Aloha '22, Aloha '23?

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

12/31/22

Aloha Everyone, and Happy NewYear (Hau'oli Makahiki Hou)!!

This has been a mixed year for me and I'm ambivalent about seeing it end.  On the one hand Karen and I had some very good travel experiences, I learned some new things, like how to hit a small white ball, and we continued to live in Hawai'i, land of lava and great weather.  On the other, the world seems to be coming apart at the seams physically, politically and socially, and some very crazy people gained power and influence during the year.  In keeping with my ambivalence, I've decided not to do my usual fireworks "extravaganza" again this year, and just let '22 end quietly and without much fuss.  How about you?

This past week was pretty good.  The Christmas dinner party we went to on Sunday was a nice way to celebrate. There were about 20 people, and the menu was traditional turkey etc.  Some of the guests were other neighbors, like a very interesting guy who lives down the street and who used to work for Disney as an "Imagineer," and others who were local friends of our host whom we didn't know but from whom it was stimulating to get fresh perspectives on things.  On Friday some old friends from Ohio joined us for dinner, along with their daughter who teaches in Waimea. Tomorrow we will share New Year's dinner with a woman in Karen's quilting group and her husband.  Like I said last week, this holiday season has involved a LOT of socializing for us, but we've certainly enjoyed it. My presents for Karen were pretty well-received, much to my relief of course: a lightweight garden hose she has been wanting, and a new rain jacket for golf. Mine included an Aloha shirt and a device to help me with my breathing exercises. How's that for being romantic!  All in all, it was a good Christmas.

Swimming Lesson

Despite all the socializing this was a fairly physical week for us.  On Tuesday we went to Planet Fitness for our 13-machine muscle-mangling session, and then on Thursday we played golf at Makalei.  The golf went very well, considering we hadn't played in over a month.  I got a couple of bogies and only lost two balls.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day.  We saw around 30 Nenes, including one family with three babies who were taking advantage of one of the course lakes.  The Peacocks are nearing their full mating plumage and we were treated to a couple of displays.  We only saw one white one this time, and we think it was the young male.  We can hardly wait for him to be mature enough to do the fan dance.  A problem with being a very mediocre golfer is that it takes so many strokes during a round that I'm really tired at the end.  We opted to skip the last two holes, which aren't all that interesting anyway, and I was perfectly fine with that.

In addition to the gym and golf course, this week I was on a campaign to chop back some bushes and tree limbs that have gotten out of bounds.  This is the best time of the year to do this, because the slower growing season means that your efforts will last a little longer. Much of what I'm doing involves using a pole trimmer, a strenuous workout for the core muscles which are also used in swinging a golf club. Needless to say, I'm sore.

The only medical news of the week is that we both got our teeth cleaned on Wednesday.  Anywhere on the mainland this would be trivial, but here we are experiencing a severe shortage of hygienists.  This means scheduling is 6-8 months out.  We ran into a problem earlier this year because our spring travel plans changed and we tried to reschedule our April cleaning.  Nope.  We already had this December appointment so we gave up and just brushed extra well.  Our insurance will cover 3 cleanings per year -- if we can find someone to do it.  We tried to get appointments for next spring but no luck -- our next visit will now be August.  We also made appointments for December and again for April, '24.  That will get us back on track, but if we have to change any of these we'll be out of luck.  By the way, if you need to see an actual dentist there isn't a problem.  If you know anyone who is a dental hygienist and wants to spend some time in Hawai'i, let them know that they would be hired instantly.

Oh, I forgot to report that the two Covid tests I took last Saturday and yesterday were both negative.  Yippee.  

Ok, that's it.  Christmas decorations will come down starting tomorrow.  Hope you are staying warm and shoveled.