The book Little Girl Lost (Georgiana Germaine Book 1) by Cheryl Bradshaw just didn't sit right by me. 📚

The detective had some mysterious tragedy in her past that was a driving force but whose shadowy nature was just annoying. Also I found the detective's way of working didn't seem right.

Book cover: Little Girl Lost.

This morning we have gunshots at dawn … thanks to the opening of Game Bird Hunting Season, and the fact we have lakes nearby (not the lakes I post photos of).

Hoping our dog neighbour Willow isn’t freaking out.

Bad time for the birds too.

Lake Huritini behind trees to the east of us.
Lake Huritini behind trees to the east of us.

Today's new tea: Laoshan Imperial Green tea. Different from all the others I've tried. I think I like it…

Laoshan Imperial Green tea.
Laoshan Imperial Green tea.

Did a speedtest on my 4G WiFi broadband connection after billbennettnz wrote about speeds.

Happy with our rural residential speed (I can see the cell tower from here) here at Waikawa Beach, Horowhenua.

Speedtest shows 100MB up and 22 MB down.
Speedtest shows 100MB down and 22 MB up.

@billbennettnz

Things just aren't going well for Peg, in relationships or work in Peril in Silver Nightshade (The Pegasus Quincy Mystery Series Book 4) by Lakota Grace. 📚

Somehow she ends up dealing with Silver, a talented con artist who trusts no-one but herself. Then there's bad boy Wolf too…

Book cover: Peril in Silver Nightshade.

So far mine looks like this:

Screenshot of Keynote slides.

I put my thoughts into words and words into action… or something…

@mandaris

One of the ‘features’ of living at the beach is that sometimes dead animals wash up. Presumably they’ve been washed down from one of the rivers north of us.

Today I reported a dead calf and asked the Council to remove it …

Flu vaccination: Nearly 600,000 people had jab in first four weeks of rollout:

The flu season has started earlier this year, with… nasty strains circulating.… for those who were otherwise healthy, this year's flu could be more serious than the Omicron strains circulating

Flu knocked me flat!

Woohoo, later this year we’ll be spending several days at Sinalei Reef Resort and Spa, Samoa South Pacific - Island Resort. See the video.

It was a beautiful still and warm morning at the beach — 19C. Someone had cleverly stacked driftwood to make a seat. I sat there and recorded the sea for a few moments.

Driftwood seat.

Another in a series I enjoy — Goodbye Linden Square (A Port Alma Murder Mystery Book 7) by Anne Shillolo. 📚

The crimes keep piling up in Port Alma — dead bodies, a bomb on a boat, sniper fire, kidnapping — but are they all connected? And why?

Book cover: Goodbye Linden Square.

A nice prequel short story to the Pegasus Quincy mystery series by Lakota Grace — Bad Day at Black Canyon: 📚

When Peg leaves for Arizona and her new job as a rookie sheriff's deputy, she discovers major roadblocks ahead, not to mention a gremlin or two.

Newsletter signup freebie.

Book Cover: Bad Day at Black Canyon.

After 2 weeks of the flu I’m better but still nowhere near fully recovered. The coughing is reducing, thank goodness but my energy levels are really low. A quick trip to buy groceries and PJs meant we were out for 2 hours. Then I needed a nap! Frustrating — there are things I want to do.

I can never remember how to tell native Toitoi apart from exotic Pampas Grass. Whichever this is down by lake Te Puna a te Ora it looks pretty fab.

A big clump of Pampas or toitoi grass with white feathery fronds.

Whew. Deb and I have done final cleanup at the house we’ve sold, passed keys to the agent, signed papers with the lawyer. All that’s left now is to see the money in the bank account. A few more days…

This ~7 minute video is a really useful explainer from MinuteFood about how a microwave oven works — what it actually does to the food inside. Recommend. The weird thing about microwaves

The anti-woman language of gynaecology, eg the hostile uterus. Listen to the ~1 minute clip from Quirks and Quarks, A view on the womb.

Leah Hazard … the more she learned about the uterus, the more she was surprised about what scientists and healthcare professionals don't know about it

Bought back in September 2020; I must have read the first book then. Totally forgot what it was about. Read the second book this week and it ranks very high on the improbability scale. That aside, it was an OK read.

The Girl and the Ocean — Boxset by Alexandria Clarke. 📚

Book cover: The Girl and the Ocean.

I walked ‘all the way’ to lake Te Puna o te Ora in the sun and fresh air and quiet this morning. (It’s less than 500 metres away.)

Although I did drive to the doctor yesterday this was my first ‘outing’ in over a week. Looking forward to building back up to some good walks.

Placid lake in sunshine with water birds.

Autumn sunrise.

Big yellow blob of sun just above the horizon shines on misty paddocks with a very small building in the foreground.