Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 29th August 2021

        Lewis & Morse need to go to confession daily methinks (with thanks to Daylesford Pet Appreciation FB page)

We started our week with a lovely visit to the Sunday Market, where Ken carried my basket & bags to the car for me, Lewis & Morse greeted the odd local coming in, Yvonne provided amazing bounty & we found a stall selling scones & decided to try them for a change. 

After I had put everything away, shared some of our goodies with neighbours, Glen, Rob & Dene, and tidied the kitchen, Wes cooked scrambled eggs which he served on crumpets - a very yummy breakfast indeed. The sun was shining, so I picked a vase of daffodils to brighten the entrance of our home, balanced Reckon, did a back up & prepared for the footy - Collingwood & Essendon, two very old, bitter rivals. The previous Sunday, Wes & Jeff Bain had spent a very enjoyable time fishing together, but COVID put the kybosh on that recurring, so we settled down to enjoy the footy. The Pies were no match for the Bombers, who were Finals bound for the first time in years & played like they really meant it. 

Meanwhile, we were very sad to read of the death of long-time Brunswick Rotary friend, Ted Bailey, who stayed in touch over the years & found happiness a second time with his friend, Wendy Watson, after losing his wife, Maida, back in 1997. Ted was 92, but looked & acted younger & always had a glint of mischief in his eyes. 

We've had a big week of Zooms again - we both chatted with Jan Pengilley in Maleny; I spent time with Leanne on Tuesday & Friday; Terry Borg & I had a good catch up; Wes spoke with Barbara on Monday & Friday; we are catching up with Ian & Robyn Robinson on this morning,(in lieu of meeting up in person with Lewis & Morse in tow); Wes hosted a get-together of St Bernards' Old Boys; as well as a pre-Finals Footy chatfest with old friends, & was part of another very successful early morning Zoom with the overseas Jackson 8.

This was taken just before they took the left pillow outside, stripped off the pillowcase & removed the pillow label 😲

We discussed Spring plantings & Norton Cloud back-up during School on Monday. We decided to start yet another Keep note for our Spring plantings, in particular making note of failures, which seem to get repeated most years. We were both frustrated by Norton insisting we back up to the Cloud, and it took me until 1.15pm that day to work out how to disarm it, which I did for both of us with much glee. We love Norton, but not the extra sales pitches. 

I was annoyed to discover that I had run out of energy in the middle of the week, which meant I spent quite a few hours in bed - the only way to get back on track. As a result I missed out on a Zoom chat with Kathy & Karen, and had to postpone food shopping by a day. Wes was wonderful, as always, and happily provided meals & drinks to my bedside. I'm still not able to last the whole day out of bed, but this is much better than early on when I first developed chronic fatigue and was bed-ridden for days on end. We've obviously gotten much better at managing it. 

Latest knitting using alpaca as well as wool donated by Kathy & Maree 

We've been watching the footy as well as the Paralympics. Port's demolition of Geelong suggests they mean business; GWS & Sydney played a very exciting close match with the Giants surviving to win by a point, and Melbourne were far too good for Brisbane last night. This arvo we'll be keen to see if the Doggies can beat the Bombers to rescue their year, which has been spiralling out of control. 

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 22nd August 2021

 
Perhaps I should try my hand at quilting 🤣

What a wonderful breakfast we started our week with last Sunday after an enjoyable visit to the Sunday Market. There were 8 of us & the conversations flowed. Gary Thomas, the owner & chef of Woodshed Café, was also our waiter & barista as Zari was studying for exams. Our meals were lovely, very generous serves & the young waiter was attentive. Thanks everyone for making it such a fun time together. 

On Monday morning we discussed our trip to Adelaide for the Ashes Test & decided it is looking most unlikely at present, especially after increased cases everywhere & the absolute stupidity of 69 people gathering in a private home for an engagement party over the weekend in Melbourne. So selfish, when everyone else has been cancelling their parties & celebrations & wakes. 

In the meantime, our lovely neighbours, Rob & Dene, have put their home on the market again. If you would like a treechange with great neighbours & friendly labradors, please consider it - https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-daylesford-136998886 We are really going to miss them when they move.

Lewis making sleep tricky for Morse, who doesn't need to contort his body to get comfy

We've both been busy with Zoom again this week, especially with the extended lockdowns. I've chatted twice to Leanne, had a long catch-up with Jeff in Torksey Lock, and cheered up old friends in Melbourne. Wes has spoken with Barbara in New Zealand twice & sent/received copious emails from the Jackson 8. 

Wes hadn't been feeling well & ended up spending Wednesday & Thursday in bed, mostly sleeping, which is the way he recovers from illness. Lewis & Morse nearly went crazy looking for him & had to be given quick visits when he was awake. They love me because I feed them, but they adore him because he cuddles them & chats to them more than I do. He had a COVID-19 test on Friday morning just to be sure & received the all-clear 24 hours later. 

Meanwhile, I played Mah Jong with Dot & Judi, shopped, took Thursday's Herald Sun back to Kim at the newsagency in return for The Age - Steve very rarely makes a mistake in delivering our papers, but neither of us is interested in anything the former paper has to say!

It's been sad to hear stories of people from Melbourne being refused entry in local restaurants & shops. I understand that after 200+ days in lockdown over the past 18 months, people are getting stir crazy, but we only have to look at the numbers in NSW, which reached 825 yesterday to know that hard lockdowns are the best ways to stop the spread. We just have to try to obey the rules, get vaccinated, wear masks indoors & outdoors & care for each other. 

On Saturday, after COVID cases were found in Shepparton & Bendigo, our Premier, Dan Andrews, decided regional Victoria should go back into lockdown until at least 2nd September. This makes sense & should help stop the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant. Masks for children are now considered useful as so many of the current cases are young people & children, unlike last year when the older ones were most vulnerable and died. 

We cancelled Sunday breakfasts, Mah Jong, USA Classes, a get-together with Ian & Robyn Robinson, a trip to Ballarat to see the film, Respect, and looked at all the jobs & projects we can get stuck into here. 

Thank God for the footy to keep us entertained, even though both our teams bow out this weekend. What an exciting set of games we've watched so far - the Doggies just failed by 2 points in a thriller to beat Port Adelaide; Melbourne won after the siren against Geelong to take top spot; Hawthorn & Richmond played a draw to celebrate Alastair Clarkson's last game & Brisbane managed to score enough points against West Coast to make it into 4th place on the ladder. Carlton weren't disgraced losing to GWS by 14 points. I can only hope the Pies put up a good showing against Essendon this afternoon. 

Lovely photo of Carlton's much-loved Eddie Betts who retired yesterday - GWS wore their indigenous jumpers in his honour

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 15th August 2021

 

I'm sure our boys feel the same way about their dinner bowls! 🤣

We realised recently that our good intentions of drinking in moderation had fallen by the wayside, so we decided a couple of weeks ago to go back to our original plan - Mon-Wed dry & Thu-Sun please yourself. We are still sticking with that & probably sleeping better & feeling healthier.

When I left you last Sunday, we were heading off to the restricted weekly Market and decided to take Lewis & Morse as the sun was shining for a change. Yvonne was delighted & fed them their cabbage, while Ken, who hasn't been around in ages, was thrilled to chat with Wes & the boys as well. 

This is for Terry Borg, who tells me how much she looks forward to seeing Lewis & Morse each week in my Dispatch 

That afternoon Collingwood continued their trend of being unable to beat Hawthorn - it looked as though it would be a massacre, but we regained some poise & the margin was 19 points in the end. Essendon upset the ladder leaders, the Doggies, and for the first time in some years, every spot for the Finals is up for grabs with 2 rounds to go. 

On Monday, we looked at MyGov & Telstra Plus to make sure we were getting the best out of both organisations, as well as changing emails, pins & passwords. By the end of it we realised that we will need new phones sooner rather than later, as we don't have the technology to cope with wi-fi charging. That's a whole new ballgame!

Later that morning we received the unexpected & very welcome news that Regional Victoria would be going out of strict lockdown, although visitors are still not allowed in homes. We immediately contacted friends to make plans to catch up at breakfast, and reinstated cancelled appointments. I also enjoyed long phone calls with local friends, Dot & Sue, and caught up on their news. 

After Zooming with Leanne & then Terry, I was pleased to be able to have a manicure with Juls, although I didn't expect it to take 2 hours on Tuesday morning! Her first husband had died the previous weekend, so I encouraged her to tell me all about their relationship & marriage & she more or less downed tools & regaled me with wonderful stories. I had no idea that she had married an Australian former priest, who met & fell in love with her in the Phillipines. 

Wes was able to keep his appointment with our local optometrist, who has taken copious notes of previous visits & remembered that she was not to force him to accept any treatment against his will e.g. drops in eyes will not be tolerated under any circumstances. He came home with a good report, very little deterioration, no problem with driving & new bi-focals on the way. 

The latest crop of beanies & mitts, along with jumpers knitted by Di, which I delivered to the Daylesford Community Op Shop this week for distribution

Judi & I met at Muffins & More for toasted sandwiches & Mah Jong, which we stopped playing once the café got busy for the lunch trade. We enjoyed the catch up as well as familiarising ourselves with the game again after a few weeks' break. 

On Thursday, Wes had his early morning Zoom with the Jackson 8 and enjoyed it immensely. Meanwhile I had a good catch up after shopping with Kathy & Karen on our now weekly Zoom chats. We had planned to order take-away from Jackie's on Vincent that night, but when restrictions were lifted, we visited for lunch instead with our oldest local friend, Glenda Rozen, and caught up on her news, as well as told stories about her much-loved & missed husband, Joe. 

Our first few daffodils heralding the approach of Spring

On Friday we were able to socialise the boys at The Virgin Café, where the waitress made a fuss of them in the fog! We've had enough sunshine this week for Wes to spend time in the garden again. He chose some punnets of pleasure - Icelandic poppies & violas, which he has planted in the new rose garden & surrounds. 

Yesterday we spent in a familiar pattern - every second Saturday, Wes washes the boys & I wash their bedding & clothing. Six loads later, everywhere is looking much cleaner - until the next time. We enjoyed the Coodabeen Champions, followed by non-stop footy starting with another unexpected loss to the Doggies against the Hawks at Bellerive Oval. It got worse as the Blues were thumped by Port, the Saints were gallant against the Cats & the Pies capitulated and let Brisbane run all over them losing by 14 goals. 

Today's a new day - our walk around Lake Daylesford was beautiful with dark clouds reflected deeply in the water before dawn broke. We're shortly off to the Sunday Market and then will be catching up with 6 friends for breakfast. 

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 8th August 2021

 The perfect cartoon for COVID times!

Our week started beautifully with a good visit to the Sunday Market with Lewis & Morse, followed by a most enjoyable breakfast with friends Judi, Janine, Di, Jeff & Peta at Woodshed Café. The rest of the day was spent watching Olympics & footy, with the highlight being Emma McKeon's elevation into superstar status with her 7 medals. 

We said yes to a free Telstra TV and devoted Monday School to installing it, only to discover when reading the instructions, that it does nothing we don't already have via our Smart TVs & Foxtel packages. So, if anyone would like it, you are very welcome to it (with the proviso that you need to be a Telstra customer). The package gives you the ability to stream films & TV shows, watch live sport (not AFL) & free-to-air TV. You need a TV with an HDMI port, an internet connection & a TV antenna. 

Wes spent the morning creating a new garden bed for our beautiful pair of Pumpkin Patch roses that we bought to celebrate our Anniversary this year. Glen Tandberg has bought us a Greensleeves rose to go in with them, once Spring Park Nursery has supplies again. 

We usually like to plan an outing every second Tuesday, and it has been a film at Regent Cinemas, Ballarat recently. However, we weren't sure we wanted to travel in the rain & fog, plus no film leapt up & begged to be seen, so we settled for chez nous instead. While I was chatting on Messenger to my aunt, Jeff, in Lincolnshire, followed by a Zoom call with my sister, Leanne, in Strathmore, Wes produced a short list of 10 films available on ABC i-view & SBS on demand. 

Top of the list was the 2010 Mike Leigh film Another Year with a star-studded cast including Ruth Sheen, Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville and a cameo by Imelda Staunton. We had seen this when it came out and it certainly deserved a second look. One of Mike Leigh's strengths is what he knows about us all & we could spot friends, rellies & ourselves in this wonderful slice of life.

On Wednesday, Sandra came to clean & it was raining heavily, so we planned to take the boys to Castlemaine, (where we were promised sunshine), for a walk. It was just as wet there, so we headed to Harcourt, and finally turned off for Maldon, where we were able to take them on interesting paths for about 30 minutes. We saw an old mine, a huge old chimney, some footings for past buildings & ended up at the lovely railway station, where you can catch a steam train. We have done this trip, which goes to Castlemaine, and is great fun. 

Morse & Lewis sniffing the jonquils in Maldon

On Thursday, the number of COVID cases grew & it quickly became obvious that Victoria would have to go back into lockdown, which we did that night. We were so pleased we had enjoyed our drive to Maldon, bought some items that would not be available for the next week or so, and had a list of films ready to watch when the Olympics finish. 

The footy has been surprising to say the least - Geelong lost to GWS at Kardinia Park, which no-one expected; Carlton were beaten by Gold Coast, and lost any glimmer of hope of finals; and St Kilda picked themselves up & beat the in-form Sydney to be once more in contention for the finals. Collingwood is playing Hawthorn this arvo and I'm not confident.

Finally, we seem to have been blessed with more birds than normal this week. It starts early when the kookaburras laugh at us as we walk around the smaller part of Lake Daylesford. We arrive home to magpies carolling as they wait for their breakfast, and as I write this, there must be 50 birds on our back lawn - all chatting, sharing seed & oats, and dipping their beaks into the bird bath as they leave. Lewis & Morse are safely inside recovering from the walk, breakfast & post-prandial massages from Wes. 

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 1st August 2021

 

Wes is the writer in our family & this is for him 😊

Thanks to everyone who responded to my reports of our snow flurries - it was lovely to know you were reading & thinking of us. Sadly the snow didn't last, but the cold did and it was Tuesday before the sun started shining again. Wes promptly got out into the garden & did wonders moving pots and making decisions for Spring. We had discussed our fruit trees for this week's School, and decided to move some of the citrus out to the front up against the brick wall, which stays warm most of the time. The rest will get a severe pruning & admonition to be abundant with produce in 2022!

We've been glued to the Olympic swimming & so proud of all our Aussies, who have been performing at their best in front of their peers from the rest of the world. There have been plenty of other wonderful stories from all around the world in all the disciplines - just doing your best time can be a win for some of these athletes. 

Lewis & Morse enjoying the Women's Road Race

We have been given some quite considerable freedoms since Tuesday night - about to travel freely in Victoria, have treatments, visit restaurants & gather in groups (but not in our homes). We still have to wear masks indoors & outside, but that just seems very sensible & a small price to pay to avoid getting the Delta strain of COVID-19. 

Among the many Zooms & phone chats I've had this week, my favourite is probably the friend in Wheatsheaf, who told me that a pregnant kangaroo had landed up at her back door wanting help. She took her to the Wildlife Sanctuary and they rang her two days later to say she could collect the kangaroo, but did she realise that it likes toast for breakfast & prefers sitting at the table to eating it outside. My friend was planning to turn one of her sheds into a home with straw on the floor & an 8-slice toaster nearby. 😊😊

Judi & I met for tea & toasties at Muffins & More on Wednesday morning. We decided playing Mah Jong is not within the spirit of our new freedoms, but wanted to catch up & support Kelly & her staff who are so very good to us. There weren't many customers, so we were very pleased we did & left just before we were blasted out by some very strong wind & rain. 

We did enjoy being able to catch up with neighbour, Glen, outside Virgin Café, on Friday morning. Lewis & Morse were delighted, and took only a short time to settle down. We are so lucky to have these opportunities to spend time with friends & family as the numbers in Victoria continue to drop. 

Wes watching the Olympics with Lewis & Morse

On Friday, the Blues brought their A game to beat St Kilda comfortably, much to the delight of our household & many others to judge by the number of texts going to & from Wes's phone. We did keep an eye on the soccer & were delighted to see the Matildas beat the Poms in the soccer quarter finals in a gutsy game that went to extra time. 

Yesterday it was my turn to be proud as the Pies stunned the Eagles with the first eight goals of the match & finished up winning by 50 points. It has been rare this year that both our teams have won & we have had plenty to chat about on our early morning walks around Lake Daylesford. 

We're about to head out for our usual Sunday activities and will be able to take Lewis & Morse to the Market, before meeting friends for breakfast at Woodshed Café. It's the last morning of swimming, so we'll enjoy that before catching up on the athletics.

This daphne was a cutting from Nick Massaro a couple of years ago & it certainly likes the spot we chose for it