life in the old lane

Spotted on my morning cardio trek. You never know when you are going to need a kitchen sink.

While on my trek, Billy calls and asks if I want to go to Kahaluu Bay.
But of course.

Long ago, I surfed here. As recently as 2 years ago, I snorkeled here.

No regrets.
I had a splendid time watching surfers catch gentle rolling waves.
I tracked Billy and Monique as they made their circuit around the bay.
I silently cursed visitors for not properly watching their small kids.
And I wondered why people are still renting those ridiculous full-face masks.
(Although I was pleased to see fewer of them.)
Such a crabby old bat!

A stop at the supermarket yields lunch plus groceries.
We eat in the shade. Life is good.
Well, except…

But, no harm done. My pants will be dry by tomorrow.
And, since I am only good for about 6 hours of activity per day, tomorrow is more than soon enough for clean, dry pants. 

Billy wore a t-shirt, “Die with memories – not dreams.”
Honest, I am trying. 

Ok, people — it’s time for a leisure day.
Nothing needs to be done. There are no goals, no objectives.
Just don’t kill anyone. Including yourself.

I took a very leisurely walk. Twenty-six minutes to cover a mile.
My watch will not be warning me about “overtraining” tomorrow.

As I headed out, I came upon a nice brown lizard.

Coming up on my last 3 weeks in Kona.
Damn.

I should be grateful for having 6 weeks in Kona. But that’s not happening right now. Right now it’s: damn. Six weeks isn’t enough.

But that’s why I’m taking a crazy adventure from Dec 17 to Dec 25.
Have I lost my mind?
Most likely.

Thanksgiving #1. All the food was fantastic! The guests ranged from over 80 to 22. The youngest person had to leave early because she had to go to work. Can you imagine that? Work. What a concept.

Time to play with Photoshop.

Ready to do it all over again on Thursday.

 

Do 81-year-old women need cardio? 

Gratitude

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Damn grateful that I can still do cardio.

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While I’m wondering about things… I have tinnitus. Have for years. And no matter what the clickbait ads insist, there is nothing to be done about it. You just live with it.

I have lots of time out here in the middle of the Pacific, and the other day I read an article about tinnitus in ferrets. I am not making this up. Read it.

What I want to know is: how on earth can anyone tell if a ferret has tinnitus? You can’t even tell if I have tinnitus — you just have to take my word for it.

The ti plant isn’t native; it’s a “canoe plant,” brought by the original Polynesians. Non-medicinal uses include roof thatching, wrapping food, serving food, fishing lures on hukilau nets, and you can weave it into sandals, hula skirts, lei, and rain capes.

I had a friend whose entire property was planted in ti. 

Well, that’s enough from me for today. Back to major relaxation.

 

Weather is in a cloudy period. And, it’s reported that we had our first snow of the season yesterday. I didn’t see it. And, if it happened, it didn’t stick around.

But, a cloudy day was a good time to make my annual pilgrimage to the Chocolate Shop. At 9 AM it had a few folks sipping coffee and me shopping, which means, miraculously, they’re still in business.

Since they grow their own cacao, they’ve dodged the tariff insanity. 

The outright cruelty and total stupidity of the current regime continue to stagger me. I could rant longer, but the MacBook battery is running down to single digits.

Time to stop complaining, plug in, and consider whether this old machine needs a new battery — or maybe I do.

The Rainbow Shower Tree  — Honolulu’s Pride Tree — honors two lesbian couples from the last century. Nice story. But not much shade. 

Village business is really in the tank. This not-so-good snack shop is trying every gimmick in the book. When visitors stop coming, the mediocre places go under first — but even the good ones are wobbling.

After I finished lunch, the cleanup crew arrived. I should put some honey out. They like sweets.

We are having sorta cloudy weather. Pretty much in the 70s all the time down in the Village. 

My old body is complaining today, so I am giving it a break. I might not even make 2 miles today. 

While sprawled on the sofa, I started thinking: What exactly am I going to do in Tokyo?

I adore Tokyo. Unfortunately, I have the ambition of a 25-year-old trapped inside an 81-year-old body.

Then it hit me: trains.

That’s what I’m going to do. I love trains almost as much as I love coffee.

I’ll be staying right across from the 8th-busiest train station in the world, and Japanese trains run on time to the second, because… Japan. So here’s the working plan for my 3–4 days in Tokyo:

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• At 10 a.m.—after rush hour—board a Shinkansen going somewhere, one to two hours away.
• Get off. Wander. People-watch. Drink coffee. Admire vending machines.
• Get back on a Shinkansen.
• Return to Tokyo before 4 p.m. to avoid being trampled by commuters.
• Stop at 7-Eleven for a sandwich and coffee.
• Go look at holiday lights at dusk.

Honestly, I’m perfectly happy just sitting on a train staring out a window. 

I will need to do a little planning, mostly to make sure the trains come back. And if I’m riding Shinkansen, I’ll need to brush up on my ticket-buying skills. For the regular trains, I’ve got my IC card.

Got some good cardio in before it got too warm. Also, finished up my coffee shopping. Did a little “sink and soak” laundry. And read a book. That would be my morning.

Sautéed a chunk of yesterday’s ono in butter. Half was lunch, and the remainder will be dinner. There is another chunk in the fridge for tomorrow. I haven’t a clue how I will manage the return to eating Asylum food. Well, that’s Carlton’s wreckage of the future. Enjoy today’s food.

And while we are on trees…

I believe this little topiary whale is only visible to pedestrians trudging south on Kuakini. I may be wrong. Maybe everyone can see it. And – going north – it just looks like a bush.

I call my bathroom Auschwitz. Because the shower might kill me.

One month from today – the last great adventure begins.  

Start the day with a visit to the Kealakekua Market. It’s about 30 minutes away from here.

I avoided this delightful pastry vendor.

The trip to the market was a part of Billy and Monique’s instant party plan. They caught a 40 pound fish yesterday morning. In Hawai’i, it’s simply called “ono,” which is the Hawaiian word for “good.” The rest of the world calls it wahoo. So, fish tacos were served to honor the fish. And fishy doggy bags were issued to all the attendees. I have enough fish for maybe 4 meals.

I was collected at about 8:40 this morning and returned to my lodgings at about 4:40 pm. That’s about all the excitement that I can take.

That would be the Safari Explorer, 36 passengers, Alaska in summer, Hawai‘i in winter. I understand that.

And honestly, that was the most exciting thing on my walk this morning.

Since my brain was operating at a level above that of a potato today, I completed the online travel documents for my December Tokyo adventure.

You know, I truly do not have much common sense. Who in their right mind books a flight from Honolulu to Tokyo via the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Guam?

At my age, I’m too old to get excited or worried about much of anything. However, I am mildly curious and slightly apprehensive about how this is all going to unfold.

Whatever happens is what I planned.

Head out to the Old Airport with Billy this morning. The plan: walk, talk, eat breakfast.

We do a little cloud appreciation. What’s not to love about this formation?

We stopped to admire spider webs. How do spiders do it? If you gave me a spool of silk thread and told me to make a web? Wouldn’t happen. Heck, I bet ChatGPT couldn’t even give instructions for making a proper spider web out of nothing but silk thread. Mother Nature, certified bitch, but brilliant.

Lots of mongoose today.

When I got home, I was exhausted. I’ve decided it’s either a delayed reaction to yesterday’s flu shot, a breakfast-induced coma, a caffeine deficit, or simply an “old” day. Possibly all four. Did a token bit of apartment cleaning and declared myself at leisure.

Naturally, I checked on United 154. The flight I’ll be on five weeks from yesterday.

Read it from the bottom up: it appears to have gotten stuck in Kosrae. Population ~7,000.
Note to self: pack extra granola bars.

If you think you’re having fun, you’re having fun.

Got my flu shot and my $$$ coupon from Safeway today. That would be the major — and possibly only — accomplishment.

Well, I did abandon a Kindle book. I used to think I had to finish every book I started. Then I downgraded that to “must read at least half.” This summer I read an article that said: when you’re old, subtract your age from 100 and that’s how many pages you owe a book before ditching it. I read more than 19 pages. I feel I met the requirement.

Once upon a time, I could fold a butterfly out of a dollar bill. Wonder if I still can? Really, I wonder if my fingers remember how. My brain certainly doesn’t.

Yes, ICE rounds up people in Hawai‘i. As if folks don’t have enough to worry about already.