Neighborhood Holiday Dinner

This morning I saw the text about the Nawele Neighbors Holiday Dinner this evening; there would be 16 of us there. Originally I was going to go. But then I was working on the blog this morning & noticed a slightly concerning trend; new case numbers were increasing. They had been since last Thursday when it went up 99% over the previous day; no explanation was given at the time so I just figured it was one of the numerous corrections for wonky automated reporting of lab results. But today I realized that after that one day jump, the new case numbers stayed up & have been increasing between about 10% to 20% each day. Today's new case number is 215; a 14% increase over yesterday. And the State's 7-day new case average is now 121; two days ago it was 98. And the positivity rate has now increased to 1.8%. I am wondering if these changes are due to the Omicron variant? Or may be it is the relaxation of distancing in eating establishments? Or people getting together for holiday gatherings back in November? Or a little bit of everything?

Fast Day so no breakfast or lunch photos. For dinner I had a Field Roast Smoked Apple & Sage sausage; I heated it up in the air-fryer since it was not quite thawed. I also had some Chipotle Sauerkraut & beet spirals.

Yesterday, around 8:30 p.m., Suzanne & Manu started their return trip after their very short visit. Just after noon today, Suzanne texted to let the ʻohana know that they had arrived safely at the final airport & were getting ready for the drive home. 

Suzanne also sent some information about Choong Man Chicken, a place they went to in Waipahu. Looks interesting, will have to check it out. I forwarded it to Anne to see if she knew about it; she didn't but we might check it out the next time I give her a ride home. Mike also sounded interested in checking it out.

 

Keala is becoming more relaxed about hanging out over the top of the gate. She was snoozing when I saw her this afternoon.

The State Foundation on Culture and the Arts has selected 5 pieces of kapa artwork to be included in the State art collection. The inclusion of the kapa recognizes the cultural importance of kapa.

I took more photos of Miss Manilla in a different light. I took some close up photos which give a better idea of the range of colors the bracts go through as they age. I find that color change intriguing.

These are the new "flowers".

They fade to this color just before they drop.

 

Kīlauea is still erupting.

At 6:05 p.m.

At 6:05 p.m.

No new snow fell overnight on Mauna Kea. The earlier snow is still on the ground but the access roads & parking areas are clear. The snow & ice are probably sublimating rather than melting off; ice is still visible on some portions of the access road.

At 10:14 a.m.

At 1:10 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m.

At 6:02 p.m.

The moon lights things up at 6:50 p.m.

At 9:54 p.m.

The Aix weather app forecast rain through the mid-afternoon then later in the evening; we actually didn't get any rain today. The freeway traffic cam in Kaimukī that I have been using appears to have been repositioned; it no longer shows the freeway. For Kapaʻau, Aix forecast rain throughout the day; Big Island Now forecast mostly sunny with isolated showers with a 50% chance of rain. The Honomū weather station recorded no precipitation today. For Marysville, Aix forecast rain all day; but the traffic cam looked like there was only a drizzle.

Kaimukī looking easterly at 10:30 a.m.

Kaimukī looking easterly at 10:31 a.m.

Honomū looking northerly at 10:31 a.m.

Marysville looking northerly at 10:32 a.m. HST.

Looks like the surf along the north facing shores are still the best. Every where else is rather small.

Laniakea (N) at 10:22 a.m

Hilo Bay (E) at 10:23 a.m.

Waikīkī (S) at 10:25 a.m,

Banyans (W) at 10:25 a.m.

As mentioned earlier, there were 215 new cases of COVID-19 reported today, increasing the number of known cases to 89,229. There were also 5 new deaths reported, bringing the death toll up to 1058; currently there are 1493 cases are considered active. The 7-day new case average for Oʻahu is 87 with a positivity rate of 2.1%