Back to the Bike

Some pesky back issues have kept both of us sitting instead of bike riding and we need the practice. I have ordered a bike rack number plate but it will not arrive for another week. Fortunately the expensive bike rack we have from the Lexus will still work with the Subaru. We filled it with fuel for the first time yesterday. I can tell you we drove 700 km on that first tank and in the first two weeks we sat at the lights for 45 minutes and saved 1 litre of fuel in that time.  Our bike ride took us towards Geelong but we turned around after 13 km which meant the total distance was 26km taking 90 min.

Our riding is back on track

Asher at the Font

How rude to be woken up by having cold water pored all over your head.  A good day was had visiting the old haunts of Pascoe Vale.  After the church ceremony we wandered up to the school which has had a lot of rebuilding since when I left there in 1967.  The afternoon was spent in a leisurely fashion with sandwiches, sausage rolls and cake. 

Font

Old School

Threesome

Couch Malfunction

Buenos Aries Paddle Steamer

The weather has turned a bit here.  We have had the heater on and indoor activity has been the go for a few days.  I have been chipping away at the shoe box of stamps I bought earlier in the year.  My estimate is around 10,000 stamps in this box and I have cleared out enough to comfortably sit the lid on without compressing any anymore.  One of my criteria for the ADSIL Album is old age and also at least one stamp from every country in the world.  Buenos Aries is a city in Argentina. In the early days they issued there own stamps but only during a four year period from 1858 to 1862.  I found three of those stamps in the box.  The main rule is "Don't forget to look at the stamp". You can absentmindedly flick through them.  These were not old looking, they were mint, untainted and pristine in condition and colour.  Also they were imperforate. Only really old stamps were like this, issued before they invented perforations.  These were the first ever stamps from Buenos Aires.  Their values started going up, the first one is worth $400,  the second one is worth $800 and the third one is worth ...

Paddle Steamer issued in 1858 my oldest stamp so far

Advanced Muscles

No this is not the local gymnasium, although Heide says the local Gym is good value, as it is a chain, where she can just roll up to any Gym at any time and use the facilities. I digress. The proper spelling is Advanced Mussels and for some reason they are located in a paddock with a few sheds as the restaurant and a converted shipping container for the kitchen.  It all works though, as the sea food was hot and tasty. They are part of the co-op that runs all the beds that we can see out our windows. I had a scallop pie for lunch and Debbie had the big bowl of mussels.

Hauling Mussel from the sea floor

The Big Bowl

Mussel Shop

Bump in the Night

We, that is mostly not I,  heard a muffled noise and a bit of a bump then a bump.  I didn't bother getting out of bed. In the morning we found  a painting laying perfectly flat face down and undamaged on the carpet.  It had fallen from above the piano. A close examination of the many delicate items showed not a single disturbance of any one of them, including numerous beaded porcelain dolls not to mention the irreplaceable woven glass walking stick. These were all arrayed directly under the painting which hit the piano and careered off to the side away from said objects.  The over one hundred yar old twine gave way in the centre.  The twin to this was still hanging like Democles over the glass, which I quickly took down.  The twine has now been replaced on both paintings by some modern builders nylon leveling string. It seems quite thin compared to the flaxen rope that kept them up for a century. Nevertheless all display items have been removed until the new suspension has been proved.

Crime Scene

Tell Tale Rope 

Original

Back in place but no ornaments below

Echo Park

This is another crime thriller chase after the serial killer type of story.  Plenty of shooting and twists and turns but in the end the good cop did not get the girl.  The park is a real one in LA and I vaguely recall seeing the Lady of the Lake as we went past on a bus tour.  And in the middle of LA I don't think it is a good spot for burying bodies.

Kayak Saga

There always seems to be something going on out there.  This time it was police action involving helicopter, boat and cars.  Someone found a kayak floating with gear in it but no-one else.  It was fairly calm as the video shows but the police were thinking yesterday's wind may have done it.  After a day of searching a numb nut owns up to leaving the kayak unattended.  Maybe he should be charged with something like the fuel bill.  It seems most of the boats cleared out quickly as they had no fishing licence.

                                                                      Police Action

Seal Survival

We got the story on the seal from the Marine Discovery Centre.  The seal school sends the juvenile males out on their own to fend for themselves for a period of time. This sharpens the hunting skills without any reliance on the older seals.  After that they are allowed back, so this seal could be hanging around a bit longer.  This film POV was taken from atop the rock groyne.

Fall of Hyperion

Last time the intrepid pilgrims were about to enter the Time Tombs.  I did not have the book that continued this story, but I have it now and it has been read.  These two books provide a classic yarn covering so much time and scope. One of the best I have read.  This is complex stuff but if you stay alert it all fits. Time travel messes with your mind but this one is more unique in that a few characters are travelling backward in time while everyone else is moving forward. If you cross paths with one of these people again, they will not remember you as they can only remember their future. Get It simples!  Film rites were bought by Warner Bros but it seems this story is too complex for one film.

Offering the babe to the Shrike

Beach Roast

Went across on the more than familiar Sorrento Ferry.  At least the cost did not go up because we now have a bigger car.  The Clancy's put on a big roast dinner for Patrick's (old man) 31st birthday. I have never had a better lunch at a caravan park it even included crackle from the pork.  Asher was meant to be there but maybe the parents got distracted by the Blues vs Bulldogs game. James and Heidi came across with us but continued on the Bay lap afterward.

Walking to the Party

Ice Cream Cake

Ferry Friends

Seal Below

I had one of the best snorkel swims ever when I went out in search of the seal.  I could see him in the distance but he found me.  Easy as you like he was twisting, diving or just hanging around.  Its been four days now but i did not see him again after I got out.  Those seals are fast, there is no way I could follow him like a ray or a jelly fish.  Who needs to go to the Pope's Eye when you can go here.

Deck Time

Easter Visitations

It's been a Good Friday with lots of visitors. Starting with the Disseldorp's this morning having Europe chats. Then we went across the road to the neighbours for a lengthy afternoon tea and  heard one story amongst others where he escaped from communist Croatia by evading border patrols and confronting Austrian guards before being flown to Sydney.  Then James and Heidi arrived for a couple of days and we are now having our third set of drinks out on the balcony.

 

Balcony Purview

Whatever comes within range of vision of our balcony is fair game for video and photograph or purview.   Today's film could even be termed storking.  They fly, forming an arrowhead phalanx and those beaks look menacing.  I also spied another HoverBird, not the Kestrel but the Kite at sunset.  Our fur seal is still here and shows no signs of moving on.

                                                                        Pelicans

Black Shouldered Kite

Furry

Seal of Approval

We had a close encounter of the slippery kind today.  We noticed birds were squawking off their heads and saw a seal grooming itself near the rocks.  This seal stayed around for hours.  Letting us get close. I didn't bring the snorkel mask so I wonder if we could get close that way.  This was yet another cool thing on the bayside. We only ever saw a seal once on the ocean side and that one was very nervy. This one was tame.

laid back

Debbie and Friend

Snorkel Day

We have been over to the beach for the last three days. The North wind was up a bit today but gave the snorkel a go, as it may have been the last chance this summer.  The water was clear but the wind means choppy water slapping over your head. One wave put salt water down the breathing tube. The rays were there but something new for me had a cuttlefish type of body. It was sitting on the bottom. The jelly fish were out and about as well.

Green and Black

People talk about green olives and black olives but I can tell you they are the same, some are more ripe than others.  I know this because I spent two hours yesterday and another hour today picking olives off our tree. Twisting around up ladders is a muscle stiffening exercise.  I picked over 20 kilograms of olives.  We had this idea from the neighbour about a woman who will make olive oil from your olives for a fee. However we just found out she will take no less than 200 kilos of olives.  Even if we had kept our other olive tree we would not be able to make that quota. Anyone want some olives?

Now that's a taste

20 kgs in the fridge

The Booth

Quirky dress ups have always been a thing but now they are standard at weddings it seems.  The youth at the booth looked a bit bored at the start as he just stood around waiting for someone to show up for a photo.  He did get steady customers as the night continued.  I already own at least one of his props which we got at an ADCD concert.

party time

a bit proppy

little devil

Traditional

I can't remember the last time I went to a wedding with all the trimmings, like the three courses, the long table, the garter toss and the clap goodbye.  It may have been my own.  A lot of work went into this and it was good to remember how these events used to be done.  These Clancy's like venues next to the beach and the Savoy was convenient for beach box wedding photos. The photo booth was an added bonus.  The speeches were confident and I think the camera man recorded some video.

QLD tan

Given away

gathered here today

Brighton Strut

Wedding House

The Clancy's are adept at finding the pre-wedding venues for sleepovers, preparations and other mayhem.  This renovated St. Kilda house has seven bedrooms each with an ensuite and the Victoriana decor  to go with it. There has only been one injury so far when Clair walked into a door.  We left for the reception hotel just as official photos were getting going.  The Gatwick ren is just down the road.

street fountain

Balcony bliss

Lounge Lizards

ankle biters

Dress Rehearsal

This wedding business requires a lot of preparation even when you are not in it. I even had a special shopping trip and as well my watch has a new battery.  The clothing was refitted today to prove that nothing had changed from previous fittings.  The other new thing we tried today was poaching eggs using the new all purpose egg cooker. Very tasty eggs too.

Time is short

Stanley Gibbons

These are a gynormous set of 6 Volumes with over 6000 pages detailing information on every stamp ever issued anywhere in the world. A big publishing undertaking, BUT...  I'll  get back to the but soon.  I have been lugging these to and from the library and at 15 kilos I can't get them all neatly into a backpack so I have to drive rather than ride the bike. So I decided to fork out the $550 to buy the 2019 updated set.  They took some weeks to arrive but were delivered today. They looked very pristine but the very first thing I did was to look up the same stamp in the 2018 set and compare it to the 2019 set.  The country contents page for Vol 3 only, is screwed up. You cannot follow the contents to lead you to the country location.  I have sent a message via Amazon to the local importer with a complaint.  I reckon the publisher would have known about this already before sending them out.  It is still possible to use Vol 3 as you can thumb through the 1000 pages looking for the country location.

the old and the new

Subaru Forester

It has taken 5 months to get our new car. I said to the dealer we should get a ticket to Japan for this delay. Foresters are made in Gunma province. I drove my last Commodore for 18 yar.  I had three previous commodore wagons before this last one and before that a Mitsubishi Wagon as well as a Toyota Corolla followed by the Lexus.  So we are no stranger to Japanese cars.  All of these were brand new, driven straight off the showroom floor, and today's Subaru was no exception.  It required a full 60 min info/demonstration session and I cannot remember half of it.  My old car had one extra button which said "Power Mode".  I only pushed it once, 18 yar ago to turn it on.  Other than that it was just gears and a radio/CD player.  This car seems to be more like an electronic booth.  I think there are at least 6 cameras looking outside and inside.  Eg it has a face recognition system to see who is in the drivers seat.  The biggest thing will be, can we make only one car work?

before

after

Void Moon

For people into Zodiac signs this period of night is meant to be bad luck. In this cops and robbers story people died during this time of the night.  It is set in Las Vegas  and involves money, guns, bodies, car chases, hitmen, burglars and a child.  In the end everyone gets something but not exactly what they want.  A good yarn. This one comes as part of a compendium, four books in one, hardbound,  dust jackets and complete with a tassel like book mark.  I found it in the box that was delivered from grandma's last week.

Dog Day Afternoon

The Romans sacrificed a dog at the start of Summer believing it would ease the hot sultry days.  They called it the Dog Day Afternoon. Nowadays it means lounging around on a sunny afternoon like dogs sleeping it off, which we did today from 2:00pm til 4:00pm. During that time two dogs came charging along. For the first one we didn't see an owner but the dog had moved off before they eventually arrived from the Dell. The second dog owner got into a big argument with another dog owner who was telling him off for not having it on a leash. He gets away from them and then the same dog charges at us as well, so we start having a go at him too but I think by this stage he was already worked up so he started getting threatening before he eventually walked off.  His dog crapped on the beach and he said he would leave it there as a present for us.  So the moral is don't argue with a dog walker or you will be left with the barker's eggs.  (I have a poo trowel on hand).

High Tide

Double Star

I am waiting for a delivery of books so I picked a slim volume which was the Hugo for 1956.  This guy is the first SciFi author I ever read.  Double Stars are a real cosmic occurrence but better known as Binary Stars. Good old RH was having a laugh, as this book is about an actor who stars as a body double for the leader of the universe.  Not the best subject matter for a Hugo but in 1956 there may have not been many nominees.

I don't much like the cover - could be a jelly mold

The Blind Man

We ordered a blind about 4 weeks back and it arrived today for installation. It looks so snug it may have been part of the house.  We went for a short 90min stretch on the beach but when the sun disappeared so did we.  We saw a horse being ridden on the next beach but we know all about how to do that bare back business in the ocean.  We rushed back to try the blind but there was no Sun to block out.

Clifton Springs

Vanuatu

Old Shade

New Shade