Yesterday's advenutre

Fog was abundant when we left the house.

The Farmer's Market has lots of interesting things, like this hanging plant.

This guy was "guarding" his spot, although he was behind the tent and was not at all threatening.

An abandoned shack. I just thought it was interesting.

This is the identifying  tag for the next picture. How could I not take a picture of a coffee tree!??

Da java producer.

A natural cave produced in the lava. I was surprised at how far back into the cave things were growing.

Shades of home!

Shortie

Home. Tired. We did so much today!

We bought many goodies at the farmer's market, including arugula, cheese, endive, ginger root, many other things. Then to a health food store for some spices and teas. Then into downtown Waimea for some "me" shopping. I got a mu-mu (gorgeous!! and they gave me earrings as a bonus gift) and a sarong (equally gorgeous), a few souvenirs (I got some Hawai'ian petroglyph tiles for my tile table) a stop for lunch (a fish burger .... YUMMM!), and another stop for the most wonderful, creamy ice cream I've ever tasted (coffee chocolate chip and Tahitian vanilla, which I ate together).

On the way home we stopped several places where Dell loves the view and energy. I got pictures and will post them later, but for now, I just wanna chill. I took a shower when we got in, and now I have a glass of wine and some Japanese/Island treats. The world is good.  :)

I am having so much fun!

Teasers

Notice the bull taking a rest in the pasture and the ocean behind him.

 

I saw these nesting Prez's in a shop and just cracked up. Notice there is not a Republican one in the bunch. The shop owner said, "Hell no!"  LOL!

A little bit ....

I hope to be able to post some pictures tomorrow or Sunday, so stay tuned. I'm staying busy enough that I don't think of it often, and then I tend to not think of it when there is time.

It has been raining off and on since I got here. In fact, on my first day, Wednesday, it rained all day long, hard at times. We stayed home, which suited me, because I needed the rest. That long day of flight exhausted me. Dell called me the Rain Goddess, because there hasn't been this much rain in quite a while. The days are continuing to be a mixture of sunshine and periods of rain, wind, and overcast. Fortunately it is not keeping us inside much, as the sunshine is prominent, with the cloudy times cooling things off a little. We've been doing the typical tourist thing, but with the added bonus of Dell's insider information about the island, Hawai'i, the history, the sights, etc. I'm enjoying it very much.

Our pace has been busy, but not frenetic (as I sometimes tend to do), as Dell can go for a while, then he needs to rest, get away from the hullabaloo and restore his energy before we can go on. That works well for me, as I said, keeping me away from the crazy tourist pace that is so easy to fall into.

We've taken a couple drives along the shoreline, stopping frequently to look, take photos, and stretch our legs. Wow, what beautiful waters are in the ocean here! The wind sometimes gets to be a nuisance, but I have to say the most beautiful shoreline pictures have fans of spray as the waves hit the rocks, and those are most dramatic when the wind is pushing the water. It's a trade-off I can live with! Our trips were around the northern tip of the island. If you look at a map of Hawai'i, I am on the northeast side of the tip that extends up toward the other islands. Really, right on the tip.

We were sitting here a bit ago, and the house shook. I looked at Dell and said, "Is that what I think it is?" He replied that it was indeed a strong tremor or a mild quake, and then a second, stronger one hit. Very weird. The last time I felt one was when I lived in Albuquerque, over 40 years ago. OK, I can definitely do without a repeat of that! It wasn't bad, but it isn't very, uhmm, comfortable to have that going on!

Tomorrow we are going over the mountains to a farmer's market in Waimea to see what goodies we can find. We're having a food-fest as it is, but hope to add some more local, organic goodies to the pantry and fridge. BTW, I've fallen in love with one of the passionfruits here. Dell has one in his back yard that is very good, kind of a light citrus hint to it, and it is very yummy. But there is another that is a bit sweeter, slightly peach or apricot in essence, and it makes my eyes roll up in my head! We found some trees with some of them yesterday, and I'm so glad! I love them!!

After the farmer's market, we will do more sightseeing and some other shopping, too. Not sure what all we will do, but it doesn't really matter. It will be fun.

OK, I'll get back to you later with photos and or more "stuff."

Fast Update

My sister's funeral services went well. It was a sad time, but also a good one because so many of the family came together. I really enjoyed visiting and leaning on my relatives.  I was glad TL was with me, and my son Scott and his famly surprised us by coming.

On the way home, a tire blew on the truck. AAA changed it, and I limped back into Nogal. GAH!! Is it going to end?  Yeah, I think it already has.

This morning, Linda brought TL and me to Albuquerque. We got her on the plane, then had lunch, did a bit of shopping (Trader Joe's for snacks for the flight) and she and Pearl brought me to the hotel. Checking in brought a nice surprise. "Because of availability (i.e., not many guests), we have upgraded you to a king suite." OK, see? My fortunes are turning around!

I'm tucked in for the night. Well, I'm using the hotel computer because I didn't bring the laptop. I know, I know! But Dell doesn't have wireless at his house, so why take it. I'll be checking in on his computer. As soon as I type and post this, I'm off to bed with a book, planning to sleep early. I'm tired enough I don't think that is a problem. I have to be up about 4:00 in the morning to catch a shuttle to the airport as my plane leaves about 6:30. That's A.M.!!!

The past few days have been grueling, but I'm ready for fun now. I've called my host, and he is ready to pick me up tomorrow afternoon in Kona. I can't wait!

I won't be posting often for the next couple weeks, so be patient. I will, however, be taking thousands of pictures, and I will fill you in on my return.

Till next time!

HEY!!!!! Guess what?????????

My dishwasher isn't draining!!! The water just sits there in the bottom!!!!!!!

BWAAAAAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!

Well .... can it get any worse?

I am just about beside myself. I'll get over it, and I'll probably have some funny stories before it is all sad and done, but for the moment, all I want to do is scream!

First, the glasses. There is still no sign of them. The doctor's office called today and they've torn their place up, just in case the little box got stuck in a nook, but no. Nothing. Meanwhile, I've gone through every receipt and piece of paper in my house looking for the receipt. I really do keep most all receipts for a period of time, but this one somehow got tossed or lost. I have no way of tracking the glasses. Additionally, for some stupid reason, I didn't insure them. Honestly, the lady at the counter and I were talking, and I forgot to ask for it. Unless a miracle happens (PLEEEEEZE, St. Anthony!!) I'm just screwed on the glasses as I will need to get new ones.

Then, this afternoon I got a call from my mortgage company. It seems I am $35.47 in arrears! OK, the escrow was adjusted, just a tiny bit, but I didn't catch it on the last two payments, so I have to send that in. No big deal.

But then ....

I asked why it was adjusted.

What ensued over the next two, almost three hours is beyond being told here! It was a change in taxes, but ....... At the end of this, I ended up calling the county to find out the status of my taxes. Guess what? In 2010, the mortgage company paid my ....2008 taxes. 200-freakin'-8!!!!! They are getting ready to send out the 2010 tax bills!! My name/property is on the "uncollected taxes" list!!!

There is much more to this, including a non working fax machine in the escrow department of the mortgage company, meaning documentation can't even be sent so they can get this straightened out!!

I'm truly distraught. I have tomorrow and part of Thursday to get everything done that I need to before my sister's funeral. Then I will be on the road on Friday, the funeral on Saturday, back here to finish packing for Hawaii on Sunday, and I have so much to do!

After my trip, I'll be buying new eyeglasses, paying back taxes (perhaps), and a couple other small annoyances that I just can't contend with at this time. I wish I could get this settled before leaving so I can enjoy Hawaii fully with it hanging over my head.

CRIPES!!!!!!!!!!! Jazmyn just jumped on the computer and tore off a key from the keyboard! Shit and shinola!!!!!!!!!!!! 

ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Right now, life ain't so beautiful.



PS - I forgot a detail. I didn’t sleep well last night, I guess worrying about the glasses, along with everything else. Not long before dawn I woke from a weird dream. I was in a house and there was a bit of a commotion outside and some guys came in helping another man who was hopping along on one leg and grumbling. Behind them came another fellow carrying the man’s LEG!!! They told me his leg had been worn off by a dog. Then there was another commotion and another group came in with a man with both legs missing! He, like the first man, didn’t seem to be in pain, but was majorly pissed off and kept saying “Someone kill that dog!”

Hmmm. I think I might be feeling like the universe is tearing my legs off, what do you think?

I'm taking a sleeping aid tonight.

A great day with a trying end

I'm tired.

For those of you who may not know, I drove to Albuquerque again today. I got to meet another blogging buddy! a couple or three years ago, I "met" Jennifer online. We have read each other's blogs for all this time, then both got onto Facebook and continued keeping up with each other there.

One of the things we found in common was New Mexico. She lived in Las Cruses as a child, so it was fun that we had some common links. A year or so ago, Jen's parents moved to my old home town here in NM. And when she planned a visit to see them, we began talking about possibly getting together for that face to face meeting that many of us wish for with our cyber-friends.

This has been a terribly busy and sometimes stressful few weeks for me. I vacillated about being able to find time to get to Albuquerque. But ultimately I realized that this is one of those events that a person needs to jump on, simply because you never know if the opportunity will present itself again.

So we planned to meet today. Her sister was bringing her from Farmington to Albuquerque to fly home. I drove up, about an equal distance, and we met for lunch. But first ....

There was another awesome sunrise this morning.

On the way to Albuquerque, I saw this bird on a limb up on a cliff beside the road, and it looked so cool. I turned around to go back to get a photo of it. I took this shot, and before I could zoom in for a closer look, it flew off. Now, why, after sitting there for at least 10 minutes did he decide to elope just then? Oh well. It was just an ol' crow, anyway. Still a cool picture.

 I got to Albuquerque earlier than I expected. I went ahead to the restaurant and planned to wait for Jennifer and Michele to arrive. I thought I'd just sit and read in a lobby area till they arrived, but the restaurant owner pointed out there was not a waiting area, and insisted on seating me. I felt awkward, tying up a table for 30 minutes at lunch time, but he said he tries to never have any customer have to wait. How nice! So I read and nibbled on a piece of hard bread with herbed oil to dip it in till Jennifer and Michele arrived.

And they did!

Jennifer & Michele

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch and talked up a storm. Actually we ended up having appetizers (calamari and humus with pita bread) and desserts, and I'm still full after 10:00 PM this evening! We were there for about two hours, and I enjoyed chatting so very much.

Jen & me

Michele left to drive home, and Jen and I visited a few shops in the area. One was a hat store, which I love as there are hats of every variety, shape, size and color. It is just fascinating to me, and there are different hats each time I'm there. Then, down the street, Jen was drawn like a moth to a flame to another of my favorite places, a store that carries all kind of furniture, mostly Southwestern, antique in style. She found at least a half dozen pieces she wanted to take home, but traveling by air has its limits! I found a lampshade that I brought home. It will work very nicely with a lamp that I've been trying to refit for a long time.

It was fun to just stroll and visit. I found Jen very easy to talk with, and I sincerely enjoyed the time. She is every bit as sweet as I thought she would be. The hour before I needed to get her to the airport just flew past! For those of you who have not experienced it, meeting cyber friends is great fun!  I have now made four of my cyber friends into IRL friends, and I'm so glad. I hope one day to be able to visit somewhere in the area when Jen lives, in hopes that I will be able to get together with her, with Suzanne, and with Tammy and Bill. They all live close enough to make it possible that we could all be in one place at one time. Wow, what great fun that would be!

Thanks, Jen, for making this meeting possible!

On the way home, storms were building all around the area. In my rear view mirror, I saw this.

It was really pretty. The area at the center where the cloud meets the horizon is rain. It must have been coming down  really hard from the looks of it.

Two more things from today. On the way up this morning, I called my eye doctor in Kansas City. I sent my glasses to be repaired about two weeks ago. The lenses need to be replaced. I realized I hadn't heard anything, and wondered if they would be back before I leave for Hawaii. I'm sick over this .... they didn't receive the glasses! And wouldn't you know, I forgot to insure the damn things. When I got home, I looked for the receipt, and I haven't found it yet. I'm hoping I'm just overlooking them as I'm tired, as I usually keep that kind of receipt. I'll look again tomorrow. I'm really exasperated. I don't need this. My time is running out for getting ready to leave for Hawaii, and spending time looking for the receipt and getting a trace going is something I simply HAVE to do, but I DON'T HAVE TIME!! Arghhh!

The other thing .... my daughter, TL, texted me and she is flying out here to go with me to my sister's funeral. I'm really glad she is. My sis was god mother to my kids, and TL feels strongly about going. I'll be glad to have her with me. However, this means another trip to Albuquerque for me on Friday, then driving directly from there to Odessa, Texas. It's gonna be a loooong day.

As I said, I'm tired. Emotionally, physically, I'm about cooked. I was doing OK till the glasses thing came up, and it just sucked the energy out of me. Why, WHY did I not insure them? Replacing them is going to cost around $500. Damn. Oh, well, what's done is done.

Give me strength.