It was a warm day for a baby shower but we travelled to the Doncaster Shopping town pub for a luncheon with baby. Still got a month or so to go but it was still lunch with baby. There were the baby presents but the highlight may have been the cup cakes. Heidi and James are looking good and ready to take it on. The kids playroom there is pretty rugged and not built for adults.
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| How many? |
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| a different view |
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| parental glow |
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| almost four generations |
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| More presents |
WE set off early but for some reason Sunday drivers were out and about but we still found a park nearby the Royal Melbourne for a short visit to Nana. Hospital food is a bit cardboard like so we brought zucchini slice, sliced tomato and fruit, bananas, grapes and blueberries. If she doesn't put any weight back on after that lot. Then Dennis and Wendy came and they brought another lot of food including more zucchini. We got the video going between Laura, Rick and Evie at one end and Nana at the other.
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| The Sun has travelled back to the waterside |
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| bed to bed |
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| The ward police did not notice five of us in the room |
It's another cold day here and there are always walkers out looking at the view but they are rugged up. That means its another stamp day although I am really just tidying up before we zip off to QLD. I uncovered an old stash that I have had for a while. It had a theme of the 1956 Olympics. I have gone through it and removed much duplication but there are some unique bits that I can't see a reference to anywhere. This can mean two things, either trash or treasure.
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| This one looks hand drawn and coloured. |
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| I have found references to this one. |
The borders are open. So maybe we can get back to some normality. The Sun is still doing some good setting here and the garden has been a bit ignored of late, although I did do a thorough poisoning around all the brickwork areas. A large number of strawberries and tomatoes were picked this morning and a few lemons in there as well. I have booked yet another round of flights to Brisbane so hopefully these will stick. I only made them one way but at least the voucher from last year worked this time so there was nothing to pay.
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| sorting thru the special box |
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| I have never seen yellow tomatoes but they are meant to be ripe |
Every thing I was suggesting yesterday has gone out the window. Evelyn Rose Taylor (Evie to her friends) arrived last night. There is no holding back these babies. I think she was around 3 weeks premature but at 3.1kgs, was eager to get out into the world. So there will be one regular trip to Brisbane on the 23 Feb for the next few years at least. The idea of having a camera on hand was never an option 36 yar ago. I don't think I have seen photos of 5 second olds before.
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| It's cold out here |
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| Dad on the job |
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| Hello Mum |
I am pressing on with the plans to visit QLD despite the borders being closed at the moment. The rumour is that they will reopen by the end of Feb. I have two scenarios the first based around Mar 10 and the second around Mar 18. This baby business is never an exact science. In both cases a possible start is Mar 1st. We will do a bit of a tour to the North of Brisbane and move closer as each day passes. I have never bought one way flights before and in this case we have flying credits from previous cancellations. The other thing that gets you out of the comfort zone is going without booking all the accommodation. Years ago I hitch hiked around New Zealand without knowing where you would end up, so this is simple compared to that.
I have had a go at a limerick. These have structured lines like 8 8 5 5 8 syllables or close to it.
Womb Words
To position a baby with speech
Requires it to hear what you teach
"I'm pointing my toes"
"As everyone knows"
"You can't see them unless I am breech"
We are having a bizarre week here however that just seems to be fitting into what's normal these days. So let's have a blast from the past. Debbie has been sorting thru the 'Special boxes' getting some more gear out to be passed onto the new generation. She found plenty in her own box like diaries from last century. I have included a page here from 1979. The reading of it is tricky but talks about a rushed study period before a netball umpiring exam because she was packing to go to Tassie the next day. Her pack weighed 35lbs, mine was 60lbs and Paul Stork was 56lbs.
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| Echo Point Hut |
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| South end of lake St Clair |
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| We were supposed to unhitch that top rail and lower it |
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We have had this market on our list to check out since we moved to the area but as usual the market schedule has been over turned in the last year or so. It is a very popular activity with many cars and people despite an over cast morning. The coffee van provided a bit of a watery brew but there is a second van further down that I might try next time. We used bikes to get there and after Tim and Julie's bad news bike story from their side of the Bay I wasn't sure about leaving ours but I found a prominent spot where we could see them. The most standout item was a guy who made guitars from old cigar boxes.
The Essendon connection came up in aisle two when Debbie spotted the Joiners who we used to hang out with from kinder, school, basketball etc. It was their first outing out of Melbourne for a year. We bought one piece of bling for $8 easily carried in the back back. Many baby clothes were looked at but resisted for the time being.
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| A good site among enormous trees |
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| Old home day with Natalie and Chris |
The last Sci Fi book I read had a navy theme translated into outer space. This one had a navy theme from 500 yar ago. I must have read this book over 50 yar back, as it says it cost 2'6 pence and was suited to 12 year olds. One of those boys own adventures yet the exploits of Drake were true enough. As usual the bad stuff Drake got up to like getting the slave trade going in England didn't rate a mention.
The QLD premier has increased her list of hotspots to include Geelong and the Bellarine and backdated it to boot. This means Debbie is not travelling tomorrow and now we have to undo everything again. We have multiple flying credits already and are losing track of them. We checked the exclusions after the latest out break and greater Melbourne did not include us but with this backdated trick we are now included so no travel to QLD for now. Doesn't the premier know baby time is coming! We have lost our money on the Airbnb but maybe there is a discount next time.
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| To hot for QLD |
Much internet work is going on here and our router is playing up some what which is not helping. Since COVID, Optus have dismantled their call centre so it is harder to get thru to them. In the meantime the workday finished at 2:00pm so we set up camp across at the beach from around 3:00 til 5:00ish. The deck out here is now being utilised for the rest of the day. It was a bit blowy but the cool cabanah seems to handle any conditions. The tide was out so I made a trip to the beach this morning as well, for the groyne to groyne swim. Many fish but no rays today.
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| We are thinking of adding a wall to one side to increase the shade. |
The last two nights we have managed a beach stroll around sunset not to mention the three days in a row that I have done my swim, which must be a record. There has been a lot of time spent this afternoon blanching silverbeet ready for freezing. I am not a big fan of this stuff as it has an overpowering flavour however if we have grown it then make the most of it. As well as that a large bag of apples was stewed and made into two apple pies. A lot of cooking time but also lockdown time.
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| Yesterday |
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| Today |
Robert Heinlein praises the army and the navy as the heroes against the nasty bug worlds that are attacking the Earth. This is one of those few times that I have seen the movie before I read the book. In this case the movie from 1997 does not completely stick to the story. There have been numerous movie sequels yet there was no corresponding book to go with it. There are plenty of other Heinlein books. I would rather they work on those movie adaptions than make stuff up for these sequels. This was the Hugo winner from 1960, so another one ticked off my list.
I rode to the doc's to get a spot on my arm checked out. I kept knocking it and making it red so he took to it with the freezer gun and now it's a much bigger red blob. The beach was busy today and the crowds that have gathered are totally ignoring the lockdown rules. It looks like a hot Sunday at the beach with the grass car park looking as full as ever. I did go over there myself this morning to do the swim again. It was just deep enough but as I was approaching ray territory I brushed my hand against one buried in the sand. As well the strap on my right flipper broke which has happened previously so now I will make do with two left flippers.
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| Red Spot Special |
According to lockdown rules you can go to the beach if there is one within 5km. So that works OK but you cannot stay there. You can only do some exercise. So I took my snorkel and did the swim from groyne to groyne. There were a couple of dog walkers but that was all. The garden has had a lot of work during lockdown as well. Much laborious weeding of unwanted grass by digging around in the lawn over a period of hours. I did not do that. The newly straightened stag ferns are looking presentable and all in a row. There are just a couple left on there original backing boards. Harvesting of lettuce, tomatoes and strawberries has continued as well as zucchini. And finally the dirt lady has reached her floral end for now but there is a new gecko in the garden as well.
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| Dirt Lady fully clothed |
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| monster zucchini |
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| Hard to see gecko. Only the body has been planted out. |
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| Drysdale Circuit |
This lock down business is a pain. Last month I mentioned how I had chased the first stamp in the world featuring a bicycle. This was a 1902 stamp which corrected a spelling mistake in the original 1899 stamp. I now have the 1899 stamp which cost me $55 as well as sending it from the US of A. My previous bids for some mapping stamps at the countdown type auctions were also successful especially since mine were the only bids, so not much interest from elsewhere. It shows a timeline of British Ordnance Survey mapping of the same area over a two hundred yar period and all of it on stamps.
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| Note compass use |
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| The Spanish word for immediate is inmediata not immediata |
The maintenance crew, namely Daniel and apprentice Justin have been here for two days and a powerful (get it) lot of jobs have been done. I would say at least 12 bunker lights have been replaced as well as four spot lights including a new sensor light over the garage door. New fluorescent lights were upgraded inside the garage including new power points. Fans with lighting have replaced the existing lights in three bedrooms. The TVs have had a reorganisation, with Foxtel being duplicated to the upstairs and a USB styled power point installed. And just when you thought it was all done, the two monster stag ferns were able to be repositioned on our fence. Whew and they got to have a swim at the end of each day. Remember Diverse Electrical for all your powerful needs.
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| maintenance crew |
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| Spot the difference - spotlight above table and doubled outdoor power point as well as power point above the awning. |
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| Whisper quiet fans, 6 speed with remote and three shades of lighting |
We have had the snorkels out this week as well as the underwater camera. Yesterdays wreck swim had lots of Sun but with reflected particles maybe sand in the water. As well, the breathing tube broke away from Debbie's mask so it was a tricky swim. Nearer to home there seems to be a build up of a green haze cloaking the vegetation whilst the water itself is generally very clear. I will try to use a rubber band to re-attach the tube. In the meantime my mask is hanging by a thread as the strap splits ever further. Could have something to do with a fat head.
We drove about 20 minutes along the shore to Indented Head. We have used this spot a few times as there is a lot happening here like the Ozone wreck. There are also beach boxes which are a rare thing on the Bellarine. There is also the fish cleaning station which never fails to attract the Pelicans, as well as that iconic image of Melbourne buildings jutting out of the water. We snorkeled over to the wreck but the water was reflected with particles. However I still had the video going.
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| Fish Station |
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| Flat Head going down |
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| City Scene |
A wonderful bird is the Pelican
His bill holds more than his Belican
He can take in his beak
Enough food for a week
But I'm damned if I see how the Helican
Written by Dixon Merritt 1910 not Edward Lear or me.
The work day finished around 1:30 pm so it was beach time after that and an ideal day it was too. We started with a snorkel out to the middle ground. Immediately there was a small ray followed by the biggest ray I have seen and hidden in greenery. We went half way out then back with lots of small fish. On the beach it was still calm conditions and 21° which lasted so long we decided to fire up the balcony barbecue. This worked a treat with everything home grown including potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber, with the the only bought item being a stack of small meat balls.
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| yacht haze |
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| barbecue view |
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| I am cultivating high ground seating for a better view |
When we were in Dunkeld there was a small bookshop there at the end of the street and we just had to pay them something, as no one went in while we were in the street. I found a story about one of the first fleet convicts. The author Mollie Gillen has a family connection to John Small. We know something of the time and costs of tracking family connections. There are around 500 books and documents listed as source material to uncover this guy's lifetime. He was a sailor in the early days and at the end of service it generally works out that the pay you are owed is cancelled out by deductions along the way. So having tried to rob a traveler with some sailor mates, they end up being sent to Australia for seven years but stayed as settlers. He then survived all the hardship of the colony startup to die at age 89 in 1850 after 62 yar in Australia and with over 70 grandchildren. He was the last survivor of the first fleet.
The gardens seem to be flourishing around here of late. Norm the neighbour across the way, brought over a crop of large zucchinis. He had previously suggested the best thing to do with over grown zucchini (his fault) was to carve out the pulp and set it with mince to make a zucchini pie. We got back from Ballarat yesterday and found the front door had a huge bag of potatoes, zucchini and some other large vegetable. We went out the back and with the recent rain, out zucchini had taken off as well and had to pick three before they got too big. We are now tripping over zucchini in the kitchen. It turns out the mystery bag was left by the other neighbour John whose lawn I mowed last week. They had come from their farm in Ballarat while we had gone to Ballarat for the bike rides.
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| Produce bag |
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| Could you call this a veggie burger? |
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| Silver beats me |
