A week at home

On Monday morning we had a nice leisurely start. Freyja and Simon made toast in their room. I had tea and then coffee in mine. We packed up and made a last visit down along the beach road to say goodbye to the estuary

We drove back via Lakes Entrance, diverting on the way to look at the Trestle Railway Bridge at Stony Creek. It is a magnificent structure, though once again it is probably just as well there are no trains running along it and it is definitely not safe for pedestrians.

At Freyja's suggestion we went from Lakes Entrance to a little place called Metung for lunch. None of us knew anything about it and were pleasantly surprised (although perhaps we shouldn't have been, given that we were in the Gippsland Lakes area) to find a secret place filled with yachts, sailing boats and beautiful watery things. Also, a good choice of lunching places. We went to Aroma and had delicious food, sat outside in the sunshine, watching the boats:

And so home. Brandy and Whiskey were, as you might imagine, delighted to see me come back - although Lindsey had been visiting them and feeding them while I was away.

You're back! Hooray!!!

Jim is still in the aged care residence. I've spoken to him by phone a few times and he seems to be having a good time. I will go and visit him today, but he's not due to come home until Thursday. I must say that not having to think about him on Wednesday morning made getting up and ready to leave for work an absolute doddle. I was there by just after 8! It is very quiet in the house without him (which is strange, because he doesn't make a whole lot of noise and is no longer very active around the place) but it is also very peaceful.

And quite liberating. When Lindsey rang me on Thursday and said she needed to go to the Wendouree Shops and did I fancy going and perhaps having lunch in the little Japanese cafe,  I could just drop what I was doing and go. Nothing to think about, nothing to organise. Just grab my wallet, shopping bags and coat, turn out the lights and go.

I might have bought a new set of cookware at House while I was out. The saucepans I bought in Lakeland some years ago and brought over from the UK were beginning to look a bit sorry for themselves. My wok was definitely looking worse for wear. You can't have too many frying pans. And the box of cookware had been dramatically reduced (allegedly) in one of their ever present "stocktaking" sales.

While we were out, we dropped into a new sushi and poke bowl place in the city centre. I bought a prawn and glass noodle salad for lunch on Friday and it was delicious. Lovely and fresh and bright, even a day later. I also very much enjoyed my lunch at Tokyo Teriyaki in Wendouree. Fried chicken with ginger sauce and a share of Lindsey's fried rice and chips. Delicious.

They've been busy on the former reserve, now building site, soon to be housing. There are several new houses going in

The view from my front porch on Thursday morning

Cape Conran

We had thought we would make a quick trip to Cape Conran, have a look, come back and then go for a potter on the headland on the other side of the river.

Instead, we found lots of beautiful beaches, walking tracks, rock formations, roads that tempted you towards local natural attractions but which then disappeared, or were closed. It seems there had been extensive storm damage in the area and the, largely unmade, roads and little bridges had been badly affected.

No matter. We had a great time exploring, pottering on the beaches, scrambling on rocks (not me - my rock scrambling days are far behind me!), adventuring. Were were lucky with the weather. It was a beautiful day. And we were at Cape Conran for the better part of the day, before heading back for a couple of hours of resting in our rooms with books, TV and cups of tea

This is where we were:

We came back via Orbost, intending to visit the IGA for snack supplies. Alas, it was closed. We were about to head to the main road to see if the service station had snacks when we drove towards a Foodworks. Now my local Foodworks is not very interesting. Our IGA is much, much better. So I don't tend to think about Foodworks. However, this one was open and it was right in front of us. So in we went. And it is magnificent. So many interesting things. Local things. Yummy things. Most of which we couldn't buy because - nowhere to store them. However, we will remember the Foodworks in Orbost when we come next time. We are going to try and find somewhere self catering. Nothing to stop us eating in the pub should we be so minded, but it would be nice to fend for ourselves as well.

We didn't make it to the other side of the river. Next time.

Sunset over the Snowy on our last evening here:

Marlo (and Lakes Entrance)

You may remember that back in 2020, after our abridged trip to England, I planned a road trip to Sydney, going inland and returning via the coast with the final couple of nights in Marlo (because, you know - Marlo!). That road trip didn't happen. Neither did the postponed version. So I gave up on the idea of a road trip to Sydney and made several attempts to get to Marlo (because, you know - Marlo!). Marlo also didn't happen.

Then the state government offered inducements for people to emerge from their two year hibernation and go a-travelling in Victoria. I made a final bid to get to Marlo. And guess where I am ....

Freyja and Simon are here too. Jim, on the other hand, is not in Marlo. He is in a rather nice room in the Mount Clear Aged Care Centre, which is just less than two years old. I don't think he would like it here. He is not a big fan of water these days and we are by the mouth of the Snowy River and can also see the Pacific Ocean from our  rooms.

The chocolates and biscuits in this bag
disappeared VERY quickly!

Jim's room is immediately opposite
the common room

And this is the view from my room:

Morning coffee view

Yesterday was election day in Australia. I could have voted early in Ballarat but time got away so I went to vote in the Marlo polling station, in the cute primary school, which has chickens as well, I assume, as students and teachers. Before that I went for an exploratory, early morning wander along the Snowy River beach road.

The Marlo Hotel, which does magnificent food, mysteriously does not do any kind of breakfast for its residential guests. So we went to the (only) local cafe, which is also a tackle shop. 

And then, at Freyja's request, we went to Lakes Entrance for the day. And a lovely day it was too:

My feet went in the ocean

If you look carefully behind Freyja
you will see some brave (or foolhardy!)
people actually going into the ocean.

Frannie, Freyja and Simon

On the way from Orbost to Lakes Entrance there are the remains of an old wooden trestle railway bridge (there is a bigger trestle bridge closer to Lakes Entrance which we will collect on our way home). I am very glad we are not on a train going over the trestle bridge now! I am equally glad that they are planning to restore it. The cows went under it. They also went under the road through a cow tunnel to the paddock on the other side

Looks safe enough from this angle ....

There's a modern causeway behind the trestle bridge

Glad I'm not on a train at this point!

It's a beautiful morning today. We have a new government on its way in Australia. Simon has gone for a riverside run. We will go for brunch at the cafe and then, I think, we might go exploring locally. There are lots of coastal and riverside walks hereabouts. And the hotel has lost its electricity supply. I hope the cafe has power or we may be going further afield for brunch!

Catch Up:

 You find us at Mount Martha this weekend (after a blog silence - sorry!)

The weather has been quite a lot colder over the past couple of weeks. We've definitely turned the corner towards winter. I've had the fire lit in the evenings, and during the day if I know we are going to be home all day. It was quite wet yesterday. Not downpour wet, just nice rain wet. So Lindsey and I went to the mushroom farm first and then went to the Zoo Drive market. There are tramway repairs along the lake road and one side of the road is closed. If it had been a nice day we probably wouldn't have got a parking space. As it was there were fewer people about. Parking wasn't an issue. Neither was overcrowding at the market!

There were some people about

although social distancing was not a problem!

Funnily enough, most people were gathered
around the hot food and coffee stalls :D

We quite enjoyed the market. We shared a steak and cheese toastie from Tim's Toasties. We bought pastries and pasta, tomatoes and eggs, sauces and stuff. A good, if damp, morning.

It was Lindsey's birthday on Wednesday. We had a lunch party at work for her. One of the doctors brought slow cooked paprika chicken. One of the receptionists made ham and cheese pinwheels. We had tiny cupcakes and a cheesecake covered in fresh fruit. And I made gyoza. It was a lovely lunch

Lindsey and I have been and inspected the Mount Clear Aged Care facility. It was opened just under two years ago and seems to be really lovely.  There are lots of lounge rooms, common rooms, dining areas. The bedrooms are all en suite with wet rooms. There are registered nurses on site 24 hours. There seem to be lots of activities and things to do. Jim is going there for a two week holiday on Thursday. I hope he likes it there. It would be very convenient for me, for when he needs to go into permanent care. It's only a couple of kilometres from home and it's just up the road from the butcher, the baker (when it comes back after the fire) and the IGA.

Boys snoozing up at Hill House:

If you look closely, you can see Jim huddled on the
bed behind the dogs.

And now awake:

Jim and Hugo

Jim and Rupert

Stella, for mysterious reasons, had a couple of teeth out a week or so ago. Her mouth is still bleeding and unhappy, and she isn't supposed to wear her front teeth plate for the next little while. So last night we had flathead tails with soft peas and milk-cooked sliced potatoes with cheese. Nice and soft. No real chewing required. I am planning meatballs for lunch today. I thought I might form them around chunks of blue cheese and serve them in a tomato gravy. Stella assures me that she can manage roast potatoes so we'll have them as well. And I'll sort out her (nicely full) fridge so she has lots of soft finger foods to hand during this week. I think she'll be able to manage a small seafood pie, some chicken sausages, boiled eggs, that sort of thing, don't you?

An impromptu Saturday Road Trip

Some months ago I had an email from a friend sending photos of Skipton in North Yorkshire. Skipton is a town which I am reasonably familiar with. I used to go there for lunch when visiting my uncle who lived near Blackburn in Lancashire. When I lived in Sheffield, Skipton was close enough for a day trip. I like Skipton. It's a pretty little place.

About a 45 minute drive from here is another Skipton. I am not as familiar with it - it's a place I used to drive through, many years ago, when I lived in Beaufort and then Ballarat but not somewhere that I recall ever having actually been to. I decided I would go to my local Skipton, take some photos and send them to the friend who sent the North Yorkshire photos.

Then I forgot all about it. The email fell down, down, down the list and out of my memory bank.

I found it again late last week.

On Saturday I was at a loose end. Lindsey was in Melbourne. There were no markets, it being the fifth Saturday of the month. But the Mushroom Farm had, according to Facebook, restocked after its Easter break. So I suggested to Jim that we go out there so I too could restock. Jim was a bit unsure about this. He was wearing a long sleeved tee shirt and jumper but was also wearing a pair of pyjama pants and his slippers. I had washed his tracksuit pants and his trousers and none of them were dry. I pointed out that no-one would notice - he could stay in the car while I did the shopping. So he came. For the ride.

I did the shopping and then suggested to Jim that we head out on an adventure. Neither of us had any plans for the day and it seemed a good chance to head out to Skipton for a look around. He seemed a bit nonplussed by this idea but agreed that we should go.

It's a lovely drive out to Skipton, through Smythesdale, Scarsdale, Linton. Then we arrived in Skipton. I have to say, there's not a lot there though it too is a pretty little place. 

The main drag

Historical Society

Mount Emu Creek

There are pictures of platypuses dotted around

I surmise that there are platypuses in the creek

I might have bought something for lunch but the takeaway shop has closed down and the deli wasn't open. There is a small IGA but I wasn't tempted to buy groceries. I did, however, see signposts to Beaufort and decided to head there. A Saturday road trip.

I lived in Beaufort for 3 years in my mid-30s. We moved from there to Ballarat and I haven't had many reasons to return, and not at all since I returned from the UK. I've been close but I can't remember having been into the town for many, many years. So many, that I had entirely forgotten the existence of the lake although we used to go there often. Our church had sunrise services there on Easter Sundays. It was a good place for family picnics. Some of our guests at Jim's birthday party had mentioned it and told us of information boards detailing indigenous culture and history, but it hadn't really registered (although Freyja remembers them talking about it).

Beaufort was quite busy. There were lots of people at picnic tables around the rotunda, lots of people in the shops and cafes, lots of people having a good time. The takeaway shop on the main road hasn't closed down and was open for business. Unfortunately, it only takes cash and I seldom carry cash. I went in search of an ATM. We couldn't go into any of the cafes because, if you remember, Jim was wearing pyjama bottoms and slippers. Freyja rang while I was hunting for an ATM and looked on the internet. I had walked past one, in the window of the news agency - right next to the fish and chip shop! I had looked in through the door of the news agency but not at the window.

So, fish and chips acquired and the existence of the lake having been brought back to my memory (we had driven past the lakeside caravan park on the way into town, plus the lake is signposted) we drove to there to eat them.

Where our Easter Sunday services took place,
looking towards the caravan park

I would have gone and looked at the information boards dotted along the boardwalk, but it didn't seem fair to leave Jim abandoned in the car (again!) for all that length of time and he certainly couldn't have walked it. Not only was he wearing slippers, but we hadn't brought his walker. I'm not sure he would have walked it anyway. Something to do on another day.

I must admit that I was surprised to find a proper, 110 km/h freeway joining Beaufort to Ballarat. When I lived there it was a single lane road. It was (and still is) the main road from Melbourne to Adelaide, taking you through the Western District and places such as Ararat and Horsham. It was quite dangerous at times, given the number of freight trucks that used it. The existence of a proper freeway was a very pleasant discovery, although I don't know how far west it goes. It made for a very good drive home.

A good, unplanned day. We will go again, having first got Jim properly dressed, and try one of the cafes.

I have done a bit more work on the patio and now it looks like this:

I've put the boxes with the mint plants in front
of this bed

I need to sort out the bit with the barbecue.
It's all jumbled up

I've made a start on the new fruit bed:

I think, if I ever get it all finished, that it should look quite nice