Seeing a fair bit of this view these days as Deb waits for gallbladder removal surgery. Could be worse.

View across rooftops and trees.
Poster shows a cute small dog dressed in a Santa outfit, a sleigh loaded with toys and a sculpture of a reindeer towing the sleigh.
Poster in the Womens Surgical Assessment Unit at Palmerston North Hospital. 😀

A bit of Christmas in the Women’s Assessment Surgical Unit at Palmerston North hospital where Deb is awaiting a gallbladder removal operation.

Christmas tree and tinsel decorate the corridor on the ward.

Turns out the wee 3 in 1 Foldable Wireless Charging Dock I bought myself a few months ago is invaluable for Deb in hospital.

I've just taken advantage of a Boxing Day Sale (yes, on 24 December) to buy another.

Sale header.
# n 1 charger image — it folds up into a small packet.

Deb's gall bladder removal was supposed to be today: first at 11 am then shunted to 5 pm. After 5 the nurse came in and said it wouldn't be today, but might be tomorrow. Deb was very relieved to be able to have a cup of tea at last. Painkillers and antibiotics are doing their job, thank goodness.

Keeping Deb company as she waits for the op to have her gallbladder removed. This dog poster is good for a smile.

4 photos showing a dog incorrectly and the correctly wearing a Covid mask.

How cool is this! People using mobile devices with low data but needing info from a load of different Government websites (health, benefits, etc etc) can visit a special site to get access at no cost to their data.

Notice to visit zero.govt.nz.
Info about Zero Data.

An off-duty ultrasound machine at Palmerston North Hospital. The operator was amazing, looking at what I saw as some kind of blurry moonscape and knowing exactly what was what. There's the gallstone and That's the liver …. Respect!

Complex machine with keyboard and screen in a hospital room.

When we left the house at 07.30 after Deb suffered a night of probably gallbladder pain, I didn't really expect to still be sitting in Palmerston North Emergency Department at 4.30 pm waiting for a bed to free up so Deb can be admitted. With any luck the gallbladder will be removed tomorrow.

Another Oystercatcher baby! 🐦

Tiny baby Oystercatcher amongst sand and small driftwood.

So pleased (and relieved) to see a Ngutupapa | Royal Spoonbill in the estuary again (at last). I hope more turn up soon. 🐦

Tall white bird with feather crest erect, wading in the water.

Not very happy with an invoice I received. Back in October we had a charger installed for our new EV. There were glitches and I was advised there would be extra costs. OK.

We received a poorly worded invoice that we paid.

Now there's another invoice for install for the extra costs. Grrrr.

Invoice for unit, installation and freight.

I find this just gobsmacking! I don't even know what to say …

It's part awe, part disgust.

It represents almost $50 per person in Aotearoa!

Enormous fancy superyacht in the beautiful Bay of Islands.
The 80-metre superyacht Artefact, owned by Canadian tech entrepreneur Mike Lazaridis, arrives in the Bay of Islands. Photo: RNZ / Peter De Graaf.

Needed to renew the firstbite domain name I've had for ~25 years. Renewing several years at a time saves money. I thought about going with 10 years. In the end I went with 2 years, renewing 2 other domains at the same time.

But, here's the thing: at not far off 70 will I renew anything for 10 years?

We had plenty of warning of today's scheduled 90 minute power outage, including Tips such as making a cuppa beforehand. I made a note for myself in my Daily List.

Guess who still forgot and now wants a cuppa more than anything! Pronto! Stat! 39 minutes to go …

Fishing pole stuck in the sand with line out, man in deckchair, dog and chilli bin beside him, hand cart nearby.

Not my usual bird photo: man and dog line fishing off the beach.

The 74 page Shadow Of Temptation: A Prequel To Margot Harris Mystery Series by Nora Kane didn't inspire me to go on and read more of the series. It was simplistic and the female cop being 'tough' by pulling out her gun just didn't work for me. 📚

Book cover: Shadow Of Temptation.

The 96 page Goodbye Elora Inn (A DC Holly Towns Mystery Novella) (A Port Alma Murder Mystery Book 8) by Anne Shillolo was a quick and easy read.

Not a specially complex plot: someone's murdered in a remote and snowed in Inn. Investigation takes place … 📚

Book cover: Goodbye Elora Inn.

Today's success: 3 oystercatcher chicks and both parents. 🐦

3 oystercatcher chicks and two parents among young beach grasses, driftwood and low dunes.

I may have a link in MarkDown but need it in HTML, or even the Other Markdown that Dokuwiki uses. I now have a couple of Keyboard Maestro macros that Search and Replace the System Clipboard Using Regular Expression and then paste the result.

For HTML.
For HTML.
For Dokuwiki.
For Dokuwiki.