Using My New Hokas

Over the past few days my knees have been feeling "congested". I know that's not really a thing that knees do but that is the closest I can come to describing the feeling, the physical therapist that I was treating me years ago told me it is the sensation before the inflammation begins to manifest as pain. Because of the "congested" feeling I checked out my shoes and found enough wear on them to make them uneven when I walk; I've been wearing them daily since October 3rd. I used the new Hokas today; my knees did not feel "congested" after my walks. Yay! I'm glad I planned ahead and bought them a couple months ago. In fact, I went online this afternoon and found they still had the same style in my size and it was still on sale. So I bought another pair of the Tor Tech Mid Waterproof womens hiking boot; it should arrive next Thursday. As long as they have them in my size I think I will keep buying them; although I may have to purchase them in the 'Nightshade/Teaberry' color when they run out of the 'Midnight Navy/Spring Bud' color that I have been buying.

My new Hokas!

Even though I started about 5 minutes later than usual, my morning walk was very cool and pleasant. I saw the Dog Pack this morning, but no other regulars while I was walking. But as I left I saw LaVie heading up Maunalani Circle and Kelly & Abby down at the park. I also discovered that the field overlooking the upper parking lot was mowed yesterday; there were much fewer birds there today.

Three minutes before sunrise.

Sunrise on Sierra.

I got back and was starting to hang out the laundry when Scott called. He was there to do an estimate to repaint Dad's house. The last time the house was painted was the first time it was painted in 1970 or so; about 48 years ago! No wonder the paint is flaking and chalky. I went back to hanging laundry after Scott left; I also checked out the dead rat on the cinders. It is becoming more skeletal. I also checked out the pakalana vines; they look bare and nearly dead at this time of the year.

Pretty soon there will be nothing left of it.

Bare pakalana vines.

My mid-morning walk was  just a little hotter than the morning walk. I stopped to talk to Chip; he was trimming his hedge that looks a little like ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) but itʻs not. It is called red powderpuff or false ʻōhiʻa or ʻōhiʻa haole (Calliandra haematocephala).

Red powderpuff (Calliandra haematocephala).

On the way back I stopped at the post office to mail off some of my Christmas packages. The lines are so much nicer at this time of the year. Plus it prolongs the Christmas present excitement for the recipients!

I did my afternoon walk a little earlier than usual so I could finish it before Curtis had to leave. It was obviously hotter than the 2 other walks. I think if we switch so that Curtis is doing days from Monday through Friday I will skip the afternoon walk and do a walk in the evening just before I leave.

Notice the location of the sun compared to previous afternoon photos.

S'mores & Luna had the run of the house today; The Roommates introduced them to each other last night. They didn't hit it off & become instant buddies but they also didn't spend a lot of time hissing & swatting at each other. I think Luna will just need a few days to get comfortable with S'mores' boisterous personality. Chibi is glad that it is no longer raining so she can spend her time in the cat run without that pesky S'mores; she hasn't met Luna yet though I am sure she knows Luna is here since she was checking out the bathroom door after Luna arrived.

Dinner tonight was Teriyaki burger, Coleslaw, Lettuce & tomato slice, Lemon bar, and Seafood bisque. I got cooked vegetables instead of coleslaw. Dad ate 3/4 of his egg salad sandwich and only half of the Breeze supplement. He was very sleepy today.


I decided to try a night time walk since it was dry tonight. I used the safety vest that I am keeping in the car since it was after both sunset (which was at 6:03) and the end of civil twilight (6:27); I started walking at 7:03, closer to the end of astronomical twilight (7:21). I think if doing the evening shift becomes the regular thing for me I will try to start by sunset at the latest so that I can do at least half my walk before the end of civil twilight. And I will bring a flashlight. As I was driving down Sierra I saw 2 people walking their dogs; the one with only a flashlight was visible but not as visible as the one with a safety vest & a flashlight.

A nice dry night.

An hour after sunset, too dark for birding.

My laptop looks like it got a bad sunburn and its skin is starting to peel off. It is the non-slip coating on the plastic case that is peeling off. Its a laptop, its meant to be carried around to places and slipped in and out of some sort of carrier. Mine gets a lot of use, like the rest of my electronics that are meant to go nearly everywhere with you. And mine do, which is why they need to be fairly rugged and why I invest in more expensive cases meant to protect the electronics. That being said, I don't think the case they sell for laptops is very protective; I think they are only to provide the user with something to make them think they are individualizing their machine. I got a plain case.


Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Mary, Tom, Jim, Kristin, Dave, Molly, & Gyassi! Today is also the 3rd anniversary of my last official day of 'work'; I didn't actually work that day because of accrued vacation leave that I used for the last couple of days. Some days now though, it seems like I am doing much more 'work' than when I was working!