Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 31st July 2022

 
Lovely cartoon from FB, thanks to Manny Spiteri

Our week started with Wes taking Morse to Eureka Kennels in Ballarat, to see how he would cope with a couple of nights on his own, away from us. 

On his return, Wes swapped cars & drove us both to Moonee Ponds Station, where we parked in a free Coles carpark & caught the Craigieburn line train to our respective grounds. We went through the loop, so I was first to alight & decided on Parliament Station, which has wonderful long escalators which remind us of London's Underground. This brought me out into Spring Street, near Hotel Windsor, and I enjoyed a lovely walk through the Treasury & Fitzroy Gardens to the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

Moonee Ponds Station

I arrived in plenty of time to meet my hosts, and was able to catch up with long-time friend, Gayle Gibson, for a chat in the MCC before Glenda rang to say she had arrived. Her dear friends, Peter & Irene, were our hosts in the Hans Ebeling Room, just past the MCC area & just before the Collingwood Social Club in the Ponsford Stand. 

What a wonderful day I had - Glenda looked after me very well & had made sure there would be food I could eat - finger food, as well as light lunch options, which we washed down with sparkling wine. Our attendance included reserved seats out the front on Level 2 & we had an excellent view from the forward pocket. 

Collingwood's banner before the game

The match, against Essendon, had everything - the Pies started out of the blocks & recorded 6 goals before Essendon had scored. Then they kicked the next 5 goals, before taking a good lead in the third & fourth quarters. Suddenly in the last 15 minutes, we hit our straps again & managed to win with a stunning kick by Jamie Elliot after the siren. Glenda & I enjoyed the match, which had some great marks, tackles & goals, as well as each other's company. She is a Geelong supporter & they are favourites for the flag this year, sitting on top of the ladder & looking good. 

Meanwhile, Wes got into the Docklands just as Carlton kicked their first goal & was very happy to see them beat Greater Western Sydney easily in the end by 5 goals. While I was living the high life, he caught the train back to our car, and drove to the outskirts of the MCG, where he waited for me to join him after my game. 

We enjoyed sleeping in the next morning & I spent most of the day washing every item of bedding & clothing that Morse owns. School was a wonderful interview with one of our current favourite Crime authors - Nicci French, who is actually wife & husband team - Nicci Gerard & Sean French. The interview was well hosted by someone who had read their books & asked questions that drew them out. If you are interested in seeing it, here is the link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK3QM3Yuvn0

On Tuesday, Wes headed off early while I was chatting on Zoom to my sister, Leanne, & later, friend Terry Borg, to collect Morse. We were both delighted that he had enjoyed his stay at Eureka Kennels, had coped with all the different staff members & most of all had not been stressed by all the other dogs. He was very happy to be home, but we feel confident that he will cope for 10 days in December, while we drive to Adelaide for the Day-Night Test against the West Indies. 

Morse settling back to life in Daylesford

That afternoon I had a facial at EKO & when I returned home, Wes had made a vanilla mud cake, which was very welcome for afternoon tea. He's rather thrilled with cake-making, not so delighted with icing, but each time it gets better.

Judi & Dot couldn't play Mah Jong this week, so we took the opportunity to give our guest room a good clean - shifted all the furniture, vacuumed, dusted, polished & put everything back again. Our new modem arrived & we installed it, but we still didn't have NBN, which meant I was unable to join in my usual Thursday morning Old Friends' Zoom.

On Friday I visited a local podiatrist, who is conveniently situated inside Springs Medical Centre. Peter is from Auckland, but fell in love with Melbourne when he was a child & now lives in Castlemaine. He did an excellent job with my feet & I am thrilled to be able to have treatment locally instead of driving to Ballarat. 

Yesterday, I had enough energy to go to the footy, which was an early game at the MCG. Wes & Morse took me to Woodend Station mid-morning & collected me afterwards. I had made a pot of vegetarian minestrone soup on Thursday for dinner & we reprised it last night with toast, preceded by a piece of Shropshire cheese, that I was finally able to track down at local shop, Winespeak. Our lovely ex-neighbours, Rob & Dene, had served this cheese to us once & we had been keen to repeat the experience as it was so yummy. 

Pictures from the 90s - firstly, Karen with Gayle Gibson &  

Karen, Wes, Karen (aka Lovely) & Joyce (aka Spits) - the team at Maloney Insurance Brokers

Joyce & Gayle share a birthday & birth year, and their husbands, Fraser & Manny share a birthday too, but were born 2 years apart. I enjoyed speaking to both Joyce & Gayle on Friday to wish them well & thought a photo or two would be appropriate! We have experienced so much together & have some wonderful memories.

Sadly, the Blues were unable to beat the Crows at the Adelaide Oval last night, which was very disappointing for all their fans, especially Wes, who had high hopes. Also, sadly, singer, songwriter & storyteller, Archie Roach, died yesterday after a long illness. 

The Australian teams are doing well at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, which w have been unable to see because of the 9-hour time difference. We hope to catch up on replays when we return from visiting Leanne today.

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 24th July 2022

Poor Snoopy!

Last weekend was the start of Borealis on the Lake - bringing the Northern Lights to Daylesford. We weren't able to go to the first weekend, but plenty did & loved it. We had hoped we would be able to see from our vantage point, but the weather wasn't conducive. Here is a stunning photo from the organisers:

Some of the highlights of the past week include:

• Catching up with friends by phone, Zoom & email - I seem to have spent much of the last month coughing, and it is good to be able to chat without too much difficulty - although the quality of our Zooms suffered as our NBN was very slow

• Breakfast with Gillie at Harry's Hepburn - a café we hadn't tried until then & the rave reviews were spot on as far as staff & vibe goes. The choices for breakfast were quite different, exotic & colourful

• Morse meeting up with two more old friends - Tracye & Leo were out early one morning & about to turn back when they heard Morse - he recognised them from quite a distance & it was a joyful reunion

• Wes catching up with lots of old Brunswick Rotary friends at Mal Dubock's funeral on Monday - Mal's family would have been delighted with the turn-up

• The Adventure of the Missing Teaspoon - I decided to clean all the silver & realised we were missing a teaspoon, so put out an alert. We checked picnic baskets, under the house, sugar bowls & spice jars with no success. It looks as though it's gone the way of a dinner fork, a bread & butter knife & a dessert spoon & found its way into the bin!

• Lovely sunny days after very cold mornings - I have been able to walk to Vincent Street most days & I've noticed that so many more shop fronts are empty - businesses have closed, merged or moved - mostly post lockdowns. With COVID cases surging, now that most people are taking very few precautions, many hospitality venues are short-staffed & choosing to close two days a week to cope. 

• Wes taking Morse with him for a fishing afternoon at Newlyn Reservoir - everything was perfect except for the small matter of fish - nothing rose to the bait, but both enjoyed the outing. 

John Hardwick, Bob White & Tom Tyrrell at Mal's funeral

Barry Cross, Joe de Simone, Tom Tyrrell & Wes at Mal's funeral

Morse & friend catching 40 winks in the afternoon sun

On Tuesday night, in spite of all the pleas from Hepburn Matters, including another excellent interview by Wes that morning on ABC Ballarat radio, the Council voted 4-3 to sell The Rex, a most unpopular decision locally. 

We decided not to attend Paul Laurence's funeral on Friday and watched it on delay instead. We felt it would be difficult to keep our distance from so many friends who were there to support Robyne and were glad it was such a wonderful celebration of Paul's life. 

Yesterday our failing NBN got even worse, so we contacted Telstra as requested, only to be told after 45 minutes, that our modem was faulty & a new one would arrive within 5 working days i.e. next Friday at the earliest. We have been experiencing difficulty with streaming, and have no home phone either. 

Today, after the Sunday Market, Wes is taking Morse to Eureka Kennels to give him a taste of kennel life on his own. If he copes OK, we will go ahead with our trip to Adelaide for the cricket, if not, we'll have to rethink what happens in the future.

Morse enjoying the serenity at Newlyn Reservoir

We are both off to the footy - driving to Moonee Ponds station, where we will park & catch the train to our respective grounds. Wes has the early game at Docklands, and I have the mid-afternoon match at the MCG. I have been invited by Glenda Rozen to be her guest in the Hans Ebeling Room in the MCC, which is a wonderful thrill. I can't remember the last time I was invited to the footy in Melbourne! Last night the Doggies beat the Demons in a close game & kept their Finals hopes alive. We are hoping our teams can also score wins & stay in the eight.

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 17th July 2022

 
Morse sometimes needs to bury his bone too, but he is always happy to point out the spot if you should ask

Last Sunday, we took two cars to the Market, so that I could do the fruit & vegetable shopping with Yvonne, while Wes took Morse down to Jeff's stall to get a bag of pigs' ears strips, which are his bedtime treat. I headed off to Melbourne & had a great run, both ways, and a lovely visit with Leanne. Peter, the handyman, had done some work for her, and she was thrilled to be able to show me all the improvements he had made, both inside & outside. 

Early morning ritual of feeding the birds brings quite a variety to our backyard each day

Wes has been enjoying cooking different things recently - apart from main courses like Maldivian tuna curry & a Brazilian prawn dish with tomatoes & coconut, he also tried his hand at cake-making & produced a very yummy orange & poppyseed cake that was cooked perfectly. 

We were very sorry to hear of the death of a much-loved old Brunswick Rotary friend, Mal Dubock. His funeral is tomorrow morning in Bulleen & Wes will go, picking up Bob White in Trentham & John Hardwick in Essendon on the way there. 

Funeral director, past Rotary President & lovely friend - Mal Dubock in 2010

We spent school this week planning our trip to Adelaide for the Day/Night Test against the West Indies. We are hoping to go, but it depends on how Morse copes with boarding kennels on his own. He is booked in for a two-night stay later this month & we'll make a decision after that. If he copes well, we'll head off on 2nd December to Beachport for 3 nights, Kingston SE for 2 nights & 4 nights in a cottage in Hackney, near the Adelaide Oval, arriving back here on Sunday, 11th December. We fell in love with both Beachport & Kingston SE last year & are thrilled we can stay at both places.

Dot, Judi & I finally got together at Muffins & More after a break of some weeks. We spent the first 40 minutes chatting, before Dot & John had to go, then Judi & I played three games. She won two, having done some homework before turning up. Kelly at the café was thrilled to see us back.

Morse grabbing 40 winks in the afternoon sun - it's a dog's life!

We lost a much-loved Daylesford friend as well this week, when Paul Laurence died. He & his wife, Robyne, moved to Daylesford from Sydney in the early 2000s & very quickly became part of the fabric of this place. He was a very friendly, kind & caring person & will be much missed by us all.

Typical Paul pose with one of his goats

We were glued to the footy yesterday, starting with a close game in Adelaide, where the Pies were able to hold on yet again for a 5 point win. The next match was an unexpected fighting victory by North Melbourne against Richmond. By the time Carlton were hosting Geelong, I was back in bed, and we were hoping for a good display by the Blues. They put in a good 1st quarter, but the Cats were the better team & eventually won by 5 goals. I think they are the side to beat for the Flag this year. 

Finally, a funny story to finish off - most nights Morse comes into our bedroom to check on us, but on Tuesday night he went one better & leapt onto the bed, finding himself between us. He settled down to enjoy this comfortable position, but couldn't stop his tail from wagging furiously & hitting each of us in turn. When he manoeuvred a spot on Wes's pillow, we felt he had taken a step too far & he was unceremoniously dumped & escorted back to his own bed. 

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 10th July 2022

 
All the labs we've been lucky enough to know would agree with Snoopy 100%!

After all the rain we've had, it has been quite nice to have some dry days. The mornings have been cold, even frosty, but we've had sun most days & temperatures getting as high as 12°. Wes has spent most of his days out in the garden, finishing off the stacking of firewood & pruning roses (122 at last count). Morse goes out to join him, but gets bored quickly & retreats inside to the comfort of one of his many beds.

I've been improving slowly - getting up & dressed each morning & lasting as long as I can before retreating to bed. I've been able to honour my Zoom commitments, as well as do the shopping & keep on top of computer work. 

Nurse Morse

The co-ordinator of my exercise programme, Millie, finally got me into the earlier Daylesford class, which starts at 11.30am. I find it easier to make that time, even if I'm not feeling 100% & am very grateful. On Thursday, there were only four of us, and all bar one was wearing a mask. 

On Friday we had a lovely catch up with Bronwen Scarffe, who used to live in nearby Porcupine Ridge. We met her via Daylesford Rotary & were very sorry when she & her husband, John, moved to Moonee Ponds. Bronnie had come back to Daylesford for the Rotary Changeover, which was held at The Convent's Altar Bar, the night before. We met her at Bad Habits café for brunch - she & I both tried their mashed avocado on sourdough with red pepper, feta cheese & poached eggs, while Wes had his usual tomato, eggs, bacon & tomato sauce. 

Wes, Bronnie & I - thanks to Beck Walker, who was our waitress & took the photo. 

I forgot to mention last week the Tests in Sri Lanka that the Australian men are playing at present. All three are at the beautiful Galle Stadium with water lapping the boundaries - almost! The 1st Test was wrapped up in under 3 days, which was a shame as we have been enjoying the scenery courtesy of a drone which flies above the Stadium & Galle Fort. As well the Fox feed is showing some of the many lovely parts of this wonderful island & I am getting quite nostalgic.

We first visited Sri Lanka in October 1979, when Jane & Judi were living with us in Brunswick Road, and we decided we needed a holiday. We saw an ad for an inexpensive month in Sri Lanka & jumped at it. We have never regretted it and have many memories of that month - getting used to "Sri Lanka time" (slow); drinking Arak, tasting short eats, hoppers & seer fish; having massages in an old colonial hotel in the tea plantations of Nuwara Eliya; climbing the rock at Sigirya; fleeing from a snake charmer; wearing sarongs & thongs all day every day, and being invited home by the local bank manager, who had to rescind his invitation after speaking to his wife!

At the top of the rock at Sigirya - yes, Jane, Judi & I are all wearing thongs!

My favourite sign in Sri Lanka

Ws, Jane & Judi enjoying cool drinks & short eats

In 2011, Wes & I returned, as part of a One-Day World Cup tour to Sri Lanka & India. We spent extra time on our own with our driver, Neel, looking after us & taking us to many of the places we had visited before, as well as some new ones. We taught him that Aussies use the word "chook" for chicken, and once he trusted us, he loved it & said it all the time. As part of our cricket tour, we once again climbed the rock at Sigirya, this time I was wearing sensible shoes.

Me in the Kalawana Rain Forest - I emerged with more leeches than we could count!

Elephant nursery

Sharing short eats with Neel

On top of the rock - Karen with the late, much loved Norma Hutchins

The 2nd Test is going well for the Aussies, because quite a few of the Sri Lankan team have come down with COVID, although their batsmen rallied yesterday after the early loss of an opener. I did enjoy seeing Marnus Labuschagne make his first century outside of Australia & Steve Smith was spurred on by Joe Root's batting to make 145 not out, his best score in quite a while. 

Yesterday Wes & I tackled cleaning our bedroom - we shifted every stick of furniture & he vacuumed up every bit of dust, dog hair & cobweb we could find. While he did vacuumed the rest of the house, I polished all the furniture, brushed the lampshades and replaced everything. You need sunnies to enter that room now 🤣🤣.

Collingwood played North Melbourne in the afternoon - I had intended going to the match, but I hadn't visited Leanne for a month, mostly through lack of energy, and it was more important to see her than go to the footy - I couldn't do both in the one weekend. We won, but not until North had run out of energy in the last quarter. I felt very sorry for this bottom team, who played their hearts out & deserved to win for a change. 

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 3rd July 2022

Another priceless Snoopy cartoon!

Last Sunday was a real Brigadoon morning with light rain. We had fun at the Market collecting our fruit & vegetables & Morse was very well behaved yet again. Wes cooked me scrambled eggs for breakfast & we both settled down to do some work - Ancestry on his desktop for him, and stewing apples & pears & polishing furniture for me, until it was time to sit down & watch the day's games of footy. Collingwood played GWS at the MCG on a cold, wet afternoon & just managed to hold off the fast-finishing Giants in an exciting match. 

Morse sharing in the excitement of the footy

The next couple of days I spent in bed, after early shopping on Monday, as I had no energy & had symptoms of bronchial-asthma. We both did RATs in case Wes had picked up COVID at the footy, but the results were clear. The highlight of that Monday was an excellent interview that Wes gave Steve Martin on ABC Ballarat about Hepburn Matters & why saving The Rex was important to Daylesford. 

As usual, when I am unwell, Wes was wonderful, walking Morse, feeding me, the birds & Morse & helping me to cancel activities that I had planned for the week. Fortunately it was a fairly quiet one, and I postponed my Zoom chats & cancelled exercise classes & Mah Jong. 

On Wednesday I got up & dressed & we did some of my chores together - visited David & Annie's grave to refresh the pot of rosemary; pumped mineral water at Leitches Creek; delivered my & Di's knitting to the Daylesford Community Op Shop, and bought blueberry scones for afternoon tea, by which time I was back in bed! 

Ditto Thursday & I was able to Zoom with Kathy Lazzaro in Burwood, before visiting the Post Office, the pharmacy & Magic Pudding to replace Wes's coffee plunger which I had broken. Before returning to bed I made a batch of cauliflower soup, which is perfect for lunch on these cold days. 

Meanwhile, Wes has been busy in the backyard, clearing up the branches from the oak trees next door, sweeping, tidying up all our pots & making room under the house for all the gardening stuff that Rob & Dene couldn't take to their rental unit in St Kilda East. 

I keep forgetting to record the delightful habit that Morse has adopted since Lewis died. After he has been put to bed with a treat and we are both in bed, he wanders into our bedroom & checks that we are safely in our beds. He visits Wes first, nuzzles his hand, wags his tail & then walks around the bed & does the same to me. It is very cute & lovable. If he should wake with a fright in the night, or need reassurance, he reprises this act & happily trots back to bed when told to do so. 

Wes took Morse with him on Thursday afternoon on a trip looking for new fishing sites. They found themselves at Malmsbury and discovered a couple of good spots, but didn't have time to sit & fish. Malmsbury has a beautiful viaduct, site of a famous picnic with Ian & Robyn Robinson many years ago. Robyn had bought beautiful sandwiches from the bakery & made the mistake of putting them on our picnic table right under Casper's eyes. He promptly snaffled one & had to be restrained from gobbling down the rest!

Well-upholstered 8 year-old Casper keeping an eye out for anything coming his way in 2000 - early days living in Daylesford

On Friday morning, we delivered 10 boxes of books to the Daylesford Primary School for their Annual Book Fair later this year. As it is School Holidays, we were able to park at the front door for easy delivery. I managed to stay up all day, but retreated to bed after dinner, leaving Wes to watch Carlton & St Kilda play. Sadly for the Blues supporters, Carlton was outplayed & outcoached & lost a close game they had hoped to win by 15 points. 

Yesterday I spent washing dog bedding & towels after Wes had bathed Morse. It was quite cold outside, but Wes persevered with cleaning up in our backyard & he is nearly finished chopping & clearing the small branches of oak left after the recent pruning of next door's trees. The new owners of #80 Duke Street visited in the afternoon, but we didn't see them to say hello. Apparently they won't be moving in for a while, so I wanted to let them know that we would be happy to keep an eye on the house for them.

 Rob sent me this photo as he & Dene celebrated settlement on #80 with glasses of champagne

Last night, Collingwood unexpectedly beat Gold Coast by 5 points in the last 10 minutes of the game up there. I thought it was a danger match for us and nearly went to bed early. I was so tired when it was over that I forgot to make up Morse's bed & this morning forgot to give him his yoghurt with breakfast. I won't be trusting myself with anything too important today!