After 3 months of my trip I have found myself mowing the lawn in searing heat for a couple of pensioners - not exactly the Australian adventure I initially had in mind, but, it's a means to an end! So yes, I was greeted back onto the farm with open arms, and a long list of chores. Not really half as bad as I am making it out to be as I am paid for all of them, and the worst thing on the list is lawn mowing, however, here I was, busting a gut on the front lawn of a house in the middle of no-where. I did consider to myself what the overall point of mowing the lawn was - it looked nicer when it was longer, and it just went dry and spiky after it was cut, but, I was just bitter as I was the one getting eaten alive by the mozzies every time I dared to go near thier territory, which seemed to be the whole garden. Anyway, enough bitching and moaning - I came here for the hot weather (amongst other things!) so I may as well just roll my sleeves up and get a sickening tan! In the afternoon of my first full day back on the farm my host's son came over to continue with the mammoth job of hay carting, which meant I could ditch my domestic duties, and go and play on a tractor - much more fun! At one point as I was trundling down the track, I saw a massive snake across the path, (probably wasn't really massive, but, as far as I'm concerned, anything longer than 4 foot is massive!) and curiously enough, in my panic, tried to run it over - I'm not really sure what came over me at that exact moment, but luckily enough, the snake was considerably quicker than me, and it got away before I crushed it. Hmmmm, I shall endeavour to not run over any of Australia's wildlife from this point on. And so, I spent the next few hours driving the tractor about, and really enjoyed myself in the process. Dinner that night was once again consisted of an odd mix of ingredients, resulting in us having a pizza with everything on it, including pumpkin, leeks and zucchini , but surprisingly it was pretty good, despite it's rather un-pizza like appearance.
The next day was again dedicated to carting some hay about, but, this time, for the first time, I dared to use my i-pod whilst I was doing it. I did not however think of the logistics, and ended up with it up my sleeve as it kept falling out of my pocket. And then it started to rain. And rain. And rain. Within about a minute I was soaked to the skin (including my i-pod up my now sodden sleeve!) and we temporarily decided to stop work, only for the sky to change again and give us some beautiful sunshine. This was short-lived though, and when the skies opened for the second time we headed back quickly so we didn't get stuck in the mud. My hosts and their son all went out that afternoon, leaving me to hide from the weather in the house, with newly cleaned carpets. That night, whilst heading out to the verandah for a smoke, I noticed that one of the dogs had decided that it didn't like the clean carpets, and it had left a giant shit in the middle of the room. Lovely. So, after cleaning that up, I went outside, and noticed the biggest spider I have seen in my life. Not a good couple of days in regards to animals, but, it was two more days ticked off my fortnight.
The next day I had a new task - to clean the second house they have on their property as the last guy who lived there left it in an absolute state. And, although it was absolutely foul, it was quite nice to just have something to do myself and get on with. So, with my bucket full of cleaning supplies I headed off down the driveway. So, after cleaning for good few hours, it was lunchtime so I headed back to the farmhouse to get some grub. My plans of continuing my job after lunch went out the window pretty quickly when my host said she was going into Shepperton to do some jobs, and I jumped at the chance to get off the farm, so went with her. So we did everything she needed to do, all in torrential rain, and headed home down a road which was a few inches underwater. As it was Wednesday, it meant we were all off to the pub for dinner, and the weekly gossip. As the people at the pub now new I would be joining the motley crew of elderly folk, their chef went a little silly with creativity for my veggie dish, and I was served a plate complete with edible flowers on it. Not really knowing what it was I delved in to find that it was a whole eggplant, baked with cheese and herbs inside it, and it was fantastic, and beautiful at the same time. It was a lot of eggplant to eat though. As we headed home we found out that whilst we had been eating, there had been another massive downpour, and the idea to take the ute was fantastic, as we drove through water about a foot deep.
New day, old jobs, Yet again I was set to work cleaning the house, and once again, mowing the lawns - I really started to think they were taking the piss slightly, but I got to it, simply thinking of the fact I was getting paid to do it. It really was the only thing that kept me going as I got eaten alive by mozzies, despite my many defences. All in all, not exactly a great day, but oh well, I'll survive!
On Friday I once again cleaned the house and B&B, but this time people were actually coming to stay, so there was a reason for it at least. I actually got quite excited about the prospect of new company, as sad as that sounds, but it was just getting a bit boring with the three of us. And so, after cleaning bathrooms and bedrooms, a car pulled up. I'm not exactly proud of the fact that when I saw them I immediately assumed he bought his wife. In my defence, it was an older, wealthy, British gentleman, and a younger Vietnamese lady. It turned out that they had met 20 years ago and were pen-pals for years before they met up. Or that's the story they told people anyway. They did endear themselves to me though, as they had a beautiful labrador puppy, who was just great. The fact they treated this dog as part of the family really showed itself at the dinner table that night. Me and my hosts had spent ages in the kitchen cooking a huge meal for all of us, and, half-way through their plates they stopped eating. At this point they explained that they were saving the rest for 'Diesel' the dog, and proceeded to chop up the massive steak for him. I was amazed that they would do that, but my god the dog enjoyed his meal that night! We all went to bed early that night, with full tummies, ready for a good night sleep and to wake up at 4am.
So, I once again decided to go to Bendigo with my host for a change of scenery, and a little look around. Which again meant a madly early morning,b ut by 4:30am we were off, travel mugs of tea in hand. And, after setting up and making a start at cheese selling, I went for a wander round Bendigo again, in the modd to look for Christmas presents. And so, my first port of call, was a cute little shop I saw advertised in 'Frankie Magazine' but, being the arty-farty kind of shop it was it didn't open till 11am, so I had a couple of hours to kill so continued down the street. A few hours later I returned back to the cute shop, having spent my time buying stuff for myself - not exactly the plan. But, I went to have a look in the lovely little shop to hunt for potential presents. Although everything was really cute and kitsch it also came with a hefty price-tag. I managed to get a couple of things for stocking fillers, but I was hoping to get more. I spent the next couple of hours selling cheese to the masses of Bendigo, and made a rather silly mistake, when asking a little girl if she wanted to try some tasty cheese. However, 'Tasty' is a brand of cheese over here, and I quickly realised we were talking about different things, and from then on, referred to it as 'yummy cheese' to all kids. I did buy some goodies for Christmas though, and walked away with a bag of beautiful little christmas puddings. We once again frequented the 'Cold Rock Ice Creamery' on the way home, and headed off down the back-roads back to the farm. We spent the afternoon packing and labelling cheese for the market the next day, and packed up the vans again.
Rutherglen was my market on choice on Sunday and I spent most of my time there just in the book shop and antique shop, which are both full of such great stuff, but, once again, nothing Christmas present worthy, but I did have a lovely morning just wasting time, and then got a coffee and a cookie for my elevenses. What a treat. On the way home we stopped off the the Stanton and Killeen cellar door, and this time I didn't wimp out and bought a bottle of their beautiful Muscat. I did decline the bottle which was older than me, and about $100, and went for the 'cheap' 12 year old stuff! But, I was pretty pleased with it, and now I just have to try and keep it till Christmas. On the way back we seemed to stop absolutely everywhere possible doing a number of little jobs, and safe to say, I was watching the clock slightly as we were meant to be going down to Melbourne for the night, but as we pulled into one of their friends pig farms I almost resigned myself to not going. I'm still not really sure why I was taken there to have a look at the pigs - they were all being taken off to slaughter - just what every vegetarian wants to see. When we made it back to the farm I packed my bag for the night, ready to go. And then we packed cheese for 3 hours. This meant that my plans of going to the cinema when I got to Melbourne had gone out the window, as we didn't leave till about 8pm. Safe to say I was just mildly pissed off at the whole situation as we were heading back on Monday morning and it all seemed slightly redundant. When we eventually arrived in Melbourne my host asked me if it was too late to come to Will's and offered for me to stay at her daughters house. Precisely what I didn't want at that point in time, and I insisted that it would be fine and got dropped off. And then it was beer o'clock, and I went to sleep knowing I would be going back in the morning. Dammit!
So, another week on the farm, only really got a few more days to go and then it'll almost be Christmas!! Muchos excited! So, here's hoping I can survive the final week...
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
WEEK ELEVEN
And so I was back in the city for a mere week, so was going to do everything I could to remind myself that I was in fact, in the middle of civilisation, and not, miles from anywhere on a farm!
Sadly, Monday only brought a dentist appointment, which was booked a couple of weeks ago, when my tooth and jaw were in agony - thank god they don't hurt anymore, but it rendered this apointment rather useless, with them eventually deciding that it may have just been my wisdom teeth pushing about in my gums, but with no real conclusion I was told to return if they hurt again. Fine. As much as I hate any dentist work being done I was rather hoping he could see a problem, and ultimately fix it - now I can just live in fear or it returning again! Hurray - I'll wait with baited breath! On my adventure into the City I also organised some photos to be printed to go in my Christmas cards, also, because I had to wait in the dentist reception for 20 minutes it meant I also lost the chance to go to the shoe shop on Smith Street and replace my old red shoes, with a lovely new pair. I did manage to put my photos into the shop to get them printed, but even that wasn't instant, and I have to wait 24 hours for them too. So, after what seemed like a bit of a wasted day, I headed back to the station, and in my haste to get home I got on an express train - which just speeds past Yarraville. So, getting off at the next station, just a little bit annoyed, I managed to do it again and ended up back in Footscray - maybe my time in the country had meant I had forgotten how to use such joys as public transport, but, on my third attempt I actually made it to Yarraville, and bought some goodies to bake Chitty's Truffles and her Chocolate Cake - I brought a little bit back with me from the farm, and Will requested more, and as I have just managed to obtain the truffle recipe I want to give it a go and see if they are the right ones? And, they were! So, with a mountain of Chitty's Chocolate Cake and truffles in the fridge I decided it was a job well done, and sat down to test my creations - damned good - I think I will have to ensure I only make the truffles at Christmas, or I will end up the size of a house!
On Tuesday I got my bike back from the repair shop who had been putting a chain on the thing, and I also invested in a brilliant horn for it too! It's great, and much better than riding Will's bike which is far too big for me! And so, I pottered about on the bike for a while just giving it a test and then went back to the house to sort stuff out on my computer which had been sorely neglected during my time on the farm. And so, the rest of the afternoon was spent sitting in front of my computer getting more and more frustrated, but with the job finally done I felt I had a fairly productive day!
Wednesday I decided it was time for some breakfast at Babka's on Brunswick St. and on the way I went to collect my photos whcih had been printed and perused them when I was on the tram on the way to get my brekkie. I decided to go all out, and instead of my initial idea of just having a cake and some coffee, and ordered a cooked breakfast, with the full intention of then ordering a cake as well. Although slightly extravagant, I looked at the pile of Christmas cards I had ready to be written, and decided the 2-course approach was probably the best. After about an hour of eating and writing, I had finished, and went to pay - and they only charged me for half my food - I did try and explain to them, but the lady behind the counter seemed too busy to listen to me, and half way through me trying to list what I had eaten, she had moved on and taken the order from the man behind me, so, feeling remarkably lucky, I left. As I was full to bursting, I thought it would be best to leave Brunswick St. before I was drawn into another establishment, so jumped on a tram to meet Will in the City, and, after almost giving up on the idea of replacing my red shoes, we went into a store, to find them in the right colour, in the right size, and, most importantly, on sale. Jackpot - gorgeous shoes for $120. And, if they last me another 8 years, like the last ones, it'll be a bargain! They are DM's though, so should last a while - fingers crossed. We went out for dinner that night at two of Toni and Will's friends house, and after yet another disaster on public transport, which left us waiting at North Melbourne Station for much longer than necessary we had a lovely evening, eating drinking, and being merry.
I spent the next morning just pottering about the house and then in the afternoon I cycled into Yarraville to meet Toni and eventually go and see 'A Social Network' which was a great movie - some critic said it was the 'Citizen Kane' of my generation, and I'm not sure if it will be that profound, but, it is absolutely fantastic, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, complete with a choc-top and some lollies. On the way home we got some Thai food for dinner to finish off the night. On the way home Toni also revealed some amazing strobing bike lights you attach to the wheels, so I rode home feeling slightly like a mobile disco, but they do add to the ridiculous nature of my bike, and now all I need are tassels for the handlebars and it'll be complete!
The next morning it was time to be productive, and Will had been hassling me enough for me to finally pick up the phone and try and sort out my next move. I phoned up about getting a job in Adelaide at the 'Garden of Unearthly Delights' and was pretty successful, and phoned up Locheilan farm again, to ask if I could go back. I couldn't quite believe I was doing it, as I was so pleased to get back to Melbourne, but I was desperate to try and get some more farm days under my belt and sorted, and as my only options were that, or cherry picking, it was the lesser of two evils, and after a brief chat with the lady, it was all arranged that I would be going back there for another fortnight, Oh Jesus. So, with those two major things sorted I decided the rest of the day was for doing nothing, so just pottered about the house sorting stuff out and watching tele. My evening was only disturbed when one of our flatmates friends came over to inform us that he had fallen off his bike, been taken into hospital, broken his hip, and was going into surgery that night. Not exactly what I expected when I started my night with a bottle of wine, and Harry Potter 6 on DVD. And so, we all tried to pack up some stuff he might need over the next few days, and they headed off back to the hospital. It is safe to say the rest of the night had been slightly marred by this news, and I finished my bottle of wine, and film feeling slightly guilty!
The next morning me and Will rode our bikes to Footscray hospital to visit our flatmate, and on the way stopped off at Coles to get all the essentials you need when visiting a cripple! Grapes, strawberries, and fruit juice! By the time we got there it was pretty clear that Melbourne's summer had finally broken and as I puffed and panted along the road I cursed my bike being stuck in such a stupid gear. Will's bike was also stuck in a single gear, but his seemed much more effective than mine, and when we eventually got there, I was ready to just curl up in the foetal position and try and regain control of my breathing again! We also strolled up to his bed both holding bike helmets, which seemed incredibly bad-taste as soon as we got there, but regardless, we spent the next couple of hours just chatting to our invalid friend and Will even managed to get told off by a nurse for swearing too loudly! Brilliant! We took the scenic route home along the river, which was so beautiful, and there was a much appreciated breeze by the water too! We also rode past the 'Lonely Planet' building, which is big, and ugly, but produces pretty good travel guides! By the time we got home I was very grateful of the iced coffee and turkish delight we had bought on the way home, and after they both had a 10 minute blast in the freezer we both sat down to recover and cool down. We were even adventurous enough to attempt some gardening in the afternoon, but swiftly decided it was not gardening weather and the only thing to do on a hot day like this would be hide from the sun. Something seems quite backward about that idea, but it is what we did, and had a lovely chilled out afternoon.
The next morning I sorted out all my stuff and packed my bag again, ready to go back to the farm. Oh god. I knew it would be worth it when I get my 2nd year visa, but, I still could't convince myself that it wouldn't be hell! And so I was off again, and got the train to Hurstbridge, which was the market she was at, and by the time I got there I was all hot and bothered owing to the stupid clothing choice I had made in the morning, and quickly got changed out of a pair of thick black jeans. The actual train ride there was beautiful, and was through a valley with so much greenery it was great, really nice to get out the middle of the city, and then, we were off again, to Locheilan Farmhouse and B&B. I couldn't help myself but count the number of days I had to spend there, and another fortnight seemed like an awfully long time, but, I just had to grit my teeth and get through it - god, it sounds like a prison sentence!
So, I am back in the land of giant mozzies, fighting dogs, and lots and lots of cows. But, on the up side, amazing cheese, fresh milk, and more tractor driving! Bring it on! Just noticed, that this wasn't a very good week for photos, in fact I have none, so sorry, I promise lots in the next one...I hope!
Sadly, Monday only brought a dentist appointment, which was booked a couple of weeks ago, when my tooth and jaw were in agony - thank god they don't hurt anymore, but it rendered this apointment rather useless, with them eventually deciding that it may have just been my wisdom teeth pushing about in my gums, but with no real conclusion I was told to return if they hurt again. Fine. As much as I hate any dentist work being done I was rather hoping he could see a problem, and ultimately fix it - now I can just live in fear or it returning again! Hurray - I'll wait with baited breath! On my adventure into the City I also organised some photos to be printed to go in my Christmas cards, also, because I had to wait in the dentist reception for 20 minutes it meant I also lost the chance to go to the shoe shop on Smith Street and replace my old red shoes, with a lovely new pair. I did manage to put my photos into the shop to get them printed, but even that wasn't instant, and I have to wait 24 hours for them too. So, after what seemed like a bit of a wasted day, I headed back to the station, and in my haste to get home I got on an express train - which just speeds past Yarraville. So, getting off at the next station, just a little bit annoyed, I managed to do it again and ended up back in Footscray - maybe my time in the country had meant I had forgotten how to use such joys as public transport, but, on my third attempt I actually made it to Yarraville, and bought some goodies to bake Chitty's Truffles and her Chocolate Cake - I brought a little bit back with me from the farm, and Will requested more, and as I have just managed to obtain the truffle recipe I want to give it a go and see if they are the right ones? And, they were! So, with a mountain of Chitty's Chocolate Cake and truffles in the fridge I decided it was a job well done, and sat down to test my creations - damned good - I think I will have to ensure I only make the truffles at Christmas, or I will end up the size of a house!
On Tuesday I got my bike back from the repair shop who had been putting a chain on the thing, and I also invested in a brilliant horn for it too! It's great, and much better than riding Will's bike which is far too big for me! And so, I pottered about on the bike for a while just giving it a test and then went back to the house to sort stuff out on my computer which had been sorely neglected during my time on the farm. And so, the rest of the afternoon was spent sitting in front of my computer getting more and more frustrated, but with the job finally done I felt I had a fairly productive day!
Wednesday I decided it was time for some breakfast at Babka's on Brunswick St. and on the way I went to collect my photos whcih had been printed and perused them when I was on the tram on the way to get my brekkie. I decided to go all out, and instead of my initial idea of just having a cake and some coffee, and ordered a cooked breakfast, with the full intention of then ordering a cake as well. Although slightly extravagant, I looked at the pile of Christmas cards I had ready to be written, and decided the 2-course approach was probably the best. After about an hour of eating and writing, I had finished, and went to pay - and they only charged me for half my food - I did try and explain to them, but the lady behind the counter seemed too busy to listen to me, and half way through me trying to list what I had eaten, she had moved on and taken the order from the man behind me, so, feeling remarkably lucky, I left. As I was full to bursting, I thought it would be best to leave Brunswick St. before I was drawn into another establishment, so jumped on a tram to meet Will in the City, and, after almost giving up on the idea of replacing my red shoes, we went into a store, to find them in the right colour, in the right size, and, most importantly, on sale. Jackpot - gorgeous shoes for $120. And, if they last me another 8 years, like the last ones, it'll be a bargain! They are DM's though, so should last a while - fingers crossed. We went out for dinner that night at two of Toni and Will's friends house, and after yet another disaster on public transport, which left us waiting at North Melbourne Station for much longer than necessary we had a lovely evening, eating drinking, and being merry.
I spent the next morning just pottering about the house and then in the afternoon I cycled into Yarraville to meet Toni and eventually go and see 'A Social Network' which was a great movie - some critic said it was the 'Citizen Kane' of my generation, and I'm not sure if it will be that profound, but, it is absolutely fantastic, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, complete with a choc-top and some lollies. On the way home we got some Thai food for dinner to finish off the night. On the way home Toni also revealed some amazing strobing bike lights you attach to the wheels, so I rode home feeling slightly like a mobile disco, but they do add to the ridiculous nature of my bike, and now all I need are tassels for the handlebars and it'll be complete!
The next morning it was time to be productive, and Will had been hassling me enough for me to finally pick up the phone and try and sort out my next move. I phoned up about getting a job in Adelaide at the 'Garden of Unearthly Delights' and was pretty successful, and phoned up Locheilan farm again, to ask if I could go back. I couldn't quite believe I was doing it, as I was so pleased to get back to Melbourne, but I was desperate to try and get some more farm days under my belt and sorted, and as my only options were that, or cherry picking, it was the lesser of two evils, and after a brief chat with the lady, it was all arranged that I would be going back there for another fortnight, Oh Jesus. So, with those two major things sorted I decided the rest of the day was for doing nothing, so just pottered about the house sorting stuff out and watching tele. My evening was only disturbed when one of our flatmates friends came over to inform us that he had fallen off his bike, been taken into hospital, broken his hip, and was going into surgery that night. Not exactly what I expected when I started my night with a bottle of wine, and Harry Potter 6 on DVD. And so, we all tried to pack up some stuff he might need over the next few days, and they headed off back to the hospital. It is safe to say the rest of the night had been slightly marred by this news, and I finished my bottle of wine, and film feeling slightly guilty!
The next morning me and Will rode our bikes to Footscray hospital to visit our flatmate, and on the way stopped off at Coles to get all the essentials you need when visiting a cripple! Grapes, strawberries, and fruit juice! By the time we got there it was pretty clear that Melbourne's summer had finally broken and as I puffed and panted along the road I cursed my bike being stuck in such a stupid gear. Will's bike was also stuck in a single gear, but his seemed much more effective than mine, and when we eventually got there, I was ready to just curl up in the foetal position and try and regain control of my breathing again! We also strolled up to his bed both holding bike helmets, which seemed incredibly bad-taste as soon as we got there, but regardless, we spent the next couple of hours just chatting to our invalid friend and Will even managed to get told off by a nurse for swearing too loudly! Brilliant! We took the scenic route home along the river, which was so beautiful, and there was a much appreciated breeze by the water too! We also rode past the 'Lonely Planet' building, which is big, and ugly, but produces pretty good travel guides! By the time we got home I was very grateful of the iced coffee and turkish delight we had bought on the way home, and after they both had a 10 minute blast in the freezer we both sat down to recover and cool down. We were even adventurous enough to attempt some gardening in the afternoon, but swiftly decided it was not gardening weather and the only thing to do on a hot day like this would be hide from the sun. Something seems quite backward about that idea, but it is what we did, and had a lovely chilled out afternoon.
The next morning I sorted out all my stuff and packed my bag again, ready to go back to the farm. Oh god. I knew it would be worth it when I get my 2nd year visa, but, I still could't convince myself that it wouldn't be hell! And so I was off again, and got the train to Hurstbridge, which was the market she was at, and by the time I got there I was all hot and bothered owing to the stupid clothing choice I had made in the morning, and quickly got changed out of a pair of thick black jeans. The actual train ride there was beautiful, and was through a valley with so much greenery it was great, really nice to get out the middle of the city, and then, we were off again, to Locheilan Farmhouse and B&B. I couldn't help myself but count the number of days I had to spend there, and another fortnight seemed like an awfully long time, but, I just had to grit my teeth and get through it - god, it sounds like a prison sentence!
So, I am back in the land of giant mozzies, fighting dogs, and lots and lots of cows. But, on the up side, amazing cheese, fresh milk, and more tractor driving! Bring it on! Just noticed, that this wasn't a very good week for photos, in fact I have none, so sorry, I promise lots in the next one...I hope!
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