Back at last with Justin - Friday 4 - Sunday 6th September 2026

Well, at least I'm catching up now - did 3 x quick posts already today

Justin and I left Melbourne on Friday night around 6.15pm - after he had had a quick guitar practice with Chris - before their open mike at the Gershwin room on the following Tuesday night

Anyway, the traffic was pretty good - bit rainy though

Got to Inglewood around 8.30pm, and had a late leftover dinner

Saturday and a decadently lazy morning - breakfast in bed - all the usual

I then suggested that we go and visit Terry and have a mid morning coffee, as we hadn't seen him for ages. 

It was a dull, rainy day, and at the last Inglewood house on the left I told Justin to slow down as there was a mob of large kangaroos that looked like they were headed toward the road - which they were.  It was about 10.30 in the morning - but they all jumped the fence and bounded across-maybe 10 of them - (haven't seen that before at that time)

Anyway, had a lovely catchup with Terry, and we met one of his chickens - called Miss Lisa - I'm flattered

Left Terry's and went to IGA for some dinner supplies.  I was going to do more gardening - but it was a pretty miserable day - quite rainy (but sometimes sunny) - and very windy - so i stayed inside all day

I should also add that someone left us a painting of our house (found it last night) - it was face to the wall in the front outside doorway - there was no note, so we have no idea who it is from

That said, it was the 1st Saturday of the month - so there was a fire drum and a get together from 6pm on the Village Green. Justin didn't feel like going, but I said I would, but wouldn't stay too long - and therefore come back to have dinner with Justin

I drove up to Kingower around 5 to 6 it was looking pretty miserable, I realised half way there, that I hadn't brought a chair, but also realised that given that my windscreen wipers were on, that we probably wouldn't be sitting around in the rain

Got to the Village Green around 6.05pm - no one there - I thought I would just turn around and go home, but then I noticed the fire drum - with smoke - but not many flames - given the rain

So I got out, and poured myself a modest glass of wine, took a selfie, and called Terry to ask where everyone was

I thought I'd wait about 10 minutes and leave, but then Terry came over and said it was going to be in St Marys instead - and we left behind a note

Got to St Mary's and Arlene, David and June were there - who each gave me an extra long hug, and asked how Justin was.  I figured that they knew, which they confirmed, and I said I didn't really want to talk about it ....

However they kept bringing it up - questions about the cancer/treatment etc, and I kept changing the subject to something else - oh well. At least it was just us 

I had set my alarm to leave for 7pm, and so left pretty soon thereafter.  In the past, it had taken me at least 10 minutes to extricate myself - which I had allowed for in the timings with Justin

So I was home around 7.20pm - didn't drive fast because of the rain, dark, and potential kangaroos - didn't see any this time though

Had some fresh tortelini and pasta sauce for dinner - not bad when you don't feel like cooking

Sunday, and the weather was fine- so I did do some more gardening

Took some photos of rose cuttings that had struck  - for Clare - as she hadn't heard of this before

More flowers have emerged

Grape hyacinths

More tulips

Did more cutting back ie the sage 

And also noticed that 2 of the sprayers have fallen/been broken off - will need to do a proper audit of them - and get Shane to replace them

There were a lot of high weeds in the grass - not happy - Shane leaves it for too long.  I pulled some of these out, and filled the bin again

 

Saw potentially the same lizard again that I saw a while back - looks a bit skinny

I emptied out the cellar again - grr

And Justin hung up those 2 x paintings that I had wanted hung for a while

And then back to Melbourne and a delicious celebratory Father's Day dinner for Justin made by the kids

More gardening - Thursday 20 - Friday 21st August 2026

Up again by myself - to do more gardening/tidying up

Came up on the Thursday, and left on the Friday afternoon

There has been a lot of rain, - the cellar was flooded - so I had to jiggle the sump pump float (yet again) to get it to empty.  The plumber wasn't available unfortunately

But at least with all the rain - the weeds (including the dreaded couch grass) are easy to pull out

The daphne and hellebores are heady with scent - which was really lovely

Given that nothing had still been done about the stumps etc - I decided to tackle them myself

Hardest one first - ie the large palm near the fence 

Actually, it proved too hard for me - I was able to get under it a bit - but not enough - so left it, and tackled some easier ones

Didn't take photos of them all - but pretty much got them all out except for the palm

It was a lovely sunny day - and those orange flowers that I don't actually like that much were out in abundance - and actually looked quite nice

And given that there was still more rain (previously) - the plants are growing very well - in fact the right hand path (facing the house) is getting very overgrown

  

And there was water on the back veranda - which I swept off

One of the tulips that I'd bought from the Melbourne Garden show has come into flower

And I checked on the 2 x passionfruits that I bought last time? from the Bridgewater nursery, and one of them is still definitely alive - yay, and the other still has a greenish tinge near the base

  

My self imposed tasks were to fill the bin  (which I did), and also to prune the roses.  

I replanted quite a few of the cuttings - who knows with a bit of luck they might strike

Whilst pruning the roses - I got a bit of a fright from a hibernating? lizard

I also dug out and replanted one of the lavender bushes from one of the tear drop garden beds.  Shane or one of his guys had trimmed it back in conjunction with the wormwood bush (they are similarly coloured - but very different leaves) - anyway, they were too similar to keep together - so I replanted it out the front - hopefully it will survive

And I pulled out all of the "weed" little palm trees from under the Hoop pine

And tackled more of that bloody couch grass - as I said earlier - at least its easier while the ground is moist

 

Quick haircut Friday 31 July 2026

Hmm, I hadn't organised myself very well, I had been wanting to get a haircut for a while - But whenever I called Michelle - she was booked out for when I wanted it (granted for later in the week)

Anyway, I was getting desperate - as we had a few events coming up that i wanted to look nice for, and were also off to Norfolk Island in about a week

So, I decided to go up and back to Inglewood for the day

Left after peak hour, and my haircut was at 2pm

Had a quick look around the garden

Hmm not many of the nominated plants / stumps had been removed

 

I sent Shane some marked up photos

I also noticed that it looked like they had removed one/some from the other side of the patch - that I hadn't even asked for - as the soursop was trampled down there

Anyway, off to my haircut - where I saw a photo of  Edwina playing in the keys of Gold Bach festival in the Inglewood Town Hall - and then back to Melbourne  

 

 

  

More Keys of Gold 25 & 26 July 2026

Given that I have been enjoying Keys of Gold so much I went again - this time by myself

And I am very behind...as it is now 11 September

Anyway, I drove up on the Saturday morning (Justin let me take his car), and drove straight to Bendigo - to St Killians Church 

We were told that this is the largest weatherboard church in the Southern hemisphere

This time the concert was with various trumpets - and it was called Flourish and Flair and started at 11am

Unusually - the organ was at the back - so we were advised to sit in the middle for the best sound, and then to watch the large screen at the front

Below is the back of the church - with the  huge organ

Anyway, it was lovely and then I drove onto Inglewood

On the way I stopped at the new Coles in Maiden Gully to pick up a few supplies - but for whatever weird reason the credit card on my mobile phone wouldn't work - tried it multiple times and with different cards also - nothing !  So had to leave my proposed purchases behind  - hmm

Anyway, got to Inglewood, and the car into charge - no problems at all - unlike a few weeks ago with Shona  

Had lunch, and then into the garden

I saw that Shane had extended the watering system as requested

I weeded, trimmed etc until after 5pm

And then it was getting cold, so I had a welcome bath with supplies (wine in a plastic glass)

 And I unfortunately broke the soap dish - it was at the other end and I moved something an accidentally pushed it off the edge

 

Sunday,  and some more time in the garden, but not weeding, as I didn't want to get dirty...

I picked a whole lot of olives for salt curing

And Noi was walking by and said she'd bring me some silverbeet - which she went home and got for me 

The last concert was "Lets Go to the Opera" at 3pm at St Paul's cathedral at 3pm

I got there early - parking was easy, and I went and sat at the front

Sat next to a couple of ladies who were nice and chatty, they said they would come along to our Arts trail event 

The concert was lovely, a couple of opera singers and Thomas on the organ - and then  afterwards there was a buffet in the supper room. It was terrific, I stayed maybe half an hour, and then home to Melbourne