Happy Christmas

♥ My wish for everyone at Christmas

 and the New Year 

is that each day is filled with Peace and Happiness  ♥

A Rockin' good time on Sunday

MD told me to "get yourself tarted up and I'll take you out"  ... lol, just love it when he talks smarty ;D)

Anyway, off we toodled back down to Lakes Entrance - yes, Lakes again!!  We love the place, there's always something happening.

This time it was the Seafarers' Multicultural Festival and 'Such Fun' (thanks Vicki)  it was.

Just some of the highlights were, beer food and wine tastings, reminiscences from old sailors and lots of memorabilia,  a huge market, Koori art exhibition, photographic exhibition and even a replica of a 15th century Portugese Wooden Sailing Ship.

We went over to check it out.  A small jetty, so a bit hard to take the shots I wanted.

Oh yes, it was "old" all right, see, even cobwebs on the little windows/portholes!

Loved the lines of the ship, so kept on snapping

All of a sudden, we heard music - getting closer by the minute.  Good, solid rock n roll too.
This is where it came from..... Bernie's Floating Shed.

Wow, we were thrilled.  We knew it came to life at various festivals around the area but this was the first time we'd experienced The Shed,,, and only a couple of metres away!

The Shed put-putted around the sailing ship and found a spot to moor - then the rockin' fun began.
Oh, all the classics.... 

I took lots of videos and photos.  Note the tomato sauce bottle which doubled for maraccas!

These guys were great and gave a fabulous show.

There was literally dancing in the street... 

Had to take this shot too.  This little doggie wasn't the slightest bit interested... had his eye on the fish and chips picnic a bit further along on the grass!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thought I'd include a bit of info as to how Bernie's Floating Shed came into being.  It's quite interesting, have a read when you've the time.  Cheers!

[Photo Source: Destination Gippsland]

 Bernie Ryan didn’t want his new shed to be like the conventional one in his backyard, filled with all the usual stuff. What was needed, he decided, was something totally different, something that might cheer up his fellow citizens in Paynesville who had been enduring floods, blue-green algae and other natural disasters. “The floods gave me the idea,” Bernie recalls. “Some of the streets were under water – how about a shed that could go up and down them and put on a show?”

And so, back in 2007, the floating shed Mk I was born. But it had only just gone through the launch ceremony when authority, in the guise of the local water police, advised him to smarten up his act and get the thing registered. “After that I set to and built a better one – one with a real purpose in life. And it’s perfectly legal.”

The shed is usually moored on McMillans Strait, directly opposite the waterfront home of Bernie and Ruth Ryan, itself a highly unusual four-level structure built by retired civil engineer Bernie with help from some of his mates. “He’s a man who thinks outside the square,” confides Ruth.  “When other people might ask why, he asks why not?  Things get done, and we get a lot of fun that way.”

The shed has some cunning features such as a veranda, lawn, steering wheel and the rear end of a DeSoto car sticking out of one side. The shed even boasts a secondary structure – a dinkum dunny floating astern which with a bit of encouragement can be persuaded to explode in a cloud of smoke, courtesy of Bernie’s smoke machine, with sound effects provided through the agency of his bird-scare gun. Australia Day 2009 introduced the rustic vessel, cobbled together from scrap materials, to a crowd of gobsmacked onlookers. The shed is also a floating bandstand, usually manned by the Ryans’ favourite group, The Nudgels, and is a familiar sight at events such as the Paynesville hot road show and the local music festival.

Weighing in at an impressive three tonnes, the rustic shed is cleverly designed to come to bits and fold flat on a trailer. Towed behind Bernie’s 4WD, it becomes one the world’s few amphibious sheds. “We caused a bit of a stir at last year’s Hobart Wooden Boat Festival,” says Ruth.  “The people down there didn’t know what to make of us when we rolled the trailer off and started putting the tin shed together.  But they must have liked us – we’ve been invited back next year.” 

 [Story Source:  Paul Edwards, Featured in Royal Auto Magazine Dec 2012/Jan 2013 edition ]   

... some more cow pics

Thought I'd pop in some more photos I took on the same day as previous post.

In this one, the other girls seem to be saying "take our photo too... we're just as pretty"! Oh and they are, so I did, got to keep them all contented.

Couldn't resist a final quick close-up of Loveheart though, before the others noticed!

Loveheart and Letterbox Cows

Isn't she lovely ... who couldn't love her!

... and of course these next two lovelies - no pasture required, just the occasional letter :D)

Have a beaut weekend, full of happiness and good cheer.

This week: Macros, Painting, Murder and Being a Papparazzi

Hi there, 

I hope the past week has been good to everyone.  

Took another bunch of macros the other day.
I pestered the life (not literally) out of a couple of bugs....

and the next photo is of a dash of sunlight on a bowl of mixed fruit which MD has soaking in his special brew in readiness for the Christmas cake and puddings he whips up.  Mmmmmm, all nice and sparkly and full of good cheer!

Here's a picture of the easel MD has made for me, and it's a beauty too.  Easily adjustable for whatever size painting I am doing.  Oh, it's so lovely to kick back and be free with the paints.  

The murder part of my title comes in the form of my friend Vicki Tyley's newest release.  

Those of you who have known me for some time, know that I just love a good mystery thriller... and that I like to share them.

Well, at the moment, if you have .99cents and an eBook (or it can even be downloaded in PDF or text format)... pop over to Vicki's blogspot and get yourself a good deal.  I'll revise that... get yourself a fantastic deal.  It's just the sort of thing, if you're a fan of mysteries, to tuck into your "must read" list for over the Christmas holidays!!

Oh yes, I know this is blatant advertising but, put it this way, I'd be glad of the heads up - if I didn't already know about it. (More about it on my Page "My Virtual Bookshelf")

[Just click on this image and it will take you to Vicki's spot}

Now these next photos are a bit naughty but, oh dear, I just could not resist. 

We were at one of our favourite spots, Metung, and lo and behold I look over and right beside us I see that brave young lass, Jessica Watson ... who  was the youngest girl to sail solo non-stop around the world 3 years ago.           

I so admired her and, at the time, faithfully followed her blog during her extraordinary feat.  

There she was, in the flesh, and without a please or thankyou I grabbed my camera and took the liberty of snapping off quite a few shots. How rude was I !!

To her credit, she couldn't help but know I was photographing her but she didn't mind.

I really regret not going over to meet her, but felt I'd kind of intruded enough.  

Here's a couple..

Thank you everyone who kindly takes the time to browse through this post.  

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, and I'll be popping over for a visit soon.

Cheers now :D)

Catchup

Hi there, I've been off having fun with paints (see sidebar for some of my dabblings), and photos of late.  

Now that I have new glasses and can actually see properly, have been indulging in some macro photography - oh my goodness, not enough hours in the day sometimes.  Of course, it would help if I got up earlier in the morning, but, there you go ;D)

Here's a little sprinkling of the macro.... 

Calistemon

Rose

Poor Fly in Cobweb

Have a bit more on another subject, so will do a second post.

Have a good week everyone. 

The Curlip {not just a pretty name}

On one of our recent visits to Metung recently,  I was busily collecting some shells to 're-locate' to my garden, when MD noticed some smoke out on the water....  

We realised it was the Paddle Steamer Curlip II.  She'd been in Lakes Entrance for some maintenance work and was taking her last trip through the lakes area before returning home to Marlo which is at the mouth of the Snowy River. 

Great excitement actually, so out came the camera.  A few shouts from the hill above from some kind fellow photographers and I climbed up to join them at a good vantage point - and so the clicking began. 

The steam just adds to the scene doesn't it.

  


It wasn't only humans who were interested to see the Curlip.....

Passing Shaving Point at Metung.  The same spot where we see dolphins and seals which I've managed to photograph occasionally.

She's turning in to Metung Jetty here...

Lots of people turned out to see her.  She created quite a stir.

Here's a bit of history of how she came to be.

The Paddle Steamer Curlip II is a replica of an historic paddle steamer of the Snowy River, in Far East Gippsland, Victoria.  
It was a community project and her construction utilised the traditional skills of wooden boat builders and thousands of hours of volunteer labour.  
Curlip II commenced operations in December 2008 and operates as a cruise vessel on the Snowy River estuary.

The original Paddle Steamer was built by Sam Richardson and his sons at their sawmill at Tabbara, a pioneering settlement on the Brodribb River, a tributary of the Snowy River.  The keel was laid on 14th October 1889 and PS Curlip was launched in 1890.  

The name "Curlip" is derived from the indigenous name for the area where Tabbara is located.
PS Curlip was registered in 1893 which entitled her to carry 25 passengers, and only 10 passengers when engaged in towage service.  Two children under 12 years of age were reckoned as one passenger.

PS Curlip towed five barges at a time, travelling up to 20km of the mouth to collect produce to be transferred to schooners near Marlo.  She towed vessels in and out through the Snowy River entrance and was also used for social functions such as Sunday School picnics.  She was the main means of transport for imports and exports on the Snowy River for almost 30 years.

The Curlip era ended abruptly on Friday 28th February 1919 when a flash flood carried her and 2 barges down river and out to sea where she washed ashore at Marlo and broke up.

Gone Fishing

Well, not really, but it fits with another cute letterbox we found on a recent drive:

Have an enjoyable day!

A grab bag of stuff...

Had a kindly nudge from Debbie over at Its All About Purple to do an update, and it was just what I needed to get me kick started again!

Ok, here goes - no mind blowing thoughts or huge decisions being made... just popping my hand into my grab bag of endless photos ...

Started out on a walk around the block last Saturday and passed
Mrs Goat who I'd just woken up.

Saw these pretties further up the road

Whew!  This was the last  uphill section ... (looking back on where I'd been).

On the downhill run now .... met up with this friendly pair who were all set for a pat or two.

... and, just before home, a cheeky little peek into a neighbour's yard.
I love her bush clothesline.
Felt quite virtuous after such a healthy walk!

Sunday, we went for a drive....

... and ended up at  Metung.
Look what we found frolicking in the water

For ages he splashed and dived.  It  was so hard to get a proper shot, but managed this one just by chance.

Right behind us was a Mumma Swan exercising  her new babies - this year's hatchings.

Someone else was out 'taking it easy' on Sunday too!

I took this shot a few months ago,  in the same area as these others at Metung.
That soft light of dusk is always a favourite time for me. 

Cheers for now  :D)

Deb's Scavenger Hunt - On the Shelf

Linking up with Deb's Scavenger Hunt - On the Shelf

My tea shelf - am into fruit teas at the moment, Mango Peach being the current favourite:


Then across to the pantry, where my assorted collection of Asian sauces live.  When I make a stir fry, in goes my hand and whichever 3 bottles I grab - that's it!

... down to the next shelf, where chaos reigns.  Looks messy but, would you believe, I know precisely where each condiment is in that basket... well, usually :D)

Thanks for the idea Deb.  There are lots of other shelves to be seen - pop over and have a look.

Cheers, and thanks for the visit :D)