Last night, after our wonderful Family Tea, I decided that I had to go to Kona for Fanny’s memorial service this Saturday. I found out about it earlier in the week. This photo was used on the Order of Service. I took that as a sign. Fanny, Sam and the AuHoy ohana are a part of my life that need to be honored.
Leaving tomorrow, Friday, morning. Arrive Kona after 9PM. The service is from 4 to 7 on Saturday. Plane leaves Kona at 11:55PM Saturday. And I should be back home in time for dinner on Sunday evening. Or not. Kona is stunningly expensive at this time of year. So, Fly in. Fly out.
Fanny and Sam. I think these are great-grands.
Sam made my wonderful Lauhala papale. So, it will go to Kona. (That’s a straw hat to the non-Hawaiian part of the world.) Sam died about the same time Carlton did.
Carlton and Fanny are up to no good. Carlton loved that woman. She did not take any shit from him. She recognized a snake oil salesman when she saw one.
Kumu finishes the lei haku.
So. Don’t expect much from me for a while.
Gratitude
Grateful that I can even attempt 9,635 miles in less than 3 days. We’ll see if I make it and live to blog about it.
We had been planning this surprise tea party for a member of our Asylum Family for several months. It finally happened today. And it was a surprise.
The Asylum Family – The tea was for Sister Sally 3rd from the right.The Tea Party – Is there enough food?
We demolished the food. And had a lovely time. Without any coffee or booze. Who knew you could do that? You have to have one or the other and preferably both.
The Old Bat’s Cave has taken on a rather “lived-in” look over the last few months (years?). I forced myself to move things from the OBC to the trash room. These things were not even worth “donating”. They were just trash. Or at best recycling or composting. I can not even dignify the operation by calling it decluttering or death cleaning. I was simply doing a serious trash out.
I did finish up the 2021 photos. Now onward to 2022. My fantasy is to get 2022 and 2023 done before 2025. It has never happened before. I am always 3 or 4 or more years behind. But. Maybe. This is the year?
I am processing photos from 2021 this week. (Better later than never). This one deserves another view – since it will soon be Lunar New Year (and the year of the dragon). This is a photo that my phone would not be able to deliver. I may miss my “real” cameras. But, done is done.
Just a normal old lady day. Made it outside for 2.5-mile walk. That’s about it. Sounds boring. But, boring ain’t the worst thing that can happen.
looking for the light #45 has left the building. This is my favorite photo of 2021. Inauguration Day. Jan 20, 2021.
This is another photo that I could not take with my phone. And, I seriously hope that I’ll never get another chance to take a photo of #45. Or his helicopter.
Just because I didn’t do anything all week long doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the weekend.
I wonder, what is it that old women are supposed to do? Never mind that the President of the United States is older than I am. (Speaking as an old person. He is too old and the other one is too evil.)
Let’s think about this. Things that an old woman needs to do. Well,
I have to get out of bed. Pretty obvious, gotta pee and the coffee isn’t delivered bedside anymore. Thank you, Carlton.
Make the bed. I guess if I had an actual bedroom I could skip this one.
Get dressed. Because,
I have to leave the Old Bat Cave and seek out other humans.
Go outside. If only for an instant.
Do something that can be considered exercise and something that requires a couple of brain cells.
Remember to take essential meds.
Do at least one nice thing for another living creature.
Don’t kill anyone. Even if they deserve it.
Finally, get back in bed. Sleep well and start back at #1 the next morning. Now, how hard can this be?
What I need to learn is to accept that this is “good enough”. If I do more. Great. If not it’s still OK. I am not Captain Marvel. (But I would like to be.)
OK. A good old stink bug. Think he needs to go back outside.
Don’t know why the stink bug picked today to come in my room. Could it be because I had the window opened? Don’t you love his pattern?
These guys are making way too much noise. I be outta here.
Lots of drilling and hammering going on with the brickwork next door. An excellent excuse to go outside for walkabout. I made it 2.75 miles down the road. Then I hopped a bus back home. By then the drilling was done.
The Tax Boy’s new-improved data capture portal is not the most user-friendly thing ever. But, really, I guess it just doesn’t work like I work. I shouldn’t be mad at it. I did uncover 2 errors. That doesn’t give me a warm fuzzy feeling. I spent all day fussing with the taxes. And that was just the easy parts. The hard parts will arrive late in February.
The Twilight Zone
How will the taxes get done when I don’t have enough brain cells left to get the taxes together for Tax Boy?
Warm but bleak.
Mid-60s today. Maybe 70 tomorrow. But. Gray. Damp. However, the orchids are enjoying the humidity. It is up to 62% in the orchid part of the Old Bat’s Cave.
Excellent financial news in my inbox this morning! Thank you Wall Street Journal.
All nice and above-freezing today. Cloudy. But not frigid. I was loving it. Got in a nice 4 mile walk. Puddles but no ice. All good.
I like the diverse statue options.
Went to the Post Office. That was the reason for the walk. I stopped in the bodega along the way for some cumin and diversity. Also stopped at Trader Joe’s for a couple of “sumo” oranges.
A 50 cent sliver of tomato with last night’s burger.
We have a new food ordering system and it’s not ready for prime time. The tomato cost 50 cents. But the onion and lettuce were lagniappe. The burger was excellent. They do burgers, fries, and ice cream well. The rest of the menu is questionable.
Gratitude
Grateful to be outside for a while.
Hoping for good weather (warm) weather on the cruise. Who knows, I might even take my snorkel gear. I left my wetsuit in Kona. But, I have my mask, pipe, and I think maybe some fins.
I am a sucker for birds on wires like music notes.
I have been wasting far too much time online lately. I plan on using my upcoming cruise as a digital detox. I will still listen to audiobooks, take pictures, and read books on the Kindle. I will not be online. I refuse to pay the WiFi price. It’s not that I can’t afford it. It’s just too expensive. And, I am just addicted. Doom Scrolling. Or looking at cat videos. I don’t know which is worse. Both.
Seems like MidJourney is familiar with “death and taxes”.
Last year I had to get a new tax guy. And figure out his system. Well this year, the new tax guy, now just the tax guy, has a new system. It is completely online. So, I can not do what I am used to doing which is to “do what I did last year with this year’s data.”
Taxes and yoga and wondering about what the world might be like this time next year took up the day.
Got in a nice 2.5 mile walk. By the time I got back, I was “hot”. But, a buzzard followed me for part of the walk. That is a little disconcerting.
Try yet another new origami model. I need to make 18 of these things and figure out how to get them together. Some assembly required.
Still frustrating myself with kusudama origami. I plan on folding 4 more of these things and see if I can get them together. This model was invented by a Russian woman about 15 years ago. I figure she must have spent a lot of time indoors during the long Russian winters.
At about 3:45, I make a serious mistake. I look out the window.
It’s getting cloudy. Does this mean it is going to snow again?
Clouds. While I wasn’t watching clouds arrived. I was almost reduced to tears. I am not handling winter well.
What to do but: Make Soup.
I retreat to my kitchen. Make red lentil and carrot soup. Soup makes everything better.
Discovered that the cupboard was lacking cumin. Used chili powder instead. Too lazy to walk next door to the grocery for cumin. Cumin was the first ingredient in the chili powder. Chili powder which inexplicably came from San Francisco. Wonder where I got that?
