life in the old lane

Before there the Kukailimoku Point Lighthouse – the church steeple did the job. It seems to be undergoing repairs.

Carlton was much more of a historian than a romantic. He would not have wished me Happy Valentines Day but reminded me that Captain Cook was killed on Feb 14, 1779. And that was fine with me. Still is. No need to make Hallmark richer.

I didn’t expect any resolution on my travel complications, yet. But, I did remember the fortune that I got at Sensoji Temple in Tokyo on my lap around the planet last summer.

Notice it says “There is a little bit worry about traveling.” I thought I was being warned about the lap around the planet, which went off without a hitch. Maybe I was being warned about 2020.  I love Shinto fortunes.

I am slumping into laziness. It always happens as my time in Kona winds down. I am sort of done with Kona for now. But, I don’t want to leave either. I should return to the east coast. But I don’t want to. Then in about a week, I will get all mopey about “this is my last Monday” in Kona, etc.  What a drama queen.

Gratitude

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Kona Coffee.

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Do you know that I actually thought for about 15 minutes this morning that I needed a new raincoat? That my life would be somehow better if I had a new raincoat. I decided that what I really needed was to step away from the computer and go get some Kona coffee.

Billy spotted a big old garden spider on our walk this morning. They are huge but totally harmless.  Unless you get caught in their web.

Went to a meeting this afternoon that was almost a total waste of time. Except they have really great scones and chocolate tarts. I will meet for food.

And now for the latest travel issue. The Canadian rail system has shut down. As in stopped.

Had no idea that my travels would be so adventurous. Not coronavirus. Pipeline protestors.  I agree with the protestors. So, if need be, I will come up with Plan B. At least I can get my money back for my train. Not going to worry about this until next week.

Yesterday’s travel problem involves a pretty important engagement that I forget I had scheduled in May. Think I can solve that one with a 36-hour detour back to Virginia. I am letting this issue simmer too. Don’t want to make things worse by some knee jerk reaction,

Sometimes it is just best to see how things unfold.

Gratitude

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Grateful that all my problems are these nice 1st class problems that can be solved with money and/or frequenter flyer miles

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And, no I am not ready to kick the jackrabbits out of my boots and stay home.

Gratitude

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Grateful for frequent flyer miles

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Another lovely day in the middle of the Pacific ocean. As long as I completely ignore any thing that is happening in the world.

Speaking of the middle of the Pacific.

About a week ago this sailboat crashed into our Big Island. Didn’t run aground on a reef. Didn’t hit a rock. Didn’t end up on a beach. It ran smack into the island.  And, what makes it funny is that the sail boat had just completed a 34 day transit from LA. No one was hurt. And there was no serious fuel leak. But, how could you find your way here and then crash into the first thing that you had seen in 34 days?

Gratitude

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Grateful for all those good years with Carlton.

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Wow. It rained. And then it rain some more. That’s about all I can say.

So, I took the rain day to finish up the May Trip.

1. 1. 1.  Got reservations to London via Iceland with a 3-day stopover.
      2.  Got reservations at a hotel in Reykjavik.
      3. Have reservations about my transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary2, but I signed up any how.
      4. Still need to get the connector parts setup. And, you know what – they are usually the hardest to nail down.

Gratitude

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Soup on a cold rainy day.

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In the spring of 1983, Carlton realized that in a couple of months he was going to escort his most important client to a meeting at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. He didn’t even have a passport. He had never left the country. And, didn’t really want to. He was scared. So, I got him a passport and took him on a crash course in traveling to Europe. And, since he missed that rite of passage – going to Europe on Icelandair, with a Eurail Pass and a backpack – that is what we did. But, we spent some time in Wageningen so he could fake it as a seasoned traveler in front of his clients. And that was the last visit I made to Iceland. Or Wageningen.

What was I thinking? How could I have missed the avocado festival? Bad Bad Bad. Heck, I didn’t even know about the avocado festival until I walked by this sign this morning when I was on walkabout.

And what else did I discover this morning? The Emerald Princess.

I pretty well have my May adventure thought out. Now I just have to commit some cash.

• • • 4-8 Days in Iceland. Iceland is a bitch without a car.
    • 1-2 Days reposition myself to Great Britain
    • 6 Days Tour the Cotswolds – this one is set.
    • 1-2 Days hang out in London.
    • 7 Days crossing the Atlantic on Queen Mary 2. Most likely being seasick. And unfashionably dressed. But, it is an adventure. Heck, everything is an adventure if you do it with enough wild abandon.
    • Take the train from NYC back to the Asylum.
    • AND, accomplish all of this with only my tiny backpack. Don’t think I’ll have the requisite ball gown for Gala evenings on QM2. Hello, room service.

Gratitude

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Avocados, even if I missed the festival. And papayas.

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Yes, Carlton, I am spending “your” money.  And for that, I thank you greatly.

The elderly body was feeling a little creaky today so I gave myself the day off. Only walked 2 miles today and I declared it too nippy for swimming. I may still do a little yoga. Yesterday I read an article that said the average American will live to be 78. (Yikes! That is two years away.) But, that they only make it 66 years of living well. Well, for all my grumbling about my diminished physical abilities – IMHO I am still living well. So.

Gratitude

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Really Grateful to be living well after all these years.

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Reading a book, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World (on my Kindle-not sure I am with the program 100%). It is making a lot of sense to me as I try to regain my ability to be focused. Do real things. Not virtual things. Do things with real living persons. Limit social media. Limit news feeds. Remove apps from your devices. Plan your leisure activities. And, that is a biggie for an old retired person. Leisure activities should involve hands, brains, muscles, and people. But solitude is important too. It remains to be seen if this old bat can learn some new tricks. The book isn’t suggesting Luddism. But, do you really think that the Orange Lord would be any more than a washed-up property developer were not for social media. And reality TV?

Normally, I post pictures of the Beach part of the Old Airport Beach. Today it is the Airport part. Featuring Mauna Loa with her nice dusting of snow this morning.

These are from the Mauna Kea webcams. A lovely snow day in Hawai’i.

And, it was chilly today. I had to haul out my cozy black travel shirt for my walk to Old Airport this morning.

Gratitude

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Chicken wings.

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Have a great Aloha Friday.

A little movie of yesterday’s bait school. I showed some tourists from the Wednesday cruise ship the school. They made me feel like Jacques Cousteau. They said that they couldn’t imagine anything so wonderful only a small swim from the shore. And you, dear viewer only have to click “play”. BTW: about 20 seconds in the school gets scared. I didn’t scare them. They are not afraid of me. A rather helpless black and white blob making strange noises. Something more serious like a predatory fish scared them.

Gratitude

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Kindle books from the library! I had more or less forgotten about that. Carlton read lots of Kindle library books. He couldn’t find them on line. Or get them checked out and on his Kindle. But, he could read them.

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It is cold and rainy here today. So, after a hardy breakfast of Spam and eggs, I did some accounting chores, listened to an audiobook and took a nap. Then, I started thinking about my May trip. Instead of clicking and Googling Iceland like a mad woman – I remembered my almost expired Arlington County library card and I happily download a Kindle guidebook to Iceland. Spent a rather focused 2 hours reading it. Pretty damn old school, don’t you think? And, I haven’t given up on the idea of snorkeling from North America to Europe.

This afternoon I was “busy” planning my next adventure. Then I reminded myself that I love the ocean. And the ocean is  ½ a block away. And why wasn’t I out in the silky calm clear ocean? Especially since conditions are predicted to deteriorate over the next couple of days. Why was I planning a trip for May? Focus on today.

Out I went, and I swam smack into a fine little bait school. The picture up top is just a cute little ball of fish. The bait school is much larger, but no where near as huge as it was a couple of years ago.

Gratitude

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Simple blessings – Crawling under the covers at night, feeling all safe and cosy.

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I have been working on “being present in the moment” or “focused”. I lost that ability when Carlton was sick. And, I never really regained it. I suspect that social media, which I used a lot after Carlton died is part of the problem. I am doing better. I don’t think that losing the ability to focus and concentrate on a single thing is a normal part of aging. At least it isn’t going to be a part of my aging if I can help it.

Picked up, off the free table at the thrift shop the other day the dead tree version of The Mayo Clinic Plan for Healthy Aging – How to find happiness and vitality as you age. Now, the Mayo Clinic is a pretty responsible outfit. Heck, my hospital proudly touts its relationship with the Mayo Clinic. So, I figure – the price is right and I might actually learn something. Well, I sort of skipped over the rather large section about “when it is time to stop driving” and landed on this paragraph of suggestions to alternatives to driving:

“…you may wish to look into mo-peds and scooters. If you live in an urban setting and are close to a grocery store, for example, a mo-ped can help you make the trip there and back with minimal effort and all you to bring your purchases back home with you.”

What is the Mayo Clinic thinking? You can not drive a car, but a mo-ped would be a good Plan B? I don’t think so.

Speaking of aging, You all know that I haven’t been happy with the “aging process”. But, I have been trying hard to match my aspirations with my abilities. And, I tell myself that up to a point aging beats the alternative.

I thought I was doing pretty well. Until this afternoon. Researching possible tours in Iceland. A tour right? Sounds suitable for an old woman. That was my thinking. But, I was actually checking out snorkeling tours of the tiny rift between the North American and European plates in 2°C water, It still sounds awesome. Snorkel from North America to Europe and back. If not now when? And, it doesn’t involve riding in a boat. It’s a walk-in deal.

Gratitude

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Simple blessings- sitting on a bench overlooking the ocean with a good friend, a mug of coffee and a take-out breakfast from the grocery store.

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Yesterday, while checking out Mr. C’s final destination, I found a yellow phase trumpetfish pretending to be a yellow tang. It’s a good strategy. Trumpetfish are ambush hunters and yellow tangs are vegetarians. They color match exactly. Shape not even close. But, if there are a lot of yellow tangs the trumpetfish is well hidden.

The ocean was really calm and pretty chilly this afternoon. Chilly is good. The ocean is supposed to be chilly in winter.  I found myself over by Carlton’s drop off location.

Lots of yellow tangs. I was hoping to find a turtle, but just tangs. That’s OK. Carlton liked tangs.

Figured out why the Super Bowl half time show reminded me of an aerobic class in the 1980’s. Well, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira are about the same age as I was in the mid 1980’s. And, for 5 or 6 years I took a really hard aerobics class twice a week taught by a Puerto Rican dominatrix. We would crawl out of the class. (I didn’t look anything like Jennifer or Shakira.) And props to the ladies for the kids in cages and the Puerto Rican flag.

Gratitude

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Asparagus. I love asparagus. And it is actually good for you too.

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