Author: Peg

First, the problem of the day. I developed a posterior nosebleed this afternoon. I am no stranger to nosebleeds. But, posterior nosebleeds are much more serious. Another joy of aging. Rest assured that I am taking this seriously. Not seriously enough to take myself to the local ER. But, seriously. No swimming. No inverted yoga postures. Hopefully, it will stop by itself. 

Second, the progress of the day. I figured I should not lay down and nap. So, I finalized my Australia plans up to Feb 14. The train will deposit me in Sydney at about noon on the 14th. But, I all manner of plane, train, bus and hotel reservations. All good until I get off the train. One of my hotel rooms is called a “matchbox”.  No, I didn’t do the Air BnB thing. I am sort of old school. 

Enjoying some fine coffee and a little toast this morning – when out popped a crown. It wasn’t 100% unanticipated. Fortunately, I was able to get an appointment to see Surfer Dentist early Wednesday. Only in Hawai’i do you need to check the surf report before going to the dentist. Actually, he is more responsible than that – but if the surf is good, the chances of him showing up early are slim and none.

Sorry Perth: You got short changed by Geraldton. I have a friend from the Merkel Cell Carcinoma support group who lives about 250 miles north of Perth in Geraldton. I’ll fly up early on Friday AM – spend the day and then take the bus back to Perth on Saturday morning. I’ll get to Perth mid-afternoon. Good news is the bus terminal is within a mile of the train station. Sunday morning it is on the train for my ride across the country. Hey, this whole trip is just one great big adventure. I’ll still have enough time in Perth to do some sightseeing – if the body holds up.

There will be plenty of time to rest after I am dead. Or on the 65 hour train ride from Perth to Sydney – which ever comes first. 

Had a hard time with getting my exercise in today. You know you are in trouble when you check the fitbit every 2 blocks. Are we there yet? Can I turn around now? Finally made a deal with myself. Sushi for lunch, after I hit 5 miles.

I failed to mention that I drove a car the other day. I only crashed four times. Now, you know why Carlton made me promise to never buy anything with wheels under it. Fortunately, the car was Billy’s remote control Mustang. It is about 12inches long.  I think the car survived. But, it would be fun to run one up and down the passageways at The Asylum. I suspect that soon “remote control cars” would join “candles” and “working firearms” on the verboten list.

I know there are things that I should be doing. But, today, I am not doing. Maybe I’ll make a list!

Did these bottles contain booze? I don’t think so. Olive oil? Who knows. Not me. 

A nice lazy day… Sort of. Well, it was sort of lazy. It was a nice day. The lazy part is I let the daily swim slide. But, I walked the 5 miles and did a hard yoga program. Well, hard for the 2018 version of me. It would have been easy for the 1998 version of Peg.

I got a luggage scale at WaMart. A fish scale was cheaper. And, it didn’t use batteries. But, it weighed at least twice as much. So, I decided to start worrying about ounces with the scale. And, I picked up a DIY tooth repair kit while I was there. With my old teeth – something will go wrong. FYI: My backpack weighs 3 pounds empty. My suitcase weighs 4. We’ll see which one goes and which one stays in Hawai’i.

So, the trip is getting “real-er”. 

Also, a friend had a news letter  emergency. You need it, when??? Time to invoke on of Peg’s rules: If you want it bad, you get it bad. 

Yes, that is our “official” wedding picture. I am in my oh so suitable “wedding togs”. For 20 years I was introduced as “Carlton’s current wife”. Well for the last 4 years, I have been “Carlton’s last wife”.  Good times, lots of them.  It is still good. 

Walked, swam, yoga – today. I am tired now. 

The catch of the day is a big female parrot fish. You gotta love parrot fish – because almost all beach sand is parrot fish poop. They eat coral and poop sand. 

Finally made some reservations for flying around Australia. 

Feb 2 – Kona – Honolulu – Brisbane (arrive Feb 3)
Feb 4 Brisbane – Melbourne. 
Feb  8 Melbourne – Perth
Feb 11 train to Sydney
Feb 14 train gets to Sydney
No plans after getting off the train in Sydney
Mar 1 – Brisbane – Honolulu – Kona (arrive Mar 1)

It is starting to come together. 4 weeks from today is lift off.

Put on my wool hoodie and made it out to the Old Airport. The sun came up. The whales showed up. Suit up and show up. 

Just a normal day in Hawai’i… walk, swim, yoga, read, nap. 

Hope all my east coast friends are safe and warm.

The next full moon – this month hence a blue moon – the next full moon will also have to total eclipse. I might have to go down to the pier in the middle of the night and check the moon out.

So sorry Darwin, the city – not the scientist – Darwin just got replaced by Melbourne. The only thing interesting about Darwin is where it is. Oh and crocodiles. Big ass salt water crocodiles.

Then I read about Melbourne. Chocolate tours and a 1,000+ stall outdoor market. And it is 91 degrees in Darwin right now and 71 in Melbourne. And, it seems to have great public transit. So, fly into Brisbane. Arrive 8:30 PM. According to “Sleeping in Airports” I’ll have no problem spending the night in the airport – then an early flight to Melbourne. 4 nights in Melbourne. 

But, its not all chocolate and Foster’s – I don’t check bags. Haven’t checked a bag in decades. BUT, the carryon limit for domestic flights in Australia is 7 kilos. That is about 15 pounds. Well, that makes deciding what to take interesting. 

 

I am dedicating January to getting the old body back in gear after enjoying poor health late last year. To that end, I have knocked out my 5 miles, and done some swimming and yoga every day this year. That would be 2 days now!

Today was another not too great day in the ocean. Cloudy, both the sky and the ocean. And there was a bit of chop. But, the great broom fish came swimming past my camera. 

Still playing mind games with my trip to Australia. About the Great Barrier Reef. In late February, it will be hot as hell. It is cyclone season. You can die from the jellyfish. Not to mention coral bleaching. But. If not now when. And as my friend Trude said about going to see the eclipse “well, for sure if we don’t go we wont see it”. 

Life is a crap shoot.

Another project for January – Starting with The Hobbit – revisit Lord of the Rings. That was my generation’s Harry Potter.

How about we just have pictures today?

After it warmed up – I went out for a nice swim.

Lots of people that didn’t really know what they were doing on paddle boards today.  Had to be really careful going out and coming back in.

Rumor has it that now that he isn’t president any more – Obama is back on his board on Oahu. Don’t think about the orange lord on a paddle board. 

 

 hau’oli makahiki hou

For the last 16 years or so, this has been my blog New Year’s Eve Post. And, that really is how Carlton “celebrated” New Year’s Eve. A real party animal that man!

But, I should talk. Today, walk, grocery store, shoe store, walk some more with the new shoes. Nap, read. And, dinner will be grocery store sushi – with extra wasabi. No swim today. It got cold. Yea, I know. ZERO sympathy. 

Oh, the shoes. Well, it seems that at least one thing on my agenda in OZ require shoes with toes and tops. I don’t think my clogs will pass muster. I know my sandals won’t. So, I am now the owner of a pair of “athletic shoes” – I haven’t had those in 30 years. I can always just leave them in Australia, if I hate them. 

And for those who were none to happy with 2017 – it could have been worse.

• 65,000,000 BC – that was most likely the worst. Your giant asteroid that wiped out 75% of life on the planet including every single dinosaur. That had to be Worst. Year. Ever.
• 1348 – The Plague in Europe. 1/3 of the population dies. This one gets my vote.
• 1492 – That wasn’t a very good year for the existing population of the Americas.
• 1837 – The Panic (financial) of 1837. This was a US thing. And, I know it would get Carlton’s vote for worst year ever. 

That was my list from last year. See no reason to change it.

2017 was a good year for me. I love my life at The Asylum.  The Little Old Lady Road Trip to the Solar Eclipse was great. The Last Great Photo Shot was a success. 

For all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, yes. – Dag Hammarskjöld

I think it has been 2 weeks since I was in the ocean. I bundled up in my wetsuit and decided to give it a try. I picked this side because I consider it “safer”.  My concern was having a coughing fit whilst swimming.

Seemed to be doing OK, so I swam over to greet Carlton on this our 39th anniversary. 

Coming back, ran into the pair of saddleback butterflies that I saw earlier this month. Well, I assume it is the same pair – since they are quite rare.

My other “catch of the day” was 4 almost nothing little lace Armani “bras for people who don’t need bras” at the thrift shop. For $1. Total.  For the trip. 

And, I have been really hungry all day. Hum… swim, shop, hungry… getting back to normal?

Carlton didn’t do Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Birthdays etc. But, he did remember anniversaries. And, December 30 is the day that he considered our anniversary. 39 years ago. 

Feeling a little better today. Walked to Walmart for the BP drugs. And, when I got back to the hotel – I didn’t have to take an immediate nap. Definitely getting some energy back. But, not well enough to swim. Not good to get a coughing fit in the open ocean.

1118 days until January 20, 2021.