There's something about the Sister Agnes books that just enchants me; they're just so "right" somehow. This was yet another excellent read. The Earth Weighs Heavy (Sister Agnes Mysteries Book 9) by Alison Joseph. 📚
‘Guilt. That’s what it is. Terribly bad for all of us. I learned some years ago just not to bother with it, so much better for one’s mental health.’
Took a little 7 minute drive to buy Thai takeaways.
Checked out the For Sale signs in a nearby shop window. Got a spare $1.8 million for a yacht?
I think that's the one berthed just in front of the restaurant.
I'd already read Book 2 and this was a similarly lightweight, easy to read mystery that I got free. A Santa Stabbing (Shop 'Round the World Book 1) by Geri Krotow. 📚
[Angel] finds a dead body in the shop murdered with one of her specialty Santa figurines. Even worse, Angel’s fingerprints are on the “weapon” and she’s a prime suspect.
Started watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. I didn't see all episodes when it originally aired in 1987 and didn't recall any of S01E01. 🖖🏼
The sexism of the times shows. Two alien blobs are mates — a pink one and a blue one. Sigh!
And Q remains one of my least liked characters ever.
NZ racism hits different: ‘I’m not even going to try to pronounce the next name’:
Come exam time every year, an external supervisor would take the roll. And every year, without fail, he’d stop when he reached my name. “I’m not even going to try to pronounce the next name,” he would say, surveying us.
About 55 years ago, when I was in school in Christchurch, a girl in our class was named Christine Yagodzenski. Without fail teachers would either stutter over her last name and give up, or just call her Christine Yag.
It was shameful then and I'm horrified to hear things still haven't changed.
Late yesterday, when I put the sprinkler on, the pukeko were delighted and came to play in the water. 🐦
The last time I hard boiled eggs they had nasty bits of runny white. Yuk! Jenny Jones Hard Boiled Eggs instructions worked perfectly:
- Place eggs in a saucepan.
- Cover completely with cold water.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
- Bring to a full rolling boil.
- Cover and turn off the burner.
- Let stand on the warm burner for 17 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove eggs to a bowl of ice water for 2 minutes.
It's definitely not all bad news
When I read the following I immediately compiled a list of good news sources I follow.
There's No Good News Anymore: apoorplayer.blog
The sources:
- Fix The News: We share hidden stories of progress with readers from 195 countries.
- Earth Hope🌎: Collecting environmental success stories from around the globe, because hope is the foundation of progress.
- Good News Network: an antidote to the barrage of negativity experienced in the mainstream media.
- Reasons to be Cheerful: Things aren’t all bad.
- Rewilding Magazine: the movement for a wilder world.
Our little pohutukawa tree is flowering. Looking good, little tree!
The herons do so enjoy hanging out on the fence. This young one is a bit ruffled in the breeze. 🐦
Today's good news: I took my 10 year old car in for its annual Warrant of Fitness check and there were no additional costs because nothing needed to be fixed or replaced.
And then, even better news: they asked me if I have a Gold Card (available to those 65 and over) and gave me a $5 discount.
I really enjoyed After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian. 📚
when [Patrick] takes in a drifter who seems to be hiding something, and his best friend and her newborn move into the apartment upstairs, his life gets turned on its head.
Thanks to @KimberlyHirsh for the recommendation.
At the river were two shags on a branch in the water. One is a Pied Shag but a clearly smaller shag was nearby. I think the smaller one is a Kawau tūī | Little black shag 🐦 :
Little black shags are similar in size to little shags, but they lack any white plumage and have a relatively short tail. They are much smaller than black shags.
A fellow down the road has a very large property by the river mouth and is happy for respectful folks to ride their bikes or walk there. He breeds the rare Cape Barren goose 🐦 :
Cape Barren geese are almost wholly terrestrial, inhabiting open grassland, including planted pastures, on the fringes of wetlands; they avoid scrub-encroached grasslands.
Comfy pukeko. 🐦
We drove to Warkworth today for breakfast with friends A & M at So French (FB link).
Warkworth is quite pretty really and is one of the filming locations for the NZ series The Brokenwood Mysteries.
I'm eating carefully today as my digestion seems a bit wobbly, so had a croissant.
On Netflix I really enjoyed the Spanish series Old Dog, New Tricks 📺 :
As the bills pile up and his farmer neighbors start paying him in eggs, Antón swallows his pride and considers a job at his niece's fancy pet store.
It was fun and funny. I use English subtitles, but love listening to the Spanish where I can understand the occasional word.
This is a very interesting 24 minute video — The English words nobody can explain:
Some of the most ordinary words in English have origins that no one can explain. Among them: "dog", "big", "bird", "donkey", "boy", "girl" and "puzzle".
The gay girl
and knave girl
caught my attention as older words for "girl" and "boy" at a time when "girl" meant child.
The neighbour's fence was the place for all the cool birds to hang out this morning. 🐦
Ahhh, on a hot day a little after-dinner beach stroll. Very pleasant.
