Our days of living out of suitcases and backpacks are over. We left Whitemark, Flinders Island today at 0500 and caught the Strait Lady in Lady Barron. She gave us a very bumpy ride, during which I was airborne at least once, and Captain James decided to take cover in a sheltered harbor to give time for the wind to lighten and the seas to calm. We found the perfect harbor at Whitemark, two and a half hours after our first departure. Fine with me. We had coffee and I gathered ingredients to home brew a batch of stout since a kit had been left on the island.

Back to the boat and a lovely ride to Deal. We landed at 2:30, unloaded, said hi and goodbye to the departing caretakers headed up the hill to the house and unpacked our clothes and food for 3 months. Then we cooled off with a swim in the cove.

Deal is as beautiful as I remember. As I write this I hear the penguins making their penguin noises in their burrows. I’m heading to my own burrow now. Good night.

We got the word the boat leaves tomorrow at 0500 and We’ll be on it. The date was actually selected 6 months ago. We thought we might get an early break in the weather but it wasn’t meant to be.

We enjoyed a quiet day on Flinders Island. It’s early autumn and today is Labour day so most businesses were closed. Funny how our Labor day correlates with the first Monday in Fall.

We saw more beautiful views and I finally took a photo of sheep. What took me so long. It’s all been lovely but we’ve been in a state of suspended animation. Tomorrow the real Deal begins!

We’ll be quickly joined by a group of artists from Flinders Island for about a week, including at least one fiber artist. Should be fun.

We’re (thinking about) preparing for our next caretaker adventure, back to Deal Island, Tasmania. I’m glad I read this Wikipedia articleWe will be on the island during their fall, March-June, and it may not be as cold as I expected. It’s tempered by the sea and 40 mph winds that frequently buffet the island.

We’re definitely going but are a little lax in our preparations at this point. Qantas tells me there are about 40 days until we travel. I AM winding down at work, have arranged for Loki’s cat sitting and learned there’s no longer a butcher where we shopped in 2010. I kept my shopping list from last time. It’s an important list because we bring all our food for 3 months with us. No shopping in between. I’ll try to arrange for the bulk of my list by email with the market on Flinders Island, our staging point.

So my mind turns to food preparation. Last time, I kept a blog called 300 meals on a deserted island and will probably do the same again this time. It helps me remain creative with my food when I know every meal will have a photo shoot.

Here’s last night’s apple pie on the mainland of NY.