Sofa No Mo', Lava Golf, Sad News

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

1/28/23

Aloha Snow Bunnies!

I see on my weather reports that the mainland is continuing its wintertime fun.  Here, the storms far to our northwest have sent us a lot of high surf, much to the delight of the expert surfers who ride the really big waves on the north shore of Oahu during this season.  We call them "Eddy" waves in honor of  renown Hawaiian surfer Eddy Aikau who would fearlessly tackle the biggest of them. The popular phrase "Eddy Would Go" refers to surfing conditions that require both skill and courage.  Personally, I have neither when it comes to a giant 20-30 foot wave about to crash down on me.

On Monday we got rid of our old sofa downstairs that I talked about last week. This was no small feat because it was heavy and had to be wrestled up a narrow flight of outside stairs to the driveway. Two of our gardener's helpers managed it without any obvious injuries. We were glad to finally have this project done.  There are a few other pieces of furniture down there that we'd also like to replace, but they aren't as high priority as this one.  The new sofa looks great it is actually pretty comfy.  I haven't yet given it the nap test, though.

On Wednesday night we received news that yet another dear friend passed away.  He had recently retired from Miami and he and his wife had just moved to Seattle.  He had heart problems that ultimately led to complications from recent emergency surgery.  They had visited us a couple of times here, and we were good friends back in Ohio.  He was one of the brightest people I've ever known, and also was a very talented operatic singer. Truly a sad event.

Karen and I managed a workout on Tuesday and 14 holes of golf on Thursday.  The first 6-7 holes were

Seriously?!

very good for me, much better than my last outing.  Then it started to slip, and all those extra strokes on the next set of holes wore me out.  Still, I got a par, a bogie, and had some rather impressive shots and putts.  As long as I focus on the positive I can convince myself to keep playing.  We didn't see *any* baby Nenes or Peacocks, so it is definitely a low year.  Last season was very good, though, so maybe this is just temporary.  There has been a lot of maintenance along the edges of the course fairways this year,  and I wonder if that didn't disturb the usual nesting sites.

Yesterday Karen went to her foot doctor for an assessment of how her ankle is progressing.  The verdict is that she doesn't need to wear her foot brace all the time now.  She should continue to improve, though age will slow the process.  Ironic, isn't it that healing takes longer when your "longer" is in shorter supply.

Later this morning I'll be seeing my eye doctor again. It's been 2 1/2 months since my last injection, which is getting close to a record.  I can't really detect a big downturn, but if there is even a hint of edema building again, I'll opt for the shot.  If there isn't any new buildup, then I'll definitely be going for a new record between shots, because I'll probably have another exam in 4-6 weeks, which would make the interval between shots 3-3 1/2 months.  Whoopee!

This evening we're driving up to Waimea to see a performance by the Giordano Dance Company from Chicago.  This is modern jazz-ballet group that is excellent.  We've seen them before and we're looking forward to the performance.  The event is at the Kahilu Theater, a very nice venue in Waimea that holds about 250 people and has state-of-the-art equipment.  It takes about an hour to drive up there, though, and so we have a pretty high threshold for deciding when to go.  This performance should definitely be worth it.

Ok, off to market and our beach breakfast picnic.  Stay warm. Stay positive. Don't let the crazies get to you.