Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 2nd July 2023

 
I love that Charlie Brown is Snoopy's caddy!

Life doesn't always go the way you plan it & last Sunday was the perfect example. Wes & Morse drove me to Ballan Station in time for the 10.38am train to the MCG, but when we arrived, I discovered that the train was only going as far as Sunshine, where passengers would be met by a coach and taken to Flagstaff Station. We quickly decided that wouldn't work, so I got back in the car & we drove to Strathmore, where I caught the next train to Flinders Street. There weren't too many options with so many train lines not operating over the School Holidays. Wes & Morse had planned on dropping in on Rob & Dene in Ballan, and picking up bags of mulch on their way home, neither of which occurred. 

When I got to the MCG, after walking from Flinders Street, I met with David Lazzaro, and we enjoyed a great catch up before we headed into our respective gates. The game against the Crows was a nail-biter - we won the first half, they blitzed us in the third quarter, and we ground out a 2-point win in the end. 

The cheer squads getting ready to hoist their banners & wave flags as the players come out - disregard the empty seats, nearly 66,000 turned up, but many were still finishing their lunch 

I walked back to Flinders Street & caught the train to Strathmore, where Wes & Morse were waiting to collect me. Poor Wes had driven home, had a couple of hours rest, and driven back. We encountered torrential rain for much of the way, and when we were near Tylden, were stopped by police as there was a big accident. We diverted away from it, but eventually got back onto the Tylden-Woodend road and found our way home. Wes definitely earned his big whisky and we cancelled dinner in favour of toasted sandwiches.

A big thank you to all the friends who emailed, texted & messaged after the match - it was lovely to hear from you and to know that you had found the game as exciting & entertaining as I did. 

On Monday, we were both still tired from our big Sunday, and abandoned School in preference to catching up with a couple of episodes of the latest series of Utopia, one of the cleverest Australian TV shows available. I popped in to see Glen, who has been resting her leg after over-doing things, and we were both delighted that it was wet, and we could take it easy. 

With the rain holding off on Tuesday morning, Wes was able to do lots of pruning in the back garden under the main decking & there is so much more light - we can even see our beautiful tree fern again. Meanwhile, I Zoomed with Leanne, and then Terry Borg, before heading into Vincent Street for an eye test. I got a good report, but it took three hours before the drops cleared from my eyes!

Fragrant Oriental lilies from Judi - the perfume is amazing when you walk in the front door

Judi & I played Mah Jong on Wednesday morning, even though it was School Holidays. Perhaps the cold & wet weather has stopped quite a few from visiting, as town just isn't its usual busy self. We had a fun morning, caught up with some local friends, Anne & Sean, and each won at least one game. Meanwhile, Wes vacuumed & washed the floors, and took Morse for a drive while everywhere dried. 

On Thursday, while Wes got back into the garden, I had a lovely Zoom with old friends - Kathy, Karen, Lib & Joyce, where we admired Joyce's beautiful handiwork, shared information about our health & gave each other support. Afterwards I put Morse in the car & took him to Leitches Creek to pump water. When we arrived, we discovered the pump had been removed, and he had no interest in climbing the wet, mossy steps down to the pipe, which was flowing freely. So, I put him back in the car & filled my six bottles there.

Lovely tree fern in our backyard - being exposed to the Winter light

This second Test at Lord's has been entertaining, with the Aussies in control on Day 1, the Poms on Day 2, and us back in the box seat with one day to go & the Poms needing 257 runs to win with 6 wickets in hand. We've enjoyed watching the highlights the next day, as the action starts at 8pm our time, and neither of us can last much beyond the lunch break at 10pm.

Our elderly laptop died while we were in Canberra, so yesterday we went to Officeworks to buy a new one. There were plenty of sales going on & we were keen to get a good HP. However, our very helpful salesperson advised that the HP laptops used a simplified version of Windows 11 and that we might prefer a brand that gave us the full suite of programmes. We took his advice & bought a Lenovo 40cm matt screen with extra memory & grunt. 

In the afternoon, Collingwood had an unexpectedly easy win against the Gold Coast Suns up there, where we won every quarter except the third. The Suns would be very disappointed with their effort as they had been playing so well.

Today, after the Daylesford Market, Wes is off to the MCG as a guest of Ben Lazzaro, to see Carlton play Hawthorn. He is looking forward to spending time with Ben, and if the Blues win, that will be a bonus. 

Great photo of Wes with Ben in 1990