Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 30th August 2020

Once again, we had a very successful & easy visit to the Sunday Market after I had sent last week's Dispatch. Everyone was cheerful as they are now very used to the system. We were able to buy everything we needed except Dutch Cream potatoes & Yvonne's half cabbage & half pumpkin were so huge, we shared them with our neighbours. 

We still feel guilty about our first three labs - Trashcan Oscar, Toby Jug & Samuel Snugglepot the First, who didn't have pillows!

Wes had a busy afternoon with a long Google Meet chat with our new neighbour, Ellie Bonnett, who wanted some advice, and a Zoom chat with Peta Hawker, who needed some computer help. I spent my time watching footy games and keeping the boys amused, when they woke from their slumbers.

On Monday, we were finally able to have a good walk again, so we did two complete laps of Lake Daylesford without meeting another soul, except for Barry the Fisherman, who had just caught his equal heaviest fish ever. Barry weighs the fish & takes a photo before returning it to the lake. We duly admired the photo & wished him well for the rest of his stint.

We had decided to do a refresher at School & Wes followed my instructions to balance our Visa account on Reckon. He did very well and was pleased that he had remembered much of it once he got into the swing. We are going to let him balance next month's Visa as well, which should solidify the procedure. 

We are all feeling a bit like this at the moment I suspect

Afterwards, while Wes emptied one of our tanks, which was overflowing after all our rain, I went to Mitre 10 to chat with Tim about buying a safe, which I then ordered. Judi & I had our regular Zoom chat and caught up on each other's news. Wes then watched a funeral service for our friend, Moshe Goldberg, who died on Sunday after a long battle with cancer. Moshe & I were playing online Scrabble up until 2 days before he died. 

We were rather delighted that Collingwood was able to beat North Melbourne that night. I had put our last bottle of Cofield Sparkling Shiraz in the fridge just in case and Wes ordered & collected another seafood pizza from Sophie & Bill's place. It was very yummy and we feel so decadent having take-away - it's not something we often do in normal life, let alone during the COVID-19 lockdown. 

On Tuesday, I had a very busy Zoom morning - chatting separately with Leanne, Jan & Terry. Afterwards I walked to the Post Office and later collected an order from Tonna's including $10 worth of small, fresh, red chillies, which should keep us going for a while. We had ordered another bag of Dutch Cream potatoes & were able to share them with Glen & with Nick & Robyn. Wes filled three big bags with garden clippings & weeds from the front garden and I could really see the difference. 

That night the ABC news told the story of our new neighbour, Ellie Bonnett, who has made the tree-change here from St Kilda. We thought the story had been ditched, as it was three weeks ago that Barbara's estate agent came to see if Wes was agreable to the ABC filming her home. Wes had custody of all the keys until he handed them over at settlement last week. He said yes, the crew filmed & that was that - until that night, when Ellie was the face of Victoria's changing demographic. If you would like to read the story, please follow this link - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-26/regional-city-property-markets-covid-urban-tree-changer/12541598

On Wednesday, I delivered spuds & papers & jars to Nick & Robyn; had a fringe trim; bought a huge bag of dog biscuits; collected the mail, and hosted a wonderful 40 minute Zoom session of old friends - me, Kathy, Lovely, Marilyn, Squiz & Joyce.  

Wes spent the morning fishing. He went down to Lake Daylesford to a secluded spot where he was hidden from view & enjoyed a very relaxing time fiddling with his fishing gear & getting himself organised for the next time. No fish, but one big bite I hear. Lewis & Morse missed him dreadfully, but had bones to occupy them for some of the time. When he arrived home there was a letter for him from young Jack Lazzaro, who sent him a note & a block of chocolate as Wes won the goal-tipping for Carlton's last game. 

Wes seemed to spend Thursday on Zoom - started with his regular fortnightly early morning(our time) chat with Paul Jackson in the Cotswolds, which now includes Barry Hansen & his friend, Mike Hodson. Mid-morning was a long hook up with members of the Reconciliation Committee, and in the afternoon a most enjoyable chat with old friends, Danny Millman & Tom Tyrrell. Apart from a long phone call with Fiona, I spent the day washing, ironing, gardening, reading & relaxing. 

On Friday, which was a beautiful day, we did two complete laps of Lake Daylesford with the boys, followed by poached eggs on English muffins for breakfast. While Wes did wonders in the garden - mowing, weeding, trimming etc, I collected our safe from Mitre 10 & picked up some varnish to put fresh coats on our dining room chairs. 

Yesterday, after our walk, Wes washed the boys & we watched them cavort around the yard playing chasey with each other & the birds until they were dry & able to come inside again. I enjoyed listening to the Coodabeen Champions once again and watched footy on & off all afternoon, interrupted by chores, eating & drinking!

Carlton & Collingwood play each other this afternoon and it is the Blues best chance to beat the Pies in a while. They have come good at the right time of year, while we are only playing well in patches. I think I might need these rosary beads that Wes gave me last week.

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 23rd August 2020

We started our week well with a very successful trip to the Sunday Market. Yvonne had everything we needed and we were able to get Glen's spelt & gluten-free breads, as well as eggs from Peros. We wore our new masks, chatted with stall-holders & friends who were queued up, & enjoyed croissants when we got home. 

Me wearing a bright mask to offset my black clothing - thanks again, Glen Tandberg

We overdosed on footy for the rest of the day - watched the replay of Carlton's amazing last kick win; saw the Doggies smash the Crows after an even start; ditto the Saints over the Bombers, and when the Eagles were doing the same to the Hawks, we watched the first episode of the new series of Last Tango in Halifax. I didn't think there could be any more twists and turns in this brilliant series, but of course, there were plenty, with much more to follow. 

Our neighbour, Rob, delivered some scones fresh out of their oven, with jam & cream during the afternoon - a very welcome unexpected afternoon tea, which we enjoyed. 

On Monday, School was all about Ancestry. I had asked Wes to explain & show me what he does. I discovered he uses a programme called Family Tree Maker, which he has bought outright & syncs it with Ancestry.com, which is owned by the Mormon Church, which has final say on usage. I was most impressed by all the work he has done, although discovering that Bad King John was an ancestor of mine wasn't so impressive! Wes is going to download his Family Tree programme onto my computer so I can check for corrections for the Saundry family. 

Afterwards I delivered my latest crop of knitting to the Daylesford Neighbourhood Centre, where beanies, jumpers, scarves, berets, gloves & rugs are available to be collected by anyone who needs them. Meanwhile Wes took advantage of the sunshine to bathe a pair of very dirty Labradors, before putting some bread, cheese, tomatoes & flowers across the road at no 77 in time for our new neighbour, Ellie, who was arriving later that day. 

Ellie's cards & flowers

That night, after Wes hosted a very successful chat with 14 other St Bernard's Secondary School old boys, we shared a large prawn & scallop pizza with chillies, which he collected from Bill & Sophie's Pizza place. They have taken over the old Town Hall Café in Vincent Street and everyone has been raving about their pizzas. We were very pleasantly surprised by the quality & quantity of the food. We were keen to support local businesses by ordering takeaway meals & we'll definitely have one of these pizzas again. 

Morse & Lewis snoozing after their bath!

I look forward to Tuesdays as I usually have a few Zoom calls to make starting with my sister, Leanne, then friends such as Jan Pengilley or Terry Borg, and this week I had the bonus of a lovely chat with another old friend, Marilyn Preston, who is in Torquay with her husband, Bobby. 

On Wednesday, it was wet, so I let Wes walk the boys on his own, while I cooked rice & pumpkin for Lewis & Morse, got a load of washing on, washed my hair & had our house ready for Sandra's arrival at 7.30am to clean. She was thrilled that our new neighbour appreciated how sparkling her house was when she arrived. We took the boys out for a couple of hours to give Sandra a good chance to clean - delivered goodies to Nick & Robyn, pumped water at Leitches Creek, visited the Council to organise a new green bin (has to be done online), picked up some punnets of pleasure at Wombat Hill Nursery...and arrived back home in time for Sandra to give Lewis & Morse red apples before she left.

That afternoon, we enjoyed a good chat with Mike & Linda Kirby in Queensland. They are living a very different life from us - able to mix with friends, go out to restaurants, use swimming pools, get suntanned etc etc. 

On Thursday it was raining again early, so I stayed home while my three boys walked. When I visited Coles supermarket around 7.15am it was very quiet & shopping felt safe. Kathy Lazzaro & I had a Zoom chat booked, but I was coughing a lot so we didn't talk for long. When the rain stopped I walked into town to the Post Office, as we are still expecting the masks we ordered four weeks ago. No sign of them yet - thank God for our neighbour Glen's thoughtfulness in making us three masks each - we are very appreciative and grateful. 

Some of our beautiful daffodils on the dining table

We were able to do two complete laps of Lake Daylesford on Friday to make up for shorter walks in the rain and the boys spent most of the day sleeping, except for when they helped Wes & I in the garden. We had some long pots just crying out for colourful annuals - I did the planting & Wes positioned them on the fence out of the reach of Lewis & Morse. I chatted with Leanne & local friend, Sue, while Wes had a very social 24 hours with Zoom chats with old friends - Bobby, Danny & Tom, and later with Ged, Malcolm & Squiz. 

During the afternoon we had heavy rain, hailstones & sleet but no snow, although some parts of Daylesford were lucky enough to score some flakes. That night Carlton beat Gold Coast in a very inaccurate game in the Top End in front of a vocal and excited crowd - most of whom were barracking for Eddie Betts!

Yesterday morning was far too wet to walk, but we did get snow. I drove through it to the Post Office, where everyone was smiling & enjoying the sight. 

Wes took this photo after the snow had stopped falling in the backyard 

We declared it a sitting in front of the fire sort of day - listening to the Coodabeen Champions in the morning, and watching footy games (4 in total) during the afternoon & evening. I made a batch of vegetable soup using up all our leftovers, which was perfect for dinner, after Wes had served poached eggs on toast for breakfast. 

This morning it was far too wet to walk again, so the boys had an early breakfast, which they love & I went back to bed with a pot of Jasmine tea & The Sunday Age crossword. Bliss. We're about to brave the elements & visit the Market.

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 16th August 2020

It was a freezing cold wintry morning last Sunday. We survived 50 minutes walking around Lake Daylesford before Lewis directed us back to the car & warmth! Then off to the Sunday Market, where the stall-holders were struggling to set up their stalls & were wearing twice as many coats as usual to stop the shivering. Yvonne had very kindly put much of our stuff to one side for us, so I was able to shop quickly, but we couldn't get Glen's Spelt bread, or Dutch Cream potatoes for us. Wes did buy croissants, so we warmed up with them, some of Nick's fejoa jelly, and hot drinks as soon as we got home. 

The Blues did their best later that day against the West Coast Eagles, but couldn't quite beat them. Wes was thrilled with Carlton's performance, but thought the Eagles got all the luck & benefit of umpiring decisions. 

We were very pleased to read that the 2 new COVID-19 cases attributed to the Hepburn Shire had been reassigned, which means we have no known cases at present, and hope it can stay that way. I noticed on my walks into the Post Office this week that more people were physically distancing, and those who had undergone difficulty with masks were now wearing shields. 

Monday was a beautiful day - a promise of Spring being around the corner. Wes spent much of it over at Barbara's house, doing a last sweep, water & clean up. He was going to mow the lawns, but Brad was prepared to do it on Tuesday, for which we are very grateful. It is a big job with quite a slope. 

Our school project was redoing our Wills & Executor Dossier. It was five years since we had looked at either & there were so many changes to be made - beneficiaries had died or moved home; medical, home & car insurances had altered, and we are now receiving the pension. We had lots of information to update with our solicitor & excecutor, Peter Russo.  

We've both had lots of catch ups with friends this week - Wes has spoken to an old school friend, Leo Jeffers, who lives in California; as well as his cousins - Mandy, Gary, Glenn, Ronda & Lexie; young Jack Lazzaro & his father, Ben; Barbara Simpson, who is out of quarantine now & living with her sister, Margaret for a while; Paul Jackson & his mate, Barry Hansen, and a big group of past Mayors that he became friendly with through the Victorian Local Governance Association. 

Meanwhile I've chatted with God-daughter, Greta, and her father, Danny Millman; my aunt, Jeff, in Lincolnshire; my sister, Leanne, in Strathmore, and brother, Peter, in Wollongong; our friend, Terry Borg in Burwood; old friends - Kathy & Karen from Public Service days, and local friends Judi & Jane.

We bought a 5kg bag of Dutch Cream potatoes at Tonna's, and as our neighbours were fine for spuds, shared them with Nick & Robyn Massaro. I delivered them on my way to Leitches Creek to pump mineral water & we received some lovely home-made mulberry jam in return. We had woken that morning to constant rain & heavy fog & it was even worse in Musk, when I was getting the water. 

Fog & daffodils at 11am on Wednesday

Wes did a lot of work in our garden, as well as Barbara's. He will be so pleased when settlement occurs tomorrow & his responsibility finishes. No 77 looks good from the road, and I am sure it is as spick & span as it will ever be. Some of Barbara's larger pots have found spots in our front garden, and Wes has also taken our beautiful weeping Japanese maple out of its pot & planted it in a sheltered spot, with a gardenia for company. 

Our neighbour, Glen, presented us with two more masks each yesterday - beautifully made and much appreciated. As an Essendon supporter, she finds she has very little black & white, or navy blue material, but she has done her best.

Collingwood has played two games of footy - one on Tuesday night against Adelaide, (in Adelaide), and the second last night against Melbourne (in Brisbane). The first game looked like being a disaster, but we got our act together in the third quarter & ended up winning by 4 goals, helped by very accurate kicking for a change. The second game was a shellacking - the Pies never looked comfortable & Melbourne had an easy win. Carlton then played Freo in a scrappy game. Both of us were in bed well before the end & couldn't believe that Carlton had won when we woke this morning - a great goal from the boundary by Jack Newnes sealed the game with 18 seconds to go. Wow!

We feel very lucky to be living here at present - Stage 3 restrictions are manageable, and we are happy to do whatever it takes to stop the spread of COVID-19. It is such an insidious germ as is shown by the re-emergence in New Zealand, after 100+ days without a new case. How frightening if it has arrived with overseas freight. 

Yesterday was another morning like this - we walked in complete fog & didn't see another person in 75 minutes. It was too wet to bath Lewis & Morse, and they didn't mind one little bit. We've had so much rain this week that I think this cartoon of Charlie Brown & Pigpen expresses it better than I can. This is what the boys do as soon as they are washed. 

Wes assures me that we have less mud & more grass than last year, when the Labs were only babies, and we definitely have more daffodils as Morse doesn't seem to want to bite their heads off the minute they come into bloom anymore. 

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 9th August 2020

Last Sunday started well - after our early walk, we headed to the Sunday Market, which was well-organised & very safe & came home laden again with fruit & vegetables. It's official, Lewis & Morse account for more food than we do! 

After a very yummy breakfast at The Food Gallery (our last for some time), I turned some of the vegetables into minestrone for that night's dinner, while Wes caught up on emails. I was on the phone to Leanne when we lost connection to the NBN and it wasn't until 2.15pm before it came back. Wes was able to go into the garden, with the help of the boys, and moved a few more pots from the front to the back.

Wes about to tuck into scrambled eggs & spinach

We were anxiously waiting the news from Premier Daniel Andrews & it wasn't until 2.30pm that he held his press conference, announcing the latest restrictions. While Greater Melbourne has gone into Stage 4, country Victoria has gone back to Stage 3, which is very manageable. We can still walk the boys, get our groceries, collect takeaway if we are running out of ideas for meals, and attend the Sunday Market. 

Our neighbour, Glen, delivered a pair of beautiful hand-made masks for us - shades of blue for Wes & predominantly black for me. They are comfortable & much appreciated. We wore them the next morning when walking Lewis & Morse around Lake Daylesford & of course, didn't meet a soul. 

We've all had nights like this!

Judi & I met for the last time for a while at Harvest Cafe, where we had breakfast and thanked the staff for all their care. Then Wes picked me up & we drove to Ballarat to get cash, and pick up stuff that he needed for Barbara's home repairs before settlement. We drove back via Ballan looking for chicken manure, which is always available, but wasn't on the rare occasion we needed it. We discovered later that the bird flu outbreak near Geelong meant no chicken manure anywhere for a while! Lewis & Morse came with us & spent most of the trip asleep and happy to be with us. 

On Tuesday morning, it started snowing while we walked and continued to do so for a while. Nothing too heavy, just beautiful floating snowflakes, made even more magic by the light of the full moon, which glowed hauntingly over Lake Daylesford. We were so pleased we had decided to walk even though it was spitting rain when we set out. After breakfast, Lewis & Morse played chasey for about an hour & managed to churn up the lawn and cover themselves in mud before they tired out & fell asleep.

Our daffodils are slowly emerging and the camellias won't be long behind. With the addition of Barbara's pots, we now have even more healthy plants to enjoy and it promises to be a beautiful Spring here. 

This is for everyone who tells me how much they enjoy seeing photos of our boys - Morse in front & Lewis snuggling up on a cold Winter's day

Wes spent a whole day in the garden after we walked on Thursday morning. After shopping at Coles early and while loads of washing & drying were underway, I walked to the Post Office to send some birthday cards. Everyone, except for one young woman, who is making a statement by blatantly not wearing a mask & by being highly visible each day in Vincent Street, seems to be doing the right thing. We now have two cases again in the Hepburn Shire - don't know where & it doesn't matter - the important thing is that we have to obey the rules, which means masks, 1.5 metres distance from each other & hand sanitising. Putting our lives in jeopardy by not doing those three things seems foolish and very short-sighted. 

That night we watched a dreadful game of footy between Collingwood & Sydney, the only saving grace for the Swans being their accurate kicking, and the highlight for the Pies was the goal by Josh Daicos, which brought back memories of his father, Peter, who kicked goals from impossible angles before it became the norm. The Pies were lucky to walk away with a win from the plucky Swans who are in a rebuilding phase & will be a force to reckon with again soon. 

Latest knitting - jumper, beanie & scarf set - thanks to Barbara for the wool

On Friday we managed two complete circuits of Lake Daylesford, which meant the boys slept most of the day & night. It rained off & on, and again yesterday, but was too wet for us to walk. Wes spent time at Barbara's house, where Sandra was doing the final clean before settlement, and the rest of our day was inside, listening to the Coodabeen Champions & watching footy. 

We did enjoy having a Zoom chat with Mike, Linda & Lauren Kirby during the week - even Lola the dog & Ming the cat entered into the spirit of it. The Kirbys live in Queensland and must have found it most amusing to see us rugged up to the nines, while they were lightly attired. Wes also had a long chat with Bob White, and I caught up with Sue Longley, as well as my sister, Leanne and sister-in-law, Anka. I exchanged lots of texts with footy friends, which is usually good fun - thanks to everyone who entered into the spirit of it. 

We're just back from our walk and shortly we are off to the Sunday Market, which will be food & drink only again until restrictions are relaxed or lifted, hopefully in 6 weeks' time. 

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 2nd August 2020

Dear Friends, when I left you last Sunday, we were heading off to the Daylesford Market, which was very well organised & included a few more stalls than the week before - including Jeff, the dog treat & egg man, which enabled us to stock up on Lewis & Morse's favourite goodies. Yvonne was much happier with a side table as well as her front one and both bakeries had plenty of stock. 

Me masked & gloved with a boot full of goodies from the Market

Afterwards we went to The Food Gallery, for a delightful breakfast. Pasquale & Toni are only open from Friday to Sunday at present as lots of their regulars live in the Shire, but outside of Daylesford & they are choosing not to travel, which is very understandable. 

Wes about to tuck into scrambled eggs with spinach & toast

When we got home, Wes went over to spend time with Barbara, helping her get ready for their trip to the airport the next morning. He had planned to supervise the Allied Pickford packing that day, and as he wouldn't be able to do that, he collected everything that wasn't to go with the removalists & brought it here. 

His next activity was to collect Denise & Barbara to take them to Jackie's on Vincent for Denise's birthday lunch. He had hoped to have taken Barbara there before she left, but ran out of time. He was sure Denise wouldn't mind the extra company. Meanwhile, I made phone calls, did some chores & gardening & looked after Lewis & Morse. 

On Monday we got up at 5am to walk the boys around Lake Daylesford, before Wes did Barbara's care and they got ready to leave for the airport again. The removalists arrived about 30 minutes earlier than expected, which threw a small spanner in the works, however, Rob & Dene were happy to look after things there to let Wes & Barbara get on the road. Fortunately, everything went without a hitch & Barbara texted Wes, me & Rob to let us know she was in her seat & drinking bubbles at midday. 

Meanwhile I went into Vincent Street to meet Judi for breakfast at Harvest, going to the PO & pharmacy beforehand. I had enough time to walk up & down Howe Street as well & bemoan the loss of a couple of shops, mostly boutiques, which have not survived. Judi & I had a good catch up sitting in the little room with an open fire & no-one else for much of our time there. Afterwards, I walked Maisie, to help out Hugh, who is looking after her at present. Maisie was thrilled to see me, as she had been when Wes walked her last Friday - we both come equipped with treats and she sits up waiting with a big smile on her face. 

Lovely Maisie, Annie's Irish Water Spaniel

Wes arrived back home with a big bag of Dutch Cream potatoes from a farm near Trentham. He was so relieved that Barbara had been able to board her flight & she texted him later to say she was in her hotel and preparing for 14 days isolation.We all went to bed quite early after our 5am start.

Wes has spent much of this week over at no 77 - as Barbara was unable to take her pot plants & hanging baskets, they are now ours & there were quite a few items like stamps & foodstuffs & cleaning stuff & grog that we have gained as well. The packers left a mess of paper when they left, so he vacuumed all that up in preparation for the carpet cleaners this week. As well, he had his second dental appointment & came home most impressed - cost us $47.50 for 90 minutes & very clean teeth - 4 fillings to come. 

I seem to have had a very Zoomy week - apart from my weekly chat with Leanne, and my fortnightly catch up with friends from the very early seventies, I also chatted with Terry Borg and we have made this a fortnightly event. Wes joined me for that one, which was a lovely surprise for Terry and we had some good laughs as well as some serious talk. 

I was also due for some pampering & enjoyed a very special facial with Emma & later had my nails done by Alanna. I rang friends for birthdays, caught up with my younger sister, Paun, and left messages for my younger brother, Peter, & his wife, Anka. We were in touch with many of our footy friends with messages of good luck before games & commisserations or congratulations afterwards. Collingwood put up a dreadful peformance against West Coast Eagles, which made our coach, Nathan Buckley, liken them to the Harlem Globetrotters losing to the Washington Generals back in 1971.

Morse & Lewis waiting for Sandra to finish cleaning our house & give them apples as she leaves

When Victoria had 723 deaths on Thursday, Premier Dan Andrews announced that the wearing of masks would be compulsory statewide. I had been thinking about that alot this week, when wearing my disposable mask (still waiting for the ones we ordered to arrive). I feel so much safer wearing a mask & I have been finding that everyone gives me a much wider berth than they were before. It just makes sense to cut down the transference of droplets as much as you can. I don't go anywhere without gloves, which also helps. We are both pleased that we started mask wearing seriously some time ago & will find it easy to comply with the rules. 

I had to cancel a few things towards the end of the week when I woke with a cough and had absolutely no energy. Fortunately, Wes was able to pick up the slack, and I am now feeling much better after a couple of days in bed. Carlton were disappointing against Hawthorn after a good start & most of the matches have been one-sided, which is very sad for the supporters of the losing teams. Collingwood plays Fremantle later today and I've got my fingers crossed that we put on a good performance. 

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 26th July 2020

What a busy week it has been. Yesterday, Wes drove Barbara to Melbourne Airport to catch her flight back to New Zealand & her new life there. Sadly this flight was cancelled at the last minute because of a new regulation of which neither of them was aware.  Hopefully she can catch a flight tomorrow, which means another trip to the airport for them both. Fingers & toes crossed. 

A recent photo of Barbara at breakfast at the Food Gallery

When I left you last Sunday, we were heading off to the Sunday Market, where we visited early, as very strict rules were in place. There was only one parking area & only one entrance/exit. All the stalls were situated well back from their usual spots & distanced from each other. Yvonne was only allowed to serve one customer at a time & all monies had to be put into a bucket, with her giving clean change. We were unable to get eggs or Dutch Cream potatoes, but did end up with everything else, including a pumpkin & polenta loaf of Stella's bread. 

I think this is how many of us are feeling!

When we arrived home, while I unpacked, Wes toasted fruit loaf for breakfast (we had forgotten the croissants) and we sat quietly with our hot drinks & the Sunday Age. While I finished washing, drying & packing our supplies, he drove Barbara to Eureka Kennels in Ballarat, where Bobby, her cat, is staying for some weeks until it is appropriate for him to join her in NZ. 

He got back home in time for a Zoom chat with Ben, Leanne, Jack & Olivia Lazzaro. Jack wanted to talk to someone who had once been the boss of Brunswick and Wes was very happy to oblige. He did enjoy seeing the whole family, who were all decked out in navy blue in preparation for Carlton's big game that afternoon against ladder leaders, Port Adelaide. 

The footy was fantastic & the Blues led towards the end, losing by 3 points when Robbie Gray slotted a tricky goal after the siren. Very few teams have come that close to Port this year and the Blues' fans can be very proud of their team. Later that afternoon, Wes hosted an ALP Branch Zoom chat, which was well attended & provoked good discussion.

Recently my side of our electric blanket had stopped working and I was given permission to steal Wes's controls so that I was warm at night. After a few nights of one-sided heat, we agreed that it was probably time to replace our Sunbeam Wool Fleece blanket & I put it on our bed on Sunday. What a difference that makes - the old one was bought in 2006 - no wonder one of the controls died & that fleece was no longer at its best. 

Wes spent much of this week helping Barbara with last minute chores - it's such a big job to move overseas - her car had to go by ship & went off some days earlier. The packers are due to come in tomorrow to fill a container with furniture and belongings. As Barbara will be in isolation in NZ, when she arrives, there was no hurry for her stuff to arrive at the same time as her. Fortunately settlement on her home here was moved forward to next month, so Wes won't have to do too much more to keep the house looking good until the new owner, Ellie, arrives. 

I have been busy, but not as busy & social as last week - apart from personal catch ups with Judi & Gillie, I've enjoyed Zoom chats with Leanne & Skype with Jan Pengilley, both of whom were looking very good. I've also made some phone calls, walked to the Post Office daily (masked & feeling very safe), ordered our cloth masks & even cooked a couple of meals for a change. 

Our weekly School was looking at Google privacy issues. We reviewed our settings, removed some personalised ads, and changed our password for Google only, vowing to do it more regularly. Wes found a way that we could easily identify emails being sent to Bigpond, instead of Gmail, so we can alert suppliers etc to our updated addresses. That was very useful as well. 

We are off to the Sunday Market shortly, having a quick breakfast together at The Food Gallery before Wes spends some more time with Barbara & then takes his sister, Denise Anderson, to lunch at Jackie's on Vincent for her birthday. 

Lovely photo of Denise & her partner, Barry, in 2018

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 19th July 2020

When I left you last Sunday we were heading out to deliver goodies to friends, including lemons stolen from Sue Longley's very prolific tree (she accused me later of not taking any as she didn't notice any difference). We then had breakfast at The Food Gallery, where Pasquale announced they were closing until Friday, putting my catching up with friends plans into disarray. 

Back home, while Wes washed the floors, I had a lovely Zoom chat with old friends, Ian & Robyn Robinson, who have been living at their country property in Chewton since the original lockdown restrictions came into place. It was great to see them & catch up on each other's news, as well as show off Lewis & Morse. 

That night, Wes was delighted when Carlton played very well to beat the Doggies on the Gold Coast. This win put the Blues into the Top 8, somewhere they haven't been for quite a while. 

Wes watching the footy with Lewis & Morse asleep on his lap

On Monday, we watched Steve Dotto talk about tips with Google Contacts & with handling Gmails. He made some very sensible suggestions & we immediately implemented one, which frees you from having to check emails incessantly. We now have an automatic reply to emails which advises you that we are no longer constantly checking & will respond next time we go to Gmail, which might be twice a day. We also learned how to easily add photos to Google Contacts, how to bulk label Contacts & were encouraged to abandon our practice of putting emails into Folders & use the Search engine instead. This last hint could be too hard to put into practice, but we'll certainly consider it.

Sherryn Danaher & I had a lovely long chat afterwards & she filled me in with all she does to keep herself busy during these weeks of lockdown. We both enjoyed catching up, but eventually my voice all but disappeared and we had to hang up. 

Great photo circa 1996 of Sherryn & Karen Stevenson at Stephanie's restaurant 

At lunchtime, I caught up with our first Daylesford friend, Glenda Rozen, who sold us our house at 78 Duke Street back in 1998. We met at Harvest Cafe, where the COVID-19 protocols were strictly adhered to, and enjoyed yummy lunches. Glenda & her husband, Joe, introduced us to so much of what we know & love about living here, and we remain in their debt. Thank you both - always great to spend time together.

On Tuesday, we enjoyed an hour long Skype call with my aunt, Jeff, and her daughter, Leigh, who was visiting her in Lincolnshire from her home in Luxembourg. Both of them were very excited to be together again, and we had lovely catch up - some serious COVID-19 talk, followed by lots of family nonsense & laughs. 

One of my favourite photos of Leigh & Jeff, taken 20 years ago

As part of a very social week, I then had a long Zoom chat with Leanne, so she could see & chat to, Lewis & Morse and later on took Sue Longley for her first ever massage at EKO with Emma. Sue was inundated with beautiful flowers when Bill died back in May, and we decided to give her a Gift Voucher for EKO instead. Sue had told me last week that she was ready for the massage, so I gave her my usual appointment & drove her there & back, so that she would feel more comfortable walking in the door. When I came to pick her up, I could see that it had been a big success and she was feeling & looking so much happier.

Even though she gave me a big bag of lemons, which I then shared with neighbours & friends, she also wanted to buy us afternoon tea. We headed back to Harvest Cafe and spent a lovely hour or so together & promised we would do it again sometime soon. 

These beautiful flowers were waiting for me on my return - thanks to Leanne for her Happy Anniversary wishes

Wednesday seems to have turned into delivery day for me and I headed off early with jars, lemons & papers for Nick & Robyn at Porcupine Ridge, before pumping water at Leitches Creek. Next stop was for a fringe trim with Lyndal, who thought she was doing a full cut & had to be reminded that I was still recovering from losing 5cm in length three weeks' earlier. 

Afterwards, I met up with Jane Barrett, again at Harvest Cafe, where we had a cuppa & I congratulated her on selling her latest home, and wished her well in their search for the perfect new abode, which they have until November to find. 

I arrived back here in time to host a Zoom meeting of old friends - Kathy Lazzaro, Karen Stevenson & Joyce Spiteri. We all worked together back in the early 70s & have shared so much over nearly 48 years. Joyce's husband, Manny, joined her in the chat for a while, and, as they were babysitting Jessica's twins - Ethan & Oliver, we got to see them as well. We are doing this catch up fortnightly & it works perfectly. If any of us feels the need to chat in between times, we ring.

This parcel was returned to our PO Box during the week - I sent it to cousin, Leigh Murrin, in Luxembourg for her special birthday - lots of all the Australian treats she misses most - and it never arrived. Four months later, we received it intact, but obviously undelivered!

 

On Thursday, after shopping, I organised a visit for us to 
Trentham Aged Care to catch up with a friend there. Meanwhile Wes took Barbara to Springs Medical Centre for an appointment. We both had quite busy mornings with split second timing to get to Trentham at the appointed hour - road works halfway along with red lights & delays of up to 5 minutes. 

That night, Collingwood unexpectedly beat Geelong in a low-scoring but exciting match at the new Perth Stadium in front of 22,000 fans. I suspect the rain stopped 8,000 people from attending, as 30,000 was the limit. Geelong lost their inspirational captain, Joel Selwood, early on, which helped the Magpies' cause. The game started at 8.10pm our time, which meant we watched the second half in bed, as it was well past our bedtime by then. 

On Friday, we took the boys for an extra long walk to help tire them out. With footy happening every night including tomorrow, we don't want them waking us any earlier than they have to! After a busy morning, making cauliflower soup for us & cooking rice & pumpkin for them, I made a couple of phone calls before heading off into Vincent Street for a catch up lunch with Di Lyttleton at The Food Gallery. We have been friends for a long time, but never see each other as much as we would like. This was a perfect way to do it & our time together flew by. We both had big bowls of the seafood chowder, which is a Food Gallery special, & I don't know about Di, but Wes cancelled dinner & served toasted cheese & tomato sandwiches instead!

Wow! This is me with Jeff Bain & Di Lyttleton 10 years ago next month, when we had a little holiday together - this photo was taken at All Saints Winery by Wes

Yesterday, I was ordered to stay at home & did so very happily. There were lots of chores that needed doing - washing all the dogs' bedding, a big basket of ironing, and cleaning the kitchen. Most of these jobs were done listening to the Coodabeen Champions and the afternoon was spent watching footy games, especially the very exciting Brisbane Lions win over Greater Western Sydney. 

We are off to the Sunday Market shortly as it is back on again this week, but just food stalls - so we will stock up on our usual fruit & vegetables from Yvonne, plus croissants & bread from Steve & Ken & perhaps a bag of Dutch Cream potatoes if that particular farmer is there. 

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 12th July 2020

When I left you last Sunday, I was off to the Food Gallery to have a catch up breakfast with Janine Hawker. We did enjoy our time together & it was  9.15am before we knew it. Janine was looking well & happy & has coped very well with lockdown by having lots of projects, all of which she has achieved. Meanwhile Wes & the boys were out in the garden, pruning roses & clearing up as best they could with the soggy ground.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

I led School on Monday, as we explored Google Docs, MyDrive & Blog & we both felt we learnt plenty. I think the hardest thing, coming from Word, is that we both are looking for the command, SAVE, and it is gradually dawning on us that work is saved automatically. We are both having trouble trusting Google when it comes to saving, but so far, we haven't lost anything! At the conclusion of our lesson, we decided that Google Docs wasn't versatile enough for us and that we would go back to Word, which offers so much more when composing. 

However, Wes has really caught the Blog Bug & some of his wonderful writing can be found at https://warrenmaloney.blogspot.com/

Judi & I met up at The Food Gallery afterwards, and she was interested in all we have been doing. The cafe was busy with a steady stream of locals & visitors, but there were definitely fewer people in town than the previous week. I imagine quite a few had to return home to be in lockdown. We have our fingers & toes crossed that they haven't left COVID-19 with us, as our Shire has been remarkably free from the virus, apart from (months ago) two returning from overseas Trentham residents, who self-isolated & didn't need hospitalisation. 

On Tuesday morning, Wes & Barbara had to drive to the outskirts of Melbourne, but they were back by lunchtime. I spoke to Leanne on Zoom, which worked well, before heading off for the Post Office. I chatted with Gail White, who, with her husband, Terry, has recently relocated to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, NSW. We had plenty to catch up on & she was able to tell me that Terry will be able to have his thrice-weekly dialysis locally from next month, which will make life much easier for them both. 

That afternoon, Wes was able to finish pruning the roses (all 118 of them) as it was brilliant sunshine & quite warm. Michael was gardening next door, which occupied Lewis & Morse. Their tails are wagging but they seem to have to bark as well, which is most infuriating. 

The next day I was busy dropping off various items in & around Daylesford before having a manicure with Alanna at Spa + Beauty in Hepburn Springs. She is kept busy with locals during the week, but the Greater Melbourne COVID-19 Stage 3 lockdown means that her weekends are now very quiet again. I think she is like most employers who were worried about their exposure to the virus from our visitors and is grateful that we will have some respite from them as they seem to abandon all protocols once they are away from their own homes. 

That afternoon I had a lovely long Zoom chat with Marilyn Preston & we hope to do it again soon. She looked very well & updated me with some of what has been happening with them, and their two sons. Wes had a Zoom meeting with the Reconciliation Committee & had to use the laptop and sit out on our decking, as Sandra was cleaning. Later in the day he caught up with his cousins again - clockwise from the top - Ronda, Amanda, Gary, Glenn & Wes.

With all 18 AFL teams out of Victoria for the foreseeable future, it has felt quite weird to be watching e.g. Collingwood play Hawthorn at the Sydney Showgrounds, as they did on Friday night, and Carlton meet the Western Bulldogs on the Gold Coast, as they will tonight. 

Wes has been getting serious about doing home chores as well as his writing and on Thursday he scrubbed down both the dog decking & our main decking. He cleaned the glass and hosed everywhere down afterwards. Almost on cue, Lewis & Morse waited until we were sitting down debriefing over our pre-dinner drink, before pulling down a holder of bright green tinsel streamers I had placed up high to scare away the cockies from our herb pots on the decking. What had seemed like a small amount turned into a sea of bright green everywhere and took until mid-morning on Friday to clear up!

Gail White sent me this photo of their new lounge in Katoomba - looks very cosy indeed

We set off on Friday morning to socialise Lewis & Morse outside the Food Gallery, but it was closed, so we drove to Trentham instead & picked up some free range eggs & Dutch Cream spuds. We had hoped our Sunday Market would have re-opened today with the restrictions back on Melburnians, but it didn't. We were able to collect our usual order from Yvonne yesterday, but she doesn't have eggs or Dutch Cream spuds. 

The Collingwood vs Hawthorn game produced a most unusual result with the Pies starting well & holding on to win - a rarity against the Hawks & a much needed 4 points. I somehow stayed up until the end & was praying for rain yesterday morning, so I could stay in bed with a pot of tea & The Age. However, it was dry early, and we were able to walk Lewis & Morse before the rain came tumbling down, turning our backyard into its Winter mud.

While Wes drove to Wheatsheaf to collect our provisions from Yvonne, I turned our remaining vegetables into a particularly yummy vegetable soup, which fed us at lunch & will continue to feed us at lunch for as long as we don't get sick of it. 

Last night, Wes unearthed the Sunbeam Electric Frypan and made toasted cheese & tomato sandwiches. This reminded us of our very early days at 4/201 Brunswick Road, with Cheryl & Brendan living at Flat 2. They used to invite us in for toasted sandwiches on Sunday nights & we would luxuriate in their comfortable lounge suite & watch TV. We didn't have a couch or a TV, so this was a very special treat indeed!

Yesterday, we celebrated 52 years since we committed to each other in the Melbourne University Folk Club lounge. Wes has written a lovely story about it and his post on Facebook yesterday attracted heaps of comments. 

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 5th July 2020

Last Sunday, the Dispatch didn’t quite arrive as I had planned. It still showed Tuesday’s date, it unexpectedly went into a 5th page & it seemed to go to everyone’s emails, not just the ones I had chosen for the Dispatch. These are all teething issues that I am sorting out as I make the move from Outlook to Google. Please accept my apologies & bear with me - it will improve. I am unable to find Verdana font, which I love, so have been using Varela Round, which I quite like, but all the settings are out as a result. You have no idea the panic there was at my desk around 7 am as I went to send out my first Dispatch via Gmail & Google Docs. 

I thought I should describe a typical Sunday morning for you - we get up at 5.30am and are usually at Lake Daylesford by 5.45 with Lewis & Morse. We walk for 60-70 minutes, come back home & give them breakfast. I also clean the backyard & feed the birds before coming into the study & preparing to finish & send the Dispatch. I used to try and write it all on Sunday mornings, but that is too hard, so now I have most of it done & just finish it off to send to you. 

Lewis & Morse resting after a busy morning of chasey

After the Dispatch, we have quick showers, get dressed and & drive to the Sunday Market, aiming to be there by 8am to beat the crowds. We greet Ken Rae from Spring Park Nursery as we arrive, bearing newspapers & returning pots from plants we have bought. Yvonne has dog carrots, cabbage, pumpkin & apples ready for me, along with her best celery & fennel. I then try to avoid others as I choose mushrooms, red peppers, spring onions, green beans, ginger, garlic, dog zucchini & dog & people broccoli, pears if they are in season, tomatoes, an Iceberg lettuce that fits in my Tupperware container, red onions & occasionally a leek. 

Meanwhile Wes buys sourdough bread & croissants from Steve & Ken at Stella’s, Dutch Cream potatoes from a farmer down the other end of the market & spelt bread for Glen, our neighbour, if she doesn’t need a trip to the market for anything else. On the way out, we stop to chat with Jeff, the dog treat man, and buy pigs’ ears’ strips & dried lamb bones for Lewis & Morse. 

We arrive back home laden and while Wes delivers croissants & spelt bread to Barbara & Glen, I start washing everything in preparation for filling our two crispers - the smaller dog one & the larger people one, although some days I think it should be the other way round. 

Wes then takes me out to breakfast or makes hot drinks & heats up croissants and we sit at our dining room table looking out over Lake Daylesford and reading the Sunday Age as we have breakfast. After we finish, I get back to the now clean fruit & vegetables, and Wes goes into the garden if it isn’t too cold. 

My next move is to ring Leanne & see how her weekend is going, before doing whatever chore I have set myself - last Sunday, I planned to, and did, give a complete polish to our beautiful hall table. This involved taking off the protective glass, moving the piece out from the wall, removing & polishing every drawer & eventually putting it all back together again. By this time, it was midday - time to check emails before going back upstairs for another pot of tea & the Sunday crossword. 

We bought this beautiful Chinese console hall table  from Orient Furniture, Chinatown, Sydney, back in 2005. We were going to Yum Cha with Judi & Michael, when we noticed it in the window & thought it would go perfectly in our then new home. We still love it and it looks just as good as the day we bought it. 

So much has happened this week. We watched some more Steve Dotto You Tube information sessions to learn more about Google Docs & Keep, and I made the decision to stop doing the Dispatch twice & instead write it straight into my Blog & attach a link to my Sunday emails. I do hope this has worked OK for you and that you were easily able to catch up on our news if you wished. Let me know of any issues you have, as it appears to work fine for Wes & me. Tomorrow I am teaching Wes all I have learned about Docs, as he hasn’t started using them yet. The main drawback to them is that although they are excellent for putting up on the web, they don’t keep their shape when it comes to printing and that was why I had such problems last Sunday. 

Judi & I had our regular catch up at The Food Gallery, but we were appalled by the numbers of visitors & their attitudes to spatial distancing. We are in the middle of Victoria School Holidays & people from Melbourne, which has had quite a spike in COVID-19 contractions, seem to think it is OK to visit the country, where there are little or no cases & bring it with them. More than one shop-keeper talked to me about closing over the weekends, rather than put his & his staff’s health at risk. 

We did enjoy watching the Coodabeen Champions on Monday night on You Tube - the show was meant to go for 90 minutes, but they did 135, including a 10 minute interval. Once again we felt as though we had gone out to see a live show - there were lots of jokes, very little serious football talk, plenty of songs & a very amusing array of phone calls to Torch, including one from Nige,( who is an ideator working for Gill McLaughlin), wondering if the Coodabeens had any thoughts for how to fix the season. We laughed ourselves silly, while Lewis & Morse tried to tell us how tired they were & begged to go to bed.

Wonderful cartoon of the night by Paul Harvey  L-R     Ian Cover, Jeff Richardson, Greg Champion, Andy Bellairs, Billy Baxter, Simon Whelan & Torch McGee

We celebrated end-of-financial year with lunch at Jackie’s on Vincent. We had booked & were given the table by the open fire, as well as an excellent welcome from Lisa & very yummy food courtesy of Jackie. It was the perfect time to go for a meal as there were only 8 of us having lunch & the tables were well-spaced. The biggest worry for everyone was the 12 year old girl, who wanted to go exploring & touch everything. Her parents were mindful, but didn’t demand obedience. 

Wes tucking into chocolate fondant to finish the meal, after curried goat for him & chilli calamari for me.

Wes spent plenty of time with Barbara, helping her with practical things as well as being a sounding board. He also spent time in our garden, both front & back, pruning roses & cleaning up. We had so many sunny days after cold, frosty & misty mornings.

One highlight for me was my fortnightly chat with Kathy Lazzaro & Karen Stevenson. This time, Joyce Spiteri joined us, which was wonderful. We all met in 1972-74, and have been firm friends ever since. Old friends are so good - you don’t have to explain yourself - they know you as well as anyone, and we all enjoyed the catch up. Joyce has promised to try and join us again - she had to leave the chat early as two of her grand-daughters (Katia & Alessia) were clamouring for sewing lessons. 

Another was a catch up with Dot & John Smith at The Food Gallery. We met on Friday morning, when Daylesford was submerged in fog and spent a lovely hour or so chatting. I was pleased to see them both looking well & prepared to be sensible for as long as it takes. The surge in COVID-19 cases in Victoria (mostly Melbourne) has been disappointing after we were doing so well early. 

Mid-week, we were delighted to read that the Sunday Market was going back to being a food market only with much stricter controls, as it was before. However, it was decided to cancel today’s & next Sunday’s Market & bring it back after the Victorian school holidays are over. Yvonne rang me as soon as she heard the news & Wes visited her in Wheatsheaf, about 10 minutes away, to pick up our usual order. Our fridge was as full as it ever gets with fresh food arriving two days earlier than usual. 

We feel very lucky that we haven’t gotten bored yet - we have the boys to entertain us & keep us busy; 9 games of footy are available on Fox from Thursday night to Sunday afternoon; we haven’t run out of projects, and we are keeping in touch with friends & family whenever we can. Neither of our teams won this weekend, which isn’t ideal - the Saints & Bombers were just too good. 

Beanies, berets & a scarf that I donated to Keeping Daylesford Warm this week. Thanks again to everyone for their wool donations. Much appreciated. 

Yesterday was Barbara’s birthday and Wes took her to Bellinzona Grange for High Tea at lunchtime. He was very impressed with everything - precautions, distancing, service & yummy food. 

The boys and I settled down to watching an afternoon of footy in front of the fire and out of the cold & wet. Our backyard looks like a country footy field after a game, as it hasn’t coped with another 30mls of rain in a couple of days. Lewis & Morse just love it & their games of chasey become even more excited and muddier. We think Morse’s aim is to take Lewis’s collar from him & he is successful more often than not!

This morning it feels strange not to be visiting the Sunday Market, but I am having an early breakfast with Janine Hawker at The Food Gallery. We haven’t seen each other for 4 months & it will be lovely to catch up, especially early before the visitors arrive.