Week 11: preparation for vacation on the .....Mainland

As we sit here waiting to go to the airport, there are many things that go through our minds. We had to board Lucy, our wonderful little cat. We will miss her and probably not half as much as she will miss us. Hard to put the little kitty in a new place for 3 weeks. We are hoping, once the house is finished, that will all change.


  • Mike was in San Francisco last week for a quick trip. He was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people, traffic, noise and more people. This place where we are living now around the corner from our future home is very peaceful. Although traffic can get bad during commute hours on a couple of roads, it is nothing like what he experienced returning late (almost midnight) to SF on a Wednesday evening. Seemed like it was mid-day of a holiday travel weekend.

  • We have been trying to figure out what critter was eating our papaya tree and put chicken wire around the nursery thinking it was chickens--particularly since Mike found an egg down there. Judy just went to check one last time before our departure and saw that it is probably rats that have been the culprit. This time they ate half the papaya seedlings and  left big teeth marks in a spider lily bulb.  Hard to leave knowing the rats will eat everything while we are gone. I tucked in the netting around the plants but we will see. 



  • This is the first trip we have taken since we left Concord. At that time, we had to remove everything from our house since we rented it out. At least on this trip, we do not have to empty out our current residence. We have a place to return to. That feels better. We are not homeless vagabonds.  Just vagabonds :)

  • We enjoued a wonderful harp concert this week. The setting is absolutely gorgeous: Queen's Coffee Garden. Although in downtown Kailua-Kona, it is not obvious. The grounds are spectacular. We were there for a Tai Chi class and at least knew about the location. The concert was outstanding. 4 harps, 2 flutes, and 2 of the harpists also played keyboards. One of the flutes was a gold flute. The last time Mike saw (and actually handled and played it) was approximately 60 years ago. The other flute was a wooden flute. Not the little flutes that kids play but a real flute. And the flautist had a bass flute in addition. Very peaceful and wonderful experience. (pictures attached).

  • The first cement pour of the foundation will most likely occur before we return on Jan 9. They have formed up the perimeter of the lower area and are adding base coat and compacting as we write this. (picture attached).  The key part is 2 feet deep, 8 feet 3 inches wide, and 54 feet long. And, there will be grade beams. This cement pour could be a parking lot for tractor-trailer rigs it is so overbuilt. 

The view from the venue where the harp concert occured

One of the harps

This is a concert harp

Another 

Another beautiful harp

3 of the harps in the room

The other harp in the room

Laying base coat and compacting

Have a wonderful, healthy and happy holiday. 

Love

Judy and Mike

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