Daylesford Christmas Dispatch - Sunday, 25th December 2022

The spirit of Christmas is alive & well!

There is no Sunday Market this morning - the only time it doesn't operate is when Christmas Day falls on a Sunday. However, to look after their regulars, the Market was held on Friday afternoon between 4pm & 8pm. Perfect solution for us, although Morse was confused & wouldn't eat his pear pieces, so Wes had to put them in his pocket, rather than offend Yvonne.

We are heading out to Cliffy's shortly to buy hot drinks along with lots of other Daylesford & Hepburn friends. This is a lovely gesture by Liam Thorneycroft, who had the idea & raises money for the CFA (Country Fire Authority) each Christmas Day. We've already bought our raffle tickets online with fingers crossed as there are some great prizes to be won. 

Last Sunday, we visited Leanne, to help her with preparations for lunch today, and to talk through the latest with NDIS, as she has experienced quite a few "no shows", which is very disheartening. Leanne was able to tell us about a lovely visit she had received from our sister, Paun, and her husband, Brian, who made a quick road trip to Victoria to catch up with family & friends. 

Stunning dogwood

This has been a warm & enjoyable week here in Daylesford:

• We've both spent time in the garden & it is looking beautiful with lots of rose, green grass (amazing at the end of December) & all the herbs & seedlings are doing well too.
• I've had a few indulgences - facial, remedial massage, manicure & brunch with Judi @Muffins & More café
• We've feasted on Western Australian rock lobsters one night and enjoyed a whole snapper last night, preceded by oysters
• We've had phone calls & Zooms with friends & families, as well as mourned the loss of Daylesford icon, Allan Wolf-Tasker, died last Tuesday, far too soon, of an aggressive cancer. 

Allan Wolf-Tasker in typical pose standing between our mutual friend, Glenn Mack, and Warren Maloney, at a Daylesford Wine Dinner at the Lake House in 2008

We've both driven more than we usually do this week & I've had to avoid ducks, bunnies, black wallabies & kangaroos on my various trips around the Shire. The ducks are silly & just don't know to get off the road. If they do decide to move, they usually split ranks & head off in different directions, much to the chagrin of the motorists banked up waiting for them to cross to safety. 

Morse has settled back into normal life with us - an early morning walk, breakfast, a snooze, a cuddle, helping in the garden or the kitchen, another snooze, another cuddle, an afternoon snooze, dinner & a serious cuddle before bed. He is spending more time in our bedroom overnight - he used to arrive about 4am, but some nights he is in position at 10pm!

Morse enjoying a cuddle with Wes & an old friend (his mauve & green teddy which has been missing for some weeks)

Yesterday Wes spent working in the front garden as it had grown like Topsy & desperately needed a haircut all over. Meanwhile I picked up some last-minute items for us & Leanne, and started packing for my stay in Melbourne, starting this afternoon. Later Wes ventured into Vincent Street to pick up the oysters, and collected lemons from Candy & Hal's tree while he was out. I shared the lemons with Glen next door, who had her family with her sharing a Christmas Eve feast. She had run out of lemons & was most appreciative. 

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 18th December 2022

 
Morse wasn't interested in food of any description, just wanted to be with us, particularly Wes, when he arrived home

Last Sunday was driving back home to Daylesford & a very lovely drive it was, even though it was raining much of the time. We had made sure we ate breakfast before we left our Cottage & stopped three times for hot drinks & biscuits on our way. We left Adelaide at 7.30am & arrived back here at 4pm, where Wes promptly jumped into action & washed both cars. Pearl was looking particularly dirty after 1,600km on the road. 

Meanwhile, I unpacked our suitcases, turned on all the power points and did a couple of loads of washing. We sat down with fish & chips & a bottle of Riesling at 6.30pm, watched a bit of TV and found ourselves in bed & asleep not long after.

On Monday, we both woke early - me because I had thank-you gifts to deliver, supermarket shopping to do & medications to collect from the pharmacy. Wes collected Morse and drove to Wheatsheaf, where Yvonne had our fruit & vegetables waiting for us. Morse was delighted when he arrived home, raced around looking at everything, drank lots of water, ignored a bone & some celery & leapt into Wes's arms as soon as he sat down. 

There is always so much to do when you arrive home from a holiday, even one as short as ours was - the garden was beckoning, but rain, hail & wind with occasional sunshine put paid to that. I balanced Reckon, we both handled emails & Wes got back into the swing of Zoom chats with Barbara. 

We both walked Morse on Tuesday & enjoyed it, although Morse was back to his old tricks of barking at ducks & black wallabies. It was another rainy day, so we spent the day doing chores, delivering thank you gifts & opening the mail that had accumulated while we were away.

On Wednesday, Wes caught the train & tram to Carlton, to attend a small pre-Christmas reunion of old schoolfriends at the Lincoln Hotel. He really enjoyed his day out, and was quite tired when he arrived home at 6.30pm. Morse coped without him, but only just!

Great photo - L-R - John Atkinson, Chris Meehan, Dave Carey, George Traczyk, Mick Curran & Warren Maloney

Meanwhile, I had a day of getting things fixed - it started with my glasses, which I took to our local optometrist, because a lens was loose. They replaced both screws for free immediately & sympathised when I told them I had one pair of glasses that I looked after very well & things went wrong with them. On the other hand, Wes, who has four pairs of glasses, is very slack with them & nothing ever happens to his🤣

In the afternoon, Mark visited to repair our dishwasher & washing machine. The former had a piece of glass stuck in the drainage pipe outlet & the latter was leaking water. He fixed both issues & showed me how to do it myself in the future. What a gem!

On Thursday I was finally feeling on top of things here and was free to have a lovely catch up with Judi, after I had visited my doctor, Ellie, for a final check-up this year. We had planned brunch at Muffins & More, but it was closed as that area of Raglan Street had no electricity, so we ended up at Pancho, where we enjoyed very yummy meals & smiling service. 

Sardines on toast & omelette with smoked trout

That afternoon, Wes headed off to Victor Szwed's place for a boys' sausage sizzle & film afternoon - with Jeff Bain, Brian Nash, Danny Moynihan & a new chum, Ivan. He really enjoyed the get-together & it was good for Morse to have to cope without him again, although when Wes arrived home, it was dinner time & Morse abandoned his meal to greet his Daddy with great enthusiasm!

The next morning, while Wes had a well-earned rest, I delivered more of our Christmas thank you gifts and had some wonderful responses. The best was at The Convent, where Tina invited me to have a pot of tea and sit with her for a chat. When I left, she had given me a bottle of sparkling to celebrate our Anniversary back in June & a bottle of shiraz, which she meant to give Wes for his birthday last month. 

These stunning Christmas lilies were waiting for us when we arrived home last Sunday - thank you Judi - we love them & the perfume is beautiful!

Yesterday was fun - we both spent the morning in the garden - me planting Jalapeno chillies, purple petunias, Roma tomato seedlings & cucumbers. Wes did some pruning and mowed everywhere, so the back yard looks cared for again. Afterwards we drove to the Great Western Hotel in Ballan, for Christmas lunch with our friend & current neighbour, Glen, as well as our old neighbours, Rob & Dene, who will be moving to Ballan next month. 

We enjoyed a wonderful catch up over good food & wine in a very relaxed atmosphere. I suspect this hotel will become Rob & Dene's local very quickly as their new home is within walking distance of it. Dene was delighted with the small posy of Pumpkin Patch roses that I had picked for him, and in return we were both thrilled to receive one of his home-made Christmas cakes, most of which will travel with me to the Windsor on Christmas night, and provide sustenance during the Boxing Day Test. 

We came home to watch the rest of Day 1 of the Brisbane Test, with Australia 7 runs behind South Africa's first innings. However, we still have 5 wickets in hand as we have much more batting depth than they do. It was an exciting day's cricket with 299 runs scored & 15 wickets taken. Our friends, Jane & David Knox were there and caught up with other mutual friends, Chris & Bill Waterhouse (pictured) after the game. 

Adelaide Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 11th December 2022

Poor Morse will be feeling like this not knowing we are picking him up tomorrow morning

When I left you last Sunday, we were heading out for breakfast and ended up at the Waterfront Café, where we tackled eggs benny & a vegetarian stack both of very large proportions. Once again the staff were lovely & friendly, tables were well-spaced & the service was prompt & smiling. It is a real hub for the locals, who were busy getting takeaway coffees as they walked their dogs or themselves along the beach. 

Vegetarian stack with haloumi, tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms & an egg

We had planned a quiet day and Wes even went back to bed late morning, as we were still recovering from the lethargy we experienced with COVID. Shortly after he fell asleep, a young earnest guitarist set up his spot outside our bedroom window & proceeded to entertain the hotel guests in the garden until 4pm. As well, the unit above us had a young child who ran around their lounge & bedroom non-stop, probably wearing hobnail boots!

After the cricket finished, we went for a walk to Rivoli Bay deli, where Judi & Michael had suggested we try the smoked trout. We bought a packet & Wes forked it through spaghetti that night for a very yummy, simple dinner. 

On Monday, it was too cold, windy & wet to walk anywhere, so we packed up & drove to Robe for a late breakfast, finding ourselves at Drift Café, where we enjoyed Chili chorizo scram & Chili spinach scram (think scrambled). It was very popular, the staff were lovely & the food was excellent. Afterwards we went for a long walk to the waterfront, along the boardwalk & back to our car. 

Our next stop was Kingston SE, which we reached early, so took a deviation to see The Granites. Our accommodation here was a lovely cottage, with everything you could wish for, including air-conditioning that went as low as we wanted, and cei3ling fans. Our generous host, Wendy, had left oodles of provisions including a lovely bottle of sauvignon blanc. 

The Granites - Coorung

We walked down the pier in the afternoon & spotted a pod of dolphins leaping & swimming together - they were too fast for me to get a photo or video, but it was lovely to see them.

The next morning we had a leisurely start before enjoying a 5km walk along the Kingston beach. Apart from some surfers, we were the only people on the beach. We had enough energy to go out for dinner - the local pub, The Royal Mail, offered a large menu, and we couldn't finish our pepper steak & fish & chips.

On Wednesday, we said goodbye to our lovely cottage & drove to Adelaide, hoping to stop at a quirky cafe in Meningie that we discovered last year - sadly it has changed hands & wasn't open at 10am! We had planned lunch with Jenny & Graham Ellender, Daylesford friends, who now live in Adelaide & enjoyed a good catch up at the National Wine Centre, which was busy with Christmas functions & a conference. We have a love of Labradors in common & they were very sad to read about Lewis's death in our Christmas letter. 

We were about 2 minutes from our present accommodation, Athelney Cottage, tucked away in a quiet street not far from the city & a pleasant 30 minute walk to the Adelaide Oval. The owner, Rosie, greeted us after we had unpacked & parked the car in the street. This is a lovely old-world cottage full of books, paintings, cushions & provisions & we were very comfortable for the 4 nights we have spent here. 

We headed off to The Flying Fig, a wonderful Jewish deli in North Adelaide that we found last year, when our previous favourite breakfast spot had closed. This has changed hands, but not menu & there were the same amazing numbers of choices & interesting meals to be had. Wes finds it hard to go past the bagels with smoked salmon & plump capers, while I enjoyed the baked eggs.

Beautiful baked eggs

After breakfast we went to Rundle Mall, where we were successful in getting everything on our small shopping list except for The Age newspaper. Our usual newsagent had disappeared & we didn't find another. We drove back home to our cottage, got changed & organised & set off on a delightful walk to the ground via the Botanical Gardens & the Zoo. 

The first day was wonderful - we were at ground level for a change, a bit hot, but we were well-protected & at intervals teenagers came around offering free sunscreen, water & red frogs! We stayed to see Marnus Labuschagne get his century & were back home in time for Travis Head, who batted very attractively, to score his. 

The smallest supporter at the game

On Friday, we headed to the Adelaide Central Market after breakfast at The Flying Fig, where the owner greeted us warmly & we sat outside for a change. We love this Market & once again were successful with our small shopping list, although we had to drag ourselves away from the book stall with its wonderful selection of crime novels.

It was another warm day at the cricket & we stood out of the sun for some of the time. The Aussies played well with both Labuschagne & Head making 150+. We left when the West Indies were batting & had lost a wicket, arriving back here in time to see the last hour of play.

Fox Cricket setting up pre-game commentary

Yesterday morning we headed back to The Flying Fig for our final breakfast, which was the best of the lot - Middle Eastern eggs. As Wes said we started & finished our holiday with fried egg breakfasts. Afterwards we went to visit St Peter's Anglican Cathedral, but as we parked, a funeral hearse pulled up, so we gave that a miss & drove to Melbourne Street, which has been the site of most of our previous visits to Adelaide. 

It was 35° as we walked to the Adelaide Oval for our final day at the cricket, which included a glass of Pimms.  I was able to swap our seats in the sun for better ones in the shade & we sat under giant fans offering a welcome breeze. The cricket was entertaining, but we left early and arrived back here in time to see Scott Boland take 3/0 in another stunning second innings bowling effort. 

We've woken early & hope to be on the road by 8am, which should get us back to Daylesford by 5pm tonight. We've had a wonderful break & are feeling rested & relaxed. It will be good to see Morse tomorrow, as well as get back to our usual routines - and, of course, Christmas is only a fortnight away!

Middle Eastern eggs - not sure we can wait another year to taste this dish again!

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 4th December 2022

We're feeling the guilt - Morse is in Eureka Kennels while we are gallivanting around South Australia!

We had a busy week getting ready to go on holidays - isn't that always the way? Last Sunday, after a quick trip to the Market, and a speedy washing & putting away of goodies, we drove to Strathmore to spend time with Leanne. It was quite a long visit as there was lots of do, apart from wishing her a very early Happy Birthday. 

That afternoon, we were thrilled to see the Melbourne AFLW team win their first Premiership by narrowly defeating Brisbane in a hard-fought, engrossing game of footy in Ipswich in 31° heat. Their captain, Daisy Pearce, was elated & couldn't stop talking, smiling, congratulating & praising - her post-match interview was most memorable!

Gorgeous bush in our front garden

On Monday, we spent School designing our Christmas email, which was delivered on Thursday morning with our Christmas letter attached. Google has enabled us to do so much more with emails than we ever could with Outlook, and we are grateful that we made the change during early COVID lockdown. We still use Word documents & mailing systems, but Google Email, Calendar, Contacts, Sheets & Keep is far superior to Outlook's similar programmes. 

Wes spent the whole of Tuesday in our garden, getting front & back ready to cope without us. I'm not sure the weeds take any notice, but every gardener I speak with assures me that the weeds are bigger & better this year after all that rain, which at least makes them easier to pull out by the roots. 

On Wednesday I had a fringe trim, while Wes vacuumed the floors & did end of month back-ups on our desktops. Daylesford town was fairly quiet, but will be very busy by the time we get back home I am sure. That afternoon I was glued to the first day of the 1st Test against the West Indies in Perth, which saw Australia rally from the loss of an early wicket to be 2/293 at stumps. 

Healthy strawberry patch

Wes spent Thursday weeding in the front garden, hosing everything that needed it, including the cars, and doing a last mow of the back. I enjoyed a good final Zoom for 2022 with Old Friends. It has been wonderful to have the weekly contact with Kathy, Karen, Lib & Joyce this year, and we are grateful for the occasional participation by Squiz. Hopefully we'll all be fit & well & ready to start again on 19th January.

We set off for Beachport early on Friday morning, as Wes had taken Morse to Eureka Kennels the previous afternoon. I divided up the contents of our fridge between us, Glen & Judi, while Wes packed the car including my golf bag with each of us having six clubs (I'm left-handed, so we can't share). We had planned to stop in Dimboola for breakfast, but realised after a couple of hours that we weren't going to be anywhere near it. However, we were headed for Dunkeld & decided to break there instead. Wes had found a Trip Advisor recommendation for a Scottish Deli, which sounded ideal, even though we couldn't remember having seen one there on our last visit. On closer examination, he discovered the Deli was actually in Scotland!

We settled for Izzy's Café & enjoyed vegetarian breakfasts served by smiling, uniformed staff, with good table spacing, self-serve napkins & plenty of water. Neither of us has had a fried egg for years, but our Irish waitress misread the request for scrambled eggs.

We arrived here at Beachport right on 2pm & checked in via various codes. Our apartment is spacious with views of the beach from every window. Our only problem is we can't lower the air-conditioning from 21°, so have been quite warm at night. Each night gets better as we find ways to cool our bedroom with the drapes closed during the day. The bathroom temperature is set to 26°, which is even worse, but I am gradually reducing that. Otherwise we are very comfortable with reclining leather chairs, good lighting & an excellent kitchen.

We had local fish & chips on Friday night - crumbed flake, calamari rings & yummy chips. The leftover chips went to the seagulls the next morning on our early walk, where we traversed the long pier as far as we could go without interrupting the fishermen. 

We had a longer walk after breakfast - along the beach, where there is a good boardwalk and then a well-kept path. The views along the way were lovely & we met plenty of dogs being walked or frolicking in the beach. On our way back we visited the Lobster Pot & bought a crayfish & oysters for dinner last night. The friendly staff cleaned the cray, added ice, lemon & parsley & sent us off feeling warm & fuzzy from the experience. 

Needless to say, we enjoyed a fabulous meal with a bottle of Cofield Sparkling Shiraz, while we watched the West Indian team fight back in the best possible way. 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 27th November, 2022

 
Dog owners can all relate to this!

It was wild & woolly last Sunday, but Wes managed to walk Morse & we both went to the Market without getting too wet. We did feel sorry for the stall-holders, who lose lots of customers when it is cold & raining unexpectedly in November. 

On Monday, Wes & Morse managed a walk before the rain came back down and I did the grocery shop at Coles - an inexpensive one as the shelves were bare of quite a few of the items on our list. Later I had a massage with Sarah, which did me the world of good & I felt more energised than I had since COVID struck us. The rain squalled around all day, punctuated by moments of sunshine. 

Wes & Morse tucked up for the afternoon

It was wet again on Tuesday, but Wes & Morse got a lap of Lake Daylesford done before it started pouring. I had Zoom chats with Jeff, Leanne & Jan & finished the morning with a lovely facial at EKO. 

On Wednesday, Wes & Morse had a moist walk early, and while I played Mah Jong with Judi, Wes vacuumed & washed the floors. Morse doesn't enjoy being locked out while this goes on, so he was pleased when I arrived back home & we were both allowed inside. 

In the afternoon Wes participated in two Zoom meetings - firstly Hepburn Matters, followed by our local ALP Branch Meeting. Two of the movers & shakers had come down with COVID, so there needed to be some tweaking of the duty roster for yesterday's Victorian State election. 

The next day I enjoyed a good chat with old friends - Kathy, Karen, Lib & Joyce before going in search of large Christmas serviettes in Daylesford for Leanne - I had no luck whatsoever & am only hoping that she has some tucked away in a cupboard that we find this morning when we visit. 

Friday was spent making Christmas puddings. Wes came up with the brilliant suggestion that I turn the mixture into two puddings as we don't really need the extra large size anymore, especially when there are only three of us having Christmas lunch together this year. 

Luckily, Judi had given me quite a lot of unbleached calico a few years ago & I could easily produce two pudding cloths. Morse didn't know what to do - the Sunbeam Mixmaster was going strong in the kitchen & Wes was mowing outside - he really doesn't like loud noises & ended up in the laundry, wishing he had ear-muffs I am sure.

Yesterday was the Victorian State Election. Along with lots of others we voted early, using the postal vote facility. However, Wes really enjoys handing out How to Vote cards, so he did the 10-12 shift at Daylesford Primary School and 2-4pm at Yandoit. He caught up with lots of friends & came home with news from them all. I visited the Daylesford Farmers' Market, but didn't fit in the Daylesford Agricultural Show. If you were a visitor here this weekend, there was so much to see & do, you were spoilt for choice. 

Busy afternoon at Yandoit - above Steve, the Liberal, tucking into homemade sausage rolls brought by a local for Ian Tinetti, who wasn't there. Below, Verna met up with a couple of friends, which made for a very hectic time outside the Yandoit School!

We sat glued to the ABC Election coverage last night & were delighted when Antony Green declared Labor had won their third successive team, with the loss of very few seats. There had been very little aggro at polling booths, leading us to feel that Premier Dan Andrews' message "We're all in this together" had struck the right chord. 

This morning, after the Sunday Market, we are off to visit Leanne in Strathmore. We are heading to Adelaide next Friday, via Beachport & Kingston SE, and will be away for her birthday, watching the 2nd Test against the West Indies. We are taking gifts for her & will have an early celebration. 

Our most prolific rose at present - the lovely climber, Fourth of July, which covers one of our water tanks in the backyard

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 20th November 2022

Snoopy sounds like a Labrador 🤣

We started our week with a visit to the Sunday Market, followed by a trip to Strathmore to spend time with Leanne. When we arrived, she served party pies & tiny vegetarian quiches with our coffee & tea at the dining room table, which was lovely. We had a great visit, lots of chats, fixed a few issues & helped each other with advice. 

That night we watched the Poms be far too good for the Pakistan T20 team in the Final at the MCG. We had bought tickets for this match back in January, never dreaming we would be recovering from COVID & not have the energy to go. 

On Monday, School was getting ready for Christmas - we fine-tuned our letter, printed it & bought cards & stamps. We even posted our 4 overseas cards in the hope that they would arrive before Christmas this year!

Wes has spent time in the garden now he has more energy, as well as washing some of our windows (a never-ending job); washing & vacuuming the floors, and cleaning the cars, which were grubby after the rain. I've stewed rhubarb & pears, picked roses & irises, and nurtured all our seedlings in the hope that insects & snails stay well away.

Stunning detail of our foxgloves

We both had appointments that we had rescheduled because of COVID. Wes visited the optician, where he was pleased to discover his eyesight hasn't deteriorated since his last visit. I went to see Dr Ellie with another suspicious growth, that turned out to be benign & was able to be frozen off. I also had my nails done by Juls in Hepburn Springs, and played Mah Jong with Judi at Muffins & More café. On Friday I had a check-up session with Jake, my exercise physiologist, who was happy with my progress & agreed with my post COVID strategy of easing back into it. 

We also had a few Zoom chats - I spent time with Leanne; with Terry Borg, who has just returned from a month in Thailand with her younger daughter, Laura; and with Old Friends. Wes chatted with Barbara twice, and caught up with the Overseas crew to discuss the American mid-term election. 

On Thursday, we celebrated Wes's birthday with lunch at Bad Habits Café @ The Convent. When we arrived, Marija explained that the café was unexpectedly full, even though there had only been four bookings, and suggested we sit in the parlour, which was perfect. We enjoyed grilled calamari salads, followed by raspberry teacake slices.

Warren & Karen about to hoe into teacake after he blows out his candle!

We made an unexpected trip to Ballarat on Friday to get shoes. Wes had bought a new pair of walking shoes from Nicole at Daylesford Clothing, but she doesn't stock Rockport, which meant I had to visit Faull's, which specialises in all sorts of shoes, including those for people like me with orthotics. Jackie didn't have my size, but arranged for a pair to be sent from their Geelong store & posted to me. Wonderful service!

On a sad note, we were sorry to read of the death of Gael Shannon, who we first met when we moved here in 2000. Gael was the partner of Danny Spooner, whom we had known well at Melbourne Uni, and she was a mover & shaker in the Daylesford & District Horticultural Society, which is where our paths first crossed. During my recent bout with COVID, she & I had exchanged emails & I knew she was terminally ill, but her death came more quickly than we expected. 

Lovely photo of Gael taken a few years ago

Australia & England are playing three One Day games of cricket, hot on the heels of the T20 tournament, and so far, the Poms have been unable to beat us. I suspect they are still nursing hangovers after their stunning T20 win, but it is good to see the Aussies playing with skill & spirit again.

As far as AFLW goes, Melbourne will meet Brisbane in the Grand Final next Sunday afternoon in Ipswich, after both teams comfortably won their Preliminary Finals. We're hoping Daisy Pearce can captain the Demons to their 1st Flag, after being such a leader of women's footy for so many years. 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 13th November 2022

 

We feel bad any time we have to leave a Labrador, let alone for a few days!

Thanks again to everyone who has kept an eye on us, sent messages, wished us well & generally empathised with our plight. It was strange not to be visiting the Market last Sunday, and we spent a very quiet day, enlivened by a close victory by the Collingwood AFLW team against the brave Bulldogs, which meant we got to play Adelaide yesterday, where we were beaten by a better side that coped well with the delays in play because of lightning!

Each morning this week, we woke feeling a little better than the day before, but not quite well enough to venture out in the world. We were very grateful for our neighbour, Glen, who posted cards, checked the PO Box, put out the bins & went to Tonna's for us when rations were getting low. The weather was lovely, and I wandered around the garden each day, noticing the odd rose & iris in bloom, as well as the lavender, carnations & petunias. We have lots of herbs doing well on the main decking, and some bush peas & radishes too. 

I planted these gazanias last year as seedlings & nothing happened. They've just flowered & I swear they are foxgloves!

Finally on Wednesday, we had both stopped shedding the virus, were negative when we did our RATs & went to Coles to do our supermarket shopping. It was a strange feeling being out & about after so long, but lovely to be back in control. I returned a library book, checked our PO Box, had a fringe trim with Lyndal & collected the latest issue of The Local. Wes went to Mitre 10 to get a plunger to unblock the downstairs bathroom sink & some new gardening gloves. He also stocked up on whisky & gin as we started to feel like drinking spirits again. 

Another gem from FB

We both enjoyed getting back into our Zoom chats, although we started slowly. Wes chatted with his Godson, Danny, in Queensland, as well as his friend, Barbara, in New Zealand. I had a couple of short sessions with Leanne, who had been very understanding & patient during the past fortnight. As well, I was able to catch up with old friends - Kathy, Karen, Lib & Joyce, who were all pleased to be back to normal with our weekly Zoom.

First small vase of roses

Yesterday, we woke with more energy & Wes spent the morning weeding the front yard. He filled three huge orange garbage bags & was very pleased with his work. Meanwhile I visited Wombat Hill Nursery & came home with punnets of cucumbers, basil & gazanias (?), as well as a stunning hydrangea. I planted the seedlings as well as some more bush peas, and I was thrilled with my work too. 

Red hydrangea

This morning, after the Sunday Market, we are off to visit Leanne and hoping the thunderstorms stay away while we are travelling. It will be good to see Leanne again & chat about Christmas plans, as well as do a few jobs to help her.

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 6th November, 2022

There's not much to report this week as we've both been lying low waiting for our COVID symptoms to pass. We have been isolating, of course, as we wouldn't want to give this to anyone. Thank God we were able to access antivirals, which probably diminished the degree to which we were attacked, but neither of us wants to go through this again.

Thanks to everyone who responded when they read the news - we were inundated with well-wishers by email, text, Messenger & What's Ap. I cancelled everything that was on this past week, but Wes, who was three days ahead of me with recovery, was able to handle a couple of Zoom chats. He also made meals when the soup ran out, produced hot lemon drinks at the drop of a hat & looked after Morse, who was very happy to be spending all his time with us.

Here is Morse yesterday, fresh from a bath, celebrating his 4th birthday

We watched Melbourne Cup week races at Flemington, put on some bets, won some, lost some, as you do & ended up square over the week. The win by Gold Trip of the Cup itself was most exciting & well-deserved & the crowd to see him was amazing considering the wild, wet & not so warm weather.

I went for a walk around Maloney Folly yesterday to see what had been happening in the garden while we were in bed & was delighted to see our weeping Japanese maple had done its thing. As well our only rhododendron now has a single flower & it won't be long before there are roses in bloom. The lavender & seaside daisies are going crazy & the banksia rose is climbing over the arches in the back.

We do hope to be back on track this week, although I have cancelled or postponed most activities as we have been warned about doing too much & suffering a relapse or just being too tired. 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 30th October, 2022

 

We started our week with a busy Sunday morning - delivered papers & magazines to Judi, pumped water at Leitches Creek & visited the Sunday Market - all before 8am. Wes had walked Morse early & the only blot on this perfect morning was when Morse started barking at an older gentleman entering the Market as we were leaving. We decided it was because the bloke was wearing a big hat which obscured his face & Morse didn't know what was approaching him!

I had walked with Wes & Morse for the first time in ages the previous Thursday, but then the rain came down & I hadn't been able to rejoin them. The walk is soft underfoot again after we had 42mls in 12 hours, but we are not in any danger, unlike everyone near swollen rivers & creeks. 

We spent School discussing our year in preparation for our Christmas letter (only 8 weeks to go) & were amazed as we always are at just what we have experienced during the past 12 months. As usual there have been too many deaths, and everyone we know is battling personal issues, but there is much to be grateful for, and we are. 

Wes has espaliered this flowering cherry & it has blossom for several weeks each year, much to our delight

Once again, I am grateful to everyone who stays in touch via Zoom, Messenger, email, text & phone. It is especially lovely to be able to see the person/s you are chatting with & I am so pleased that quite a few old friends are happy to keep this going. 

On Wednesday, Dot, Judi & I played Mah Jong at Muffins & More, where we said hello to friends, listened as visitors praised Kelly for her wonderful muffins, explained Mah Jong to those who wanted to know what we were playing & wished that we could hear each other more easily over the chatter of happy customers. One of Kelly's young staff, Holly, has finally gotten fulltime employment in her profession and will be leaving. Holly is typical of Kelly's staff - friendly, smiling & remembers names & orders. She will be missed. 

A number of my friends had recommended I read the book The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams & I finally got it from the Daylesford Library & am spellbound. It is such a wonderful & different book & I don't want it to finish. My reading is usually a steady diet of crime fiction, with the occasional novel thrown in for a change - what a change this is. Thanks for everyone for suggesting I read it & may I suggest that if you haven't tried it, please do as it is such a special story. 

Prolific pink azalea & tree fern near the front pond

This handful of white tulips appeared from nowhere - not sure where the red, yellow & purple ones have gone!

Our lives changed on Thursday morning when Wes tested positive to COVID after feeling unwell with headaches & coughing for about 12 hours. He suspects he caught it from someone at the Daylesford Cinema AGM on Monday night & wishes he had joined the meeting via Zoom instead of in person. I was negative, so Wes immediately moved into the downstairs guest bedroom & Morse went with him. The official advice was not to get a PCR, but to contact Springs Medical Centre, which he did & booked a telephone appointment with Dr James Walsh. 

Meanwhile I cancelled what was going to be a special day at the ICC T20 World Cup at the MCG on Friday - we had tickets in Bay 13 for a double header - Afghanistan vs Ireland, and Australia vs England, and had scored dinner in the MCC Members Dining Room when I entered the ballot. Morse was booked into Eureka Kennels for two nights & the owners very kindly offered to credit our deposit towards his next visit in December. The MCC cancelled our dinner booking & I put our cricket tickets up for resale. As neither of the matches was able to be played, we will be refunded the cost of our tickets.

I just loved this cartoon from Facebook during the week

Dr James arranged for antivirals & a puffer for Wes which I was able to get on Friday morning, by which time he was quite sick & sleepy. It rained all day, so Morse was very happy to lie in his bed next to Wes, sleeping when he slept, and getting pats when he was awake. 

This has been the pattern since. Wes has been unable to eat much, is drinking lots of water, can't read or listen to or watch TV or the radio & when he does feel able to sit up, is busy cancelling next week's activities. I had been very fortunate not to catch the virus, by taking precautions like wearing a mask when I deliver fresh clothes or drinks to Wes downstairs, using hand sanitiser all the time & staying upstairs where possible. 

We cancelled plans for bets on the Derby yesterday, as it seemed pointless, when only one of us was able to be interested & we can make up for it on Tuesday's Melbourne Cup Day, if we are feeling like studying the form.

I've woken this morning with all the symptoms that Wes had last Thursday & sure enough, in spite of all our precautions, I now have COVID too. As Wes said, at least I don't have to be masked in the house. Our next door neighbour, Glen, is collecting our stuff from the Sunday Market, which is wonderful, as Morse hasn't lost his appetite, even if we aren't particularly hungry!

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 23rd October 2022

 
It's been that way here for the past week or so 

Our week started well with a great visit to Leanne. No NDIS cleaner had brought a vacuum cleaner for the past three weeks, so we took ours & Wes gave everywhere a good clean, much to her delight. We also helped fill her bins, took some stuff for the op shops & enjoyed a good chat to boot! We were both tired by the time we arrived back home, where Morse had tried to bury his big bone in quite a few spots & had fallen asleep in exhaustion!

There used to be a third rhubarb plant in this bed before the bone was buried here

On Monday, Wes decided we needed entertainment for School as I was having a procedure to remove growths afterwards, and he chose the wonderful 1969 film, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, starring a very young Maggie Smith. What a wonderful film, based on the excellent book of the same name by Muriel Spark.

Maggie Smith in the title role

When we arrived for my appointment with Dr Ellie, she had chatted with another doctor & they had both decided it would be preferable to try freezing the growths off, rather than cutting them. I was very happy with that decision, so Ellie did some aggressive freezing & we'll see how they are in a fortnight.

It's been a busy week for Zooms - two good chats with Leanne, a lovely catch up with Jan Pengilley in Maleny, as well as a most enjoyable talk with Old Friends. Plus, I had a manicure with Juls, which can take anything from 1-1.5 hours depending on how much she has to say; a fringe trim with Lyndal, who has been working hard keeping her trotters on dry land during this rain, and a long-overdue brunch with Rhonda at Cliffy's.  

Instead of playing Mah Jong this week, Wes & I met up with Dot & John at Muffins & More for cuppas & a chat. The café was busy as usual & we greeted a few friends, as well as enjoyed seeing visitors gaze in amazement at the size of their meals! 

New doona cover in celebration of warmer weather

We were very sad to hear of the sudden death of old friend, Ron Paoli this week. Wes discovered Ron was in palliative care on Wednesday & exchanged texts with him - by Thursday he had died. There will be a celebration of his life next month. We met Ron & his wife, Rina, through Brunswick Rotary in the 80s & stayed in touch over the years. He will be missed.

Ron & Rina celebrating 59 years of marriage earlier this year

Yesterday was Cox Plate Day at Moonee Valley Racecourse - we decided to reprise our successful betting strategy of the previous week, and took a 4-horse quinella & trifecta in the Gold Cup, followed by the Cox Plate, plus a running double in those races. We saluted in the Gold Cup & got the running double, which put us ahead again. It was a stunning Cox Plate win by the 4-year-old stallion, Anamoe. 

In between watching the races, I saw the AFLW Collingwood team get comprehensively beaten by North Melbourne, which is looking like a Premiership threat at the end of the season. It was no better when the cricket started - the Kiwis blasted our bowlers to score 200 in our T20 game & we were all out for 111. Not an auspicious start to our campaign for back-to-back titles. 

Thanks to Jane Knox for this lovely recent photo of our friends, Terry McDonald & David Knox at dinner in Sydney