Monday 29 March 2010

on the road again

We live in a wide street, but I need every inch of it to get the yurt in and out. We have this routine where the day before we are due to leave, we line our cars (there are 3 of them these days) along the street on the opposite side to preserve the space. This spot-hogging move allows us to get out the next day without cars in the way.

Anyway, we got slack. So we’re all ready to head off yesterday morning and this little Suzuki is sitting right in the swing-zone. Its not good form knocking on neighbour’s doors at 9:30 on a Saturday morning, but it had come to that. Even worse when no one claimed ownership. So I had to go to plan B. Fortunately the swing to the left was clear, so thats what I had to do ... problem being we live in a dead-end street with no room to swing a rig around, so after getting into the street, loading the bikes onto the rack and last minute tinkering, I reverse the whole length of the street, Maria watches for traffic on Stewart St, and we are off ... westward around the hills to Daylesford.

"had lunch at this table"


Managed to arrive right on hungry time and my vote for a pastie got voted down by Maria and Johanna - so we end up at Gourmet Larder. After a wonderful lunch, Johanna not surprisingly announces that she likes Daylesford. On to Jubilee Lake to set up.

Dinner - chorizzo, my speciality rosti and baby beetroot, with some tomato jam that I later returned to the Gourmet Larder to get - perfect.

This morning we rose at the very civilised hour of 8. We decided to go for a walk before breakfast and a good hour and half later we had explored a few of the trails nearby - pleasant-o-metre reading very high. Breakfast was then to Maria’s order; asparagus between an English muffin with the left over tomato jam and a poached egg, mushies on the side. Who needs lunch? We certainly didn’t.

We then cycled into town and spent the morning riding around Daylesford Lake - punctuated by a long pause at the lakeside bookshop / cafe. Very Daylesford. We thought the drizzle would turn into rain so we rode back home, the last stretch of which was the biggest hill Johanna had every conquered. Not that she expressed delight at the achievement ...

With chicken soup on the menu for dinner, it was then back into town to meander up and down the street with the final stop at the supermarket to pick up the leeks, celery, herbs, chicken etc.  The slow brewing soup was a wonderful companion in the late afternoon yurt. And now all is quiet, dishes done and we’re all doing our own thing.

The kookaburras are laughing right now ... perhaps they are teasing me about having to summon the mentality to do some work tomorrow morning.