Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 25th February 2024

 
I suspect it would Snoopy!

We had a wonderful Sunday morning - after I sent off my Dispatch, we headed to the Market, where Morse was well-behaved and ate all his pear. After I had washed all the fruit & vegetables and put them away, we drove to Daylesford Cemetery to meet Fiona, Les & Brodie for a run. Morse was delighted to see the first two, a little hesitant about Brodie, but once he remembered the dog, he happily played chasey around the outskirts of the cemetery, whlle we four humans chatted. We put Brodie in the back of our car to see how that went & both dogs were fine, making room for each other and quite content. How lovely for Morse that he now has a dog friend!

We tried to make toast for brunch, and discovered that our 18-year old toaster had died and was obviously the culprit on Saturday when the power went out. Fortunately it didn't do any more damage and I replaced it during the week. Zak from Fells arrived early on Monday morning to check everything out and made sure all the power points were working again. It was especially good to plug the fridge in on the wall behind it, instead of on the wall opposite, which gave the three of us plenty of opportunities to trip up.

We spent School redesigning one of our gardens, and are very pleased with what we decided to do. Wes has put in a small timber divider and we have now planted carpet roses on the lower side, with rose bushes & seaside daisies on the upper. 

At lunchtime, I headed back to The Convent for a long overdue catch-up with friend, Janine Hawker, to hear about her recent cruise and share other news. We spent 90 minutes together and promised not to let so much time elapse before doing it again. Janine was a regular at Sunday Breakfasts, which finished a couple of years ago as we couldn't find a venue post COVID. 

On Tuesday, I had an early chat with my aunt, Jeff, in Lincolnshire, where we discussed her upcoming move to Berkshire, which necessitates culling her belongings, which is not an easy thing to do. After that I Zoomed with my sister, Leanne, who is doing well this year, and we made plans for our visit today. Then it was time for my annual review with Jake at Springs Medical Centre, who is overseeing my home exercise programme. 

Stunning sunset photo taken by Fiona in their part of Duke St

In the meantime, Wes vacuumed and washed the cars, before watering the front garden. We were both exhausted by lunch time, although he had done more manual labour than me! He continued the vacuuming & washing on Wednesday, and when I returned from Mah Jong, everywhere was looking wonderful. 

We watched the first T20 against New Zealand in Wellington that night, where Australia won by 1 run on the last ball, after the Black Caps looked the better team for most of the game. 

On Thursday morning, Wes enjoyed a good Zoom with the Jackson Group, before I chatted with Old Friends, where the main topic, apart from the heat, was the success of the Taylor Swift concerts in Melbourne, which had been attended by family & friends of all of us. 

Our latest roses - Volcano, Twilight Zone & Spicy Parfuma

On Friday morning, we christened the new toaster with crumpets & local O'Toole's Orange Blossom honey, and were very happy with the finished product! While we were having this late breakfast, the tree-fellers arrived and started work on the oaks at #80. They eventually removed the huge branch from our backyard and mulched it along with all the other branches they cut down. 

Morse wasn't happy with any of this, especially as they brought two large friendly dogs with them, who were trying hard to get into our place! I took Morse out in the car with me to pump water at Leitches Creek, and do other chores, while Wes planted the new roses shown above, and three Golden Touch carpet roses.

We watched the second T20 in New Zealand, which Australia won easily and unexpectedly after posting a small target for the Black Caps to reach. The third match is today and hopefully it will be close and exciting.

Yesterday morning we took Morse to the Daylesford Cemetery, as he had lots of energy after our cool day. He loved running around the circumference and chasing the bunnies. I have been complaining that the moon has been invisible lately, but she was rather glorious when we were out.

We had invited our neighbours, Glen, James & Yoko, for drinks on the decking yesterday afternoon, and it was perfect weather for the occasion. Morse was in his element greeting everyone effusively and enjoying the company, as did we. James is still in a large brace after his knee reconstruction, but isn't suffering any pain, which is wonderful. Like everyone restricted in their movements, he is impatient to be back driving and living a normal life - he is hoping for good news from his specialist this week.

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 18th February 2024

 
Snoopy could be in for a rude shock!

We had a fun morning last Sunday - after an early visit to the Daylesford Market, we headed to Ballan to water Rob & Dene's garden while they were away. We had been invited to pick produce and came home with plums, apricots, parsley, tomatoes, zucchini, beans and a lettuce. I stewed the plums in honey with star anise & ginger; and the apricots in honey with turmeric and cinnamon, and the kitchen smelled wonderful for the rest of the day. 

On Monday we woke to read that Glenn Maxwell had scored 120* in the T20 the night before against the West Indies. I had turned the TV off before his innings, so had to watch a mini to see the highlights. Needless to say, we won the game. 

We had a lovely quiet walk around Lake Daylesford with Morse, before I did the supermarket shopping, and we settled down to School, which involved making plans to go to Clunes Booktown on 23rd March (we've even booked two events at the Town Hall, which is very exciting); as well as sorting out footy games for the first half of the year, and finding dates that suit to catch up with various friends who have been trying to pin us down. 

While Wes watered everything in the garden before the heat arrived, I had a great massage with Sarah, and caught up on all her news. I am so pleased I found her after Nick retired - she has done wonders, and it is a delight to spend time with her. 

On Tuesday, it was going to be 36°, so we walked extra early, and after a good Zoom with my sister, Leanne, I drove to Ashmore Dentistry in Ballarat to meet my new dentist. We got on very well, and she plans to replace my remaining old metal fillings over the next couple of months. Then I drove back to Mazda so they could fit a new tyre to replace the one that had been damaged by a pothole and wasn't in stock when we had our cars in for service the previous Friday. 

I arrived back here just after 2pm to discover the power was out and not expected back until midnight. We weren't on our own - all of Daylesford & Hepburn & over 500,000 other households were similarly in strife as two power transmission towers were reduced to twisted metal by the 120km winds. When the storm hit us, it was quite frightening - the noise was deafening, and the rain was fierce. When we went outside afterwards, we discovered two branches from #80's oak trees had crashed into our side fence. We rang James to let him know, and he contacted his tree-feller, who arrived an hour later to inspect the damage.

The top photo shows the smaller branch which came through our latticework & the second photo shows the top of the very large branch which broke away from the main trunk and completely covered a section of our side garden

In the meantime, Glen boiled some water for us, so we could have tea & coffee and give Morse his usual warm dinner. We settled for biscuits & cheese for ourselves, and were very relieved when the power came back on earlier than expected at 6.15pm. The air-conditioners did their job and our home cooled down quickly. We are very grateful that there was no huge damage, and that we weren't without power overnight, which must have been awful.

When we headed off to walk Morse on Wednesday, we had to avoid two trees which were down at the end of our little piece of Duke Street. We decided not to risk Lake Daylesford and whatever debris was there, so went to the Cemetery instead, which was untouched by wind damage. I was due to drive to Spring Park & Porcupine Ridge with deliveries, but post-poned that and stewed our small crop of nectarines & pears instead.

Judi & I met for Mah Jong as usual, and she reported no problems driving from Ballarat to Daylesford. However, town was very quiet as people picked up the pieces in their homes & businesses, and some shops were unable to open because of damage or the loss of power. We had a good morning and honours were even again in the games we played.

Yet another vase of blooms - Red Riding Hood, Hot Cocoa & Glorious

I had a busy morning with Zooms on Thursday - chatting with Terry Borg in Burwood, who had not suffered damage or the loss of power, and later with Kathy, Lib, Joyce & Karen. Kathy, who is also in Burwood, lost power for some hours, but everyone else was OK and had no damage. After that I headed to Hepburn for a manicure with Juls, who had also gotten off lightly with only the loss of power. 

We watched most of Day 1 of the Australian women playing South Africa at the WACA in their only Test, and were so disappointed when South AFrica were all out for 76, their lowest Test score ever. However, they rebounded early and had us 3/12 until Healy & Mooney put on a partnership of 150+ runs. We woke in the morning to find Healy had gone out on 99, one short of her maiden Test ton. 

On Friday morning, we had been invited to brunch by Fiona & Les Groundwater & met them at The Convent when it opened at 10am. We spent a very enjoyable 90 minutes together catching up on their news, which was mostly about their recent trip to Tasmania & our respective families. 

We're both guilty of this - don't you love the looks on their faces!

Yesterday morning, Wes & Morse drove back to Ballan to do another big watering at Rob & Dene's place before they arrive home sometime today. He brought back a small bag of plums, which I stewed in honey with star anise & cinnamon. We tried them last night & they were beautiful. 

We had a sudden loss of power yesterday, which sent us into a panic as the fridge wasn't working. I rang Les, who gave us some good advice, and we eventually worked out that most of the power points in the kitchen, laundry & downstairs bathroom were out. We were able to plug the fridge into a working power point, did the same with the electric jug, and were delighted that the hotplates & stove were still usable. Jamie Grant from Fells' Electricals responded to a text for help and is sending an electrician around tomorrow to fix the problem.

That night, the Women's Test ended in a very easy win for Australia who didn't have to bat again, especially after Annabel Sutherland scored 210 runs, took 5 wickets & held a stunning catch. 

This morning we are off to the Daylesford Market shortly, and then we are meeting Fiona & Les, with their dog, Brodie, for a stroll around the cemetery. Morse and Brodie have met before and gotten on, so fingers crossed that happens again.

The tomatoes keep coming

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 11th February 2024

 
So true - at least at our place!

We headed off in the heat to visit Leanne last Sunday and enjoyed an excellent three hours together. Wes did some handyman things in the house and then planted some seedlings & watered everywhere. Leanne & I had a couple of good chats, before tackling a couple of shelves in the pantry that needed reorganisation. On our way home, we stopped at Gusto to collect a mushroom quiche, which was a perfect dinner with salad later that day. Morse was OK when we arrived back, content with his bone and a very cool house. We watched the cricket, where the West Indies bowled and fielded well, restricting Australia to 9/258 after 50 overs. Sadly their batting wasn't as good as their other skills and they were all out for 175 in the 44th over.

Lovely photo of Morse doing the labrador sit

On Monday, the temperature plummeted and we even had an early shower of rain. After the shopping, we tackled our bathrooms, which was this week's School, and were pleased to get them sparkling clean again. I had brought home some very big jars that Leanne no longer needed, and Glen & her craft friends were pleased to take them. Wes watered everywhere here as many of the plants were wilting after the heat. 

We took Morse up to Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens for our walk on Tuesday morning. It was very dark, but so beautiful, and not another soul or dog in sight, so he loved it. Then it was time for my chat with my aunt, Jeff, in Torksey Lock, followed by a Zoom with Leanne, who was in good spirits and enjoyed watching Morse playing in the background. After that I visited Glen, our neighbour, and we had time to catch up on news and discuss books we are both reading. 

Unexpected vase of roses - Iceberg, Ashram, Freesia, Big Red 

On Wednesday, I enjoyed catching up for Mah Jong with Judi at Muffins & More - our first games for the year. We thought we would be rusty, but managed to play quite a few games with honours evenly shared. Meanwhile, Wes did his usual vacuum & wash of the floors, which had dried by the time I arrived back home. 

We both had Zooms on Thursday morning - Wes had his fortnightly chat with the Jackson Group, where our friend, André Haermeyer, and his wife, Tonya Stevens, led a spirited discussion on Germany 2024. We have known André for many years through the Victorian ALP, and last saw him when we were in Brussels in 2019, as he & Tonya live in Frankfurt. Afterwards, I had a good catch up with Kathy & Joyce, and both their husbands put in cameo appearances with updates on their recovery from surgery. 

We had booked our cars in for service at Ballarat Mazda early on Friday morning, and, after a yummy breakfast at Café Lekker, decided to take a punt on a Canadian/South Korean film called Riceboy Sleeps. We are so pleased we did, as we were totally engrossed for two hours and recommend it highly. I can't put it any better than Wes's description - it tackles cultural differences and social unawareness on so many levels with authenticity and compassion. We read about the director, Anthony Shim, who also stars in the film, that it is partly auto-biographical. It was made in 2022 and has won numerous awards in Canada. 

Mother & son early on in the film

Yesterday we took Morse for a good run in Daylesford Cemetery, before Wes watered everything for Glen, who has been away for a few days. I refreshed a few pots & revitalised the rhubarb bed, which had been attacked by snails. In the afternoon, I watched the last Women's ODI against South Africa, which we won easily after a rain delay.

This morning it is already quite warm - we've walked around Lake Daylesford, and are getting ready for the Daylesford Market. After that we are driving to Ballan to water Rob & Dene's property while they are away in Singapore & Phuket. We've been invited to pick produce while we are there and are looking forward to beans, apricots & more plums.

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 4th February 2024

 
Poor Snoopy!

We had a most enjoyable Sunday morning, which started with the early walk around Lake Daylesford, moved to the Market, and finished, as far as Morse was concerned, with a visit to the Cemetery. While he recovered from all his exertions and excitement, Wes mowed the lawns, and I finished my rearranging of the pantry top shelf into our glass-fronted cupboards in the lounge. We're very happy with the result, and gave the Salvos Op Shop the two boxes of superfluous items.

What a stunning finish to the second Test against the West Indies that afternoon - we were rivetted to the TV, and hoping they would win, as they had given it everything, especially Shamar Joseph, who took 7 wickets even though he had been hit on his big toe the night before and was in pain bowling. Later that night, too late for us, Jannik Sinner beat Daniil Medvedev to win the Australian Open in a tight 5-set match.

Thanks for all the comments on our roses - this pretty vase includes Mother's Love and two we need to research for the names! 

On Monday, after I did the shopping, we sat with our scrolls and hot drinks in the garden, and chatted about what the second level on the right could look like. It already has some roses, but could do with a couple more, as well as more daisy bushes, hebes and our favourite seaside daisies to brighten it up. We then had a lovely catch-up Zoom with Mike & Linda Kirby, hearing about their trip to Singapore before Christmas, and life in Queensland with non-stop rain.

That afternoon, Bray arrived from Fells' Electricals to finish changing the downlights. He got them all done except for the stairwell, which requires a longer ladder and another bloke!

Leanne & I enjoyed a good Zoom on Tuesday morning, and Wes spoke with Barbara that afternoon. They usually chat on Mondays, but we had no power while the electrician was here. I was feeling creative for a change, so made a yummy potato salad to go with our fish and pork cutlet for the night's meal. We have started harvesting our tomatoes, and they made a second salad with salad onion and basil. 

Karen laden with unexpected apples & pears that the birds & the labrador have missed!

Wes wanted Morse & me out of the house on Wednesday morning, so he could give everywhere a thorough vacuum and wash, after the mess made by our two electricians. We headed off first to Eganstown, to deliver newspapers to Chris at Spring Park Nursery, then back to Porcupine Ridge, with Epicures from The Age, plus The Local. In return Nick had left a jar of rhubarb & blackberry jam for us and a dog biscuit for Morse, which went down a treat. 

We then drove to Ballan to visit Rob & Dene's place, where I had a big bag of clean jars for Dene's preserving & jam-making. We were lucky enough to see Dene, who was heading off to work, and who also gave us a jar of his plum jam. Rob had invited me to pick a lettuce, some beans & some parsley, which I did, before driving back home, where Wes was sitting on the decking with a cuppa while he waited for the floors to dry. So we joined him there until it was OK to go back inside.

On Thursday, I had two Zooms - the first with Terry Borg, where we discussed the recent drownings in Philip Island, a place where she or her family has owned a holiday home for many years. No local would dream of swimming at the small beach where the most recent drownings occurred and we wondered if more prescriptive signage would be the answer, with the word "NO" is bold, big letters that most nationalities would understand. 

Afterwards, I chatted with Old Friends - Kathy, Lib, Karen, and Joyce, who we haven't seen since before Christmas, as her husband, Manny, has been in hospital having a hip replacement. It was great to see them both and catch up with everyone's news.

Our kookaburra returned and was very happy with the strips of meat I fed him until Morse arrived on the scene...

We spent a very quiet Friday - chores and the cricket took up most of the day. I would have enjoyed going to the One Day game between Australia & the West Indies, but with a 2.30pm start time, it finished too late for me to get home easily. We won the game with some brilliant bowling by first-gamer, Xavier Bartlett, and excellent batting by wicket-keeper, Josh Inglis, Cam Green & Steve Smith. 

Yesterday was hot, so we did our chores in the morning before the temperature rose. We were interrupted delightfully by a visit from Rob & Dene bearing gifts of plums, apricot jam, lettuce and parsley - all from their Ballan garden beds & trees. Morse was in heaven to see them both again, and we sat for an hour or so catching up on the decking, before they went next door to give produce to Glen. 

Wonderful photo of Dene filling jars with plum jam - I gave him the Fowler's Vacola jug and he loved using it