HITTING THE TO-DO LIST!

I started the day off with a walk.  It was not the same without my little boy.  Having run the day before, it's better to walk and heal up a bit before adding fuel to the fire.  I have to keep reminding myself that muscle weighs more than fat ... and if I would just PUT DOWN THAT CHEESECAKE, I might lose a little more. 

As I came back into the house, I was reminded for the umpteenth time that I needed to tear down those cardboard boxes that have been coming every day.  Amazon is a curse when you're bored to tears.  

With that done, I was on to hooking up the charger to the van.  I suppose I could have just driven it 50 miles, but I wasn't in the mood.  At the same time, I did a little maintenance work.  I turned on the generator, then the air conditioner to give it a little run for the money ... which caused ME to run as fast as I could to turn the generator GAS on.  Just a minor detail.  

I didn't run it very long before getting completely distracted by my grumbling stomach and Kitters meowing for HER breakfast.  It was an easy choice ... croissant, scrambled egg and tomatoes.  I really did need to make a food order with Walmart, which will now be delivered at 7:00 am.  Those drivers must make a bundle to do THAT job!

Back outside I hit the weed spray once again before giving Kitters some attention.  She craves this brushing all day long and bugs me constantly.  I've noticed when she is inside, she positions herself where she can see me when she lays down.  If I move into the office, here she comes and sleeps right about where Cooper used to lay.  A sad reminder I must say.

When the doorbell rang, I knew it was Amazon once again.  I got yelled at in Maui because I didn't wear a hat in the sun.  Hmmm might not be a bad idea for here too since I do lay out from time to time.  This one is completely NOT my style ... after all, I'm a cowgirl.  It goes do one thing cowboy hats do not.  It rolls up into something akin to rolling up my shirts in my small travel bag.  I'm not saying it works, but we shall see.  

I then spent an hour talking to AT&T.  I've been with them forever and get a nice discount, so no, I won't change carriers.  On this occasion however, I was close!  One of my credit cards specifically for auto-pay got hacked.  They called me immediately.  That means a new card number had to be put in place for those auto-pay items, of which one was AT&T.  

Yes I changed it, but they did not pick it up and gave me a big RED X on my computer.  Really?  It's YOUR fault you didn't pick up on the new card number.  I got Thomas ... a happy guy who agreed with me how BAD their AI answering service was.  He fixed it, but it took an hour on the phone.

Trying to take care of "stuff", next up was a contractor to fix the rotted facia board and gutters.  I STILL have not found anyone who will help.  So I called the plumber to fix this faucet that leaks even when the supply lines are turned off and will NOT work when the hot water is turned on.

Believe it or not, I had to send them a picture.  "We don't see any cold water faucet".  Umm are you really a plumber?  That's because the ONE faucet turns both ways, for hot and cold.  I had to send them TWO pictures before they "got the picture".  I'm afraid this isn't going to end well.

Kitters and I watched a very interesting program about a Tour of Mars, right after seeing the program about the Challenger exploding.  Nope I'm pretty sure I will NEVER go into space!!  I like it just fine down here on earth.  Kitters slept the rest of the afternoon.    

And so I suppose I should gear up for tonights Bingo since I've declined to attend the last three mandatory meetings.  Everything has changed since losing my sweet Cooper.  I have no patience for foolishness.  Anyone else feel that way?  Maybe it's just my old age kicking in.  I'm hoping that changes soon, but I'm not holding my breath.  

Back to my TO-DO list!!!

WEEDS AND PIZZA!!

 Good Morning California!  I admit, I would much rather be saying ALOHA!  Even though it was warm there, it was much cooler than here!  They had a breeze blowing 24-7 and we had the quietest overhead fan I have ever known.  Turn my ceiling fans on here and they grind so loud it keeps me awake.  I guess there is something to be said about BOTH locations.

It was early when I headed out for a run so I would beat the heat.  My inner clock has moved forward an hour for some reason, so it's plenty light at 6 am.  In spite of no rain and lots of heat, the sunflowers are in full bloom.  It took a bit to get my lungs to open up, but I see progress.  There was more running than walking this time.

It was a mistake to go in the back yard when I returned. The weeds around the outside edge and into the flowers beds were epic.  I once again have a gardener that mows and goes.  I pulled 10" high handfuls and threw them on the lawn.  I want him to SEE what he should have been taking care of.  Either hit them with the weedeater or spray.  This is unacceptable.  The worse part ... ants take up residence underneath the weeds.  Just walk near and see how many bites you get!

Kitters tried to make it all better.  She marked her territory by rolling in the sandy corral before coming in the doggy door and depositing a PILE of sand ... and I mean a PILE!!  I thought I must have drug all that back from Maui in my clothes.  Were did that come from?  One quick pet of her back and I knew.  I had to sweep the entire hallway it was so bad.  She is quickly becoming a pain in the patoo!!!

I spent the next couple of hours sewing the binding on this 250th celebration quilt.  It will be auctioned off at the Elks Lodge to make money for our Veterans account.

Yeah, trying to look all innocent after bringing in all that dirt.  She spends most of her time on the arm of the couch .... keeping VERY close.  She literally follows me to every room like a puppy.

Time went by very slowly and I was bored to tears.  In Maui you are going and going.  Always something to see, something to investigate, going out for lunch ... keeping busy.  Here I'm sitting on the couch for hours wishing I was back on the island.

In desperation I finally decided to try out Shirley's cauliflower crust pizza.  You know what?  It turned out VERY good.  Who knew??  It doesn't TASTE like cauliflower and acts just like regular pizza crust.  There is actually a lot of pepperoni under there, but I put too much cheese on top.  Thank you for the tip Shirley!

Dessert was a little slice of that cheesecake I made before I left.  I put a little homemade plum jam on it for added flavor.  Boy was it GOOD!!!  Here's another good thing about being in Maui ... you don't eat dessert every day like I do here, saving me a few pounds while on that trip.

Finally, only out of complete boredom, I set up the quilting machine for the next quilt.  Of course ever since I had it "fixed", it doesn't work right at all.  The computer program hangs up here and there, I'm sure because they updated the program on an old iPad.  

I messed with it for two hours.  There are crosshairs that should move when you move the machine, and they do NOT.  There's no other way to line things up.  Though it stitched okay this time, it was way off by the end, meaning I had to delete the entire pattern and reenter everything from scratch, just to get the last row done.  

Add to that the instructions I have to do things like cropping, do not match what I see on the screen any more.  The buttons they tell me to touch, are not there.  It's become frustrating every time ... making me not want to quilt any more. 

I got this one finished, but I'm not happy with it.  I suppose no one will notice, but "I" will.  And of course it's not Cooper approved.

Kitters is doing her best to keep me occupied, but it's just not quite the same.  

Home Again, Home Again

You probably don't know this, but I am NOT a fan of flying.  I never have been.  When I was maybe 25-something and living at the ranch, which just happens to be located next to the airport, I was outside looking over the fence when I heard a bad noise.  When you live next to an airport, you know the sounds of airplanes.  

I looked up to see a plane crash in the field and burst into flames.  I jumped in my car and raced to the site.  Being the first one there, I found a man and a woman lying in the grass, badly burned.  I could hear the sirens, so I knew the medics were on their way.  The girl gave me her contact info and I called her father, the Sheriff of Fresno County at the time.  Sadly, the pilot died the next morning and she passed away a week later.  I love going places, but flying is very scary for me.  

Here we are, waiting to get onboard.  We flew standby this time, but had no problems getting a seat ... both times an exit row with plenty of room.

We were late taking off because people had so much baggage, it took them longer to get it stashed.  That meant other planes were landing while we waited to fly out.  I just kept taking lots of deep breaths!!

I happen to be a Southwest member, so I get WiFi when on the plane.  Oh look ... luckily we are leaving at the right time.  I don't think I have EVER seen a hurricane notice here.  It's going the exact same direction we are ... but thank goodness two days later!!!

Then there was THIS one!  I guess we left at the exact right time!!!

Anyway, here we are taking off over the water. 

Our pilot was a comedian the entire way, which made the ride more fun and entertaining.  He caught up on the time a bit and we flew over San Francisco Bay in 4.5 hours.  That's tiny Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge down there, but the smoggy fog was thick.

Now holding my breath, we are over Sacramento farmland getting ready to land.  Thank goodness this landing strip is longer than the one in Kahului, so we all didn't have to brake for the pilot.

Since we landed at 7 pm, I spent the night at Cyndae's house on the couch.  Lucky for me once again, the drive home was NOT filled with traffic jams.  Cyndae said I should stop in at McDonalds for breakfast, so I did.  A sausage egg McMuffin .... except it magically turned into a BAGEL egg McMuffin without my approval.  It was TERRIBLE!  Hard, tasteless and NOT what I ordered.  The frappe ... a little bit better ... all for the low price of $15.89.  I will not be stopping there again!

First things first ... I called Kitters.  Wasn't I surprised when she came from the house to the back door and stopped dead in her tracks.  I don't think she remembered me.  I talked to her, gave her a little pet and VOILA!!!  She remembered.  

Is that really you?  She was sniffing up a storm.

In no time she was patting me on the hand for pets.  Boy has her coloring changed.  In one week, she is much lighter in color.

She followed me everywhere the entire day.  I was not out of her sight even once.

She finally settled on the back of the chair, but every time I get up .... there she was.  I think she missed me.

And so I landed safely back home.  Thank the good Lord for that!!  I was also very happy to find that my new coffee cups survived being in my checked bag UNBROKEN.

ALOOOOOOHA!!!

BIG WINDS

There is one thing about Maui that never goes away, and that is the wind.  You land on one end of the low valley and stay on the OTHER end of the low valley ... so the Tradewinds just whip through the area like crazy.  The wind brings all the moisture from the ocean, and as it climbs up the sides of the mountains, it becomes clouds that obscure your view.  I won't mention the chickens and dogs this time! 

On rare occasion, such as this day, Haleakala volcano (which thankfully is dormant) can be seen from our yard.  Lava rolled down that big hill to become this island, and is where Cyndae's property resides.  Land is so expensive over here that every 1/2 acre has THREE houses on it.  They live in one and rent out the other two.  Rents run $2-3000 a month.  Pretty pricey.  

The good news is that up-country is much cooler.  The very top is at 10,000 feet, higher than you would think for an island.

Though I thought we might get one day to just melt into our chairs, we had things to do.  First stop was the bakery yet again.  Who can't use a few more pounds!!  We actually did very well on food.  Lunches at our favorite places ran about $25 each, but made two meals, so not too bad considering where we were.  Maui is more laid back and not NEAR as expensive as Oahu.  Food trucks are a big thing now, but they too run $25 for lunch.

Next stop ... a new to us beach with practically NO ONE in sight.  That's my kind of place to sit and watch the ocean.  Surfing was terrible because the waves were too small, and paddle boarding was terrible because the waves were too big.   

This doesn't look bad, yes?  NO ... it's BAD.  This was one of the smaller waves that came through.

Turn your sound up and you will get the idea.  Big rollers started coming in just when Cyndae decided to swim with a pool noodle.  Not me ... I already did my rollover.  She did fine until she tried to come back in and got hit by two HUGE waves that knocked her down to the sand.  I got up, but she was able to right herself and get out.  Everyone going out, even the kids, were getting slammed.  I stayed nice and dry on the beach.  Even sitting and watching the waves is worth the trip over here.

We checked out a couple of other spots, but they were all the same.  One local said the last set of big storms that came through has changed their weather patterns such that the ocean is too rough for just about anything.

Back home, I hung out with Baba for awhile before calling it a day.  You never know when to head in or when to go to bed with the 3 hour time difference.  My apologies to those people I called at 1:00 in the morning.

Days end found us packing, as the week was over.  We both have appointments to get to on the mainland.  Another trip is planned for August or early September.  Maybe we can stay longer next time.

The BEST news ... other than I'm possibly going back to Maui ... is that Kitters was not only here, but IN the house!  I called and she came running, though she stopped dead and just stared at me.  I'm not sure she recognized who I was.  More on that tomorrow!!   ALOHA!!!

NO BLOG TIL SATURDAY!

 

Traveling Thursday and Friday.  See you on Saturday!!!

ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE!!

 Mornings are dark and cloudy with the cackles and barking of dozens ... and I mean DOZENS of chickens and dogs.  I love it ... because I'm up country!

The first order of the day ... and it should be EVERY day ... is the bakery in Makawao.  It's native owned and the best on the island.  Don't expect big city buildings here ... these little towns are from the 1930's.

Donuts on a stick ... peach pear turnovers and a long John.

We ate outside on the deck to the sounds of this cardinal calling all the males in the territory to come take a look see.  We whistled back and forth for ten minutes before she flew off.

This is next door and there are three axis deer in this pasture.  Can you find them?  They are pretty well camouflaged.  

Baba comes over every morning now for her ear scratching.  She is just the sweetest thing!!

In no time we were off to the beach.  The whitecaps could be seen from high up on the road.  That's no bueno, so we headed over to Makenna instead.  It wasn't much better.  You can tell instantly by the brown water swirled up from the big waves.

You'll have to look close at this one.  There are abut six tiny birds on this rock.  They were trying to hit us up for some tortilla chips.

A little later, this fisherman came in on this very cool kayak boat.  He had quite a hard time getting it in to the beach.  The waves coming in were BIG rollers ... like the ones that got me.  He finally made it, but it took him 30 minutes to get the boat out.  We never did see if he got any fish.

The waves got even worse as we got a little damp from rain and sea water.

We met a nice tourist from Dallas with his family, and told him where to go on the island.  We also gave him the secret location of the turtles.  His family came back with BIG smiles on their faces.  YOU MADE MY DAY!!  

That's when I made CYNDAE'S day with THIS secret location.  I've been diving all over this island in years past and surprisingly remembered this diving spot.  This is a family cemetery with a secret walkway.

You end up here ... with water even crazier than other locations.  Lots of local divers go out here, as well as fish off the lava point.  

The waves they were a crashing!!!

There was one diver out ... that's the orange float all divers have to take with them so they don't get run over by boats.  It suddenly began to rain, so we left in a hurry.

Into town we went to the Paia (Pie-e-ah) fish house for some fabulous mahi-mahi.  No one makes it better on the grill ... with huge plates of the best potatoes and slaw I've ever had.  

From there we made a trip to the auto shop to get her car safety check so she could get new tags for next year.  Sadly, the insurance card was left home, so we drove all the way back to pick it up.  All this time I've been driving ... trying to get reacquainted with the island's new highways.  With that done, we finally crashed at the apartment for the rest of the night.   I'm so grateful that Cyndae and I get along good and I get to visit this island again.

In the meantime, I'm looking at a condo for sale.  It might take some accounting magic.  Not that I would live here, but I would put it on the rental market so it can pay for itself.  We'll see!!!

And no, this little guy is never far from my thoughts.  Every single day!!!