Nimmitabel: A Work in Progress: School Hols, Pyramid Hill, Rheola Fair, & Anzac Day 15

Well, I was almost here for 2 weeks - from Tuesday 15 April to Saturday 26th - so a good long time.

I caught the train up on Tuesday afternoon (as Justin was coming up later, so I didn't want to drive)

Was pleased to see the cosmos flowering at last

Helen and Michaela arrived a little bit later - and we had a bit of a potter around, then some dinner and Helen and I watched more Bump

We went to Bendigo the next day - Wednesday - to see the Frida Kahlo exhibition

As per last time, we toured through the Bendigo Op shops first - and scored a few bargains

We were booked into the exhibition at 2.30

Was very good, spent a lot longer there than than the first time

Autumn colours of Bendigo were lovely also

And I took some photos of Helen outside the Vahland designed old theatre (shown on our episode of Restoration Australia) just up from the Gallery

Stopped at Bridgewater on the way back in search of the elusive platypus (still no luck), but a lot of squawking corellas

There was a lovely sunset - and it became very still

Thursday, and I was out in the garden - weeded around the vegie garden

Here's a before photo (once again forgot to take the after photo)

Was pleased that the sorrell was making a comeback

Started trimming/tidying up the front garden bed - if you look closely you can see the pruning saw 1/2 way up the olive branch on the left

And then here is the felled branch. More branches need to come down also - but I'll wait til our olive harvest weekend and do it then

Started picking off the olives - thought I may as well not waste them

Michaela also helped me - was very meditative

There was yet another article in the local paper about us

and another one about a bloke (Elsie's brother) who used to live there. Almost seems as though there's something about us/the house every week....

Good Friday, and I made some hot cross buns in the thermomix

And I had also invited Rachel, Rosemary and Terry over for lunch

I made a pumpkin fetta tart in a sweet potato/carrot base - turned out more like a fritatta. It was nice enough, but the sweet potato base wasn't that good - it would have been much better to do a normal pastry base. Oh well, tasted good enough

Ate out in the garden under the tree - was beautiful weather

Discussed the upcoming Loddon Arts Trail for here - which we're planning on having as a Gilbert & Sullivan soiree with canapes and a glass of bubbles in the garden - should be really fun

Helen had made a quince tart for dessert, took ages, (she started yesterday), but it was very nice

We had my hot cross buns as afternoon tea some hours later. It was a very pleasant afternoon

More cheese and biscuits out on the veranda in the late afternoon

Saturday, and Justin & Carolyn came

Helen wanted to go to Mt Koorong (I didn't). Justin kindly went with her and climbed up it. It was more challenging than Helen had remembered

Carolyn and I stayed behind and did more gardening/tidying up, stripping olives off the sawn off branch. Michaela read her book

Nice dinner - made more dumplings

Easter Sunday, and Helen, Michaela and I re-enacted a previous Easter Sunday photo. Not as many easter eggs this time

Helen, Michaela, Carolyn and I went to Pyramid Hill as we've never been there before

Had a little wander around town, and spied these mushrooms? - thought they might be morels - checked via text with Terry, he didn't think so, so we left them. There is currently a lot of press about the accused "mushroom murderer" from Leongatha, so mushrooms are very topical at the moment

Then off to the "Pyramid" hill which we climbed up - bit of a scramble in places

There's a large skink in this photo, and we also saw some wallabies

Back to Pyramid Hill Town where we had some lunch and also bought some local Pyramid Hill Smoked sea Salt

The lady at the cafe told us about another park - Mt Hope - and Helen wanted to go and see it. She was driving, so she was the boss

Got back to Inglewood around 2pm or so, and Chris E was already there, and doing clever , useful things

Such as fixing up the kitchen window sill that someone in the past had chopped off to make room for the "modern" crappy sink. You can also see one of the containers of olives that we picked. Justin subsequently painted it

He had also brought the servant bell handles. We had organised to have these cast a few years ago, and he then filed/sanded off the rough edges, and painted on the black enamel, and the gold lines - huge job, very fiddly

He installed them also - however connecting them to new wires will be the next job

Justin was busy also - sanding and painting the canoe

Monday, and it was the 152nd Rheola Fair which we all went to

I bought some plants - windflowers, sage, and a couple of others - and was recognised from the Restoration Australia program - was quite amusing

Back home, and we had a quick walk around town - as there was a hot rod convention in Inglewood - and heaps of people walking around. Haven't seen Inglewood that bust for ages (apart from Inglewood Alive)

Helen & Michaela left after this

Carolyn and I went to have a look at Bridgewater Nursery - as I had also organised to buy some hellebores for the gardenia bed. Bianca had said to come back and buy them in Autumn

Carolyn went back home after this, and I came back and placed the hellebores in position and gave them a good soaking

Chris continued fixing things - ie he found some of the original kitchen window frame and cut off a couple of slivers to plug the gap that the builders had left between the benchtop and the window (they really should have fixed this up)

As most of the guests had gone I did some washing

And I brined the olives in all of the empty jars that I had - still had plenty of olives left, so took them back to Melbourne

I also went back out in the garden, thought I would tidy up around the front - I forgot to take the after photos...

Chris left on Tuesday after lunch, and Justin and I continued doing good works

Justin painting the canoe

And me in the front garden bed

Moved those bloody awful animal statues

Cleared out a lot of euphorbias etc - and cut back the prunus / olive suckers etc

Damo invited us up to the Surf Club for a drink

Wednesday/Thursday, and back out in the garden

Wanted to get rid of that metal pole stuck in the ground. So dug around it, and then watered the hole. Eventually got it out - yay!

Piles of pulled out plants

More piles

A lot clearer now

Shane also came back with more crushed rock, and tamped it down

I planted the Rheola Fair plants and also some cuttings which I hope will survive

Then brought some mulch over

Also did another job which I'd wanted doing for ages (had asked the gardeners, who said yes, but they never got around to it). And that was to fill in the depression on the long side of the back veranda - left after the plumbers had dug a trench, but not filled it in fully

Friday and it was Anzac Day, and a lot of rain forecast

Justin and I went to the ceremony at 11am at the cenotaph

The rain pretty well held off until the end of the ceremony - which was very fortunate

I went to the lunch at the RSL afterwards, and once again people there commented on how they'd seen me on TV and what a good job we did

After lunch we took down the curtains in the little yellow room, and put them in the music room, as I had always intended that they go there, as I had 2 sets of these curtains