I had plans today. But then, Billy called up and said he was going swimming at Pine Trees, and did I want to come. You bet. Never mind that I no longer do open ocean swimming. Billy supplied a comfy chair, bananas, and granola bars. Life was good.
On the right, Billy is coming back in, and on the left is a very large boat going out to feed the kampachi. At the fish farm.
Billy dropped me off to get a flu shot. You can get a flu shot every day—except today. No worries. Tomorrow is another day. And I’ll get a COVID shot on December 8. Apparently COVID shots “prevent” COVID for only a few weeks after you get them; after that, they’re mostly about keeping you out of the hospital. I want maximum protection for the Island Hopper → Tokyo → Home phase.
Yesterday I paid respects to Carlton. I didn’t make it to Carlton’s tennis court this year. And I’ll not be swimming over to where I put his ashes in the water again.Sad to report that the old Palace isn’t looking too good. A window was left open. The shutters are missing and damaged. Not to mention the building is almost 200 years old.
People keep asking, “What are you doing?”
I am staying alive. That’s what I am doing.
I recline on the couch and read and look at the mountain.
Or I recline on the other end of the couch and read and look at the ocean.
It seems to be chilly back East today. So, enjoy 45 seconds of nothing but ocean.
Today was my regular yoga class. But rather than 12 PM in person. I did 7 AM Zoom. After a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs and avocado, I went down to inspect the ocean.
The eggs are marvelous colors.
Every time I use an egg, I must decide which color egg to eat. Wonderful. And, when the chickens pass their laying prime, they are allowed to retire. They do not become chicken soup.
Had to have avocado with brekkie. Because.
We have HUGE avocados. My glasses for scale.A quarter of the avocado anchored dinner last night.Last night’s dinner sunset.
Avocado will be on the menu for dinner again tonight. Can not let any avocado goodness go to waste.
Madam Pele was at her best yesterday afternoon. Not my photo. I wasn’t there.
The people give scale. The fountains were over 1,000 feet. Still have about 4 weeks to make it over in person. If it is supposed to happen, it will happen.
No pictures today. Well, except this one from my grocery run.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Thanksgiving at Safeway.
And this one from my laundry room. Gotta get an app to pay for the washing. For now, my sink and suds method works fine.
Oh yes, I am culling and cataloging photos from my trip to Alaska last summer.
No comment.
Remember folks. Nobody gets out alive. So, make the very best of it.
Lucky for me, there is a market about a block away. It’s not a fancy market. There are no gourmet dog treats, no freshly roasted coffee beans, no hydroponic greens. And no prepared food. Just fruits and veggies grown in good old dirt right here on Big Island. And since this is Big Island, there is always the chance of getting rat lungworm disease from some of the produce. That adds excitement to your salad!
Chocolate! I’ll let someone else process it.
I didn’t buy any cocoa beans. I’ll let the pros turn it into chocolate.
Persimmons and Dragon Fruit
I passed on these also. Just sticking to the basics. Papaya. Bananas. Avocado.
I am trying very hard to “eat healthier” and maybe lose 5 pounds while I am here. The food is so hideous at The Asylum that one would think it would be easy to lose weight. But no. I found myself eating way too many grilled cheese sandwiches, with added bacon, burgers, and chips. And, I would have lots of snacks around the Old Bat’s Cave. And not raw veggie snacks either. Oh yes, there were the beers too.
My doctor thought that losing 5 pounds would be an excellent idea. And, my clothes would appreciate that too. We’ll see how this works out.
Nothing fancy at this market.
Not fancy is good. I don’t need to be tempted by croissants.
5:54 PM Nightfall at the Old Bat’s Cave West5:59 PM Nightfall at the Old Bat’s Cave West6:09 PM Nightfall at the Old Bat’s Cave West
Took these photos last evening while having dinner on my lanai.
I was looking through my old photos to see if I had any of the church before the 2006 earthquake. I only found one.
St Michael’s 2000.
It was more graceful and at least 20 feet shorter pre-earthquake. But stout might be better next time there is an earthquake. And taller, better when the next tsunami arrives.
And I discovered this photo. I should have been deleted long ago. OOPS. It should have been deleted long ago. Never mind that many people think that I should have been deleted long ago. It wasn’t carefully cataloged. Just tagged Hawaii2003.
Feb 2003. I haven’t a clue what’s going on. I believe it’s in Waimea. But Carlton is not a happy camper.
The Beaver Moon. A couple of days late and at 0715 hours. But, still good.
Finally caught up with the Super-Harvest-Beaver-Whatever-Moon this morning.
Billy delivered a dozen multicolored eggs this morning, and we headed out for a little walk and a lot of breakfast.
Trust me. There are dolphins.
And on that rock – there is a ruddy turnstone.
Ruddy Turnstone, akekeke while here in Hawai’i.
The ruddy turnstone flies here from north of the Arctic Circle. Apparently, they can make it all the way to New Zealand on those tiny wings. It’s about the size of a robin. Think about it.
Hualālai, from my kitchen window, last erupted in 1801.
Carlton would always tell the visitors that it was 212 years into its 200-year cycle. Well, Carlton hasn’t made it to Kona in a while, but it is now 225 years into its 200-year cycle. It’ll really mess things up next time it goes.
And out on the lanai – it must be Wednesday because The Pride of America is at anchor in the bay.
It must be Wednesday.
Well, the skirt is hemmed. It rather pleases me to know that I can still hem a skirt. It was a thrift shop purchase in San Diego. I decided that I hated absolutely hated the skirt that I brought. (I traveled with 1 pair of pants and 1 skirt, so hating 50% of my wardrobe wasn’t good.) I picked up a new skirt at the thrift shop and left them my rejected skirt.
Don’t know why I started hating that skirt. It has been on several trips. I must have had it for a couple of years. It was a part of my “age-appropriate” collection. The replacement skirt is also “age-appropriate”. And, it’s now 2 inches shorter. But still well below my knees.
Had a little computer excitement. Photoshop wouldn’t load. Insufficient scratch space. WTF? Well, turns out PS was correct. Only 16GB free. How did that happen? Cleanup ensued. Now have 120GB free. Don’t like calling on “Terminal” when I am oceans away from a friendly Apple store. But, not too shabby for an old woman. Even if I did have some help from ChatGPT.
No, I would never use a 3rd party APP to clean up my computer. And most of the problem was old Lightroom Library Backups. I hadn’t cleaned them out since last December. (Wonder why they are called 3rd party. Why not 2nd party? Or even 4th party? Bet ChatGPT knows. IDNC.)
And wasn’t yesterday’s election a good start in the right direction? Operative word being start.
New sign in town. Guess Kona is trying to be instagram friendly. This is 10AM. Notice any people? And, I didn’t photoshop them out. There are no people.Where the tree was. 140-year-old fig tree dropped a huge branch late last month. Nothing was damaged. But the tree was declared “dangerous”. It will be missed.
A couple of years ago, a similar huge fig tree in Hilo tragically killed two women. Therefore, if your tree is deemed dangerous, it will be removed.
This is the tree from the other direction – Nov 8, 2021‘Ahu’ena Heiau needs some love.
Kona is having a hard time. Part of the village’s problems are self-induced. Free parking has disappeared. That’s part of the problem. The other problem is the lack of visitors. Kona gets a lot of winter visitors from Alaska and Western Canada. That’s not working right now.
People always want to know: What does gas cost? I am sure it’s cheaper at Costco.
Had a good Zoom yoga session at 7 AM this morning. I embarked on a skirt hemming project. Now I am deciding on dinner. Grilled cheese and tomato or peanut butter and honey? I stir-fried veggies and shrimp for lunch.
I don’t have a dishwasher but I do have a rainbow. I almost like rainbows more. Almost.
Well settled into 6 weeks of leisure.
I did manage a 2-mile walk before breakfast. Then later I prowled around my immediate neighborhood for another mile.
Oh, and I tweaked one of the ceiling fans. It was spinning in the wrong direction. Doing no good at all. Thank you, Carlton. I believe you are the one who explained ceiling fans to me. Never thought I would need to know that.
And now. A few shots from my walk.
This guy and his dog are favorites of mine. Glad to see that they are both still alive.
And this bad boy was out waiting for trash pickup.
Halloween leftovers. Most likely looks scarier now than it did on the day.
And of course. Ocean.
Morning walk.
And EVERYONE. Go vote. Vote for bond issues, school board, dog catcher. Vote. It could be your last chance. Go Vote.
Old habits. Billy, Monique, and I head to the Old Airport for a little walk followed by breakfast. The usual restaurant was full. But not of visitors ordering Eggs Benedict, mimosas, and Kona coffee. But full of locals ordering the Kamaʻāina breakfast and hold the coffee water is fine. Business isn’t good. This is the slow time of year. But it shouldn’t be this slow. Billy was quick to point out that there was only one charter fishing boat heading out this morning.
I was unable to capture the entire soy sauce aisle at my favorite grocery store.
My 17 pounds of groceries weren’t enough. On the way back home from breakfast, I stopped by KTA for peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, and cheese. Eggs were on the list – but Billy and Monique promised to drop some off. I hope you enjoy about ¾ of the soy sauce selections.
Back at the condo, I checked my parking space.
57 is my parking space. I may put a beach chair in it.
And today. The view out the kitchen window. And front door.
A very lazy day today. Only 2.5 miles. Most of those miles were necessary miles not fun miles or exercise miles. To the grocery. I came home with 17 pounds of groceries. (The condo has a scale). And my wallet was $137 lighter. I think that means that groceries cost $8 a pound. Still need to pickup peanut butter, honey, cheese and eggs. 17 pounds of groceries is about 5 pounds more that I am comfortable schlepping.
So, I got food. And I got unpacked. That’s it. I was even too lazy to take a nap.
I can lay in bed and see the ocean. And palm trees.
