Let the Clean-up Begin!

I actually started cleaning up on Friday evening when I arrived. My usual process is to slip the cloth clean-up covers for the Swiffer on my feet and wear them like booties, "cleaning" the floor as I walk around until I have vacuumed and mopped the floors in the areas I use most. Once those are on I unwrap my bed and move my suitcase & backpack in to my bedroom. Depending on how late it is when I arrive, I might clean out the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, and the shower. This time I deep cleaned the shower only; and I did it while I was taking a shower. I moved a few things around in the kitchen since Chris had moved them in order to paint the insides of the cabinet and I needed access to the refrigerator and I needed to put away some pantry items I had bought. I cleaned off the south counter and set up the microwave so that I could defrost then heat up the vinha d'ahlos for dinner.

Shower before cleaning.

Shower after cleaning.

Shower shelf before cleaning.

Shower shelf after cleaning.

Heating up the vinha d'ahlos.

On Saturday evening after I returned from Hilo, I worked on part of the kitchen. After dinner I cleaned the sink and the sink counter so I could do dishes. I finished the evening by cleaning off the north counter so I could move things off of the kitchen table. (I ate standing up by the microwave.)


Today I did a deep clean of the bathroom. I started with wiping down the top edges of the windows, the window sills, the wood rail that runs along the walls at about 4 feet off the floor (to stabilize single-wall construction walls), the sink, and the molding along the floor. I thoroughly wiped down the toilet and washed out the sink, including scouring the stains. I ended up with vacuuming and mopping the bathroom floor. Surprisingly, I have no photos to show all the work I did!

This evening I continued by putting some things back into the kitchen cabinets, sort of. These things never came out of these kitchen cabinets so they aren't really "going back", they're just "going".

I really like this built-in spice rack!

It was designed to use the existing idiosyncrasies of single-wall construction.

There was an old termite damaged section that was still leaking old frass.

I fixed it with packaging tape; its invisible in this photo. With jars in front of it you'll never find it!

Here's some of the frass that dribbled down to the lowest shelf.

Room for a lot more!

I think a lot of these will need to be replaced; I can't smell them.

When I found them they were all on this cool plate showing Oregon landmarks.

This is a box of assorted canned goods; its the beginning of my hurricane emergency supply.

I did a short birding walk this morning. I decided to see how far it was from the house to the crosswalk. It's about 0.2 miles, for a round trip of 0.4 miles. I did it in about 15 minutes. The only new species for the year that I saw was the Gray Francolin (Francolinus pondicerianus) which noisily walks through the yard every morning declaring my yard its territory! I saw 10 species this morning, the most common bird was the Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis).

Four minutes before sunrise on Kynnersley Road.

Five minutes after sunrise on Kynnersley Road.

Two Northern Cardinals; I couldn't get a photo of the Gray Francolin.

I walked around the yard after birding. I found some annoying signs that the feral pigs are still coming in to the yard; I found droppings that looked like one adult and one small pig were here last night! I also found that the person who cut down the bushes and limbed up the trees is still coming in to the yard; more of the snowball bushes have been removed! I am seriously considering putting up a fence with a gate; it will keep out both the feral pigs and the Phantom Pruner!

Large feral pig poop.

Small feral pig poop.

Someone has cut down more of the snowball bushes!

Looks like there will be a very large crop of mountain apples later in the summer!

It has a leg spread of about 4", but its just a cast off skin.

In the morning I tried the very old looking night on Glacier Bay loose leaf tea. It looked like it might be okay but it tasted like nothing! It did not even have a hint of fragrance of the tea. I tossed the remnants of the bag.


I tried to go to Sunshine True Value and the police department today. They were both closed; I forgot today was Easter. If the Easter Bunny hid any eggs for me in the yard the feral pigs and mongoose got them!

For dinner tonight I opened up the kanikama fake crab that I picked up at Takata Store; I decided to try it instead of sausage. I think I will stick with the sausage; the kanikama has 10g carbs and 8g protein per serving. I used the Evening in Missoula loose leaf tea; it has also lost its essential oils. I also did a science experiment; I ate the piece of pie that I put in the freezer last November; it was okay.




I have been finding a lot of large dead roaches. Which is very good. It means the Combat Max roach baits that I am using are working. The active ingredient is Fipronil, the same thing that is in the flea medication for cats.


Suzanne sent me a photo of the house next door that is up for sale right now. She said, "I remember living in the pink house next door too! Years ago I met Mr. Daido who was remodeling after his brother (the original owner) had passed away. He wanted to honor his brother's memory by continuing the work. He gave me a tour of the work being done and wrote me a nice letter later." Here's the photo she took; it really needed a lot of work!

From a number of years ago. (Photo by Suzanne)

Hauʻoli lā Hānau to Grant!