Busy times

Last weekend was fun. The permaculture class that stayed here were all fairly young adults and great company.  Cooking the evening meal for 24, was a bit of a marathon because as usual we had varied diet styles to cater for.  I made a meat and vegetable pie from the various odd bits of lamb and goat from the freezer, we had black beans for the vegans and lots of vegetables and salad.  For dessert I made a crumble from the fruit that was going out of date in the freezer and we brought a watermelon for a lighter option. Everyone seemed happy.

Edd met the class in Yarra Glen on Saturday morning and pointed out various valley features on the way o the farm.  This gave me time to finish off doing the animals and prepare morning tea.  Bo cooked lovely cakes and we had our cheeses, hummus and a choice of carrot sticks or cheese biscuits.  We then conducted a tour of the house and gardens before eating lunch. The weather was great, so we sat outside for meals and enjoyed the view.

After lunch everyone left to visit another property in the neighbouring valley and then returned for an evening meal and the night. Edd cooked breakfast before everyone left to spend Sunday with our friend Graeme, who runs the course.  It all made for a very busy weekend.  This week we have been cleaning everything up in preparation for the first school camp on Monday.

We took Tuesday morning off to go to Shifty’s funeral at the hunt club. Just about everyone we knew in the valley was there and many of our friends from trail riding days.  Shifty does up vintage cars and many were driven up and parked next to the club house. They all did a lap round the grounds with the hearse, (also Vintage), led out by a hunt club member on a horse with hounds.  It made an amazing picture against the view of the mountains. What a way to go.

My flu has mostly gone but everyone is worried about the new Corona virus. There not many cases in Australia yet but we have huge trade with China that has been affected. Luckily, we had not planned to ravel anywhere.  I felt very sorry for people stuck on the cruise ship.  

Al has made his own problems by taking the roof off his house, His plan is the raise the ceiling height which is annoyingly low.  Taking everything down made an awful mess but the latest pictures show the new trusses up and the floor cleared of waste material. Pip is due to have the baby in just under four weeks so they will need to work fast!

The best news of the week is that Bo’s eldest son has found himself a position at the local airport learning plane mechanics.  He loves the work and they seem very happy and have given him full time work and training.  We are collectively holding our breath and hoping all continues to go well.