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A typical domestic scene of a squatter's bark cottage has been captured by many colonial artists such as S. Prout, S. T. Gill and others. The paintings generally show a group of people, usually male, sitting in front of a huge walk-in fireplace which is lit by a crackling timber fire.

Occasionally a candle stuck into an empty bottle is seen on the table in the plainly furnished room or the most basic lard impregnated cloth lamps might be seen on the mantle in the flickering light of the fireplace. Most of the early working men's huts, were equipped in this fashion; a more decorative interior with lined walls, blinds and oil cloth or matting floor usually indicated the presence of a woman in the home.

When settlers arrived with their wives, cash and possessions, interiors showed a marked improvement in elegance and comfort. As soon as they were able, the settlers built larger homes replacing the tents and bark huts or upgraded and improved upon existing homes. By 1822 Sydney had 59 stone, 221 brick and 773 wooden houses and by 1841 the census showed that there were 769 houses in Melbourne.

Interiors were made practical and comfortable, following the dictates of English trends and, except for the very rich, lighting was not a priority. As late as the 1830s, Louise Anne Meredith gave a bleak description in her diary of home lighting in the colony 'where candles are not attainable, a light is procured by a bit of rag rolled up stuck into an old cup or pannikin full of dripping and lighted.

Homemade mould (tallow) candles are generally used in houses where wax-lights are dispensed with, and certainly vary more in quality than any other article of domestic manufacture.'

Later paintings of the interiors of well-to-do settlers' residences attest to this bleak picture of domestic lighting. There was small consolation in the fact that the general quality of light fittings and equipment had significantly improved in standard.

Finely crafted candlesticks and custom made blinds were now proudly displayed in parlours, replacing the bottles and tin pans that were used in the kitchens cum dining rooms in previous decades. S. T. Gill's interior watercolour of the Noufflard's house in Bligh Street, Sydney in 1856 depicts a scene common to many early Victorian homes.

The drawing room or parlour is lit by a pair of tall elegant candlesticks placed on a central table around which the family and friends would gather at night to read, write, make music or socialise. Often a vase of flowers would be placed in the centre of the table in an arrangement to complement the candlesticks. Sometimes an additional pair of candles would illuminate a piano on which a member of the family would play.

In wealthier homes the number of candlesticks might be increased to include a pair of candlelabra on the overmantel of the fireplace; alternatively an additional pair of two- or three-branched candle wall sconces might be positioned on either side of the sideboard, chiffonier or mirror hung over the fireplace in either the dining or drawing rooms.

The rest of the house would be in darkness except, perhaps, for the entry hall where an enclosed hanging lantern would burn one or more candles to illuminate the way for visitors. A candlestick would have been taken to light the way to the bedroom, but these were not kept in bedrooms; they were brought to the kitchen each morning to be trimmed and maintained.

There are many forms of Acai available on the market. Due to the nature of the fruit it is often available in a number of different forms. The fruit spoils very quickly after harvest so it is often processed in a number of ways for export.

There are three main forms of Acai berry which are available on the market.

Supplements

One of the most common forms of Acai available on the market is the Acai berry supplement. Supplements are available in pill form or dried powder which can be used to make a number of Acai based drinks and meals. The processing of Acai berry into supplements retains all of the nutritional value of the raw Acai berry and they are convenient and often cost effective.

Juice

One of the most popular forms of Acai berry on the market is the juice of the berry. Sold alone or as a part of a blended drink the Acai berry juice is an easy way to include this highly beneficial food source into the diet, Acai berry juice is a very pleasant tasting and refreshing drink, and this is one of the most popular forms of the fruit preparation available in its native brazil.

Whole Berry

The berry is also available in its original form. Whole berries are often frozen and are available in a variety of forms from the actual fruit to a frozen puree which is then used in cooking or to make smoothies and other nutritious meals.

Always take the advice of a trained medical professional.

Want to manage your own money? Trying to grow your nest egg as fast as possible to retire early? Considering a strategy that will let you live off your investments now?

Whatever the situation, if you're interested in managing your own investments, what you need most is good information. Even if all you want to do is keep track of what the professional money managers are doing with the money in your mutual funds, you've got to have good information. If you are trying to actively trade stocks, options, mutual funds or other securities on a day trading basis, solid information becomes even more critical.

The best strategy for many people is "buy and hold," which basically consists of purchasing solid investments, usually mutual funds, on a regular basis without regard to market fluctuations and simply holding them for 20-40 years until retirement. So-called "market timing" is discouraged by most experts because of the difficulty in picking actual bottoms and peaks in market values.

But if you want to maximize returns so you don't have to wait 30 years to enjoy your money, buy and hold just won't cut it, unless you luck into buying a Microsoft in an IPO.

Fortunately, you don't need to pick the absolute bottom to add a lot to your bottom line. In the latest economic cycle, the stock market fell over 20% between last year and now. Buying as the downtrend started on a dollar cost averaging plan would have left your portfolio a little less than 20% short now. The market may still fall further, but buying now still beats buying in October of last year by double digits.

But following the economic indicators and daily economic news would have given you the information you needed to see that the market was heading into a downtrend so you could hold off your purchases.