Back in the Swing of Things!

Finally, we are feeling back to normal (no snide comments please!) and ready to join the living once more. Had a nice dinner-and-dice evening with a good friend last Friday... and no relapse the next day. We ventured a little further and did a big grocery shopping in Hilo... still standing. So yesterday I went to work on the yard that had been somewhat neglected for the duration, pruning and hauling branches away, dumping bucketloads of weeds to the chickens in their yard. Meanwhile, Mike poured another footing for the big screenhouse.

This morning, in dire need of some muscle relaxant after yesterday's exuberance, we decided to restart our "Monday mornings at the warm pond" routine. And I'm so glad we did! We had somehow fallen out of this delightful habit well before I got sick. It was high time to resume. This one of the most wonderful places on the island - and a major reason for us choosing this spot to live, being only 20 minutes away.

We arrived just before a very low low-tide, a minus-tide in fact, and the water was clear and warm. Not many people there at all. Maybe the cloudy weather kept them elsewhere but that's just fine. We made our way to the far side of the pond where there's a little rock table to set our beach bags upon. Down the steps into the perfect temperature water - aaahhh.... You can just feel all your cares being gently floated away, while tiny cleaner fish nibble on your toes, giving you a 100 dollar pedicure for free.

Most of the bottom of the pond is rocky, but we floated over to the sandy area closer to where the water enters from the ocean. As we were admiring the view, one of the other couples drifted closer and asked, "Do you have a daughter named Lori who lives in Alaska?" Turns out these were friends of Lori & Dave's (who are taking care of their cats & garden starts back in Anchorage while they're on vacation)! What a surprise - and what a fun morning visiting with Tim & Jen, sharing places to see and things to do, both here and in Anchorage. After a bit of light rain - kisses from heaven - the sun came bursting out and I was glad I'd remembered to put on sun lotion. I bet Mike wishes he had.

Just as Tim & Jen were leaving to further their island adventures, along comes one of our own long lost friends who we hadn't seen for months! Molly and the kids had ventured down the mountain for some swimming and were actually hoping to catch us on our usual Monday trip (not realizing we hadn't done that for months). So we stayed another hour while Kekala tried to drown Mike, and Molly and I got caught up with each other's news. Another greatly satisfying visit.

Y'know, some days just turn out perfect. :-)

Out of Service

While I thoroughly enjoyed the Merrie Monarch Parade last month, I did get quite chilled in the rain... and came down with a nasty cold that just will not go away. Ick! I was pretty out of it for a while there, and still have a bit of lingering cough, but otherwise I feel mostly recovered.

But now Mike's got it. No fair! And he was so good about taking care of me for the 2 weeks I was pretty much bed-ridden.

So we have an assortment of cough drops... lots of herbs, teas, & vitamins... plenty of good nourishing food... and have greatly enjoyed a few gatherings with friends to cheer us up once the worst was over.

But not much has happened during this time, so not much to write about here.

Hmmm... there must be something...

The liliko'i is in full bloom and totally abuzz with honeybees. There's an outstanding crop of avocados coming along. Little Valencia oranges are hanging on the tree, along with another batch of fragrant orange blossoms. The site for the new & improved screenhouse is all cleared, and Mike had just started pouring footings for the uprights when he came down with the cold. We're selling about 7 dozen eggs a week, thanks to our beautiful mixed flock of chickies. And the hale is empty for a while, so we can spread out a bit.

Now if we could just shake this dang cold...