Breakfast with Uncle Curtis

It's Tuesday! Kai got up earlier than he usually does to go with us to Moena Cafe. Curtis chose this place since Kai is with us and Kai likes good coffee; they had good coffee as well as special coffee cups that are only usable by right-handed people, unfortunately I forgot to get a photo of the cups. Curtis had the Sausage Hash, Kai had the Belgian Waffles, and I had the Avocado Toast; I got photos of the food.

The Sausage Hash has way more potatoes than sausage.

Belgian Waffle with fruit & whipped cream. But it came with artificial maple syrup.

Avocado Toast with goat cheese & eggs. The avocado was a bit thinner than I usually make it.

When we got back to Curtis' house, I checked out the addition. A lot has happened since I left 2 weeks ago. The siding has been installed and painted, the sidewalk is cured and ready for foot traffic, and yesterday they put up the sheet rock. The bathroom is now roughed in.

Looking at the shower enclosure which will be wheelchair accessible.

We picked Xander up on the way back; he spent the last 2 weeks boarded at the vet's. Which was a good thing; they were able to keep an eye on him and found he needed to be back on the prednisolone, he's now taking 1/2 tablet every other day. They also did a blood glucose test while he was there; he'll stay on 2 units twice a day for now. He will be retested in 2 weeks. 

I checked out the garden later in the afternoon. The papayas are still doing well; the fruits are getting larger and the plants are getting taller. The orchid Mom got just before she passed has 5 buds; one looks ready to bloom any day now. The last orchid Mom raised is doing well but has some signs of sunburn. The anthuriums are growing well but 2 have some sunburned leaves. One of the sweet potatoes is flowering. Most of the opuntia cactus buds have flowered, a couple still need to open up.

The papayas are doing well & providing some healthy shade.

The bud on the right of the stem looks like it will bloom within the next couple of days.

Mom's last surviving orchid, with a little bit of sunburn.

The 1st and 3rd plants from the left have a couple of sunburned leaves.

This purple sweet potato gets the most shade from the papayas.

Most of the flowers have bloomed, I hope to get some good photos of the last few blooms.

I didn't post last night because yesterday was a travel day with lots of closing up to do at the house, a long drive to the airport due to horrendous traffic, and a late dinner after we landed; I just went to sleep. The morning started early with a visit from Matthew from Tesla Energy. I first talked to Matthew and his wife Elaine in November 2016 about installing solar panels; they were with Solar City then. They knew I was in the process of changing the garage roof; I got the specifications for the roof from them. Tesla has since bought out Solar City and now they are based out of O'ahu, so Matthew flew in that morning to do the assessment. I asked him about the new Smart Export program that is available; it's so new he didn't know about it. He said call Hawaiian Electric first, then call Tesla to see if they can get me in to the program. He said the next step is for the Tesla designers to come up with a plan for me.

Matthew from Tesla Energy.

We cleaned all the empty food containers out of the fridge and took them to the transfer station along with the recyclables.


We also went to the cemetery for the last visit of the trip. I also repotted the poinsettia; its now in a glazed ceramic pot with an attached saucer. The heavier pot will keep the plant from being blown over; the saucer will hold some water to keep it moist but not so much that the roots will rot.

This poinsettia has been here since early December.

We also went to see to Uncle Kazu before we left; he was doing his laps around the parking lot. While Kai walked with him, I dropped off some cookies for him. Uncle Kazu told Kai that the hospital is planning on putting in a wheelchair path.

We also made a stop at Village Burger in to pick up granola for Curtis. Then we headed to Mrs. Barry's to pick up some Kona Cookies for Kai to take back with him. Unfortunately the rush hour traffic was so bad it took us 25 minutes to go the last 5 miles to the airport. Since Mrs. Barry's is south of the airport there was no way we could make it there and get back to the airport on time.

As it was we got to Alamo to drop off the car about 4:20. I had TSA Priority so I got in to line quickly; but they didn't like the Cougar Gold cheese in a can. They put the cheeses through the x-ray machine twice & swabbed the cans for explosive residue! They also recommended putting them in checked bags rather than hand carry. (I had to take them out because my suitcase was too heavy with them.) I did get through TSA before Kai did; it was 4:50 when he got through security. Our plane was delayed so we had a little more time to settle down before we had to start boarding.


After we got in to, Curtis took us to Big City Diner for dinner. Curtis had the Hamburger Steak with Crispy Onions & Gravy, Kai had the Pacific Islander Fresh Catch which was ahi, and I had the Really Loco, Loco Moco with Grandma's Incredible Kimchee Fried Rice.

Hamburger Steak with Crispy Onions & Gravy.

Pacific Islander Fresh Catch with Grandma's Incredible Kimchee Fried Rice.

The Really Loco, Loco Moco with Grandma's Incredible Kimchee Fried Rice.

Happy Birthday to Danielle & Zhara! Happy Belated Birthday to Vel, Rich, & Willie!