Mainland Missives

Note:  The following are blogs based on my weekly emails to my relatives on the mainland.  For longer explorations of what it's like to live in Hawai'i, see my collection of blogs titled Life In Hawai'i.

1. Look & See, 77" Techno-Toy, Pool Pump Meltdown 3/8/25
   
2. 20/20"ish," Iffy Travel Plans, String Theory Putting 3/1/25
   
3. Bad Paint, Sore Arms, Magic Act 2/22/25
   
4. Game Day Surprise, Golf Champ, Stair Railings, Pele's Afib. 2/15/25
   
5. Fantasy Golf, Mississippi Cruising, Eyeballs 2/9/25
   
6. Pool Dollies, A.C Woes, Eye Surgery 2/2/25
   
7. Cloud Forest Walk, Eye Poke, Pool Cover Reel 1/25/25
   
8. Cataract Re-do, Heart Beats,Fire, Ice & Political Mayhem.  1/18/25
   
9. Whoopie, It's 2025, Wordle in 1, Waiting Game 1/4/25
   
10. Gift from Pele, Eyeball, Poop, Cow & Turkey 12/28/24 
    
11. Return From SE Asia: Jet Lag, Eye Surgery, Medical... 12/21/24
    
12. Final Trip Prep, 3 Doctors, Pills Are Pau Fpr Now 11/2/24
    
13. Race Day, SS Syndrome, Side Effects Suck 10/26/24
    
14. Tow Truck, Travel Prep, Tight Buns 10/19/24
    
15. Repositioning Ships, Fall in Hawai'i, Eye Surgery ...  10/12/24
    
16. Cataract Culprits, Cardio Consult, Magic Golf Balls 10/5/24
    
17.  Wet Fall, Medical Ambiguity, Heart to Heart 9/28/24
    
18. Back Home, Cheers for Cardio Normality, Pele Spits Up 9/21/24
    
19. Storm? Waikiki Anniversary, Truffles & Surgery 8/31/24
    
20. Waikiki Eye Slice, CC Hack, Tropical Storm 8/24/24
    
21. Fire Prep, Med Titration,Travel Plans 8/14/24
    
22. Olympic Workout,Medical Molasses,Golf"ish" 8/10/24
    
23. Musical Doctors, Cool Air & Warm Water, Pele Snoozes Again  8/3/24
    
24. A-Fib Club, Escape from Canada, Pele Perks Up 7/27/24
    
25. Guest, Fireworks, More Travel Plans 7/6/24
    
26. Warm Water, "AA" Golf, Pigs & Mangos 6/29/24
    
27. vAX Whack, Travel Plans, Mango Mania 6/22/24
    
28. Horse Leis, New Car AC Woes, Double Eye Shots 6/15/24
    
29. Pele Burps up a Passport, Solar Panels Almost! 6/8/24
    
30. First Car Wash, Retirement Anniversary, Ride-Along...  6/1/24
    
31. Resolution Week, Roof Readiness, Buckling Up 5/25/24
    
32. Death of a Sandwich, 2 More Docs, Roof Repair 5/18/24
    
33. Big Birthday, Lost Passports, Rumbling Volcano 5/11/24
    
34. Car Bonding, 3 Doc Visits, Wheeling & Dealing 5/4/24
    
35.  Escape From Mordor, Career In Used Car Sales ?  4/27/24
    
36. Eye Shots, Golf Shots, Blood Draws & Test Drives 4/20.24
    
37. Back To Bogie-Land, Car Shopping 4/13/24
    
38. Happy Hula, Muscles, Travel Plans 4/6/24
    
39. Smoking Crossover, Golf"ish", Pool Proposal 3/30/24
    
40. 20/60; Patience, Grasshopper 3/23/24
41. Tax Back, Eye Woes, Pumping Iron 3/16/24 
42. Pool Time, Tax Time, Retina Relapse, Reunion Fun 3/9/24
    
43. Whale Tails, Lost Phone, 9 to 5 3/2/24
    
44. Grand Jury Pay, Fixing Fixes, Ethiopia Post Mortem 2/24/24
    
45. Back Home -- Sorta Kinda 2/17/24
    
46. Panel Pau, Quiet New Year, New Skin Doc, Grand Jury 1/6/24
    
47. Pool Bubbles, Ho, Ho, 2023 Go! 12/30/23
    
48. 'Twas the Week Before Christmas 12/23/23
    
49. Cologuard Results, Fiber Installed, "RSVPlease" 12/16/23
    
50. Switch to Fiber, Golf Jinx, Grand Jury Duty? 12/9/23
    
51. Wordle in 8, Kona Low, Cable Guy 12/2/23
    
52. Week of 3's, 'Par'ty, Here Comes $anta 11/25/23
    
53. Leis, Eye Shot, PT Reject 11/18/23
    
54. Wordle In 1, Coffee Festival, Snoozerama 11/11/23
    
55. Sliced, Diced, Pumped & Shot 11/4/23
    
56. Bones, Vanishing Electrons, & The Poop is in the Mail 10/28/23
    
57. Blood, Safari, Golf"ish" 10/21/23
    
58. Iron People, Eyeball, Volcano  10/14/23
    
59. Back Home -- Sorta Kinda 10/7/23
    
60. Golf To Go, Aniversary, Swelling Volcano 8/26/23
    
61. Spam for Maui, Valve Surgery, Travel Prep 8/19/23
    
62. Fires, Leaks, Pars & Pads  8/12/23
63. Looking for Leaks, Golf Cart Pontoons, Clean Teeth 8/5/23
    
64. Lahaina Noon, Popping a Peacock, Manta Rays 7/29/23
    
65. Calvin Fizzles, Skin Scrutiny, Summer Arrives  7/22/23
    
66. B-Day, Anniversary, Peacocks in the Mist 7/15/23
    
67. /A Darwin Award, Quiet 4th, Pump & Grunt 7/8/23
    
68. Miracle Drug, Physics, Ball? 7/1/23
    
69. Back Home, A Pele Present, Jet Lag  6/24/23
    
70. Vabysmo in My Eye, Birthday, New Cell Service 5/13/23
    
71. Driveway Paint, Thick Air Golf 5/6/23
    
72. Coqui In The Buff, Eyeball Unmolested, Sparkling Driveway 4/29/23
    
73. Popping Peacocks, Putting Birdies 4/22/23
    
74. Puddles, Merrie Monarchs, Guests 4/15/23
    
75. Lazy Lava, Snowball Blooms, 400 Frogs 4/8/23
    
76. Techno-Jinx, Techno-Triumph, Travel Plans 4/1/23
    
77. Needles, Blood, Silicone, & Smoke  3/25/23
    
78. Techno Troubles, Credit Card Hack  3/11/23
    
79.  Dumper, Waikablowa, "Disaster!"  3/4/23
    
80. Twin Snow Cones, Snoozing Volcanoes, Medication Dillemas  2/25/23
    
81.  Superbowl Road Trip, Valentine Tacos, Leg Slices  2/18/23
    
82.  Painting Pau, Back to Splashing & Ball Whacking 2/11/23
    
83. Big Blow, Eyeball, Painting 2/4/23
    
84. Sofa No Mo', Lava Golf, Sad News 1/27/23
    
85. Bones, Golf, Cable Guy, Couch 1/21/23
    
86.  Bone Scan,Vog, Safety Check 1/14/23
    
87. Pele Pops Her Cork, Christmas No Mo', Chopomania 1/7/23
    
88. Aloha '22, Aloha '23? 12/31/22
    
89. Lava Changing to Snow, Ho, Ho, Ho 12/24/22
    
90. In From The Cold, Lava Pau for Now 12/15/22
    
91. Living with Lava, Tired of Turkey 12/3/22
    
92. Lung Results, Turkey Day, Spring Travel Plans  11/26/22
    
93. Fixing Solar Leaks, Getting Nuked & Shot, Pumping 11/19/22
    
94. The "C" Word, Spring Travel Plans, Long Johns 11/12/22
    
95. Coffee Festival, A Golf Par"ish," Travel Plans, Clinic Problems 11/5/22
    
96. Getting Sliced & Shot, Pumping My Pecs 10/29/22
    
97. Zero-Putt-Birdie, Volcano Duet  10/22/22 
    
98. Using up Electrons, Good Eyeball News, Vaxed to the Max  10/15/22
    
99. Aloha from ..... Home  10/8/22
    
100. The Wheels on the Boat Go 'Round and 'Round 8/20/22
     
101. Alarming News, Body Fluids, Double Whammy Workout 8/13/22
     
102. Termite Repairs, Under the Knife, Clubs for Sale 8/6/22
     
103. Playing With The Wind, Controlling Critters 7/30/22
     
104. Big Swell, Digital Coquis, Covid Neighbors, Four $eason$ 7/23/22
     
105. Good Eyeball, Birthday, Lack of Good Sense, Roof Gardens 7/16/22
     
106. July 4th, Moving Anniversary, ER 7/9/22
     
107. Hand of Doom, Fig Pickin' Fingers 7/2/22
     
108. My Week of Special Numbers 6/25/22
     
109. Travel Plans, Eyeballs, Gold Stars, and Clues 6/18/22
     
110. Back Home Safe (?) and Sound 6/11/22
     
111. Travel Prep, Shiny Teeth, Ukulele Virtuoso  4/30/22
     
112. Volcano Snow, Tripping Out, Super Goo to the Rescue  4/23/22
     
113. Vaxed to the Max, Toe Troubles, Coqui Caviar 4/16/22
     
114.  Bad Clutch, Spray Paint, and Super Goo 4/9/22
     
115. Screen Spring Clean, Booster Boosts 4/2/22
     
116. "Kona Snow," A Pole Cat, & Smoke No Mo'  3/26/22
     
117. Waking Up Coquis, Pumping Iron  3/19/22
     
118. How To Put Screws and Little White Balls in Holes 3/12/22
     
119. 45 Lbs of Poi & A Set of Metric Hex Keys  3/5/22
     
120. Star-Crossed Putters; Doing Some Fun Normal Things 2/26/22
     
121. 1 Ship, 3 Doctors, 5 Friends  2,19/22
     
122. My Blue Nevus in Azerbaijan 2/12/22
     
123. Volcano Snorts, Foil Fixes, Workout Mania 2/5/22
     
124. An Odd Ship, A Workout, A Dead Computer 1/29/22
     
125. Our Tonga Tsunami; Toy Tweaking; TWO Ships  1/22/22
     
126. Covid Golf, Nene Chicks, a New Techno-Toy 1/15/22
     
127. 2022: Are We Having Fun Yet? 1/8/22
     
128. Happy(well, maybe-maybe-not) New Year! 12/31/21
     
129. 'Twas The Night... Bra, What Dat Clattah? 12/24/21
     
130. Schmutz In The Pool Pump, Coquis In Pots, Splinters On Fairways  12/18/21
     
131. Problems in Paradise: From Drought to Drow/ning 12/11/21
     
132. Snow On The Volcano, Carpet Chaos 12/4/21
     
133. Holidaze Discombobulation Begins  11/27/21
     
134. Let's Bogey; Skylight Blues; Foreclosure No Mo' 11/20/21
     
135. Me! 11/13/21
     
136. The Bogey Man is Back! 11/6/21
     
137. Fighting with Bubble Wrap; Catching Coquis  10/30/21
     
138. Jet Lag, Volcanic Twitch, Earthquake 10/23/21
     
139. A Booster, A Radiator, An Eyeball 9/18/21
     
140. Virtual Labor Day, Vicarious Golf, Nullified Workout, Steamed Minnie 9/11/21
     
141. Postponing Paradise, Celebrating Mortgage Crossover Day.. 9/4/21
     
142.  Eyeball Mo’ Betta’; Doctor Fights; Three Anniversaries 8/28/21
     
143. Becoming a Bogey Man, Lockdowns Looming 8/21/21
     
144. TSA PreChecks, Golf, Creatures Big & Small 8/14/21
     
145. August Already? Abnormal Normality? 8/7/21
     
146. Covid Mo’ Bad; Rain Drops &Wild Fires; Minnie Turns 50  8/1/21
     
147. Mexico A Go-Go; Negatrons; Covid Spike 7/24/21
     
148. Shiny Mo’ Bettah, Travel Plans, Stealth Birthday 7/17/21
     
149. Fizzled Fireworks, Celebrating a New Beginning 7/10/21
     
150. Please Shut the Gate! 7/3/21
     
151. Almost Normal (Not), A Missed Anniversary 6/26/21
     
152. Whew! A Deafening Silence 6/19/21
     
153. Hosting Raccoons, Walking Inside a Volcano 6/13/21
     
154. One Eyeball Shot,Two Anniversaries, Four Frogs, One Pair of Twins 6/5/21
     
155. A Revived Technobrick, Lots of Work and Naps 5/29/21
     
156. What Else Could Go Wrong? 5/22/21
     
157. Travel in the Time of Covid 3 5/8/21
     
158. Travel in the Time of Covid 2 5/1/21
     
159. Traveling in the Time of Covid 4/24/21
     
160. Medical News, Travel Prep 4/17/21
     
161. Dinner With Friends, Two Toys, Another Virus Vanquished 4/10/21
     
162. 40-50 Nenes, A House Guest, A “Lolo” Market 4/3/21
     
163. Techno-Trauma, Not-So-Nice Normal 3/27/21
     
164. Nose Tweak, Toe Attack, Blind Drilling 3/20/21
     
165. Mountain Saviors, Gecko Survivors 3/13/21
     
166. Tenting, Vegging, and Re-Combobulating 3/7/21
     
167. Travel Plans and Tent Preps 2/27/21
     
168. Eyeball Shot, Splashy Hike, 0's & 1's 2/20/21
     
169. A Toast to Double Shots, Higher Sodium Happiness 2/13/21
     
170. Jurassic Hiking, Doctor Woes, Unmaking Travel Plans 2/6/21
     
171. Covid Hike, Cockroaches, Fighting with My Doctor 1/30/21
     
172. Covid Shots, Triumph of Reality 1/23/21
     
173. A Well-Behaved Eyeball, A Yawning Volcano 1/16/21
     
174. Two Kinds of Injections, A Workout, and a Riot 1/9/21
     
175. A Dragon’s Fury, A Haircut, A Teeth Cleaning 1/2/21
     
176. A Present From Pele, More Vaccine, Cutting Phone Cord Report  12/26/20
177. Phone Switcheroo, Vaccine Arrives  12/19/20
     
178.  Attack of the Dragonflies, Man Triumphs Over Plumbing 12/12/20
     
     An Eyeball Exam, Deer in The Driveway, Plumbing Leaks  12/6/20
     
179. Tastes Like Chicken, Send The Outrigger Ark 11/28/20
     
180. Hawai'i Snow! Cutting More Cords, Drive-Through Doctoring  11/21/20
     
181. Return of The Two-Legged Roof Rat, Termite Treatment Saga Continues  11/14/20
182. A Two-Legged Roof Rat, A Ladder Too Far  11/7/20
183. The Calm Before the Storm, Terminating Termites  10/31/20
184. Tuning a Toilet, Shooting 3 Pars, and Poking an Eyeball 10/24/20
     
185. A Light in the Dark, A Ballot, and A.C. Woes 10/17/20
     
186. Fixing a Robot, Making Coqui Ceviche, Taking Over First Place 10/10/20
     
187. Undoing Surgery, Fixing Time, and Corona Comes to Kona 10/4/20
     
188. A Hanging, a Vaccination, Two Executions, and Some Computer Surgery 9/26/20
     
189.  Fan Dance Encore and a Viral Yo-Yo 9/19/20
     
190. Virtual Bangs, Spray Paint, Avoiding Death 9/13/20
     
191. A Week of Seeing, Tasting, Hearing 9/5/20
     
192. A Triple Anniversary and Three Dead Oxfarts 8/29/20
     
193.  Eyeballs, Photons, and Mean Microbes 8/22/20
     
194. Mainland Missive: 3 Doctors, 2 Frogs, and a Hurricane
195. Mainland Missive: Sore Muscles and Champagne
196. Mainland Missive: An Ark, A Haircut, and A Parka 
197. Mainland Missive: Techno-Toy Turnaround 
198. Mainland Missive: A Viral Birthday 
199. Mainland Missive: Dodging Dougie and Going Down A...