Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Saturday, 10th September 2022

 

I just love this Snoopy cartoon - hope you do too!

The Maloneys had a lovely Father's Day last Sunday. After the Market, we came back home for crumpets & honey. Later Wes lit the fire & we spent the day reading newspapers, watching AFLW matches & just relaxing. Morse had given Wes a book on modern Scotland that came highly recommended by the literary editor at The Age, and it seems to have been a hit, as were the chilli chocs.

On Monday, it was the first School of the month, which is now dedicated to cleaning. We had marked the start of Spring as a good time to clean the air-conditioner filters and exhaust fan covers. After that Wes got stuck into the cars, while I rearranged the lounge & polished all that furniture. We were on a tight schedule as I needed a car for my doctor's appointment at 11am. I made it in time & had an excellent visit with Ellie, who reassured me that a growth on my back was merely an ageing spot & she is going to freeze it off on Monday afternoon. 

After Ellie, I dropped in on good friends, Di & Jeff, to give Di some of the wonderful wool that Kathy Lazzaro had donated to me last week. Di was as delighted as I was, and I left her planning her next items. Like me she is thrilled with donations & since Keeping Daylesford Warm folded, they have been scarce. 

As the morning wore on, I realised I really wanted to go to the footy - tonight's game between Collingwood & Freo. So I booked an inexpensive single room in a hotel near Southern Cross Station & bought a reserved seat MCC ticket. 

Camellias galore down the sideway between Maloney Folly & #80

According to the Hepburn Shire Council, upwards of 35,000 people came to Daylesford for the Borealis, which finished last Saturday. That makes it a very successful event, which hopefully will become an annual thing. The only people grumpy about it are those Lake walkers who were frustrated by not being able to do full circuits. 

It's been another busy week for Zooming - I chatted with Leanne twice; with Terry Borg who is making plans to visit her daughter, Laura, in Thailand next month; and with Kathy, Karen & Joyce. Meanwhile Wes spoke to Barbara Simpson twice; caught up with with his Godson, Danny, in Caboolture; and watched an ALP webinar on Climate Change. 

On Wednesday, Dot, Judi & I played Mah Jong at Muffins & More & were joined by John for a cuppa. We each won a game, which is how it should be & were delighted when a Vietnamese gentleman became very excited to see the game his mother loved being played at the next table. That afternoon I walked around Lake Daylesford in preparation for getting back to joining Wes & Morse in their early walk. 

Of course, it poured rain the next morning & we postponed our trip to Ballarat, rather than drive through flooded roads & get wet going to the various places we had decided to visit. We can see the NAB staff next week instead. 

April 1990 & we're about to board the Orient Express at Victoria Station - Jeff & Leigh Hoolihan arrived to farewell us

October 1990 - Viva (my mother) at Victoria Park with Collingwood's Premiership Cup - not sure this was ever on her bucket list - but she enjoyed the experience especially because of my heavy involvement with the Club at that time

Yesterday I had an early appointment with Jake, an exercise physiologist, at Springs Medical Centre. We spent an hour devising a programme for me that I can easily manage three times a week. I had printed out all the exercise cards from the SIS programme that I had been following & he picked the ones that he thought would give me the most benefit. I thought I would have to buy dumbbells, but he is hopeful that I can do everything using ribbons and a chair. We have a follow-up appointment in the first week of November. 

Wes has spent much of this week trying to make Family Tree-Maker talk to Ancestry.com - a very frustrating time for him, as these programmes usually work in sync, but something went wrong which has necessitated quite a few hours of work & many back-ups. 

The Queen's death came as a shock after she had been well enough to meet with Liz Truss, the new British PM only a couple of days beforehand. We woke to the news yesterday. I didn't watch any of the programmes on TV, but enjoyed listening to the beautiful music played on ABC Classic in lieu of their usual presentations. I found The Lark Ascending particularly poignant & fitting.