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Rats, roaches, ginger and saimin

I discovered these ginger flowers in my very own jungle today. I'm not usually one for cut flowers, but these were just so cool I had to bring them out of the dark forest and into the light to be enjoyed.
Mr. Sox brought a baby rat into the house tonight. The poor little creature was still alive but badly wounded. I had planned to take the struggling critter away from the fat cat and gently replace him back outside to either survive miraculously or crawl off to die in peace. I turned to grab a container to put him in and when I turned back, he was gone. Mr. Sox was scurrying out the door. So I hope the cat was scurrying after the rat. If not, the rat is probably hiding somewhere in a nook or cranny inside the house. Great. He'll get along well with the cockroach that escaped from my grocery bag a couple of weeks ago. The pair are probably setting up house behind the fridge as I type this.
I finally put up my tiny, fake Christmas tree last night. With lights and decorations, it actually looks very festive. I like it.
I've decided to abandon the wine blog. Ultimately, I guess my heart just isn't into the topic enough to make regular posts. Not to mention the the fact that I'd have to drink a lot more to come up with new reviews on a regular enough basis to keep the thing interesting. Instead, I'll just mention good wines and other stuff I discover here.
I finally got the results of my October cholesterol test today. The total count is 196, with an HDL (the good kind) of 115 and an LDL (the bad stuff) of 71. The doctor said that was great and asked me if I was an athlete. Of course I said yes. HAHAHAHAHAHA! Hmmmmm.... Must be good genes.
I mailed all my cards yesterday. Today, I went to the market in Pahoa to avoid the Hilo crowds. It's been downright crazy down there these past few days. Pahoa was much easier. It's a pretty nice store, too. Now we've got our goodies for the rest of the week, including Christmas dinner. We bought two turkeys at Thanksgiving. That's because they were selling them for $3.99. That's not $3.99 per pound. That's $3.99 for a whole, 16 lb turkey! What a deal. If we'd had a bigger freezer, we would have bought more.
Here's a little "taste" of Hawaii culture. It's a clip from the hilarious Frank Delima singing about one of my favorite local grinds. Whatever you do, don't sneeze while you're eating it. Enjoy. A hui hou. Aloha.

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