3rd year Olive Oil Thursday 29 - Sunday 2 July 2023

And here I was back less than a week later (but for longer) and still no working ensuite or powder room - but I wrote about that in the last post

Anyway, Justin got home late Thursday afternoon, and suggested that we leave for Inglewood tonight.  Didn't take long to pack, and I already had the olive baskets and plastic bottles in the car

Here's a photo of the traffic that Justin took while I was driving

  

Bit of traffic into the city and at the start of the Calder, but not too bad

Was nice to wake up in Inglewood on Friday morning.  

Justin took a photo of the new powder room vanity - with the "N" for Nimmitabel

Justin started work in the dining room at 9am, and I went out into the garden around 9.30am to get a head start on picking the olives

Started on the first tree next to the rotunda - and filled the basket (takes over 2 hours to fill a basket)

Pauline came over around 11, and we went for a coffee and a chat - at Cafe 3517 - she then showed me the progress at her buildings

Back home, and more picking, and then a quick lunch with Justin    

After lunch I started on the little self sown olive out the front - Enzo stopped by around 3.30pm, and I invited him back at 5.30pm for a drink

This olive tree took ages, because they were small olives (had to line the bottom of the basket with newspaper to stop the olives falling out)  Basically I just picked til Enzo arrived

He brought a bottle of red which we had in the dining room - haven't really caught up with him properly since Ros died

He had to leave before 7pm, as he was picking up his son outside Bendigo.  

Saturday, and it was another grey day, but this time the olives were wet (hoped that didn't matter)

I weighed the baskets from yesterday, and they were about 12kg each - and we need 80kg as a minimum.  Madeleine and Hughie had been going to come and help, but Hughie was playing soccer, so they cancelled on us.  Damo and Nicole were also going to help, but they cancelled also, so it was just myself and Justin 

Today I started at 9am, and Justin came out soon afterwards - I was listening to Chris Hammer's Tilt - talking book - was a great story/well plotted. Justin was listening to podcasts

Justin went up and got us pies for lunch - and then it was back to picking

I called it quits around 5pm, was getting cold and tired - and I just didn't feel like doing it anymore. Can't remember how many baskets we'd done by COB on Saturday. (However I did a rough weigh in on Sunday morning, and figured we'd done maybe 107kg all up)

It was the first Saturday of the month - so a gathering up at the Village Green in Kingower.  Justin didn't feel like going (tired and sore back) - but I went - after a nice long hot shower to warm up.  

Usual suspects there - and Anne A told me that Jill McF had died the previous week - how sad.

I didn't stay that long - put an alarm on my phone to remind me to leave - so I got back to Inglewood around 7pm and had dinner with Justin

Sunday morning and another 9am start for me - Justin did some other chores ie another coat of estapol on the ensuite vanity (it had an unwelcome fingerprint on it).  He came out afterwards to help - and took a photo of me

And I took one of him

It was also a lovely blue sky day today - unlike the previous 2

 Gordon also dropped by to say hello - and we had a cup of coffee and some fruit cake in the rotunda

Terry also dropped by with his olive pickings - around 36kg

I got us a couple of hamburgers with the lot from the Inglewood Cafe (pretty good) for lunch - and we had them in the rotunda also

Pretty much called it quits for olive picking after lunch - had to do the dishes, and pack up

Did a proper weigh in of the olive baskets - around 122kg - woo hoo - most ever! and could have been more - as we didn't empty the trees (did 9 baskets worth).  Justin thought he did 2.5 baskets worth  - which meant I did the rest - ie 6.5 baskets.  I did pick for longer than Justin, but I think I was quicker also - or was maybe picking bigger olives so the baskets filled quicker

So on to Sutton Grange - to drop off the olives.  wonder how many litres we'll get with this batch?