Time for Presents

We gave two presents to our good freind Kenneth who also doubles as our cleaner. A new pair of bathers (swimmers, togs, bathing costume, speedos . . . etc). They're Aussiebum Indestructibles, perfect for training. I also printed him a T-shirt; it says ‘I love my cleaner’. & we do.



Unwrapping the bathers.



Checking out the t-shirt.

Triathlon - December 16

The triathlon I took part in at West Lakes on December 16 consisted of a 600m swim, a 19.5km bike ride and a 4km run. I completed it in 1:10:11, which was 35 seconds faster than last time over the same distance. I came 21st out of 26 for my age group, 203rd out of the 254 competitors who did the Challenge, I was 148th in the swim, 201st in the run and 208th in the ride. If I only did as well in the run and ride as in the swim, I’d move up a few places. I’m working on it , but then again, so is everyone else!



All the stuff I need to do a triathlon. I set it out the night before just to make sure I had everything.



First triathlon in my new Tri-suit. No more hassles getting a tank top over a wet body to set out on the ride. The suit was a bargain too - it was 50% off - they were getting rid of the last of the range to bring in a new brand.



Exiting the swim.



Starting the ride.



Graham on the run. More likely to be a grimace than a smile.



Terry finishing.



The ‘competition’.

Ken Turns 50

Ken celebrated his 50th birthday at the Murray Bridge Golf Club on December 16. Hayley, over from Melbourne and Leigh, Ken’s kids both gave speeches and a cake was cut.



Leigh, Hayley, Ken



The Schiller family minus one brother; Harvey, David, Ken, Mum



Ken, Mum, Leigh and Hayley



An incendiary moment; sparklers instead of candles



David & Hayley



The ‘other’ Schillers. Aunty Gladys and her family.

In the Kitchen

David has been as busy as ever in the kitchen. Rarely is there a night when a gourmet treat does not emanate from within its slow cooker, ovens, cook tops and microwaves.


Here he is attacking the onions.


Whiting, pan seared with white gazpacho, pickled watermelon rind and watermelon foam


Smoked fish, kipfler potato and mustard seed timbale served with Tat Soi, virgin olive oil and accompanied by a rustic tomato red onion and cucumber salad.

Me and the Buoys

After the tirathlon I decided to take a self portrait with the big red buoys that were on the shoreline. I propped the camera on my hat on the ledge near the beach, set the self timer, ran to where I thought would be a good spot and waited. I did this twice and one of the pictures worked out pretty well.

& here it is.



On Flickr, the photosharing website and online community I appear to be addicted to, I belong to a group that uses Photoshop to transform other people's pictures. It's called Pimp My Pixels. I had done a few pictures myself using Photoshop to tranform a few people's pictures. So I decided to put a picture of me up to be re-mixed. I used the above photo.

The photo was transformed by five Photoshoppers in total. The best one being the one done by US resident Terry, Here it is below.

Triathlon November 25

I competed in the first triathlon of the season on Sunday, November 25. I competed (well . . . I was there) in the Challenge race which consisted of a 600m swim, a 19.5km ride and a 4km run. The swim was good as they've bought new buoys, they're big, tringular, red and easy to see - so that really helped. I did the triathlon in 1 hour and 10 minutes and 46 seconds. I came 191 out of the 231 competitiors who took part in the challenge race and I was 19th out of the 22 40-44 year old age category. Not a spectacular result as the conditions were absolutely perfect and I had done the same distance in 1 hour 7 previoulsy. But I suppose it was an okay outcome for the first one of the season,

Also taking part were some members of the swimming squad who I train with Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at Norwood. They included Graham, Terry, Kay and Penny. Another of the swimming squad, Andrew, did his first triathon ever and completed it in 1 hour 3 minutes! Hmmm . . .

David took the photos below.

(There are more triathlon photos on my Flickr page. Clicking on any of these pictures will take you there. You can see photos in larger sizes there as well.)


Number 953. Set to go.


Setting off in the swim. I don't have a wetsuit so I have to 'brave' the West Lake's sometimes cool waters. Most people seem to think that a wetsuit gives you a minute or two advantage in the water.


Swim over, off to find the bike.


On the bike. I'd like to say I rode really fast . . .


On the run . . . well jog . . .


Crossing the finishing line.


Terry, Penny, Kay, Graham, Harvey

Whipped into Shape

As the triathlon season was just around the corner I decided stern measures were needed to ensure that I didn't sink in the swim, crash on the bike ride or crumple on the run. To this end I divided myself up to better make use of the time. This is what was happening at the chateau a month or so ago.