Aloha Sophie

It breaks my heart to tell you that my dear little Sophie went to Doggie Heaven in August. It's taken me this long to be able to talk about it. We aren't sure what happened, but it happened quickly. I'll never forget how much I love her or how much she loved me. She was the best dog ever!

Aloha, my sweet Sophie.

Summer in Kona

Aloha, all! Life is starting to return to Kona - and all of Hawaii. Air arrivals are almost back to 2019 numbers, but of course, still no cruise ships.

As long as you are vaccinated, you can pretty much jump on a plane and come to Hawaii! They actually have a wristband system that lets vaccinated people skip most lines and delays at the airport. I'm told you can fill out all the paperwork online so that you are good to go when you arrive at the airport. The biggest problem for visitors right now is the lack of rental cars!

More and more businesses and eateries are opening, mostly with just mask and distancing restrictions. Our dear friends, the Seidels, were here in May to celebrate Barbara's birthday. We met in restaurants with no COVID drama. Things went so well that they are returning to Maui in a couple of months!!!

My friends Carol and Gary will be here in August. I can't wait to see them!

The only sad news here is that our dear friends and neighbors, Steve and Luke, sold their house and moved to Missouri. Steve wanted to be nearer to his daughter, and Luke (a dog in case you didn't know) just went along for the adventure. He's now on a farm with alpaca and chickens and a couple of other dogs.

Poor Sophie has had a stressful month... Shortly after Sophie and Luke went to Paws for Luke's last visit, we had an outbreak of doggie flu here on the island. Paws had to close for a few weeks. Lots of dogs, including Sophie, caught it and had to be isolated. Big thanks to Dr. Barbara, who once again saved the day, making sure that Sophie had the meds she needed. Sophie was pretty sick (mostly just an incessant cough) for over a week, but she's fully recovered now.

We've dodged COVID and survived Canine Influenza... we're doing OK.

Aloha, y'all!

Dana

Yep. Still here. Still kicking.

My sincerest apologies for being out of touch for months... MANY months. Sophie and I are doing well. No COVID for us!

I've had my first COVID shot. I get the final one on April 8th. From what I see in the news, California is giving vaccinations to anyone over 16, so I trust all of you are now vaccinated. Yay! A handful of my friends actually GOT COVID. As far as I know, they are all fully recovered, with no lingering effects. Let's hope they remain that way.

Life here on the island has been quiet with all the visitors staying home, but that's starting to change. I see a little more traffic on the roads - on the rare occasions when I leave the house. And I see more planes landing down at the airport. (Where else would they land, huh?) I do miss seeing the Wednesday cruise ship all lit up against the dark predawn sky when I go into the office in the early AM. It could be a long time before we see cruise ships again.

My favorite neighbor, Steve, is about to sell his house and move to Missouri to be near his daughter. The entire neighborhood will be sad to see him go. Sophie will miss his dog, Luke. They go to daycare together every Friday. I'm the carpool mom - every Friday morning, we stop to pick up Luke, who is always waiting impatiently in his driveway. It's the highlight of their week. It'll be sad to take her to Paws by herself one day soon, although she has 50 other friends there. Maybe the new neighbors will bring a new boyfriend for Sophie. 

The Lee-Seidels are coming in May! I can't wait to see them! They were staying with me last March when COVID first broke in the Pacific Rim. In the 10 days they were here, we went from "Did you hear about that cruise ship in Japan with a virus outbreak?" ... to ... "I hope they will let us back into California!" So long ago... in the Before Times.

Aloha!

Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas

According to the Costco displays, all of these holidays are happening NOW! That's too much for my head, so I'm trying to take it one day at a time.

We never have trick-or-treaters, so the only decision to make for Halloween is "do I buy candy for kids who will never come and then eat it myself?"

After Halloween, the next real holiday is Election Day. Will we survive this election? Will there be riots? Will we have to fumigate the White House to get the rats out? Actually probably only the one rat - the others will behave like grownups and leave when their time is up. I can just picture Seal Team One pulling Trump out of a hole in the floor, bin Laden style. I just hope there are cameras to witness it.

Thanksgiving for me is always a week off work to catch up on my gardening, and then on Thanksgiving Day, the Macy's parade and National Dog Show, a traditional Thanksgiving meal, and finally a visit to the dog beach where Sophie can swim to her heart's content.

Many of my regular holiday season art shows are still happening this year. I'm hoping they will feel safe, given that they are outdoors and likely to be sparsely populated with fewer off-island visitors. So maybe my Christmas shopping with be almost normal. I'm hoping to be brave enough to attend the local artists tour (right in my neighborhood) and maybe one of the monthly Kona Strolls down Ali'i Drive.

In case I don't get back here for a while...

Stay paranoid!
Wear your mask!
and
VOTE!

How did it get to be AUGUST????

Aloha!

I guess the good news is that I have NO news. Everyone here is staying safe. And all my mainland friends seem to be equally safe, albeit a little bored.

I've been reading the John Bolton and Mary Trump books. Bolton is dry; Trump is gossipy; so I alternate.

Here's some actual good news -- Thermo gave us a 20% paycut back in April, even though the company was thriving because of their involvement in COVID testing. And now they are giving it back. Not just reinstating our regular salaries, but they say they'll give back all the money they withheld. It's like getting a tax refund - it's not a gift, it's getting your OWN money back! But... still... good... news.

I'll use my back pay to put a new shower in the upstairs guest bath. We had a surprise leak back in February just before COVID blew up. I've been hesitant to bring workers into the house to fix it - and it's not as if anyone will be visiting until the world rights itself. It's not something I planned to replace anytime soon (or ever), but the new shower will be an upgrade and I'll try to make the most of it.

A couple of weeks ago, I had some worker dudes put a new cover on the lanai. Strong March winds (not hurricane related) blew off the old canvas cover. When the canvas got a small rip, the entire cover peeled like a banana. I figured as long as they stayed outside and Sophie and I stayed inside, we could safely manage that project.

In case you haven't been following... Hawaii is practically off limits to the rest of the world. Visitors are required to quarantine (essentially house arrest) for 14 days after arrival, and the police are serious about this. People keep violating quarantine and being arrested and/or fined and/or put on the first flight back to where they came from. Tourism is down to about 1% of what it would normally be. I don't see this changing until we have a vaccine, and then proof of vaccination will be required to come to Hawaii (and maybe anywhere else in the world).

Wearing a mask pretty much everywhere is the law in every county. Employees of the few retail businesses that are open are told not to confront people not wearing masks - just call 911. I personally have a lovely collection of colorful masks and I attempt to coordinate with my outfit when I go out -- which is RARELY.

That's all the news from Hawaii.

Stay safe! Stay home! And wear your mask!

Aloha y'all!

Aloha, dear Amy

Our dear friend Amy passed this week.

She was one of the old Cadence group and a member of my Bay Area book club. Or should I say that I was a member of HER book club. Amy was a voracious reader.

And quilter.

And adventurer.

Shortly before she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, she and husband Kevin were rafting on the Colorado River -  something they did regularly.

She will be missed.

Aloha, dear Amy.

Still here...

Still here...

Businesses are starting to reopen, but I'm staying away a little longer. It was a big deal for me to go to Home Depot last week. I was in and out as quickly as possible to get the paint I needed to finish my front porch railings. No browsing the garden department as I would normally do.

Strangely, it's rained here every day for over two weeks. Sunny in the mornings, but as soon as I get off work, the rain starts. That's put a damper on Sophie's walks and my gardening. My backyard is becoming quite the jungle. For several months, the green waste recycling was closed, so there was no point in tackling the overgrown growth with my machete. And now that they are open again, IT WON'T STOP RAINING! I just go with the flow. It could be so much worse; I could be in a mainland city with crowds everywhere and rioting and looting and zombies wandering the streets. The island is particularly quiet because 70% of our day-to-day population was tourists, and now there are virtually none of those.

In case anyone cares, Ironman won't happen this October. For now, they are saying they'll hold it in Feb 2021. Or as the Toyko Olympics now call it... 202One.

The mandatory 14-day quarantine for arriving visitors is still in effect on all islands.  The current expected end date is August 1st, but the Governor keeps saying things like "maybe by the end of the year."  They are keeping their options open and only officially announcing new extentions about 30 days at a time.

They are just starting to talk of how they will allow interisland travel without the required quarantine. Believe it or not, many workers hop between islands several times a week. The guys who installed my new kitchen would go back and forth to Maui and brought me Krispy Kremes from Kahului one day (it's the only KK in the state).

Lest you think that life is too good here, check out today's weather report:

Stay safe! Safe home! Stay paranoid!

And if you can, tip those essential workers who are keeping groceries on the shelves to keep us fed!