Mel / MJ (she/her)
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emjayenzed.bsky.social
Mel / MJ (she/her)
@emjayenzed.bsky.social
180 followers 200 following 410 posts
I’m a queer, autistic, elder Millenial Pākehā from Aotearoa New Zealand. I read 200+ books a year, mostly fiction, and spend way too much time solving genealogy mysteries.
“The Earth is our mother / we must take care of her.”
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emjayenzed.bsky.social
Fun little logic puzzle!
Picture of the “solved” result of a Clues By Sam logic puzzle game, showing that the game on Nov 11th, 2025 was solved in 3 minutes 22 seconds.
November 11, 2025 at 7:10 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
Birthday book haul! My spouse organised with a bunch of my fam & friends to get me books and it made for the loveliest surprise to go collect them from our local indie bookstore today 😭🩷 and then we visit some Little Free Libraries & I picked up a few 2nd hand books there (and dropped off 20).
🇳🇿 📚
Photo of a stack of new trade paperback books including “The Rose Field” by Philip Pullman, “The Book of Elsewhere” by Keanu Reeves & China Miéville, “The Waiting” by Michael Connelly and “The Raven Scholar” by Antonia Hodgson Photo of a stack of new paperback books including “The Will of the Many” by James Islington, “The Impossible Fortune” by Richard Osman, “Great Big Beautiful Life” by Emily Henry, “We Love you Bunny” by Mona Awad and “Swordheart” by T. Kingfisher Stack of used books including a “Where’s Wally?”, “Fill the Tin” cookbook by Sophie Gray, hardcover copy of “Cultish” by Amanda Montell, Sarah Water’s “The Night Watch”, and “One Virgin Too Many” by Lindsey Davis
October 28, 2025 at 7:47 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
Ayyyyyyoooo
Two Fighting Fantasy adventure game books
October 19, 2025 at 11:42 PM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
I won a giveaway hosted by my fave bookstore in Auckland, Time Out, so went in today to pick up my prize: a copy of Katabasis by R.F. Kuang! Love any excuse to go to Mt Eden, but a free book is the best one yet. Beautiful cherry blossoms lining side streets & good coffee were an added bonus.
💙📚🇳🇿
Photo of the trade paperback edition of “Katabasis” by R.F. Kuang; featuring a black and white cover with gold foiled accents. The book rests on a paper bag, and a cardboard bookmark branded with the details of the Time Out Bookstore in Mount Eden, Auckland, rests atop the cover.
September 11, 2025 at 4:41 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
Between 1974-1982, my Koro Ron was the keeper for four different lighthouses: Mokohīnau, Cape Brett, Portland Island & Cape Reinga. It was a wild & difficult lifestyle, but both Koro & Nana Val loved it. It was their version of retirement after Koro left the army. #kikorangi #nz
Photo of Ronald Allen, a lean, bearded white man, leaning against the driver’s door of a rust-spotted pale blue Jeep. Photo taken by Ron Allen of his wife Valerie through the glass panes of the Cape Reinga lighthouse. She is a dark-haired, tanned-skinned, middle-aged woman smiling broadly, wearing a red polo neck jumper and coat. The lighthouse bulb is visible, blurred, in the foreground.
May 31, 2025 at 7:46 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
My grandfather, Ronald Allen, was one of the last lighthouse keepers in Aotearoa New Zealand before automation. With his wife Val & two youngest sons, he lived in some of the wildest parts of NZ, making sure both passing ships and local native wildlife were safe.
#familyhistory #lighthouse
Photo of a white lighthouse at Cape Reinga in the very north of New Zealand, set against a very blue sky with bush & grass-covered hillside in the background. In the foreground is a sign post with yellow branches pointing in the direction of, and listing distances to, the Equator, Sydney, Bluff, Suva, the Tropic of Capricorn, and Panama. Photo copyright Mel Allen Distanced photo of the lighthouse, homestead, and tourist car park at Cape Reinga, set atop a bushy hillside and overlooking the azure Pacific Ocean
May 31, 2025 at 7:42 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
If you see this, post a picture of a tree
#ArborDay
Photo of a dark-needled tree growing out of patchy green grass, framing a soft blue ocean and clouded sky.
April 26, 2025 at 5:04 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
North-West Auckland weather update! No rain, just sogginess.

Video alt text: 8 second panning shot showing a sky full of blue-grey clouds and misty air above the dense suburbs of West Auckland

#aotearoa #newzealand #auckland #weather
April 19, 2025 at 3:55 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
Sunset is my favourite time of day. Took this a few days ago; made me wish I had my actual camera instead of an old cellphone! Also, I saw a lot of dogs being walked, so all in all it was a very good evening.

#aotearoa #newzealand #auckland
Photo of the moon rising at sunset in a pastel-toned sky, over a calm seaside and suburb.
April 14, 2025 at 3:32 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
Here’s my stoned furbaby with his catnip ball from Kat’s Garden:
Closeup photo of a black and white tuxedo cat lying on his side on a white quilt, holding a small neon yellow felt ball. His eyes are mostly closed because he is tired and happy from chasing the ball for 15 minutes.
April 1, 2025 at 9:30 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
@kats-garden.nz my boy immediately fell in love with his new toy! I’m sick in bed today so it’s been a special delight to be able to watch him play.

#cats #aotearoa #nz
March 12, 2025 at 1:39 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
If you see this, and you're in the mood for this kind of thing, quote post with a beach photo from your gallery.
Photo of a pōhutukawa tree in bloom, with red flowers bright against a summery blue sky. The tree is rooted in a grassy bank that leads down to the white sand seashore at Little Manly Bay in Whangaparāoa, New Zealand.
February 13, 2025 at 5:19 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
Here’s some teefs from my boy Buck 💕
A black and white tuxedo cat is being held upside down by a barely visible person. His mouth is opened slightly & two little fangs are visible. He has long white whiskers and greenish yellow eyes.
February 12, 2025 at 9:56 PM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
Libro.fm app playing the audiobook of “The Dawnhounds” by Sascha Stronach
February 4, 2025 at 1:26 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
“Nona the Ninth” by Tamsyn Muir. Joy tastes best when it’s a little bittersweet.
Cover of “Nona the Ninth” by Tamsyn Muir. Image features a girl with her dark hair braided, smiling softly. She wears a graphic tee shirt and an oversized coat sliding down her arms. In one hand she carries a gas mask. In the background are skeletons and a dog with six legs, sand dunes, and an ominous night sky full of stars and a moon or planet.
January 21, 2025 at 9:16 PM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
What is a book you found because of Booktok that ended up being a 5⭐️ read?

Booktok introduced me to T. Kingfisher & I’ll always be grateful! Love all her works, but special shout out to “Paladin’s Grace” & the Saint of Steel series for being a romantasy that I could enjoy 💙📚

#booksky
The cover of “Paladin’s Grace”, a romantic fantasy novel by Hugo Award winning author T Kingfisher. The design features motifs from the book, including a sword and knitting needles, in blue, green and purple on a black background.
January 21, 2025 at 8:02 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
This is my TBR shelf; it lives in my bedroom, hence the shelf of medications & skincare in the centre there. But I find looking at it very soothing because books bring me so much comfort! I keep most of my books in our living/lounge room though.
#booksky #chronicallyill #skincare
A pine wood bookshelf showing four individual shelves. The top two are full of books, as is the one at the bottom. The third shelf down contains assorted medications, skincare items and a small mirror.
January 20, 2025 at 4:20 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
My copy of All The Weyrs of Pern was given to me by my grandparents as a reward for passing School Certificate (5th form/year 11). They’re both gone now but I think fondly of them every time I see/hear Pern or Anne McCaffrey mentioned.
Is this a #familyheirloom? 😆
💙📚🪐
The cover of “All The Weyrs of Pern” by Anne McCaffrey featuring a large white dragon perched on a console inside a space ship and a smaller, gold fire lizard pressing buttons on a keyboard with its muzzle. A large window behind looks out towards a blue planet. My hand is visible as I hold the book up in front of a bookshelf. My hand is visible as I hold the “All The Weyrs of Pern” by Anne McCaffrey up in front of a bookshelf, open to the first page which is a brief biography of the author. Handwritten above and below the printed text is a message from my grandmother: To Melissa, Love Nana, Grandad & Ronwyn. 2000. For getting School Cert.
January 16, 2025 at 7:14 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
Sadly, I don’t have copies of my earliest fan creations bc after I left home, my folks had a clean out before they sold the house & everything I left got binned. But I do still have my Anne McCaffrey books, including this 1993 pb that was actually my dad’s, and the first Pern book I read!
💙📚🪐
The cover of the 1993 paperback edition of “The White Dragon” by Anne McCaffrey, featuring an illustration of a pale dragon perched on a rock cliff edge, with his rider standing beside. The book is battered around the edges & looks well-read. The cover of the 1993 paperback edition of “The White Dragon” by Anne McCaffrey featuring a faded and cracked red spine, lying atop a pile of other books on a shelf.
January 16, 2025 at 3:45 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
90% of snapchats I receive are just my husband sending me photos of our furchild.

#tuxedocat
Photo of a black and white tuxedo cat laying on his side on carpet, staring at the camera with his front paws crossing.
January 7, 2025 at 3:32 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
The rear of a Kindle Paperwhite, covered in 3 stickers made by artist Pepper Raccoon. One is a flag in bi pride colours with the words “I’m tired”. One is a human skull with glasses that have the letter X etched on the lenses, and around the edge it says “Bad eyes, good taste club”. The last is a tattoo-style sword surrounded by mini skulls and diamonds, and the words “Fck around, find out”.
January 6, 2025 at 9:17 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
My last read of 2024 is also my last 5 star book of 2024, and will be my first purchase in 2025. “The Grimmelings” by Rachael King is a beautifully written haunting fantasy that made me feel like a kid again; horse-mad & convinced the world was secretly magical.
#booksky #pukapuka
Cover of The Grimmelings by Rachael King, featuring a girl with long dark hair looking directly at the viewer, in front of a huge black horse, framed by a moody sky.
December 31, 2024 at 4:08 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
TikTok has tried to tell me that a cat cleaning itself while sitting on me means it trusts & loves me. TikTok has clearly not met my cat, who definitely only does this to torture/punish me.
Photo of the head of a black and white cat which is being held upside down, with his fangs showing.
December 22, 2024 at 12:11 AM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
Photo of Lake Rotorua at sunset, where the water reflects the soft peachy pink of the sun-lit clouds and the pastel blue of the dusk sky. The lake is framed by greenery and flowers in the foreground, and hills in the back.
December 17, 2024 at 9:33 PM
emjayenzed.bsky.social
#Christmas fun!
December 16, 2024 at 4:34 AM