Swimming Practice

 I have been doing a daily swim session at 7:00am in a rather small pool however no one else is there so it works ok. The new watch has a swimming function but is trying to tell me the pool is 25 metres long yet I can get just four strokes from one end to the other.  Yesterday we finished off with some water play and a session in the playground. Evie is getting better at her climbing skills. Towards tea time we had the rather ill timed dog incident whereby a lost dog followed Rick back here so he ended up taking it to the vet where the secret chip was read to locate the owner.  Rick thought it was at least a $5000 dog.  

toy bath

I have heard kookaburras from the back yard here

Simpsons Falls

Evie has a busy schedule this morning  so we are free to try an outing. We have been frequenting the Mt Cootha area and last time went to the Slaughter Falls.  This time we went one creek further across to the Simpsons Falls.  This is a shorter walk but similarly over engineered, particularly at the falls themselves.  The weather here has been total blue skies so far and no rain, so the falls were a bit of a trickle.  If you have to  build a bridge to cross the stream why put it at the very top and only a few metres above the lip of the water fall?  Also don't go when the Brisbane remote controlled car association is having their annual picnic.  Now that I have finished the complaints the walk was about 40 minutes and just the right length to start to get Debbie back into some exercise.  Running after a 20  month old was probably the real start.

over engineered

Evie climbs the rope

 They have a very handy playground just out side the back door here and complete with a huge shadecloth covering the whole thing.  We got Evie out there for a short session on the swings and slides however the Sun had angled its way onto the smaller slide making it hot. So Evie climbed the rope ladder for the big kids slide. She is getting on with things fast.  We are getting back to our room here about 7:30pm and could almost start the sleep right then. Half the trouble is our room is bright and white at 5:30am but it does have its own pool.

Evie knocks em down

 Today will be less structured for Evie without the daycare. With all the extras at home she has gotten a bit over energized at times. We have continued to do some shopping and cooking. I have been using the slightly larger pool here in the mornings.  You can only get in four good strokes before you traverse the 15 metres, however if you go long enough my watch says I covered a few hundred metres. I am out of practice with the swimming and these sessions require proper breathing technique as I am not using any mask.  

I have to clean out some palm tree debris daily.

There is always the knock down phase. What ever you build must be knocked down.

Car shuffles

 Our timing is all out of kilter here.  You just get used to the daylight saving and QLD does not want you to. The mornings are bright. It is no wonder that Evie wakes up at 5:30am.  Rick observed the first orange hint of a glow at 3:50am while he was working doggo shift yesterday.  So far we are juggling cars as we have no transport.  Laura has had appointments and Evie has had two days of DayCare so has needed to be driven.  Also the cars are now equipped with extra child seats so space is limited and Jill had a hire car yesterday but that goes back today.  The idea is that we use Laura's car and do the driving for her.  Evie is very excited about all the visitors and doesn't know which one to play with next.

Fuel & Co is a favourite eatery

Techno Boots

Travel days are long days.  We were over weight at the airport, mainly becuase their weigher is more accurate than my handheld one and also becuase we were cramming baby presents everywhere. They made us pay $75 for extra weight.  Evie is saying lots of words now and is recognising people in photos and saying their names.  There is also a lot of energy to get rid of and it seems that Nana and Pa are good targets for that. 

Whether its weather

 Just got rained on going out to the bin, it is drizzle, wet and slippery. Looking at the Brisbane forecast today is 32° hot sunny and no rain in sight.  We are on the limit of our weight allowance with baby presents and paraphernalia so we are dressing for heat but getting cold and wet this morning.  No phasements.  After the last month we have had nothing can be a problem.

Acorn Junior Pastel Book

 Had another Alfred run today. It is all systems go, normal showering, normal exercise and leave it uncovered for most of the day.  It takes a minimum of 1hr at best to get there but 20 min to get back. Went for another circuit ride around Williamstown this afternoon. It is all quiet now compared to this morning.  I will have to extend this circuit to get it to 20km.  I have continued with some scanning of the photo mountain. Digging to the bottom of one box I found some postage stamp size black & whites. I have seen this before but setting the resolution to 1200 can get some size back in them. There was also a school work book, approved by the Education Dept no less. But it has been turned into a photo book using sticky corners. 

The faint writing says Pat Clancy Grade VIII

maybe around 1935

Is that a young Tim Clancy with Bike?  The real Dad's Fire Brigade.

Dolphin Day

We are packing up here for a few weeks away for grand child number four.  However there is still time to watch the dolphins passing parade. This is probably my most detailed look at them as they were quite close to shore. The key sign is other birds diving in the vicinity for the same fish.

DAT

 Digital Audio Tape was the new big thing back in the 1990's.  Initially used for backing up hard drives but then became a medium to record video.  I bought a video camera using DAT before we went to the Sydney Olympics. I last used it probably 12 to 15 yar ago to get the last of those tapes converted to computer files. Having found two of these tapes that I assume were made by Tony, I would say they were also 15 yar old.  One had the plastic cover pop off and the other had tape unwound inside the container. I have managed to salvage both of those thru some manual winding of the spools.  I got out the old camera and found it still works. I can see recorded film playing via the camera however trying to connect it to an old computer is where it breaks down.  I have tried driver updates and now a windows update. In the meantime I have resorted to Plan B, videoing the video.

This is going to take a while

The Village People

 The Village at Williamstown puts on a lot of activities and its all a bit overwhelming with the number of  things on the schedule.  We went to the Spit Roast last night which was quite tasty at $25 per head.  There were around 75 of us there. Becuase it was our first outing they gave us free drinks.  There was a cluster of blokes near the bar and maybe a few elsewhere but the women were everywhere and dominated the numbers 4 to 1.  I think Debbie and I are the youngest people in the place.  It might be a good thing to be only part time at Williamstown for a year or 15.

I don't see any motor cycle cops, any cowboys, any indians, any construction workers nor any sailors but I think there is one bloke in this photo as part of these Village People that I can see.

Photo Count

 Did a quick count of photos scanned so far from the Nana Beryl cleanout.  I have done 780 photos and that is loose stuff laying around.  For instance we got the bookcase back here supposedly empty and after a closer look another 50 photos are hidden away in there.  To add to this exercise there are now two DAT tapes, more slides, a stack of negatives and one roll of underveloped film. Now there is a mixed bag of old media which will be tricky to process.

A party session ?

A country fair ?

Air Nostalgia

Lost Man

 I have read a few of the Jame Harper books now. This one is another whodunnit but not with the same detective from "The Dry". There are more stories using that character but I seem to have missed them.  This one is set in the outback, way outback cattle country. If you lived there or were trying it I don't think you would like the picture she describes of dirt, dust and death. I have visited but I don't think I would live there.  There is not enough action to make this into a film.

Altona Beach

 I have been trying to ride to this spot for two weeks and the waters have receded across Kororoit Creek to allow me through.  The bottom circuit around the former racecourse is still covered in water but I just sailed thru without peddling.  The beach area was still how I remembered it, Melbourne's unsung beach gem and complete with pier. They do pay a lot of attention to dogs here. A huge manicured dog off leash park connecting to a dog off leash beach.  On the way back I took the high path along the topside of the racetrack this one was all dryness.  

Oh to See a Sea Horse. They are seen along the pier pylons.

Wet Track

Village Unit

 The main focus today was clearing out some of the stuff at the Gowanbrae unit.  Yes we brought back another two big boxes of photos. There can't be many more. As well as that I found two original DAT tapes. One says Tasmania and the other Tweed Heads. I am not sure if I can still read these types of tapes. We also got an antique bookcase which will eventually make it to Clifton Springs. There are some old books to go with it.  I have been doing some sporadic photo scanning but there is no organisation to it as they are all over the place. 

I'm not sitting on your knee

Happy dreams Estelle

James discovering dirt

Busy Busy Williamstown

 Last time we went to the Alfred we allowed 1hr 15min and it took 1Hr 14min and they called us after that one minute.  This time we allowed 1hr and 30min but parked closer in the street so we had 15 min spare but this time they were 45 minutes late.  Turns out we have to go back a few more times as this graft has to heal before they proceed to take one more small piece at the margin.  We got back for some lunch at Williamstown and then I tried the water at the beach there.  I went fully in and the temperature was ok except for an on shore breeze. I tried one of those rashie shirts and they are very uncomfortable and clammy.  I saw one ray and one large jelly while I was splashing around.  This swim is more involved when you have to ride 2km to get there. ( and bring a separate shirt rather than the wet rashie to ride back in).

Not many swimmers

Old Gear Recycle

 Years ago when we still had a BACS office, from 2004 to 2014, we were always replacing older screens with newer ones eg a 3:4 squarer ratio with a 12:9 more rectangular ratio.  I have just brought out these screens again having found them buried in the last box that was moved from Essendon and never opened. There was also an old docking station. I have now put them altogether at Williamstown and they still work. There is even an old Melbourne Water logo on one which means it is last century.  This is all temporary as I was supposed to get a new laptop to match Debbie's but we have been distracted. In the mean time this setup works but I will have to get used to the 4:3 look as I am typing up this blog report.  

Dock and Lock

Grow by themselves Williamstown Roses 

Vue Grand

 Got the bike back on the old Bellarine Rail Trail from Mannerim to Queenscliff and back.  Parts have been affected by water damage and we had to ride thru the odd shallow pool but overall the track was still passable but down to bed rock in places.  In Queenscliff we had lunch at the Vue Grand. Some years back we luncheoned here but in the Grand Ballroom.  I noticed that it was all set up but no one was home. They shoved us out onto the street level verandah surrounded by scaffolding.  The bike track was very busy at least 50 riders tooing and froing. Queenscliff was boom town central with 200 bikies swarming the place. Does anyone work a job anymore?

Changing rails

Blue Ballroom

Beach Walk

 Found a gap in the rain yesterday for a walk along the beach. I brought the trusty rubbish bag and we filled it to the brim.  Not surprising with the wind and rain. The good news is that the engineering works to divert the creek along the causeway have worked well this time. There is no overflow along the the old course. The rain was steady not forceful so the diversion kept working.  Now we just have to scrape the seagrass off the sand.  The water was dark with uprooted grass very uninviting.  We continued onto the Dell where the whole area has drained pretty well. Debbie is walking well to get that healing happening.

We were watching a show about Hamburg as we had spent time there and there is a woman who spends 6 months on an offshore island. She patrols the area pushing a wheelbarrow to pick up the tidal rubbish.

Tassie Connection

The Spirit of Tassie ferry has made an appearance choofing across Corio Bay today.  It did make a test run a couple of yar ago but from now on you can travel from Geelong to Tassie with your car.  I did do it once and I think I will have to try it from here just see if you can spot our house from the boat. I also notice the Navy pier is coming along. This project is a year over due but I can see that a lot of the cranes have been removed although there are still a few there so it's most likely still got a ways to go. 

 

Grand Hotel

 How many towns have a Grand Hotel?  Just about every town on the Bellarine including Port Arlington. This one is owned by the former Essendon man Paul Little. He has also got the local ferry services going previously and this hotel has had a huge renovation.  We had lunch there before COVID so we went back to check out the renovation.  It is high on the main street and some of the rooms have balcony views to the water. A lot of the roads are blocked with water at the moment so the Klyes had a roundabout drive to make it from Collendina.  

Where was Drysdale asparaus?

A Dolphin at the window

Mud Bloom

 An indoor stamp day if ever there was one.  The rain has not stopped here for 24 hours.  I would call it a steady rain not all that heavy. However what it has done is deepened the creek nearby and maybe it has over flowed again.  You can see the silt fanning out across the bay. We will end up with a delta out there if this keeps up. The lawns here are saturated and they need a trim, maybe they will dry out by the weekend. On the nursing home front the BaptCare people are a good bunch. They are delaying any formal payment requirements for four months so we have that long to clean out the unit, get it renovated and then sold off. I can now unload the video camera since I bought a new multmedia jigumme (technical term). 

The Alfred

This is the fourth visit now and we are starting to know our way around which could be good or bad.  There are no results back from the testing of the offending skin.  I got a good look at the cheek and a large circular patch can be seen there now but the plastics people assure us it is looking the right colour pink and is healing well and will fade and blend in time.  We have made our way back to Geelong and are still trying to get the hang of having two places.  You might think it easier to travel to the Alfred from Williamstown however it took 1hr and 10 mins to get door to door, a distance of 9km. We only just sat down when Debbie's name was called 2 mins early. Phew.  I have slightly less graphic photos and worse.

I completed a 3D jigsaw on the way back to Geelong by placing everything we carried for the weeks stay, plus some boxes we retrieved from Nana Beryl's plus all the cardboard and foam that came with the latest delivery of furniture.  It is a good thing they don't charge for that stuff.

Table Tuesday

 Table Tuesday might extend to Flatpack Friday the way the deliveries arrived today.  Two flatpacks were unscheduled as we got them from K-mart to give us a bit more shelving in the bathroom. that was on the way to nana Beryl's old place to pick up yet another large load of photos.  How big does a life time of photos get? We got back and started on the two smaller flatpacks when the Oz Design furniture truck arrived with a table, two coffee consoles and a sideboard.  So one flatpack is finished and the other has been left in pieces for another time, as we had to put the legs on the table. We now have another pile of foam and cardboard to get to the recycle man.

more photos

flat table

The Quiet Man

 Went out to an Irish pub for an early tea at 6:00pm.  Met the Clancy's there and we largely had it to ourselves on a Monday night.  There were a few eating on sidewalk tables outside. I tried the guinness pie washed down with a Kilkenny light guinness on tap.  Lots of old woodwork inside with a good atmosphere.  Street parking was ok but if it was a Saturday it might be different. 

Sunny Ride

Got back on the bike this morning and headed towards Altona again however the water is still spilling across the ford on Kororoit Creek.  A guy with more aggressive tyres went across on a mountain bike with his feet in the air so I thought I would wait for another day.  Back in Williamstown I checked out more of the shopping centre and some of the back streets. There are some old pubs hidden back there one was dated 1863.

car is still there

Asher Early Foursome

Daniel and Asher have had a combined party after she already had a kinder kids party yesterday and of course the actual birthday in a few days.  We had some catered rolls and I think I have left the leftover roll behind and the chocolate crackle.  Daniel got a professional looking snorkel set but Asher has so many presents I lost count.  Estelle is fitting in well with the elder cousin and it wont be long before she is a similar size.  It's probably too late for a snooze right now. 

Fish Tank

Freeze