Lazy days

Last night we dined at the High Plains Hotel. They have the QR code menus. David was not impressed and resisted using the mobile phone to get the menu. I am not a great fan but can see how the order goes straight to the kitchen and saves staff time as well as fussing at the end of a meal about payment. It worked very efficiently and I had a receipt emailed to me instantly. The meal was good but you do miss the interaction with staff.

After dinner we walked home and we were surprised that it didn’t seem very cold. That was until we discovered we couldn’t get into the chalet! When I tried to open the door, my digital card wouldn’t work. David tried his and then Bill announced that he had deadlocked the door when we left! We were all astounded. Why? We have never deadlocked the doors before (I didn’t even know they had deadlocks!) Anyway we needed to ring the reception for assistance and suddenly the cold started to seep into our limbs. It was only about 10 degrees Celsius but standing around waiting we started to be aware of the temperature falling. Fortunately it wasn’t very long before the hotel sent a young guy to open the door for us. We felt pretty dumb but had a good laugh as we scurried into the warmth.

Rain was predicted today and we were all slow to rise. The day was gray but because we are in the mountains and looking across the cloud shrouded valleys from our cosy chalet it didn’t seem oppressive. It was rather atmospheric and soothing. The drip of rain drops onto the tin roof is comforting. Living in an apartment now I never hear rain on the roof. It reminds me of happy times in the past. We all lazed around chatting and taking a slow breakfast. It was so relaxing. I am very engaged in my book Pachinko. It is luxurious to read in large chunks of time so I was happy to stay in.

When we finally roused ourselves to go for a walk after the rain had passed, we made sure no deadlock was engaged. Bill kept his hands in his pockets and was NOT the last to close the door. We wandered up to JB plain and then across the main road to Dead Timber trail. There was a fine mist but the path was good and not muddy. Dead Timber trail is amongst many dead snow gums. They are a tree endangered by the more frequent fires that have occurred over the last few years. Because they are slow to grow the young seedlings have been burnt along with the older trees. Regeneration is stunted or halted all together. This means they are in danger of disappearing from our mountains. They are quite beautiful with many colours on their trunks and branches and soft grey green leaves. Kim suddenly remembered a poem from her school days about trees by Joyce Kilmer. It seemed so pertinent to the environment through which we were walking.

We returned just as the rain started to get heavy. The rest of the afternoon was spent reading and doing puzzles and chatting. Soon it was nibbles time. Kim had these delicious smoked salmon and balsamic pearls hors d’oeuvres. They are little black balls which look impressive and taste of balsamic vinegar. We decided to eat in so Irene provided a delicious dinner of Goulash and greens followed by a Cranberry cake. She had made three batches over the week before coming. Each had a mishap. The first was burnt because she had been distracted by a Zoom class, the second had too much paprika but the last batch was just right. For us it was fabulous but had been quite an ordeal in production. Irene and Bill are having the family bathroom renovated and the dust and destruction has been extensive. It has been a very trying time like all renovations.

We had lots of discussions ranging across serious and silly topics which produced many laughs and hilarity. Precious times with dear friend is priceless.