blues played well & were able to beat the Saints in an exciting close game. We only discovered after the match that the captain, Patrick Cripps, had been in hospital that morning, but was determined to play his 100^th game in front of all the friends & family for whom he had arranged tickets. Later on, Collingwood demolished Adelaide over there after a lacklustre start. In between, Brisbane & Geelong played an exciting & close game that was decided by 1 point & meant Brisbane replaced Geelong at top of the ladder.

   

Lewis & Morse asleep during the footy & daphne – our first blooms from a bush struck by Nick Massaro & given to us last year.

It was a big night at the cricket as well with Steve Smith hit on the jaw, but still top scoring. It should be an exciting last day with the Poms 104 ahead & 6 wickets in hand.  Now, we’re off to the Sunday Market & breakfast.                                                                    

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 11th August 2019

Last Sunday was a busy one. Next-door neighbour, Rob, joined the rest of us for breakfast, which was lovely. I left early to drive to the MCG, where I had a pre-paid car park at the Tennis Centre. I went looking for Gayle Gibson, and was very pleased when we were able to catch up for a  chat before the game. Collingwood had the good win we needed against the luckless Gold Coast. I drove back & arrived home in time to watch the second half of the Carlton game with Wes. He was disappointed not to win, but the Blues played very well to lose by only 4 goals with at least 4 of their best players out.

We’ve had quite a social time of it this week. I had gym on Monday & Friday, & Mah Jong with Dot & Judi on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday we had a delightful long lunch catch-up with Glenda & Joe Rozen & Gail & Terry White at Jackie’s on Vincent. When we are together we always wonder why it doesn’t happen more often, but it is hard to get 6 friends together in between doctors’ appointments, family commitments & routine activities.

L-R: Wes, Terry, Me, Gail, Joe & Glenda

Wes has been very busy in the garden, fixing up things Lewis & Morse have done either deliberately or accidentally while playing chasey around the back yard. We are eagerly awaiting the sight of our first daffodils, which should be here very soon – everyone else in Daylesford seems to have some in bloom, not us.

While Dot & I were waiting for Judi to arrive to play Mah Jong, we had a game & Dot won hands down – not just going Mah Jong but getting two bouquets as well. Here she is looking pretty pleased with herself. Judi is learning very quickly and we are delighted to have a third person to play the game with us.

Nick Massaro came to give me a massage again this week. Lewis & Morse were thrilled to see him & gave him a wonderful welcome, which increased in intensity when he produced treats!

We also had an unexpected & very welcome visit from our old friend, Glenn Mack, who was in Daylesford for a couple of days, and had time to catch up with us. He was also greeted warmly by Lewis & Morse & was quite thrilled when we put them outside after a brief time to say hello.

This week, I finally finished my culling of our library & we delivered another 3 boxes to Daylesford Primary School. We have down-sized to the tune of 22 boxes in total as 4 early boxes went to the Daylesford Op Shop before the school was happy to receive book donations. Their Annual Book Fair is on 7^th & 8^th of September & I am very keen to go in case I can find a few of the missing books I need to complete some of my favourite authors. Strangely, Wes isn’t at all in favour of adding more books just at present.

This Snoopy appeared with perfect timing this week

I had chosen last Thursday as my day to visit Leanne in Strathmore & it was easily my slowest trip to her in a long time. We came home from our early walk with the boys to find Daylesford shrouded in a very heavy fog (definitely Brigadoon weather) and that fog didn’t lift until I was outside of Woodend & about to hit the freeway. Of course, Melbourne had sun shining, 15º and no wind to speak of, while Daylesford didn’t see the sun all day & the temperature stayed in single digits.

On Friday, we woke after a wild, wet night to find 50mls of rain had fallen, no damage to our garden or home, and a couple of very wet dogs quite pleased to get an early breakfast in lieu of a walk around Lake Daylesford. I went shopping at Coles at 7am, filled the car with petrol, attended early gym (7.40am start), unpacked the shopping when I got home & changed clothes to visit good friend, Annie Smith. She had a house guest, Louise, who had made Portugese egg custard tarts for us to eat with our cuppas. Our original plan had been to walk Maisie, the Irish Water Spaniel, around Lake Daylesford, but staying warm inside was a much better idea.

We woke to light snow yesterday morning, which an hour later turned into serious snow. It was too wet to walk the boys, but not too wet to stand in the garden admiring the white cover over everything.

 Front garden & frozen pond

Back garden & Lewis & Morse after a play in the snow

After enjoying the snow, taking photos, chatting to neighbours who were doing the same, we went off to Mercato for breakfast. I was still tossing up whether or not to go to the footy and Wes wanted to persuade me to go. As we sat having our meals, the snow started melting & was replaced by light rain, so I felt it would be safe to drive to the MCG.

Wes enjoying pancakes at Mercato

I drove through sleet & rain but arrived safely at the footy, only to find a very strong wind howling its way around the MCG and turning all our umbrellas inside out. The Pies won, but were not impressive, as Melbourne is 17^th on the ladder & we should have been able to beat them by more than 3 goals. My drive home was similar – the closer I got to Daylesford the colder and stormier it was. I did get a very warm welcome from my three boys when I walked in the door.

This morning we woke to discover it had snowed again overnight and it is snowing now. We walked around Lake Daylesford in light snow leaving our foot & paw prints in the snow. Anyone in Europe reading this will probably think – snow, ho hum – but it is such a treat for us & two days in a row is unheard of!

We are off to the Sunday Market (those traders do it tough), before meeting up with friends for breakfast. The rest of the day will be spent keeping warm & dry inside, perhaps with an open fire, as we see how Carlton fares against Richmond this afternoon.

Labradors frolicking!

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 4th August 2019

Once again, we started our week with yummy breakfasts and great chats at The Food Gallery. Wes & Barbara were delighted after Carlton’s good win over Adelaide the day before, Jan Pengilley was ragged for being caught reading the Herald Sun newspaper, Janine was quizzed about her family, Judi told us about her fun visit to Melbourne & everyone sympathised with me after Collingwood’s insipid effort on Friday night.

Top -  Jan & Wes ; Below - Barbara & Janine at The Food Gallery

I was exhausted after a very busy couple of days, so was pleased to come back home & read the weekend papers, watch the afternoon’s footy games & sew up a couple of small jumpers I had been knitting for Keeping Daylesford Warm. After breakfast with friends the day before, I had driven to Strathmore to spend time with Leanne. We were able to get quite a bit done before I left her and arrived back here in time to support Wes who was watching the Carlton game.

On Monday, Wes walked the boys & I did early gym before he got cracking in the garden & I caught up on paperwork, paid bills & started looking at the coffee table sized books in our library. Last week I had finally finished our fiction section and we have fewer books to the tune of 15 boxes.

The games we play with our pets!

That afternoon, while Wes was busy writing up the Maloney stories, I walked around Lake Daylesford. I hadn’t walked there in daylight since the geese & ducks were relocated & it was incredibly quiet. There are still plenty of small brown ducks, and I spotted 2 white ducks, but all the characters have been removed.

After our early walk on Tuesday, we had breakfast at Cliffy’s, where the food & service is always good & Wes can indulge in porridge, while I usually have an omelette. We bought a camellia, which Wes then planted. He spent the rest of the morning cleaning up in the backyard, which is a constant battle. Just as everywhere looks good, the rain comes down, the boys play chasey and we have a mudheap again!

After our early walk on Wednesday, Wes headed off to help Barbara with a big shop at Coles and anything else she needed. I had a busy morning starting with a manicure with Alanna in Hepburn Springs, back to Daylesford for a fringe trim & finally a pot of tea with Dot & Judi at Muffins & More, where we gave Judi a lesson on how to play Mah Jong to see if she would enjoy it. And she did – wiped the floor with us, winning 3 games out of the 5 we played!

Janine & I had a long overdue catch up with lunch at Chaplin’s in Trentham on Thursday. Mel gave us both a very warm welcome, her café was jumping with every table in use & live entertainment over the lunch time. Afterwards, we went for a walk along the High Street, and agonised over the shops that are closing down, those that had no-one in them & were relieved to find the odd busy one.

After early gym on Friday, I spent the rest of the morning on our library, with occasional breaks for pots of tea & the Age crossword. I had been given enough wool to knit three small jumpers & delivered them with some beanies to Hepburn Health to be collected by Jodie from Keeping Daylesford Warm.

  

Wes had taped the film, Ladies in Black, for me, as I missed it in the cinema last year. It was a delightful Australian film, set in Sydney in 1959 in the department store, Goode’s. I was amused to discover that the Sydney/Melbourne rivalry was fit & well as there were constant references to the fact that no-one would think of going to Melbourne, even though the Paris End of Collins Street was alive with select boutiques & Georges department store then.

Yesterday was quite cold, so we lit the fire & enjoyed a relaxing day listening to the Coodabeen Champions, reading papers, watching footy & cricket, with a bit of puppy cuddling thrown in. I made a big pot of my vegetarian minestrone, and we enjoyed it for lunch & dinner.

Different sleeping styles of Morse (top) & Lewis

It’s a cold morning again with light rain. We’ve walked around the Lake & now we are about to head off to the Sunday Market. Then we are meeting Barbara, Judi, Janine & Jan for breakfast, before I head off to the MCG to see if Collingwood can beat Gold Coast!