And there goes my computer screen on it side, I am serious, flipped over 90% to the left. Tried checking it out like that for a few mins but thats no fun after 5 mins, imagine trying to read like that you'd only get a stiff neck. Dear Husband tried a few things but he's advice was turn the Monitor on it's side Yeh right! That only changed all the blues to red, not good.
Well then I got this brain wave and asked google what to do with the screen, expecting no answer. But up comes the answer press Ctrl & Alt and Arrow up at the same time. So if ever that happens to you, you now know what to do.

Now what's happening at your place this weekend, anything interesting?

Neal and Elize are coming for the weekend from Brisbane, flying in tomorrow. The blond one (daughter) and Elize are both Zumba instructors and they attending an Expo or something. Neal my helper is probably expecting his Mom to have some project waiting for him, but I haven't. Bet his just come for his Mom's good cooking too. So I better go bake a Banana loaf and tomorrow I want to bake an upside down pineapple cake.I add a few pics of it after I baked it.

Enjoy the weekend
Rina

Trail Bay Goal

Next we off to view the Trail Bay Goal near South West Rocks ... there's a bit of restoration going on so could not get a really nice pic except with scaffolding everywhere in front of the main entrance. We paid our entry fee which I dare say goes to pay that nice bloke working on the granite walls. First we heading off to watch a short introductionary film (15min) Just grab yourself a Cornetto (ice cream cone with vanilla covered in chocolate) to munch on while we watching the film.



The outbreak of fighting in Europe in August 1914 immediately brought Australia into the ‘Great War’. Within one week of the declaration of war all German subjects in Australia were declared ‘enemy aliens’ and were required to report and notify the Government of their address. In February 1915, enemy aliens were interned either voluntarily or on an enforced basis.




In New South Wales the principal place of internment was the Holsworthy Military Camp where between 4,000 and 5,000 men were detained. Women and children of German and Austrian descent detained by the British in Asia were interned at Bourke and later Molonglo near Canberra. Former gaols were also used. Men were interned at Berrima gaol (constructed 1840s) and Trial Bay gaol (constructed 1889). The internees at Trial Bay Gaol created their own management committees that organised entertainment, sport, culture and arts activities.




The Trial Bay Internees Collection is integral to the fabric of the Trial Bay Gaol heritage site and provides the distinctive character of the place. Its primary significance lies in its relationship to the themes of wartime internment experience, racial antagonism, Australia’s fear of subversion and strict adherence to Britain’s wartime foreign policies. The Collection interprets the story and provides evidence of the experience of the German internee’s life at Trial Bay, the attitudes of the German internees to the war and internment and their relationships to other German communities in NSW both interred and free. The camp newspaper Welt am Montag produced by the internees gave a running commentary of politics, the local German perspective on the progress of the war and an insight to the conditions and grievances of life at the camp. The models and dolls’ furniture the internees made reflect the strong sense of community, boredom and hobbies and activities to fill in time, and a longing for families and children symbolised by care invested in the children’s toys made for Christmas presents



The most important historical site in the area is the Trial Bay Gaol (it is located to the east of the small settlement of Arakoon) which has a museum as well as beautifully preserved ruins. It is under the control of the National Parks and Wildlife Service who have maintained it in superb condition. There is a self guiding brochure available which leads the visitor through the points of interest.



The prison was built between 1877 and 1886 to house 'good conduct' prisoners. It was built out of grey granite which was quarried on the site and is characterised by its hexagonal structure with three cell blocks actually radiating from the main entrance. Its primary purpose at this time was to house cheap labour to help with the construction of a 1.6 km breakwater around the bay. The project was not completed and the prison closed in 1903. In fact in 1903 the breakwater had only reached a little over 300 metres and a storm that year reduced it to little more than a pile of rubble.




Imagine baking bread for the whole camp in this oven. Pic below is taken from inside the Mess hall, looking out, a bit like being inside a cell locked up.



It was reopened in 1915 and used to intern Germans during World War 1. The anti German feeling at the time had led to the rounding up of innocent Germans. Although life was hardly pleasant the Germans established their own band, turned part of the gaol into a tennis court and one visitor described the nights as being more like a pleasant beer hall than a prison.



There is a monument to all the Germans who died while interned at Trial Bay. It is signposted and is located on the cliffs to the east of the prison. The prison was closed permanently in 1917 and the movable parts of the building were auctioned off in 1922.

Trial Bay Gaol is open from 9.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. For more information contact (02) 6566 6168.













The above cell block is small and very dark, esp for the problem inmates!! There are names scratched into the decaying walls, could they be of prisoners?



I found this video of a young family visiting the Goal on YTube, I have no idea who they are, but I hope they don't mind me adding it to this post. The little one is so cute.



There are no winners in wars!
Until nexttime
Rina

Smoky Cape Lighthouse

Smoky Cape was named by Captain Cook on May 13th 1770 as he sailed north on the Endeavour.

At noom we were ... about three or four leagues from the land .. a point or headland on which were seen fires that caused a great quantity of snoke which occasioned my giving it the name Smoky Cape



These were the fires of the Dunghutti Aboriginal people who had been living in the coastal environment, walking these beaches and headlands for thousands of years. Actual contact with European people was not until 1816, when a sailing ship was wrecked in Trail Bay.



Smoky Cape was the last lighthouse designed by the colonist architect James Barnett. Messers Oakes and Co, won the tender to construct the tower, associated buildings, lightkeepers residences, coach house and stables and work began in 1880. The lighthouse was completed in 1891 at a cost of 18,000 pounds and first lit on the 15th April 1891.



Today Smoky Cape is still a functioning Lighthouse, and the entire complex is listed on the Commonwealth Heritage List. (Great view to the beaches below.)





Coastal Banksias ... Banksia integrifolia


The Coast Banksia occurs frequently along the coast from Melbourne to northern Queensland.

Its distinctive white under-leaf, as well as growing healthily in coastal sand dunes and headlands gives it away.

The Coast Banksia's yellow spikes (flowers) appear in Autumn and Winter.



A sneaky view over the fence with it's double pink hibuscus in bloom


Would you like to stay at this Bed and Breakfast with a view over the ocean?
www.smokycapelighthouse.com




There are a few walks you can do if you so wish. Or just have a picnic or BBQ and relax.



Hope you enjoyed the tour with us.
Thank you for coming along Until tomorrow when we visit Trail Bay Goal
See ya ... kind regards your tour guide.

Rina
(PS what a great camera person she is too)

We Back from the farm

Well we back, a day early to beat the holiday traffic cause every man and his dog normally decide to take off to the country or holiday destination as soon as a long weekend is mentioned. Yesterday we woke to a very overcast day and even before 11am it started to drizzling lightly. We did not attend the local Anzac Memorial Service, but from our veranda we heard the Bugle player and The Australian Anthem. Remembering our Troops that died so long ago. Wreaths layed at the foot of the memorial Stone at the foot of the lone pine tree.

By then we had started packing up and locking the shipping containers, making sure all tools are put away until the next time. 3 months of grass and weeds where a nightmare to deal with, first cutting it down and then raking it up and carting it to the grasscutting compost area ....then running the mower over the grass again to tidy it up. Do you know why farmer's friends (blackjacks) are called that, cause they stick to you like nobody's bussiness. More work than play but we did manage to take a few hours off on route to picking up some roof trusses at our friend Scott's home in South West Rocks ... Smoky Cape Lighthouse and Historic Trail Bay Gaol ... again I took so many good pics to show you, needing 2 posts to do it.



This pic was taken about 2am, on one of my midnight strolls, just wished I could have got closer but it flew after the flash went off. It's a Tawny frog mouth.

But first we had a few night visitors I would like to show you, unfortunately Daisy was very spooked by them, normally she would sleep under the caravan but this time she slept on a carpet next to the BBQ on the veranda.I left lights on to detor the wildlife ...






99% sure this is a female possum cause of the poach on the tummy or maybe not?



This smaller possum dating up the tree caused the most trouble, scaring poor Daisy when it jumped on a crate that was not balansing properly, crate falling on Daisy. Who took off into the dark around the caravan. Possum peeking down from the top of the caravan. That sure woke us up!

Lavender Cottage has been started finally ... George's steelframe which was going to be a shed thingy(on the pic with the owl) has now turned into a small cottage. the steel frame has been removed and the walls of the cottage will be made of timber. The steel frames for the floor have remained which is great cause termites don't like steel, they have been painted with rust protecting paint ... the painter woman's job ... and by the time we left yesterday we had 1 1/2 walls up. This project will need to be done over the next few weeks and our next trip is already planned. Lucky we have a lot of the materials already on site just waiting .....

Please come back tomorrow for Smokey Cape Lighthouse
Until nexttime
Rina

Going to the farm Sonday ...

I wanna be a hermit, with my dog, cats, chooks and sheep for company Oh nearly forgot the old man, he better come with. I need someone to drive me crazy ... Rina

LOL Yeh We off to the farm for 8 days can't wait. We leave Sonday morning real early and should be there by 11 ish. (6hr drive)We been invited to a BBQ on Saturday otherwise we would have left Friday. Daisy gets to ride in the canopy as usual just need to remember to take a lead this time, she is quite the attraction on the road. People drive past doing a double take when they see a white goat in the back. Lasttime we had 11 sheep in the trailer as well and we got caught in road works (that was fun)They could have come along for the feed but the rideon needs to go up too. We haven't been there since Dec holidays and I am sure it looks wild and overgrown.











So I will see you lovely folk when we come back. in the meantime I leave you with theses pics I took Dec of the farm.
Until nexttime
Rina

Recycle recycle ...

Sonday turned out to be a beautiful sunny day here in Sydney, we got up early with intentions of getting a heap of work done around the place. The wheel barrow's wheel was bunkled and made a heck of a racket when you pushed it. We had bought two new wheels at the hardware store the day before (without measuring them of cause) and yep you guessed it they did not fit. Never mind we think of another project for them later, George hates returning things. He panelbeated the old wheel and now it's as good as new.


Rat lending a paw ....


Then we tackled the builder wheelbarrow that I resued from the skip at work, first getting the boys at work to remove the bin part. I cleaned all the mortor off with a anglegrinder (dusty job) sanded the wood handles, and painted them.
The metal parts got cleaned up with the anglegrinder too and then painted them with kill rust paint.That's as far I had got. George then removed the rest of the bolts that I struggled with. We found some old weathered pieces of hardword, and sanded that back with the angled grinder, taking off the grey weathered layer leaving it like new timber underneath. Cut them to size and skrewed them onto the handles. And then gave them 2 coats of varnish. It is a little heavy but a bale of hay on top on the veranda should look good as a backdrop to some pumpkins or other display.



This has been a great week for finds on the curb. Just happened to drive past and saw a water tank, those nice new ones you find at Bunnings atm, well it was broken. All I needed was the top bit anyway, stopped and loaded it in. Today I cut the bottom bit off and filled it up with soil. The tap on the tank was working well so that will get fitted on another 200lt barrel I had that needed a tap of some sorts.






Remember the 1/2 45gallon drum, here are my beans growing in them, I picked the first of them this afternoon. Fresh from the garden yum.
It's been a long day, time for a shower and bed, work tomorrow
Until nexttime
Rina

Remi our adopted pony

What do I know about horses and ponies, nothing to be honest. But My kids were sent off to holiday camps and there they got to experience the whole horse thing. They mucked out the stables and brushed and feed them, and learnt to ride. And I played Mom's Taxi to the riding school but it was Dad's hard earned money that paid for it all. My kids never did pony club cause we just had to many other activities.

Tanya still rides occasionally. But it's her job to keep check on Remi.

Remi used to live with the ram next door (our landlord's ram)and he was considered to be a lawnmower. But the ram used to headbutt poor Remi till we stepped in and removed him to our side of the farm. Now he get brushed, wormed, and even gets a pedicure. Today he got real lucky and had a visit from the vet dentist to file his teeth. (I wish I was here to take a photo or two but some people have to work for a living) I had no idea you filed a horses teeth! Vet checked his choppers and he had an absese and broken tooth which had to be removed, that must have be causing him so discomfort for sure. Tanya says the smell was real bad!! Next he needs a vaccine or two and wormer, and the ferrier needs to trim his hooves again.

I don't even get a pedicure but Remi does ... that will be right.

Tanya so wanted get 'n few donkeys from the rescue 'n donkey place but Remi will have to do for now. They have such a long lifespan, so it is just another cost I could do without atm. Our paddocks can't sustain any more animals so it is just going to cost me feeds and more medical expenses. Have you ever considered rescueing a donkey?

Until nexttime

Rina

Forgotten Blogs

Now how is it possible to forget such wonderful blog! I have the day off today and instead of going back to bed after George left for work this morning (4.30am), I made myself a cup of coffee and sat down infront of the computer. Did a quick check on the regular stuff, then clicked on favorites, scrolled down and rediscovered all these lovely blogs waiting to be read. I choose a few I would love to share with you, so hop on over and take a look.

Sunflowers in the veggie patch, it does brighten it up a bit.


But first I would love you to click on What flower are you at the top of my blog, and take the quiz too. I do love sunflowers so yeh I am a sunflower. Just check out all my clutter! Now do you believe me......




Bact to the blogs I love you to check out

http://www.joyfulhomemaker.blogspot.com/

http://www.keepersofthepast.blogspot.com/

http://www.farmchickskitchen.blogspot.com/

http://www.theolddairy.blogspot.com/

http://www.thepaintedgarden.blogspot.com/

Sure you will enjoy reading them, it's been lovely catching up on them.
until nexttime
Rina

Another Roast Lamb dinner tonight and the freezer.

I need to go shoping, cant find anything decent to cook in the freezer except another roast.

What I should be doing is going through the freezer drawers and sorting it out properly. We had a small lamb roast with the trimmings lastnight for dinner, no dessert, I lie we had a slice of Banana bread with coffee. I love baking B/Bread with overripe bananas. Right now the house is smelling of lamb roasting with garlic and fresh rosemary from my garden and ground peppercorns. I cleaned 3 whole onions, 2 large potatoes, carrots and roasted wedges of Jap pumpkin with a little cinnamon sugar .... anyone hungry yet?

While Mom and Dad were working Miss Daisy had a little shut eye on the solar panels, they better not take them to the farm yet, cause it my favorite place to catch a nap.

Nelson's not to sure what this thing is yet! but atleast Mom & Dad cleaned up the yard. Poor boy, can't even go show off my nice buns to the girls next door, and I was having such fun before I got dragged back here.

Today was real productive, we nearly completed another sheep shed, only got to find somemore scrap wood to enclose one more side (back), put up some beams to support the roofing, and screw down the roof. Hang the gates. Getting ready for the lambs again. The old bath I would like to move next to the shed to catch the water runoff. Saving carting water from the nearest tap.

Well that's it for today

See ya

Rina

P.s. Welcome to all our new followers lately, we love you popping in and visiting with us. Please leave a comment so we can chat.