A Walk with Lunch

This past Thursday our walking group met here, at the Anchor, for our walk along Spanish Banks which form the southern foreshores of the Vancouver Inlet. After the long winter and a rather cold spring it was a beautiful warm day.

We enjoy this is the view across the harbour towards the North Shore mountains when we take this walk. Afterwards we were invited to lunch by one of the members of the group. We were very much looking forward to this as our friend is a very fine cook and in fact teaches at a local cooking school.

She lives in a townhouse with a small patio but manages to grow many of her own herbs to use in her cooking.

Well she does have some flowers too, lovely hydrangeas in containers.

Maybe real men don’t eat quiche but they are surely missing something, especially my friend’s quiche. It has the most amazing texture and she generously shared her secret with us.

It was accompanied by a simple salad and french bread.

Cheese and crackers followed along with grapes but the pièce de résistance
was the Pavlova Roll below

My friend is a New Zealander and of course both Australians and New Zealanders claim this dessert as their own creation. However the rolled version is slightly different in that the meringue is cooked for a shorter time, since it would be impossible to roll one which had been cooked to the crunchy stage. It is normally filled with whipped cream and fruit, whatever you like, but on this occasion raspberries were the deliciously tart fruit and hazelnuts had been sprinkled on the top to give some added crunch. Even though our servings were very generous we took slow small bites so as to savour every mouthful and make the delicious taste sensation last.

There is nothing better than a good walk on a wonderful day followed by a delicious lunch in the company of good friends.

 

Round round, I get around

Well, I have been slightly at a loss as to what to write about. JMB gave me an idea with her post about sailing, so I am posting on Second Life transport in general. I have included a few pics to make it more interesting…

The title? Well following JMB’s lyrical lead, “dock of the bay” I could have paid homage to 2PAC, but the Beach Boys won out, being more of a match. Otherwise I would have used Dragonette’s song of that title, one of my current favourites ^_^ maybe more me…

Getting about in SL can mostly be done by walking, running (if you are feeling energetic), flying and teleportation. To some extent other modes of transport are really for fun. Except when limitations are deliberately placed on regions for the sake of realism.

The ocean is a great resource for swimming, jet ski, sailing, lilos and blow up rings. These are great for beach parties. There are also places you can hang out to surf and scuba. They can be great fun. Here I am trying to look sexy by the ocean.

I have been on Tudor wooden sailing ships down at the docks, but only when they were docked.

Also there are balloons and airships from the small, one or two person things, to vast Zeppelin type blimps.

For a while JMB lived on a space station, believe it or not. So I have been on a space station, but I am not sure if that counts as a method of transport.

Up to now I mostly tended to hang out in more old fashioned sims. Mostly Tudor and medieval, low tech.

So I have a lovely horse to get about on when needed, also for fun. Up till now he has been all I really needed.

Those of you being observant will notice in the pic that though I am in a medieval sim with half timbered buildings I am dressed as a squaw. I had just got back and not had time to change. OK?

I have seen a horse drawn cart too and once got to ride a dragon.

Recently, for various reasons I have been mostly hanging out in a more modern urban environment. You can’t fly (except in a copter or something) and you can only tp if someone sends you one/invites you, you generally can’t do it on your own.

It is what you might call a “dodgy neighbourhood”. Now I can get to and fro to some extent on the bus and subway if I want to chance it.

Apart from police cruisers if people have their own transport it is mostly a “hog” or bike. I wanted to be able to get about and I didn’t quite see myself as a ‘biker’ I like my jeans sexy, maybe tailored, not covered in oil (for the moment anyway), so I went shopping…

I bought myself a cute Vespa scooter clone called a Vezpa. I have it in pink and I get about the city on it in (for example) waist high tailored blue jeans and a pink top with blue trim. I was aiming for cool european retro, I so love that outfit. I got a new hair do, shortish and black too.

I am learning how to handle the scooter, but I guess it is quite realistic in how it handles because it is more difficult to ride than some others I have tried. But I forked out around Linden$600 I had saved up so I am persisting. It came with a nice girly crash helmet.. and a coffee machine… so I can now have a virtual cappuccino.

Someone I know who built their own ( that is I must say easier to ride) said they could have done me one with my own paint job for that price. But by then I had spent the Linden$. Isn’t that always the way?

I have crashed it several times and went into the bay twice avoiding parked cars, once I almost lost it avoiding running over a hobo.

One time I had to swim for it when I lost it… and another I was rescued from the ocean by a nice guy ^_^ We went exploring the City after.

The other day I was visiting with someone from the City who right now has their home/business at a small airport outside the city. She has a Priv-Jet and I got to go for a ride in it. That was fun and it seemed quite realistic. I don’t know how it compares to flight sims that guys seem to love but I thought it was fun. I got to sit in the co-pilot’s seat.

And finally…

A gratuitous pic of me in skimpy cut down jeans looking for my scooter keys in the sand after a beach party… ^_^

 

Saturday Photo Hunt — Books

PhotoHunt

BOOK(S)

My post this week for Photo Hunt is not so much about books themselves but about where books are kept. Libraries. One of my favourite places in New York city is the New York Public Library. I have written about it before, even used these same photos but not for Photo Hunt.

I took this hasty shot of the magnificent reading room as we passed through on a tour. This is but one half of the famous main reading room, with a majestic 78 feet (23.8 m) wide by 297 feet (90.5 m) long, with 52 feet (15.8 m) high ceilings – lined with thousands of reference books on open shelves along the floor level and along the balcony; lit by massive windows and grand chandeliers; furnished with sturdy wood tables, comfortable chairs, and brass lamps.

Yes, there are books there on the shelves, but consistent with this day and age, knowledge is stored not only in books but also in computers and here is a room in the library where you can tap into that vast store of knowledge known at the internet.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE

 

Fort Denison — Keeping Sydney Safe?

I don’t know how many times I have passed Fort Denison while on a ferry journey in Sydney Harbour and never really thought much about it. This well known landmark in the harbour is a small island fortress, constructed of beautiful Sydney sandstone and the tides, which are a very important in Sydney, were always measured there and that was the extent of my knowledge of the place.

On our recent visit to Sydney we decided to make a visit to Fort Denison and take a tour of the Martello Tower. After a swift boat ride to the Fort, we met up with our guide, a Park Ranger from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services who have managed the Fort in recent years.

A closer look at the Martello tower

Originally the small island stood 25 metres high and it was used as a place of punishment in the early settlement and prisoners were confined there for a week with meagre rations. As a deterrent, in 1796 a murderer was hanged on a gibbet on the highest point of the island and the body left in place for four years.

After a scare in 1839, when 7 American vessels arrived unannounced in the harbour and it was obvious that the defences of the harbour were inadequate the island was leveled and turned into a gun battery but the British government refused to permit further defence works.

The barracks part of the fort. The beautiful sandstone is typical
of many Sydney buildings

At the outbreak of the Crimean War a review of the defence strategy resulted in a decision to build a fort on Pinchgut, as it was known. 8000 tons of sandstone were brought by barge to the island from the nearby shore and for the next twenty two years the construction of the Martello tower, gun battery and barracks took place.

The circular Martello tower, named so after a similar one used so successfully in the defence of Mortello Bay in Corsica, was one of 200 built around the world. At the bottom of the tower the walls are 4 metres thick and it consists of three levels with the powder kept on the lower, storage in the centre and the three cannons, one eight-inch, one ten-inch and one twelve-inch, were installed in the gun room on the upper level. The three cannons were actually lifted into place and the walls built around them so there they remain today although in actual fact they were obsolete by the time the fort was completed in 1857. The battery itself held nine 32 pounder guns.

The cannons still in place inside the tower

Initially the fort was manned by a volunteer force and Tuesday was practice day for all the forts which had been constructed in the harbour. It took ten men to fire each gun, and in the limited space of the tower only one could be fired at a time. A well trained team took 1.5 minutes to complete a firing and the range was one mile. The cannons on Fort Denison were never fired except in practice.

The one o’clock gun is to the right in this photo of the battery

For a time the British Royal Artillery manned the fort with a garrison of 2 officers and 44 soldiers but by 1870 Fort Denison was no longer a military installation. Later it became a place to measure the tide levels and a navigation aid with an electric fog bell, a navigation light and a gun fired at 1pm for the ships to set their clocks. The one o’clock gun is still fired to this day, albeit electronically since 1986, but now it is just a grand tradition.

The only vegetation on Fort Denison, besides grass is
this fig tree which seems quite healthy if rather small

During the Second World War the Fort was manned again by a military force and Japanese submarines did get into the inner harbour. The USS Chicago fired upon a Japanese submarine however they missed and hit the Martello tower.

As you can see, it would have been difficult to manoevre in this small space
when firing the guns

We found it both an interesting place to visit and the view from the tower was spectacular. Sitting in the cafe which now operates on the island we had a great view of both the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, a triangle of the three icons of Sydney Harbour.

 

Gone Fishing!

Not really. Hardly my thing at all.

But I do seem to be rather busy these days with this and that and thus a little neglectful of this blog and my blogging friends.

Recently I have taken on several administrative positions in organizations I belong to and every now and again they demand a lot of attention for a period of time.

The latest of these is Treasurer of the Faculty Women’s Club and although I held this position for three years previously and had no qualms about doing it again, the recent transition period was more problematic than it should have been. The previous treasurer did not hand over everything before she left on a trip and I was dealing with the bank regarding signature changes on the account without much current information. We also held a major fund raising event in the middle of all this so I had a lot of cash and cheques to be deposited and a statement to generate.

But all is well now and I think I have covered all the bases for the moment. The amazing thing is that when you are retired you make such a big deal of these things, whereas when you are working you just add them to your to-do list and fit them all in. When I was working fulltime I was the treasurer of another organization for some years and it never phased me in the least.

Well I am sure it will all be fine, fine, fine and I’ll be back soon with places I’ve been, things I’ve done and books I’ve read.

 

Saturday Photo Hunt — Plastic

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PLASTIC

I just noticed that this is my 105th post for Saturday Photo Hunt (which I of course do on Friday, just to confuse you all). May I offer a big thank you to tnchick who started this all in March 2006 and hosts it faithfully week after week.

I remembered we have had this theme before so I am using not the exact same photo but one I took at the same time.

We are very big recyclers of used plastic in Vancouver but recently I read that maybe we should not feel so virtuous about it. In fact it is not really such a green thing to do after all and it certainly does not reduce our carbon footprints.

We take our recycling to the depot or it is collected. At the recycling facility it is sorted and cleaned using various machines, then maybe shipped off to China to be further treated and then shipped somewhere else to be manufactured into something else and finally back to North America to be sold again. All this involves the use of vast quantities of fossil fuel and electricity, contributing to carbon emissions.

It seems there is always a good side and a bad one to everything we do, even recycling our plastic. Sigh.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE

 

Rottnest Island — Perth’s Little Jewel

My friend from Perth spoke often of Rottnest Island when she was on sabbatical here in Vancouver last year, so when we went to visit them recently, a visit there was mandatory.

Located a mere 18 km from Perth, this tiny island, a mere 1900 hectares, can be reached by 30 to 45 minute ferry ride on the Rottnest Express or by private boat. Beloved by locals, it also attracts interstate and international visitors, in all around 500,000 each year. Private vehicles are not allowed on the island which is a nature preserve and you can travel its roads on the public bus, popping on and off at various points as you will, or via bicycle which you can hire.

A typical bay with crystal clear beautiful waters, rocky outcrops and scrubby greenery.

There is limited accommodation on Rottnest Island, with one hotel and a lodge, along with various furnished cabins, heritage cottages, bungalows, some of which have spectacular ocean views. There is also some accommodation for backpackers and other places where you can pitch a tent if you desire. So popular is Rottnest as a getaway destination, it is necessary to book a year ahead and during school vacation and public holiday times, accommodation is allocated by ballot.

This area is known as the Basin with a view of Bathurst Lighthouse, one of two on the island

I don’t think I have seen more beautiful colours than those of the waters around Rottnest as we travelled via the bus, making several stops at some of the many bays and coves around this tiny island. It’s a very popular place for snorkelling and scuba diving, swarming with fish and marine wildlife and most of the activities centre around the ocean. It is quite a barren place really with several large naturally occuring salt lakes in the centre.

Ospreys or sea hawks breed on Rottnest Island during the summer months and here we see one on the very unique nests they build. These nests are a large heap of sticks, driftwood and seaweed usually built in forks of trees, rocky outcrops, utility poles or offshore islets. There are around 15 of these nests on Rottnest and some have been in use for more than 70 years. Click to enlarge for a slightly better view.

Another typical Rottnest Island bay where we stopped to eat lunch and enjoy the view

My friend went for a paddle and inspected one of the huge offshore boulders while the two men went off across the rocks to see what was around the corner.

Apparently there can be snakes lurking in these rocky outcrops so you have to be beware of them. Ugh, I have always hated snakes, since I was a child, although fortunately they mostly get out of your way.

This little creature is a quokka, a small herbivorous marsupial which exists in large number on the island, although rare in nature in general and found only in the small islands around Perth. It is rather like a tiny kangaroo or wallaby and has no fear of humans, who are forbidden to handle the small animals in any way, with threat of a very large fine.

All in all, it was a splendid day, both weather wise and as an occasion for we truly enjoyed the charms of this island getaway. It was wonderful to visit this spot about which we had heard so much previously from our friends who have spent many happy occasions on Perth’s little jewel.

 

My Life as a Model

Actually this is referring to Second Life of course. Miss Moggs mentioned in her post that I was a model for hats and I thought you might like to see the photo in question. I took it to submit to a Flickr group called Hatpins. The owner of the store saw it, framed it and put it on the wall in her store. Click to enlarge if you wish.

As you know by now, I am very fond of hats and this lady, Miss Reghan Straaf, creates the most gorgeous hats in Second Life. I have a very large collection of her hats in my inventory and without further ado may I present Miss Balogh, suitably outfited for a time gone by.

 

What it says on the tin

This post owes it’s existence to one at Zaftig. So hat tip there.

Her post got me thinking about how people think about others what they perceive, their expectations and how they judge others.

At the extreme I guess it probably slides into prejudice and racism.

Her post was about Susan Boyle. For those of you who don’t know, she is an entrant into a UK TV talent show. She does not have star looks but quite a good voice, enough to stand out amid the other talents on display.

The contrast in, I guess, what people expected, to her actual performance makes her noteworthy.

Not quite what Ruthie was getting at, but what I am posting about.

I have even seen Ads that play on the same thing, people’s expectations and perceptions. These Ads were clever in that they presented the apparent expectation and then showed that the situation was opposite to what was expected. Maybe they made people a tiny bit less likely to just assume too.

Put bluntly, why should it be so staggering that Susan Boyle can sing? Or.. Who knows? Maybe paint great art! Or any number of things. How you look is not all that relevant concerning how well you sing.

Or maybe that a blonde should actually be smart instead of dumb. Or an older guy going thin on top and grey can be warm, perceptive, witty and captivate a girl’s attention. Or a plain girl on the tubby side be fun and sexy, know fashion and be great company? A guy do ballet, a girl in the marines? A bright black child who wants to study and get on in the inner city…

They may all be, but how often does it get noticed when people have preconceptions about who can do what? Expectations of others can hold people back sometimes too.

How many other Susan Boyles are there out there quietly getting on who no one expects to be able to sing? Or who get a chance? How many other talking horses out there?

That is one thing I do like about Second Life. Ha! You just knew I would have to mention it eventually, I mostly avoided it the last few posts. ^_^

I remember, ages ago now it seems, I was chatting with JMB and telling her about a guy in SL and how I liked him. Well you discuss the pitfalls of the internet and such… Anyway she pointed out he could be a ninety year old for all I knew.

I thought about it and realised even if he was… well he wasn’t too, or it was not relevant.

Most of my close friends in SL are young and cute/beautiful. They can be so they are. In fact in sl it is difficult not to be. (If you judge by appearances in sl at all it is more based on how convincingly realistic someone looks.)

They are generally kind, considerate, thoughtful, mature, protective even, yet with a sense of fun, adventure, humour and a lively imagination. Good company. That’s what they are consistently like every experience I have of them confirms it.

That is what they are like inside, be they 19, or 90, whatever they look like, and I realised I didn’t need, or even care, to know about him or any of my other SL friends.

To be honest I have real difficulty imagining/seeing JMB as past retirement age. Intellectually I know she is, but not really she isn’t, to me. She is feisty and striking enough for shots of her to be put in a gallery to model hats.

SL lets us all be Hollywood beautiful, only our imagination limits what we can be. We can dress as we please. Even be another species, or maybe a clockwork robot. When that can happen it is more important what a person is like inside.

Maybe we ought to let a little of that leak over into RL?

 

Saturday Photo Hunt — Painted

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PAINTED

For some years my son has wanted to buy a hand carved painted Haida cedar mask but he did not seem to be able to make up his mind among the large number of choices for sale in this part of the world. I did not have that trouble when I went into the gift shop at the Vancouver Museum, looking for a birthday present for him. There was only one. I liked it, so I bought it for him.

Luckily he liked it too.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE