There are boxes lurking
maybe if I pretend they are holiday things
it will be fun

for this sort of thing
wading in as if the water is warmer
seems to work best

happily the only furniture
are a trio of ottomans
lamp and bookshelf
chest and wine cabinet

thinking of the ornaments suspended
along the lanai
poinsettias ringing the stairs
visualizing it
It is almost
as if it is already happening 18 months ago

There is much fruit growing there already. I will make some raised beds and plant greens.

I am going to change out my diet. 18 months ago

Mr Tiki is very happy.

This is one of those times when it is happening because he wants the change. Today is lease signing and deposit day. We have given notice where we are living now.

The doggies are going to have a place to run about.

Looking forward to all that fruit right from the garden. 19 months ago

All of them are wonderful people except one couple. Most of the time we have been successful in maneuvering around them such that there is peace.

But then something bizarre happened. I was making a head lei. The plants in the neighbor’s garden are overgrown to the point where they spill over into our yard feet and feet, or at least they did until very recently. I trimmed a five inch piece off the spilling over bougainvillea for the head lei and he came out and told me he had called the police on me for picking flowers.

I thought he was joking, but he was so serious he almost had a stroke right there in front of me. So I suggested that since if all that plant life that was obstructing my view so I could not see oncoming traffic when I pulled out of the driveway was his, I would appreciate it if he would trim it back some.

So he came out with his big bad chain sawing hedge clippers and what not and took every plant, tree, and shrub that was along the fence line out. He hacked away the plants that obscured my view as I left the driveway. It looks hideous but nature will fill it in quick enough. Meantime, all of a sudden I can see Mauna Kea and three times as much coast line… Shhh, don’t tell him. There are some very strange people on this island. 19 months ago

There are ponds with koi in front of the house. It has some near perfect aspects.

The first night we spent here we vowed to give notice the next morning. We were saved from our rash decision by the glorious morning with waves spilling over in the sunlight that we had our eyes on while we ate breakfast on the lanai.

Although we were able to resolve some of the issues that stood in the way of our experience, many remain. That the fan does work in the bedroom if it’s tweaked just right is #1. That a half cup of rainwater spills on your head when you open the front door if you don’t stand back has not been resolved. Our only dining area is out of doors, and night and morning are prime mosquito time. The feral cat situation means the dogs cannot be allowed to run free, and that is issue #1 on the other side of the equation.

The dogs are good sports and adaptable and we take them out two or three times a day. And what we all need is a place that is fenced or huge and safe or both. Otherwise, we can only go away for short periods of time unless we board them. There’s a place we like for them, but the costs of boarding add up quickly… Plus being clever dogs they break out once in awhile here and go tearing about, where they could get hit by a car or tangle themselves up with a motorcyclist.

Yesterday we looked at a house that seems to fit the ticket. It is up the coast a ways, on a high cliff over the ocean. Whale season is coming, and living there would mean falling asleep to the sounds of the whales for a couple of months. There is a fenced orchard and a heavy duty gate. The fencing along the cliffside is strong.

The house itself is beautiful and would fit our friends and family lifestyle. The views from the screened in lanai (mosquitoes!), living room, and all bedrooms are big wide blue ocean vistas with some ohia and palm for interest. The orchard and garden have flowers for bouquets and lei, bananas, pineapple, lilikoi, avocado, tangerines and probably other things I have not uncovered.

Last time we got all excited about a house the person in charge of it gave it to someone else. The irony of that is they spent one night in it and gave notice the next day and vacated. It seemed like it would have been ideal for the dogs, but being in the same neighborhood we are in now, the feral cats would have also been an issue. I watched one of my dogs leap five feet straight in the air today to scale a wall. The average fence will simply not be adequate.

We shall see. The search is on. I am not eager to leave the beach, so it is all good. 19 months ago