Deb made shortbread biscuits today and they are delicious! The recipe for Shortbread Cookies says:
Homemade shortbread cookies trumps Walkers!!
And I think I agree! Walkers have been my favourites, but perhaps no longer. Yum!
We don't yet have a start date for the house build at Ruakākā, but we expect to move perhaps mid-2025.
Now that 2024 has come to a close we're turning our thoughts to selling up here at Waikawa Beach. And so we're beginning the process of cleaning up and clearing out.
A little bit every day …
By the end of the 11-book Sister Joan series I was sad to leave this world, though the last book dwelt rather on outright Evil. The Sister Joan Mysteries Books 9–11 by Veronica Black. 📚
After a shaky start in Book One I did enjoy this series very much.
We watched A Remarkable Place to Die:
a New Zealand-Australian crime drama series [that] follows Detective Anais Mallory on the homicide beat in Queenstown and as she also uncovers more about her sister's mysterious death.
Come for the amazing NZ scenery. Stay for the amazing scenery.
Many thanks to Alan Jacobs for putting me on to the most excellent Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl. Loads of good puns, superb nail-biting action and lots of laughs. 🎥
It features the return of the villainous penguin Feathers McGraw from The Wrong Trousers (1993), who takes revenge on Wallace and Gromit by reprogramming their robotic garden gnome.
Spotted one of these in the wild the other day and it intrigued me enough to look it up — JPOD | Jayco:
The J-Pod is a lightweight trailer perfect for couple’s or single’s wanting a short break. It can be towed behind your average sedan or small SUV
Bonus apostrophes free of charge. 😆
In this 10 minute video Will Harlow, a physiotherapist, explains the science of why we lose height as we age (spinal changes and also posture) and provides 3 simple exercises to help regain some height. Regain Your Height and Confidence with 3 Simple Moves (50+).
Excellent as always!
Things are getting more complicated in the 4th book of an enjoyable series — Parallax: Halcyone Space, book 4 by LJ Cohen. 📚
knowledge brings new threats and Halcyone's crew is drawn more deeply into a conspiracy that threatens to destroy Ithaka and reignite a galactic war when they uncover the hidden power brokers who have been quietly manipulating the Commonwealth for decades.
It's a shame; I've enjoyed doing the Classic Daily Cryptic Crossword - The Globe and Mail lately. It's a good starter before heading on to harder cryptic puzzles.
Now it'll just be New Daily Cryptic Crossword - The Globe and Mail and the brain breaking Cryptic | The Guardian.
Today is different from the other days so far this summer: the rain's coming from the north rather than the south. 🌧️
Back in 1998 I owned a Honda Del Sol sports car. We had no garage in Wellington and lived about 140 metres walk down a footpath from where I would park on the road up the hill.
One morning we found the car like this. 😒
So glad we have a garage with this house.
Also: that car was a trouble magnet.
2025 is off to a good start, with these strawberries from the tunnelhouse. Yum!
Deb put in a lot of work to make very delicious Lemon Meringue Tarts.
Our friend D was supposed to drive up from Wellington to lunch with us, with these tarts for dessert, but gale force winds and rain were deterrents.
It was as well she didn't drive up as she later had a small medical issue.
In Episode 1 the whole premise of Ludwig was too ridiculous, but by the end of the season I was well hooked:
John Taylor is a reclusive puzzle maker …. His identical twin brother, James Taylor, is a successful Detective Chief Inspector in the Cambridge police force. James has gone missing, and his wife Lucy enlists John's help to solve the mystery. Pretending to be his brother, John infiltrates the local police station to investigate, and becomes inadvertently embroiled in solving other cases.
I plan to build muscle strength to walk better and avoid falls
When I walk I've noticed I scuff one foot or other approximately every 15 steps. Years of dog walking also taught me to walk slowly (dog peeing and sniffing caused big delays).
Per Will Harlow though, This Walking Mistake Leads to FALLS in Ages 65+ (video). The mistake? Slow walking.
There's also: THIS Is Why You Get Tired When Walking (Ages 50+) (video) (weakness in the calves).
So, 2025, will be a year where I work on improving my walking, with specific exercises to strengthen my calves and ankles.
I've been doing calf raises for a while (see The ONLY Workout You Need for Stronger Legs (50+) (video)) but recently switched to doing them on one leg at a time. That made me very aware that my ankles are also quite weak.
During 2024 Deb pointed out to me that I was hunching quite a bit, so I spent the year working on my posture. I feel that focus has been very effective so am optimistic that by the end of 2025 I'll be walking strongly and more quickly and avoiding falls.
It's been a while since I did a decent beach walk, but today I stowed the camera in the backpack and hustled down from the North Track to the Waiorongomai Stream and back — 5 Km all up. It tired me out.
In 2025 I want to focus on improving my walking.
The first story in Rogue Stars: 7 Novels of Space Exploration and Adventure (various authors) was somehow 'off'. It just didn't sit right with me. The second was too dark and gritty for my taste. I decided to abandon this free book. 📚
Jump into seven full-length novels exploring the last great frontier. Rogue Stars has alien invasions, artificial intelligence, galactic intrigue, and heroes that will defy orders to do what is right.
Juxtaposition of the day … Number of lithium-ion battery fires double in four years | RNZ News:
In March 2024, Island Bay resident AJ Hunter was woken by his wife at 4am after his neighbour's Tesla spontaneously combusted with the blame being pointed to its lithium-ion battery. [several paras about the Tesla] …
[FENZ community education manager] Ronaldson advised consumers to buy quality products that were from reputable suppliers.
In December 2008 I was in Hawai'i for a few days where I took some not very good photos, including this one of the Hawaiian Cowboy Memorial:
In 2008, the monument stood as a landmark during the community’s “Waiomina” celebration of the 100th anniversary of the paniolos’ victory in Cheyenne, Wyoming. And so it remains, reminding all who pass by of their paniolo pride, and a homegrown cowboy hero whose force is still with us.
I feel I've hardly noticed any Pōhutukawa flowering this year. This photo is from December 2005.
