Vegetable Garden (and other things)

A large tomato, ripening on the plant.
There are more coming

There are lots of cherry tomatoes ripening

It's the first summer in Mount Helen that I've had many tomatoes ripening in the garden. Previous years have had a few cherry tomatoes but not a lot, and none of the large tomatoes have ripened. I've brought them in and ripened them inside once autumn has come in. But now I think about it, this is the first year since we moved into Tani that we've had consistently warm and sunny weather. This is, of course, Ballarat, so there have been some cool and even cold days, but mostly this summer has been pleasantly warm with even some hot days. I've also had a good few cucumbers, although the zucchini have been a bit reluctant to grow into a good size. This doesn't matter. I'm happy to eat baby zucchini.

The runner beans are finally, finally setting. I was beginning to wonder if the problem was a pollination one and if the flowers were simply dropping off before forming beans. Then the flowers on the (self invited) potato plant disappeared. Potato flowers don't generally disappear of their own accord. I think something has been eating them, although I do not know what. I also have corn cobs growing. Last year was a complete germination failure for the sweet corn. I also think something might have eaten either the seeds or the emerging seedlings. This year has been much better.

I went to Melbourne yesterday to visit my podiatrist, who used to practise one day at week at Reservoir but doesn't any more. He goes to Rosanna and to North Fitzroy. Rosanna isn't particularly convenient for me but once upon many lifetimes ago I lived around that area of North Fitzroy, so I went and saw him there. I am often around there anyway - it's not far from Freyja and Simon's place. It's not far from Clifton Hill. It's not far from various places that I go to every now and then.

My feet are lovely once again.

I went out to East Ivanhoe, to my optometrist's rooms, to collect the new lenses for my reading glasses. It's not a significant change in prescription, but it is amazing what a difference it makes to my reading vision. I borrowed a book from the library recently which I was really struggling to read. The print was on paper in pastel colours and I couldn't see the words at all well. So much better now - although I do wish publishers wouldn't print on pastel coloured paper. I subscribed some years ago, when my reading vision wasn't too bad, to a really interesting quarterly, but had to give it up because I simply couldn't see the coloured print on the various shades of pastel paper they used, even with my reading glasses.

I spoke to the estate agent this morning. I suggested aiming for just after Easter to put the house on the market.  He reminded me that Easter is quite late this year and that  the Friday after Good Friday is Anzac Day. Lots of people will be away then (you get 10 days holiday for three days annual leave, if you book your leave before everyone else does). We settled on aiming for the beginning of May, which is more than doable. But thinking about it later, I thought it might in fact be too doable. It will be tempting to leave the Getting Ready to List project until Easter and then having to rush. I might just as well aim for the beginning of April and see how I get on. I reckon I can get this place ready to list inside a month, if I really try. 

I am almost ready now. A four week push should do it. And when I think about the two flats that Freyja and I looked together at in Docklands, they were in a right state and that didn't influence our thinking. We could see beyond the untidiness and clutter to the flats underneath.

But I don't want prospective buyers to have to look beyond untidiness and clutter at my place!

I have finally sent the paperwork that the mortgage advisor asked for, so the quest for a (small-ish) mortgage is underway.

It's been quite a productive couple of days, all told

One of my home grown, garden ripened
tomatoes for my breakfast

Last Week

I got back from Docklands, looked around my place and decided that I had neither the energy nor the inclination to reduce all my possessions to a level where they would fit into a small, one bedroom apartment. I looked at my gardens, especially the backyard, and decided that it was not possible to bring them up to the standard where I could put them on the market. I didn't even consider the garage!

Anyway. It was too cold, too hot, too windy, too wet, too ... to do anything very much.

Then I remembered the enormous job that clearing out Stella and Tony's place was when she moved to Mount Clear, and it took all of us weeks and weeks and weeks and skips and skips and skips  to empty her place and get it ready for sale. I definitely do not want to leave that as a legacy for my nearest and dearest. And as Freyja pointed out, there is no hurry and I don't have to do everything ALLATONCE.

So I carried on. A nibble here, a small bite there. A drawer in this room, a small cupboard in that room. A weed here, a plant there.  A trip to the Op Shop in Buninyong. A visit to the clothes bin, which had been in Mount Clear but seems to have moved to Buninyong. A couple of visits to the bottle bin in Mount Clear.

And very slowly, the decluttering is making progress. The third bedroom is more or less done. The dining room, likewise, although I do need to clean out the fireplace and move a small table. I need to clear out the fireplace before the winter anyway, and it might as well be now. I have made a start on clearing out the remarkably tall grass that is growing in the garden beds out the back. 

Slowly, slowly.

I have started clearing out the pantry and made a tiny, tiny, tiny start on the garage. 

I also have documentation to assemble for the mortgage advisor, plus there are all the normal activities of daily life that need to carry on. 

It's all a bit daunting if I look at it all together.

So I don't!

(But then I also remember how nice it was to walk to the shops, to catch a frequent tram to the city, to stroll to the library - and not to have to get in the car if I wanted to go pretty much anywhere)

Slowly, slowly ...

PSA:  if you are struggling to remember how to collapse the rather large pet carrier which you bought when you acquired the cats four years ago (because it was the only size you could get at the time), it is wise not to actually collapse it while you are leaning on it!  

I don't think I have ever previously collapsed it - it has been sitting, fully expanded, in the wardrobe of the third bedroom. 

It is collapsed now. And is sitting in an untidy manner in the middle of the lounge room floor. I had intended to add it to the stuff in the garage but someone seems to think it makes an excellent bed

Personally, I think it looks a bit uncomfortable, but Whiskey seems to like it.

Sunday

I had a nice, lazy start to yesterday morning.

First, breakfast. Cheers Coffee is closed on Sundays. Other places don't open until 10. Billy Barista was open but was absolutely rammed. So I walked around to Groovy Mama, also busy but bigger than Billy's place.

Groovy Mama is indeed groovy. Not only that, the food was delicious

Salt and pepper shakers on every table

Avocado toast. There was so much avocado under the eggs that I couldn't eat it all! 

I had a mug of cappuccino as well
but you'll have to imagine that 😊

This is supposed to be a weekend of exploring Docklands and working out if it's a viable place for me to live. There is a tram stop a two minute walk from here (if you happen to live in North Balwyn, it would bring you practically to my door) but it isn't the tram I would need to get to work. I  could, of course, use it anyway and then change in the city. But I decided to walk around to the tram that does deliver to work. It took me about 15 minutes of gentle walking.

I didn't stay on it all the way to work, although I did go a stop or two further than I had intended. Not paying attention!

I visited Daiso. I didn't buy much - I'm supposed to be de-cluttering and preparing to downsize  - but I did have a lovely wander around

I took a gentle stroll to Melbourne Central and wandered around the Asian supermarket by the station entrance, then took the tram back out to The District and pottered around there for a bit.

Then home, for a bit of a rest.

The weather finally improved later in the afternoon, so I went for a walk. There are some very serious yachts on the City side of the river. There are, of course, yachts here and over on the New Quay side, but the ones on the South Wharf have some hefty money tied up in them

Back at Victoria Harbour, I think the relative peace and quiet would be shattered very quickly if there was footie or an event or a concert at the Marvel Stadium. This weekend, however, it was deserted and all was calm. There was activity, people fishing or rowing or heading off on afternoon cruises around the Bay, but no yelling or cheering or excess traffic

My Sunday breakfast had been so filling that I didn't need any lunch. I had a small bowl of pumpkin soup and some potato chips mid afternoon. I still wasn't particularly hungry at dinner time so snacked on part of a rotisserie chicken through the evening. I might have had an apple pastry this morning, to prepare me for heading home. You need to be properly fortified before going on an adventure.

The first part of the adventure will be finding the coffee shop where I'm supposed to be meeting Freyja in an hour. But first, I need to get packed and organised

Bye Bye Docklands, for now

Inspecting and Exploring

I have to say that the weather yesterday was awful. You wouldn't have thought it was February. It was cold. It was very windy. It rained on and off. You might say it was a perfect day to go out and look at potential new homes. Everything, pretty much, looks delightful in the sunshine.

Freyja wasn't available in the morning, so I wandered off on my own. Simon had drawn my attention to a flat just around the corner from my Weekend Home with a viewing in 40 minutes. I registered to have a look and wandered around. There were a couple of people also waiting to have a look. They rang the agent. I rang the agent. No one came to let us in.

So I went away.

My first two pre-planned flats were on The Other Side, in New Quay. The first one has been on my radar for quite some time. It has a fabulous view out over the harbour and even out to the bay. It was a bijou apartment but which could work for my furniture, cats and lifestyle. Plus, the full length windows looking across the water along the back wall made it seem bigger. It was light and bright even on a dull, gloomy day. Alas, it is right at the top of my budget and the mortgage advisor says lenders won't consider places under 50 m2 and this place was 49 m2 

I could live with this view from the balcony

I went for a wander through The District shopping complex before my next viewing, which was in a building where Freyja, Simon and I had tried to have a viewing once before, on a Sunday, but the inspection day and time was obviously a mistake and no one came. This time someone did come. The flat was a very low price and was in need of a lot of TLC. At the very least a coat of paint and new flooring. The balcony view wasn't particularly enticing but you could turn the flat into something quite nice with a bit of money, effort and imagination. And I wouldn't have needed a mortgage :D

The next couple of viewings were back on this side of the river and Freyja came with me. Both flats had tenants, both were fairly untidy. Both had beds in the living area. But the first one said "No" to me the moment I walked into the building, well before I got into the flat. The flat said "no" to me, not because there was a bed in the living area and nothing but junk in the bedroom. I just didn't like it and I couldn't really explain why. The second one I did like. I liked the building, which was built around a central atrium. I liked the design of the flat. I liked that there were unexpected little water glimpses from the balcony. I liked the quirky nature of the building and the flat.

Not that I am in a position to buy anything. My place isn't even on the market yet. But it was an interesting and useful exercise.

I had breakfast in my Weekend Apartment - coffee and a toasty from Billy Barista across the road. Freyja and I had lunch in a Vietnamese restaurant. We had afternoon tea in a cute cafe. We had dinner, with Simon, in an Asian restaurant which seemed to do Malaysian and Thai food.

I walked 15k steps and made use of the trams, which are in the free tram zone. We inspected the beautiful Library at the Dock, little gardens and parks. We found little cafes tucked away in odd corners. We found a local community garden. We walked along the water. 

Starting the day with a riverside stroll

Wandering around The District shopping complex

Inside a quirky cafe

Library at the Dock
There are armchairs along the windows
so you can sit and read while watching the river

Mixed berry mocktail

Malaysian style sizzling beef plate

My attention was first drawn to Docklands as a place to live when I read an article saying that it was a soulless, lifeless, underdeveloped place to live. I really don't agree. I know I have only been here for a long weekend but I think it's vibrant and lively and full of activity, cafes, coffee shops, restaurants and interesting shops (although no tourist tat shops; the tourists haven't really got here - yet).

I like it.

I am on my own today. Freyja and Simon have gone to Ballarat for the day. I shall do a bit more exploring and then probably will head into the city for a potter about. So once again, I need to get dressed and go in search of coffee.

Come with me to Docklands

I came to Melbourne on the train yesterday afternoon. I caught the 2:44 train from Ballarat, which was surprisingly (to me, at least) busy. I had expected it to be busy once it got to Melton or so, but it was quite full even when we got on at Ballarat - which is only the second stop.  One day I must take the train from Wendouree and see how busy the station there is.

It was only a short walk to my home for the weekend. Across the footbridge from the station and then a pleasant stroll along the waterfront.  I am staying on the opposite side of the river to where I usually go if I am in Docklands. It's not somewhere I know at all well and it's really rather nice. Lots of cafes and restaurants, shops, little supermarkets, a large Woolworths and BWS. My apartment is quite small but does well enough for a weekend. It remains to be considered if it would be large enough to live in permanently - although it is not furnished to maximise the space. Big, clumpy furniture doesn't showcase its possibilities. But it's comfortable enough and you can't fault the location

There is even a water "view" from
the good-sized balcony
(thought I think it might be built across,
judging by the cranes and building activity)

The landlord lives in the same building, but facing the river. She says she has lived in the Docklands area for 15 years and loves it here. She also says that this side of the river tends to be quieter and less lively than the other side. I don't really require lively as a general rule, and if I do, it's not a long walk and there is also a tram, should you be feeling lazy. Also, of course, the Melbourne CBD is just Over There.

Freyja and Simon met me for dinner in a local pizzeria

Freyja's photo

I must admit, I did wonder why the pizza looked as though it had had a slice taken out, until I remembered that it was Valentine's Day and the pizza had been shaped like a heart!

And then we went for an evening walk along the river:

There would be worse places to live (and I wouldn't need a car for most things that I would want to do)

Freyja and I are inspecting a few flats today, three on the New Quay side of the river and one on this side (Victoria Harbour). Will be interesting to have a potter around. But first - I need to get dressed and then go out and see if any of the coffee shops are open. This little bit of Docklands still seems to be mostly asleep. Almost none of the flats in the building opposite have their lights on and the street is very quiet

Trying to organise my weekend in Docklands

I went to Melbourne on Monday.

I had an appointment with my optometrist. My distance vision has strengthened in my left eye and is now almost perfect. Not so much in my right eye but my existing distance glasses don't need replacing. My near vision has worsened. My reading glasses might have been ok for another 12 months but I decided to get new lenses. I do not enjoy reading because it is hard work on my eyes and a slight adjustment in the prescription might improve matters a bit. Fortunately, I can just get lenses. The existing frames don't need replacing.

Then I met Freyja for lunch

This is what you get at Kissaten if you ask for a karaage burger without the bun:

And this is what you get if you ask for a vegan onigiri set:

Iced chocolate for me:

Me with my iced chocolate:

On Tuesday I had an online meeting with Freyja and her mortgage advisor. She (the mortgage advisor) is looking into whether I can get a mortgage if I move to Docklands. If I sell this place for the upper end of the estate agent's estimation I might not need a mortgage. On the other hand, I might and it would be useful to know how much, if anything, I could reasonably expect to borrow and for how long. I owe very little on my current mortgage and it is possible that my bank would lend me another small mortgage, but I thought it might be worth exploring some other options. Now, of course, the mortgage advisor wants me to fill out wads of paperwork.

My weekend trip to Docklands has proved to be a bit problematic. Not the trip itself but finding a place to stay. I noticed, more or less at the 11th hour, that the apartment I had booked required a credit card and a security deposit of $1000. I don't have a credit card and every time I apply for one online (which I don't do very often) the computer says "NO". I don't really understand why - I know there is no provision to include overseas income on the online form, but my local income should be enough for a credit card with a small limit. Eventually I will go and talk to the bank in person. But in the meantime, I had about 6 hours to cancel my apartment booking. Which I did.

I booked instead an apartment on the edge of the city centre, just into Carlton.  Didn't require a credit card but was not-refundable if I changed my mind. I wasn't likely to. Then on Monday evening I had a rather dodgy looking message saying that the apartment was no longer available because of damage and would I like to have an apartment in East Melbourne instead. I wasn't sure that this was genuine so did nothing until Tuesday morning.

It seemed it was genuine. However, an apartment in East Melbourne wasn't really convenient. Apart from the fact that I was getting further away from Docklands - if I had wanted to stay in East Melbourne I would have borrowed Lindsey and Ian's flat. I said no and asked for my money back. Then I got an even more dodgy SMS, offering me a very dodgy apartment in Southbank (you should have seen the reviews!!!). I said no and asked for my money back. They suggested I should contact Booking.com and cancel my reservation. I don't think so! It was non-refundable and I hadn't cancelled. They had.  I suggested that they might like to cancel through Booking.com and asked for my money back. 

I think getting my money back may be an interesting activity, but I booked through Booking.com and paid with PayPal so I expect it will eventually come back.

So now I have booked a third apartment, back in Docklands, where I do not need a credit card, nor a security deposit. Fingers crossed!

Just before Christmas I had a solar battery installed in my garage. It hasn't ever worked properly. Instead of charging from the solar panels during the day and then powering the house in the evening, it was charging itself from the grid, very expensively. My power company, who were supposed to be sorting it out eventually declared defeat and referred me back to my installer. I contacted the installer, and turned the battery off. Yesterday morning at around 7:20, while I was pottering around in my nightshirt and dressing gown, preparing for an 8:00 Japanese lesson - there was a knock at the door. It was the installers, who were passing by and called in to see if I was at home and awake. 20 minutes later they went away. And yesterday, my battery charged from the solar panels during the day and powered my house in the evening and overnight. Even with the aircon on in the evening, I drew no power from the grid. Just how I had expected it to work! Let's hope that continues.

Week One

 I have taken February as a month of Long Service Leave. I will have around another 8 weeks left when I go back to work, plus around 10 weeks of annual leave. I think 2025 will be dotted with lots of periods of Not Working!

I have taken this week fairly slowly. There were a couple of very hot days where I did very little. Other days were lovely temperatures and I have just pottered around mostly at home, apart from Thursday when I went to  the Stockland shopping centre with Lindsey

When I was getting ready for lunch last Sunday I swept and washed the kitchen/dining room floor. Took all of ten minutes, although I didn't move all the small dining room furniture. Then I did the lounge room carpet. I didn't do a complete, deep, thorough clean just the carpet sweeper and the vacuum cleaner. Even so, it took ages. And even then, it didn't get a good job. Very frustrating. The carpet has always been frustrating.

I called a carpet company to come and give me a quote on replacing the carpet with laminate flooring. To have the lounge room and the three bedrooms done, including moving the furniture and lifting and removing the carpet, plus replacing it with laminate was going to cost almost $9000. I knew it would be expensive but that was quite a lot more expensive than I had anticipated.

So I called "my" estate agency, the company that we rented the house from and then bought it through. They have kept in vague touch, contacting me every now and then to see if all was well, if I had any questions and if I wanted a current valuation.

The agent who we bought the house through has retired so another agent came around yesterday lunchtime. I was strangely anxious as the morning progressed and couldn't work out why. Then I realised I was thinking as though he was coming to do a rental condition inspection and not a chat to a prospective seller.

He thinks that steam cleaning the carpets would be more than enough (and considerably cheaper than replacing it).  He also made some suggestions about preparing the house and garden for the market. He gave me an estimate of the current market value of the house, which was pretty much what I thought he would say. He gave me an estimate of the costs of selling and buying a new place (which was quite a bit more than I expected) and went away, leaving me lots of things to think about.

He also said that there is no perfect time to put property on the market in Ballarat (in the summer everyone is away, in the autumn you run up against Easter, in the winter Ballarat is cold and people are concentrating on the footie, in the spring there are the footie finals plus everyone thinks they should put their houses on the market so you run up against a glut) and not to worry about property prices going up or down because the Ballarat and Melbourne markets tend to work in tandem (I knew this).

So. Declutter the house, which I have been doing anyway. Declutter it even more. And then a bit more. Showcase the light and space in the house. Make a few repairs, which they can organise if I sell through them. Tidy up the garden, which will be quite a big job. Sort out the garage, also a big job.

It was tempting to rush into it and get it all done by the beginning of March. I am not going to do that. There is no hurry. I can take my time, keep my eye on the market in Docklands. There are lots and lots of apartments available there and I don't think that will change in the next few months. And then, when I am ready, I will put this place on the market and see what happens.

I am going to Docklands for a long weekend on Friday and staying in an apartment which is very much like the ones I've been looking at online. I will take the opportunity to inspect a few in person. I may decide I do not, after all, want to live in Docklands. In which case, I'll stay here. Of course I may decide it's a perfect and very exciting place to live and I want to go rightnowthisveryminute, in which case I'll get a wriggle on with this place.  I will probably stick with Plan A, which is to take my time and proceed slowly. We shall see

This place is still too big for one person, though. I have two rooms that I hardly ever go into, except to clean or to get things in or out of the cupboards. Oh - and if I decide to stay for any length of time, THEN I will have the carpet replaced. Otherwise, it can be a decision for the next people.

A Lunch for Candlemas

Yesterday was the feast of Candlemas, historically the end of the Christmas-Epiphany season. It was also Stella's birthday. And it was the day that Pat, Freyja, Simon, Ian and I had our belated Christmas lunch.  Freyja and Simon usually go to Pat's place for lunch on Christmas Day and join us for whatever we are doing on Christmas night. This recent Christmas they were, of course, in Sheffield. So we moved Christmas lunch to my place, coincidentally on Candlemas and Stella's birthday, and invited Lindsey and Ian to join us.

Lindsey was working so couldn't come. We are having a new computer system installed at work and she joined other doctors in the afternoon for extra training.

So I used tofu, which Lindsey really doesn't like and which Freyja loves.

I have a fairly new cook book and took inspiration from that:

We had sweet and sour tofu

And on the side we had a Japanese vegetable curry, mixed vegetables and rice

Freyja's photo

Candlemas revellers

It was quite hot over the weekend. Lindsey and I went to the Bridge Street market on Saturday morning before the heat kicked in and visited several of the shops as well as the market. The Bridge Street market is still only quite small but it was busy and bustling on Saturday. I got some cherries and raspberries for yesterday's lunch and some vegan friendly yo-yos. I might try making my own yo-yos in the future. It can't be that difficult and the ones from the market were a bit dry. The raspberries and cherries were delicious.

It's supposed to stay hot for the rest of the week, although we did have something of a cool change overnight. There was lots of rain, thunder, lightning and a noticeable drop in temperature. It's still quite early but the weather so far this morning is lovely.  The sun is shining and the temperature is around 24°. There are a few fluffy, white clouds and there is a gentle breeze. It is expected to warm up again during the afternoon so I am enjoying having the doors and windows open to let some air in.

I forgot to mention: I was at work on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday last week and stayed in the flat with Lindsey on Thursday night. We met Freyja and Simon, as well as Ian who happened to be passing by, in Kinyoubi for dinner in Fitzroy and enjoyed some lovely Japanese food.  I was as prepared as I could be by Friday afternoon for the transfer to the new system, and for me having February off work. I have taken this morning fairly gently, so far (It's 9:00 now) but I can see this month vanishing at great speed. I don't have any great plans, although I have organised a long weekend in Melbourne mid-month and I have a list of things to do, organise or consider. But experience of overseas holidays means that I will not be surprised to wake up tomorrow and find that it's the 3rd of March and I'm due to go back to work!