Sunday scribblings "Thank You Speech"

G'Day,
This weeks Sunday Scribblings prompt asks us who we are grateful to and what has made us the us we are today.
I went to the hair dressers today and I have stripey hair. Hahaha. While I was sitting waiting for the changes to be finished and to see what it would look like I was thinking about the prompt and my mind went in this direction. I guess it is a direction in which I have traveled before in my blog, but here goes anyway.
I reckon the thing that we should be most grateful for, which gives us everything we need and has given birth to all of the animals and plants that were ever made is our great Mother Earth. She is why we are here, not some idol or some scientist or even another being of the same species, Mother Earth. We are she and she is us. Everything we have, are, and are able to make comes from her. She has been here longer than anything else we have and will be here long after we as a species are gone. She feeds us, she shelters us, she builds us and knocks us down again when it is our time to make room for the new. We are just a tiny tiny speck of dust in the universe, and our lives are due to her magical survival and renewal. Just a part of the big picture and her cycles. The cycles of birth and death. The cycle of heat and cold and water and fire that is essential to our being. It all comes from her.
I find it shocking that our species can be so destructive to our mother and to each other. But I also hate that at the moment the alternatives to those things that are so destructive to our planet have no viable alternatives to them that are within the costs of everyday people to access. We do have solar power and wind power and others, they are being developed but are not in common use due to their costs at the present. Another issue here is the backing of big businesses on the traditional sources of the power that we use. This is holding back alternate methods of power production that we depend on now days for our survival, as the money that these companies make from the power that we now use is vital to their survival, and it is not in their financial interest to move away from them. For example,we all know the trouble our present dependence has caused with our use of oil in the world today.
So in the meantime please excuse us silly people who choose to wander off and smell the flowers and revel in the other species that inhabit this planet and marvel at our planet's beauty, instead of going to one of the many churches and worshiping one of the myriad of gods. Made in our image, made by man to control our behavior as a society. I am not knocking that because I believe our society stems from being able to live together and love each other to get along and that is what religion tries to teach us. It is all part of the cycle.
(Desiderata) I just looked up a bit of history on that . Do you remember that was put to music a few decades ago.
"You are a child of the universe, No less than the sea or the stars you have a right to be free etc,etc, "or something like that.... Each to his own beliefs.
But I choose to worship Mother Earth. Our maker.
Thank You Mother Earth.
We are trying, we really are.
Bye for now.
Love Linda.

Sunday scribblings "Letter"

G'Day,
This Sunday scribblings post is bought to you by the letter "L"'
Both my christian name and my married surname start with the letter L. It was quite a big joke for Peter and I before we were married that my name would rhyme so funnily. We even made up silly rhyming names for the kids, plane lander, olli lander, lap lander, are some that I remember laughing about. Thankfully (i am sure the kids would agree) we never did use them Hahaha. One of my old friends had a little son who loved the sound of my rhyming name and used to turn it into a little tune when he said it. There is also things like our little old caravan, the name on the front of it is Overlander, then we could tow it with a Landrover( if we had one).
So anyway, this is a piece of silliness I have made up trying use lots of letter L words. Just humor me and pretend it rhymes. I know it doesn't.

The Lazy Lizard Lounge

Lenny watched the ladies at the lazy lizard lounge.
There was Liza, Lily Lee and Layla Thistledown.
Leanne, Lou Lou and Leticia, out on the town.
Lumpy legged Linda was dancing round the floor
Legs a leaping, arms akimbo,
laughing at them all, then spun madly out the door.

Louis watched as Lorrie sang him
lilting lyrics on the stage
Looking, listening, loving , leering
He made sure when she was finished
he'd not let her get away.

Lenny watched Lila lick her luscious lacquered lips.
She knew that he was watching, swayed her leopard legging-ed hips.
Alike, each loath to leave alone, loving without laws.
Len led Lila lightly around the lizard's floor
Then lithely, unopposed,
steered her deftly out the door.

Little Lucy on the left, leaning with her beer.
Lashes lowered, leaking eyes, little face a sneer.
Looked at Lenny's lecherousness and Lenny knew she saw.
Lucy lost her Lenny.
Lenny wasn't worth the cost.
Lila would learn the hard way before too much time was lost.

************

Yes I know I am not a poet and it did not rhyme, and it broke all the rules. I am not that smart that I follow them. I wanted to tell a story.
I had a picture in my mind as I was playing with this of a sleazy pick up club. I know there are lots of Lennys out there and lots of Lilas and Lucys. There always will be sadly. Songs and movies and books find them a regular subject, and I love people watching and day dreams. Lenny will most probably be left out in the cold, alone and find his age against him one day, then scratch his head and say,"Women are too much trouble anyway. Oh why me, what did I ever do wrong?" Or better still have his heart broken by his match mate, another Lila. Nasty aren't I?
Lila will outgrow her lust eventually, and find herself alone as well. Realize she played too many games with too many people and it is too late.
Lucy will probably snatch up the first bloke who comes along that treats her reasonably well and stick to him no matter what. Then put up with all sorts of shit for the sake of love. Or will she grow hard and close the door on love?
That is all.
Bye.
Love Linda.

My Week

G'Day,
I am bored. It is cold. Sunday is at an end and I am waiting for the SS prompt to be written up so I can write to that. Here in oz we often do not get the prompt until Monday.
Pete has worked all weekend and as the school holidays have just finished my income was a bit down last week and there is no extra money to go anywhere.
My son had a friend stay for the weekend so I stayed discretely out of their way and now he has gone out with some other people to the movies.
I am Bored. So bored. I am on my 5th cup of tea for the day and have taken a small handful of ginger biscuits to accompany it. How bored am I .
I ate 2 bits of toast with apricot jam for breakfast, the last of what was made from my own apricot tree when I lived in Junee, some left over rice for lunch with a mushroom chopped up and some bacon thrown in and 2 nashi pears. I am bored. Bored.
I have spent the weekend by myself in front of this silly machine and had the little heater blowing on my legs under the table. I am bored.
Done the dishes, cleaned the kitchen,took out the rubbish, hung a load of washing on the clothes hoist inside as it looks to be clouding over. I am bored. Bored. Bored.
Hmmm ginger biscuits are good, gone, bored.
Visited most of the blogging people I know today.
During the week;
Monday I got to stay home and clean my own house.2 toilets.
Tuesday I cleaned Marg's house, then the schools. 54 toilets.
Wednesday back to the office refurbish then the schools in the afternoon and evening. 52 toilets.
Thursday as for Wednesday.57 toilets. Fun Fun Fun. I said I clean toilets for a living didn't I?
Friday the aches and pains (feet, ankles, knees, neck and lower back) got the better of me and I could hardly stand my own weight on my legs , the normal paracetamol and dencorub not making any difference to it. I rested in bed until mid morning then went out to get some groceries. Came home still hurting badly, took some stronger pain killers and went back to bed until I had to do the schools again. 52 toilets. Lol.
Dear hairy son helps me when I hurt too much by doing some of the mopping when he is finished his part of the work.
Whatever had upset my back and legs, now seems to be relaxing as they are not as sore and I got through Friday's afternoon shift with a lot less pain. The pain starts up again as soon as I stop moving though. It had been building up for a while and I was expecting that my knees would collapse at any moment with just one wrong move as they have done before. When that happens it takes a couple of weeks for the pain to get better. But I seem to have avoided that so far this time, touch wood, she says as she touches her head. Hehehe.
Maybe someone is watching out for me and giving me this boring weekend for a reason.
C'mon there has gotta be some positive here somewhere.
I will be so glad when the cold goes away and my pains lessen with it and I can feel strong again.
We are now over the hump and the days are becoming a few minutes longer as we slowly creep closer to spring.
Well what a whinging bloody post that was.
There are buds on the narcissus in the front yard now. The Erica by the front door is flowering despite the stiff frozen morning frosts we experience at this time of the year. Next weekend, all being well, I think I will prune the roses.
My puddy cat Boo is sitting beside me again on the desk as I play on the puter. I guess with the heater blowing underneath us and me here to give her cuddles she finds it a nice spot to be.

Last weekend Pete and I went to the recently opened national portrait gallery here in Canberra. Pretty impressive. I followed one of the freebie tour guides around. Some very impressive and famous( known in Australia) artworks are in there. My favorite one was of Deborah Mailman. She is a beautiful young Koorie actress. The painting is quite a large one and painted on used hessian wool bags which will unfortunately disintergrate over time, but the portrait is wonderful.
It will soon be time for Pete to come home from work.... around 7.45 I am guessing. Then he will eat tea, chicken drumsticks, I haven't decided what I will do with them yet. He will eat tea, go to sleep on the lounge then wander off to bed. I am bored.
Bye for now.
Love Linda.

Sunday Scribblings "Source"

G'Day All,
I hope you are all enjoying what the universe has dealt you today without too many worries. That is all we can do eh?
This weeks prompt word for Sunday scribblings is "Source".
I had today off work as it is the first day of the 3rd school term here, and the first day back is always a teachers planning and preparation day. Tomorrow I go back to cleaning the schools I do. Plus deal with the associated aches and pains doing same at this time of year provides.
*************
Source.

Muuuum,!
Mum?
Mum where is the source?

It is on the table.

No, No it's not I already looked.

Well, look in the pantry cupboard

Mum I can't see it!

Try the fridge.

Mum I can't find it!!!!!!

Well..... move a few things aside, it has got to be there.
Big sigh.
Oh, give me a look.
There, there it is.
Right under your nose.

*****************

The picture above is the source or the sauce.
Pop's tomato sauce. Made at farm 98, Yoogali.
Yoogali is a little village just outside Griffith in New South Wales. Which is my mother's old hometown and birthplace. It is a fruit and vege growing area. Now known for its wine making as well.
It is the best source/sauce and the only one I buy from preference. The best thing since sliced bread.
****************
I just had a frustrating exchange, similar to the above bit of silliness with my dear hairy son. Ever since we got a new computer a few weeks ago I have not been able to do my usual stuff in here with the ease that I used to do. I now have to go through umpteen dozen different steps to display one simple photo with the new program thingies. Ugh! I don't understand and I can't remember so many steps at a time.
He understands the puter, I understands the kitchen or the source.
A frustrating little generational gap. My Mum, my son and me. All depending on each other in different ways.
Family. The source.
That is all this time.
Bye.
Love Linda.

Sunday Scribblings "Video Prompt"

G'day,
It is Sunday Scribblings time again. This week we were asked to watch a video and talk about someone who inspires us.
This past few weeks have seen a big upheaval of our leading government party. The Labor party. Our prime minister Kevin Rudd was pushed out of his leading position and the position was taken over by this country's very first woman Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. I have been watching her for a while and thinking how she was a strong and very smart woman.
I am not so much of a political follower but events of late have held my interest more than is usual of me, despite now living in our nation's capital city and just a few kilometers down the road from the lodge, the prime minister's residence, and parliament house. I drive past them every day.
I really felt for our previous Prime Minister and the way the take over was handled, he was devastated and media on the day enjoyed the picnic. I was quite annoyed with his so called colleagues for treating him that way.
My usual comment with politics is "let's sit back and watch what happens now".
So for better or worse Australia has a woman Prime Minister for the first time in it's history. We also have a woman Governor General. Being a woman myself that is something to be proud of in a world where my gender fellows are often down trodden and left behind isn't it.
Anyway.... After watching that video my first thoughts on it were of parenting girls.
It seems that the methods used now days are moving forwards at last.
We are lifting up our girls, giving them strength and courage and confidence to move into a brave new society that is not exclusively run by our menfolk.
We are no longer expected to stay at home and raise the babies and stay quiet while we do it.
In Australia today Mums go outside the home to work rather than struggle to stay home and budget on one wage, assuming they have a partner, There is as well, the prestige of a well paid and significant job as opposed to being a stay at home Mum.
I have worked outside the home for the past 20 years, while my children were growing up. My eldest son was 8 when I went back to work, my second boy was 6 and my daughter was 18 months old. It was not an easy thing to do, but I think it was even harder to not have the money that I bought into the home. And luckily I had the cherished love of my parents to help me care for my children before and after school and during school holidays which is something that is declining for today's working mothers because grandparents are very often still in the workforce or not living close to their grandchildren. I remember a time when new clothes for myself were completely out of the question and every piece of clothing I bought had to be paid off on lay-by when the kids were little. My confidence level was low so I did not try to do further study and step out of the mold I had placed myself in I have therefore always worked in fairly menial types of jobs and still do.
Whether the changes with working mothers is a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen I guess. I can see pro's and cons to it. But I hope the way things are headed is a positive thing which results in more confident women who in their working lives are unafraid to step up and do it all. To stand beside their male counterparts and be equal to them in the workforce and at home. Moving forward, onwards and upwards.
Our daughters are watching us and learning from us and doing things that were never dreamed of a few decades ago. GO GIRLS. Do not forget your sons though. Hehehe.
I am quite proud of my daughter's achievements. She is in her last year of a psychology degree. She has earned many credits and distinctions in her exams for her efforts. She is a strong, quirky, individual little character who loves a fight and is not afraid to dump the flotsam and jetsam that comes her way if it is not what she needs. She is a compact little package of things that I have been afraid to be. Cool eh!

*******************************

Today I had a job to do. I cleaned a very nice apartment in the city that one of the embassy staff here in Canberra were vacating. I have not been paid for it yet but I will get nearly a whole weeks pay for one days work. It took me all day, I did it all by myself. I don't usually work on the weekends but this one was too good to pass up. So i am tired and my feet and knees are stiff tonight, no matter I will get over it. The man there gave me a new computer chair he didn't want to take with him, plus a royal Albert vase so that was an extra bonus. I was very fussy as I was told that it had to be done to a high quality that's why it took so long, I hope it is good enough.
Tonight when I went over to Sunday Scribblings to see what the prompt for this week was there were only a few people who had their writing entries in.
I clicked on one of my favorite writers to see what he had to say to this prompt and came across my name. Grizz had written about me! Wow, I am so privileged. I don't think anyone has ever thought of me as worthy of that sort of compliment before. Thanks so much Grizz, you bought a tear to my tired old eyes.
Bye for now.
Love Linda.

Sunday Scribblings, "Me"

G'day,
My Sunday Scribblings entry this week is late because I couldn't get into my blog to write. For some stupid reason it has decided that it won't accept my password, three out of the last four times I have tried to get into it.. Ahhhh! frustration!
My dear hairy son, who understands such things as computers has helped me tonight so I can come back and annoy you all. Ti's good? No?
Males would think that the prompt word for S.S. this week was spot on for a woman. What woman does not like to talk about themselves. Hahaha. I think it is a good one because hopefully I can say a little about what makes me tick and maybe see a little of the same from you.
Last weekend Peter and I went to Sydney for the weekend for a change of scenery.
Sydney is a big town, with beautiful natural scenery and mad, as mad as a busy city can be if you are not used to such things, but it is a good place to visit...... So to tie "me " into this.
When I was 10 years old my Mum, Dad, sister and I moved to Sydney from Darwin, and lived in a flat on the border of Waverly and Bronte. My dad was a soldier in the Australian army for most of his working life and we moved around the country every two to two and a half years.
In Darwin I bloomed. I hunted tadpoles, bugs, fish, geckos, and shells. I played in the rain and made friends and ate buckets of juicy Mangoes on the front steps with the hose running in my swimming costume to wash away the mess. I lived in my swimmers.
In Sydney I lived within a 5 minute walk from Bronte Beach, about the same from Tamarrama Beach and 20 minutes walk from Bondi beach. In those days kids could wander around a bit more freely than they are allowed to do now days. So I explored the parks and museums and climbed the sandstone cliffs , explored the rock platforms and beaches in my local area.
These first 3 pictures where my playground, the park behind Bronte beach, revisited last weekend. They have changed somewhat in that time. But they are still there, 40 years later. This is the park where my school went to play sports it's just the same, we didn't have a big playground and what was there then was covered in asphalt. From what I could see of the same school on Sunday when I drove past, there are now buildings over where the playground was then. I was slow and clumsy at all sports. I remember one day my class was playing a game of softball here. The other kids knew that if they hit the ball in my direction I would never catch it and they could run the bases and get home. One day I actually caught the ball and stunned everyone.
The nastursiums are still growing wildly up and down the slopes in the park behind Bronte beach. I loved to pick big bunches of them to take home to give to my Mum. Landcare people were in the park on the weekend trying to restore the native bushland, indigenous to the area, which means they will be gone soon I guess. Progress.
The mini train was still running in never ending circles near the beach, Mums and Dads more excited about it than the children riding on it. We had fish and chips for lunch there.
The ocean pool and rock pool where I used to poke at blue ringed octopus with my bare fingers is just the same.
The big banksia tree I used to climb that hung out over the park sideways was gone. Probably toppled over, or maybe that small tree, in almost the same area was the same one, and I grew bigger. The rocks we named after ourselves which sat midstream in the creek and were good fun to climb on are gone too. They are replaced by a stone work lined drain.
First pic above, is looking towards the beach area.
This little waterfall is at the top end of the park, I used to get tadpoles from here, and at the back of this was a big cement pipe that I could stand upright in and we used to yell into to hear the echo, if you went inside the pipe it lead to the bottom of a big block of flats up the top.
This is the park behind Bronte beach again, leading away from the beach. My old play ground.
A beautiful place that molded me in my continuing love of nature and environment. I love that children are so adaptable and can find an adventure to play where ever they live.
I always loved the wonderful sandstone in the cliffs around Sydney. This is honeycombed sandstone along the walkway above the ocean pool at Bronte beach.
The pic above is a bit gray looking as it is mid winter, but it was taken on the upper walkway above the ocean pool at Bronte. In the early 70's when I lived here I remember a huge storm where the waves were breaking over this walkway. The little jetty that used to be at La Perouse disappeared in that storm also I think.
Pete and I visited the Gap which is east of the city on South Head (the southern entrance to Sydney harbor). This picture is a view of the city in the distance from there. My Dad worked at South head base before he went away to Vietnam while we stayed in Sydney. Pretty place isn't it. We walked around the cliff tops on the walking tracks that are there now. The Gap is quite an infamous spot due to many people over the years choosing to end their lives, jumping from the high sheer cliff tops.
On Sunday morning we went for a drive around the eastern suburbs. This tree is a Morten Bay fig. I loved the way it wound and twisted along, clinging to the rock face in the park there.
This is the view from the kiosk at Neilsen's park where we had breakfast. I had a pot of tea and raisin bread toast. Very nice. I wonder what the poor people were doing for their Sunday breakfasts. Hahaha. Across the harbor in this picture you can see middle head. Until recently it was a military area closed to the public. You can go in there for tours now and see the tunnels and gun placements that were built in the early days of the colony and during the war to protect Sydney harbour.Dad took us there years ago for a look and it was fascinating but wet, dark, smelly and spooky, long before it was open to the public.
On Saturday afternoon Pete and I went for a ride on the ferry across to Manly. This is Circular quay where the ferries leave from, with the city sky scape in the sunset behind it.
From the ferry you get a wonderful view of the opera house. The Sydney harbor bridge is affectionately known as the big coat hanger.
This is the big coat hanger in the late afternoon winter sun, taken from the ferry.
Fort Denison, nicknamed pinch gut by the convicts that were imprisoned there in the early days of the colony. In the harbor surrounded by water and sharks they were fed very little, hence the name. Now it can be hired for parties and tours and is used for weather forecasts and harbor navigation. Behind that you can see garden island, the navy depot, prime real estate.
Silver gulls were following the ferry away from the wharf on the way back from Manly. Someone on the upper deck was throwing chips to them. I took this pic from the lower deck. A chip landed on my head as I was trying to take the picture so you can guess what I though had happened to me. Hahaha. Manly beach and wharf is lined with Norfolk pines, that is them you can see in the back ground. A lady I know in blog land lives in America and said she has one of these in a pot that she was given as a christmas tree. She was wondering if she should plant it out in her garden, if she sees this I am sure she will change her mind they grow absolutely huge, not a garden tree at all.
Peter and I warming ourselves at Fairy Bower , Manly beach on Saturday afternoon and squinting in the sun. Yes there are real fairies here, fairy penguins, recently renamed little penguins for the sake of political correctness. What rubbish!
Rock Platform at fairy bower, Manly.
Manly ocean beach on a cold sunny Sydney winters afternoon. Yes people were swimming, many without wet suits. The water temp is warmer than the air temp at this time of year. Not much surf but that does not stop them getting out with their boards either.
A closer picture of the Opera house. I remember going here for a school excursion when I first started high school and it wasn't finished being built yet. Not long after it opened my Dad got tickets and took us all to a concert there. There was audience participation, so...Yes I have sung in the Sydney opera house. hahaha.
The bridge again looking across from the walkway above Circular Quay towards the rocks and the overseas terminal. One day when i get rich....I want to be in one of the hotels overlooking the harbor on new year's eve when the fire works go off. One day.
So... that is a bit about my formative years spent in Sydney. I lived there for 2 years the first time, then we were posted to Singapore for 18 months then back to Sydney to live in exactly the same flat we had been in before, until Dad retired and we moved back to Wagga when I was 16.
I wandered about Sydney with an amount of freedom that is not available at the same age to today's children. I think that is a bit sad. I always learned best by doing and not being told. Mistakes are made and learned from that way. I learned about people, to be cautious, to explore, to take charge of myself and situations.
Hmmm. There is lots about me.
And I will never, never tire of being a tourist in my very own home land. Lots and lots more to see and love and learn right here yet. This earth runs through my blood.
That's all Folks.
Love Linda.
Bye.

Bye bye Apollo.

G'Day,
Yesterday was a strange day. I went to a car yard to have yet another look at the cars and compare prices etc because I have been saying for quite a while now that my dear old Apollo is getting old and she won't last much longer , I need to replace her. I had a look around and took a car for a test drive. It was a cute little thing and just what I was looking for. I was scared to sign my name on the bit of paper, but.....I did it. I did it. Scared and excited at the same time. Scared because it involved having a loan that would need to be paid back over 5 years. Not a lot of money as far as cars go but a lot of money for me. I have a cooling off period of 3 days but I know I won't change my mind.
Today and even yesterday afternoon I have been sad because I love my old Apollo. She has taken me safely through 8 years of driving adventures. Up hill and down dale. Right up north as far as Brisbane and way down south into Victoria. She has been with me through lots of happy times and sad times too and somehow this little inanimate object has a part of my heart. I have given her more status than a bit of metal, she has a life. The car sales man has given me just $1000 for her, well I guess that is not too bad. I well and truly got my moneys worth out of her. Last few times I took her to the garage the mechanic told me the total of the repairs needed to keep her young and beautiful, but they were more than what she was worth in value. You see she is 16 years old now. The salesman said they might not resell her but she might get crushed and recycled. Oh.... my dear little Apollo.
Apollo is that Greek bloke who had wings on his heels, well my Apollo has been true to him, she has given me that. Wings on my heels. That first picture is her. Taken today, during our last weekend adventure. We drove east to Bungendore then around the back roads to Captains Flat, and back home through Queanbeyan. A very pretty drive. When we got home we unloaded all my female bits and bods from inside her. The brushes and hair bits, the note pads and numerous pens, the map books and little memory things like shells and stones, watch, panadol, gaviscon, air freshener, mats and seat covers. And...from the boot, my clay and pottery tools and undergalze paints and brushes and picnic basket and towels and sunhat and , and, and. I am going to miss her. She was my shopping trolley, my workhorse, my entertainment, my chariot.
My new car is 4 years old, a little silver Honda Jazz. Should be good, I will have to train her to take me on adventures like Apollo did. Her name will be Jazz.
My first car had a name too, she was April, because I bought her on April Fool's Day, she was a Cortina Consul, an imported pommy. My uncle found her for me on a farm with chooks roosting in her and cleaned her up for me. I got her when I was 17 and she was 16, I sold her when my first son was born, because we needed something better. Hahaha. I could tell you some funny stories of my adventures with her.
O.K. the rest of the pics in this post have been taken over the past 3 weeks.The one above is behind my sister Thelma's place at Morriset which is between Gosford and Newcastle. Pretty isn't it. I spent the June long weekend there with her.
This (photo above)was taken today on my last drive with my Apollo. Between Captain's flat and Queanbeyan.
Pelican feeding at The Entrance. I had to hold the camera up above people's heads because that was the only way I could see around them all. Enlarge and look at the awe on the little boys face with the Bini on his head.
This is the same place. This pretty fellow was a bit braver than the others and decided to work the crowd to see if they had any tidbits for him. He got some tiny fish from the helpers for his trouble.
He is a spectacled pelican. Aussie penguins are the biggest ones in the world and have a huge wingspan, the elastic pouch under his beak can hold 13 litres of water.
I went on a tour of the lighthouse at Norah head while my sister was volunteering downstairs. This is on the roof of the first part of the lighthouse.
Looking down the staircase inside the lighthouse. There were 3 or 4 landings on the way up. The red tint is from a colored window. Lighthouses have a red light and a green light on the other side as well as the big one on the top. This one is fully automated, there are only a couple of the 400 and something lighthouses around the coast of Australia who still have a light house keeper running them. There were 60 something ship wrecks on the rocks below this lighthouse before the lighthouse was built in the early part of last century. I think the numbers above the door said it was built in 1903. Yeah, I am not good with numbers or memory or.....something.
Looking up at the lighthouse from the rock platform on the beach. Sorry about the shadow, it was very windy, that is my sleeve.
Pretty rolled pebbles and shells on the beach at Norah head.
Thelma and Rex. He was cold and much happier to travel in her handbag and stay warm than brave all those feet. He is a very little doggie. He loved the beach. As far as we knew it was his first time on the beach and he ran and ran, kicking up the sand loving it. He was worn out.
This is a wonderful set of related sculptures in the centre of a rose garden in The Hunter Valley Gardens, at Pokolbin, which is close to the town of Cessnock. Very very worth the visit if you are in the area. There is a plaque a bit further on in explanation. More children are added to the group as they are born. I love this. The first time I went there there were only a few children sculptures now there are quite a lot.
Expressions Of Love. The grandparents are the owners of the gardens.

Painting Grandpa.


Garden art. Hunter Valley Gardens.
The walled garden. Same place.
Man made waterfall. Hunter Valley Gardens again.
Landscaped stream up the top of the waterfall. Just the sort of place I couldn't have resisted taking my shoes off and getting into when I was a child. I would have absolutely had to do that, .....how many years ago?
Roses in big iron float bowl. See even the most lovely of gardens have aphids.
Rose float bowl at the pavilion on top of the waterfall showing reflections. This is a popular spot for weddings.
Iron Lion.
Moi. Old duck behind the bushes. I won 6 wine tasting coupons from facebook, freebies are always good. I only managed to use 2 of them though, I am not much of a drinker. Hahaha. Cheers!
Love Linda.