I should be getting ready to leave tomorrow morning. I have watered the orchids. I have 90% packed. But I only feel 10% ready. Nevermind. I have 90 minutes before happy hour. If I spring into action NOW, I can be 90% ready to go.
But it is oh so seductive being a slug.
And what am I going to do on my 12-day cruise to St Somewhere? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I am taking my well-stuffed Kindle and my iPad. Hope I fold a little paper and read a few books. And maybe fold paper while listening to an audiobook. Oh, have some cocktails.
Springing into action now. Next post from Vision of the Seas. I hope.
And one of the elevators returned to service today. Maybe I can ride up after dinner this evening. But it’s Bingo Night, so there will be a crowd. Eleventh-floor walkup.
Let the record show: I have never been to Bingo Night. Never say never. But…
Truly evil winter weather is on tap for the East Coast this weekend. Saturday and Sunday look grim. It should be merely very cold when we get on the boat in Baltimore. It might be interesting to sail to St Somewhere in the middle of a blizzard.
The Good News: The sun has returned to the Old Bat’s Cave.
It doesn’t spend much time in the Old Bat’s Cave. But, for a couple of minutes a day, it manages to peek in the windows. Welcome back. By March, Mr Sun will be back in force.
The Bad News. Three out of four elevators are AWOL.
Just got an email saying they hope to have #5 back by Friday. 11th floor walk-up.
And it’s just cold. Considerable snow is forecast for the night that we leave for St Somewhere. We should be safely on the ship before the snow. I will wear my so-called winter coat. Just in case.
Here’s the deal, people. An elephant has taken a shit on our living room floor. It isn’t our elephant. We don’t know how it got in. We had nothing to do with it. But it is our living room, and we have to clean it up. We cannot live with a pile of elephant scat for another three years. Today is not too soon to start. Next month may be too late.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Martin Niemöller
Rev Niemöller voted for the Nazi Party in 1933. In 1937, he was arrested and remained a political prisoner until 1945, when the Allies defeated Nazi Germany and liberated him and other concentration camp prisoners.
Went way back in the archives for some warmth today. I spent Christmas in American Samoa the year after Carlton died. I didn’t want people to worry about “what’s Auntie Peg doing for the holidays?” Great place, American Samoa. We decided that we needed Pago Pago in the late 1800s. The US and Germany sort of divided up the Samoan islands. Don’t believe anyone consulted the Samoans.
And there is still Greenland.
Ivittuut, Greenland. August 2023. The US mined the entire world supply of cryolite out of existence and abandoned the mine in 1987.
And 133 years ago, Jan 17, 1893 – the US Marines “stormed” the capital of the Kingdom of Hawai’i and imprisoned Queen Lili’uokalani. Actually, Queen And 133 years ago, Jan 17, 1893 – the US Marines “stormed” the capital of the Kingdom of Hawai’i and imprisoned Queen Lili’uokalani. Actually, the Queen surrendered to avoid bloodshed.
Marines from USS Boston. Outside Queen Lili’uokalani’s home.
America may well be lost. Maybe we can still save Greenland from us.
0804 AM. It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood?
Time for a gratitude check. Carlton would say: Are you sleeping indoors tonight? Did you have something to eat today? Is there a reasonable chance that will be the case tomorrow? Then quit your bitching.
And this time next week, I’ll be on my way to ST. CROIX, ST KITTS & NEVIS, MARTINIQUE, DOMINICA, and ST. MAARTEN.
I am a lucky old woman. For sure. I just hate winter.
Nuuk, Greenland, August 19, 2023.
It might be too late to save America. But I hope we can save Greenland.
The day started with wonderful red reflections — wonderful enough to get me to open the window for a proper shot.
But before long: sleet.
I amused myself making a fine lunch. I wondered if I could still make a proper omelet. I can. Usually just do fried eggs. Also made some just-OK lentil soup to use up scraps of this and that. Scraps of this and that are no substitute for good soup stock. Hot sauce helps.
Gratitude
Grateful that I can walk up 11 floors to my apartment.
Every time one of our elevators traps someone, it gets a red card.
Our elevators are so unreliable that I consider my apartment an eleventh-floor walk-up.
Don’t let me exaggerate too much: one freight elevator and four regular elevators serve the building. Since I returned from my early winter travels, two of them have been largely offline.
Walking down the stairs: piece of cake.
Walking up: I take a little break at four and nine. Figure using the stairs is the only thing I can do to help. And it’s good practice for Tokyo.
3 PM, 35°, Does this not look like someone who should be somewhere warm?
Was it not Jimmy Buffett who sang about needing to go to St. Somewhere? Well, I am leaving for St. Somewhere next Saturday.
Today’s sole objective was to finish culling and cataloging my photos from 2025. Mission accomplished.
And once that was done, I selected a few purely for my own amusement.
You gotta wonder about some things in Kona. And just hope there isn’t a fire.Tokyo – December 21, 2025Tokyo. December 22, 2025. Japanese girls being Japanese girls.Tokyo, December 22, 2025. More Japanese girls being Japanese girls.
Photographing Japanese girls was not my objective.
But I seem to have captured a few by accident.
In their natural habitat.
I spent a nice, cozy day indoors doing a whole lot of nothing.
The primary focus was mending my elderly jeans skirt and culling photos from 2025. I try to be as ruthless as possible with the delete key. But not one picture from the Volcano Run or the Island Hopper will be deleted. Those were once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
A couple from last month’s Island Hopper adventure:
The mechanics get on in Honolulu. And fly with the plane all the way to Guam.Our mechanics are on the job in Marjuro.
And what will happen to all my photos when I die? Absolutely nothing. They will vanish.
Every now and again, I think about setting up a fund to keep this blog alive after I’m gone. I probably would, if I were a better chronicler of the fall of the United States.
Mother Nature, That Bitch, was just messing with me this morning. Gray winter clouds appeared before I made it out for my walk.
But today, one of our residents pulled off her third annual fashion show. A fashion show at the asylum is a gloriously bizarre event. And great fun. Thank you, Victoria.
We have Rollators and Name Tags.And matching sneakers.
0649AM. It’s going to be a fine sunny winter’s day.
And it was a fine sunny day.
Went to in-person yoga for the first time since October.
Ubered to yoga and took the bus home. One bus was half full; the other was almost full. I was the only non-Hispanic rider on either bus. I can only imagine how fearful many of my fellow passengers must be. Our area has been relatively ICE-free so far, but that could change in a heartbeat.
Especially since we’ve finally disposed of our MAGA governor. He leaves office this Saturday. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass, Glenn.
This orchid is rather unruly, but totally splendid.
This orchid was left outside my door a couple of years ago. I know it has bloomed before—but never like this.
Thank you.
Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia. December 19, 2025.
Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia. Stop #5 on my little adventure last month.
About an hour after leaving Pohnpei, Chuuk appears. I’m sure there were many interesting atolls along the way, but clouds had other plans.
Chuuk is by far the most populous state in the Federated States of Micronesia, with roughly 50,000 people living on about 46 square miles. Most residents live around Chuuk Lagoon. Weno Island, located inside the lagoon, is the state capital and the country’s largest city. It’s about 7.2 square miles, rises to 1,215 feet at its highest point, and is home to the airport.
Much of Chuuk’s notoriety comes from World War II, when Truk Lagoon was Japan’s primary Pacific naval base—until the U.S. destroyed it in Operation Hailstone in 1944, leaving one of the world’s largest shipwreck graveyards beneath the lagoon.
Haven’t a clue what Chuuk does for a living. There are a couple of hotels and a lot of great wreck diving.
Chuuk International Airport. Another fun landing.Photo: Bill Davis. Not every landing is perfect. 2018. All the passengers and crew were rescued in little boats.
All of our landings were perfect. Except that it rained, we mostly couldn’t get off the plane, and I missed my flight to Tokyo—it was a great trip. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
If I weren’t so old, I’d go back and spend a few days on a couple of the islands.
A flight like none other comes to an end.
Whatever happened was what I planned.
