Maybe in Oz

Phil and I took a photography walk class last weekend to learn how to use the manual settings on our SLR cameras.  We spent enough on the camera that we might as well learn how to use it properly.  Plus I wanted to figure out how to take low light and night shots before we go see the volcano in Vanuatu.  Plus Phil's mom was looking for a birthday present idea (thanks!) So Saturday afternoon we set out across the bay to Williamstown.  We first learned about the three basics (shutter speed, f-stop, and ISO) and how to adjust them on our specific cameras.  Then we took a test picture using some basic settings.  From there we learned how to adjust each setting to get the lighting right.  Here's how it went- test picture with basic setting minor adjustment to settings starting to get somewhere here add a cloud filter, and there it is! one of my favourites keep it classy Australia!

I had never heard of Pancake Day before living here, Fat Tuesday yes, but Pancake Day?  So I had to look it up.  And then we had to have pancakes for dinner! What is Pancake Day? Pancake Day ( also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the last day before the period which Christians call  Lent . It is traditional on this day to eat pancakes.  Why are Pancakes eaten on Shrove Tuesday? Lent  is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent. Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent. When is Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day)? Shrove Tuesday is celebrated the day before  Ash Wednesday  and is therefore the final day before the commencement of  Lent , a Christian festival leading up to  Easter Sunday  (Easter Day). Shrove Tuesday always falls  47 days before  East...

Irondog and Ironman getting ready for the race Way too early this morning we set off across the bay for the Geelong half ironman.  By now we've been through more than a few races, but this one is so far the most memorable.  Phil has been training really hard in preparation for the Melbourne Ironman next month, and so he was excited to see if the training is paying off.  He turned in a personal best swim time of 46 minutes for ~2000 meters and was very happy going into the bike leg.  I watched him start off on the bike, and he made it about 50 meters before he pulled over and had to change a flat tire.  No big deal, a few minutes later he was up and going again. Maybe and I found a spot where we could watch the athletes finish their first bike lap and start their second.  I figured he would do the bike leg in about three hours, and so an hour and a half in I kept a close eye out for his striking blue spandex getup.  Twenty minutes later he rolls...

We set off on another pinterest-inspired adventure today, this time to see the Pinnacles and Cape Woolamai.  Cape Woolamai is on Phillip Island, a place we have been to dozens of times now but every time we go we find another hidden gem to check out. Phil set off on his bike and I was to meet him at the brewery for lunch.  Unfortunately he got a flat tire and so I met him on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere instead.  He consoled himself with a local pale ale while I excitedly tried out the sparkling taster paddle. After our lunch we headed down to Cape Woolamai and started the hike along the beach.  There are some stairs that took us up on top of the cliff, and from there it was about 2k to the Pinnacles with some incredible views along the way.  The Pinnacles turned out to be a neat red rock formation surrounded by crashing waves of turquoise water.  Very pretty and worth the short hike. The original plan was to end the day with the Me...

Ignorance is bliss.  For the first twenty-nine years of my life I truly believed that Thin Mint girl scout cookies were the best cookie ever.  Every February I would eagerly wait for my yearly box.  Yes, just one box (that's the Catholic in me - self-sacrifice is next to godliness).  But turns out I just didn't know any better. When I first moved here a year and a half ago I had my first mint slice.  Delicious biscuits with mint cream, covered in Arnott's REAL CHOCOLATE, or so the package says.  They are truly wonderful, and best of all you can buy them all year long.  The other great thing about them is they have no calories!  What the heck is a kJ of food anyway? Phil's mom is bringing us a few of our favourite girl scout cookies when she visits, so I decided it was time to finish off the package of thin mints that his sister brought last year.  Yes, I know, such restrain.  Restraint is also next to godliness.  I ate one and w...