Success! We have TP!

Part of our mission today was to find more toilet paper; I was incorrect in thinking we had nearly a full package of 8 rolls. We only had 2 rolls. We tried Sunshine True Value first, I had seen a few rolls yesterday near the register; we also had to get the chain and combination lock for the gate, wire cutters, a cane knife, and more weed cloth. They were out of toilet paper today. Our next stop was Nakahara Store which is basically across the street; no toilet paper. I did not recall seeing toilet paper at Takata Store when I was there on Thursday but Grey wanted to buy some rice so we stopped; no toilet paper. We dropped by Island Short Stop; no toilet paper, but they had bleach which has also been hard to find. The last grocery store on this end of the island is Arakaki Store, which is several miles east down towards the end of the road; they had toilet paper! I picked up 4 rolls (they had about 20);  they said they get a case in every week. And had a great talk with Janice & Jean; we know some people in common though they did not know my grandparents or Mom.

Grey waits in line at Takata Sotre.

I mentioned earlier, when I was in Honolulu, that I was switching to using a bleach solution for cleaning off surfaces instead of disinfecting wipes which I was reserving for other uses where I couldn't be hauling around a spray bottle of bleach. I'm doing the same thing here. And for those of you who were not aware, bleach has an expiration date! It is basically 1 year after it is manufactured. If you are only using it to bleach your clothes, its okay past that date. But if you are using it for disinfecting surfaces you need to pay attention to the date otherwise your solution will not be as strong as you think it is. I always buy the smallest bottle available so that I can be closer to using it up before it gets to the expiration date, which I write on the bottle with large letters. (Clorox has their manufacture date listed as a code based on the Julian date so I translate it in to a real date that I can remember.)

I slept very poorly last night. It was fairly warm when I went to bed so I only had shorts and a t-shirt on; it cooled down overnight & I was unable to fall in to a deep sleep so I got up several times to use the bathroom. In the early morning I put on a long-sleeved t-shirt and leggings and was able to get more comfortable but when the alarm went off I did not want to get out of bed!

Thirteen minutes before sunrise. Went back to sleep.

Forty-one minutes after sunrise. Okay, time to get up.

Grey helped me weed the area along the south side of the house that I have been working on. With the 2 of us working together we got the old weeds out of the areas that I have already spread the red cinders, spread out the 10 bags I bought yesterday, and weeded the rest of the area down to the garage. We stopped because it was getting too hot to work on that south side of the house. Tomorrow we will put down the weed block over the newly weeded area. And wait for the next shipment of red cinders.

Series about 30 minutes in to the work; westerly end.

Center portion.

Easterly end; weeding still in progress.

Series about an hour later; westerly portion, nothing changed.

Center portion; red cinders have been spread.

Easterly end; almost done.

About 30 minutes later; all pau!

After we cleaned up a little we went to pick up some needed tools, search for toilet paper, and get some lunch. While we were making our rounds I saw that Petra's Hair Spectrum Beauty Salon was open, I was not expecting that; she had an opening at 1 so I reserved that so I could get my hair cut. We went to the cemetery to put flowers on the graves of my grandparents and great grandparents; it's part of the deal with being the steward of the house & land. By the time we finished cleaning up and offering incense we had run out of time to pick up lunch; I needed to get to my appointment with Petra.

At Grandma & Grandpa's grave.

When I first stopped at Petra's, I saw the sign on her door. She said she was disinfecting her work areas between customers. When I went in she asked me to wait for a few minutes before sitting down; the chair needed to dry out a little more. She said some of her business has dropped off; mainly the kūpuna and some others with compromised immune systems. But she still has other customers coming in. She also turns away anyone who is coughing or sneezing. I gave her a larger than normal tip to help cover the extra costs for disinfecting and less customers during this time; I want to help keep her in business because I like the way she cuts my hair.

After my haircut I picked Grey up; we ran down to Arakaki Store and picked up the toilet paper. On the way back we stopped at Gill's Lanai for Fish Tacos; the fresh fish for today was marlin. In order to assist in social distancing the order desk was built wider than usual and they only take credit cards that the customer inserts in to the reader rather than having the staff do it. The usual eating area was also chained off. We saw a bunch of Gold Dust Day Geckos hanging around the recycle bin; we think they might have come to lick the leftover soda out of the cans because we did not see any flies or other bugs in the area that might attract them.

How many Gold Dust Day Geckos can you find? Come back tomorrow for the answer.

Fish Tacos with chips & salsa.

In the early evening, Grey did a little more work outside. He built me 2 compost "bins" out of the wire mesh; he placed them by the back fence and put all the weeds we pulled this morning in to them.


He also harvested some coconuts to add to the provisions for the sailboat; one broke open when it fell from the tree so he opened it up and we drank the very fresh coconut water. Yum!

Grey with the first harvest of coconuts.

Very fresh coconut water.

The final thing we did this evening was move the remaining roll of hog wire and the fence posts off of the end of the driveway and in to the garage. The grass had been starting to grow through the roll of wire and would make it difficult to move if we left it any longer and the metal fence posts were a potential hazard if someone drove over them. Tomorrow we will use some of the hog wire to patch the break in the fence where the pig came through yesterday.

As we were wrapping up the  evening work, Vickie pulled up. She wanted to see if she could come by and pick calamansi. I said, Sure! The tree produces more than I, Jessie, and the Ohtas can use. We exchanged phone numbers and she'll call when she wants to come by so I can let Jessie know.

We are up to 151 total cases of COVID-19 in the state; most cases are on O'ahu with 105. Maui has  16, Kaua'i 11, and Hawai'i Island has 10. So far 12 people have been hospitalized and 7 of them have since been released. Currently there have been no deaths but there is one very sick 37-year old who has been on a ventilator for several days. It has been reported that 39 people have recovered; I think that means that they have had 2 consecutive tests with negative results. They are now talking about limitations on inter-island flights. They are either going to do a mandatory 14-day quarantine or stop all inter-island flights. If they decide to stop the flights, I will return to O'ahu the day before they stop; since I have the power of attorney for Dad & I do all his financial stuff I need to be able to get his mail so I need to be there. If they do the quarantine I am fine with that and will return as currently scheduled.


One of the local banks is doing a really cool thing; it's called #KeepHawaiiCooking. They will reimburse you half the cost of your take out meal! They are starting the program only with small businesses that they have a financial relationship with but may expand the program if it is well received. There are currently no eateries in Kohala that are on the list but there are several in Kona & Hilo that are. And there are a lot in Honolulu, including some that I go to but not Aloha Salads.


Yesterday The Roommates sent me a photo of the cats. Keala seems to be getting along with Luna & S'mores. The Potential Most Favorite Roommate wrote, "Their personalities are showing lol Friendly, scaredy-cat, lazy Lol Keala keeps looking for you. It's so cute"

Foreground Keala; background L to R: S'mores & Luna. (Photo by The Potential Most Favorite Roommate)

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Lenny & Jon!