Long Weekend

It wasn't, strictly speaking, a four day weekend. True, Tuesday was a holiday in Victoria but Monday wasn't.  However, lots of people had taken Monday off anyway. And, again strictly speaking, I don't work on Mondays - although I usually do an hour or two on most days.  The advantage of working from home: you can spread your hours out over the week.

Anyway. I went down to Frankston on Saturday, leaving Jim, Brandy and Whiskey Home, Alone. The Covid hospital regulations at the moment mean that hospital patients can only have one visitor a day. There didn't seem to be any point in taking Jim all the way to Frankston just to have him sitting in the car for two hours while I was visiting Stella. And, while it was our weekend to visit, I knew that I wasn't going to be Stella's Visitor on Sunday so no real point in staying down in Mount Martha.

I quite enjoyed the solitary trip.  I had borrowed some of Lindsey's Japanese language CDs and happily listened to them on the way down.  There wasn't as much traffic as I had expected, given that the stringent lockdown restrictions had been lifted a bit. A little more than the last time I went down, but not much more.

Stella was looking much better than she had earlier in the week.  Not that I had seen her, but I had had reports. She was much less breathless.  However, the ankle is remaining stubborn. While I was there an orthopaedic surgeon dropped in to see her. They are suggesting that she might need to have surgery to clean out the infection in her ankle. But before then she has to have another battery of tests plus a picc line. I had no idea what one of those was but Lindsey, when we consulted her by phone, said that sounded good to her.  A picc line was arranged. 

The Berlin Wall around Melbourne remains in place for people trying to leave Manky Melbourne for the purity of Regional Victoria. It is widely expected that it will be lifted on the 8th of November but it hasn't been lifted yet. However, I don't think that it is being enforced quite as stringently as it has been. I pulled up when I got to Checkpoint Charlie, put on my mask, wound down the window and, as I reached for my driver's licence, the police office said "It's Ok. I can see your label.  Drive carefully and have a good evening."  Label?  As I drove away I looked down and realised that I was still wearing my Hospital Visitor label from when I signed in at the hospital earlier in the afternoon 😂

We have had some lovely weather over the past few days. I have been out in the garden.  I have planted some sweet peas along the new trellis in the front, plus some sunflowers in front of them.  I had intended the sunflowers for the back garden but they are ready for planting and the back garden won't be ready for another month. No real reason why they shouldn't be out the front.  I have prepped one of the hexagonal beds ready for runner beans and another ready for yellow beans. The zucchini and pumpkin seedlings are almost ready for planting out. The back garden is beginning to take proper shape

Looking towards the back

Ready for climbing runner beans, bracketed at the top

Ready for yellow bush beans,
bracketed at the bottom

Unfinished patio, waiting for the 
patio builder to come at the end of the
month

I even went wild and cleaned the windows that look out into the back garden.  Not particularly well, but they are cleaned, plus I de-cobwebbed the eaves.  Must get someone in to clear the gutters before the fire season sets in properly.

Today, the weather has reverted to late winter weather.  It's damp, misty, grey and chilly. The rest of the windows will have to wait.