Last day around the house.

Today’s picture is a fun one of Don and I the day we hiked down into Pololu Valley with Steve and Mary. (Don told me to get up there so he could take my picture and I could say that on the blog; he’s such a nut.)

Today has been another day around the house, here in Hawi. Don is working hard pulling weeds in the pasture, again. He works like a young man could, but I don’t know many who work as hard as he does. He has this passion to get that pasture clear of some weeds that bother him. I’ve worked in the yard, raking leaves and watering. It hasn’t rained here at all in 2 days, so the plants on the west side of the house and the garden have to be watered. We usually get at least a shower, but there have been none for a couple of days, so I enjoy the watering.

I’ve also cooked today. I cooked a pot of pinto beans, which we’ll eat whenever we need a quick meal and can throw together some cornbread. I baked a pan of chicken breasts; as soon as they’re cool enough to handle I’ll slice them and freeze them so that we can have them for sandwiches or wraps or burritos while Tom and Linda are here. It’s good to have some food cooked ahead, so we don’t have to spend much preparation time in the kitchen for the next two weeks.

It has been a gorgeous couple of days, so we were happy to be spending them at home. Even when it rains, it’s wonderful to be here. We can always drive just a few miles to a dry spot. From here if we go east it rains more. If we go west it’s dry and rains very little. It’s such an interesting place. They tell me at home it’s up around 100 degrees or more. It’s good not to be there for that. I thank God for the opportunity to be here and the health and strength to do the travel and the chores. This is all such a delight. I also thank God for friends who trust us with their home, animals and plants, and for wonderful friends who come and share it with us.

Tom and Linda will be here tomorrow. We’re going to Kona early in the morning to do a time share presentation. If we do that they give us discounts on activities while we’re here and our guests can use it, too. Steve and Mary saved a bunch of money on their helicopter ride and their bird tour. We’ll save some money on our zip line adventure and Tom and Linda will save some on their fishing adventure. I don’t know what else Tom and Linda or we may want to do. We figure it’s worth it to do, though, plus we want to learn about this timeshare company as they have an agreement with one of our main ones, so that we can use our points with them. We’ll meet Tom and Linda at the airport and then take them to pick up their rental car and they’ll follow us home. We have so much fun with them; we can hardly wait to see them. I talked to Tom a few minutes ago; they’re visiting their son and his family in San Antonio and it was 105 today. They’ll think they’re in heaven when they get here at 80 degrees! Of course it’s closer to heaven there with their family, but this will be a sweet change of weather and they’ll get to see them, again, on their way home.