Queens Birthday and more olives for oil Fri 10 - Mon 13 June 2022

Well, Justin and I weren't going to be silly....

There was no way we were going to try and battle the traffic on a Friday afternoon of a long weekend.

So we took our time, had some dinner at home in Melbourne, and then left for Inglewood around 7pm.

Perfect, no traffic, just like normal

That said Alex and Sarah had left Melbourne before lunch time 

Alex sent us a photo of Sarah enjoying a new purchase - a portable heated electric blanket, that you can snuggle around you while out of bed

Anyway, we got there after 9pm, stayed up for a bit  - and then bed

Saturday morning - and not quite as leisurely a start as always.   

Damo and Nicole had said they would help us pick olives, and Damo was arriving at 9am (as Nicole had a haircut at 9.10)

So, I was obviously ready for him by 9am - and out we went.

Justin and Sarah came out to help a bit later (Alex was decluttering and vacuuming the upstairs green room in preparation for Peter)

I could only stay til 10.25, as I was having my haircut and coloured at 10.30

I got back around lunchtime - and Justin had organised a nice antipasto lunch in the rotunda

Vic also dropped by while we were having lunch - to see if he could have some of the black wrinkled olives for pickling. And yes we left him a tree  

And then it was back to more olive picking - but with 6 of us picking - it was very fast (much better than when I did it by myself the first time last year - and picked 102kg (and Alex you and April helped me on the 2nd batch where we picked 76kg)

So, we ended up picking 120kg - which we put in the rotunda overnight 

Sarah also took a very nice photos of the sun streaming through the coloured glass, and lighting up the floor.  I hadn't seen that effect before, have seen it on the walls, not the floor

  

Peter had also joined us in the late afternoon, and we had a nice dinner of roast beef, potatoes, pumpkin and gravy in the dining room

Was very pleasant

Sunday morning - and Sarah and I drove to Macca's the olive processor to drop off the olives. Sarah was impressed by the machinery

Then back home, and some pies from the bakery for lunch. Peter had left already - he only really came overnight  

And then to the 2021 Wine Release at Both Banks and Old Kingower (Blanche Barkly)

Had a few drinks, a bit of food and a nice time. And of course bought some of the wines on offer

Back to our place, had some George Foreman toasties for dinner (we weren't too hungry). We then started watching the new Nicholas Cage movie :- the Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent 

We were enjoying it - but it kept buffering - which was so annoying that we ended up stopping watching it - and just sat and chatted instead

Monday - and a late-ish start. 

I did some work in the garden - trimming  and also replanting bulbs that were in the pathway

Also found some more self sown roses that I replanted elsewhere - we'll see if they survive.  Hopefully - as there has been a lot of rain

The lemon tree (or is it an orange?)is also looking very good - lots of fruit.  Alex and Sarah think that it might be a specialised Japanese lemon - yuzu because the fruit looks a bit lumpy.  But who knows - we got the tree from Andrew & Cheryl years ago, as it wasn't doing well in their garden in Ashburton

 

More toasties for lunch and we watched the end of the movie.  I would not normally watch tv during the day, but what the hell - why not - we'd picked all the olives

Alex and Sarah left soon after that, and Justin and I left around 2.30, but had to go home via Sutton Grange to pick up our olive oil - around 21 Litres.  I was very pleased. I bought 2 containers from him @ $15, so all up it came to $164.  

I was also pretty pleased that we'd pick on the Saturday, dropped them off on the Sunday, and then picked up the oil on the Monday.  John did recommend that we let the oil settle for 3 weeks before decanting it.  So we'll do that. 

Painting with Justin - and another underpinner 3-5 June 2022

 A quick visit this time

Drove up on Friday night and persuaded Justin to stop in Kyneton for dinner (as I'd done with Alex).  

Made a booking at Fook Shing - which had been recommended last time

Photo from the internet

We weren't sure what to order, and mentioned the banquet to the waiter, but that we were in transit, and needed to be in Inglewood after dinner, so didn't want to take too long.  He said the banquet would take about 1.5 hours, and given that it was only around 6.45, we gave it a go

And aren't we glad we did

We started with the Asian style broth - and it was so delicious, and then each  dish afterwards was likewise delicious. 

We were very glad that we stopped here

Finished up around 8.30, and got to Inglewood around 9.45 or so - there were parts where the speed limit was down to 40kph

Saturday, and Justin made me breakfast in bed, which was very nice of him, but we didn't dilly dally for too long, as we decided to do some painting also - 2nd coat of the skirting

Justin also did the door

On inspecting the garden I found the first early jonquil

 And the orange tree was also looking quite bountiful

Nick the potential new underpinner arrived later in the afternoon - around 3pm, and we showed him around.  He seemed nice, and also seemed to know what he was talking about it, but said he needed his engineer to assess it to say where and how many pins to include.  He gave the engineer (who lives in Sunbury) a call, and  he was close by in Castlemaine - so came within the hour.  Nick came back too

Ray - the engineer seemed to think it was all do-able, and was Nick was suggesting that he take up the boards in the kitchen and underpin from in there - as the floor also required restumping.  This was in preference to pulling up the veranda - which he had said would ruin the boards, as they couldn't be re-used

Ray was also suggesting pulling up some of the boards in the back hallway and putting a pin between the bathroom door and scullery door, and then another one or two pins along the back hallway wall.

We need to send Ray the plans of the house - so that he can work it all out (have done so, but now Ray has covid, so is not at work, and we're still waiting)

Anyway, that was all good, and it was the 1st Saturday of the month - so we went up to the Village Green in Kingower to see our friends.  Was a bit rainy, so we sat in the rotunda at first, but Terry had a fire going in the brazier, and it soon took hold, and gave out some lovely heat.

Given that last time I'd gone to one of these, I had come back smelling of smoke, I went in my painting overalls - don't care if they get smoky.  They gave me a bit of stick about that.

Didn't stay too long (as we didn't bring chairs) - and we were going to have an easy dinner back at the house 

Ended up having a picnic dinner in bed and watched a movie - nice! (can't remember what it was)

Saturday, and only a modest breakfast for Justin in bed, as we were having lunch at Karen's back in Melbourne, and any lunch there is bound to go through til dinner time (which it did) - so best not to eat too much beforehand .

Packed up and left around 10.30 or so 

Painting with Alex 13 - 15 May 2022

 Am very late in writing this up.... (more than a month late)

Anyway, Alex picked me up on Friday night - and we stopped in Kyneton for dinner

We tried Miss M's Lounge again - but we couldn't get in with out a booking

Went across the road to the George Hotel, but they didn't really do meals anymore - so looked elsewhere.

I asked a bloke standing out the front if he could recommend anywhere - and he suggested the Oaks Grill just down the Road, or else Fook Shing which was a little further

Given that it was raining, and I was still using a crutch for my hip - we elected to go the closer option ie the Oaks Grill  - got the below photo from the internet as it was well and truly dark by the time we got there

Was large and roomy inside - looked like a converted barn

The food was great - had the wagyu burger - delicious

Then onwards to Inglewood - no kangaroos, so all good, stayed up for a while to chat, but then an early night

In the morning - checked out the painting done by Fraser & Rileigh - pretty good.   

But more needed to be done  - ie the skirting board, the windows, and another coat on the cornices

I also noticed that the large central window has a new huge crack running down from the top left of it. Not impressed

Anyway, Alex and I decided to do more painting - and changed into our overalls - had to move some more carpets/furniture

Alex went up the scaffold and ladder

 I couldn't really because of my leg, so I stayed at ground level - firstly putting blue tape along the top of the skirting so as not to paint over the yellow of the walls that Fraser had painted

But he did miss some spots

I used Dulux acrylic 

And got going

Even got quite warm - with the sun coming in - so I was in short sleeves

Had a pie and half sausage roll for lunch on the back deck

And then back to it 

I reckon I did a pretty good job with the skirting boards

Given that we were working, I didn't really feel like cooking dinner - so we thought we'd go to the pub.  also invited Terry - so the three of us went 

I'd booked a bit late, so our "table" was the other end of another "table" - with a guy sitting there eating by himself. I got to chatting to him, and we got to talking about plants - he seemed to know a lot of the botanical names. 

Turns out he did horticulture at Burnley, and he said he'd bring me a book about plants at Maldon - which would have a similar climate as Inglewood.

Anyway, we had  a nice chat, and then he left, and the 3 of us continued on with our meals - which incidentally were pretty good, and came quite quickly.

Back to our place for a little more wine, and then another relatively early night.  

Alex went for a walk in the morning - and took some lovely photos.

Had some breakfast when he got back (meanwhile I was reading in bed while he was walking)

Alex then did some more painting - ie the 2nd coat of the cornice after having done the first coat of the windows yesterday.  I was planning to do the 2nd coat for the skirting - but Justin didn't want me to - didn't think it would be properly dry given that its enamel - so I found other things to keep me busy.

Given that the garden was getting very overgrown - and I'm working full time, so don't have as much time to devote to the garden, I wanted to find a new gardener - to help tidy up, and also do some design etc work ( the previous bloke actually never got started)

I found a new contender on the notice board at the IGA

He came over later on Sunday, and I showed him around, we had a chat, and he seemed pretty good, I thought I could trial him for 10 hours or so, and see what he achieves in that time 

I pottered around cleaning out paint containers/trays - which F & R had left a bit of paint in 

It was acrylic - so came out a bit like rubber

 

 I also filled in a bit of Vic's plastering around the servant bell in the dining room

We went and had lunch at the new cafe - was ok 

When we got back there was an envelope under the door - with a book in it - yep the bloke from the other night had brought me the gardening book that he had mentioned. How lovely of him

Anyway, Alex finished up the cornice, took the blue tape away from up there, and also touched up the yellow of the upper walls, where the paint had come off from the blue tape

And I guess we packed up and left soon after