ALMOST TWO WEEKS since my hip replacement and i'm home :0)  my mobility is good, slow and careful but improving every day.  the time at Epworth couldn't be faulted, staff without exception were on the ball, friendly, informative, efficient.   And the hospital itself is new, spacious, well planned and easy to navigate.  A good experience all round.  

lovely flowers from susan were waiting for me in my room after the op.

Gail picked me up after four days and i've spent a very relaxed week in her home/haven.  plenty of time to rest and enjoy the changing patterns of light on gail's windows, knit, watch movies and play scrabble.  and receive visitors - lovely 

Had a lovely lunch at Jack Rabbit winery on the Bellarine Peninsula with susan and gail on what must have been the most beautiful autumn day this year.  a silvery sparkling setting looking out over the bay to the you yangs. I bought an orchid for sunny for her first mother's day.

Sunny came down with adorable Etta who's 

almost one now! where did that year go??

the velour hoodie i knitted fits perfectly :0)

I cooked dinner the second night i was at Gail's - i'm delighted to be able to move around so soon after the op.  it really is amazing.

We arrived home here on the river yesterday after a really good two day trip. my hip wasn't a problem in the car.  getting in and out is a bit of an process, i just have to remember to take my time.

On the first day we stopped at st arnaud for lunch and had a cruise around that pretty little town.  i found a bookshop that had two of my books, signed them for Gavin the owner.

There are a lot of murals around st. arnaud, all by the same artist and monochromatic.  they seem to fit in with the very old buildings.  St Arnaud seems almost untouched by time, the main street shops all have their original shopfronts with copper edged windows and lovely old tiles.  three lovely old pubs.  we had lunch at the Farmers Arms

               GAVIN at the Bookshop in St Arnaud

Then on to the Royal Hotel at Sea Lake which has been brought back to life by the local community.  it's been boarded up for years but now it's a hub of activity, lots of people there for dinner on a monday night. open fires, great understated decor, comfortable rooms and a gorgeous big balcony where we breakfasted with the crossword.    They'll be hugely busy once international tourism gets going again.

perfect scotch fillet

our room slept four and was only $95 - the whole
hotel is heated too

It's only about a 21/2 hour drive home from

sea lake,  the trip felt perfectly timed, easy.

we pulled over and picked up these

perfect tumbleweeds - i've always

wanted to put them in the garden

somewhere, i think the wrens would

love popping around on these :0)

 

We arrived home to find everything fine, had a wander round the garden and found various intriguing treats that had been left by ann, ann and lee.  they enjoyed their time here and i loved knowing the house was filled with lovely people.

Gail's here till tomorrow, we're off to the pictures today and i'll get my dressing off.  that'll feel good, it pulls and i think i'll be much more comfortable without it. 

GREAT TO BE HOME!!

IN HOSPITAL

 I ARRIVED IN GEELONG on April 27 and had a nice easy night with susan and sean, martinis and too much wine 😳  and a beautiful meal of salmon.   A good trip down through the Mallee and the essential stop at Birchip bakery for vanilla slices and beestings. 

Susan and i had a lovely long walk around Corio Bay and through the botanical gardens which are looking lush and really beautiful.

Friday i had appointments at the hostpital and Saturday i was admitted at 8.30.  Had my hip replacement around 1.00  and arrived in my room to find flowers from susan already there

My room is large and airy with huge windows and a view to the horizon, very comfy and staff here at the Epworth are all wonderful, not one person (and i've seen scores) has been anything but really friendly and helpful.

I was up and walking with help that day, next day with an elbow crutch and today with a walking stick and without.   It's been an incredible result so far, i'm really happy.

I'm being discharged tomorrow and will have a week at Gail's.  The Anns are heading up to my place today with Lee Burgemeestre and it's going to be a lovely warm weekend for them

LONG OVERDUE

 WOW, my last entry was April 8!!

I've been a bit crook, still NQR after picking up a bug in melbourne in March.  Covid negative but still i have a dry throat and a bit of sinus. don't know why but it's only a week till my  op so i'm sitting in the sun today soaking up some goodness.

Photos from Sunny and Luke's weekend 

up at Mt Beauty.  Etta wasn't too keen on the portacot at first :0)    Sunny rode up Mt Beauty, what an achievement!

A LOCAL TRAGEDY -  a fire broke out on murray/darling island, cause unknown.   it's burnt quite a lot but i don't see much damage from my end.    i'm hoping the huge old trees aren't destroyed

ON THE 15th Susan and Sean and Jenny and Freddie arrived, one year after their original planned visit which was a victim of covid.

This big fella was at the gate on the

day they arrived but he'd nicked 

off by the time they got here

i gave the firepit a reno before they arrived, nice to have a better area to sit now

We had dinners at home, barbies, scrabble, went to the markets in mildura and merbein, had lunch out at trentham and generally just had four days of downtime together.   it was wonderful to have them all up here at last

hope they get back here before i leave

Beautiful visitors yesterday and today, a yellow rosella (one of a family of five) and a rare visit from the Mallee ringneck,  gorgeous things

THERE'S A BABY IN THE HOUSE!

EASTER - and Sunny, Luke and Etta came for four days - how wonderful to spend so much time with them and to watch Etta and her development even since i saw her a couple of weeks ago, crawling and trying to stand, she's halfway there :0)    What a lovable little girl she is, we visited Perry Sandhills, a day in mildura, saw the Sturt desert peas at the Inland Botanical Gardens, slept a lot in the heat of the day.  Sunday was 35, unusually hot for autumn here.

friends came to the rescue with baby

bath, pusher, bed and highchair :0)

LOOK AT THOSE EYES

perry sandhills

INLAND GARDENS

 

BATH TIME :O)    adorable

LAST NIGHT   I lit a fire and sue and derek and I ate chipolata sausages and had a cool white on the riverbank in perfect autumn weather, slightly hazy and warm and gorgeous.  lots of different birds down on the fallen trees

 

MORE GORGEOUS SUNSETS OVER EASTER