Getting Sliced & Shot, Pumping My Pecs

[Note: This is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]

10/29/22

Aloha All  --

Our transition from fall to winter is continuing.  The snow birds are returning to roost for the season, the fall foliage is giving way to winter foliage, fewer repositioning cruise ships. and the coffee beans are nearly ready to harvest.  Oh, and the big box stores are pushing Christmas decorations.  Actually, that started a couple of weeks ago, well before Halloween.  I was going into Lowe's and found myself suddenly in a forest of artificial Christmas trees and an army of blow-up Santas -- on October 10th!  Geez. 

From This

One mark of early winter here is that our Plumeria trees stop blooming and lose their leaves. It doesn't exactly get drab here, though, because several other things start to flower during this period -- African Tulip trees, Silver Oaks, Jacaranda, Poinsettias.  One adjustment I have to make during winter is with the little flower arrangements we keep in our bathrooms and on the kitchen counter.  I usually use Plumeria collected during our morning walks in the neighborhood, but about now I switch to other flowers, most often

To This

the Pentas that grow voluntarily everywhere in our yard and bloom year around.  I like them because they're easy to pick, last a long time, and come in a variety of colors.

On Thursday we both got our flu shots.  We had to wait a few days because the pharmacy was out of the high-dose vaccine recommended for geezers and geezerettes. So far no big reaction. Also on Thursday I went to Planet Fitness for the first time in months. I did just a light workout to ease back into it, but even so my muscles are chiding me for laying off for so long. Karen played golf that day with her usual partner-- she got through 11 holes before rain and fog got them to quit.  I'm glad I didn't go this week, partly because of the weather, and partly because it saved me from the embarrassment and discouragement of doing far worse than I did last week.  However, I missed a very special experience of seeing not only the two white peahens that are often sighted on the course, but also a white *peacock* -- so far as Karen knows never before reported at Makalei.  It will be very interesting to see what kind of display feathers he develops this mating season.  I did a quick internet search and it's likely they will be all white, too. White peafowl aren't exceedingly rare, and maybe this new male will lead to more of them here.  I wonder what the regular peahens will think of him?

Both of us paid a visit to our dermatologist this week.  Karen went for her regular checkup, and I went to have a few spots checked out.  One was a mole on my leg that has come back after being cut off just before we went on our Eastern European trip. This time the PA not only cut it off but also fried the underlying tissue and scraped it away. Hopefully this will do the trick.  I also had a thingy cut off of my right forearm and a couple of spots frozen on my left -- she gave me the name of the ones on the left arm, something like Keratosis Halitosis.  She was much more concerned about the spot on my right forearm which might be a small squamous cell carcinoma.  She cut it off and it has been sent to a lab for identification.  All of these things are, of course, the legacy of a childhood without sunblock and a culture that made a suntan a desirable goal.

Ok, off to market and breakfast.  Take care. Vote while you still can.