Last Day Ride

 The idea is to keep building the Kms up until we get to 60km but if its close then that will do as well. Today was our loop around Drysdale but in this case we did it twice.  It was busier than Bourke St as well both on the roads and the bike trails. I lost count of bike riders but it would have been over 100. Cadel has probably got them all out and about. One thing we did do this time was catchup and pass two guys on E-Bikes. Never done that before as mostly we get passed. The coffee stop was on the second loop around and we already had a short stop at our place for some sunblock.  The van closed its door at 11:30am just after we got our coffee. We have never been this late to get a drink. All up this ride was 40km at 17kph but there are more hills here than at Williamstown so dropping from 18kph to 17kph will still get us inside the time limit.

Estelle Video Star

 I thought two grandies had that special power to engulf the house from one end to the other however Estelle was able to do it all by herself.  The spit roast dinner last night was very tasty. James had to get the butcher to load it properly and then you get the coals up to temperature with a blow torch and check the turning from time to time.  Estelle needed to get going earlier rather than later and the cleanup and packup was extensive but even then her bubble gun got left behind. We are having the rest day that we might have got on Boxing Day except we drove back from Williamstown and did the unpacking. I got the videos going from Estelle's visit, one inside and one outside. These are from the phone so are mostly always closeups.

Spit Beaching

 While James got the Spit organised and tendered to it during the afternoon we got Estelle back across to the beach.  She has had no afternoon snooze today so the timer is on for how long she will last. Asher and Kaia will be here soon for some Spit roast so no doubt it will be all systems go.  The beach was a quiet effort spent playing with sand and buckets of water this time around. The sinkies got used again but this time it was in a bucket of water. Also the Bluey book of the beach gets a lot of attention especially when Bluey has a mermaids tail so Estelle got a mermaids tail too. There were more people than yesterday but the breeze was a fairly stiff Westerly. We are putting bins out on a Friday night after we missed it last Friday all due to the holidays.

Beach Confidence

 Asher and Estelle are showing a much better beach sense now. Aids like sinkys seem to make a lot of difference splashing through trying to get them brfore they sink and also grabbing them off the bottom.  Estelle is not sure of anything that is swimming nearby.  Daniel went out with the snorkel and saw the most ever fish he has seen so far. Schools of whiting just lazily hanging around as evidenced by the number of boats just further out..  Back on the beach it was handstands all around. I think James handstand needs a bit more work. 

Playground coffee

new beach toys

Estelle beaching twice

 We were just doing a bit of garden tidyup, picking some strawbs etc, ( a whole punnet this time) when bip bip Estelle arrived.  We set up her new bed as it may have been needed sooner rather than later but as it turned out we went straight across to the beach. We were there for an hour or so when it was time to get back for lunch. We had the whole place to ourselves.  After an hour's sleep in the afternoon she was ready for another beach session. The water is very mild and she is more confident this year but still not ready to go diving right in.

Dejá Dead

This is one of those crime thrillers about trying to catch the serial killer before he strikes again. This is the first try at writing a yarn from Kathy Reichs.  Not a bad first go but predictable all the way to the struggle scene at the end.  What is a bit different is that she is a forensic anthropologist and describes the clinical autopsy body stuff in colourful detail, not to mention the state of old bodies as they are dug up. I got this one from an op shop and it was literally ungluing as I was reading. Pages were falling out all over the place and not exactly Christmas reading.  And now I have detective CB Strike to read. JK Rowling has been busy since Harry has hung up his wand. There are four of these crime busters in my Christmas present, massive tomes at a 1,000 pages. 

Crackle

 Crackle is one of those illusive things. It might happen, it might not. Over the years there has been good crackle in spots, say down one side but soggy on the other side. Most likely the quirks of the oven not cooking evenly.  This time we used the air fryer.  Its small, easy to keep the heat circulating with the pork raised on a base in the drawer.  Yes perfect crackle but only enough for two. The guests will have to have chicken, turkey and ham.  The bonus was the easier cleaning of the drawer. Wipe it out with a paper towel and rinse.

Video Christmas

 It's 10:00am and we have seen all the Grandies running around already with video calls, couldn't do that in our Grandparents day.  It was good to see that Santa does not seem to have doubled up with what is under our tree.  I also see that there is a specific tray where milk, carrots and biscuits are laid out in the properly designated locations and kiddies are still amazed at nibbled carrots.  Debbie is scoring the pork and salting it down but at the last minute we have cut one third of it off due to its size but that has thrown all the timing out, after our exhaustive calculations on heat versus weight versus time versus air fryer.  Anyway it is going in soon.

Two bike goals

 I plotted out a 30km circuit around Williamstown, as we wanted to get at least half the required distance in the legs, with 4 weeks to go.  We set off at 9:30am and the first leg was 11km to a new park set up near the Westgate bridge.  This park has emphasis on equipment for the older generation and the younger generation. They have weird things like a finger excercise station and a sit down bicycle seat with detached pedals. These are all designed for 80+ yar olds but how do the 80+ yar olds get there?  We moved on to get to the coastal trail via the back blocks of Williamstown. We went as far as Laverton Creek and turned back to Altona. We have tried a few cafes in Pier St and it looks like the Pier itself has been reinforced and updated.  We tried Forestta cafe. I can recommend this one. It was big and crowded but the order was taken quickly and coffee served within 10 minutes. We sat at outside tables with large umbrellas in a mall type location.  We only had 4km to get back from here for a total of 34km at 18km/h.  This is Cadel's main requirement as he has instructed us to be at least at 18km/h for the ride but this is only half the distance.

pedal station

barbecue area

Forestta

Williamstown racetrack sculpture. 
Note bird on bird.

Sandy Point

 After visiting Aunty Patty we had lunch at Sandridge Beach. This is a spot we used to go to from Essendon. There is a huge cruise ship parked there at the moment. We have seen it there before and is using Port Melbourne as its Summer base on 10 day trips around New Zealand.  On the way back we went to the Sandy Point reserve. There is a trail there we have not walked before going right out to the start of the Yarra.  There is also a seat with good views of passing boat traffic.

Virgin Cruising

Sandy Point

Youngest Bicycle ride ever

 We heard a story that we hadn't heard before where 96 yar ago someone went for a bike ride and she was minus 10 hours old. It happened at Geelong when Aunty Patty's father, who had just finished playing a football match got his wife dinky style on a bicycle ride across to his mother's house asap as she was having contractions, after which Patty arrived, home birth style at her Grandmother's house.  The story came about when we visited with a packet of photos that had no explanation.  Some she knew about and others not. 

coffee first

photos second

Jawbone Swim

 We packed the car to the brim and we were not even camping just setting up for a Christmas lunch at Williamstown.  After unpacking I went down to the jawbone area with the snorkel gear. The tide was the lowest I had seen but on a calmer day I think you could still snorkel.  I tried it anyway but the water was stirred with gritty stuff.  Calmer and deeper is better. The water temperature allows a swim at anytime it did not feel cold at all.  I am not used to walking 10 minutes on a path in thongs or i could just walk it slower.

Riding not Racing

 We have been trying to get some longer distance into the rides. We have ridden twice this week in an effort to get the legs going.  Two days ago it was 16km and this morning it was 22km with some blustery winds.  We stopped at the coffee van where two guys had E-bikes with desert type wide tyres where the drag on the road most likely negates the use of the motor. The range is only 32km so that is a brand we would not consider.  Continuing on our way we veered off to have our first look at the new pool. Not a school class in sight and some very leisurely lap lanes were in progress. Not sure where phase two being the indoor heated pool is to fit. This water was warm enough as it is.

No bird feeding here

Tassie Tourer

Pool Perfect

Tree Cover

 I did a quick beach walk this morning while the Sun was out.  The wrack seagrass is thinning a bit more and there was not a lot of rubbish.  I got two poo bags that were left for others to collect. The odd thing this time was a green glass ball that had been broken into a few pieces. Debbie got some tubing from Bunnings to make a tree cover.  This stuff is meant to be flexible yet also hold its shape.  She has made an umbrella of sorts which goes over the nectarine tree so we will have to observe if it stays that way.  There is not a lot of fruit this time around however we are getting consistent strawberries.

GCN+ No More

 One thing I watch a lot is the Global Cycling Network and despite it being a total success, the parent company Warner Brothers are shutting it down today.  If the owners were European based, I bet it would not have been closing down. They say they are merging streaming services into one place and you can still switch to Discovery+ and continue watching cycling except it is not available in Australia.  Eurosport is also theirs which is how GCN started after Eurosport was confined to Europe only.  I may have to start looking at aVPN program which will allow international streaming services into Australia.  These first world problems are getting complicated. 

GCN dismemberment

Garden Catchup

 We got the gardener to get out the giant extending clippers about a month ago. He did a cleanup but behind the plants and inbetween the fence, large amounts of dead foliage were appearing. These were hundreds of cutoff branches left behind but giving the impression of a dead hedge. It's hard to get good help.  The other garden hunt is for the rabbit that has taken up residence in the front yard.  If you get one then you are going to get more.  We assume there is a burrow dug somewhere under one of the bushes and we don't want it to become a warren. The other problem is the stag fern that fell down during Winter.  It is really water logged where it was sitting on the ground for the last two months. We have now got it sitting high and dry on a pot.

Frying in Air

 We have an early Christmas present here which is the all thinking, all blinking control panel air fryer.  We placed a whole chook in it last night and 50 mins later wer have cooked fowl.  There was also the whole potato chipper, which diced potatoes into chips in one stroke.  The alarm that goes off part way so that you can give the food tray a good shake, was unexpected.  It's just like the guy in the fish shop who gets the chip basket out of the fat, gives it a good rake, rattle and roll and sticks it back in, except here there is only air not fat. This thing will take some experimenting.

Christmas Shift

 More decorations and other Christmas utensils are all being stacked for the switch to Williamstown and we do not want to leave anything behind. Last night a few drinks were had at Noyade in Strathmore. This is desrcribed as a grill, up a laneway, passed some bins, get to a door and there is a cave like bar there. The lobster rolls were good if small. We had it to ourselves for a few hours in the afternoon.  Debbie is on the all day, one day only Christmas spree today and then it's all done.  We have saved Christmas lights for here which are also going up today.

Noyade

Willie Clean Up

 It was two weeks back that we were here last and we ran out the door leaving the place in a dishevelment as we had a wedding to go to later that day.  Debbie did some Pure Bookkeepers end of year dining last night and this afternoon it is birthday drinks for whoolydhooly. In the meantime we have brought the Christmas tree from Clifton Springs to here and set it up this morning as Christmas will be spent here this time around.  Another pain in the arse problem was getting Debbie's bicycle seat replaced on her older bike which is the one we have located here. There are two bike shops we have used in Williamstown. The first one serviced her bike last year but put the seat post in backwards which meant the seat was at a painful angle that I could not get level.  This time we went to the Trek dealership, which is closer and being a trek bike, made more sense. They put on a female specific seat with flashing light, and levelled by a phone that has a bicycle seat adjustment app.  You can do anything with a phone these days. We went off for coffee at Kodama. I don't recommend it.  It is a good art deco spot but too slow, no muffins and cooler coffee.  I am waiting for the right moment to turn on the lawn mower here. I thought grass was supposed to die off at this time of the year. 

You place the phone flat on the seat while adjusting. This guy owns 18 bicycles.

There are apartments in here with balconies. 

Beach Clean No 497

 First time I have walked the beach with my rubbish bag in hand since the council did its annual sand scrape last week.  The thunderstorms have driven in a huge amount of wrack since then and one end is black with it.  There was not too much rubbish to pickup as yet although someone had left an old towel. Mostly it was butts and small plastics.  I have also got a photo here which I will put on the Marine obsversation page.  We have seen these before. Some sort of seasnail without a shell.

Big Rig

 We see a lot of different things sail passed our door but this has to be the biggest yet. A  gynormous platform casually sailing up the bay this morning. They have there own method of propulsion which must be under there somewhere. There were a couple of pilot boats but no super tugs pushing or pulling.  It seems Geelong can service the really big stuff as well. 

Marine Victoria Project

 I joined up to a web page that depends on citizen science eg in this case observations of marine life with photos.  There is this huge database of sitings of anything in the water or near the water. They don't take video so I have uploaded the captured still frame of the fish I saw the other day.  It's a bit fuzzy but the prelimenary scan said some sort of LeatherJacket and there are plenty of different types of those.  It seems they don't completely leave it up to the software that compares photos but mark it for a humanoid check and verification.  

Email scams

 Ever since Optus got hacked I have been getting extra emails.  It hasn't been a lot but I am able to block some as Junk and ignore the rest. Yesterday were two more. Someone bought a laptop on Ebay but I got the notification.  This one I am ignoring as there is no reference to me anywhere.  I also got one from Nespresso. This one confirms my order, except I did not make an order.  I used to have a Nespresso account back in Essendon but it has now lapsed.  There are no charges from Nespresso on the VISA card so this one we are watching to see if coffee pods turn up.  The emails look authentic and there have been scams involving Nespresso before.  Just finished with the Nespresso man and it seems my email has been put into the other guys account.  It's hard to get good help! I bet this is not the end.

Cloudy with a chance of Clouds

 Three days of grey and not 50 shades of it either, just one shade of grey.  It means I can dig deep into some of these stamp hordes that I have here. Some people just can't throw away letters and with written letters and even cards becoming rarer, they are worth keeping but would you include them in your stamps and sell them to somebody else. This one is a post card from Israel doubling as a Christmas card dated   24-12-1980 . They are spending an all night vigil in Bethlehem watched over by the Israeli Army. Nothing changes.   The painting was done by David Roberts in 1839. He might be a relation.

Ethan of Athos

 This overcast stuff also means there is more reading time so shorter books like this one are read quickly.  This is another whodunnit in space from Lois McMaster Bujold.  One of the lesser characters is front and centre in this one.  The bad guys never had a chance.  It is a bit opposite to the Amazon theme where here, a population of men are aided by the female mercenary.  

Souva

 We have to get a few Kms into out cycle legs as Cadel wont be happy with us otherwise.  We stopped for at least 30mins for coffee and a rather indulgent sausage wrapped in pastry.  People complain when the local bank shuts up shop which the Commonwealth did to the Drysdale bank branch. However we got Souva in its place which is a new restaurant that remains open for the evening meal. It is all Greek to us but the prices look Ok.  There are not many that open late.  Our circuit took us passed the new train sheds and the lookalike Gordon has taken up residence.  

two halves of one train set

Rhodes

Loukanikopita