new member of the family

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In the recent Amazon Prime sale we decided to buy one of these:

An Amazon Echo (2nd Gen) with Alexa built in. Currently priced at £89.99 we managed to get it for £54.99. I don’t think the full price is worth it but even at the previous sale price of £59.99 it definitely is.

So far I’m very impressed. We have been looking to replace a very large CD/Radio in the kitchen for a while now but wanted Bluetooth connectivity and FM radio. The Echo connects to any radio station via their Internet stream and also connects to any Bluetooth enabled device and a choice of music streaming services via inbuilt Amazon Music Unlimited or Spotify (haven’t tested this out yet). Amazon Music Unlimited setup required the intervention of Customer Service to overcome a payment setup issue but once sorted it is working well.

As a Bluetooth speaker it’s also great, giving much better sound and more power than expected from a speaker of this size. If the streaming services work out as expected though I have a feeling I won’t use the phone connection as much as I expected to.

Alexa is also fun. We’ve had a play with it and I think we probably will use it as an alternative to “OK Google” but as we’re not yet a connected home her usefulness will be limited. The voice activation and control of the system is very useful and quite impressive though.

Overall, very pleased and surprisingly so. I’d give it 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 to date.

fever of the bone

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Carol Jordan and Tony Hill #6 by Val McDermid.

From Goodreads:

Meet Tony Hill’s most twisted adversary – a killer with a shopping list of victims, a killer unmoved by youth and innocence, a killer driven by the most perverted desires …

When teenager Jennifer Maidment’s murdered and mutilated body is discovered, it is clear that there is a dangerous psychopath on the loose. But it’s not long before Tony and DCI Carol Jordan realise it’s just the start of a brutal and ruthless campaign targeting an apparently unconnected group of young people. Their chameleon-like killer is chatting with them online, pretending to share their interests and beliefs – and then luring them to their deaths.

But just when Tony should be at the heart of the hunt, he’s pushed to the margins by Carol’s cost-cutting boss and replaced by a dangerously inexperienced profiler. Struggling with the newly awakened ghosts of his own past and desperate for distraction in his work, Tony battles to find the answers that will give him personal and professional satisfaction in his most nerve-shattering investigation yet.

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Really enjoyed this. Previous books have focused heavily on Carol, her private and professional struggles and her relationship with Tony. This book is written much more from Tony’s point of view, taking his character in a different direction and hopefully setting up the next book to be a really different relationship for the two of them.

I also really enjoyed the development of the other characters, especially the other members of Carol’s MIT. Paula in particular got a nice focus throughout this book and I think Ambrose will feature in the rest of the series.

On top of all that it’s a cracking bad guy story with a bit of a twist from the norm.

the pagan lord

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Saxon Stories #7 by Bernard Cornwell

From Goodreads:

At the onset of the tenth century, England is in turmoil. Alfred the Great is dead and Edward his son reigns as king. Wessex survives but peace cannot hold: the Danes in the north, led by Viking Cnut Longsword, stand ready to invade and will never rest until the emerald crown is theirs.

Uhtred, once Alfred’s great warrior but now out of favor with the new king, must lead a band of outcasts north to recapture his old family home, that great Northumbrian fortress, Bebbanburg.

Loyalties will be divided and men will fall, as every Saxon kingdom is drawn into the bloodiest battle yet with the Danes; a war which will decide the fate of every king, and the entire English nation.

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

I enjoy Uthred and I enjoy the style of the author’s writing but this book didn’t seem to add anything to the story. It was focused solely around Uthred and his band and didn’t build anything on his relationship with Edward or any other significant character. It felt very much like a filler, killing off some other characters and moving forward some of the historical background. A good read but not great. Hopefully #8 will make use of this and take the story on a new direction.

mountain bike

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Determined not to waste the good weather I decided to head out on the mountain bike this afternoon. Almost put off by a flat rear tyre when I went to check on the bike but had it changed within 10mins and didn’t let it stop me.

Headed down the road and across into Monellan woods. It’s our local Coillte planted forest and although it doesn’t cover a big area it has a good mix of forest tracks and off trail paths* that give a feel of more difficult and challenging biking. There’s a decent amount of rough areas with humps and hollows, roots and rocks and some small piles of logs** for hopping over.

*the paths are a mixture of tracks created by locals walking and horse riding in through the trees over the years.

**I think these are small jumps for people training horses.

I spent about half an hour in here before heading back to the road and climbing up Gleneely. This hill hits 12% on one section and 10% on three others so it’s a sure way to get the heart rate up!

The point of the hill was to get up to Corradooey, a small wood I only discovered a couple of weeks ago. It’s only a 2km loop but more than worth it with one section pretty much completely overgrown. It’s dry now but will be a real challenge in the wet Winter. This wood seems quiet and mostly un-used by locals. I saw a rare red squirrel here last time and a deer today.

Final bit was a fast downhill most of the way home.

click on the image to view the activity

murvagh beach

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Judging by the forecast today could be the last day of Summer, or at least for a week or so. Combined with my day off we decided to head for a walk on the beach in the spirit of carpe diem.

picnic lunch in Donegal Town on the way

just the two of us as the boys were camera shy today

Some of the photos look very dark but it was bright and sunny for the second half at least.The Marram Grass in the dunes looked really, really green. I don’t think I’ve seen it in full flush before and it was impressive.

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carpe diem

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It’s my birthday today and birthdays are like New Year, a time for reflection, contemplating life goals, making plans, blah, blah, blah.

If I’ve learned nothing else since my last birthday it’s that while plans and reflection have their place it’s important to realise that life is to be lived in the here and now and enjoy the moments that we have.

have a heart ♥

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Had an Out Patients appointment today. Over the last year I’ve been diagnosed (sounds very dramatic!) with high cholesterol and put on statins. As a precaution the doctor also referred me for a stress test appointment with the hospital in Letterkenny. After waiting 1hr and 5min* to be seen for a 5min consultation I’ve been told they’re sending me to the Blackrock Clinic in Dublin for an arterial CT. It sounds like a big step, very quickly and a bit frightening to be honest but I got the impression it’s very much standard procedure. Should get an appointment in about a month or so.

It did give me a giggle to see this evening that Google had the following banner:

It’s to honour heart surgeon René Favaloro the heart bypass pioneer. Hopefully that’s as far as the coincidences go!

*I was dismayed at 10:50 (my appointment was 10am) to hear the old lady sitting in front of me tell someone her appointment was for 09:15. She was still sitting there when I left so I’m glad my file wasn’t in the same pile as hers

why?

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to try something DIFFERENT

to make me THINK

because i CAN

First and foremost I’m writing this for ME. If you don’t like it, think it’s stupid/egoistic/whatever then simply don’t read it, just move on to something else that you can enjoy.