I met Freyja and Simon on Tuesday evening for a birthday dinner.
They live in East Brunswick. Their house is between Nicholson Street and Lygon Street. So I took the tram to their place.
It was a very nostalgic tram trip. I haven't had any reason to head out that way on the tram in the last couple of years, but when I lived in North Carlton I went on the Nicholson Street tram quite frequently. I nearly got off at Pigdon Street to walk up to my old house. There wasn't time for tripping down memory lane, though. I was due at Freyja and Simon's place so I stayed on the tram.
Not much has changed - apart from the shops and businesses. The butcher is still there but the language school where I learnt Italian has gone. The video store is now a bike shop. The Little Bookshop, which used to be in Rathdowne Street, has moved to Nicholson Street (I knew it wasn't in Rathdowne Street anymore but assumed it had closed down. It was good to see it in its new home.)
I remembered to get off the tram at Freyja and Simon's stop, walked up their road and then (with them!) on to Lygon Street. We had dinner in Kumo Izakaya. It's a lovely building and does interesting food; mostly Japanese but with some fusion food. The advantage of its tapas-style menu is that the omnivore, the vegetarian and the vegan could all have delicious food, and share most of it, although I had to eat my fried chicken plate all by myself. Oh, the hardship :-D It was a good evening.
I took the tram down Lygon Street into town, then caught another tram out to East Melbourne. It was around 10:00 when I got into the city - and it was absolutely heaving. I realise that I was out on a school night, but I wasn't really partying. Just eating. The crowds in the city centre appeared to be mostly partying. They were, at least, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised to find a booze bus on Heidelberg Road when I was making my way to work yesterday morning. I was, a bit, even though I had observed the crowds in the city on Tuesday night. Fortunately I hadn't had much to drink at the Izakaya. The police didn't seem to be catching many drink/drug drivers, but it was only 08:15! I guess most of the party-goers were still in bed.
The Enterprize, Docklands, August 2026
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Monday, December 10, 2018
Birthday Weekend
Friday, which was my actual birthday, was very hot (if it didn't get to 40d in Melbourne it only missed by a degree or two) and unusually humid for Melbourne. The air conditioning wasn't working at work. My cupboard was very hot and airless.
Mid-afternoon, I was summoned to the kitchen. Tracey, the nurse manager had gone out to buy a cake for my birthday. As it was so hot she decided to buy a box of icy poles (ice lollies) instead. Then she saw an ice cream cake. A Freddo Frog, child's party cake. She bought that instead. We had ice cream for afternoon tea on Friday!!!
We had a Japanese Feast for dinner. Lindsey and Ian took Jim and me to Kambei, which is a Japanese restaurant opposite Sovereign Hill, for dinner. Tony always commented that the restaurant was invariably closed whenever he went past it. This was because we tended to take him past it in the middle of the day. It is open for lunch at weekends, but only for a couple of hours. It is indisputably open on Friday evenings and was quite busy.. We all had the tasting menu. Sashimi, (wagyu beef slices for Jim and me, rather than salmon, tuna and kingfish - Jim doesn't eat raw fish; I do but not in that sort of quantity) with little spring rolls, and bowls of tasty things; tempura vegetables and prawns; miso soup; black cod; wagyu beef in a delicious sauce with rice; little creme caramels. Wine, of course. It was extremely delicious.
On Saturday Jim and I spent a couple of hours cleaning Tani #1. The bulk of it is done, apart from the steam cleaning of the carpets. There are all the tedious little things to do now, like sweep the garage, dust the skirting boards, wipe down the windows. Oh, and clean the laundry which hasn't been touched and which has all the cleaning stuff in it. Jim and I went to the garden centre for some potting mix and some plants for the little garden bed out the front of our lounge room. Lindsey and I went to Buninyong later in the afternoon for their Twilight Christmas Market. As we were getting ready to go it started to rain. When we got there there was a brief, almost tropical downpour. I was wearing a rain jacket and a hat. Both got soaked!
The market was bigger than it had been last year. I was supposed to be Christmas shopping but instead bought lots of plants for the new herb tub that we bought a few days ago, plus a few more for the front and back gardens. I did get a few Christmas things, plus some stuff from a pop up shop hidden away in a secret corner of the back car park. It is selling Australian spices and syrups and Aussie themed cups and other lovely things. I could have spent a Great Deal of Money in there but managed to restrain myself. A bit :-D
Yesterday Lindsey, Ian, Jim and I had planned to go to the St Anne's winery near Myrniong to inspect their Christmas market. Ian decided not to go. He wanted to carry on with his ambitious watering project in the hope that he might get it finished by Christmas. While I was in Hill House looking at the carpet steamer with Lindsey, Jim stayed outside to watch Ian's progress. Lindsey and I came out, ready to head off. Cattle-astrophe! There was now an unexpected water feature where the pipes were supposed to go!!! Not mains water, fortunately. Water from the tanks. Still not good, but not quite as disastrous as holing a mains water pipe.
Jim and I decided that we weren't being very useful just stood there watching Lindsey and Ian trying to sort it all out, so headed off to Myrniong to check out the market. It's a good market. I had one of the best souvlaki I've had in a long time from one of the food trucks. Jim enjoyed his bucket of chips and his small glass of wine (made by the winery). He didn't have a proper lunch because he had not long had a proper breakfast. I managed some actual Christmas shopping :-D We had a good wander around. And then headed back to Ballarat more or less as Lindsey was arriving. I think we saw her car heading towards Myrniong on the freeway.
We called at the Mill Market on our way home (it's an antique/junk/knick knack place at Warrenheip), then Jim put on his grubbies and went up to help Ian while I did some sorting out at Tani #2.
Lindsey went on to Mount Martha. Ian went to Melbourne. Jim and I went up to Hill House to look after Rupert and Hugo. We are not often there overnight on Sundays. It was very odd to wake up this morning and not have to rush about and head off to Melbourne. Mind you, there are things to do. Packages to collect from the post office. Packages to post from the post office. And Jim and I are planning to use Lindsey and Ian's carpet steam cleaner, hopefully to good effect, at Tani #1 later today.
Mid-afternoon, I was summoned to the kitchen. Tracey, the nurse manager had gone out to buy a cake for my birthday. As it was so hot she decided to buy a box of icy poles (ice lollies) instead. Then she saw an ice cream cake. A Freddo Frog, child's party cake. She bought that instead. We had ice cream for afternoon tea on Friday!!!
We had a Japanese Feast for dinner. Lindsey and Ian took Jim and me to Kambei, which is a Japanese restaurant opposite Sovereign Hill, for dinner. Tony always commented that the restaurant was invariably closed whenever he went past it. This was because we tended to take him past it in the middle of the day. It is open for lunch at weekends, but only for a couple of hours. It is indisputably open on Friday evenings and was quite busy.. We all had the tasting menu. Sashimi, (wagyu beef slices for Jim and me, rather than salmon, tuna and kingfish - Jim doesn't eat raw fish; I do but not in that sort of quantity) with little spring rolls, and bowls of tasty things; tempura vegetables and prawns; miso soup; black cod; wagyu beef in a delicious sauce with rice; little creme caramels. Wine, of course. It was extremely delicious.
On Saturday Jim and I spent a couple of hours cleaning Tani #1. The bulk of it is done, apart from the steam cleaning of the carpets. There are all the tedious little things to do now, like sweep the garage, dust the skirting boards, wipe down the windows. Oh, and clean the laundry which hasn't been touched and which has all the cleaning stuff in it. Jim and I went to the garden centre for some potting mix and some plants for the little garden bed out the front of our lounge room. Lindsey and I went to Buninyong later in the afternoon for their Twilight Christmas Market. As we were getting ready to go it started to rain. When we got there there was a brief, almost tropical downpour. I was wearing a rain jacket and a hat. Both got soaked!
The market was bigger than it had been last year. I was supposed to be Christmas shopping but instead bought lots of plants for the new herb tub that we bought a few days ago, plus a few more for the front and back gardens. I did get a few Christmas things, plus some stuff from a pop up shop hidden away in a secret corner of the back car park. It is selling Australian spices and syrups and Aussie themed cups and other lovely things. I could have spent a Great Deal of Money in there but managed to restrain myself. A bit :-D
Yesterday Lindsey, Ian, Jim and I had planned to go to the St Anne's winery near Myrniong to inspect their Christmas market. Ian decided not to go. He wanted to carry on with his ambitious watering project in the hope that he might get it finished by Christmas. While I was in Hill House looking at the carpet steamer with Lindsey, Jim stayed outside to watch Ian's progress. Lindsey and I came out, ready to head off. Cattle-astrophe! There was now an unexpected water feature where the pipes were supposed to go!!! Not mains water, fortunately. Water from the tanks. Still not good, but not quite as disastrous as holing a mains water pipe.
Jim and I decided that we weren't being very useful just stood there watching Lindsey and Ian trying to sort it all out, so headed off to Myrniong to check out the market. It's a good market. I had one of the best souvlaki I've had in a long time from one of the food trucks. Jim enjoyed his bucket of chips and his small glass of wine (made by the winery). He didn't have a proper lunch because he had not long had a proper breakfast. I managed some actual Christmas shopping :-D We had a good wander around. And then headed back to Ballarat more or less as Lindsey was arriving. I think we saw her car heading towards Myrniong on the freeway.
We called at the Mill Market on our way home (it's an antique/junk/knick knack place at Warrenheip), then Jim put on his grubbies and went up to help Ian while I did some sorting out at Tani #2.
Lindsey went on to Mount Martha. Ian went to Melbourne. Jim and I went up to Hill House to look after Rupert and Hugo. We are not often there overnight on Sundays. It was very odd to wake up this morning and not have to rush about and head off to Melbourne. Mind you, there are things to do. Packages to collect from the post office. Packages to post from the post office. And Jim and I are planning to use Lindsey and Ian's carpet steam cleaner, hopefully to good effect, at Tani #1 later today.
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| Christmas has arrived outside our front door |
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| Sunday Sunset from Hill House, Mount Helen |
Friday, December 07, 2018
Alarm!
We had a productive day yesterday.
Jim spent several hours up at Hill House helping Ian with some of his outside projects.
I cleaned most of the kitchen at Tani #1. I have the floor and the dishwasher still to do in the kitchen, plus the bathroom, toilet and laundry. Will try and knock that over tomorrow, leaving the carpet cleaning for Monday. (Must get motivated!!!!!!!)
Then I went into town. Lindsey had given me her coin collecting tin, plus a small collection of coins from her surgery and an ENORMOUSLY heavy coin collecting elephant for which she had lost the key. Jim smashed open the elephant. I opened the tin. The assembled coins were almost too heavy for me to carry. So I put them into two cotton bags and trundled into town in the car. I had thought that my total of $360 was pretty good. Lindsey's combined total was very nearly $1000.
That should pay for Christmas dinner!!!
When I was in Lincraft a few days ago, I asked if they sold plate stands. They didn't. But another customer said that they sold them at Cheap as Chips. There's a Cheap as Chips near the supermarkets in the city centre so, while I was in town, I went in for a look. It's like an Aussie version of Daiso. Lots of fun! After I picked Jim up I took him into town for a look too - plus I wanted a couple of extra things.
On the way back I noticed what looked like a haze of smoke over beyond Buninyong. It looked as though it was at a safe distance from us, so I didn't pay much attention. It certainly wasn't within a 5km distance or my emergency app would have told me about it.
About 30 minutes later I had just had a first mouthful of my (well deserved) gin and tonic when my phone made an odd noise. I looked at it. And there was an Emergency Text from the government.
Take shelter immediately. It is too late to leave. Put on long trousers, long sleeved shirt and shelter in a room with two exits. Close all windows and doors. Turn off air conditioners. Take shelter immediately.
!!!!!!!
I looked outside. No smoke. No fire. No neighbours running away. Nothing out of the ordinary. I looked at the alert more carefully and realised that it was for some specific roads out beyond Buninyong. I had another mouthful of gin and tonic while I pondered why I hadn't had any earlier texts. Ian, up at Hill House hadn't had any at all. Then I realised that I would have been in the Ballarat city centre when the earlier warnings had come out, so out of range of the government alerts for Buninyong.
The government alert service is different to my emergency app. This was the first time I have had a government alert. I get lots of alerts from my emergency app - most of which I ignore :-D But I have now extended the range on my emergency app from a 5 km range (which I have over the winter) to 10 km. I usually do have it at 10 km over the summer; I just hadn't got around to changing it yet. It's only early December!
The fire on the other side of Buninyong was moving south, so well away from us. The CFA had it under control by the time I went to bed.
But two fiery alarums in a month is more than enough, thank you very much. I don't feel the need for any more this summer.
It's my birthday today. And I am about to head off to work. Most unusually I slept later this morning. I had better get a wriggle on :-D
Jim spent several hours up at Hill House helping Ian with some of his outside projects.
I cleaned most of the kitchen at Tani #1. I have the floor and the dishwasher still to do in the kitchen, plus the bathroom, toilet and laundry. Will try and knock that over tomorrow, leaving the carpet cleaning for Monday. (Must get motivated!!!!!!!)
Then I went into town. Lindsey had given me her coin collecting tin, plus a small collection of coins from her surgery and an ENORMOUSLY heavy coin collecting elephant for which she had lost the key. Jim smashed open the elephant. I opened the tin. The assembled coins were almost too heavy for me to carry. So I put them into two cotton bags and trundled into town in the car. I had thought that my total of $360 was pretty good. Lindsey's combined total was very nearly $1000.
That should pay for Christmas dinner!!!
When I was in Lincraft a few days ago, I asked if they sold plate stands. They didn't. But another customer said that they sold them at Cheap as Chips. There's a Cheap as Chips near the supermarkets in the city centre so, while I was in town, I went in for a look. It's like an Aussie version of Daiso. Lots of fun! After I picked Jim up I took him into town for a look too - plus I wanted a couple of extra things.
On the way back I noticed what looked like a haze of smoke over beyond Buninyong. It looked as though it was at a safe distance from us, so I didn't pay much attention. It certainly wasn't within a 5km distance or my emergency app would have told me about it.
About 30 minutes later I had just had a first mouthful of my (well deserved) gin and tonic when my phone made an odd noise. I looked at it. And there was an Emergency Text from the government.
Take shelter immediately. It is too late to leave. Put on long trousers, long sleeved shirt and shelter in a room with two exits. Close all windows and doors. Turn off air conditioners. Take shelter immediately.
!!!!!!!
I looked outside. No smoke. No fire. No neighbours running away. Nothing out of the ordinary. I looked at the alert more carefully and realised that it was for some specific roads out beyond Buninyong. I had another mouthful of gin and tonic while I pondered why I hadn't had any earlier texts. Ian, up at Hill House hadn't had any at all. Then I realised that I would have been in the Ballarat city centre when the earlier warnings had come out, so out of range of the government alerts for Buninyong.
The government alert service is different to my emergency app. This was the first time I have had a government alert. I get lots of alerts from my emergency app - most of which I ignore :-D But I have now extended the range on my emergency app from a 5 km range (which I have over the winter) to 10 km. I usually do have it at 10 km over the summer; I just hadn't got around to changing it yet. It's only early December!
The fire on the other side of Buninyong was moving south, so well away from us. The CFA had it under control by the time I went to bed.
But two fiery alarums in a month is more than enough, thank you very much. I don't feel the need for any more this summer.
It's my birthday today. And I am about to head off to work. Most unusually I slept later this morning. I had better get a wriggle on :-D
Tuesday, December 04, 2018
We are oh so, oh so, oh so close to having fully moved out of Tani #1. The house is empty of everything except cleaning things, my step for reaching the upper shelves of the cupboards and the three wheeled trolley we used for moving the furniture, which we must return to Lindsey and Ian. The garage still has the barbecue and loads of cardboard boxes and a huge bag of paper. We were going to take the boxes and paper to the tip but have decided to hang onto them and use them for the base of some veg beds at Tani #2.
We have started cleaning Tani #1. We've done all three bedrooms, the hallway cupboards and the lounge area. We still have the kitchen, bathroom and dining room to do. We were going to do most of it yesterday but couldn't be bothered. We'll put in two or three hours on Thursday and finish off on Saturday (I hope!) We need to steam clean the carpets and then we're done. We don't have to hand back the keys until the 19th but I think we should be able to hand them back well before that.
In amongst all of this, we had a lovely weekend, mostly at Mount Martha. We went to the Bridge Mall market before heading down on Saturday afternoon. It's ages since we last went to the market. Fortunately the stall keepers that we regularly visit remembered us!
Our visit to Mount Martha was enlivened on Sunday morning when I emerged from the visitors' bathroom, clad in a towel after my shower - to see Stella sitting on her bedroom floor. She's not sure how she managed to slip out of bed - she was getting up and just slithered down onto the floor. Fortunately, Jim and I were there to try and help get her up again. It was actually quite hard. We had to try and roll her back up onto the bed. My towel did little to maintain my modesty in all this activity!!!! Eventually she managed to get back up onto the bed and isn't much damaged, apart from bruised knees.
We had lunch in the Dava and then went back to Stella's place, where Simon, Bethan, Noodle and new little puppy Leroy had come to visit. After they left we made a quick visit to Tully's, took Stella home and made our way back to Mount Helen. It was a good weekend.
Early in the year, Lindsey gave me a large money tin. We've been putting our spare change into it. We opened it over the weekend. It was only about a third full but the change machine at the bank converted it into slightly over $360. Not a bad little total! I've bought another (smaller!) tin for 2019.
The view from our veranda on Sunday evening:
We have started cleaning Tani #1. We've done all three bedrooms, the hallway cupboards and the lounge area. We still have the kitchen, bathroom and dining room to do. We were going to do most of it yesterday but couldn't be bothered. We'll put in two or three hours on Thursday and finish off on Saturday (I hope!) We need to steam clean the carpets and then we're done. We don't have to hand back the keys until the 19th but I think we should be able to hand them back well before that.
In amongst all of this, we had a lovely weekend, mostly at Mount Martha. We went to the Bridge Mall market before heading down on Saturday afternoon. It's ages since we last went to the market. Fortunately the stall keepers that we regularly visit remembered us!
Our visit to Mount Martha was enlivened on Sunday morning when I emerged from the visitors' bathroom, clad in a towel after my shower - to see Stella sitting on her bedroom floor. She's not sure how she managed to slip out of bed - she was getting up and just slithered down onto the floor. Fortunately, Jim and I were there to try and help get her up again. It was actually quite hard. We had to try and roll her back up onto the bed. My towel did little to maintain my modesty in all this activity!!!! Eventually she managed to get back up onto the bed and isn't much damaged, apart from bruised knees.
We had lunch in the Dava and then went back to Stella's place, where Simon, Bethan, Noodle and new little puppy Leroy had come to visit. After they left we made a quick visit to Tully's, took Stella home and made our way back to Mount Helen. It was a good weekend.
Early in the year, Lindsey gave me a large money tin. We've been putting our spare change into it. We opened it over the weekend. It was only about a third full but the change machine at the bank converted it into slightly over $360. Not a bad little total! I've bought another (smaller!) tin for 2019.
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| Drinking Pimms at The Dava |
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
All change, please!
In the event, we picked up the keys to the new place on Friday afternoon.
We spent most of Saturday moving things from one place to the other. Freyja and Simon heroically took large things around on Lindsey and Ian's three wheeled trolley. Jim and I took smaller things around by the carload. By the time we had to stop, midway through the afternoon we had almost cleared Tani #1 and made a start on sorting out Tani #2
Then Ian took Freyja to work in Melbourne and Simon back to their place. Jim, Lindsey and I made our way to East Melbourne. Ian joined us there and we headed to Southbank for the RMG Christmas Knees Up.
I must say that neither Lindsey nor I was particularly looking forward to it. Noisy, crowded wine bars have never been a favourite haunt for either of us, not even in our younger days. But, you know - it wasn't too bad. They had set a section of the bar aside for us. We were at the front and the windows were all open. We could see the river. The wine flowed. The food wasn't bad at all and there was plenty of it. All in all, it was a good evening - much better than we had anticipated.
Sunday breakfast. Blueberry muffins straight out of the oven. No, I didn't make them. There's a cafe beneath our feet at the flat in East Melbourne. They were taking them out of the oven as I walked in in search of coffee and muffins.
Jim and I slept at the new place on Sunday night and spent most of Monday emptying Tani #1. There is now perhaps half a carload of stuff to take around. Tani #2 is now filled with boxes and crates and stuff everywhere. It won't take long to sort out but many things will not be in their final resting place, as it were. Oddly, there are more cupboards and drawers in the new place. I say "oddly" because I had always thought that the first place had loads of storage space and had expected there to be a bit less in a slightly smaller place. Only I don't think it actually is very much smaller. It's just arranged slightly differently. And I think that Freyja is right when she says that the new place is cosier than the first. I think, once we get it sorted out, it will do Quite Nicely.
We spent most of Saturday moving things from one place to the other. Freyja and Simon heroically took large things around on Lindsey and Ian's three wheeled trolley. Jim and I took smaller things around by the carload. By the time we had to stop, midway through the afternoon we had almost cleared Tani #1 and made a start on sorting out Tani #2
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| First meal at the new place |
I must say that neither Lindsey nor I was particularly looking forward to it. Noisy, crowded wine bars have never been a favourite haunt for either of us, not even in our younger days. But, you know - it wasn't too bad. They had set a section of the bar aside for us. We were at the front and the windows were all open. We could see the river. The wine flowed. The food wasn't bad at all and there was plenty of it. All in all, it was a good evening - much better than we had anticipated.
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| Frannie, Jim and Lindsey down by the riverside. Photo by Ian |
Then Lindsey, Jim and I headed back to Ballarat. A visit to the Christmas Makers' Market at the netball stadium and then back to Buninyong to the Men's Shed pop up shop where we bought a wooden Christmas tree and a reindeer. There wasn't room for both the tree and me in the car, so Lindsey took the tree and Jim back to Tani #2 and then came back for me. In the meantime I went to the bakery for pies for lunch and was chatting to the bloke who is opening a new noodle place next to the bakery when Lindsey came back for me
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| New tree, outside our front door. I will decorate it, but closer to Christmas. |
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| No pets allowed at our new place but they surely can't object to my very cute reindeer |
But first we have to clean Tani #1 to within an inch of its life. I want my bond back!
We had visitors at Lindsey and Ian's place the other evening. They certainly made themselves at home
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Sunshine
It was a lovely weekend. The sun shone. It was pleasantly warm. There were lots of fun things to do.
Amongst the fun things on offer was the Bacchus Marsh Strawberry and Cherry Fair. We went last year not really knowing what we were going to. We decided to go again this year. And this year we took Stella with us. Or - Lindsey did. She and Stella were in East Melbourne and drove up. We were in Mount Helen and drove down.
It was VERY busy!
Jim pushed Stella in her wheelchair. Lindsey and I ambled about. We had (free) sausages from the sausage sizzle outside the travel agency. We bought strawberries, raspberries and cherries. We bought Christmassy stuff. We had lunch at Flannagan's, sat where we were sat last year, outside on the patio. This year we had a carb feast. Chips and wedges and nachos and a bit of chicken. We need to remember for next year that the "Light" sizes are enormous and only to buy half the number of dishes!
Then we all went back to Mount Helen. Stella stayed at Hill House overnight. We had a rare night at our place. We were at Hill House all last week and are expecting to be there for most of this coming week. And we pick up the keys to the new place on Saturday and will begin to move in next weekend so there aren't many more opportunities for sleeping over at our place.
But there was time for one last Sunday lunch. Lindsey, Ian and Stella came down and we had slow cooked lamb shanks with roast veg and fresh veg on the side. We had donuts for dessert, which Lindsey bought in Bacchus Marsh. Then Ian took Stella home and Lindsey went on an emergency mission for dog biscuits. Rupert and Hugo had Run Out!!!!!!!
And the sun shone all weekend.
It was lovely.
Amongst the fun things on offer was the Bacchus Marsh Strawberry and Cherry Fair. We went last year not really knowing what we were going to. We decided to go again this year. And this year we took Stella with us. Or - Lindsey did. She and Stella were in East Melbourne and drove up. We were in Mount Helen and drove down.
It was VERY busy!
Jim pushed Stella in her wheelchair. Lindsey and I ambled about. We had (free) sausages from the sausage sizzle outside the travel agency. We bought strawberries, raspberries and cherries. We bought Christmassy stuff. We had lunch at Flannagan's, sat where we were sat last year, outside on the patio. This year we had a carb feast. Chips and wedges and nachos and a bit of chicken. We need to remember for next year that the "Light" sizes are enormous and only to buy half the number of dishes!
Then we all went back to Mount Helen. Stella stayed at Hill House overnight. We had a rare night at our place. We were at Hill House all last week and are expecting to be there for most of this coming week. And we pick up the keys to the new place on Saturday and will begin to move in next weekend so there aren't many more opportunities for sleeping over at our place.
But there was time for one last Sunday lunch. Lindsey, Ian and Stella came down and we had slow cooked lamb shanks with roast veg and fresh veg on the side. We had donuts for dessert, which Lindsey bought in Bacchus Marsh. Then Ian took Stella home and Lindsey went on an emergency mission for dog biscuits. Rupert and Hugo had Run Out!!!!!!!
And the sun shone all weekend.
It was lovely.
Saturday, November 17, 2018
On the move again
We knew, when we took the lease on Tani no uchi, that the unit was on the market. We knew that our 12 month lease was safe, so any new owners couldn't chuck us out until March 2019. We were also aware that the estate agency was marketing it to investors rather than to private buyers.
Alas, the investors weren't all that interested and in the event the unit has been sold to a private buyer. We have been given written notice to quit at the end of the lease plus written notification that if we chose to leave earlier, with 28 days notice, the new owners wouldn't argue.
We like living where we do. We like the unit, but we also like the area. Mount Helen is a fairly quiet place but it is only a tad under 3 km to Mount Clear in one direction, and to Buninyong in the other. It's 2 km from Lindsey and Ian's place. It's an easy drive into Ballarat. It's not a difficult drive into Melbourne.
I was listening to someone the radio the other day saying that people are buying or renting in the new developments on the edges of Melbourne and Sydney because housing is more affordable but that then people get there and find that, although there might be bus stops, there aren't actually any buses yet. There are no local shops. Commuting to work is expensive. You can afford the house but you don't get the lifestyle. In Mount Helen you get a lifestyle that Jim and I enjoy and we can afford to rent there.
I didn't want to sleepwalk my way into February 2019 and find that we had to find somewhere new to live in a hurry, so I started looking. And there was a unit round the corner that looked very similar to where we are living now. Jim, Lindsey and I went to look at it. I think it may have been built by the same developer, but it is older and each room is a bit smaller. We left thinking that we aren't in any hurry and it wasn't quite what we were looking for.
A day or two later, Jim and I went to look at an actual house much closer to central Ballarat. There were LOTS of people looking at it. We came away thinking that it was a nice house and we would consider buying it if we were looking to buy but it wasn't for us as a rental (the kitchen and bathroom had both been fully renovated but the rest of the Victorian building had not. I would want to do the rest of it!).
The unit in Mount Helen had another viewing on the Saturday, so Jim and I went to have another look at it. I think if we had seen it before the place we're currently living in we would have thought it was perfectly satisfactory. It seems less so because it is 7 years older (and it has purple carpets but they would seem less dramatic if there was furniture to divert the eye).
We put in an application for it. And yesterday it was approved. We pick up the keys next Saturday. I must remember to arrange to have the gas, electricity, internet, water transferred there. And to give our 28 days notice on Monday. It's only a 5 minute walk from where we are now. We should be able to shift most things by car or on foot.
Now all we need to do is to sell our place in the UK. We are exploring the auction option again. But with a different auction company. Unless you fancy buying it? We could be persuaded to arrange a mate's discount :-D
Alas, the investors weren't all that interested and in the event the unit has been sold to a private buyer. We have been given written notice to quit at the end of the lease plus written notification that if we chose to leave earlier, with 28 days notice, the new owners wouldn't argue.
We like living where we do. We like the unit, but we also like the area. Mount Helen is a fairly quiet place but it is only a tad under 3 km to Mount Clear in one direction, and to Buninyong in the other. It's 2 km from Lindsey and Ian's place. It's an easy drive into Ballarat. It's not a difficult drive into Melbourne.
I was listening to someone the radio the other day saying that people are buying or renting in the new developments on the edges of Melbourne and Sydney because housing is more affordable but that then people get there and find that, although there might be bus stops, there aren't actually any buses yet. There are no local shops. Commuting to work is expensive. You can afford the house but you don't get the lifestyle. In Mount Helen you get a lifestyle that Jim and I enjoy and we can afford to rent there.
I didn't want to sleepwalk my way into February 2019 and find that we had to find somewhere new to live in a hurry, so I started looking. And there was a unit round the corner that looked very similar to where we are living now. Jim, Lindsey and I went to look at it. I think it may have been built by the same developer, but it is older and each room is a bit smaller. We left thinking that we aren't in any hurry and it wasn't quite what we were looking for.
A day or two later, Jim and I went to look at an actual house much closer to central Ballarat. There were LOTS of people looking at it. We came away thinking that it was a nice house and we would consider buying it if we were looking to buy but it wasn't for us as a rental (the kitchen and bathroom had both been fully renovated but the rest of the Victorian building had not. I would want to do the rest of it!).
The unit in Mount Helen had another viewing on the Saturday, so Jim and I went to have another look at it. I think if we had seen it before the place we're currently living in we would have thought it was perfectly satisfactory. It seems less so because it is 7 years older (and it has purple carpets but they would seem less dramatic if there was furniture to divert the eye).
We put in an application for it. And yesterday it was approved. We pick up the keys next Saturday. I must remember to arrange to have the gas, electricity, internet, water transferred there. And to give our 28 days notice on Monday. It's only a 5 minute walk from where we are now. We should be able to shift most things by car or on foot.
Now all we need to do is to sell our place in the UK. We are exploring the auction option again. But with a different auction company. Unless you fancy buying it? We could be persuaded to arrange a mate's discount :-D
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Out and About at the Weekend
We went to Geelong on Saturday, for lunch at Irene's place. Gillie couldn't be there but Chris and John were, and Irene's friend Stephen was there. We had a very delicious time.
We had eggs from the chooks and veg from the garden, plus veg from other places. We had soup and casserole, cheese and tiramisu. We had wine and gentle conversation. It was a lovely day.
Irene has a new dog. Her name is Flora and she is a 12 month old Kelpie. She is very friendly and wriggly
Sunday was a glorious day and we indulged in two firsts. I can't say that I had no idea about either of them because I knew that they both existed, but we had never been to either of them so didn't know what was there.
The first was the annual Gordon Community Fair. We had a lovely drive across country to get there. It's a long, long time since I was last in Gordon, which is a small, pretty township off the freeway. I might go again and have a little potter around on a sunny weekend day when there is not much else to do.
The fair itself was at the Recreation ground outside of the township. We met Lindsey there and had a lovely potter about. It was very well attended, and there were a surprising number of stalls and activities. Then Lindsey went to Melbourne and Jim and I head back towards home, again across country.
But not directly home. It was a beautiful afternoon, so we went exploring.
We pass through Lal Lal fairly frequently. We went to their tiny, cute village fair a couple of weeks ago, you may remember. There is a signpost to the Lal Lal Falls, pointing away from the village. The pub is called The Lal Lal Falls. So we knew that there was a waterfall somewhere nearby but we had never followed the signpost to see where. On Sunday we did.
And we found a reserve, with barbecue area, picnic tables, children's play equipment and walking tracks. There is a small gorge with a little waterfall. Mind you, it's been quite dry recently so the creek that feeds it didn't have much water. I suspect after a storm, or during winter it would be quite spectacular.
So yes, I knew that the Falls existed, but I didn't know about the reserve or the walking tracks or the picnic area. I didn't know anything about the Moorabool Falls, which I hadn't heard of. I know now that they exist because we saw a car park at the start of the Moorabool Falls Trail. I might need to find a walking companion or three to go and look, though. It's a nearly 6 km round trip (on foot, no vehicular access) and I think Jim's feet would not enjoy it much.
I have to say that it was a very lovely weekend. We should go exploring more often.
We gave this jigsaw to Tony last Christmas but he didn't get around to doing it. So we brought it back to our place and Jim did it on his behalf.
He's doing a bigger, more complicated (but less interesting?) one now
We had eggs from the chooks and veg from the garden, plus veg from other places. We had soup and casserole, cheese and tiramisu. We had wine and gentle conversation. It was a lovely day.
Irene has a new dog. Her name is Flora and she is a 12 month old Kelpie. She is very friendly and wriggly
 |
| Lovely to meet you too :-D |
The first was the annual Gordon Community Fair. We had a lovely drive across country to get there. It's a long, long time since I was last in Gordon, which is a small, pretty township off the freeway. I might go again and have a little potter around on a sunny weekend day when there is not much else to do.
The fair itself was at the Recreation ground outside of the township. We met Lindsey there and had a lovely potter about. It was very well attended, and there were a surprising number of stalls and activities. Then Lindsey went to Melbourne and Jim and I head back towards home, again across country.
But not directly home. It was a beautiful afternoon, so we went exploring.
We pass through Lal Lal fairly frequently. We went to their tiny, cute village fair a couple of weeks ago, you may remember. There is a signpost to the Lal Lal Falls, pointing away from the village. The pub is called The Lal Lal Falls. So we knew that there was a waterfall somewhere nearby but we had never followed the signpost to see where. On Sunday we did.
And we found a reserve, with barbecue area, picnic tables, children's play equipment and walking tracks. There is a small gorge with a little waterfall. Mind you, it's been quite dry recently so the creek that feeds it didn't have much water. I suspect after a storm, or during winter it would be quite spectacular.
 |
| I would definitely not be this close if the creek was full. I think I'd almost certainly be swept over the cliff and down the falls!! |
So yes, I knew that the Falls existed, but I didn't know about the reserve or the walking tracks or the picnic area. I didn't know anything about the Moorabool Falls, which I hadn't heard of. I know now that they exist because we saw a car park at the start of the Moorabool Falls Trail. I might need to find a walking companion or three to go and look, though. It's a nearly 6 km round trip (on foot, no vehicular access) and I think Jim's feet would not enjoy it much.
I have to say that it was a very lovely weekend. We should go exploring more often.
We gave this jigsaw to Tony last Christmas but he didn't get around to doing it. So we brought it back to our place and Jim did it on his behalf.
He's doing a bigger, more complicated (but less interesting?) one now
Tuesday, November 06, 2018
Were we scared or shaken up by the neighbours' fire on Sunday?
People have asked this. And no, not really. There wasn't any danger to us from the fire in the outbuildings. The only danger to us was if the cypress tree had fallen our way. Realistically, it wouldn't have fallen on our place, but it would have got one or two of the units opposite us and almost certainly spread onto the drive. And then we wouldn't have been able to get out. Much more sensible to go while the way was clear. And that is what the Fire Safety advice is. If you're going, go early. As it happens, it didn't fall (but it's not looking very happy!). None of the other trees caught fire, which might have been interesting. And we haven't had any smoke damage to our place. I've had to re-wash the clothes that were out on the line and, until the heavy rain this morning, it smelled very smoky outside. But that's no real bother.
I realise that the list of things I grabbed on the way out seems paltry, but it was things that you need if you should lose everything else. Passports because they are a primary form of ID (and Jim's bridging visa is attached to his). Wallets because they have your driving licence (another primary form of ID) and access to money. Phones so you can contact people. Laptop in my case because that's where most of the photos are, plus all the documentation for Jim's residency application. iPad because it has a vast collection of e-books stored on it. Lindsey says I should have taken the file with the original documents, like birth certificates, wedding certificate and so on. She's absolutely right. They are now in a bag ready to be taken if we have to leave in a hurry.
Everything else? Well of course, there are things that I would miss but nothing that is actually irreplaceable. We are insured against fire and other disasters. And I have started again before. It's kind of fun in many ways. Although if my china collection went I might be forced to start a completely new one. Would be expensive, though. The pretty plates and serving dishes and so on that I had my eye on were in a gallery in Nagoya in Japan :-D
And now it's all good. Apart from whatever was in the shed that (mysteriously) spontaneously combusted, and the poor cypress tree. And whatever other shrubbery was damaged. I've haven't been along for a sticky yet
I realise that the list of things I grabbed on the way out seems paltry, but it was things that you need if you should lose everything else. Passports because they are a primary form of ID (and Jim's bridging visa is attached to his). Wallets because they have your driving licence (another primary form of ID) and access to money. Phones so you can contact people. Laptop in my case because that's where most of the photos are, plus all the documentation for Jim's residency application. iPad because it has a vast collection of e-books stored on it. Lindsey says I should have taken the file with the original documents, like birth certificates, wedding certificate and so on. She's absolutely right. They are now in a bag ready to be taken if we have to leave in a hurry.
Everything else? Well of course, there are things that I would miss but nothing that is actually irreplaceable. We are insured against fire and other disasters. And I have started again before. It's kind of fun in many ways. Although if my china collection went I might be forced to start a completely new one. Would be expensive, though. The pretty plates and serving dishes and so on that I had my eye on were in a gallery in Nagoya in Japan :-D
And now it's all good. Apart from whatever was in the shed that (mysteriously) spontaneously combusted, and the poor cypress tree. And whatever other shrubbery was damaged. I've haven't been along for a sticky yet
Sunday, November 04, 2018
An exciting weekend
Jeanette, Matt and Evie came to visit us for the weekend.
They flew into Avalon on Saturday morning and I went and picked them up. We came back to Tani no Uchi, where Jim was waiting for us. Pies from the local bakery for lunch. Then Lindsey and Ian came down and she, Jeanette, Evie and I went out and about, and Ian, Jim and Matt headed to Buninyong. We reconvened at Hill House later, played with the dogs (who LERVED Evie) and then left Lindsey and Ian to their own devices and came back to our place for roast chicken (and veggie koftas for Jeanette) for dinner.
So far so not very exciting, apart from the Diwali fireworks at around 9:30 at the University.
Not very exciting, I agree. Though I must say that Evie has developed into a very good dinner conversationalist. She has some very interesting things to say, especially to say she's only 11.
Sunday morning saw us eating fruit, cheese and toast for breakfast. We had arranged for Lindsey and Ian to come down to our place at around 12:00 so were just sitting about and relaxing as the morning progressed.
I went into the study to do something - and saw smoke billowing around. I thought I should go and investigate. Went to open the front door and saw a Rather Large fire, over there, behind the trees. I went to have a look. Jim followed me down.
So. Behind this block of units is a scrubby reserve. The reserve comes down to the road behind the units opposite us, but narrows to a suburban block size. On the other side of that is a fence, and beyond that is a large block of land with lots of trees, a house and many outbuildings. At least one of the outbuildings was on fire. I could hear fire engines in the distances.
The fire got larger. The clouds of smoke got blacker. The flames got higher. And now there were banging noises, such as those of small explosions.
One of the cypress trees caught fire.
Wooooosh.
I came back and said to Jeanette, Matt and Evie that they should get their stuff. We were heading off.
They already had their stuff. They hadn't brought much for an overnight visit and were holding their bags and waiting.
I grabbed my iPad, laptop, the passports and my wallet, the house keys and the car keys. We all leapt into the car and headed off.
On this occasion we went up to Lindsey and Ian's place. I wouldn't do that if it were a bushfire. I would head to Ballarat or Melbourne. If I couldn't get to those places I would go to the muster place at the University or IBM. But on this occasion the danger came from the tree. Had it fallen our way it might easily have reached our place. I have no wish to be squashed by a flaming cypress tree!
Lindsey and Ian had been watching the fire from their hill (Ian had rung me to tell me about it, in case I hadn't noticed) so weren't particularly surprised when we all rocked up. We still went to the Lake for lunch. And very nice it was too. We managed a potter around part of the lake and a wander in the botanical gardens, where are the busts of heads of all the Prime Minsters (apart from the last two although I'm sure they'll be along; the last two lasted such a short time that the sculptors haven't had time to keep up!)
When We got back to our place 4 hours later, prior to taking Jeanette, Matt and Evie back to the airport, there were still several fire engines, many police cars and two Scene of Crime vans in place.
If nothing else, it was a good practice should we have to evacuate in an emergency. I knew what I had to get and where things were. We were in the car and moving out within 3 or 4 minutes. Other people were also in their cars and moving out. Something to think about in the event of a big emergency. The roads will be busy! We would need to think about where we were going if a bushfire comes through, but my Fire Action Plan worked well enough. (My fire action plan has always been: Run Away; and we did :-D)
Jeanette, Matt and Evie are on their way back to Sydney. I got breathalysed in a Booze Bus operation on he way to the airport. I was as clean as a whistle. Not a drop of alcohol had passed my lips over breakfast or lunch.
In the end it was a much more exciting weekend than any of us had anticipated!!!
I have some musings to put down, but I'll do that on another occasion
They flew into Avalon on Saturday morning and I went and picked them up. We came back to Tani no Uchi, where Jim was waiting for us. Pies from the local bakery for lunch. Then Lindsey and Ian came down and she, Jeanette, Evie and I went out and about, and Ian, Jim and Matt headed to Buninyong. We reconvened at Hill House later, played with the dogs (who LERVED Evie) and then left Lindsey and Ian to their own devices and came back to our place for roast chicken (and veggie koftas for Jeanette) for dinner.
So far so not very exciting, apart from the Diwali fireworks at around 9:30 at the University.
Not very exciting, I agree. Though I must say that Evie has developed into a very good dinner conversationalist. She has some very interesting things to say, especially to say she's only 11.
Sunday morning saw us eating fruit, cheese and toast for breakfast. We had arranged for Lindsey and Ian to come down to our place at around 12:00 so were just sitting about and relaxing as the morning progressed.
I went into the study to do something - and saw smoke billowing around. I thought I should go and investigate. Went to open the front door and saw a Rather Large fire, over there, behind the trees. I went to have a look. Jim followed me down.
So. Behind this block of units is a scrubby reserve. The reserve comes down to the road behind the units opposite us, but narrows to a suburban block size. On the other side of that is a fence, and beyond that is a large block of land with lots of trees, a house and many outbuildings. At least one of the outbuildings was on fire. I could hear fire engines in the distances.
The fire got larger. The clouds of smoke got blacker. The flames got higher. And now there were banging noises, such as those of small explosions.
One of the cypress trees caught fire.
Wooooosh.
I came back and said to Jeanette, Matt and Evie that they should get their stuff. We were heading off.
They already had their stuff. They hadn't brought much for an overnight visit and were holding their bags and waiting.
I grabbed my iPad, laptop, the passports and my wallet, the house keys and the car keys. We all leapt into the car and headed off.
On this occasion we went up to Lindsey and Ian's place. I wouldn't do that if it were a bushfire. I would head to Ballarat or Melbourne. If I couldn't get to those places I would go to the muster place at the University or IBM. But on this occasion the danger came from the tree. Had it fallen our way it might easily have reached our place. I have no wish to be squashed by a flaming cypress tree!
Lindsey and Ian had been watching the fire from their hill (Ian had rung me to tell me about it, in case I hadn't noticed) so weren't particularly surprised when we all rocked up. We still went to the Lake for lunch. And very nice it was too. We managed a potter around part of the lake and a wander in the botanical gardens, where are the busts of heads of all the Prime Minsters (apart from the last two although I'm sure they'll be along; the last two lasted such a short time that the sculptors haven't had time to keep up!)
When We got back to our place 4 hours later, prior to taking Jeanette, Matt and Evie back to the airport, there were still several fire engines, many police cars and two Scene of Crime vans in place.
If nothing else, it was a good practice should we have to evacuate in an emergency. I knew what I had to get and where things were. We were in the car and moving out within 3 or 4 minutes. Other people were also in their cars and moving out. Something to think about in the event of a big emergency. The roads will be busy! We would need to think about where we were going if a bushfire comes through, but my Fire Action Plan worked well enough. (My fire action plan has always been: Run Away; and we did :-D)
Jeanette, Matt and Evie are on their way back to Sydney. I got breathalysed in a Booze Bus operation on he way to the airport. I was as clean as a whistle. Not a drop of alcohol had passed my lips over breakfast or lunch.
In the end it was a much more exciting weekend than any of us had anticipated!!!
I have some musings to put down, but I'll do that on another occasion
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