Waikawa river mouth shines in the early morning.

Pretty river mouth at Waikawa Beach.

In 2 days time I will be speaking to our local District Council for no more than 5 minutes on an incredibly divisive local topic: vehicle access to Waikawa Beach.

The community has been polarised. I support a pedestrian-friendly beach where vehicles are not allowed. Refining my talk…

Car stuck in river remnant.

Ate dinner with friends at Samrat Indian Restaurant in Waikanae. Just like last time, the food was delicious. I had a goat curry. It was followed by a surprise amuse bouche of vanilla ice cream.

Goat curry at Samrat in Waikanae.
Vanilla icecream at Samrat in Waikanae.

Bag 2 of the Lego build complete, with no parts left over. 😅

Bag 2 of Lego build complete.

So quiet today — I took a nap in the sun with crickets for company. Delightful.

Kāpiti Island and Te Wai Pounamu (South Island) on a clear sunny day.

Beach photo: clear blue sky with one white cloud above a nearby island. More land across the sea in the distance.

Hah hah — love it!

Note: the title attribute reads: Doug's cousin, the one from London, runs a Bumble love cult.

Whew, I've completed the first pack on my 5-pack Lego build.

After discovering a leftover piece 😳 I returned to Page 11 and inserted the missing parts. And corrected another mistake.

Then I took a photo.

Then I corrected the wrongly inserted parts …

Pack 1 of Lego build complete.

I don't often read fantasy, but on Annie's recommendation (what Annie said goes for me too) I took a chance on The Steerswoman (Steerswoman Series Book 1) by Rosemary Kirstein. 📚

I found it really engaging and immediately bought the next.

I like that the main character is a scientist.

Book cover: The Steerswoman.

@Annie

Also spotted this morning.

Morning sun rays in a cloudy sky.

A different kind of bird low overhead at the beach today.

Small plane as seen from below.

Hardly a challenging plot, but the movie 80 for Brady was fun. 🎥

Hard to go wrong with a cast that includes Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, and Sally Field.

Movie poster: 80 for Brady.

Heh, quote of the year:

I speak fluent typo! 😆

I'm enjoying playing Lex Friedman's Lexicogs.

Screenshot shows clues and word components to assemble to answer each clue.

I didn't get off to a good start with the first book in this series, but Murder at the Wedding (Rina Martin Murder Mystery Book 9) by Jane Adams was a darned good read. 📚

I like these characters who are quirky and interesting, and the story cleverly uses their talents.

Book cover: Murder at the wedding.

This mantis on our front door today may be a South African mantis. [Later] The NZ Bug Identification Facebook Group confirms this as a Praying mantis (African) Miomantis caffra.

small brown Praying Mantis on a glass door.

Deb and I really enjoyed The Miracle Club 🎥 :

In 1967, in a hard-knocks community in Dublin, three generations of women have one tantalizing dream: to win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, a place where miracles occur.

Poster for The Miracle Club.

The miracles happened, but not as unexpected.

I picked about 5 Kg Granny Smith apples off the tree. I'm looking forward to stewing them up and eating them with my breakfast every day for quite a while.

About 5 Kg Granny Smith apples in a basket.

I'm 69 and have never played with? built? Lego. After hearing it mentioned the other day I bought a $50 Lego Technic Surface Space Loader set and am looking forward to experimenting.

First web search: how to open the box without destroying it.

First surprise: no words in the instruction book.

Lego Technic Surface Space Loader box.

That custom email domain I've had trouble with for the past couple of weeks … I fiddled, deleted, started over, double-checked, waited and finally it works! At last!