Visiting San Jose in February

I'll be in San Jose for work from February 13th-18th.
Let's try to get together for lunch or dinner!

Here's my current schedule:
I arrive late in the evening on Friday the 12th.

13th Saturday        Lunch: Beth               Dinner: Barbara L

14th Sunday           Lunch: Carol & Gary   Dinner: Patsy

15th Monday          Lunch: in Training      Dinner: Daniela

16th Tuesday         Lunch: in Training      Dinner: Anita & Jacquelyn

17th Wednesday    Lunch: Barbara G        Dinner: Pride+Prejudice+Zombies

18th Thursday       Lunch: Jana                Dinner: Jen & Emma

I leave early Friday morning.

Hope to see you soon!

Typical Sunday at the Beach

Winter time here is excellent beach time. And nobody loves the beach more than Sophie. I got a little carried away with videos this weekend...

((Duke is Sophie's boyfriend du jour.))

Sophie demands that somebody throw her toy!
Duke's dad comes to the rescue.

Sophie and Duke do NOT eat the babies

Don't blink or you'll miss Duke and Sophie streaking by

Sophie Swims!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been taking Sophie to the dog beach for almost her entire life. She loves to play with the many dogs there and, after the first couple of visits, she was happy to get in the water... up to a point. She has always refused to go in over her head. I knew that she could swim from the occasional times when a wave lifted her up and forced her to swim back to shallower water. But until Christmas Day she never went in far enough to bring back the toys we threw. She always let other dogs win that prize.

And then this week, a Christmas miracle happened! She suddenly decided that it was time to swim in the deep end. And there was no stopping her !

Kitchen Remodel Completion

It took forever, but the kitchen is finally done!

Among other delays, my cabinet guy was out sick for three weeks with Dengue Fever. Yes, you heard right... to date, there have been 180 cases of Dengue Fever on the island since October. They think that one of the many visitors on the island for the Ironman competition was infected, and, almost immediately, the local mosquitoes got busy spreading it around. It might sound like a Dark Ages disease but I now know that 400 million people each year get Dengue. It's practically rare in the United States, but it's happened in the past on Maui and Oahu and even in Florida. Fortunately, it's not often fatal and all descriptions make it sound like a really really bad flu. It seems to be seriously dangerous only the second time you get it. 

But I digress...

Here are some pictures of the new kitchen...

New vented hood, three-dimensional tile wall, gas range


Koa cabinetry above the new refrigerator

Jen and Donna Visit

Jen and Donna were here for a week just before Christmas. We had a busy schedule:

• A Mark Twain Christmas play at the Aloha Theater
• The Kona Christmas parade
• Snorkeling
• A visit to a seahorse farm

Then they drove to the Hilo side to visit with Jane and Kathy (isn't it nice to have friends all over Hawaii?)

It was a high-surf day, but the fish were awesome and they debated over how many dozens of spinner dolphins they saw. Coming back to shore was rough, and Donna's legs were dripping blood from being banged around on the rocks. No, I didn't go out with them - I stayed on shore with Sophie.

The sea was angry that day, my friends...

Sophie's 3rd birthday

Aloha and Mele Kalikimaka !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Farhana and Family Visit

My friend and coworker, Farhana, brought her family to the islands last week. They spent a few days on O'ahu and then a few more here in Kona.

Rayyan, Hasan, Emaan, and Farhana

One day, they took the whole-island bus tour and really loved it. Among other stops, they visited the volcano, 'Akaka Falls, Rainbow Falls, and Black Sands Beach. If any of you come to the island for the first time, I might take that tour with you.

Hasan and a painted eucalyptus tree

On their last night, we drove to the harbor to watch the sunset before having dinner at Bite Me...

Kitchen Remodel -- Phase 1

I finally pulled the trigger and started on my kitchen remodel. It will require many steps and many participants. The first step was hiring the tile installer. Here's a photo journal of that first step.

Before you ask.... that little hole in the middle of the tile is where the vented hood will get power. The next step (the BIGGEST step) will be getting the new appliances purchased/shipped/installed. You might recall that I had the kitchen plumbed for gas when I remodeled the laundry room. Very soon, I will be cooking with GAS!

Aloha y'all!