Yet another delivery by me in the ute on Wednesday evening - this time of a handsome desk made from an old organ which Justin had spied on Ebay
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| new desk (photo from Ebay) |
Steve kindly helped me unload it, and luckily it hadn't rained too much on the trip there, so there was no water damage. It's ironic that it had been completely dry for weeks, and then on the afternoon that I wanted to go, there were occasional showers forecast. Only really sprinkled a bit on the Monash, and then again over the great Dividing range
I also brought up the scenery boards for the old model train set that we had displayed in the study. I reckon it looks great, Justin is more critical of his own work
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| work in progress - courtesy of Justin the artist |
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| completed scene |
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| in situ |
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| the artist and his creation |
As I was by myself, I pottered around on the Thursday, doing my "homework" for the ABC television program "Who's been sleeping in my house" They had wanted me to see what sort of soil there was in the garden in case they "x-ray" it to establish once and for all if there is a tunnel between our place and Tivey's old store as per pervasive and possibly wrong rumours.
So I dug a small hole for them - as you can see quite sandy and dry, with some pebbles also (remains of old path?)
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| sandy soil |
I also took some other photos of the assumed surface route that the tunnel would take
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| from the back gate looking back to the house |
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from the back gate across to Tivey's old store,
now Steve & Denise's Inglewood Emporium |
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| Storm Lane drain - tunnel would have to go under this |
I also fired up the Christmas frying pan, as I wanted to do some Easter "baking"
First up were some Hot cross buns which I had started in the bread maker, ie mixing, proving, resting given that they use yeast.
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| hot cross bun dough |
I then hand formed them and put them in the electric frying pan to "bake" The crosses proved trying, as I didn't have a piping bag, so ended up not really doing them. Unfortunately the buns didn't work out that well, sure the taste was good, but they were very heavy, more like rock cakes. I don't think that they rose at all. Better luck next year.
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| hot cross buns baking in the frying pan |
Next up was an apple cake/pudding (no recipe) - which worked much better
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| apple cake on the right |
And finally a loaf of onion, rosemary and cheese bread, and an Inglewood Tomato tart (actually I made the bread on the Friday). And I also made a batch of potato and brocolli soup
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| My Easter baking delights |
After all of this cooking I thought it only right to make myself a nice dinner. Went to the butchers and bought yet again a delicious piece of pork which I cooked up with some vegies. And once again that first bite was so tasty. James and Pat really do have the best meats.
Good Friday was warm and sunny, and I waited, reading the newspaper on the veranda for the others to arrive. Karen and Mark were planning on getting here around lunchtime, while Justin and the kids had initially said they'd get here then, but had to revise due to extenuating circumstances.....
....a slight hiccup occurred when Justin called on Thursday afternoon, and he was not amused. My car had got a flat tyre in the back lane, and Justin couldn't find the specialised widget to undo the tyre nuts. He thought I'd lost it, and he was on the way to the dentist and was late....Anyway he finally found the widget, put on the crappy little spare tyre, but was too late for the dentist. This tyre can't be driven at more than 80 kmph so he thought they wouldn't be able to come here for Easter, as it was too late on the afternoon prior to Good Friday to have the punctured tyre fixed. What a disaster!! Anyway, Peter saved the day and lent Justin his car, but this added to the time, and they arrived well after lunch.
Anyway, while waiting, I also listened to 501 who were playing across the road at the Town Hall at the Good Friday fish BBQ
They were pretty good, and no one was clapping, so I did from the veranda. Even gave them some standing ovations so that they could see me. They said afterwards they did hear me and appreciated my feedback.
I went down there around 12.30, and saw Steve and Denise and got myself a fish burger. I also had an interesting conversation with Alex and Joy who said that Ian P was selling his church in Maryborough, as he was heading off overseas
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| Ian's Wesley church up for sale :- photo from the internet |
And of course we were interested to know if the contents were also going to be sold ie the old servant bells etc. They didn't know but took mobile number and said they'd try and find out more.
Karen and Mark arrived around 12.45, but but that time the food had unfortunately run out, and they were packing up, so they went to a cafe for lunch.
Afterwards Karen and I went to the Inglewood Emporium to have another look at their cellar and take some photos of the outline of the blocked up door to the tunnel ( for Who's Been Sleeping in my house). Actually, when we looked more closely, we didn't really think that we could see an outline of a blocked up doorway, it was probably just a change in the lime render. Anyway, I've passed on the photos - so we'll see if they want to investigate any further.
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| where we thought there was a doorway outline |
In preparation for our feasting, the boys went on a healthy run. While Karen and I supervised from the veranda with a gin and tonic
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| heading off up the road |
Madeleine also came up on the veranda and played with Basil, who enjoyed luxuriating in the sun.
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| nice and sunny |
The boys came up and joined us on the veranda also, after showering and changing following their run
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| after the run |
And then, it was dinner time...
First course - my potato and brocolli soup with onion/rosemary bread
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| home made soup |
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| home made bread (it's the crust that looks yellow) |
Followed by salmon -as it was Good Friday after all
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| main course |
And me looking quite happy...
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| big grin |
...maybe that was because we were conducting some scientific taste tests - of 3 different wines we had bought from Jill (used to be Old Loddon Wines) as well as the other wines we had selected to have with dinner
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| tasting goblets :- Merlot, Shiraz, Franc (bit of cork in that middle one) |
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| and the accompanying bottles |
Wrapped it up with my apple cake/pudding for dessert
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| My apple pudding/cake |
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| looks good and tastes good with a dollop of cream |
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| finger licking good? |
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| what a smile |
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| the rapture of a good meal |
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| a little blurry |
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| the candles are getting shorter |
Afterwards the kids and Basil escaped upstairs to their limited electronics
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| Fraser being shy, Madeleine not |
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| not so shy now |
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| Basil curling up |
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| his and hers pcs |
Of course I woke up early the next morning and was sorely tempted by the delicious bacon smells wafting from the cafe near the IGA when I went to buy the newspaper.
The others were still in bed, but once up thought it a good idea to go and sample the "Big Breakfast" on offer. Fraser even came and joined us later, as we hadn't woken up him or Mad, rather left them a note to say where we were.
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| pre breakfast |
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| enjoying breakfast |
But after all of this eating, we needed to get down to work, and decided to clear the area to the right of the dining room bay window. This is where the planned succulent bed will go, and the planned rose garden close to where Justin is standing in the below photo
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| working hard - look at the huge pile of refuse next to the very full trailer! |
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| photographer being given the look ie get back to work!, and stop taking photos |
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| dig! |
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| rake! |
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| all clear |
Meanwhile Karen had decided to demolish that fence with the red flowering succulent creeper on it. Unfortunately there were spiders, so this dulled her enthusiasm somewhat. She did however manage to christen her new very white overalls with some respectable dirt. Eventually we were left with just the star pickets which were incredibly hard to extract as they had been dug in so deep.
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| contemplation |
And Mark cleared around the old oleander, unfortunately I didn't take a before photo, but take my word for it there was a lot of rubbish around it, weed trees etc. During this time I had christened Mark "dirt boy" and I re-christened myself "stump queen", as I took a lot more out. Mark preferred to call me "Stumpy"!
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| hard at work |
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| cleared view from the veranda |
And after a hard afternoon's work, Karen and I went down to the pub to book a table for dinner, and ended up staying for a cheeky beer, given that it was quite a warm day, and we deserved it!
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| a well earned thirst.... |
We had some visitors by the time we came back, Michelle from Ballarat and her kids came for a late afternoon tea (unfortunately I forgot to take photos of this)
After this, pub for dinner and by this time Alex had arrived and joined us there
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| toasting at the pub |
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| walking home from the pub #1 |
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| walking home from the pub #2 |
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| walking home from the pub #3 |
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| walking home from the pub #4 |
And ended up back on our veranda, and some singalongs....
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| concentrating |
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| celebrating |
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| listening |
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| shining |
Easter Sunday, and sure there was an egg hunt....
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| internet Easter egg photo |
I had also found these real eggs earlier (remember chicken chasey from a year ago?? I guess the runaway chicken had roosted in the corner here)
And, we also had a gold /relic hunt. Frank the prospector came and visited us again, and showed us some of the things he had found. He also asked if he could dig a little in our garden, so we said ok and Fraser was asked to join him. They found a few bits and bobs ie an old buckle, some horse shoes etc. Luckily nothing too exciting, as how would we have shared it???
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| Fraser, Frank & Kevin |
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| Frank & Fraser prospecting |
And afterwards, we went on a yabby hunt. Yep those darn yabbies had eluded me for 2 seasons thus far, and it was on my "bucket list" to catch one.
First up we went to the dam where Elise had caught 40 yabbies in 20 minutes a year ago. Well, things change, and what had been an expansive dam last year with a good rainfall, was now not much more than a bath tub
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| look at all of that cracked dry mud |
We assumed there was no hope of finding any yabbies there, so we went back to the "reservoir" where I didn't really think we'd find any either. There were however a couple of guys fishing 100m away, so I went up to chat and ask them what they were catching. Red fin and yellowbelly. And on the way back I came across some dead yabbies
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| found dead yabbies |
So that meant that there were some there (or at least there had been....)
Given that we had no nets, we used the old fashioned stick and piece of string method
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| Mark yabbying |
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| Karen being a yabby spectator |
Mark had the first excitement, he'd seen that there was a yabby on his line and so he slowly pulled it in. However it was quite shallow, and it broke the water surface, so let go and escaped.
Next up Justin had one on the line, Fraser nearly scooped it up with the wire basket attached to a twig, but that one got away also
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| Justin yabbying |
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| wire basket on branch (back at home) |
Finally, third time lucky, and it was me!!! I felt the string move slightly, so very slowly and carefully started pulling it in. We could see the yabby below the surface, and by this stage we had attached the basket to a longer branch. Fraser stepped up again (and into the mud) and yes we caught it!! I was so thrilled.
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| Mark lifted it up first - behind the nippers #1 |
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| Mark lifted it up first - behind the nippers #2 |
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me - looking delighted #1
(and holding it very carefully after Mark showed me how) |
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| me - looking delighted #2 |
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me - looking delighted #3
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Well, after this ripping success, and posing for many photos (I had my mobile/camera, so did Karen and so did Alex) - we quit while we were ahead, let the yabby go, and returned home triumphant!!
Mum, Helen & kids were there by that stage, so we exchanged chocolate eggs and re-lived our yabby adventures.
And here's a few photos of Karen and me in our winter house/laundry (haven't settled on a name yet)
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| enjoying each others company #1 |
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| enjoying each others company #2 |
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| enjoying each others company #3 |
Given that it was another foody day, Justin, Mark & Alex went for a run up the road again (for J & M)
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| Alex took this photo (of course) |
Then we invited Steve. and Denise around for pre dinner drinks and nibbles which we enjoyed outside under the hoop pine
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| pre dinner drinks #1 |
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| Pre dinner drinks #2 |
And then a mini calamity.... The cork screw/bottle opener had disappeared. We'd had it to open up the ciders/beers for the drinks, but then couldn't find it for dinner. So of course we rang Steve and Denise and borrowed theirs. I eventually found ours a few days later on top of the food plastic box on top of the kitchen cupboard. I think I had probably put it there. Oh well, it was a mystery for a few days, and we got a new one from the op shop (surprisingly they didn't sell them at the IGA??)
But, back to our wonderful Easter Sunday dinner. Karen and I had made roast pork for our Christmas in July last year, and Karen had bought some Inglewood pork for dinner tonight. Once again we did it in the BBQ, and once again we somehow stuffed up the crackle....(we can both do it perfectly in an oven however)
Anyway, the pork was absolutely delicious. So tasty and tender. Mark declared it the best pork he had ever eaten. And of course we had various accompaniments, a green salad with tomatoes from the garden. roast potatoes, gravy and a trifle for dessert. Given that we were 11 people, to cut down on washing up we used plastic plates - which detracts a bit from the photos. But who cares?
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| looks good doesn't it |
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| dinner is served #1 |
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| dinner is served #2 |
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| dinner is served #3 |
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| blurry trifle |
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| Mad loving the camera |
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| serving the trifle |
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| enjoying some wine #1 |
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| enjoying some wine #2 |
Easter Monday and it was Rheola Show Day! We had gone to this last year and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Mad also went with high hopes as she had scored 24 Agatha Christie books last year at the bargain price of 20c each, but hadn't bought them all. This year she hoped to be able to buy the rest. I told her that they probably wouldn't have them anymore. But I was wrong! She bought another large stack of them and was in crime genre bliss
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| photo from the internet |
Once again there were the sheep dog trials,
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| sheep dog trials #1 |
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| sheep dog trials #2 |
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| Photo from the internet #1 |
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| Photo from the internet #2 |
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| Photo from the internet #3 |
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| Photo from the internet #4 |
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| Photo from the internet #5 |
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| Photo from the internet #6 |
The vintage tractor pulls (Justin was particularly taken by the Oliver tractor (in fact had a t-shirt made up with it )
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| tractor pull in action |
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| sizing up the competition |
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| tricky looking back wheels |
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| driving above tractor |
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| line 'em up |
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| Justin's favourite |
We watched some skeet shooting
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| skeet shooting #1 |
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| skeet shooting #2 |
And marvelled at the weird and wonderful mystery vintage steam machines
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| mystery vintage steam engine #1 |
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| mystery vintage steam engine #2 |
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| mystery vintage steam engine #3 |
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| mystery vintage steam engines #1 |
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| mystery vintage steam engines #2 |
Admired the equestrians
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| rider #1 |
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| rider #2 |
Likewise admired the very capable axe men. Helen thinks I have an unhealthy obsession with these guys, but I just really like the way they swing their axes, and get through those logs in no time
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| Photo from the internet #1 |
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| Photo from the internet #2 |
Strolled over and looked at the old cars
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| not quite vintage cars |
Wondered at how many local businesses there had been (via the old hessian sacks)
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| old hessian sacks #1 |
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| old hessian sacks #2 |
Thought about entering the Rheola Gift (not really - Fraser didn't want to run), but Michaela did. Unfortunately my mobile was playing up at this stage, and although I took photos they weren't being saved. So I don't have a photo of her running
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| Fraser in front of the track |
Enjoyed the food
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| Xavier munching on a sausage |
And ultimately entered Little Miss and Master Rheola - once again I took photos - but they didn't work.
However, I did find a photo on the internet of the little Miss Rheola competition
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| photo from the internet |
Unfortunately, my cute niece and nephew didn't win, but there's always next year...
Alex and Mark & Karen left on Monday after the show, and Justin & kids left on Tuesday leaving me with Mum, Helen and her kids.
Our first port of call was the local op shop where we found some curtains which we thought might go on one of our many windows. As it was, they were too short, but there were two pairs, so we decided we could add to the length and make the join a pleat and therefore a feature.
Mum being a dressmaker from years ago was assigned this task, but first we had to find a sewing machine. Asked the ladies at the op shop, but they didn't know anyone. So I of course asked good old Denise & Steve, and lo and behold they had an old machine which they weren't sure worked or not, but we could borrow it and try. Well, it didn't work that well, I had to manually turn the handle? which makes the needle go up and down in order for Mum to direct the material through.
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| manually sewing with the sewing machine |
It was quite time consuming, but hopefully a bit faster than hand sewing. The machine ultimately packed up, and Mum had to sew the last bit by hand. But she preferred this to taking the curtains home and sewing on her machine.
The end result was quite good, and we hung them in the downstairs green room. Madeleine had complained of the street light shining through the window and making it hard to sleep, so this should be an improvement. Mum is currently sleeping in that room, but she said the light didn't annoy her
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| the finished curtains |
I also pottered around the garden a bit more. As per below I managed to extract those pesky star pickets and pipes which had been denuded by Karen pulling down that fence. Gordon had suggested that I fill the holes I had dug with water, and then to just agitate the pickets. They ultimately came out and I was very pleased. (Justin had also tried to get them out "scientifically". He had gone to the IGA and bought a shackle and then had used that in conjunction with a heavy chain and a crow bar to try and lever out the poles. All it did was break the shackle. The poles were just too deep, and too entrenched within the ground. The below photo is an after shot (remember my stupid phone was playing up with taking/keeping photos - so I've already pulled them out and filled in the holes. As to my mobile, I think I just had too much stuff on it so deleted some apps etc that I wasn't using and it seems to be ok for now...)
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| extracted star pickets |
Gordon brought over 12 bales of pea straw and I put some of that around the garden as mulch. But it was more compacted than the last lot and so was a lot more time consuming to break up and distribute. Suffice to say, I didn't finish it..
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| pea straw bales |
We also had a visit from David who brought me some goat/sheep manure for my strawberries and chillies
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| my very vigorous chilli plant with lots of chillies |
And he also gave me some jerusalem artichokes to eat
And then a plant complete with a few tubers - which I planted in the front garden
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| Jerusalem artichoke plants - photo from the internet (my photo didn't keep) |
Mum and Helen also shamed me regarding my shabby t shirt that I wear under my overalls for gardening. I protested that it was for gardening, so it didn't matter that there were some small holes in the back. But they would not be deterred, and marched me to the op shop to get a new t shirt. They then demanded that I throw away the old one, but I managed to grant it a reprieve by saying that it could be used as a soft rag for polishing/dusting etc
So, how did we fill our days? Lots of games of scrabble. Helen and I went for a few walks. There was of course the ongoing curtain saga. Played with the kids. Went to the pub for dinner (Mum's favourite) Read the papers, cooked, ate, and was merry (but no bike rides)
Anyway, they left on Saturday morning, and Justin and Karen came back Saturday afternoon, as well as Lana an old friend of J's from work.
You see, there was another Kingower film night. But this was a special one, as there was also a meal of locally caught yabby ravioli in a cream sauce, followed by slow cooked lamb in a tomato, wine and herb base with baby potatoes, and finishing up with chocolate hazelnut cheesecake. Byo drinks and seats!
There was no way I was going to miss this, and I'd mentioned it to Karen who was interested to come up. (Mark unfortunately had football)
It was a perfect evening (stupid mobile played up again as a few of my photos didn't keep, but luckily some did, and Karen also gave me some of her photos)
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| as Karen said a "Narnia lamp post" - prior to the meal |
Unfortunately the seats that we'd brought were quite short for the table, and made us look like we were children sitting up at the "big table"
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| J eating the ravioli |
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| and me with a mouth full |
There were just under 40 of us, and it was a very festive, sociable evening. It started out warm, but I had been prepared and brought little blankets, and warm jackets. It didn't get that cold, but I was glad of a jacket
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| the lamb and potatoes - delicious |
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| The dinner in action |
And the film was the old art house foody favourite Babette's Feast - which we all enjoyed.
Karen and Lana left mid morning on Sunday, and I was determined to do one last thing, and that was to fix the puncture on the bike - which had been out of action since last year. Now this wasn't for want of trying. I'd bought a new inner tube, but it was the wrong size (non standard), so I had to return it and get a proper one. This all took time. Then I put the tube in the tyre, pumped it up, but it deflated pretty much immediately. So that was the end of that for a while. I figured I had done something wrong, or the tube was faulty.
I tried to fix it again some time later, and repaired the puncture, but it deflated again.
Made a third repair and was completely flummoxed. But then I spoke to some locals who said that there were probably bindi thorns still embedded in the actual tyre, and that I should run my hand/fingers along the inside. Well, what a revelation, there were actually 5 thorns in there. No wonder I kept on getting new punctures!
Got rid of them with Justin's help, and finally finally fixed the tyre, pumped it up and went for a quick celebratory bike ride. Hoorah!!
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| Justin putting the inner tube in the tyre |
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| me - prior to my celebratory ride! |
