Christmas in July 20 -22 July 2018

Well, this time, we actually did have Christmas in July in July (for the last few years it's been in August)

Caught the 6.30pm train to Bendigo on Friday night, and then the 8.45 coach to Inglewood, got there around 9.30, curled up in bed and watched an episode of Monarch of the Glen

Terry came and picked me up around 8.30 on Saturday morning, as we were going to be cooking for the Christmas in July feast at Arleen's place this time.

Heard a disembodied voice call out to me when I arrived. It was David with his hand stuck outside the window, feeding a baby magpie some raw oats

I went inside, and he offered me the experience also, which I took up  - curious feeling having a bird pecking gently at your palm

Below are some photos of the magpie hoping for a bit more

We were basically on peeling and chopping duty, peeling lots of potatoes, carrots, chopping herbs, garlic etc, and June and Chrissie made mini pizzas

Got the chickens ready by inserting a mixture of butter, garlic, & herbs between the skin and flesh (were spit roast later)

 And the cooked pizzas looked great

It was also lovely and warm in there, with the wood fired stove on, I had been freezing back in our house - although there was a only a light frost in the morning

I guess we finished around 11 or so, and I went back to Terry's and helped him make a Gabriel Gate recipe Christmas pudding, complete with grated apple and carrot

The plan was that Justin would come and pick me up, which he did after 1pm.  Terry then invited us to stay for lunch - which was very nice of him, especially as it was his home made lasagne which is one of my favourites

We would have left around 2 or 3, and went back to the house for a few hours.  I bought some eggs, and saw Steve and Denise, and Steve came around a bit later, dropping off a very nice poster/photo of Major General Tivey (from the 1st World War) who was the son of Joseph Tivey who built our house.  Forgot to take a photo of it, so this is a photo from the web 

Drove up to St Mary's for a 6.30 start

There were 23 of us, not the biggest, nor the smallest that we've had

Some dips, cabana, and herbed cream cheese filled celery  to nibble on - plus Damo and Nicole had made some warming mulled wine to share 

Then a hearty soup

Main course was the chicken, veg, pork etc (forgot to take a photo of this also)

And dessert was of course Terry's plum pudding with white sauce

And of course - Maile and David had made some of their Christmas egg nog

The crowd thinned out towards the end of the night

Justin kindly drove us home - as I had enjoyed the Christmas drinks

Sunday, and a long lie in, as it was warm in bed. Read the paper on the ipads, had breakfast in bed, and eventually got up after 10am - very indulgent

  

The weather was also not conducive to going outside, being grey, and drizzly at times.

It was a surprisingly sunny day in Melbourne, as Madeleine had sent me a photo - normally we have significantly sunnier/bluer days in Inglewood than Melbourne

Despite it being quite cold and a bit wet, I put my overalls on and did a bit of weeding around the veggie patch, transplanted some calendulas etc found some self seeded poppies and also sawed some more wood.

While I was out the front, some people asked if this was my house, and becauue they were so nice, I showed them around 

Opera at Tarnagulla 30 June - 1 July 2018

Drove up by myself on the Friday afternoon, after stopping in on Helen and picking up the wheels to the heater that she'd given us last year.  Joining the Tullamarine from Bell Street is a bit of a hassle, lot of traffic!

Unfortunately, they were the wrong wheels, so we still can't use the heater.... had another look at its booklet, and it actually has sort of sleigh legs

So, got to Inglewood around 4.30 or so.  Had asked Maile and David to drop in for a drink and nibbles, and then to go to one of the pubs for dinner

However it was very cold, and as I was walking back from IGA  saw that the Royal had a sign up advertising happy hour between 5 and 6pm and a warming fire.  I was sold, and so took the shopping home, and went back to thaw out.

Fraser had told me about a man who had told him and his friends that he had been in the tunnel between our place and the Emporium, and that the boys shouldn't go down there - rotting timbers/ too dangerous etc

Anyway this man was there at the bar when I walked in - (Fraser had described him).  I introduced myself, and he advised that it was his mate who had been in the tunnel, not him, and that his mate now lived in Bendigo.  Anyway, as the plot thickens, we've never found anything.

So we had a bit of a chat, and I then went and sat by the fire - with a mini bottle of bubbles.  Also rang Justin to advise him where I was.  He was arriving pretty soon - driving here from Warrnambool.

In fact he didn't take too long - was here by 5.20 or so, so met me at the Royal - where we sat by the fire.  Also chatted with Greg - the artist

Went back to the house around 6pm to wait for Maile and David

They came around 6.30, and although I had suggested a drink and nibbles at our place, it was too cold, so we went back to the Royal for dinner.

Saw Steve and Denise having dinner there too, was pretty good, and then back to our place, and an early night.

Saturday morning, and we dropped by Greg's studio to buy a 2 colour lino cut of our house

 Alex and April came up around lunchtime - and we had a quick and warming lunch of hot pies

And then off to Tarnagulla to see Don Giovanni - which Rachel had organised.

Was full, more than 100 people by my count, and we loved it.  Was in the Victoria Theatre where both Dame Nellie Melba and Lola Montez had performed.

And we could even take a glass of bubbles through to enjoy while we watched - how civilised.  Saw Greg the artist there also.  Unfortunately Maile and David couldn't come, as they had something else on

 
The show was great, and we got back to Inglewood later afternoon - with not too many kangaroos

Had some dips and cheese etc, and then back to the Royal for dinner - saw Jim and Pat there this time

And then back to the house - upstairs and a nice fire, also had Alex's heater on as a further heat supplement.

Read the paper, Justin played his guitar a bit, just relaxed.

Sunday, and a bit of a lie in, but did get up and took some very early morning photos

And then some frost a bit later on

 
But then back to the warmth of bed

Given that we've been going through quite a bit of firewood, I sawed up pieces from the large pile that Ben and co had made and put by the side of the fence - as we need some more kindling.  Did quite a bit, and it was tiring

Also did some weeding

And Alex and Justin converted a storage box into a radio with speakers for Alex to take to work - needed some thing robust for in the warehouse

Justin left for Warrnambool after lunch and sent a couple of very nice sky photos that he took on the way

Alex & April, and I left around 4, and I dropped in on Jill's 80th birthday do at the Auburn Bowls club on the way home.  Only thing was that it had finished.  It had been a sit down lunch at 12, saw her daughter, was introduced to her brother, and a few other late stayers, but I missed her, her daughter had just taken her home.  Anyway, they asked me to stay for a drink, so I did, and then left.  Called her the next day

Weekend with Fraser 16 & 17 June 2018

Well, Fraser has finally decided that he wants to get driving, so he accompanied me to Inglewood this weekend.

I had also suggested that it would be a good idea for him to come, as he hasn't been since November last year, and he is planning to come up with his mates on Monday to stay for a few days during mid semester break

I drove up, and stopped to get him a Maccas breakfast, and we arrived at Inglewood just after 11am.

Was pretty cold, down to 4.5 degrees over the Dividing Range

There must have been some more rain, as it was much greener than last time

And Charlie, Ben's son had also done another coat of the veranda rail again - as I had noticed it was rather weathered last time.  Looks much better.  Ben had said that Charlie would do 3 coats with the tung oil to get it to soak in, and then a final coat with some sort of tough varnish

Went up the street together, and then back to the house, where he had a nap upstairs (had a big night on Friday)

I pottered around, read the paper, had some lunch, and then an afternoon coffee with Denise at The Royal. 

And then we went driving, or rather Fraser did with me supervising. Drove around the back roads of  Inglewood for a bit, and I'm pleased to say that Fraser was much more confident and skilled than last time.

We then drove up to Melville Caves, and saw a lot of wallabies there - as the sky was quite dull, and even though it was only 3.45pm, it was sort of dark...

One of the wallabies had a joey poking its head out of her pouch. Below is a photo of Fraser taking a photo of the Mum and joey

 

So had a quick wander around here, and saw yet more wallabies, plus more on the way back

Dropped in on Terry on the way back to say hello, and he gave me a cup of coffee, and we chatted for a while before leaving around 5 or so, which is really kangaroo o'clock

Saw some in the paddocks, but none on the road, Fraser drove yet again

Stopped at the IGA and bought some supplies for tonight ie nibbles and some creamy soda for Fraser, and then parked the car around the back, as the Footy Club was having a Masquerade Ball at the Town Hall, and I figured there'd be lots of cars out the front.

I then got Fraser to make up/prepare the fire in the top room, while it was still light, as I wanted to see that he could set up a good fire.  He did it Justin style ie 2 larger logs on the side, paper scrunched up in between, and then criss crossed smaller sticks on top.  And yes, he did a good job.

Had nibbles (dips, guilty cheese puffs etc) on the veranda together, bit cold for Gin and tonic, so had wine.  Saw Chrissie going into the town hall, so invited her up, but she couldn't come, had to help set up, and then a bit later saw Chris and called out hello

It was a lovely evening, with clear skies and lots of stars

And then off for dinner - Fraser chose the Empire.

Saw Charlie ordering there, so I invited him to join us, as he was by himself.  He gladly accepted

Fraser had the Outback Parma, and I had cutlets, both served pretty quickly, and pretty good.  Given our previous veranda nibbles,  I only ate half of mine, and took the rest away in a takeaway container.
Had a bit of a chat with Steve (publican) too, who introduced me to his girlfriend.

Back to the house, and it was pretty cold, so we lit the fire upstairs, and settled in

Watched a dvd that Helen had given us :- City Island with Andy Garcia, was pretty good

After it finished I went across to the Town Hall to see what the Masquerade Ball was like.  The dinner had obviously finished by this stage, so there was dancing.  Saw a few people I knew, including Tony who had given me the yabbies a couple of years ago from the Cricket club

Back to the house, bit more of a chat with Fraser, and then to bed and read for a little while.  I have a suspicion that Fraser stayed up for quite a bit longer.

Sunday morning, and I stayed in the warmth of my bed reading the Age online until around 9am, at which time I got up to start with breakfast.  Cooked up the bacon first, and then went upstairs to see if Fraser was going to get up, I didn't want to cook his eggs if he wasn't coming down.

Well, yes, he did eventually come down, and we had bacon and eggs in the dining room with the sun streaming through.

It had started out as a lovely blue sunny day, but got progressively greyer.

We put sheets on the beds, as even though I said I wanted his friends to use sleeping bags, I didn't just want them sleeping on the mattress protectors.  I also advised him about the do's and don'ts of the house, and how to turn on the gas for the hot water etc

Then it was time for a bit of fun, so he drove us to the oval, and we hacked around with golf clubs.  I must admit I was still pretty good, hitting nice straight air born shots, with of course a few grubbers.  Fraser was a bit frustrated, as he was hitting mainly grubber shots, although with a lot more power than mine.

He did at the end hit a lovely long, straight air born shot, and that was the hit of the session - better than all of mine.

And then more driving, around the back blocks of Inglewood again, and then onto Tarnagulla. Had a quick wander around here, and then he drove us back to Inglewood.

This time had lunch at the Royal, I wasn't all that hungry, so had a half parma, while Fraser had the burger.  Al;so had a nice chat with Margie

Then back to the house, more of a tidy up, and I explained how things worked/where they were for Fraser

And then he drove us home.  I must admit that I got a bit nervous when it was pouring with rain, as the visibility wasn't great, but he did a pretty good job. Stopped in at the service Station at Calder Park, where we swapped seat, and I drove the rest of the way home on the Monash (he wasn't sure about driving on that)   

Quick visit 3 & 4 June 2018

Had a very quick solo visit to Inglewood on the weekend

Went up on Sunday morning, as I had the CWA conference in Williamstown on Friday and Saturday.

Had lunch on the foreshore both days - just glorious weather as per below

Did the rounds on the main street saying hello when I arrived, and also bought a dozen eggs

Had a coffee outside at the Royal, very pleasant in the sun

Didn't really do much, later in the afternoon sat up on the veranda and read the newspapers.

I must say that the new railing is looking quite weather beaten already.  Needs a lot more protection, otherwise it will deteriorate quickly

Also saw Ben at his shop (Margie at the Royal had mentioned that she'd seen him-  so I walked to his shop on spec)

I think he was a bit surprised to see me, and said he was still keen to do the orchard fencing etc, but had been slowed down because of a nasty cut he'd received from an electric planer.  I also spoke to him about the weathered veranda rails, and he said he could fix them up too. 

Also got back our long lost big black bucket which we use for firewood inside - was pleased to get that back

Just had some meatballs from the freezer and vegies for dinner, and then watched a few Monarch of the Glen episodes in bed, with a roaring fire for company

Lazed around in bed in the morning for a little while (it was cold out of bed), did a load of washing (Helen's kids sheets etc)  and hung them on clothes horses inside

Also picked the last of our olives - as I wanted to experiment with a another method of preserving them - oven baking them to dry out, and then putting in salt.

Maile and David called around while I was doing this, and we had a bit of a chat, and they said how good the 1st Saturday was in the Church - a very big turnout.  Not me (us) though