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.