Dear Woodstock!
Our week started well with a great visit to the Daylesford Market. We were there quite early so Morse wasn't bothered by other dogs or people he didn't know, and he trotted off to see Jeff, the dog treat man, very happily. Yvonne had produced a leek for us, something she hadn't been able to get for a while, and was quite pleased with her efforts three weeks in a row to suprise us.
Afterwards we went to Leitches Creek to pump mineral water, and were delighted that the pump was back in action, as it is hard work bending down to fill the bottles from the pipe that is the second choice when the pump is unable to be used. We had hoped to visit Daylesford Cemetery, but the grave-digger was there, probably preparing a fresh grave for Nic van Dalen, a local artist we got to know when we ran the Daylesford Art Show from 2010-2012. So we drove to the Franklinford-Yandoit Cemetery instead where at least 17 of Wes's forbears are buried, including Catherine & John Wayman who came out from Scotland as convicts, met & married here and lived in Shepherds Flat.
This wonderful gravestone was paid for by another descendant of Catherine - amazing amount of information here
On Monday, after shopping, we had a good School session, where we discussed passwords, and decided to up the security on our Banking & Paypal logins. When we finished chatting, we headed next door, where we had been invited for morning tea to meet Yoko's parents and sister, who were on a short trip to Victoria to see the new homes in Southbank & Daylesford. We really enjoyed meeting them and sharing some stories.
I had an excellent chat with my aunt, Jeff, in Torksey Lock, early on Tuesday morning, followed by a good catch up with my sister, Leanne. Afterwards I spent some time in town, saying goodbye to Rob & Annie, who run the local pet shop, and are closing down on 2nd February. We are going to miss them, but after 18 years in business, we don't blame them for wanting a rest, especially as they are on their feet all day. It was a beautiful morning, so Wes did heaps in the back garden. I had asked him to do some work on the rhubarb and parsley patches, which he did, as well as staking, pruning, weeding, cleaning up & watering.
I picked this lovely arrangement after he had finished - neither of us can remember the name of the beautiful, fragrant pink roses, but the others are Red Riding Hood, Mother's Love & Kindred Spirits
On Wednesday, we had a visit from Zac Grant, of Fells' Electricals. We had been waiting a month for this to happen and were very pleased to see him. We had 4 dud light areas, and we wanted him to update the rest of the house to the better LED lights. He had to come back in the afternoon, when it was very hot and the air-conditioning went off when the light switch in the fuse box was shut. Zac was able to fix most of the upstairs lights, but not the stairwell or downstairs ones and is coming back this week to finish the job.
Also in the afternoon we watched the funeral service for Murray Godso online. We would love to have attended in person, but it would have been 4 hours of driving there & back, and we were able to enjoy all the stories told by the various speakers, including a wonderful eulogy by the Celebrant.
Stunning red hydrangea at the front door - in its second year & going well
We both had Zooms on Thursday morning - Wes enjoyed an interesting presentation with the Jackson Group, on Global Economics; and I chatted with Kathy, Lib & Karen catching up on little picture news and discovering we were united in hoping someone could beat Novak Djokovic in the 2024 Australian Open, and Jannik Sinner did! Afterwards we had a late breakfast at Pancho Café, where we debriefed on our respective Zooms, before heading home where the temperature had dropped and gentle rain was cooling everywhere down.
That afternoon, I settled down to see if the West Indies could make a better fist of the Second Test, and after an awful start, they did, and managed to be 8/266 at stumps.
We had a good early walk on Friday morning, before Wes got stuck into seriously weeding a large garden bed, that is going to house more roses and some ground cover. I'm in charge of the latter. Meanwhile I finished refreshing our pots on the decking and am pleased with how healthy they are all looking. At the end of Day 2 of the Test, the West Indies were ahead by 35 runs, which means we have a very competitive game.
The cricket must be on - Morse is sound asleep with his friend
My new project, which I started in earnest yesterday, is to rehouse all the items that currently are so high in the pantry I need a ladder to reach them. Some of them have gone into a spot above the fridge, as we have seriously cut back on our cookery books, and there is room. The rest are finding places in the glass-fronted cupboards that face onto the lounge. The Salvos have been the beneficiaries of all the items we've decided we no longer need, and they were very grateful for them.
As I worked, I kept an eye on the Australian Women's Cricket team which won its first T20 against South Africa at Manuka Oval in Canberra. They are back playing there again this morning. In the afternoon the Aussies had trouble removing the West Indian batsmen, until they went out in a flurry and were all out for 192, giving us a target of 216 to win. We have already lost 2 wickets in the chase and need a further 156, which should make for an entertaining Day 4 later today.
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