Mā te wā. Farewell Whangārei.
A tricky mystery to unravel, and an enjoyable read: Knight On Edge (Jorja Knight Mystery Series Book 7) by Alice Bienia. 📚
When a distraught woman hires her to confirm suspicions of her husband’s infidelity, Jorja welcomes the seemingly routine job. But from the moment she accepts the assignment, something feels off, and soon, her instincts prove right.
Ready for anything! 😆 🐶
Our Whangārei friends have a very pleasant and comfortable place but their Internet is really poor. So sick of photos taking forever to load. Deb's done a few Zoom calls — with difficulty. I need to stay offline while she does that.
I'm looking forward to our fast Internet back at Waikawa Beach.
Nice: we've ordered pizza to be picked up from Pizza Fusion nearby, and a live update on the web keeps us informed about where things are up to.
We're dog sitting for Whangārei friends while they're on holiday. Their house is large, very comfortable and pleasant to stay in.
I'm missing my own bed though, and my own stuff around me.
I'd also forgotten just how much energy goes into even very well trained and well behaved dogs …
Yesterday our friend Amanda drove up from near Auckland to visit. We had dinner at Pimarn Thai Restaurant where I ate Pad Him Ma Pan — stir-fried fresh vegetables, sweet chilli paste, cashew nuts, capsicum and mushroom with roast duck.
It was good but disappointingly, not sizzling hot.
At 3.30 am I had to let the dogs out for a pee. The bonuses were that I'd already been awake for ages and could now make a cuppa, that I spotted the full moon setting and caught sight of a shooting star.
Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS
Kiwis have chance to glimpse 'once in a lifetime' comet not seen in last 80,000 years:
Stardome [astronomer] Josh Aoraki told the Herald that the best place to see [Comet C/2023 A3] would be anywhere that has a clear unobstructed view of the western horizon.
"You're going to see a really bright star which is Venus, and if you look below that to the right, you might see this little fuzzy patch in the sky. That's the comet."
The Stardome astronomer said the comet was likely to have a tail extending from the back. … [and] the prime time to view the comet would be during a 45-minute to hour window just after sunset.
"It's a fairly bright comet. We don't often get bright naked-eye visibility comets.
A highlight for today: panfried fresh Gurnard with handcut fries at Jolt Cafe in Maunu. Truly delicious!
For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society two videos. The first from Waipu Cove about 40 Km south of Whangārei. The second, an hour later, from north Ruakākā Beach just a few Km north of Waipu. 🌊
At Ruakākā North Beach. Look at that white sand!
An excellent reason for banning dogs from Whangārei Quarry Gardens: there are kiwi in the hills.
Deb and I visited Quail Cafe in Whangārei Quarry Gardens. The food, beverages, ambience and service were excellent. I look forward to visiting again and enjoying a long walk round the gardens themselves.
I rather like this blend of hearsay and heresy. Nicely combines the idea of incorrectness and dissidence.
We're in charge of Boo and Rush for a few days as their family members have a holiday. The dogs enjoyed their walk at the park this morning. 🐶
Off to a good start on our travels today with Air NZ letting us know before we'd left home for the hour's drive to the airport that our flights were moved around. 🛩️
All packed up and ready to go, we now have an extra 2 hours at home. And our 1 hour at Auckland Airport converts to a 4.5 hour wait.
A pair of Paradise Ducks announced their arrival in the paddock next door. Meanwhile a blackbird serenades me from the railing of our deck. (Volume up; apologies for the shaky cam.) 🐦
An excellent quote from Moira on Schitt's Creek S05E06, Rock On! 🤣 :
Oh, Jocelyn, you'll soon learn that we aging mortals are blessed with weakening eyes and memories so we don't have to really see ourselves.
We learned of a new cafe in Levin, opened just a month ago, so we visited today for lunch: Old Courthouse Eatery.
Deb's coffee was apparently good; my hot chocolate was good. We both had bagels — in my case with halloumi, pesto and mushrooms. All very enjoyable.
We'll definitely be back.
