life in the old lane

That’s 3 ships this week. The merchants must be loving it. 

I had a lovely day and am so grateful to be enjoying what I call life’s bonus round. (Remember, I am pretty sure that “life” is a computer game or simulation run for the amusement of some other beings.)

I was some what horrified by my accumulation of Kindle books and various audiobooks. I thought I had about 2000. Well, turns out I only have 1,959. They have all been put into a spreadsheet. I still have to get the authors into some of the audiobooks. I am rather pleased and figure that this will surely cut down on my mindless acquisition of yet more digital content.  

So, how to celebrate: Play with MidJourney

Running out to capture Thankgiving Sunset. 

Maybe I should have asked MidJourney to Imagine Sunset. Nope. Some things are better IRL.

But, today is Wednesday and this is the regular Wednesday ship. 

Chance of unfriendly weather tomorrow, so I went for a swim today. The water was a little cloudy and the clouds for tomorrow’s weather had arrived. But, it was still good. I did break out my wetsuit. Since I brought it – I’d best use it. And, I hate being cold. I don’t even enjoy being chilly. 

Today. Walking. Gotta keep the legs working. Swimming. Reading. Napping. Playing with MidJourney. 

I think this one is pretty funny. 

MidJourney had trouble with this one. 

Warning. Cartoon Cat follows. 

 

 

 

 

I am sure it is Tuesday. I had Zoom yoga at 0700 hours. But that is definitely a NCL ship. A little research. It is the Norweigan Spirt up from Tahiti en route to Honolulu. But it is supposed to be in Hilo today. Hilo is really a better stop for cruise ships. It is way closer to the volcano. And ships can actually dock vice tendering. But when you get off a ship in Hilo you are actually nowhere. You have to get on a tour bus. Here you get off the tender and you are smack in the middle of our little drinking village with a fishing problem. 

I have been thinking about taking a boat through the Northwest Passage. Gotta do it soon if at all. The year only 2 ships are making the entire trip from Greenland to Nome. It’s done in late August. Something fun to think about.  Climate change in action.

OK Christie. Stop right here. There is going to be a cat picture. The rest can just scroll on down.

 

 

 

Today was for chores. And, a trip to the grocery to top off the larder prior to the T-Day rush. Thanksgiving always seems like sort of culinary amateur hour to me. And, most of the traditional food isn’t really all that good, unless perfectly prepared. I am having T-Day dinner with an old friend. We are having omelets. And will be thankful that that is all we have to do. Well, maybe a little wine, store-bought chocolate. And coffee. 

The grocery is more than just overpriced chickens. It’s ensemadas!

The ensemada has absolutely no nutritional value unless you consider happiness to be good for your health. Light, buttery, and full of sugar, it is the ultimate empty carb. 

I did not buy an ensemada. These are a couple of days old. If I am going to ingest a lethal dose of sugar and butter – I want it to be just made. I allow myself one of these a year! Carlton would scarf down one every day. But he had the metabolism of a hummingbird. 

Plants watered. Laundry done and put away. Sheets done and back on the bed. Dishes washed. Trash out. Floors swiffered.  All done until next Monday. 

Walking, swimming. Taking in the monthly “craft fair”. Completely fine day. I have lost a couple of pounds according to my pants. My cardio has improved. My blood pressure is no longer in the danger zone – but that could be the new combo of meds. My legs are better. Been drinking less alcohol. But the same amount of coffee. I will most likely get run over by a bus tomorrow. But, just for today – I am doing fine. 

This little ship does the inside passage in Alaska in summer then it comes to Hawai’i in the winter. It just arrived and came up to the pier for fuel and supplies before they start “uncruising” around at 6K for 6 days per person. 

Last evening the Xmas tree was going up. Looked a little like the flag raising on Iwo Jima.

And today I spotted an eel.

The eel wasn’t coming out and I wasn’t going to go down and put my finger in the eel’s face.

The old “regular” homeless, I am rather cavalier about. They know how to take care of themselves. They know where to sleep (not on a main sidewalk), where to get food, even where to do laundry and grab a shower. But, the “new” homeless… But, by grace… that could have been me. How did I get so very lucky? 

Years ago I was friends with a homeless man here in Kona.  We exchanged paperback books. He had a modest Social Security check, he was what Carlton called a “maintenance drunk”. Meaning he was able to keep just the right amount of alcohol in his system at all times. Once a month, when he got his Social Security, he would check into my hotel. Rest up, wash up, and invite his buddies over for showers and some TV. He was always very careful not to be noticed by the “regular” guests. Carlton thought it was strange that Jim would buy me breakfast every now and then. I didn’t, it made Jim feel “normal”. I was able to return the favor by getting him into Section 8 Senior Housing. Even got the hotel to give him a spare TV. (I think they were glad not to have his business any longer.)

I have made peace with my Gmail Account. It really isn’t bothering anyone except me. I’ll just tidy it up a bit. And tell Google to delete everything 6 months after they haven’t heard from me. 

Going to go watch the sun go down now. 

Aside: One of my Asylum Sisters absolutely hates cats. Even pictures of cats. So she doesn’t need to see the adorable feral kitties that live under the building. They are well feed and not a part of any official feral cat colony. You can tell that because their ears haven’t been snipped. I am sure they earn their kibble by keeping the mice/rats in check.

When I returned from my 2.5-mile fast walk this morning the body said: Hey woman, how about showing the legs some love and giving the legs the rest of the day off? Which I did.  So no beachy images today. 

But: Making progress – 113,513 Gmail emails. That is down about 6,000. Yeah, I know – big deal.  Also, working on tidying up my collection of 2,000+ eBooks and AudioBooks. 

I made some ratatouille today. I normally use a crockpot. But, this one I made on the stovetop. I think it will be excellent. It needs to mellow out in the fridge for a day or two. So, tonight, those well-rested legs will be taking me .75 mile round trip to dinner at my favorite saloon. Maybe Steak? Fish? Burger?  Decisions. 

They are waiting for dinner to show up.

Today. Today I have 118,759 emails in Gmail. That’s down from yesterday. That’s about all I can say.

The ocean was lumpy today. But, still good. On the way out I find a flying gurnard. Well, he skittered right out of my way without displaying his lovely purple wings. 

After swimming around awhile, I head back in. And find a devil scorpionfish.

He was still as could be and didn’t have his wings out. But, every so patiently I wait. And he takes off. 

The devil scorpionfish well-camouflaged ambush predator. And if another predator decides to ambush him, he is well armored with venomous spines in the dorsal fin. You don’t want to step on him. Or try to pet him. Our scorpionfish are not fatal like the stonefish in Tahiti. But, they can ruin your day. Look but don’t touch.

This is across the street from my lodgings. One does not go into the ocean here. I was looking for turtles. Didn’t find any. Did find some a’ama crabs. 

You can eat these guys – if you can catch one – generally eaten raw. Actually, potato chips are better. And all you have to do is open a bag. 

119,475 and counting. That’s how many Gmail emails I have. I started using Gmail seriously in the summer of 2007. 15 years ago. That would be about 8,000 emails per year that I didn’t delete. I have always deleted advertising, spam etc. These are mostly real emails from real people. Or bills. It’s probably time.  No researcher in 2107 is going to want my email from 2007. 

I could just declare email bankruptcy and delete everything more than 5 years old. For sure I wouldn’t have 119,475 dead tree letters, bills, whatever stashed in grocery bags. Or would I? 

Just doing the digital version of “Swedish Death Cleaning”. Not morbid. Realistic.  Stay tuned. I haven’t deleted anything yet. I just acknowledged that it’s a problem.

Hello, My Name is Peg and I have an email problem. 

Well Shit. The Shit really is running for President again. He could win again. Or he could lose again. Is this like Schrodinger’s Cat? 

Last night was one of those nights I have when sleep just doesn’t happen.  Think I went to sleep at 4AM and was doing zoom yoga at 7AM. I slept really great the night before. And the only difference I could see in the two days was I had a beer last night and none the night before. Guess I’ll have to experiment. Does beer destroy my sleep mechanism? I hope not. 

As a result of crappy sleep, I decided to take it easy in the ocean this morning. Seemed prudent. Well, as soon as I hit the water I was restored. So, off I went. Out into bay. Out where the glass bottom boat goes. I haven’t been out there this year.  The water was calm and warm. So, out I went.

Carlton always worried when I went out that direction. He was afraid I would drown or get smashed on the rocks. That might happen. But, nobody is promised tomorrow. 

It was wonderful today. Like swimming in an aquarium. It’s good enough to watch in full-screen mode.  The GoPro makes better videos underwater than still photos. 

Chores today. Laundry. Sheets. Sorta cleaning. Not a problem. The unit has all the necessary modern conveniences. (Except for an ice maker) 

I took a walk to the hardware store to get origami paper. Kona might be the only place on the planet where one goes to the hardware store for origami paper. 

Part of chore day was using up the scraps in the fridge. This frittata-ish thing was the very tasty result. 

And then it’s time for a swim. 

Just the usual fishy suspects today. But, I did wander by the school of small Moorish Idols again. 

I think they are pretty wonderful. And I am fairly sure that ending commercial aquarium collecting is working. But, unfortunately, after 5 years, fish collecting is set to resume. 

On a more positive note: Way to Go Katie Hobbs. Now Democrats. Don’t get into a circular firing squad as you are so want to do! If the Republicans do take the House – let them have circular firing squad duty.

I hate it when I get lapped by an overweight elderly dog! But, it happens to me all the time. 

Remember yesterday, when things weren’t going to plan, Well, I went into the kitchen to get a beer and nuke leftover ravioli. And, my feet get wet. Rather a lot of water on the kitchen floor. Clean up the floor. Get my beer. Nuke my dinner. Drink my beer. Eat my dinner and return to the kitchen for coffee,  And the water is coming back. Not good,

So, I text the picture to the owner who is in Mexico. The owner gets his son to come investigate. We decide it is the icemaker line. The kid finds the cut-off for the icemaker line. And the problem is solved. I have no icemaker. But, the lack of an icemaker isn’t a big deal in my world.  (I was afraid the water might be coming from the pipes in the wall. That would have been a problem.)

Today went more to plan. But, I didn’t plan anything for today either.