Oh boy boy..... It's Woy Woy

So today I have composed a little ditty about some of the cities in the Central Coast region of NSW where I have been staying for the last few weeks...  I have an idea for a tune also... it is just a fun look at the names of some ofthe places around here...

The Central Coastal Blues

Now have you heard the news I've got the Central Coastal blues
Cause I can't seem to find my way around these towns
All the roads they lead to beaches
and let me tell you 'bout those beaches
I gotta tale for every one that I've walked down

Well I started off in Woy Woy 
and there I met a lovely boy boy, 
when I asked his name he told me it was Roy
So I asked Why Why oh Roy Boy 
do you have to live in Woy Woy and he said "cause I like Soy on my dim sims"

Then walking down the beach I met a suave Italian man
who said he wasn't looking for an 'a mean a' girl
When I  said I think you mean Umina?  
he whispered softly in my ear  "No no I don' mina , I really don' a mina at all"

 
And so I guess you've heard the news
Yes it the Central Coastal Blues
The blues as blue as the deep blue sea
Yes those are the only, the only blues for me




Well next down in Patonga 
I met a guy he played the congo's 
and the way he used his 'Tounga" whilst dancing to the conga :-) Oh! so divine
so I sat in my saronga
wearing two different kinds of Thonga's 
Singing Songa's in Patonga all night longa
 
And I tried to get along when I went to Ettalong
but the boys were kinda wrapped up in the surf

and when I went 'rocking' down at Pearl
I found a guy his name was Earl, he took me for a ride, then hit the turps

Now I have been down to Avoca where my feet I did a soaka
but I'm yet to make the trip to Terrigal..
and I've heard down at The Entrance that if you throw a fish or twenty that the pelicans might flap and dance a wiggle

 So now you've heard my story, I am sure that you can see
That the Central Coastal Blues wont get me down
cause I will keep on driving, jiving, walking, and let those beaches do the talking 
til I've found the perfect place to lay my towel

And I will travel back to Melbourne with a multitude of memories 
made from my Central Coastal  run around...:-)

 

 
 

Poetry - cathartic to the heart?

Tonight I was reading back on some old journal entries... found a poem that I wrote in June 2010... thought I would share- it is untitled


How do I tell how I am feeling when I don't even know myself
When I feel like I am hanging from the ceiling with a thread of my love holding me here

I am strong yet so easily broken
I scream but the words go unspoken
I dream but reality takes control
I'm still young yet I feel so very old

And the Winter, the Winter is so cold, so so very cold.

And as the ice envelops me
I wonder when will the Spring arrive
will my love still be alive

In my car I drive, my soul in shreds
Lost, wandering aimlessly, searching blindly
The sun shines but I feel no heat in my frozen heart

I have lost the fire, where is the desire
The passion that burned, the heart that yearned

I've grown, I've lived,
I've seen how it really is
Is this all there really is
I always thought there'd be more

Did I lose my soul waiting for you?
Did I spend so long hoping that I forgot who I was?
Was I blinded by the belief that I could be the one?
Should I have said goodbye that first time I saw you?


Hmmm, telling... when I consider where my life is now leading me...

Learning happens everywhere... teaching the skills of editing at home.

Well, yesterday I posted my instructional photo guide to the assembly of a line trimmer.

Today I was showing it to a friend and noticed a few errors in my text. (Oops!) I made it my mission to go home and edit my blog post.

I was about to do this when it suddenly hit me! This was a perfect opportunity to offer my seven year old daughter the chance to be involved in an authentic learning task.

So I approached her and requested her help with the correction of my blog post.  At first she seemed a little reluctant (maybe it sounded too much like school). I explained that I valued her opinion and would like her to read my post and edit it for me. I suggested that we do it together. She liked this idea.

We grabbed a sheet of paper to write down our editorial notes and corrections.

We went through each step together and read the post. We checked for spelling mistakes, formatting mistakes and semantic errors (Does it make sense?).  My daughter wrote down the changes we needed to make. As we progressed we shortened the process so that she did not have to write as much. We talked about how she could just write 8 instead of step 8 because they are her notes and she will be the only one using them. We discussed how she can use different shortcuts to save herself from writing everything out in full.

After we completed the editing process we then logged into the blog and I guided her through the process of making the necessary changes to correct the post. She then clicked publish and viewed the finished post.

I think that sometimes we forget that there are many opportunities for us to show our children that the skills they are learning at school also come in handy in the 'real' world. I am trying to take up more opportunities like this when I remember. :-)   Anyway that is it for today... until next time...

Bit by bit putting it together... a guide to assembling a whipper snipper (otherwise known as a Line Trimmer)

Yesterday I bought myself an Ozito cordless Line Trimmer from Bunnings Warehouse.

Today I decided to make a step by step photo guide to putting it together out of the box... Hopefully it will help some others of you out there. The instruction manual for this model is quite good but it always helps to know what to expect.. ie. is something a bit tough to snap into place etc.

So lets begin....
Step 1.  Open the box and look inside

Step two: Take out all of the pieces and ensure that you have all the parts required before starting:

You should have: 1 x folded line trimmer, 1x Batter charger, 1 x ion lithium battery, 1 x black secondary handle, 1 x mounting bracket, 1 x safety guard, 1x packet of 10 plastic blades and 1 x instruction manual.

:

Step 3: Battery charging.  Take the battery charger and plug it into an electrical outlet.

a little green light will come on to let you know that it is working.

Step 4: Match up the positive + and negative - signs on the battery to the corresponding signs on the charger

slide the battery into place on the charger

Now the light on the charger at the outlet will go red to show you that it is in charging mode. Leave the battery to charge for approx 2 hours (No more than 5 hours according to the manual)

Step 5: Unfolding and assembly of the shaft for the line trimmer. Take the top section

 Line the ridges inside the handle to the grooves on the side of the shaft .... There is a large ridge which matches the wide groove and a small ridge which matches the thin groove   see below...

Match them up and slide down until it locks into place.... (mine did not click or anything. In fact it was pretty difficult to get it to slide down the shaft but it seemed to be alright and hasn't moved)

                                      
 Step 6: Do the same with the cutting head... this one did click into place and was easier than the handle part to put together
                                         
step 7: Have a coffee

step 8: It should now look like this

Step 9:  Now for the secondary (black) handle.

The thing below is called a mounting bracket in the instructions... you need to flex it open and place it around the shaft in the position where you want the handle to sit... don't pull it out too far as it might snap... but just clip it around the handle as per my pic at right.

Step 10.  The knob on the handle comes out... unscrew it anti-clockwise and pull the knob and the long bolt out as shown.

One side of the handle has a hole with a hexagonal space for the bolt's head to sit.... and the other side is just a circular hole where the end comes out that will screw onto the knob.

hexagonal space

 

circular hole

   

Step 11. Align the handle holes with the holes in the mounting bracket that is on the shaft and thread the bolt through. On my one the knob is on the right.. so the hexagonal shaped space on the handle had to be on the left hand side. Screw the knob in a clockwise direction to tighten the handle to the mounting bracket. This also means that the handle is tightly held on whatever position of the shaft that you placed the bracket. You can only move the bracket by loosening the knob.

And that part is done... It should look something like the pics below.... two more steps to go...

Step 12. Attaching the safety guard...

IMPORTANT: Make sure that you don't have the battery installed at this point!

This was probably the most difficult part of the project for me... due to needing a bit of extra strength.

Align the two little clip bits on the cutting head with the two little bits of plastic that are jutting out from the safety guard.  See the pics below ....

Click into place...

I found that I had to put the thing between my legs and pull it into the clips rather than push it... that way I could use more leverage to get it on. Once it is on it will never come off according to the instructions. Same with the whole shaft... Once it is assembled it does not fold back down.

And now it should look like this....


It should be beginning to take shape...see below

The black tube at the bottom of the shaft can be easily loosened and the length of the shaft altered to suit your requirements.

You can adjust the head to 4 different angles... as per pic below....

Another feature of the trimmer is that its cutting head can be rotated into edging mode. Find the arrow on the side and rotate the head clockwise. If there is any resistance at all then you are probably trying to turn it the wrong way as it rotates very easily.





The little metal thingy at the front of the trimmer flips down and protects the blades when you are snipping around trees etc...

 
Step 13. Install the battery.

Take the battery off the charger... align it with the grooves on the trimmer where the battery connects. Slot it in and it will click into place.

You have now completed the assembly of your line trimmer!! 

Step 14. Pat yourself on the back and go and snip those lawns and edges.