Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 23rd February 2025

We never have this problem with Morse at mealtimes!

We had a good visit to the Daylesford Market last Sunday - everyone was in good spirits with the cooler weather, and afterwards we drove to Leitches Creek(my favourite spring) to pump mineral water. Wes suggested we have breakfast out to make up for not being able to attend Terry Borg's birthday bash, so we went to Pancho for omelettes and hot drinks. It was quiet there, as was most of Daylesford - February being the month least likely to bring visitors to town. 

Afterwards, Wes spent time in the front garden, pruning, trimming & watering, while I finished the 4th bookcase, which only needed Biographies to be placed in alpha order on the bottom shelf. That saw me out and I read & did crosswords for the rest of the day. I still have the 5th bookcase, which will be the easiest I hope, as two shelves are taken up with LPs, and most of the books in the other shelves are large ones - History, Politics, Sport, Gardening etc. 

A few roses - Hot Cocoa, Guy Savoy, Perfumed Passion & Friesia

On Monday, after an early walk and supermarket shopping, we sat down to do some planning - footy; Clunes Booktown; our trip to Melbourne & Adelaide, and Trentham Spudfest. We made a few good decisions, and diarised some others for a future date. Both our footy teams seem to be playing night games early in the season, which we both find hard to attend. Before I had a very welcome massage with Sarah Hunt, I delivered three boxes of books to the Salvos, and left some packaged foodstuffs at the free food area next to Daylesford Library. Wes did some more watering in the back garden, especially around the fig tree, as we would love that fruit to ripen this year! Later, he Zoomed with Barbara in NZ before cooking us a yummy dinner.

It was cold again early on Tuesday, and after the rugged up walk in the cemetery, I caught up with my aunt, Jeff, in Lincolnshire, and then Zoomed with Leanne. Both chats were good fun, although I was running out of voice by the end. Then it was time to buy a reserved seat for the Collingwood/Carlton game on 3rd April, which I did easily for a change, but Wes wasn't so fortunate and missed out. Finally, while he trimmed and watered in the front, I went into Vincent Street to collect prescriptions, of which we have quite a few at present. That afternoon, Wes had his regular fortnightly phone call with old friend, Helen Hanrahan, which he always enjoys.

A slice of the upstairs bookcases looking much tidier - the shelves are very deep, enough to hold two rows of books each

Judi & I played Mah Jong on Wednesday, after my fringe trim (where Kirsty had remembered I was going to the Women's Test and wanted to know if I had enjoyed it); and both of us tried interesting hands and mostly succeeded in getting them - it's always much easier when there are only two playing, instead of 3 or 4. Wes vacuumed and washed the floors while I was out, and I came home to a very clean house, devoid of dog hair, albeit briefly. 

We both had Zooms on Thursday - Wes enjoyed a big picture discussion on The Global Financial Outlook for 2025 with the Jackson Group, and I caught up with Kathy, Karen S & Lib, where we tried to come up with some solutions for Lib's current issues. I had been encouraging Kathy & Ged to watch Law & Order UK and was pleased to know they were enjoying the old episodes. I'm currently watching Inspector Wexford, which is even older - called The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, they started in 1987, starring George Baker, who was perfect as Wexford, and Christopher Ravenscroft as his off-sider, Burden. They feature some very familiar faces, such as a young Amanda Burton, ditto Imelda Staunton, and are faithful to the books. 

Yummy omelette - Pancho style

On Friday, I chatted with Leanne, making plans for our visit yesterday, and then with Jan Pengilley in Maleny - for various reasons, we haven't spoken since last November, and I was very keen to hear about her recent cruise and visit to Iceland with her daughter, Tara, and son, Andrew. Wes joined at the start to say hello, before collecting his new glasses, which are his best ever! Later, he Zoomed again with Barbara, who was thrilled that her new slide boards had arrived from Australia. 

We had a good visit with Leanne - after chatting over apple scrolls and hot drinks, Wes spent about 90 minutes watering & pruning in the garden, while Leanne and I sorted out some issues that needed two heads. Then I showed her how to access YouTube on her new OLED TV, which she is loving. Her old TV, a gift from Peter & Anka to Viva many years ago, was a very good one, but not a modern smart one, and she is enjoying the bigger and better screen. Her first request on YouTube to Alexa was Glenn Maxwell's stunning catch of the Summer, followed by Kath & Kim, Inspector Morse and Dame Edna - a lovely collection of things to watch in the future. 

A new bird ornament guarding our petunias in the back yard with thanks to Leanne

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 16th February 2025

 
Eeek!

We've been busy this week - after the Daylesford Market on Sunday, we headed to Ballan to water Rob & Dene's fruit & vegetables, and were rewarded with plums & tomatoes. We've stewed the plums with some of our nectarines, and had the tomatoes on toast that night - so fresh & yummy! Afterwards, we drove to Gordon to get new Winter hats from The Old Hat Shoppe. Wes was successful, but I couldn't find a replacement for my black Greek fisherman's cap that I wear much of the time. It's getting faded and I can't get rid of a few marks, so it needs to be updated.

Wes wearing his gorgeous new cap

As expected, the Australian men easily won the second Test against Sri Lanka in the afternoon, and I was thrilled that Alex Carey won Man of the Match - his keeping was almost flawless, and he played an exciting and attacking game with the bat, scoring 156, an Australian record for a wicket-keeper in Asia.

On Monday, after shopping, we tackled the study, which needed some TLC. I dusted and polished, while Wes cleaned the flywire screens, made the windows sparkle and washed the floor. There is so much light when the screens are down, and I really enjoyed watching the birds feed. I had bought some punnets of pleasure, so Wes got potting mix and prepared an old wheel-barrow and a large planter box for me to put petunias and cornflowers in.

Not many roses in bloom at present, but enough for a mug at the front door!

We were thrilled to wake on Tuesday to no wind, which was a delightful change - certainly early, in Daylesford Cemetery! While Wes watered front & back gardens, I Zoomed with Leanne, and then had a lovely catch up with friend & neighbour, Glen, who came to sit on our decking and chat over morning tea. Morse was thrilled to see her and had to be persuaded to sit quietly after his initial greeting. 

Judi was unable to play Mah Jong this week, so we arranged to have lunch with our other neighbour, James, at Cliffy's on Wednesday. Beforehand, we both got busy - Wes working in the garden, tidying up the area under the decking, and me dusting & polishing & cleaning as everywhere I looked seemed to need TLC.

Morse sulking with his friend as we were both too busy to play with him

Lunch at Cliffy's was fun - James was delighted to find spiders on the menu and immediately ordered one to go with his chicken schnitzel and salad. Wes went for the platter, which was an upmarket ploughman's lunch and had a beautiful pinot gris with it, while I ordered Turkish eggs & tea. We chatted about all sorts of topics, as well as congratulating James on all he is achieving as President of the Daylesford Men's Shed. 

James enjoying his spider!

That afternoon, Australia played Sri Lanka in an ODI game at Columbo, where they were soundly beaten, mostly on the back of an exhilarating century by the Sri Lankan captain, Charith Asalanka. 

We had a rest day on Thursday - I Zoomed with Terry Borg, and then with Old Friends - Kathy, Karen S, Joyce & Lib, before retiring with a pot of tea and The Age as it was another hot, sticky day, 23℃ @6am!

On Friday, we caught up with Robyn & Ian Robinson for lunch at The Pig & Whistle Hotel - this was long overdue, as our last get-together was here at The Convent in August 2023. We did enjoy hearing about their recent travel experiences and exchanging health updates. Later that day, Australia was beaten again by Sri Lanka in the second ODI.

It was such a relief to wake to a cool day yesterday, and we are expecting similar weather today. We had hoped to get to Terry Borg's 80th birthday party in Burwood this afternoon, but realised yesterday that we would be unable to drive there & back with a party in between. We are so disappointed as we love seeing her & her family, but afternoon & evening activities are almost beyond me at present. 

Stunning sunrise at Daylesford Cemetery this week

With all the resting I am doing these days, I have been working my way through lots of books - Canadian author, Louise Penny, with her quirky Inspector Gamache, (gifts from neighbour, Glen); rereading Ruth Rendell's Inspector Wexford (chauvinistic, but intuitive), and Helen Garner's The Season, written last year about her time watching Aussie Rules training and footy games featuring her 16 year old grandson. I bought the book once I knew Helen was going to be at Clunes Booktown, and I absolutely loved it and recommend it highly. I've just started another wonderful book recommended by friend, Kathy Lazzaro, called All the Bees in the Hollows, by first time Australian author, Lauren Keegan, which is set in Lithuania.

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 9th February 2025

 
Isn't that often the case?

When I left you last Sunday, I was still at The Windsor and heading off for breakfast, which was entertaining. There was a large group of Chinese guests and their leader set aside three round tables for them. Most of them ignored these tables and sat together in twos & threes, which meant the maitre d' was nearly going crazy as the hotel was packed. The Windsor provided Chinese language menus for everyone, and most people had enough English to order their coffees. 

Afterwards, I went for a walk to see the preparation for Lunar New Year in Little Bourke Street, before coming back & packing in time for Wes's arrival at 10am. He had brought Morse, who was thrilled to bits to see me and didn't stop wagging his tail and trying to kiss me in his excitement. We had a good run home, but I felt very sorry for Wes, who had been up since 5.30am to fit in the walk with Morse, the visit to the Daylesford Market and the drive to Melbourne and back.

This garden greets walkers as they approach the MCG

It was very hot, so we all took it easy on our return, before I unpacked, put on a load of washing and read the weekend papers. We had tomatoes on toast for dinner, which was a lovely treat.

On Monday, I joined Wes & Morse at the Daylesford Cemetery for the early walk, before heading to Coles Supermarket for the weekly shop. We decided to catch up on each other's news for School, and enjoyed talking while we had our yummy scrolls for breakfast. Then it was time to harvest our Dutch Cream potato crop - not quite the amount we had been hoping for, but we'll do it better next time. Wes worked in the garden until it got too hot, and he had Zoom chats with Barbara in NZ & Paul in the UK later on. In between we had a visit from Nick Massaro with bones for Morse and goodies for us. He was grateful for some small jars that I had been saving for Dene, who didn't need them!

I got back in the swing of things on Tuesday with an early chat with my aunt, Jeff, in Lincolnshire, then caught up with Leanne, who had no water and was waiting for the Water Board to arrive and fix the issue. Then it was time for my visit to Dr Ellie at Springs Medical Centre. She was very pleased with my geographic tongue, which responded well to tablets and is now able to cope with chillis again. We discussed my tiredness, so I am now trying Melatonin to see if that will help. I also booked us both in for our March COVID boosters. Later that day, Wes & Helen Hanrahan enjoyed a chat.

Home made marmalade & chutney from Joan McDonald - both have been opened and are as yummy as they look

The next day Judi & I met to play Mah Jong for only the second time this year. We both tried some different hands and both won enough games to feel pleased with the morning. At midday, Wes joined me for lunch with John Smith, who we had not seen since last December. John had struggled with some health issues, but has made some excellent decisions - the house is off the market, he's invested in a Sadie cleaner, and he has employed a tech-savvy person to clean up his & Dot's phones and their computers. We enjoyed a good chat with him, and I think he enjoyed updating us. 

On Thursday morning, Wes participated in the Jackson Group Zoom where attendees had been invited to choose topics for discussion. After I had stewed our nectarines and apples with ginger & cinnamon, I caught up with Old Friends - Kathy, Karen S, Joyce & Lib - and we ranged over a few different topics ourselves. Then I visited Juls for my regular manicure and chat, which had to be curtailed as I needed to get Sammy back home, so Wes could take Morse to the vet for his annual check up. Morse got a clean bill of health, is .5kg lighter than last February, and had all his injections. 

One of my favourite photos of Morse with his best friend

We had planned a morning in Ballarat on Friday, but when the temperature was heading for 32℃, we decided to stay home and make sure Morse kept cool. We had some chores to do, as well as going to see the Bob Dylan film, A Complete Unknown, and would have been away for 5 hours, which we thought was too long. The chores and film can happen another day. Instead, I chatted on Zoom with Leanne, and did some local chores, while Wes watered everywhere in the back.

We've been watching at least the first two sessions of each day of the 2nd Test in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankans were able to post a good score in their 1st Innings, but Australia easily passed it with the loss of only 3 wickets, and it seems that an Australian victory is the most probably result, although we will have to bat again this afternoon, and don't have a great history of chasing small totals. 

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - 2nd February 2025

 
Love it!

After the Daylesford Market last Sunday, we drove to Ballarat and joined a queue to buy tickets for early films at the cinema. There were only 5 of us watching Conclave, but we were in a large, uncomfortable theatre that is probably next in line to be refreshed! After watching interminable ads & improbable shorts, we were finally rewarded with the film we had come to see. It started very well, and I thought I was going to enjoy it, but it stretched the imagination too far and the ending was implausible. Wes & I wondered how many Catholics had been consulted for the script, and suspected not too many as some scenarios were quite unbelievable. Even Ralph Fiennes in his role as Dean was unable to make the film work.

On Monday, after I did the shopping at a very quiet Coles store, we went to Cliffy's Emporium for breakfast. We haven't been there for a while, and really enjoyed being back. Wes tackled the chilli eggs and I got stuck into the Turkish eggs. Both dishes were sublime. The menu is small, but everything is done well. We were greeted and farewelled by name, which really does make you feel like coming back!

That afternoon, Wes planted our two new hydrangeas, and moved two of our roses out of pots and into the garden. He did some pruning & tidying until it got too hot to be outside. We were very pleased to wake to a much cooler day on Tuesday. While I did chores, Wes went back to watering and it looks as though all the transplants have gone well. 

On Wednesday, we drove to The Windsor, via Jimmy Watson's, where we caught up with friends, Joan & Rod McDonald, who we met via Paul & Pauline Jackson back in 2010, when they all came to Daylesford. So many friends have had to be patient with us, as I wasn't well enough to honour some of the meetings we had arranged last year. We were greeted very warmly by Nigel Watson, who remembered us both and looked after the four of us very well. Alan Watson even came over to say hello. I think he and Wes really enjoyed their relationship when we insured their business all those years ago. 

Karen, Rod, Joan & Wes 

Wes dropped me off at The Windsor, where I found myself in a modern room, with a view of Spring Street, and confusing light switches! It is very comfortable and I have particularly enjoyed the stand-alone shower, instead of over the bath. 

Bed, bath & vanity - all very modern indeed!

Kathy Lazzaro joined me for breakfast the next morning and we had a lovely catch up sitting in "the naughty corner" as our maître d' called it. Afterwards, Kathy went off shopping and I walked to the Kino, where I saw the delightful film Paddington in Peru which stars a host of wonderful English actors. Then it was time to walk to the MCG for the historic first Pink Ball Test ever at the ground, featuring Australia & England women playing an Ashes Test, the first in over 75 years here. 

I had a great seat in the back row of the 50-year Members Bay on Level 2. During the match I caught up with my friend, Brendan, and met his wife, Margaret, for the first time. I also spotted Liz Davey, best friend of Terry Borg, and introduced her to Brendan, as she is a fully-fledged guide, while he is waiting to be asked to run a tour on his own. It was quite emotional being at the ground for this wonderful Test and many of the members sitting around me felt the same way. Australia was on top and bowled the Poms out for 170, before we were 1/56 at stumps. I watched the last session back here at The Windsor, as I suddenly ran out of puff just before the Dinner Break at 7pm.

A cool corner in the Fitzroy Gardens on the way to or from the MCG

The next morning, after breakfast, I headed to David Jones Department store, where I was fortunate enough to find Marie, in Sportscraft, who was on my wavelength and found me two pairs of comfortable lightweight pants & a jacket. After that happy experience I went to JB Hi-Fi, where a helpful young man sold me a pocket-size trannie to replace the Sony Walkman which is wearing out. Flushed with success, I came back to my room to rest and read The Age before heading out to the G for Day 2. 

Brendan, Margaret & I sat together in the back row of our favourite bay with the best view down the pitch. It was wonderful to see Annabel Sutherland make the first Test century by a female on the MCG, while the Poms couldn't get us all out. Once again I left early and watched the last session on TV. 

Splashes of red salvia in the Fitzroy Gardens

Yesterday, after breakfast, I went for a stroll again and bought a lightweight cricket cap from Paddy Palin. I spent the rest of the morning resting in preparation for Day 3 and the probability that the game would finish last night, which it did. After catching up with Gayle Gibson in the Long Room, I sat with Brendan & Margaret again as we watched Beth Mooney make a century, and then Alana King take 5 wickets - both women are now on the dressing room honour boards as well. 

At the same time as we were watching Australian women win by an innings & 122 runs, over in Galle in Sri Lanka, Australian men beat Sri Lanka by an innings & 242 runs. Both results were amazing & unexpectedly good, especially the women who won every match in their first ever Ashes clean sweep.