Lower Plenty

There’s nothing low about this plenty. There has been plenty of hospitality and grace and quiet and peace in this house. There has been plenty of good conversation and good meals and fun teasing, despite the plenty of sad time too that Phil, Geraldine and their family have gone through in the last weeks. Phil’s mother was quite ill and passed away the day before I arrived. I felt terrible, a bit of an imposition, and volunteered to stay elsewhere but their beautiful kindness allowed me to stay. They reserved the right to send me away if they felt the need to but I’m still here and I still feel welcome.

We did a few things together which were wonderful. We went on hikes and walks and grocery shopping and had coffee after each of them. This past Saturday afternoon we headed down to Melbourne to see the medieval manuscripts exhibit at the State Library. We rode the train down with all the footie fans going to the footie game. Footie is the big sport here. It seems to be a combination of American football and soccer and maybe quiddich. Actually as you can well surmise I really have no idea what I’m commenting on. It just seemed so ironic that there we were going to view medieval manuscripts in a train full of ra ra sports fans. We chatted with a dad and his two children rooting for the Magpies. The man was actually from Sudbury, Ontario. All that having been said, there were also a lot of people at the library enjoying the manuscripts. Geraldine was also happy to discover that she could show me Ned Kelly’s armour (the Australian outlaw hero) also on display at the library.

One of my favourite days was the Sunday afternoon we spent at home. It was very gemuetlich. I had gone to church with them in the morning. (A poor, dying church that has just lost their minister and organist every other week so plays hymns on CD. Though the upside of that was that it made it sound like the church was full, even trumpets played in the last verse.) We relaxed in the afternoon. Phil had a fire going and I read my book on the couch. It was very cozy and it felt very much like Sabbath. In fact, it was Sabbath. The next Sunday I went on an afternoon hike along the trails of the Yarra River valley. It was a beautiful fall day and recent rain made the woods smell lovely. They smell different than our woods. Different trees have different smells. More Sabbath. I’ve had good Sabbath time here in general. Nice too is the bed I’ve been sleeping in here. It’s my second favourite. The Marshall in Bucarest is still number 1. The little strip of shops in Lower Plenty is wonderful. It has everything; a butcher, a fruit and vegetable shop, a deli/grocer that also sells wine, a florist, a baker… it’s very lovely and quaint. All it needs is a café. There’s a house for sale near by. I imagined that it would be cool to buy it and then go shopping at the shops every day. Hey, maybe I could open a café? Too bad it wasn’t really my style of house. I should have taken my camera when I went down there today.

And so my time is up here in Melbourne area and Australia. I’m thankful for Phil, Geraldine and Molly’s hospitality and friendship. Off to New Zealand tomorrow. It’s time to move on.