A Lot Has Happened Since I Last Posted

I last posted something almost 2 weeks ago. That's because I have been very busy purging and packing, cleaning, negotiating with movers, making flight plans, working with the buyers on the inspection, changing addresses and stopping service, and saying Good Bye to friends. As well as getting Kai set up to live without a place to stay.

On the 26th I rented a 5' x 10' storage locker at Everett Downtown Storage for him so that he has a place to leave the things he is keeping while he couch surfs. Sunny and Shirley were very helpful with getting us set up with a unit. Kai will be couch surfing until he gets a job so he knows where to look for housing. We got a wardrobe box for him to hang his good clothes and Hawaiian shirts in. He will have his videos, games, books, futon, and computer there also while he figures things out. Until he has a job I will be paying the storage fee for him.

On the 27th I had brunch with my friend Terry who retired about 9 years ago. He meets up with his old work crew, one of whom (Mike) is still working; the others (Rick, Lupe, Bob, & Shirley) are in various stages of retirement. They meet every Friday morning at the "lunch" break for people who start work really early; they've been doing this since they were actively working and have continued the tradition.

After a lot of research I decided to have a regular moving company transport my stuff. The alternative was systems like PODS, where a container 8' x 8' x 12' is brought to your house, you pack it yourself at your own pace, then they take it to the new place and you unpack it yourself sort of at your own pace (you can also rent it as storage). It was only going to be about $1500 for the 3 things I really wanted to take with me (and which would take up about 70 cf). Those 3 things had a replacement value equal to the cost of the POD so anything else I could get into the container would be a bonus!

The only problem is that I want everything to go directly to Kohala, where they do not bring it to your door as they would in Honolulu. For residences in Kohala you have to rent a truck and move your things out of the POD within 2 days of it arriving in the harbor at Kawaihae, which wasn't going to work for me. So on the 27th I spent more time verifying exactly what was included in the estimate for the move by a real moving company. And also the logistics of paying for it. Kim at Hawaiian Shippers was very helpful and flexible. I feel like this is the most cost-effective way to move the things I want to take with me. All total they estimate I will have 716 cf of stuff (which would be a cube 8' wide x 8' high x a little over 11' long). I thought I took a photo of what approximately 70 cf looks like, but apparently not. You will have to use your imagination as you look at this photo of what approximately 35 cf looks like. If you extend the boxes to the doorway to the left at the same height as the green boxes on the right, you will have about 70 cf. (The row is about 8' wide x about 6' high x about 1.5' deep and does not include non-box items in the foreground at the right.)

Approximately 35 cf of boxes

On Sunday 05/29 we started out with dim sum lunch at The Noble Court Restaurant in Bellevue with Aunty Florence, Karen & Dave & the girls, and Tomiko. (Tomiko found it when she was searching for a place to do an installation for her show, "Uncovering the West Tributary". Kai provided tech support during the night of the show.) Tomiko and I spent a lot of time talking about logistics for the Obon visit and Uncle Orv's hatsubon service, as well as the interment at Punchbowl. Sorry, no dim sum photos. (Darn! I should have at least taken a picture of the the chicken feet that Kai ordered!)

Later in the evening Tomiko, Karen, and I coordinated our flights to Kona then to Honolulu and finally to Seattle. Here's what it looks like in general: On July 5th, the Seattle folks (Aunty Florence, Karen & the girls, Tomiko, and Kai) will arrive in Kona around 8:15pm. The Honolulu folks (Mom and I) will arrive about 5 minutes later. We will get two 5-passenger cars and split people up between them and head to Kohala. The hatsubon service and Obon is on July 9th. We will all leave Kohala on the 11th, with Aunty Florence and crew leaving earlier in the morning to have time to verify the arrangements for the interment at Punchbowl, which will take place on the 12th. Mom, Kai, and I will stay a little later to close up the house; Curt will also be closer to getting off work so that he can pick us up. Karen has to leave shortly after the interment, so Aunty Florence will watch Justine and Ursula. The rest of the Seattle crew will leave on July 21st, with Tomiko heading directly back to San Francisco. Mom and I will be on the same flight since I have 2 weddings to attend (one on the 24th and the other on the 29th). We will stay until August 2nd, when we fly to Kona to meet my stuff that is being shipped from Washington. Whew! While in Washington in July I hope to see old friends again.

On Memorial Day my friend Ty and her husband Chris hosted a Coconut Wireless going away party for me. It was a potluck barbecue and included some non-KSER folks as well. Sandy's Jamaican Jerk Chicken was a hit, as well as Molly's Best Strawberry Sheet Cake. Did not think to take any photos of the wonderful friends and their potluck specialties. Thanks to everyone who was there!

On June 1st the couple buying my house had someone inspect the house and garage. He found a couple things wrong that I was not aware of and explained another that I knew about but was told was from a different cause. Overall he said the house was in good condition and I had made a lot of important and helpful upgrades. (Like a new metal roof, new double-glazed vinyl clad wood windows, new 12/2 wiring, new plumbing, new furnace, new tankless water heater. "New" being relative, as in "newer than 1926".) The couple buying my house intend to do some remodeling then resell it, aka "flipping". They will be removing the old carpet and linoleum; if there is good wood floor under it they will refinish the floors. They will be upgrading the bathroom, probably get rid of the paneling, and probably change the kitchen countertops but retain the knotty pine cabinets.

On the 3rd my friends Laurie and Bernie's son Mikkel graduated from high school! Yay!

Laurie, Mikkel, & Bernie

The next day I started out in Anacortes, visiting my friend Chris. While we were walking through the farmers market there was a rainbow cloud overhead. I bought some fresh kimchi made with arugula. At the end of the market, they buy up the unsold vegetables and start more of kimchi!


 Later we went to a graduation dinner for Mikkel. On the way back we saw a dark cloud to the east and wondered what it was.

On Evergreen Way, looking towards the north (photo by Kai)

Kai checked the Everett Herald's website and they said a fire had broken out "at waterfront businesses on Marine View Drive," which made us concerned that it was at the location of the Sunday farmers market. So we decided to stay on Evergreen and drive parallel to the waterfront on the bluff above to see if we could figure out if it was at the farmers market location. It turns out it was not on West Marine View Drive where the farmers market is located; rather it was on East Marine View Drive where the old Weyerhaeuser mill. Our path to avoid the commotion ended up taking us right in to it! So we went on to Smith Island and used the u-turn route to come back and get a better view. People were doing crazy things, stopping on the bridge and actually getting out of their cars in a 40 mph zone!

On SR 529, looking southwesterly (Photo by Kai)

On the 7th I made some calls and turned in paperwork for change of addresses, closing out accounts, and stopping service. Later I had dinner with John, another volunteer from KSER; he also goes to the same naturopath that I go to. We went to Sol Food Bar & Grill for Taco Tuesday. Here are before and after pictures of dinner.

Before; clockwise starting from candle at left: chips & salsa, chips & salsa (we had 2 bowls), Spanish rice (just barely visible), tacos #2, 3, & 4 (John couldn't remember what they were called), taco with chorizo picadillo, taco with grilled veggies (looked more like an enchilada to me)

After: remains of chips & salsa, Spanish rice, and tacos #2, 3, & 4

Today (8th) I spent most of the day completing the rest of the calls. Since tomorrow is garbage day I also emptied out most of the refrigerator; the rest will go on Saturday.

Throughout the last couple of weeks Dad has improved greatly. The sleepiness, lethargy, and confusion that Curt and I noticed since earlier this year has essentially disappeared; he even sometimes answers the phone at 7:30 in the morning. The oral surgeon was right, he had an undiagnosed infection that the antibiotics took care of and he is back to normal again! Curt is making arrangements to take them to Las Vegas the week after I get there.