So it appears that I have had a hiatus of nearly 9 months. And that has been an interesting 9 months to say the least.
So much has happened, I don’t really know where to start, to be honest.
So here goes!
I have recovered from my kidney stones, thank goodness. But a recent urine test shows some blood in my urine. Another kidney stone? Who knows, and that was the least of my problems from that set of pathology tests. Due to some of my medications, I have to have blood test to see if things are within range due to the medications I take for my schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. Generally, the majority of my tests are within range, and I can live with that. This time (Christmas 2025), one of the tests (prolactin levels) was quite high and outside the normal levels. Well, this encouraged a flurry of medical reaction from my doctor. As this level had risen so quickly and to such a huge amount, we had to start ruling out reasons. These are in order: Pituitary tumour, underactive thyroid and antipsychotic medication. So the process to rule them out was done. I had had a blood test for thyroid at the same time, so that was quickly ruled out. leaving only two options. So in consultation with the doctor, we thought that the antipsychotic I am on (which is prolactin-sparing) may not be the reason. So we started with the possibility of a tumour. So we were off for a brain MRI quite quickly, though the results took some time to return, and it was a favourable result. No tumour!!
That left my medication, so it was off to a psychiatrist. It had been a long time since I had seen one, so that was probably a good thing. We had the consult, and I found that it was rushed. Notwithstanding, we came up with a plan to reduce my meds slowly and add lithium for some slight depression that I was experiencing.
So that journey has nearly finished regarding my mental health. I feel good and am excelling in my endeavours. That makes me content.
So what else has been in my days? Well, a trip to Beachworth. It was after Anna’s 60th and just before Easter. We left early Tuesday, heading out via Leeton, where we stopped for the water we forgot to take with us. I must admit that I always like a trip away, but this one was different, 4 days away into the heart of the foothills of North East Victoria.
As we travelled, we watched the countryside, stopping way too frequently to use the public toilets along the way. The first significant stop was Chiltern, just over the NSW-Victorian border. A quaint town with a population of around 1500 people. Of course, it had the required town bakery (great sausage rolls and coffee). As we pulled up, women were putting on knitted Easter-themed sleeves over the bollards lining the roads, which Anna found intriguing. We decided to have a wander along the main road in town. Much to my delight, there was a studio-gallery of a painter named Lisa Bishop, whose work was outstanding, colourful and quite eye-catching. Across the road from this studio stood the studio – store of a photographer (That caught my eye and interest), Nat Ord. As it was a Tuesday, she wasn’t open as she was only open Friday to Monday. After walking back to the car, Anna took some snaps of the knitted street art, and we then pushed on to Beechworth.
Beechworth!! First stop was the motel, The Linaker Art Deco Motel. Hail! Art Deco, I love you so much. Note: At this juncture, as much as I love Art Deco and as a music lover, I had never googled or thought about the music of the era (1920 – 1939). Today I did, and found that one of the genres of music from the era is blues. A quick search on Apple Music, and I have some blues playing on the speaker, and it is great and relaxing and suits writing; it is a long way from my usual music.
Back to Beechworth, and for the start, the motel, I had chosen it for the aesthetic, of course. We had stayed there on a previous short stay in Beechworth. Let’s be honest, it isn’t much of a motel compared to our normal choices. But I love the look and feel of the old. It was a nurse’s quarters for the mental asylum close by. At this point, we unpacked, and that is generally a chore with the number of bags and devices that we travel with. After unpacking, it was a trip to the main drag.
Beechworth has a few streets that contain shops. So we pulled up and went for a walk. A lot was shut when we walked, only opening a few days before and over the weekend. Again, this town is a short holiday town. Open was the ice creamery, where we lined up for a cone of ice cream; to be honest, it had nothing on what we get in Griffith. There was a large lolly shop to the right of the ice creamery. We didn’t enter this 🙁 Further along the block was a bakery where we stopped for a feed of bee stings and coffee (I was supposed to cut down on my caffeine intake due to my med change and really threw this out over our country Victoria retreat). Beechworth has a honey store. I felt overwhelmed in the shop as it had way to many varieties of honey. As we left the shop, we were offered a free yoghurt, which we ate on a seat near the store.
The coffee facilities at the motel were not to my liking, as usual for a motel, they supply instant. What to do when I woke up. The first morning, I waited for Anna to rise and instantly suggested the bakery for breakfast. Off we went! We ordered our coffee and a toasted sandwich each to fuel the day.
Fueled, we headed off with Yackandanda as our first stop. Quaint streetscape, I loved the look and sight. As we are so quickly finding out, these towns seem to be shut mid-week. There was a private gallery in the main street that was closed, and another slightly out of town that was by appointment only. A hidden Foodworks, where it was a great place to load up on Panadol that I seemed to have needed. The town had a pub that looked like it was thriving with an outside coffee shop (being the first of April, the muffins were priced at $50 each). A bakery and a pie shop. Having seemingly exhausted the town, we decided to trip off to Myrtleford.
Eye opener, Myrtleford was bigger than I thought it was. Coming into town, it looked like a maze of roads made up the shopping precinct. I needed to eat, so we decided on the bakery again!! Our first stop was a gallery that had incredible art. Way over my pay grade, though. There really are some amazing artists out there. Across the road was Cafe Fez, a Middle Eastern-inspired cafe, beside it was an emporium, and to be honest, it was huge with a range of Middle Eastern, oriental, and other bits and pieces from other locales. Anna was absolutely in love, so much so that she had to ring her sister G and share video as she wandered through. Our final stop before returning was an antique shop where Anna bought an elephant for her collection. We returned to Beechworth and went to the Hotel Nicholas for dinner, where I had a Pork Riggatoni, and Anna had a Nepalese Chicken Curry. Then back to the motel.
Awake early again on Thursday, I waited till about 5:45 to go to the bakery. I was there too early as they opened at 6. I grabbed a couple of coffees and took them back to the motel. Anna, still asleep, was less than impressed to be woken while her coffee was still hot. As the sleep wore off, food was the next priority, and a change from the bakery was required. We hopped in the car and went in search of a cafe. We found Coffee Staines – Café, which was just up my alley with coffee as the first word in the cafe’s name. A quick browse of the menu, and I had narrowed it down to a double espresso and Eggs Benedict (standard cafe fare for my breakfast). I really forgot what Anna ordered for breakfast, but the coffee was an almond milk mocha. Unfortunately, my coffee, although it had great creama, it was burnt. In a first for me, we advised the server, who I am pretty sure was the owner. Quickly, I had a new one with an explanation that the time of extraction was shorter, a much better coffee too.
Then it was off to Stanley, via the Magic Forest. The drive to the Magic Forest is not onerous, and we went looking for the Redwood trees. Where we went was Pine Forest, and as we searched and used Google Maps as much as we could, we were unable to find the location of this hidden gem. I was able to find great shots of the pines as taken below.
Having given up on finding the magic Forrest, we headed off to the Hamlet of Stanley. Stanley consists of farms and one commercial structure – a pub/cafe, where we proceeded to have coffee and cake before heading back off to Yackandanda.
Back in Yackandanda, the Gallery was finally open, and as we were not looking to buy, I didn’t look at the prices. I was delighted to see photographic prints displayed. Having done the street again, we went and looked at an old mine/gully, which was a trip down through the bush to a lookout where a quiet stream flowed below. Done for the day, we headed back to Beechworth.
On the final day, we were up early, it was Easter Friday. As usual, I went and got coffee and toasties for breakfast. Having eaten, we packed the car and headed off. Our first stop was Chiltern; it was a much longer stay this time.
We pulled up to the loo’s in the park, and when we came back, there was a fire truck behind us. We questioned if we had parked in the wrong spot and were advised that we hadn’t, but that we should move, as we may have to pay a toll. It was a fundraiser. We moved and parked on the main street. I noticed a shop front that stood out as being quite modern and contemporary for what looked like a graphic designer. As we walked past, a gent that I assumed was the owner came out, and I pulled him up for a chat. He had moved from Melbourne and was working in Chiltern and selling goods on the web. As we walked the street, we were looking at a 24 hr unattended servo. As we looked at the pumps, we could find no way to pay when a gent crossed the road to help us. The gent was a paranormal investigator, and we had a long chat about his investigations as well as learning a bit of the history of Chiltern.
As we wandered down the main street of Chiltern, we came back past Lisa Bishop’s gallery and looked across the road to Nat Ord’s studio and saw that it was being opened up. The photographer in me just had to go in, and we asked if it was open, and were advised that it was, but that coffee wasn’t ready. We entered, and I noticed that there was a fridge of film, which was noticed by the (I forget her name, unfortunately, I had asked if she was Nat, but she wasn’t and pointed out Nat to us), I let her know that I had a fridge full of the stuff at home, and I believe that this broke the ice at the studio. Nat was great, and somehow we got onto the subject of the NPPP. Nat let us know that she had been a finalist of the NPPP, and the name then clicked that I had heard of Nat before. She let me know that her entry was hanging in the next room, and the photo brought back my memory. She let us know that it was on the cover of the 2017 Catalogue.
We went back to Lisa Bishop’s gallery, and I sort of wandered around in my own world for a bit as Anna chatted with Lisa. Lisa told Anna about a collapsed mine close by in the national park called Majectic Mine. It was on the way home, and we went off track and located it. It was a short walk from the card, but it gave us an indication of the intensity of mining for gold in the area.
We travelled back to Griffith for the family Easter events. Slow and easy. a peaceful and entertaining 4 days away, a combination of art and countryside. a photo or two here and there
Remember to LOVE LIFE!!