Last Week in Yarra Glen

Before we left I got the seams sorted and the sewing project finished in a rush before leaving on a midnight flight to Melbourne after work on Sunday. End of term 3 already.

Melbourne was cold and grey, but not bleak, and Col was at the airport to collect us so we were soon on our way. Arriving in Yarra Glen it was hard to fathom that this is likely to be the last time I walk around the garden, soak in the views of the Healesville and Dandenong Ranges from this particular viewpoint or sleep in this bed. Even a week later both Mum and I kept having to remind ourselves that this chapter is closing. We are expecting the property sale to be signed any day now. 

I enjoyed spending time with Mum and going through all her belongings, many of which pulled up fond memories of family life from childhood. One of the most poignant was discovering she still had the rainbow striped, woolen Onkaparinga blankets from the beds my sister and I slept in as kids. We shared the front bedroom at Lindenmere for many years and the beds each had one of these blankets then a paisley eiderdown under a mauve candlewick bedspread. I'll never forget how flash I felt when we were given a pair of second hand matching Queen Anne bedheads to replace the simple bookshelf style. Style indeed!

Through the week we offloaded boot-loads and ute-loads to the garden club, the stitches club, the local library and many of her friends. The local opp shop didn't miss out and will get plenty of what is still left. There is an old washstand in one of the bedrooms that Mum has been keeping for me. It was my grandmother Elsie's, from Port Fairy. It already had some things in it of ours including the favourite books we used to read to the boys, a few of my favourite outfits they wore as toddlers and now I have added some paintings the kids each did for Grandma, probably at Kinder in Cobram, and she has kept them all these years. 

I also put aside one English bone china 'high tea' cup and saucer set for each of them. There were quite a few individual sets so all the grandkids got one. I don't know how we will ever get to access them but Col has promised to keep them safe at his place in the meantime. 
We saw Col's daughter Anna, who is now looking very pregnant, and her mother on Thursday then on Saturday Judy's Jason and Bec came out for a few hours. Bec is just home from her 6 month trip and by now is with her Mum and Dad in Noosa. So nice to see them all looking so fit and happy and they each selected something from the home to keep. We put aside others for Liz and Col will hopefully find something for James and Nat. 
Jude and Rog return from Noosa next weekend so they will go out there no doubt and help Col sort through the rest with Mum on day trips. There is still plenty to do! Mum is reluctantly resigned to the fact that she has to leave and is happy that the people who are interested in buying the property are keen gardeners from Steele's Creek so she knows them well. Colin and Roger are handling all the financial side. I took Mum out on daily visits to Aged Care Facilities within a reasonable geographical area from Yarra Glen and we checked out what they have and how they are set up. She really wants to stay in the Lilydale zone so she is within reach of her friends and active community groups. That really limits it down to a choice of 2 and of course they both have waiting lists as many others in the Valley feel the same way. So we have her name down and now wait while we get the financial paperwork finalised. It seems that Dad's will was not as straightforward as we all initially thought, but I am sure we will find a solution that everyone is happy with. Hopefully that will coincide nicely with a vacancy as someone graduates to the next level. 
We had constant, but very welcome, interruptions from our sorting tasks as neighbours and friends dropped in at the house, caught us down the street at the cafes or rang to see if she was coming to this or that next gathering of the many organisations she belongs to. It will be great if we can settle her somewhere not too far from these activities and she can continue to participate.
On Friday Eric hired a car and drove to Maryborough in Central Victoria to visit his brothers. Here they are at the Maryborough bowls club. They don't get together too often and as you might imagine there were lots of laughs and a lot of stirring. Matthew, son of Laurie, (standing next to Eric) won the league best and fairest for the local footy this season. Laurie did the same thing 40 yrs ago, the first father and son combination to ever do it. Then on Saturday he drove to Bunniyong to see Leonie and Peter Evenden. They were work colleagues here last year but Peter has had a setback to his health this year and is on a long, slow road to recovery. We are expecting them to visit us next year and look forward to walking together again as we often did on a Monday. Eric was inspired by Peter's progress and plans a game of golf with him next time we meet in Aust. 

Over the week there were some teary moments but also lots of laughs and it was very valuable time spent, which I could not replace so I am so glad we were able to do it. Eric says he felt like an accessory on the visit, since it wasn't his place to make decisions, but I really valued his role as chief cook. If it hadn't been for him we would not have eaten well as each evening I was too tired and too disinterested to prepare a meal. He was also a huge emotional rock for me throughout. Just the same, I'm really glad he got some time in with his family and our friends Peter and Leonie.

On Sunday morning in glorious sunshine Eric, Mum and I went to the 'Hop for Hope' charity art exhibition just down the road at the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie, a fundraising event for the Alannah and Madeline Foundation to help keep children safe from violence. It showcases 40 larger than life-size kangaroos decorated by acclaimed Australian artists and identities. But how do you decide which one to vote for, let alone include a photo of here?

They were truely fabulous and Mum did really well to manage to walk the distance. You can vote for your favourite by gold coin donation, but I found that a very difficult decision and spent quite a bit of money. Never mind, a good cause. 

We flew back at midnight again on Sunday night after a final dinner with Col, Beth and Mum at Bickleighvale in Mooroolbark. Mum is settled back in there and I really believe they are comfortable with her staying with them for as long as it takes. He is arranging to move the Mecaps personal alarm system there and has applied for a carer's allowance. Arriving home we both crashed in bed for a few hours and then I went back again in the afternoon too. Only now, in the evening am I feeling refreshed. It was during the afternoon we realized how bad the haze was. Singapore has been experiencing hazy conditions for some time now.

 Air quality on Monday was alarming, having been affected by severe smoke haze due to the common practice of open burning to clear forested land for agricultural uses in Sumatra, and borne by the prevailing winds of the current Southwest Monsoon Season. Air quality is measured by the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) with 6 parameters integrated. Today it ranged from 118-146 to 4pm. 

We live in the Central region and it is disgusting here but at least we aren't out west as you can see from this graph we (the purple line) are in the best place. Thundery showers on Tuesday might provide some temporary relief but the 4 day outlook is not good. Oh for those clear blue skies of the Yarra Valley. 


While we were away the Singapore public voted in their new government, well not really new, they are the same party that have been in power since independence. They have just won again with a majority of 83-6. Such stability! On the other hand Australia will have their 6th prime ministerial change since 2007. What must the rest of the world be thinking? Whatever, it has got to be better than Tony.