A progress report from home
I did some work on the vignettes today, then P. made yummy guacomole for an early lunch, then I went to the Health Centre for a redressing from Jenny the podiatrist and got some pills for P. and I. Home again for a short nap. I made fish soup for dinner, then we watched Gardening, a movie, Misbehaviour, which was quite good, then news, then Summer Love (the gay one, awful).
This morning, with Rupert the Ceranto we did our own shopping and Noel's and delivered his to home where he now is having escaped the hospital. Home again for salmon patties and a nap, thence to Miss Pearl for a good meal and then next door to the Recital Centre for a large-scale Ensemble Liaison concert in the main hall of a Reich piece (for a very large number of clarinets and very challenging) then a superb performance of Dvorak's Piano Quintet, followed by a rather whimsical reading of Carnival of the Animals. A good concert, home again for news.
After a bit of work on the vignettes, I went to Armadale for a Penguini lunch with a decent roll-up, Andrew, Ann, Pat, Julie, Carla and Lou. Home again for a nap, then leftover rakott for dinner, then Aust. Wars, Stones (part), Stranger and news, then bed.
I went early to Jenny at Podiatry who redressed my foot and said things were going well. Home again for more on the vignettes. We had leftover goulash for lunch then a nap. P. made leftover harissa chook for dinner (yum), then it was trains, old people's home, scams and news.
I did some work on the vignettes: editing and ordering. Then some admin. things like ordering a new printer, after consulting my computer man, Shane. P. went shopping and got sangos for lunch. I made Rakott for dinner, then we watched news, 4Corners, Media Watch, Planet America, then news again, then bed.
The papers arrived two days in a row. Miracolo! So the crossword was despatched before 9am. After some routine computer tasks, it was on with compiling the vignettes which I've now assembled and can start sorting into order. I had leftover mutter paneer and garlic naan from last night's dinner for lunch. P. had sangos. After a short nap, Kent and Wendy P. dropped in for coffee and a mag, then P. made roast chook for dinner, followed by half of Pelosi, Savage River and Spooky Music, then news, then bed.
The papers arrived in our delivery lottery so much of the morning was occupied reading them, so I didn't do very much work. We had vegie soup for lunch and now for a nap. We went off this arvo to Blackburn for brother-in-law Ian's birthday party at Ganesh an Indian joint via a speedy route involving bus, tram and train. It was a very good dinner with a group of Ian's friends and neighbours. Home again on the train and taxi for news and bed.
Yesterday (Thursday) was Queenie's public holiday. Nothing daunted, we picked up Rupert the Picanto, headed to Brunswick Street to Jaspers to get coffee. Fortunately they were open for this top priority. Thence to Victoria Gardens to do our shopping. No Noel's shopping this week as he is lodged at Caritas, Kew for treatment for a week or thereabouts. Unfortunately, Toscano's was closed so we got our vegies at Coles. We then visited Ben at Telstra where P. replaced his phone and I got a cheapie so we can stay in touch (no bells and whistles, just calls and texts). Neither of us has had time since to set our phones up. After dropping the shopping, we visited Noel at Caritas, but didn't stay long as he is pretty doped out on painkillers as they try to find what will be effective when he's back at home. Home for salmon patties and a very brief nap. Then off to the Recital Centre for a bracing concert from the Omega Ensemble, mostly contemporary works by Dessner, Mazzoli, Cerrone, Turley and Muhly with an oldie but a goldie by Copland, his sextet reworked from his short symphony which no one would play. We then went for a quick meal at Superhiro, then home for the news. Today, I sent off the short stories to the author, and spoke to the author of the vignettes which I can now start to assemble. It's another weird holiday today but at least we are home all day and can do some housekeeping like set-up our phones and put the toner in the printer (easier said than done). As it turned out, the refill got stuck so I'm stuck with a problem. I'll have a nap instead. At least the phone is working. P. made leftover goulash for dinner, followed by Gardening (gee it comes around quickly) and Baptiste.
I didn't get much done today as I spent most of the morning at the Health Centre. First up was Virginia the nurse tending to my buttocks (an 'ulcer' noticed by the Melbourne Hospital injecting nurse, which seems really to be pressure caused by too much time sitting at the guess-what). Thence to podiatry where Jenny, who deserves a medal, painlessly removed my big toenail to reveal a lesion underneath it which is causing the pain. She piled on the dressings to make it easier to walk on my damaged heel and will see me twice next week to assess progress. It seems we're getting somewhere at last. Albert the Magic Pudding whom I saw last time was barking up the wrong tree (to mix metaphors). Home again for minestrone for lunch, and now for a nap. P. is making goulash for dinner. We watched Australian Wars, Micalef's last stand, Strangers, then bed.
Today I ploughed ahead with the short stories. I'm nearly finished. We had cheesy tomato soup for lunch, then a nap, then off to the Recital Centre for dinner at Blondie which was excellent and relaxing. A Musica Viva short concert followed as part of the proposed double act was sidelined somewhere in Europe by Covid, so harpsichordist Erin Helyard stepped in to join mandolinist (I kid you not) Avi Avital in a concert of mainly baroque sonatas. It was gripping though it was disappointing to miss the cellist and a concert focusing on Mediterranean music, not just barocca. Home again for normal Tuesday night teev focusing on racism in soccer, news then The Point.
I made good progress on the short stories today and will probably finish them tomorrow and can go on to the minutiae/vignettes/fragments. P. went to the shops and brought home sangos for lunch. I successfully sorted the MSO tickets and Myki problems. After a nap, we had leftover fish-and-pea curry for dinner. It's a Queen funeral wall-to-wall night which was somehow rivetting until the endless procession through London and the transfer to the hearse to Windsor. Then bed as there was nothing else being covered.
Yay! The Sunday Age arrived today so the big crossword is now finished, error-free. I have got back to the short stories and at last am making some progress. I'm now one-third of the way through so should finish this week. As promised (threatened?) another author has started sending his fragments via cumulative emails which will be hard to sort out. We had minestrone for lunch, now for a nap. I did some more on the short stories after my nap, and am now over halfway through. We had leftover vera bolognese for dinner, followed by Savage Riiver and Spooky Music, then Q&A repeat.
It's been a busy week. On Monday the cleaners came early before we headed off in Rupert for Daylesford. We stopped for a good brunch in Ballan, although our favourite eatery doesn't seem to have survived covid. We stopped at Sailor's Falls, then cruised on to Hepburn Springs and the nearby chocolate shop where we had a yummy hot chocolate and purchased chokkies for later. We then checked in to Lake House and followed up with our sit-down dinner which was up to their remembered standard. My steak was tender-as. Our room was, I think, one of their originals (no.4). One of my favourite things about Lake House is their breakfasts, overly ample with a huge range of choice. Next day, we mooched around Daylesford including a visit to the Lake House farm, where some of their produce is grown, and you can stay with a group, if you're superaffluent (there's a helipad just in case). Our dinner this time was in-room with provided fold-up chairs and table. It felt like camping. The waitrine said to put the tray outside the door, which we did, in spite of misgivings. Sure enough, the possums ripped it apart. Next day, Wednesday, we hotfooted back to Melbourne, dropped Rupert, then joined Frank at Superhiro, thence to Homo Hall for a concert performance of Strauss's Elektra. It was unrelentingly dismal in emotion, but beautiful musically, both in singing and playing. Orchestra Victoria was joined by some students from ANAM for a vast ensemble. On Thursday, we had an enjoyable lunch with Barry D. at Dr Morse, then joined Frank at Bistrot d'Orsay for a good meal then went next door to the Town Hall to hear the MSO play Miriam Hyde, the Korngold violin concerto and Dvorak's Symphony no. 8. On Friday, we picked up Rupert again, went to the Health Centre where I got pills and saw the nurse, thence to Victoria Gardens for shopping. We dropped Noel's off. He is not looking good. He goes on Tuesday for a week at Caritas hospice to try to heal an ulcer on his foot and, with any luck, a full health assessment. Home again for a nap. I made fish-and-pea curry for dinner, then it was Baptiste double-episode, preceded by Gardening Australia which at last took precedence over Betty Battenberg's demise. Yay! The papers arived today (Saturday) and I've at last caught up on my emails, now back to work after almost a week's break. We had minestrone for lunch, then a nap. Then off to the Recital Centre where we had a very good meal at the new Miss Pearl next door (used to be Script). Then to the Australian Chamber Orchestra disguised as a quintet for the Trout Quintet, Milhaud's Creation du Monde and the pianist Olli Mustonen's Quintet. Home again for Scottish history on the teev.
No Sunday paper again: P. went to the shops to get one, so we did the crossword, no worries. I did a bit more on the stories (but not enough, do you see a theme). We had very nice chicken-and-corn soup for lunch, then a nap. P. made vera bolognese for dinner, then it was Savage River (developing nicely) and Spooky Music (a new series) then some packing.
After a few weeks of success, there were no Saturday papers today, so there was the tedious business of informing three subscription departments. Then a bit more admin. stuff and a start on a new collection of short stories, mercifully not too BIG. P. went to the Farmers' Market at the Convent for olive oil and came back with some quiches for lunch. After a short nap for me and P. making Vera for tomorrow, we headed to town for a quick meal at Barre which turned out quite well: fish platter and meat platter. Thence to the Fairfax Studio to see John Bell give us Shakespeare's greatest hits very well, while revealing all his acting tricks (or some of them). It was fascinating, but a bit old-fashioned. Home again where the royals are still hogging the teev (good for UK tourism: pomp and circumstance), then a bit of the last days of the Vuelta.
I went off to the Health Centre this morning as referred by the Royal Melbourne nurse. As has become customary the taxis did not work very well and needed ringing twice. I was seen by Virginia the nurse, Joanne the doctor and Albert the podiatrist. I didn't tell Albert that he had the same name as the Magic Pudding. They couldn't diagnose my bum 'ulcer' so put cream on it and I'll see Virginia next week. Albert dressed my big toe and gave me cream for my heel wound. Home again. P. had gone to the cop shop and the post office to put in forms. We had cheesy tomato soup for lunch, then a nap. I reheated the rakott for dinner, while we watched endless Betty Battenberg which was very tedious, though the potted history wasn't. Eventually, we got to the Vuelta and watched a bit, then bed.
I did various admin. things this morning, some successful, some not. I'm developing a severe case of Victor Meldew. We then picked up a new car in our street, Ronnie the Hybrid Corolla. We then picked up Jane N. and had a tasty meal and a mag at the Indonesian restaurant near Queensberry Street. After dropping her home and Ronnie in his pod, we went home for a nap. I made rakott for dinner, then we watched Scotland, Colorado drought, Q&A, the feeble finale of Suspects, news then a bit of Vuelta (they're going down like flies).
Because P. had to go to do battle with Telstra (which was unsuccessful) and the bank (which was), I did the shopping alone, especially as Noel didn't want anything this week. By the time I was home and dropped Rupert, P. was back to share salmon patties. Then we napped. I made fish chowder for dinner, then normal Wednesday night teev with Stranger which is hotting up. A bit of Vuelta, then bed.
I had a busy but not very productive morning. I sent some queries about the BIG novel back to the author and await a response. I did various organising things, like lunches and toner which were inconclusive and I still didn't get up to starting my tax return. P. has gone into town to do battle with his bank. We had the rest of the hamburgers for lunch, then a nap. I 'made' chicken cordon bleu and potato for dinner, then we watched various travelly things and finished with the Vuelta (part).
I did a bit more on the big novel today but am only about a third of the way through, if that. I also did a bit of organising including booking for Sydney in November so I've soaked up most of the money Virgin is refusing to refund. We had farm vegie soup for lunch and now for a nap, and P. made classy hamburgers for dinner.
The crossword arrived in the Sunday Age (I'm getting used to this, I hope it doesn't crash) and was despatched. There was a deal of trouble finding the town with an avenue of honour with almond trees! After P. went shopping we had indifferent sausage rolls for lunch (it wasn't far to the shop...). Then we toddled round to the Convent where the Song Company did a strange concert of Buxtehude on Jesus, coupled with refugee stories from Manus Island, intertwined. If that weren't strange enough, there was an Aboriginal dancer doing Marcel Marceau continuously through the whole thing. The same point could have been made with a prologue and epilogue with mich less exhaustion and emoting for the poor chap. Home again to watch the end of last night's Vuelta, then news and a rehash of the curry. Then we watched Savage River (reserve judgment), a movie Girl on a Train (a puzzle) then tonight's Vuelta, a bit.
Yesterday (Friday), I did lots of organising for the end-of-month though didn't get up to my tax return as I'd hoped. We had minestrone for lunch, then a short nap, then went off to the Arts Centre for a not-bad meal at the revamped Barre, thence to the Fairfax for Dorr-e Dari: a poetic crash course in the language of love, which was a show emanating from Sydney's western suburbs about Afghani culture. A very large part of the audience probably had not set foot in the Arts Centre before. It was a very rewarding show, with narration, poetry, singing and dancing. Home again for more bike race. Today, the papers arrived and were consumed, and now I'm back to the big novel. We had cheesy tomato soup for lunch, now for a short nap. We were late joining Frank at the Prince Dining Room where we had a good meal, then walked up to Theatreworks for an excellent production of Elena Kats-Chernin's opera Iphis, well sung and played. Home again for news and cycling.
We picked up Rupert and went shopping, dropped Noel's shopping off, and came home for the usual salmon patties. It took a while to find a spot for Rupert as someone had parked in his space, so the arvo's nap will be a short one. We went to Superhiro for a good, quick meal, then joined Frank at the Athenaeum for Lucrezia Borgia by Melbourne Opera. It was, as Sally S. said, a lot of fun, even though it was all about incest and murder.
Live in a two storey house with Peter, work as a freelance editor and like good food! I'm not an Aries as the computer says but Aquarius. I'm a Pig not a Rat. Peter is an Aries.
