Smoked my first ever brisket yesterday and overnight, real happy with how it turned out. Today I've baked two vanilla sponges - one for an apricot sponge cake, the other currently soaking in Chambord for a trifle, and I've got twice cooked crispy roast potatoes in the oven now.

Went for an evening stroll to Waimanu Lagoon, hung out with some kāruhiruhi

Beautiful words by Justine and Nadia here, highly recommend reading it. thespinoff.co.nz/society/22-1...

Well there we go. That worked out nicely.

What a lovely surprise to finish the year www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Tonight I spent the third night of Hannukah with Dayenu members - antizionist Jews - and our friends from Justice for Palestine. It was a beautiful evening and I feel so restored.

Chag Hannukah sameach from me and Elsa

The fact our local car yard offers to trade in your car for a mobility scooter really says something about the demographics of Waikanae eh 😂🚗🛵

Last night was the first night of Hannukah, a Jewish festival celebrating hope when it seems the hardest, where a small group of Jews were able to keep the light going against seemingly insurmountable odds.

Absolutely heartbreaking. Hannukah is a festival celebrating a miracle, where all hope seemed lost and yet our culture, our way of life survived. Hope seems hard to find in moments like this, but we need to find it wherever we can.

The cricket finished early so it's home time for the first beach swim of the summer!

Nothing in life is better than a day off work watching test cricket at the Basin Reserve

wut I am in envy of your thicc cornea

I have REALLY bad eyesight, and I've always been told I couldn't get laser surgery because my prescription was so high if they lasered off enough of my cornea to correct it, I wouldn't have enough left.

The greatest film series of all time

It's the greatest day of the year out here - the annual Kāpiti Food Fair! We ate, we drank, we bought things home to eat and drink later. Plus Lyra got to make a heap of new human and canine friends. What a day 🎉

Can't wait for this to be rolled out nationwide, well worth the years we've waited and the hundreds of millions we've paid.

First time I've played this in months, totally nailed it. [Bracket City] November 29, 2025 🟢 (Easy) www.theatlantic.com/games/bracke... Rank: 🔮 (Puppet Master) 🎹 Total Keystrokes: 64 🎯 Minimum Required: 64 Total Score: 100.0 🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪🟪

I feel like this is probably something I should have been taught by a giraffe that came to visit in a large truck once a year? Come on Harold, get your act together.

Spent a good couple of hours today helping the Kāpiti Foodbank sort through donations from today's annual Lions Food Drive. They do incredible work to support people across our community who need a bit of help.

A decade or so ago, after learning that ponies aren't just teenage horses, I wondered what the new most commonly known thing was that I still didn't know. Anyway, last night I found out.

Just did an online survey for RNZ, largely focused on what I want from a morning radio show. Specific presenters asked about were HDPA, Lloyd Burr, John Campbell, Garth Bray, Emile Donovan, Laura Tupou and Paddy Gower.

This is absolutely amazing. Like. We need to shout from the rooftops and tell vaccine success stories like this. (All vaccines are success stories, but it's not as easy to illustrate how verifiably life saving they are.)

The difference between the approach of Labour's Future for Local Government (do a big review, talk to everybody, but make no actual change) and this from National (talk to nobody, announce and make changes nearly immediately) is pretty big.

“We stand with our trans whanau, always” - @maramadavidson.bsky.social

Elsa and Zoe enjoying the evening sun

Happy strawberry season!

Rainbow Greens commit to reversing the ban.

I won a prize from Fiz & Fogg! A long spoon and knife plus four jars of their (delicious) pistachio spread. Reckon I'll do some baking with it.

Elsa, Queen of Floof, guarding her royal domain (the hallway)

This is awful. Really feel for the kids this will directly harm, and for the people who love them and are trying to care for them.

Our heartfelt congratulations to all of our Uber members and the four drivers - Nureddin, Julian, Bill and Mea’ole. It is not easy to stand up and speak out about a multibillion dollar multinational corporation that controls almost every aspect of your livelihood. You have done it. And won! #uber

Attention Kāpiti - Blackwood Bakes have opened a new cafe on Marine Parade in Paraparaumu Beach (where Marine Parade Eatery was) and it's excellent. This is me and my nutella cookie croissant.

If the barrel keeps having rotten apples put in, or apples are turning rotten once inside, at what point do you accept there’s a system problem? Why are rotten apples put in? Why are they going rotten once in? And why aren’t (more) politicians asking this about police?

50 year mortgage is so crazy. to put it in perspective, 2016 was 50 years ago

Went to see Back to the Future on the big screen for the 40th anniversary, there was a Delorean parked outside and I got to sit in it. Incredible!

Went to my fav restaurant, 50-50 in Paraparaumu Beach last night, for a belated birthday dinner for my wife. Nine incredible courses.

The lesson here is have good principles and stand on them. Stand for something that isn't power!

The white swan guards her nest from nearby predators

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE SECOND INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE OVER ZOOM TO MEET MORE OF THE TEAM UNFORTUNATELY, YOU HAVE NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL ON THIS OCCASION, BUT WE HOPE YOU'LL APPLY FOR FUTURE POSITIONS WITH THE VAMPIRE

Been looking for a copy of this (long out of print) book for years, finally found one on TradeMe.

It's frustrating how in the Tina from Turner's ad she sings "Paekākāriki" while standing in front of the giant L&P bottle which is clearly in Paeroa, nowhere near Paekākāriki. It's the only town name she sings where she's not in front of something in that town, I don't understand

Omg look what just arrived! Published yesterday, so excited to read it.

Wish I could be there to show my support in person but the weather says no, so sending all my support today to the teachers, nurses, doctors, allied health staff, ACC staff and others on strike today, standing up for themselves and all of us! ✊✊✊

This is an obscenely large box considering the only thing inside is a MicroSD card the size of one of my fingernails (hand for scale)

Got my membership renewed, it's gonna be another fabulous summer at the Basin Reserve watching the mighty Blaze deliver our next championship!

Happy fifth birthday to Lyra, from fluffy potato to the best tiny big girl ❤️❤️❤️🎉🎉🎉

Kāpiti Coast District Council has increased our election turnout compared to 2022. Last election we got 45.8%, this time we're already at 45.7% before specials have been added to the count.

A now-dead ex MP used to message me on here nearly every time we passed each other on these travelators when I worked there, sometimes making unwanted 'bear' references. He was an odd one.