Happy 1st Anniversary, Dad!

Today is the 1 year anniversary of Dad going to stay at Maunalani as a long-term resident. He went to Maunalani after a 2 week stay in intensive care at Kaiser Moanalua. At the time of his transfer, they had not able to get anything to grow in culture so they didn't know what was causing the fevers; Dad was in pain and having fevers every few days. He is much better now, hasn't had a fever in months, is eating much better, and able to get out of bed with less pain than when he was in the ICU. In fact, this morning he ate breakfast at the nurses station, then went out to the Wellness Center Courtyard to sit outside.

The nurses station is set up to look like a kitchen/dining room.

Looking out at Leahi.

When the drizzle got too be too much for Dad, we left the courtyard and went back indoors. It was so early no activities were due to start for another half hour. We went and sat on the 2nd Floor Lanai that overlooks Palolo Valley.

On the lanai, looking towards the airport.

Just to be clear, Dad had originally gone to Maunalani in March last year. But when he was admitted then, it was as a short-term rehabilitation patient. The goal was to strengthen his legs so that he could return home after an apparent infection in his leg sent him to the emergency room.

On my way up to Maunalani this morning I passed Kavita and Ona as they were on their way back down; I wonder what time they started this morning? It was a little more overcast than usual but there was no precipitation; the breeze was very light. I didn't see any regulars during my cool down stretches. But I did meet Romeo and his dog Karpo, which means "white" in Tibetan; Karpo is a white dog. Karpo and Romeo live at the top of Wilhelmina Rise.

Nine minutes before sunrise on Maunalani.

Seventeen minutes after sunrise on Sierra.

The mid-morning walk was warmer than the early morning walk; I was sweating so much because there was hardly any breeze. I got sweat in my ear! I didn't see any regulars or interesting wildlife, the hāpuʻu is doing nicely; but I am still keeping an eye on it because its not the hottest part of the year yet. The palapalai are also adjusting well; all 3 of them have new growth.

Photopoint 3. Hāpuʻu.

All the palapalai have new growth on them.

Here are some Kōlea photos. By the time I get back there should be fewer Kōlea here. Around April 25th is the time most Kōlea begin their migration to the Arctic to breed.

Male Kōlea on Lurline.

Male Kōlea on lawn below the park.

Lunch today was Meat jun, Steamed rice, Steamed corn, Tossed salad, Brownie, and Chicken jook. I tried to donate my brownie to Dad and left the rice, corn, & jook because they are carb rich. Dad was so tired from our morning activities, he slept through lunch! He finally got up about 2 so I gave him his lunch then; he ate all of his 1/2 peanut butter & jelly sandwich, all of his brownie & half of mine, and 120 ml of apple juice.


I got an email from Hawaiian Airlines at 1:10 pm telling me, "It's time to check in for your flight." So I clicked on the link to go to the website, put in the required info, and clicked on the continue button. The reply came back, "It's too early to check-in for your flight. Please try again after 1:41..." It was 1:23. Why did they send the email to me at 1:10 and tell me I could check in if I really couldn't?

I ended up skipping the afternoon walk because Dad got up so late for lunch. I also wanted to make sure I was at home when Noah came by.

When William finished painting yesterday he called in to the Kolona office to let them know. He relayed the message that I would only be there until 3:30 or they could come by at 5:30 when I returned from the dentist. No one showed up, but someone did try to call when I was at the dentist, unable to talk. (If they had finished on Monday as they originally told me, I would have been there to give them the payment the same day.) I got a call from Nikki today; they wanted to send someone by this morning. I told her I would be back after 4; she said they would send Winston to get the rest of the equipment and the payment at that time. I let her know if he didn't make it today, they would have to wait until after I returned from the Big Island in 9 days. Later I got an email saying Noah would be here at 4 but he wasn't. Noah called about 4:25 to say he was just leaving Mililani to come to pick up the payment; I told him I would see him in an hour, he thought he would be here earlier. He wasn't, it took him an hour.

Luna waiting for Noah to arrive.

When William & I were putting the screens back up it became apparent that one of the next projects needs to be replacing the windows. Not only are the springs that keep the screens in place starting to rust and fall off, most of the hardware for the louvered windows is broken; you have to grab one of the louvers and tilt it to get the bank of louvers to open or close. Even the newer windows that are only about 20 years old are having problems; the hardware is rusting so the windows are stuck. If it rusts in the open position at least we have access and can use a wire brush & WD-40 (like we did) to loosen them up. But if they rust when they are in the closed position, which some of them might have, we are out of luck.

But the main bathroom also needs work. Yesterday DT asked me about the light bulbs that Kai discovered were stuck in the fixture a few years ago. I told him it was the one over the mirror and sink; he then informed me that the last working bulb had burnt out. He was able to change 2 of the 4 bulbs so it hasn't gotten any worse. But the hinges for the glass cover over the bulbs is very rusted and apparently one hinge is now broken. The sink is also rusting out and the floor tiles around the bathtub are coming off because of water getting under them. I think I will contact both contractors when I return and have them scheduled back-to-back for the repairs.

I picked papayas when I got home; there were 16 of them, about half of them were ripe and needing eating shortly. Since I am leaving tomorrow about noon I needed to find homes for the papayas! I called Jenny, she said she wanted 3; I gave her one ripe one, one half ripe one, and a mainly green one. I called Irene, she wanted 2; I gave her a ripe one and a half ripe one. I left a message for Lois telling her I would do the same as we did last time; I left a bag with her name on it and 3 papayas on the hood of the RAV4. Then I delivered 3 papayas to Marcus; I got to meet his wife while there. I will be taking 2 in for Myriam tomorrow. That leaves 3 for me; I kept the 2 smallest & a larger one that has a soft spot.

Iʻm sure OSHA does not approve of this.

Sixteen papayas.

Maunalani does at least one event a month that is geared to allowing family members to spend time with their resident at Maunalani. This month it is Easter! Unfortunately I will have to miss it this year. I missed it last year also; I was with Dad in the emergency room.

I forgot to mention  that there was an open house yesterday for the house next door that is for sale. I went and checked it out. According to the realtor, about 10 years ago the owners had extensive work done, replacing the single-wall construction with double-wall construction. The also replaced the flooring and remodeled the kitchen and bathroom. I also got to see the small house in the back; the 2nd "kitchen" on the flyer is for that building. There is no stove in that house or place or wiring or gas connection for a stove in that house; Mom's friends that used to live there would cook on a hot plate or in the microwave. And I got to see the basement apartment, too; it is the least improved of the 3 areas.

Last night when Curtis took me back to his house to pick up the RAV4 we talked about the house for sale. He had some more vivid memories of it than I did. He remembered that Mom & Dad slept in one bedroom, Grandpa & Uncle Charlie slept in the other bedroom, he slept on the couch in the living room, and Sue & I slept on the floor in the living room. I have absolutely no recollection of sleeping on the floor for the 4 months that we were there! He also remembers watching from the window as a worker moved a dump truck load of crushed rock by wheelbarrow to fill in the slab on grade prior to the concrete pour; Dad told him if he got an education he would have more choices than that type of job!

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Beth, Rachel, & Vicente!