Skip to main content

A trip to the dry side

.

Yesterday, like today, it rained. So it wasn't too tough early in the morning, watching the water fall in sheets from the sky, to make quick plans to drive to Kona. The excuse? We need stuff at Costco, of course. Hey, if I've got to patronize a big box once in awhile to reap some savings, it might as well be one that takes good care of it's employees and puts profits back into the company rather than into the CEO's pocket. Anyway, we donned our swimsuits under our clothes, slid on the slippah and headed to the dry side.
Before shopping, we spent a couple of hours at the beach. We crashed our old favorite resort; The Orchid at Mauna Lani. Technically, we do have legal access to their beach, no matter how much stink eye the staff might give. That's because all beaches, even those affiliated with a resort, are public. Nobody can actually own a beach in Hawaii. So, we hung there, and at their pool, posing as wealthy haoli tourists. Then it was off to Costco to buy sundries en-mass like toilet paper and paper towels.
The kids, meanwhile, were left at home to gaze out at the falling rain.

Today, we're here with them. It's a good day to unpack boxes. We're struggling to find room for all our junk. We have downsized substantially, however, and that is, as Martha would say, a good thing.
Two avocado trees made their way into the ground last week. We also expanded our vegetable garden, moving the giant zucchini plants to a larger plot of dirt. They are out in the open, so we'll see if they can withstand the rain and vog. Meanwhile, my potted tomatoes are growing like gangbusters. They are under the shelter of the eves, out of the rain. I was told you can't grow tomatoes here. Too wet. We'll see. I'm out to prove the neighbors wrong on that one.
That's all for now. A hui hou. Aloha!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Mom

This is my beautiful mom. She died last Sunday. For those who knew her, my heart breaks with you. For those who did not, here's an introduction to the best confidante, role model and mother a girl could hope for in life. This is the obituary I'd planned to submit to the local paper, but have opted instead to publish here. Obituary: Beverly Todd Bev -- my mom -- was a longtime caregiver, advocate, and dear friend to countless elderly in South Salem. Hers was a kind and generous spirit. She devoted much of her life to the welfare of others, giving wholly of herself and doing so always with great affection and humor. She was born Beverly Marie Steinberger in Silverton, July 23, 1938, the first child and only daughter of Art and Marie Steinberger. Her brothers called her Bevvy Buns, a nickname she grew fond of and wore proudly within the family circle as an adult. Bev attended St. Paul’s Elementary School in Silverton, Silverton High School and Marylhurst Co...

Back at it

It's been some time since I've written. My mom died in February, and I haven't had the gumption to write much, other than a couple of feature stories for the paper and the occasional pithy email to a friend. Tonight, sitting in my favorite burger joint with a pile of fries in front of me, I dunk them into a deep pool of ketchup mixed with a hot sauce. That's how Mom liked 'em. My burger? The Spicy Hawaiian, a nod to my 808 connections. It's a brilliant combination of peppers and pineapple, a favorite on the Power Stop menu. I'm sure she'd have loved it, too. There's a bubbly beer with a lime in it. That's not a homage to anything. I just like beer. These past months, I've done little but work, search and apply for jobs. Two rejection letters have landed in my email this week. Search-and-apply has become a futile obsession. It's time for a break, at least until I hear back from all those applications still floating around out there. I am...

Goodbye Dan Fogelberg

Saturday started out as just another day to clean the house. Within a short time, however, I found myself on a mission; a mission of arachnid eradication. The spiders, for all their great bug-eating prowess, have a tendency to get a bit out of control in a place where there's no real winter. They're not only everywhere outside, but inside, too. I found webs with giant eight-leggers in corners, on the ceiling, hiding under window shades....everywhere! They were in places I vacuumed just two days before. Since the invasion of the beetles, the spiders have grown enormously fat and happy. So I sucked 'em all up. EEEEEEEEWWWWWW! I was none too keen on removing the vacuum bag. In addition to spider sucking, there was fun with fungi. What did the girl mushroom say to the boy mushroom? Gee your a fun-gi! Unfortunately, the prevailing fungus amongus was not shitakes or portabellos, but mold and mildew. Again.... eeeeeeeeewwwwww! I cleaned the top of the fridge, which was home to a n...