Tax Back, Eye Woes, Pumping Iron

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

3/15/24

 

Aloha Everyone---

 

Definitely an "interesting" week for me. with both good news and bad news to share.  

 

First, some good news.  On Thursday we got our State tax refund, and yesterday we received our Fed refund.  Both of these were direct-deposited into our checking account, but will be soon reinvested in one of our mutual funds.  Getting our money was pretty fast -- just about two weeks from the time I submitted the returns online.  I've adjusted our required estimated payments to avoid being as generous this year.

Also in the good news department is that we managed to work out at Planet Fitness yesterday -- the first

Pump Those Pecs!

time in almost three months!  We took it easy -- less weight and fewer reps.  Even so,  I'm a bit stiff this morning.  We also managed to exercise in our pool several days this week -- definitely the most since we've been back.  Little by little we're recovering functionality after our back-to-basics Ethiopia "reset" experience.  The next challenge will be getting back to golf, but not for another week because we have more guests arriving tomorrow for a 10=day visit.  One is a dear friend from Ohio who has been here a number of times but not recently, and she will be accompanied by her sister, who will be new to the islands.  Should be great fun. We have really been enjoying hosting our visitors this  year, and these two will also a treat.

 

Speaking of the pool, I'll soon receive a quote for replacing the solar heating system.  On Thursday somebody from Hawaiian Solar, our first choice since they installed our PV system and also the replacement hot water solar system for us, came by and looked at the current setup.  We may even add one more panel to give the system a boost in heating capability.  I'll let you know next week how this turns out.

 

Now for the not-so-good news. Recall that I had an earlier-than-scheduled visit to my retina doc because my right eye had suddenly changed for the worse.  Sure enough, this necessitated a shot. It responded very well, to the point that it got back to as good as it can be in just a few days  However, recall that I was also concerned with a slight worsening of the vision in my left eye -- my good one that has always been 20/20 and the one I rely on to compensate for my weak one.  The exam that day didn't reveal anything obviously wrong, but we decided to keep the already scheduled appointment two weeks away  as a precaution.  Well in just a week Mr. 20/20 went very, very bad -- to the point where I could no longer read or see anything clearly -- it was like looking through crumpled, slightly opaque cellophane. Needless to say I was scared.  I made an appointment with the first available retina specialist in the clinic, and got to see someone on Thursday (my regular guy wasn't at the clinic this past week).  The exam showed massive edema in my "good" eye, caused by an occlusion (blockage plus bursting) of a vein in the center of the retina. No idea what led to this so at the moment it is just another case of "Sh*t happens in geezerhood." Anyway, I got a shot to reduce the edema and so far there is promising improvement even after just two days. The main question, which only time will tell, is how much permanent damage has been done.  At least I got on top this quickly and received aggressive treatment right away, unlike my right (bad) eye that languished for several weeks before I got my first shot because my doctor at the time was a bit conservative in his treatment.  We'll see.  At least that's what I hope - that I'll see.  I have a follow-up appointment with my regular doctor on Tuesday, so Ill let you know next week how this saga is playing out.

Ok, enough.  Hope you are coping with winter and with your own health matters.  Stay warm and well.

 

 

Pool Time, Tax Time, Retina Relapse, Reunion Fun

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

3/9/24

 

Aloha All ---

 

Our cool winter continued this week -- more rain, cloudy in the late morning, chilly overnight (mid- to low 60's!).  Still, the pool managed to hit our MAL (Minimum Acceptable Level) and we were able to go in a couple of times. We sure have missed out daily workouts but hopefully Spring will kick in and bring warmer weather soon.  The pool solar system has been behaving itself, giving me a little time to line up a possible replacement system.  I hope to get at least one e$timate next week. 

Over the weekend I got our taxes done and submitted.  I was motivated this year because once I had put in

most of the numbers I found that we're getting refunds for both the state and local taxes!  As I've written before, this isn't a windfall -- after all, it's our own money and all it means is we gave the fed and state interest-free loans during the year.  Part of the problem in figuring the amount of the estimated payments we have to make during the year is that a fair amount of our income isn't predictable -- it depends on how  the stock funds are managed as far as capital gains and performance are concerned.  Next year we could just as well end up owing more at the end to the year.  Anyway, I'll let you know how long it takes to get our money back....

 

The bummer news this week is that my vision took a dive and I had to make a special visit to my retina doctor.  About the middle of last week I noticed that I suddenly couldn't see as well as usual, and the scary part is that both eyes were having trouble.  Last Saturday I called and managed to get a appointment for Tuesday and sure enough, my right eye showed significant edema which warranted a shot.  Hopefully we caught this early and it will reduce the problem quickly..  My real concern, though, is with the left eye (my good one).  My acuity was down very little, and a pretty thorough exam didn't reveal anything significant, but I'm using some anti-inflammatory drops just in case.  My next appointment is in two weeks to follow up on both eyes.  Fortunately my insurance has just approved coverage for the new Vabysmo injection drug through August so this shouldn't be a financial problem.  Sheesh.  Remember the good old days when you didn't think about health issues all the time?

 

On the good news side, we have really enjoyed our time with our friends from Colorado.  Yesterday they flew to Kauai to join friends and family there.  Their visit focused on catching up on what has been going on in our lives since we last saw them.  This was accomplished over lots of good food and joy juice at home, the beach, and a couple of our favorite restaurants.  Oh, and you'll be glad to know that we managed to solve nearly all of the world's problems while we were at it.

Ok, off to market and our usual Saturday beach breakfast picnic.  Stay warm, healthy, and unscathed by all the craziness out there.

Whale Tails, Lost Phone, 9 to 5

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

3/2/24

 

Aloha Everybody---

 

March already!  Can you believe it?  Next thing you know it will be time for hotdogs and fireworks...

 

This week we've been having fun spending time with our friends from Ohio.  The schedule has been low-key, with several beach picnics and some surprisingly good whale watching.  This year has been a very good season for sighting the Humpbacks that are spending the winter here before returning to Alaska.  The numbers seem way up compared to the past few years, and for some unknown reason more whales have been active just off our coast rather than the northern part of our island.  Anyway, we've enjoyed watching them with our friends -- there aren't many whales in Ohio.

I had the panic experience of losing my cell phone this week.  It happened Wednesday afternoon and was a dramatic reminder of how overly dependent on this little hunk of technology I've become.  We went to a seaside restaurant for a sunset drink and when we left my cell phone didn't -- I must have left it on the table, a puzzling and dazzling example of obliviousness.  Usually  I try to do a quick inventory -- hat, billfold, credit card, sunglasses, regular glasses, cell phone, wife.  I thought I did that this time, but the evidence is now clear that I didn't.  Anyway, we got all the way home before I noticed I didn't have it.  We tried calling the number in case it was somewhere in the car but it didn't respond.  This is an Android device, and just like Apple phones, there is a way of remotely detecting where it is, as well as locking it and even erasing all of its contents.  I decided to return to the restaurant as quickly as I could to see if I could retrieve it before taking any drastic action (the restaurant wasn't answering their phone).  Sure enough, the phone was waiting for me at the reception desk -- the person bussing the table had found it and did the honorable thing by turning it in to the hostess.  Crisis averted, but the whole thing was sobering because it illustrated how a momentary lapse in usually taking care not to misplace something can have an unwelcome outcome.

 

On Thursday we had a very pleasant get-together with two other friends from Ohio who are visiting their daughter in Waimea -- she's the one who teaches at a private school there.  All of us were friends back in the olden days at Miami and it was remarkable how easily we rekindled our connection.  Of course the b.s. flowed quite freely.....

 

Last night we exposed our guests to a touch of local life by attending a performance by our local community theater.  It was the musical version of the comedy "9 To 5," in which three female office workers take revenge on their chauvinist male boss.  As usual, we were impressed by the talented amateur performances and with the low-budget yet effective stage design.  We always try to support these kind of efforts as a way to contribute to the quality of experiences available in the area.  Definitely worth the modest price of the tickets in this case.

 

Our current guests will leave this evening to return to Ohio, and on Tuesday we will welcome two more old friends for a short visit.  These are college friends from Colorado who we haven't seen for a number of years and it will be great to get together again.  They will continue on to Kauai, where they have a condo.  We are really looking forward to our reunion. 

Ok, that's about it for the week, other than to report that the pool temperature has nearly reached our minimum.  We should be able to take a dip in the next day or two, the first time since before we left for our Ethiopia trip.  Take care, stay warm, don't strain yourself with that snow shovel......

Grand Jury Pay, Fixing Fixes, Ethiopia Post Mortem

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

2/24/24

 

Aloha Ohana ---

 

This was a busy week.  I think. I'm not sure since much of the time I was in a mental fog or taking yet another nap. My 12-hour jet lag is lifting, but slowly.  You might be amused to learn what the first three foods we indulged in after getting back to the good ol' USA:  pizza, Taco Bell, and barbecued steak. Shameful and sad.  But really tasty!! 

Neither of us has developed any new symptoms this week, so we survived the 22 hours in a sealed metal tube without catching anything from fellow passengers.  We were particularly concerned about the San Francisco leg -- the plane was absolutely full and there were many young kids on board (aka precious bundles of germs). 

 

Among other catch-up tasks was going through the mail back log.  Lots of tax forms and charity appeals, plus the usual travel brochures, and hidden in the pile was my pay for showing up at the Grand Jury selection session.  Whoopeee!  I quickly deposited that $31.32 and figure I 'll use it to buy some of my favorite beer.  Seems appropriate.  

 

I also spent a bit of time re-fixing my pool solar system that I fixed before we left.  Near the end of our Ethiopia tour I got a text from my handyman who was doing his weekly inspection and found water shooting off our roof and the pool level way down.  One of my connections had come loose and the system was on its way to emptying the pool through the gap in the pipe.  Fortunately he was able to turn off the system and refill the pool.  Over the weekend I re-did the connection (correctly, this time) and got the solar heating going again.  However, it will take some time before the temperature gets up to an acceptable level.  Always something!  Oh, I should note the techno-marvel of texting in real time with my handyman half-way around the world, with my location being in a primitive lodge in the middle of nowhere.

 

On Tuesday I saw my retina specialist and got very good news -- no new edema, so no injection needed.  The pool solar system may be leaking but my eyeball isn't.  I'm scheduled for 5 weeks from now, which would put me well over four months between injections.  Definitely good news.

 

Karen saw her doctor on Tuesday and got some antibiotic for her bronchial infection.  She acquired this fairly early in the trip after catching a cold from another person in the group.  The cold went away but she was left with a persistent cough, made even worse by the dry, dusty, and smoky conditions we encountered everywhere in Ethiopia. She got some medication there but it didn't entirely clear it up.  Hopefully this new antibiotic, plus rest and better air, will do the trick.

We're excited to host some very good friends from Ohio who arrive tomorrow afternoon and will spend about a week. They've been here several times before, so high-power sight-seeing isn't required or desired.  This is good -- given our diminished states I'm not sure we would be good tour guides.

 

It is hard to give an overall assessment of our Ethiopia trip. Here's what I said in an email to some friends

"No Ma'am, this isn't Kansas"

who are interested in our travels:  "Ethiopia lived up to our expectation of being historically and culturally unique and exotic to a degree we hadn't expected. But no one should underestimate how difficult it is to travel in Ethiopia, both physically, in terms of elevation changes, temperature extremes, poor roads, sketchy infrastructure, and psychologically, in terms of exhausting constant cultural whiplash -- from mass exhibitions of Orthodox Christian religion unlike anywhere else we've seen to tribes whose women stretch their lower lips to hold a clay disk as a way of attracting a mate. Oh yes, and food that led to overall weight loss for the trip, a rarity for us. But despite the difficulties that reached even our limits, the trip epitomized why we have traveled all these years-- to experience firsthand the full essence of what it means to be human --warts and all."

 

That's about it for this week.  Stay warm, stay healthy.  Don't listen to the crazies, including the ones who are really AI....  (Put the "I" in quotes....)

Back Home -- Sorta Kinda

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

2/17/24

 

Aloha Everyone ---

 

This will be just a quick note to let you know we are home, arriving Thursday early afternoon.  It was a

Batchelor Club

killer trip -- 6.5 drive from our last safari camp to Nairobi, 8.5 hour flight to Frankfurt, 7-hour layover, 11.5-hour flight to San Francisco, a blissful night at an airport hotel there, then the final leg of 5.5 hours to Kona.  Jet lag is severe -- a 12-hour time difference that is hard to adjust to, as it flips day and night around completely.  Everything seems like a monumental task -- it's like mental molasses for 3-4 days at least.

 

Anyway, it was an interesting trip and next week I'll report more.  For now we're getting the house in shape again for visitors next week, and dealing with a few problems that cropped up while we were gone.

 

Take care.  Hope you are surviving winter ok.

 

 

Panel Pau, Quiet New Year, New Skin Doc, Grand Jury

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

1/6/24

 

Aloha All ---

 

Remember last time when I said I fixed some leaks I found in my roof-top solar pool panels?  Nope.  If anything my "fix" made matters worse.  When the system shut off and the panels drained, a goodly amount of water was flowing into the house gutter, rather than back into the pool like it is supposed to. 

So simple, right??

My assessment was that the whole panel would have to be removed or bypassed until a more permanent solution -- like replacing the entire 20-year old system -- could be done.  BUT there just isn't enough time to get estimates and line up the job before we leave for Africa.  So, I did a bit of by-pass surgery by cutting out the bad panel and just running new tubing across the gap.  A "simple" job that took two very hard days of sawing and twisting and pushing and pulling and a LOT of swear words.  I won't regale you with the whole story, but suffice it to say it was a typical "thisdoesn'tlooktoohardIbetIcandoitmyselfreallyeasilybutonethingleadstoanother" project.  Anyway, I got it done and no leaks (!).  However, I still have my bubbly pool and I've got a couple of parts on the way that I'm hoping will take care of the problem.  Obviously, when I return from Africa the pool is going to be a major focus of my time, money, and angst.

 

Our New Year's Eve was pretty mellow this year.  I opted not to set off any fireworks and we had a quiet dinner and early bedtime.  At midnight the area became pretty lively, and one pyro-enthusiast kept going until well after 1 a.m., timing his explosions to occur just as we were finally drifting off to sleep.  On Tuesday we hosted a dinner for two of our friends who live upslope near Makalei golf course.  Another couple was supposed to join us but both of them have a recurrence of some nasty respiratory bug (not Covid) and they didn't want to expose us this close to our departure date.  Very considerate but disappointing not to have started the new year with their company.

Karen and I both made visits to a new skin doctor on Wednesday, and these went well enough that we are likely to switch permanently from our previous dermatologist.  We have been patients for many years, but the old one has been reorienting her practice more and more to purely co$metic stuff -- you know, "dermamold",  "thermasculp" and "tone&tuck", that kind of thing.  Lately she's even into running a weight-loss program, which to me has nothing to do with dermatology.  At the same time she's been raising her rates for checkups and medical procedures, a move which stings because she's one of the many physicians here who don't take insurance.  The new dermatologist seems dedicated to the medical side of things, and even better, she takes our insurance.  We'll see how it works out, but so far so good.

 

I have taken down all the Christmas lights and other decorations on the outside of the house.  We left the tree up until this weekend because Karen hosted a book club yesterday and wanted her friends to see it, but it will go back into the box today or tomorrow.  The living room will seem awfully dark without it.

I've saved the best news for last.  My name wasn't one of names that were drawn for Grand Jury duty! This was one lottery I was quite happy not to win.  I showed up at the local courthouse at 8:30 a.m. yesterday and the whole process took about 2 1/2 hours.  After I learned exactly how the Grand Jury operates, I realized my objection wasn't necessary.  Sixteen jurors are selected for each of two separate juries, and each one meets once per month during the year.  Only 8 jurors are needed at any one meeting, though, and no more that 12 ever have to attend at one time.  Even better, the exact dates are known for the entire year, and if you can't serve on one more more, you can easily get out of some sessions.  So, even if I had been selected, I could have simply told them I was going to be gone for the next couple of meetings and there would have been no problem. Note, this is a case of ignorance leading to the wrong conclusion and much unwarranted worrying about a problem that didn't really exist.  There may be one or two other people in the country who are guilty of this, I'm not certain.....

Ok, we off for our usual round of Saturday morning events, our last until we return.  I'll try to get something off to you next week, but it might be brief.  Take care, carpe diem, be kind to others and to yourselves.

Pool Bubbles, Ho, Ho, 2023 Go!

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

12/30/23

 

Hou'oli Maka Hiki Hou! (Happy New Year!) ---

 

Our Christmas was quiet.  I turned on my Pandora Christmas Carol station and managed to last about 6 hours until the Silver Bells, Sleigh Bells, and Hosannas got to me.  As  I mentioned, Karen and I weren't going to give each other presents -- but two days before Christmas I had a stroke of inspiration as we were doing our usual Saturday morning rounds.  Mescal!!  Karen and I were introduced to this high-brow version of Tequila during our last visit to southern Mexico year before last, and we became quite fond of it -- especially Karen.  We brought back some with us but "we" (mostly Karen) drank it all months ago.  It's hard to find here in Hawai'i but one of our local grocery stores does carry it, and I was able to score a bottle on Saturday morning and surprise Karen with it for Christmas.  Good going, Dick!

 

Christmas day we went to a dinner hosted by a neighbor and good friend that we've attended for the last few years.  Very pleasant, with some interesting discussions with people we don't ordinarily interact with -- including a couple of professional musicians and also a couple of fellow travel-addicts.  The menu included both Turkey and Ham, the second of which love -- maybe too much.  Ham is something I've had a weakness for bordering on derangement for as long as I can remember.  As a kid my mother would serve

ham on the bone, like the kind in cartoons.  These hams predated the ones you can now buy pre-cooked and pre-sliced .  These had to be baked and then served with some of the meat sliced onto a platter.  My weakness was so strong that if there was left-over ham in the refrigerator, I would get up at night and eat a fair percentage of my body weight in the stuff.  Today, because of the salt and fat concerns of geezerhood, I have had to limit my intake so that my death certificate doesn't read "death by ham ingestion."   However, I might have exceeded the reasonable limit this year -- by just a smidge, I assure you.

On Thursday we played golf at Makalei.  It was a sunny, clear day for the most part, a definite contrast to last week's rain-out.  In fact, we played all 18 holes, a noteworthy feat for us. I did a solid "meh," but

Karen did great -- a par on one hole with a one-putt, and SIX consecutive Bogeys!!!  Obviously my "meh-ness" wasn't contagious.  At first we were puzzled because we didn't see hardly any Nenes or Peacocks, but as the day wore on they came out from the tree-lined margins and we wound up seeing about 20 Nenes and 20 Peacocks, including the white male Peacock who was displaying for some interested females.  We were pleased to get in this round and have it be a good one because it may have been our last until after we return from our trip.

 

My big techno-woe this week was fighting bubbles.  Bubbles in our pool, that is.  Somehow air is getting into the solar heating system and this means there is a problem to be solved somewhere.  I consulted with my pool service guy and I'm going to replace something called the vacuum breaker valve that is attached to the solar panels and is supposed to open only when the system is off, allowing air to enter the pipes so that water will drain back into the pool.  It may be that mine, which is now 18 or so years old, is allowing air all the time, thus creating the bubbles.  On the mainland finding a replacement would be fast and easy, I'm sure, but here the main supplier of parts for these systems doesn't stock the size I need.  Soooooo, the problem will persist until one that is ordered arrives.  While investigating the cause of the bubbles, I also found a couple of leaks in the roof panels themselves which I tried to fix yesterday myself.  Ah, home ownership!!  

On a philosophical note, I'd say 2023 was somewhat of a mixed bag.  It certainly had some up sides for me personally in terms of travel experiences, personal development, learning opportunities, and generally being in pretty good health.  However, the depth and breadth of problems around the world in terms of climate change, wars, ideological extremism, social antipathy, and a loss of anything resembling a moral center, leave me with a nagging feeling that humanity is heading in the wrong direction.  It also leads me to realize that I've lived in some very good times that may not recur in the near future.  So, as this year comes to a close I'm grateful for my past life and somewhat leery about what the next years might bring.  Nevertheless, I sincerely wish you a Happy, Healthy, and Fulfilling New Year.... 

 

Off we go one last time this year to the beach for our breakfast picnic.  Take care, stay warm!