Weigh-In at Maunalani

Today is the 1st of the month; the residents at Maunalani are weighed today. Dad is 126.6 pounds, about 0.6 pounds less than last month. But that is to be expected; he was on furosemide (Lasix) for a week to relieve the edema in his hands. In spite of refusing solid food & only drinking the supplements, his weight has been relatively stable since June 1st, when he was 124 pounds.

I saw Karen this morning; we had a great conversation. I found out she has been walking up Wilhelmina Rise since 2007! Such dedication! There were no Kolea at the park since there were 2 dogs running all over the field. But at my mid-morning walk I saw one Kolea, it was nervous, I think it must have been there in the morning when the 2 dogs arrived; it flew away as soon as I stepped on to the field even though I was about 1/3 of the field away from it. In the afternoon, there were 2 Kolea on the field, one at either end. I was able to get almost all the way around the field before the Kolea at the west end flew off, though not very far. It flew to the top of the chain link fence at the edge of the field.

One last Kolea photo.

Lunch today was Mushroom chicken, Steamed rice, Malibu blend veggies, Ambrosia, and Beef & Rice soup. Dad woudn't touch any of it, not even the dessert, but he drank all the supplements.


I saw another mushroom in the same lawn. It was a new, young mushroom; it also looks like its either a Lepiota or a Chlorophyllum. Since it is coming from the same mycelium its going to be the same mushroom species as the other mature mushroom.


Curtis said he had both a good time and a bad time in Las Vegas. He hit a royal flush! It was in the first 4 hours he was there; he never hit a big one the rest of his trip. He gave me $100; my payment for driving him to the airport on Sunday.


I've been thinking about how I am going to keep up with my training for the Great Aloha Run while I am on the Big Island next week. I am supposed to be doing 3.0 miles a day next week, so I thought about walking down to the post office & back to get in 2 miles; then later walking halfway down to the dirt road that goes to the pasture in back of the houses and walking back up through the pasture. This morning I was reading an article about 7 workouts that burn more calories than running and discovered that stationary biking is one of those activities; it burns 830 to 977 calories per hour. So I'm going to pack a pair of my Skechers so I can bike each day! I'll get in a different type of aerobic exercise and exercise different muscles while still challenging my body.

I made a trip to Uyeda Shoe Store after I left Maunalani to pick up a new pair of hiking boots. Marcus helped me & brought out 3 pairs of boots: one each from Merrell, Salomon, and Hoka. I've had a pair of Merrells before & loved them; the arch in this pair did not fit my foot well. The pair of Salomons I had before were ski boots; I didn't know they made hiking boots. The arch of these Salomans fit much better. But when I tried on the Hokas, that was it! They were so comfortable; I was all set to buy them. I took them off, put them on the table, and started testing their stability like David, the physical therapist that helped rebuild my knee muscles after I had injured my knees a couple decades ago, taught me. Unfortunately, the left boot was a little unstable and there was no other pair; so I sadly decided to take the Salomons. If I bought the Hokas, I would feel compelled to wear them even if they made my left knee sore because of their price ($175). On my way home I realized I didn't check the Salomons before I bought them. I did that once I got home; it rocked even more than the Hokas! I called Marcus at Uyeda's; there was also no other pair of Salomons. Since they're even worse than the Hokas, I'll be returning them. Since I'm going to the Big Island, I'll have to do it after I return in a week; Marcus said that would be fine, they have a 30-day return policy.

The Hokas, I'll be trying this brand next time.

The test involves pushing down on the heel with a pen or pencil & see what it does. Pink is not my color either.

When I got home I began making the whole wheat dinner rolls that I modified from the recipe I use from Cook's Illustrated, the magazine by America's Test Kitchen. It's a great recipe, the rolls are very moist and can be made a day ahead, then reheated the next day just before serving. They're for dinner tomorrow night in honor of Curtis & Debbie's birthdays. I listened to Harry Dresden while making the rolls.

Starting the dough in the KitchenAid while Harry Dresden is playing in the background.

I listened to several Harry Dresden short stories from Side Jobs. Over the previous days I had already listened to the short stories Day Off and Backup. Today I listened to The Warrior, Last Call, and Curses. Because the rolls require 2 different periods to rise, I finished the short stories, and started on Turn Coat.

After weakening this morning, Hurricane Miriam is now Tropical Storm Miriam; it is still moving northerly. It is about 875 miles northeasterly of us & expected to weaken more, becoming a "post-tropical remnant low" late Sunday or early Monday.

5 p.m.

Happy Birthday to Troy! Happy 45th Anniversary to Mike & Marilyn! And Happy 11th Anniversary to David & Sheila!