Well, it was just Mum and me this weekend. We were supposed to have our very politically incorrect "fur party" or really fur dinner party, however first Maile & David couldn't come, and then Bob and Jo likewise couldn't come, and then Justin had to come back early on the Sunday for band practice, so we ended up postponing it (not cancelling, although I haven't organised a new date as yet, might have to wait til next Winter, we'll see)
Anyway, Mum got to my place just after 8am, and we stopped at the Calder roadhouse for breakfast, a cheeky McDonalds breakfast pack - which was rather good.
On the drive, Mum couldn't believe how green it all was, as she hadn't been to Inglewood since Autumn, when it was still very brown and dry.
Bridgewater was having their monthly market, so we stopped and had a look. I bought a number of plants (feeling optimistic with all of this rain), and also met Sally the honey lady, - with the "best garden in Inglewood". We also saw Coleen in the new Op Shop, and I invited her to drop in on us - as she was saying how lovely the garden looked
And she was right, in front of the house the euphorbias were in bright green "bloom", the calendulas, gazanias grape hyacinths, freesias and unknown white flowers, and inside the garden these plus unknown orange flowers - it all looked very cottagey and lovely
 |
| Spring garden #1 |
 |
| Spring garden #2 |
Even had a few roses
 |
| iceberg rose |
And the plum tree by the well in the back was covered in blossom
 |
| plum tree |
Anyway, first up, I got a call from Clancy our neighbor in Melbourne, except he wasn't, in Melbourne that is. He was up the road in Wedderburn, (had been travelling back from a family funeral in Mildura) so he dropped in on us.
Next up was Coleen who I showed around the house, then David and Maile on their way to a Christmas in July in September...(which was why they couldn't come to the Fur party- as they'd double booked)
Maile was looking very festive as per the photo below
 |
| Christmas elf |
Gordon also dropped by, and then Val from across the road also had a bit of a chat.
We possibly had so many visitors because I was busy pulling weeds out the front. Yes the garden looked very nice, but on closer inspection there were a lot of weeds contributing to the greenery.
I pulled up many wheel barrows full, and just about filled Gordon's trailer.
Given that we had a late breakfast, we also had a late lunch - a warming soup and toast, and then a late dinner at the pub. My brilliant idea had been to get there around 7.45 or so - as the kitchen closes at 8pm, and be the last order and therefore be served quickly. Unfortunately it didn't quite work out that way. We arrived and there were a couple of tables that still hadn't eaten including 2 large tables....
That said we waited about 1/2 hour, which isn't too bad. I bucked tradition, and had a seafood platter, and Mum had the garlic prawns and rice.
Went back home and had our 2nd game of scrabble (we'd had one after lunch, and I'd beaten Mum by about 100 points). Unfortunately for her I thrashed her again by about 100, but they were good games and we enjoyed them (when I say good games, we didn't get stuck not being able to go anywhere, and we had some good words)
Mum likes to go to bed around 10, so I went to bed then too, and watched a dvd of Monarch of the Glen which I'd recorded years ago. I think Justin will model himself on Hector in years to come, and they are also doing up their house - however obviously on a much grander scale.
Sunday morning, and Mum had a surprising but well welcomed sleep in, I just read the Age in bed on the tablet. Had a good breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast, and then back out to the garden for more weeding...
Also discovered some poppy plants that had come up out the front in 4 different places (I'd sown some seeds a while back). Had to weed around the poppies, as I didn't want any zealous helpers pulling up the poppies by mistake as they look a bit like big weeds(don't want to name names ....MM a few years ago)
Given all the rain, the ground was nice and soft, just perfect for pulling the weeds out, however my hands and nails were filthy, and were very difficult to get fully clean.
Gordon had also been around with the weed killer and sprayed around the perimeters - along the fence line around the tree edges etc
 |
| poisoned weeds/grass #1 |
 |
| poisoned weeds/grass #2 |
I'm still iffy about the whole poisoning business - as I'm a weeder, not a sprayer, and given that it killed the grass in the photos above, I'm also assuming that it would kill some of my plants also if sprayed indiscriminately.
I should mention that the electricians had also been back, and replaced the cords, no more knots! However they hadn't put the two way switch in the upstairs hallway - didn't have a wooden mounting board.
The back door is still very stiff to open, and the front door now seems to stick a bit (unlike a few weeks ago when it didn't latch properly.
And the roof is leaking again...In the same spot - the gully above the stairs, as there was water in the downstairs back hallway. Looked in the cellar too, but there didn't appear to be any seepage from the ground (salamis looking good though) Spoke to Gordon the roofer, and he thought that the water was gathering in the gully if the rain was bucketing down, and didn't have a chance to disperse. Said he could build up the gully higher. We thought it a good idea - and will organise it accordingly
