The case of the imploding window

So we came home last night after meeting up with the mob and the kitchen patio door window was shattered?! What is really weird about it is that is appears that no one was trying to get in, as they clearly could have once the window was broken AND the outside screen was untouched.... It looks like an impact but then nothing (like a brick or stone) outside either! The table against the window is just there to fool you, as I had put that there earlier.

One of those times I was glad we were renting so we could just call the real estate and tell them and they arranged for the glass guy to come out and replace it, for a not so small fee! So all good now, but fear we may never solve the case :)

Nudibranchs are everywhere

Well they are on my dives anyway,  although that may be because I do seem to be a bit obsessed with them lately, especially as I am concentrating on more macro photography and they do make willing models who don't move around too much. Except for this guy who was floating all over the place in the surge, as I was out just on the outside of the reef at Mettams Pool. So I managed to catch him(gently of course) and get him (her?) into a more sheltered spot.

For those of you that haven't read my other ramblings or not had the pleasure of diving, Nudibranchs are fascinating slug-like creatures with the frills being their lungs on the outside (hence the name) that come in all kinds of colours and textures. Typically found more in tropical waters, you can still find a lot of different species (or class, phylum...) in the Perth waters as I've already found more than are listed in the books for this area!

Also, discovered that when you have a weight in your camera housing, you need to fix it down somehow or it can end up right in front of the screen and prevent you from seeing what you are photographing for most of the dive..... Doh! Oh well, you live and learn hey :o)

House countdown time

So just had final view of the house and all looks good, although don't think she actually cleaned it since we viewed it! But all things checked out and just want to get in now and start making it feel like our own. I did see what Janice was talking about with the kitchen and especially the cooker, that will need replacing sooner than later.

So just over a week to go.....

A year in, that went fast....

Only a few weeks ago was our one year anniversary of arriving in Perth! Hard to believe in some ways but then we have been pretty busy...

Speaking of which we had a great camping weekend two weeks ago with Marc, Claire and Eavie up in Yanchep. Even if it was "freezing", as it must have hit about 9 degrees, that's right, less than double digits in the temperature range for the first time in about 8 months :) Was a good, relaxing weekend with some early morning fishing, which Marc was successful with and I just got soaked by the waves as we were on the rocks (not the best idea in hindsight).

Then got a proper dive in with my underwater housing only last weekend while J was off for a walk with Erin. I just went to Ammunition Jetty, which is a small jetty down in Coogee. Has some great life all over the pylons, so works well as a place to hang out underwater and get some macro shots. As you can see I still need some work with the housing but it was good fun and with clearer conditions on a "proper" dive it should give some good results.

Red Bull Air Race

Not having seen the air race live before we took to the south shore of the river with Marc, Claire and Eavie and the other 20,000 people just last sunday. It was a surprisingly hot day compared to the cooler weather we have been having, so good to find some shade under a tree to enjoy our picnic.

We had a good view as the course is actually quite small, probably only spread over 1/2km square in the river and so the planes really do pull some hard G's on the turns... And took my tripod for the camera which I hadn't used in a while to get some good actions shots!

Our Easter "Staycation"

We had a chance to get away up to Jurien Bay with Marc and Claire and some others but weren't really up for it, so stayed around Perth with the other 10% people left and had a good 4 day "staycation".....my favourite new word as we "stayed around for our vacation"! I know, either very cool or a total loser, I'll let you decide?!?

We actually got out on a few local trips, biking around John Forest national park and down at the beaches on the boards. Although we didn't end up diving which was a shame, mostly because I wanted to test out my new underwater housing. After years of looking for a housing for my Lumix FZ7 I found out about the ewa-marine housings, which are basically heavy duty plastic bags with a screw seal and fixed glass port. So with some birthday money (thanks Mum and David) I decided to go for it and got one ready to try out this weekend. So with no diving in sight I resorted to throwing myself into the surf with it to test out the waterproof abilities and "fingers crossed" not ruin my camera! All good news and even though the viz was terrible (obviously in the surf zone at the beach) I was able to prove it didn't leak and took some interesting photos of the brighton beach seaweed.

The house all still a go as the seller got her finance approved, so just waiting on our finance now which we expect to get in the next week or so! Janice already on her 10th kitchen design, so will be interesting to see what we end up with....

The second most stressful day of my life

So after looking at lots of places to buy at various areas around Perth we have had an offer accepted (just waiting on finance - so 95% there!). Was a tad stressed on saturday actually signing the contract and committing to a bucket of cash for a long time..... I know everyone else does it, but didn't help my strange head.

It's in a good area called Yokine, just over the east side of the freeway. So further from the beaches but in reality only about 15 mins drive, so still easy to get to.

Fingers crossed it all goes through over the next couple of weeks :)

My black haired diving wife

Yes, Janice all of sudden decided to go for black hair instead of darker brown. Secretly to hide some of those pesky grey ones that have started creeping in lately.

As you can see she was thrilled for me to take a photo to show off the new hair colour...
[ooops Janice saw the picture and made me remove it.....]

But more exciting is that I finally decided to buy the second dive tank which is useful for boat dives and so we could get out on a dive together. So with an easterly wind blowing to give some calm conditions we got up and headed to Hillary's to dive off the wall towards "boy in a boat" reef. After lugging the gear up and down the rocks we got in and had a fun relaxed dive and although the viz was not so good we did find some cool nudibranchs (yes, I am obsessed with them) AND THEN I saw a piece of seaweed floating along before realising it was actually a weedy seadragon!!!! Very cool as they are pretty rare in the grand scheme of things and tough to spot, looking like seaweed. They are amazing creatures and just float along with the surge. Unfortunately my new camera housing hasn't arrived so no photos..... so you'll just have to believe me, or ask Janice. So when I get that housing you can bet I'll be hanging around there again hoping to see another one.

The house hunting begins...

And I forgot the mention in the last post that we have got the pre-approval for the mortgage, so the house hunting begins in earnest. Which translates to Janice looking feverishly and me kind of getting into while I try and cope with the fact that I finally have to pay "how much!!" for the rest of my life..... until I win the lottery or get eaten by a shark anyway.

We would like to keep the lifestyle we have currently so are desperately looking in and around the north-west beaches areas, which doesn't give us a huge option for house options, but as they always say "location, location, location" is where it's at.

So watch this space...

When the Mother comes to town

Not been very busy with my blog entries over the last month, in part due to being out and about as Mum and David have been over for approx the past 2 weeks. Had a great time going off on the odd day trip and giving them the tour of the west coast Perth metro beaches so they could appreciate the everyday life in Perth.

A trip to Rottnest was very relaxing as we chose well going midweek, just after the long weekend so avoiding the hordes and it had been 38 degrees the day before too, no thanks. Went to a few different spots on the island too including the lighthouse at the highest point of the island which gives you a great 360 view.

And of course a trip to Rottnest is not complete without a beer at the hotel at the end of the day while waiting for the ferry! Note the Pipsqueak cider in the background which Janice got Mum into as her new summery refreshing drink, much to David's delight.

Then we took off north for the weekend to Jurien Bay and to see the Pinnacles (it had been a while since we had done some fun tourist trips). Definitely impressive if you go for sunset as the light and shadows really make the landscape "pop-out" for those of us sad photograhic people who are into that kind of thing.