Back at home…….

 again after a very different 4 months on the road and it was absolutely a case of Groundhog Day.  Victoria was still in lockdown though being in Regional Victoria we didn’t have the 5km limit.  After a leisurely breakfast we went down the street to buy a coffee and find a seat in the sun to drink it.  We did a bit of shopping and then went home to attack the washing.  The next few days were more of the same catching up with friends, socially distanced of course, and getting ready for Bill to hit the road again to see how the shops had fared.

The next week Bill started his rounds and over the next few weeks we had done trips to Yackandandah, Beechworth, Chiltern, Benalla, Bright, Glenrowan, Stanhope, Elmore, Alexander, Yea, Mansfield, Violet Town and of course the newsagents here in Euroa.  

Very soon after Bill and Melanie started to plan opening Pop Up Arts Euroa again for 2021.  As well as the people who joined them last year we welcomed two new people.  Carole with her jewelry made from vintage buttons and Carmel with her jewelry made from beads.  The next few weeks were very busy as they set up the shop and got ready to open in October.  We were able to hold an opening night event when we did open.  Jenny from Maygars Hill Vineyard came along with her award winning wines on the night and the money raised from the purchase of wine went to the local Fire Brigade.  A very successful and fun night was had by all who attended.

As well as preparing for the shop Bill also had to get ready for his new exhibition due to show at Bush Gatherings in November.  We had been hoping for a Covid free run this year but it was not to be.  Metropolitan Melbourne was still restrained by the 5 km limit so once again we started the month with just Regional Victoria being able to travel.  It was just the last week when the restrictions eased and we saw a few folk from further afield.  Once again Bill was happy with the exhibition and very happy that people are excited about buying his photography.

Of course now we were back at home it was time to get back to work at the markets.  Unfortunately due to the new Covid strain all but one of the October markets were cancelled so we had to wait until November to get back into the swing of things.  Once we did life became very busy again each weekend as we ran up to Christmas.

Before we went away Bill had been offered the chance to hold an exhibition in the gorgeous old Kyabram Town Hall.  There are four amazing spaces and he was looking forward to showing in another gallery a lot larger than he had done before.  It meant that more pieces had to be prepared and these were printed and framed in record time once he had the final pieces chosen.  With just one week between taking the Bush Gatherings exhibition down and the new one going up life was certainly hectic for a while.  

Opening at Kyabram on the 8th December the new exhibition looked amazing and we hoped that many people would stop by and see it.  Rather than host an opening event Bill was holding ‘A meet the artist’ day when the gallery reopened in January after a short recess for Christmas and New Year.  We were thrilled with all the publicity Bill received for both exhibitions.  Local radio stations interviewed Bill and local newspapers had run articles after seeing the exhibition and talking to him.  

While Bill was flat out with all his birds, I had returned to my activities once restrictions had eased.  I was enjoying Line Dancing and my indexing at the museum.  Trivia nights with our team brought mixed results as we had been out of practice for so long but we still did well and stayed off the bottom most of the time.  Family History was fun too as I attempted to trace both sides of our families.  It’s been very interesting.  Thankfully a couple of our Aunties had done a lot of work previously and shared this with us.

While we were busy with the shop and the markets we still found time to catch up with friends and spent some time enjoying delicious meals at the Butter Factory with Melanie and Simon.  I had a lovely lunch with the girls from the One World Shop, Sue, Genevieve and Ruth.  A dinner at the Seven Creeks Hotel with Judi and Peter and a fabulous afternoon of fun when Shelley, Darren, Kyan Julie and Craig came to visit and Connie opened our local Chinese Restaurant just for us to have lunch.

And then it was Christmas!  We made the usual drive down to Parkdale where we enjoyed Christmas lunch with the family.  Anne and Paul had decided to stay as the borders hadn’t been opened in time for them to get back to WA.  After living beside the Murray for two months they were now back in suburbia to enjoy Christmas with their grandchildren and family.  It was lovely for Mum to have her four children able to celebrate with her after so many years.

Bill and I opened the shop for it’s last three days in the week between Christmas and New Year and then it was time for everyone to collect any unsold items and say goodbye to Pop Up Arts Euroa for another year.  Once again it had been a very successful enterprise for all those concerned and we look forward to welcoming everyone back again next year.  

For now at least it’s time for a few days rest before we start the cycle all over again.  We wish you all the best for coming year and I’m sure we are all hoping for a much better year as far as the pandemic goes.

until next time…..