This morning it was quite a shock
to wake to dark again when we rose at 5.50am. It won’t be long before the days
get longer & we will be complaining of too much daylight. Our week started
with a lovely breakfast at The Food Gallery, where David &
Sandy were last-minute acceptances joining us, Barbara & Janine. Nearly
everyone chose something different to eat & we felt obliged to leave before
10am as there were queues out the door. Good for business, not so good for
locals enjoying a lazy meal together.
Wes spent the afternoon at
Franklinford with Peter O’Mara, while I had a quiet one reading the weekend
papers, doing the crosswords & watching the Australian women win a T20
against Sri Lanka in fine style at the beautiful North Sydney oval.
Wes has been repairing damage to beds caused by
excited Labradors playing chasey, as well as planting pennyroyal & seaside
daisies. All the rosebushes are in full leaf & we still have the occasional
daffodil & hyacinth – not sure where the tulips went this year or perhaps,
they are yet to appear. The lavender is out, the rosemary is flourishing,
camellias are at their prettiest & one of our lemon trees is finally
budding!
We had planned to walk the Wombat Trail
on Tuesday morning as the weather seemed perfect. Lewis & Morse were very
happy to have breakfast at 6am & stood around watching our every move,
waiting to see what would happen next. We drove to Trentham & started the
walk at 7.30am, finishing 90 minutes & 8.5km later. After giving the boys
an apple and a big drink of water, we headed for Chaplin’s, where
we sat on the veranda & enjoyed mushrooms on toast with feta to accompany
our hot drinks.
Top - Karen with Lewis & Morse in
the old Trentham racecourse & below - Lewis & Morse at Chaplin's
We were delighted to see our old friend, Bob White,
turn up while we were sitting there and met three of his friends as well. Chaplin’s
was busy as usual with Melanie greeting everyone by name, smiling as
she remembers what you like to drink, which makes you feel so very welcome.
On Wednesday morning, we were pleased to see our
friend, Barry the fisherman, back in position after 5 weeks in Thailand, where
he had to solve problems on two projects. He was looking well but feeling the
cold. We had hoped Lewis & Morse would be weary after their long walk the
day before, but youth is on their side & they were frisky & excited despite
the early frost.
Judi & I played Mah Jong & she now has 6 different
hands at her disposal, which is fantastic. She is learning very quickly &
it won’t be long before it suddenly all makes sense. Dot was unable to come
& we did miss her. Wes helped Barbara with a big shop at Coles Supermarket,
which was no doubt a social time for them both.
Nick Massaro had mentioned while he was giving me a
massage that he was looking for a fridge to store his honeycomb as he now has 4
beehives & his little drinks fridge wasn’t adequate. Wes & I were
delighted to be able to help with our spare fridge, which is a good Fisher
& Paykel, that we found handy when we were hosting Christmas
mornings & Aperitifs. Now that we don’t do those things, the fridge has
only been in use to hold tulip bulbs. Nick & Warren were able to get the
fridge onto Nick’s trailer on Friday morning while I occupied Lewis & Morse
by involving them in a Skype phone call with Leanne.
Wes with his very attentive
sous-chefs learning how to make fish pie!
Wes had spent Thursday with Leanne & helped her
with some jobs she can’t manage. Meanwhile I visited my doctor, Greg Stewart,
where I discovered that I have strained a ligament in my foot & am taking
anti-inflammatories in the hope that helps with the discomfort. Afterwards I
had a lovely lunch with Di Lyttleton. Whenever we see each other, we always
have so much to talk about & had promised we would meet for lunch & we
finally did. We chose Larder and it was a good choice, as the
café has an excellent front-of-house manager, who makes sure everyone is happy.
We both had the Nourish Bowl to eat – a beautiful quinoa-based salad
that was even yummier than I remembered.
After gym on Friday morning, I came home to washing
& ironing, crosswords, phone calls & resting after a busy week. Wes got
lots done in the garden, both with & without help. As well, I oiled our 40
years old wooden ladder & had to put it in the bathroom to dry as Morse was
very attracted to the O’Cedar. Michael Ivanchenko had kindly made a new top
step for it & I was keen to protect the wood from marks & spills. It’s
come up a treat!
Our foray into the Spring Racing Carnival yesterday
was a total failure. We were both very happy to watch the race at Flemington
& Randwick, with the 1st Women’s ODI against Sri Lanka at the
beautiful Allan Border oval in Brisbane. We’ll hope for better luck next week.
A blast from the past – June 1999
L-R: Wes, Brendan, Lib, Karen, Malcolm, Karen (AKA Lovely) & Tom
The boys are pacing anxiously as I write this,
begging me to finish so we can go to the Sunday Market, where Cory will have
prepared cabbage for them to eat & Geoff will have a treat ready for them
as well. We’re in no hurry to leave as we expect things to be running behind
this morning with the start of Daylight Saving.
We’ve got our fingers & toes crossed for Ash
Barty in the final of the China Open after she snuck in last night in the 3-set
thriller. We are missing the footy & watching AFL 360 each night, but there
is plenty happening with player movement between clubs & the Men’s cricket
will be starting soon.
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