Breakfast at the Food
Gallery last Sunday was a very small affair with us, Barbara &
Judi. We ended up chatting with the older couple at the next table (60 &
70) with a 2-year old boy. They have formally adopted him, as their nephew is a
drug addict & can’t look after any of his 4 children. It was a timely
reminder that everyone is suffering in some way or other & it is best to be
kind if you can & not assume anything. We had thought they were
grand-parents, never dreaming they had taken on parenthood again at this age
& as part of a second marriage.
We had been invited to celebrate
Mick Leahy’s birthday at the Essendon Social Club, and had both been looking
forward to catching up with him, his wife, Sue, and lots of former Brunswick
Rotarians, which is how we met Mick. I was extremely asthmatic and decided I
should stay at home, as talking with little or no breath is no fun for anyone.
I was particularly disappointed to miss out on catching up with dear friends,
Marilyn & Robert Preston – Bobby & Mick went to school together &
Bobby gave the keynote speech at the gathering. Wes tells me he spoke
excellently, as usual, as did Mick.
Sue, Wes & Mick at Boathouse Daylesford 2016
That night, which was a very hot,
uncomfortable one, Wes discovered when he went to check on the boys at midnight,
that they had taken pillows & a bed out through the dog door onto the
decking, where it was cooler! God knows how they performed this feat.
Lewis & Morse catching up on sleep after their
disturbed night
We were all up extra early on
Monday morning for our walk around Lake Daylesford, where we met up with
Robert, back walking again after hurting his leg, and Tracye & Leo, who
were delighted when Lewis & Morse settled down after they had been given
their treats.
Wes washed them afterwards and settled
down to computer work, including the invitation to schoolmates to celebrate 55
years since they left St Bernard’s College, Essendon. Meanwhile I had a lovely
chat with dear friend, Sherryn Danaher, who I see so rarely now that we live in
Daylesford. We were both short of breath, so had to curtail our talking after
30 minutes. I hung up to discover messages telling me that Bob Kuzmanovic,
brother of my sister-in-law, Anka, had died suddenly & unexpectedly this
morning. Peter & Anka were on their way to Sydney, where he lived.
Tuesday was a perfect day,
although some rain would have been good. We woke to find that Ash Barty had won
her 1st round in the Australian Open. She is doing so well to
progress through to the 4th round, but it will be very difficult for
her to win with all the pressure & expectation on her. As for Nick Kyrgios,
his turnaround has been amazing – long may it last.
I’ve been to gym twice this week,
caught up with friends in person or over the phone, updated the computer, done
lots of walking & relaxed by watching more old episodes of Lewis
for the umpteenth time.
Wes has visited Barbara daily to
see if she needs any help while she continues with bed rest to facilitate the
recovery of her burnt foot. He also went to Ballarat to pick up spirits &
address labels – at different places of course. He spent ages washing down all
our decking after everywhere turned brown in the latest rain. We had a dust
storm followed by 30mls rain & much of our home changed colour overnight!
We weren’t on our own & those with cars out in the open were moaning
loudest.
As well, we were shocked to
discover that the young man killed in a car accident at Coomoora (5 minutes
outside Daylesford) was Nathan aka Nash Cummings. I first met Nathan
when he was 10 and he asked if he could play with Bilbo & Frodo, who were
in the gutter outside Sweet Decadence Café, where Nathan’s mother
worked. He played with them for a while then charged off to the $2 shop &
came back with combs & toys for them. Over the years we met often – mostly
at Daylesford Footy Club and I would let Nathan walk the dogs around the oval
at half-time during the footy. They invited him to our place to play & I
gave him some Collingwood stuff as he was a big fan. As an adult, Nathan still
had that generosity of spirit that he showed as a child, and he will be much
missed by many of us here.
Nathan & his
partner Lana
On Friday afternoon, our
neighbours, Rob & Dene, came over with a bottle of sparkling shiraz, we
provided some biscuits & cheese & the second bottle, and a very happy
time was had by all on the decking. Even Lewis & Morse were so thrilled
with Rob & Dene being here, that they let their dinner time go by without a
murmur. I did eventually feed them about 45 minutes late.
While Wes visited Leanne in
Strathmore on Saturday to help with a few things, Rob, arrived back here with
his wonderful extendable window washer & we tackled our exterior windows,
which haven’t been cleaned for some years. George Weiss had been doing them,
but no longer has a partner helping him & ours are too many & too high
for someone working solo. Rob had warned me that I would get wet & I did –
had to start again after we finished with a fresh shower & clean, dry
clothes. It took about 2 hours with Rob helping me for the first hour and me
managing the rest. I can’t believe how good the view is, and I am slowly taking
down the flywire screens & cleaning them as well.
You might remember that I had
asked Tassal in Tassie about their cooking salmon which had disappeared from
our local shops. I finally received a reply telling me that selected Coles
supermarkets now had the salmon, so Wes dropped into the store in Bacchus Marsh
on his way to see his cousin, Glenn Testro, and snaffled 7 packets. We are so
relieved.
Lewis & Morse
eating cabbage at the Sunday Market last week – they are champing at the bit to
do it again this morning!
Today is Australia Day, aka Invasion
Day – it’s a perfect morning here & the walk around the Lake was
extra special with a luminous pink sky as dawn broke.
We are busy getting ready to go to
the Market, but it is never quickly enough for the boys, who are running around
the house in excitement – Sunday is their favourite day of the week. After
breakfast we are hoping to drive to Lexton, one of many small towns affected by
bushfires, and spend some time there. All these towns are crying out for
visitors and today seems a perfect chance to visit.
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