Fishing Along the Coast

The weather and sea worked together a couple of days ago and we managed to get out in the boat for the first trip of the season. Because the seas were so flat, we mainly went after crayfish or rock lobster as they are also called. We got our quota of four – a maximum of two for each licensed person. Murray also caught a good sized snapper. I do get a wee bit stressed when crayfishing sometimes, as it entails getting in quite close to the cliff base, often amongst a breaker or two. And I am in the process of learning how to drive the boat while Murray pulls the pots.

The following are some photos I took while we were out and show the scale of the cliffs. They’re pretty magnificent in this part of the world.

This is a spot called Deany’s Steps, which was carved out for easy access to the base of the cliff many years ago. If you look very closely you will see an opening to the left of the steps, which is the size of a doorway. This will give you an idea regarding the scale of the cliffs. However, due to the ever present ‘nanny state’ we are forced to live under, the entrance to these steps was blown up by Parks Victoria to stop people using them.

Murray baiting up a cray pot.

A southern rock lobster.

Guess who got an Ipod for Christmas

I bought myself a new ipod for Christmas since my old one is now classified as ancient and was, in fact, playing up. I have now re-discovered podcasts. And I really don't need another thing to spend time on. I subscribe to Photoshop podcasts, plus yoga, plus food. Truly, there is not enough time in a day. Here are a few results of fiddling in Photoshop after watching a podcast today.

Somewhere in South Australia

Coffin Bay National Park

London Bridge, Shipwreck Coast, Victoria

As the tree droops, my balls fall off…

I smothered my tree in balls this year but they fall off intermittently, either via the drooping branches or inquisitive grandchildren. Hey, I can see myself in some of the balls.

Actually spent some time ‘making’ today, instead of obsessively admiring everyone else’s work on their blogs. Oh, I did manage to do that too. I made this envelope from card I salvaged from the ever present packaging of objects. I printed an envelope template from How About Orange onto it and then printed the pear design from LollyChops onto it.

I am continually gobsmacked about the wonders of technology and what it allows you to do. I have been a computer nerd for an inordinately long time. My first computer (I’ve lost count of the number of computers I have been through) was a very small monochrome monitor with text (orange in colour) only – no graphics at all, with 20mb of hard disk space which was ample. All commands had to be typed in. When word processing, for example, if you wanted a font to be bold, a code had to be typed into the document. If I wanted to print the document I had to type the appropriate command into the operating system, which happened to be DOS. I was fascinated then and I still am.

New discovery for me, something I should probably have known decades ago – the back of the stanley knife blade is a great scorer for placing folds in cardstock. Why didn’

I continued ‘making’ and am hoping to make some bunting to hang around, mainly to make things look festive for the grandchildren. So far I have done three flags with the one design. And, yes, I probably have no hope of getting these finished before Christmas. They’ll be ready for next Christmas.

Christmas clip art

Love this. Feel free to use. No copyright problems.

From Geelong to Adelaide

I went on a train trip last week on the Overlander, with Kaye and Annie. We spent time exploring Annie’s roots as the Adelaide Hills is her home territory.

The start of the journey – Annie doing yoga stretches while waiting for the train.

Nine hours of pure relaxation – reading, trying to teach myself to crochet which I failed at, eating, drinking lattes, listening to music.

Exploring with Annie’s family.

The very controversial bridge over the Murray River, from the mainland at Goolwa to Hindmarsh Island. For much of the '90s, it represented one of the most divisive issues on the political landscape, featuring court challenges, a royal commission and a bitter cultural debate over Aboriginal spiritual beliefs. I must say, it is a monster of a construction that looks way out of place.

Love these old stone buildings – lots of terracotta colours – pinks, yellows and oranges.

Typical South Australian landscape

We bought these apricots at a roadside stall – very luscious. The three of us have decided we are going to paint this image.

Ah, not sure. Maybe the flower of the flame tree.

Gum blossom

Lichen

Near the end of the journey. Waiting for the train at Murray Bridge.