Walks with my dog

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Sadly, we have recently had to say goodbye to Rosie, our much loved dog. At around 16 she’d had a good innings, but over the last year her mobility was greatly resticted, and her quality of life deteriorated.

Rosie a rescue dog was very much my daughter’s until she moved out of home. My daughter moved but the dog didn’t!

Why Rosie was abandoned we have no idea. She was impeccably trained for a “Heinz 57” varieties. Perhaps she just strayed one day and then couldn’t find her way back. Very much our good fortune but a pity for the person who trained her.

In early 2010 my 2 daughters and my favourite person went to the Animal Welfare League (AWL) to see if there was a suitable dog to join our family. My daughter says Rosie picked herself. She was her dog and very much not mine! Infact, she was quite aggressive to me which was of great concern, as we had been told that she’d already been returned to the AWL, so the next return meant she would be put down. Aggression towards me or not that wasn’t going to happen. Continue reading →

Veronica – Alzheimer’s disease and my natural mother

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In recent months I have faced the challenging role of being sandwiched between an ageing parent, my children, and the role of a grandparent. Each has fabulous rewards, but they also come with challenges. Thank the Lord that I have the time to devote to each.

As I sat listening to Elvis Costello’s Veronica, I could not help but reflect on the last few months with my ageing and, sadly, now Alzheimer-affected natural mother. My natural mother came into my life around 30 years ago when adoption laws changed in my state, and my desire to meet my natural mother became more important to me. My keenness to meet my natural mother was certainly not through any lack of love and affection from my parents, who, from the time they adopted me until their death, were the most loving, caring and wonderful parents you could ever wish to meet. I was blessed not just by them, but by my fabulous sister and, subsequently, my wife (my favourite person), along with three wonderful children and now grandchildren.

After the birth of our third child 30 years ago, it was clear that there was a heritage that I wanted to know about. Continue reading →

A few days in the Coonawarra – Day two wine tastings and lunch

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This post follows on from A few days in the Coonawarra – Day one tastings and lunch

Eric’s Shed, the old tasting room – Brands Laira

We decided that a reward for looking after our grandchildren would be a second day’s wine tasting and lunch.

So after farewelling our daughter and family it was into the car for the 30 minute or so drive back to Penola. We made a quick stop to pick up a takeaway coffee from Bricks and Mortar which over our short stay in Mt Gambier had become a favourite.

Our second day in the Coonawarra was again with Coonawarra Experiences. When we arrived, Simon was there to greet us.  He had put our first day’s purchases in our apartment and with that, we were ready to start the day.

Our Sunday tastings were arranged to be a little less hectic than our first day to allow us to recharge from the couple of days looking after our wonderful grandchildren.

Our first stop was at Patrick’s , a second generation family winery whose grapes are sourced from within the Coonawarra and the nearby Wrattonbully region.  Continue reading →

A few days in the Coonawarra – Day one tastings and lunch

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Our apartment in Penola

This post follows on from A few days in the Coonawarra – getting there 

Our day started with a check of the weather. 

Despite it being the middle of Summer, it seemed the weather was going to be mild, so I was glad I’d packed for both hot and mild weather. With a decision on suitable attire for the day made, the next decision was where in Penola would we find the best coffee?

Penola offered 2 choices for coffee as well as 2 bakeries. We chose Moss and Wild, which was on the list of recommendations from our tour host. The coffee was excellent; however, the food choices were toasties or baked goods, which didn’t fit our needs. They did, however, look tasty. 

With a coffee under our belts, we headed back to our apartment and met Simon, the co-owner of  Coonawarra Experiences. Consistent with our earlier dealings in arranging our tour Simon was ready to answer all our questions, including a last-minute request to visit Penley Estate.

Unfortunately, Penley closed their tasting room during Covid and not reopened it. It seemed I would have to settle with a purchase of a couple of bottles of their Cab Sav from the Royal Oak Hotel. Penley is the family wine business of the Tolley sisters, a famous South Australian wine family. I’d been a fan of their wines for a while, so I was disappointed that we couldn’t make a visit. Penley offers a range of traditional varieties made in a contemporary style.

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A few days in the Coonawarra – getting there

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Our daughter’s involvement in a wedding in the South East of South Australia and our offer to look after her children while she and her husband were at the wedding and surrounding events gave us just the excuse to visit The Coonawarra, one of Australia’s most famous wine regions. In my case, it had been about a decade since I had visited and, for my favourite person, much longer.

The Coonawarra is about 400kms from Adelaide, making it about a 4 hour 30 trip assuming a short break somewhere like Tintinarra or Keith.

Tintinara

The road to Keith is well travelled as it’s the main highway to Melbourne, and just short of Keith, there is a turn-off for the Riddoch Highway that took us through Padthaway past Naracoorte and onto our destination of Penola in the heart of The Coonawarra.

The Coonawarra is a designated wine region that was hard fought for in the late 1990s, finally getting its own designation in 2003 as part of the Limestone Coast Region. There are just over 20 wineries in the region. It is a mix of the big corporates such as Penfolds, Treasury (owner of Wynns) and large family wine companies such as Casella (owner of Brands Laira) and Yalumba, along with smaller concerns such as Whistle Stop and Raidis.

Continue reading →