The Interfest

We had an extra public holiday on Monday for Boxing Day, which fell on a Saturday and therefore doesn't count as a holiday, apparently.

So Lindsey, Ian, Stella, Jim and I went out to Pipers at the lake for lunch. And then Lindsey, Stella and I went out to the Elaine Farmgate shop, just because. We didn't really need anything, but it's a nice drive and an accessible place for Stella to get into.

There are lots of roadworks along the road between Buninyong and Elaine. A great deal of the way is restricted to 80, with some sections restricted to 60. It's a bit tedious, especially when there is noone around doing anything. So we came back along the forest road.The road through the forest is an unmade track. I think it might be a forestry route.  I almost never go along it if I am driving Ziggy. But Lindsey's car is a robust 4W Drive which can cope with the road, if driven slowly and carefully.  It's not too bad at each end but the middle section is very seldom graded and is full of ruts and ridges and potholes and other hazards to shipping. It's a beautiful route to look at, and the advantage to having to drive slowly is that you see lots of things that you would miss if you were going faster. Such as birds and butterflies. And a big, fat echidna bindling along an embankment beside the road. (It was big as in on the large side for an echidna, not big as in the size of a wombat or an elephant!)

On Tuesday Stella had to have a blood test, so she and I went and had that done and then went out to the mushroom farm.  I did need to go there. I had long run out of mushrooms.  The advantage of taking Stella on a weekday is that all the extra people aren't there.  No coffee van, no seafood van and, above all, no local wine stall. The wine stall is usually right outside the entrance.  With it not there, I could park right outside the entrance and Stella could come in using her walker. She's never been in it and it is exactly the kind of shop she likes.

And so we come to New Year's Eve. Many people are celebrating the end of 2020 as the passing of a very difficult year.  And there is no doubting that, in many ways, it has been.  I am slightly more muted in my boisterous farewelling of 2020. There is nothing to say that 2021 isn't hiding on the sidelines, rubbing its fingers with glee, ready to unleash even more upon us.  It is even possible that the whole decade is in training for turbulence, chaos, disaster and catastrophe.

Lindsey, Stella and I decided to ignore all of that and we bundled Stella into the car and went out to the Wendouree shopping complex which is large and full of the sorts of shops that Stella likes. We had lunch in a Japanese cafe. We went to the Other Wilson's store on the other side of town. We went to Dan Murphy's. We didn't any of us buy very much but we had a good potter around. A calm, peaceful and pleasant end to the year.

In other news, Rupert is very much better. I had a wag of the tail and a Happy Dance when I went to pick up Stella on Tuesday.He is eating his food properly. He is playing with Hugo. He is playing with his toys. We think he is going to be OK.

Rupert and Hugo looking out
through their front door on Tuesday

Oh, and happy Gotcha Day to Hugo. Three years today since he arrived at Hill House as a 10 month old puppy. A good addition to the household