Spam for Maui, Valve Surgery, Travel Prep

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

8/19/23

Aloha All --

The focus here this week has been on the horrible aftermath of the fires on Maui. If there is anything at all positive in this it has been the local outpouring of support on all the islands for the survivors on Maui.  Volunteers have been collecting food, clothing, money, and transporting it to where it is needed.  It's one thing to have state and federal agencies and organizations like the Red Cross involved in the relief effort, but it is particularly gratifying to see neighbors helping neighbors so willingly and unselfishly.  The other day Karen and I saw a pickup truck in the Walmart parking lot loading several shopping carts' worth of donated items which were going to be transported by private boat over to Maui.  A characteristic local touch was what the carts contained -- SPAM and big bags of rice. Among the many controversies that have begun to surface about this tragedy is one that is also uniquely Hawaiian -- should Maui encourage or discourage tourists at this time?  On the one hand, it seems insensitive for the big resorts that weren't harmed by the fires to be catering to vacationers, and for those guests to be blissfully lounging by the pool while many locals are staying in shelters because their homes were completely destroyed.  On the other hand, many of the survivors have jobs at those resorts and if tourists stay away they will lose them, as will many other workers in tourist-related businesses.  If I knew someone considering visiting right now, I think I'd advise them to come but be compassionate and respectful of what's going on. For the future, there is a larger question of what to do about an economy that is so dependent on one thing, and which both benefits from and contributes to financial disparities.

The Old

Another focus this week was on surgery -- cutting into our house water supply line to replace one of the irrigation valves.  In my investigations of the high water usage in the last billing cycle I found that one of the six irrigation valves in my system was dripping slightly.  This valve is original to the system, so it is over 25 years old.  Although the amount of the drip wasn't enough to account for my high usage, it seemed prudent to replace the valve -- normally not a huge project.  However, then I noticed that the original installers hadn't put in a shutoff valve that would isolate the zone and allow work on just the irrigation pipes. It would instead be necessary to shut off water to the whole house.  Hmmm.  In the spirit of "don't-just-fix-it-make-it-better" I decided to install a shutoff valve and replace the irrigation valve at the same time.  This required re-routing the plumbing to make room for the shutoff and some careful planning of the pvc parts needed.  Of course, like almost any other project, the plan was altered a few times as reality and practicality overruled theoretical

The New!

planning.  In other words, I made three trips to Lowe's to get more and different fittings before the job was done.  It was a bit unnerving to make that first cut because at that point there was no turning back and no water going to the house until I got that new shutoff valve installed successfully. When I turned the water to the house back on, I experienced relief and a big ego boost when nothing leaked and the new irrigation valve worked perfectly!!

We're close enough to our Balkan trip to start our preparations in earnest.  This week was mainly garden-oriented (with the exception of the valve surgery), with a lot of heavy trimming of plantings that don't grow very fast.  Next week we will focus on things that are faster and therefore can't go as long without being whacked back.  Our gardener can take care of some of landscaping while we're gone, but mainly at a maintenance level rather than deciding on heavy trimming and shaping.  Also next week we'll start the long-term cleaning routine that we do before a long trip.  Whew!

Last night we attended our local community theater's production of  "Toil and Trouble," a modern spoof of the famous scene in Shakespeare's Macbeth.  It was pretty well done, given the small budget and restricted pool of actors to draw from in our little community.  The stars are likely to be somebody who will help you find plumbing fittings or serve your poke bowl at lunch the day after the show -- ordinary people who also happen to be very talented!

Finally, I should mention that Kilauea has shown some signs of "restlessness," as the volcanologists have called it.  This week there was an increase in small earthquakes and the summit has been "inflating" slightly, consistent with magma moving around underneath.  The SO2 levels have remained very low, however, which suggests the magma isn't degassing near the surface.  This might be just a sleep-snort and if so the activity should subside.  Or it will be our usual luck that an eruption will occur shortly after we leave, like the last time we went on a trip.  Fun times. 

Ok, I'll check in again next week.  Hope you all stay well and as cool as conditions allow.