Aloha 2023 !!

Aloha, y'all!

It's been a year since I've posted to this blog.

Here's what happened in 2022:

* Mochi grew into a lovely young girl. At 40 pounds, she's the most perfect cuddle buddy ever.

* On May 6th, I retired after 14 years at Thermo. I'm listed on LinkedIn as "Retired and living happily ever after in Hawaii"

* Lots of friends visited: Barbara/Steve/Megan/Eddie, Barbara/Steve/Megan, Emma, Colleen/Debbie, Megan/Eddie, (yeah, Megan visited a lot last year 😍 )

* I finally got a new upstairs bathroom after the Great Flood of 2020 followed by the Great Covid Delay of 2020..21..22.. (is it really even over yet?)

Looking forward to seeing some of you in 2023! 

Mochi and I aren't going anywhere. We'll be here working in the garden, cleaning closets, taking walks on the beach, and sleeping past dawn.

Aloha!

Mochi started Doggie Daycare!! It's the same daycare that Sophie attended every Friday for most of her life - Paws University. The staff there are awesome and treat the pups like the keiki they are. When you pick up your baby at the end of the day, they give you a report about who they played with, what activities they enjoyed... It's adorable.

Here's Mochi with Alan - the owner of Paws.

Mochi

The only way to find joy after losing Sophie was to get a new puppy. It was hard to think I'd ever love anyone like I loved Sophie, but I knew I had to try. 

So along came Mochi! She was 3 months and 10 pounds when she came home with me in October. She's now almost 6 months old and almost 30 pounds. She's going to be tall and long and skinny. She's so skinny, I have to put a huge blocking collar on her to keep her from squeezing through the posts in the backyard fence. She tolerates it quite well, and it's absolutely necessary for her to run free in the yard ... at least until her head grows.

Here's her wearing that collar I mentioned...

Happy New Year, everyone!Dana and Mochi

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!