Tuesday 30 October 2012

In honour of women's history month and in memory of Erma Bombeck who lost her fight with cancer. 
IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER 
(written after she found out she was dying from cancer).
 
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day. 
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.. 
I would have talked less and listened more. 
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained, or the sofa faded. 
I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace. 
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth. 
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband. 
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.. 
I would have sat on the lawn with my grass stains.
 
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life. 
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime. 
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle..
 
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, 'Later... Now go get washed up for dinner.' There would have been more 'I love you's, more 'I'm sorry's.' 
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute; look at it and really see it; live it and never give it back.. STOP SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF!


A friend sent this to me the other day and I thought I would share it!  I especially love the paragraph that talks about "given another shot at life."  Food for thought for all of us!

Before I start rambling about my great day I need to give you all a visual reminder courtesy of Dr. Leslie (name of this particular bunny!)


Just to remind you that tomorrow is the 31st and although I am sure most people won't be thinking about white rabbits but rather about ghouls and ghosts I'm counting on you to remember your "White Rabbits."  Need a little luck this month as I know I will be having a scan when I return home!  So my faithful friends....Pllleease.....remember your  "White Rabbits," and if you can spare a little of the luck you will get I would really appreciate it if you sent it my way!

Got up this morning and headed back to the beach Kelli and Mike visited yesterday with hopes of seeing the spectacle of hundreds of Spinner Dolphins.  Apparently they are in this bay 4 days out of 6.....don't know what happens on the 7th day but the guy that rented us the kayaks gave us this pearl of information.  Today...just my luck....not a single dolphin in the bay!  Apparently there were two very large Bottle Nosed Dolphins there before we arrived but they had moved on by the time we arrived.  Oh well, we rented the kayaks anyway and headed over to Captain Cooks' Monument to try out the snorkelling.  We were not disappointed.  Clear waters and lots of fish!  We had to tie our kayaks off on trees that were overhanging the water and then get into the water from a bit of a precarious entry point.  The rocks were slippery and there were all sorts of sea urchins which we had been cautionned to watch out for.  I decided my best option was to swim, not walk even though the water was quite shallow and unfortunately got washed into some coral and scratched my thigh.  Not enough to beach me though so continued on.  We saw many spectacular fish and Bill had a turtle swim by him.  He was just swimming along and this turtle came from the opposite direction and swam by.  The next thing Bill heard was a guy shouting to his friend "There's a turtle over here but that asshole (Bill) scared it away!"   I was quite a distance away and I heard this guy yelling this but didn't know until later that it was Bill he was referring to.  Bill was quite taken aback by it!  Not to say there weren't assholes there.  There was no beach at this particular site and about the only place to sit was on a concrete wall by the monument.  We had been told that we were not allowed to beach our kayaks without a permit and that the only place they could be tethered was on the trees to the right of the monument.  Well, this guy and his son came along and proceeded to tie up right at the spot everyone has to enter and exit the water.  I was trying to get out just behind their kayak and placed one hand on the back of their kayak at the same time as the guy's son was leaning the same direction and kerplunk.....the kayak turned and dumped them both in the water.  Was the Dad ever pissed off!  You should have heard him lambaste his son!  Don't think he realized that I may have played a small role in the turnover,  as I quickly exited.  At that point Mike politely suggested they should tie up their kayak over at the designated spot as a tour operator was coming with a ladder for his group.  The guy just looked at Mike and just snarled "Well, they can just figure it out for themselves."  Well, they went off snorkelling and sure enough the tour operator arrived, untied the kayak and set it free.  We all thought it was hilarious.  The guy finally returned and was furious.....I'm pretty sure he thought it was us who had untied his boat but Kelli fessed up it was the tour guy!  Now that guy was an asshole!

Kayaked back to the beach where our car was parked after a few hours of wonderful snorkelling.  Headed into Kona for a bite to eat and decided we would combine lunch and dinner as it was 3:30 and we had missed lunch.  All of us enjoyed fish entrees of one kind or another.  Delicious ending to a delectable day!






Today Kelli and Mike headed off to Two Step where we have heard there is great snorkelling and Bill and I to Makalai Golf Course.  We had to stop at the business office to print off our coupon and got there only to discover both computers were in use.  We sat there for about 15 minutes while these two guys cruised around on the internet.  I finally went to the front desk to see if they could print my coupon but they were blocked off of hotmail.  So back to wait for the two "gentlemen" to finish reading every piece of news they could find on the internet.  There was another couple waiting ahead of us who also had a very short task to do.  I finally stepped up and politely (at least I thought it was politely) asked how long they were going to be using the computers because I needed to print off a coupon for my golf game.  One guy answered he would be about 10 minutes, the other told me he wasn't interested in my golf game.  Now before I tell you what happened next I must explain that I seem to have lost the ability to whisper.  Instead I squeak!  So I turned to Bill and squeaked "These guys are soooo selfish!"  Bill looked at me in horror and whispered "now they'll never get off!"  Later he asked Kelli if there was a pill they could give me that would restore my frontal lobe.....I seem to have lost some of my filters when it comes to dealing with issues such as this.  In any case we sat and waited and waited and finally I called the golf course to ask if we could show without the coupon.  Luckily they agreed so we left the two jerks and headed off to the course.

The golf course is high up on the mountain side.  For the first nine holes you go up, up up and for the back nine, down, down, down.....Not really my kind of course when it comes to playing well, however the beautiful scenery and views more than made up for the difficult lies.  There were peacocks everywhere.....in fact the starter said to take as many home as we wanted.  The peacocks are considered nuisance birds, much like our lovely Canada geese.  They poop everywhere!  Personally I'd take a peacock any day over a Canada Goose.  I can't tell you how many times I've landed my ball beside a goose only to be hissed at and charged when I go to hit my ball.  At least the peacocks had a less confrontational personality and their poops are definitely not as offensive!


Finished our game....not totally happy with my score as it was on the wrong side of a hundred.  Oh well....enjoyed the day.  Had a bite of lunch at the clubhouse and headed back to Waikola.  Stopped at one of the state parks on the way back to check out the beach.  An interesting drive to get there but were rewarded with a beautiful beach with few people on it.  May return later in the week to check it out although there was a bit of an alarming sign at the entrance.  "Beware of Strong Currents!  You could be swept out to sea and drown!"   Hmmmmm.....maybe not a good choice of a swimming beach although there were people in the water there.
Continued on home and met up with Kelli and Mike and heard about their awesome day.  They did go to Two Step today where they rented a kayak.  Apparently the spinner dolphins come to the bay here to have their babies.  The bay was full of dolphins and they were able to swim with them.  Kelli said at one point she was swimming on the surface and counted 32 dolphins beneath her.  Mike was swimming along and a mother and baby jumped out of the water about 5' away from him.  Sounds pretty amazing.  We are planning to go there tomorrow.  I can hardly wait!

Headed down to the pool at 4:30 for the ice-cream social and hula dancing!  I pretty much stay away from sugar but treated myself to a Kona Coffee icecream cone today!  Yummy!   Another fabulous day!  The only downside to all these great days is that they seem to fly by......Can't believe we are now into week two!  


Sunday 28 October 2012

Last night we were watching TV and up came a Tsunami Warning!  The earthquake near Sandspit created a Tsunami that was headed directly for Hawaii.  People were being advised to evacuate and move to higher ground.  We are not directly on the coast but checked and are just on the edge of the evacuation zone.  Mike called the front desk but was advised that the only evacuations on Hawaii were happening at Hilo which is north from where we are.  The first waves were scheduled to hit Hawaiian shores at 10:20 PM last night.  Turned out to be a non-event, however many people were evacuated out of Honolulu. We saw pictures of people heading down to the ocean to "watch" the Tsunami!  Total idiots.  Makes you wonder what they were expecting to see.  Duhhh.....suicide wish I'm thinking, or just plain STUPID.    Got a message from my friend Maureen who is currently in Maui and they moved themselves up to higher ground.  Saw on Facebook that other friends, Darrell and Sheena Wood,  also spent a few hours in their car parked up on higher ground drinking coffee.  We decided we were safe where we were and went to bed.  If worse came to worse I did have my boogie board at bedside! (kidding)  Got up this morning and heard that the largest waves were about three feet and that no damage had been reported on any of the islands.  More alarming news was that there was a shark attack yesterday on Maui only 20 yards off shore at McKenna Beach which is where Kelli and I did our open dive certification a couple of years back.  Maureen told me today that there were two other attacks last week at Kahana Beach, where Duane does his wind surfing.  Must confess I was on red alert when snorkelling today.  Hoping my chemo pills have the same repelling affect on sharks as they seem to have on mosquitoes!  Mosquitoes don't like me...."They don't bite!  They don't even lite!"

Kelli and I headed down to the fitness centre this morning for a yoga class but the instructor never showed.  Apparently she returned home last night for the evacuation notice and didn't come to work this morning!  Oh well, did my usual workout and headed back to the condo for breakfast and planning for the day!

We decided to hit Beach 69 today and weren't disappointed.  Some good snorkelling!  We saw some huge fish, varieties of fish we have not seen before and turtles.  Once you got out over the surf it was pretty calm.  Coming in was a bit of a challenge.  Bill got absolutely knocked ass over tea kettle coming in.  He stood up a couple of times and was knocked down and washed in!  Poor guy....just got over the man cold and now he's banged up both his knuckles and his shins.  Forgot to mention he dropped a jar of nacho cheese last night, stepped on the glass and cut his foot!  The guys a mess!  He was sporting a new swim suit today though!  Finally talked him into something with some colour.  (Lindsey will approve!  It's yellow!)

Headed home late afternoon for showers then hit the shopping mall before going for a delicious sushi supper!  Fantastic day!

Tomorrow Bill and I are going to golf Makali Golf Course.  Used golfnow.com again and managed to get a half price deal so for $44 we get our green fees and a cart!  Really looking forward to it although I'm thinking this course is going to be more challenging than the course we played a few days ago. Might be a good day to leave my ladybug crystals in my bag!


Beach 69....

Saturday 27 October 2012

Slowed the pace down today and we were ready for it.  Kelli and Mike went and did their thing and Bill and I did ours.  Bill and I went to Kauna'oa Beach today which is next to Kahuna Beach where we have already visited.  Beautiful beach but again the surf was huge today which made snorkelling almost impossible.  We did give it an attempt and did see a few stray fish but nothing spectacular.  Just too rough!  What it was grrrreat for, was boogie boarding.  I thought I had finally figured out how to use the boogie board.  Had a couple of great rides then did the crash and burn.  Was totally pummelled and when I stood up it was like the bottom of my swim suit had become a thong!  Seriously!  How embarrassing!  I know there were people on the beach laughing.  Bill missed it though because as he was getting ready to take the picture a rogue wave hit him and got all our stuff wet!  What a pair of beach greenhorns!  We spent a couple of hours there and then decided to check out beach 69 where we heard there was good snorkelling.  Again, high surf but a pretty beach and one we will hit tomorrow.  Apparently the surf can subside from day to day so hopefully we will get a couple of good days this week.  If not...Oh well....A day of rough surf beats a snow day in Calgary.  I get daily weather reports from my Dad and I'm not missing that weather even a little!  He said our thermostat in our house is set at 43 degrees....we are sitting outside right now and the sun is setting but the temperature hasn't dipped even a little.




Woke up this morning and my first thought was no chemo today!  No dexamethazone today!  That is what I'm supposed to be doing today but instead we took a road trip to Volcano National Park on the south side of the island.  Long drive but worth it.  Lots to see along the way and very pretty.  Today we took the jeep which is the vehicle Bill and I rented as the guide book indicated you needed an off road vehicle to get to the green sand beach. They weren't kidding!  It was not a road for anything but an off road vehicle.  Of course Bill enjoyed this tremendously!

This is just the beginning of the off road experience.  It got much dicier as we went along!  Arrived at the green sand beach which was a gem of a find.  Beautiful but I'm glad I didn't have to walk there.  The green sand is created when the hot lava shoots through the lava tube into the ocean where the rapid cooling causes it to break up into sand.  The picture really doesn't show the green as vivid as it was.



Left the green sand beach and continued on our way up to Volcano National Park.  Got there around 4 and checked out some of the sights including a lava tube and some steam vents.


At this point we decided we were starving and found a little Thai Restaurant in Volcano Village.  Excellent food and we were all ready for it.  Headed back into the park to take in the volcano after sunset and were not disappointed!  It was magnificent!


We have packed a lot into this first week!  I cannot believe we have been here a week already!  The time has just flown by.  Tomorrow will be a slower day.  Plan to head to the beach and enjoy some leisure time by the ocean.

Friday 26 October 2012

Up for my usual workout routine then back to the condo for breakfast.  Looks beautiful out there today but the forecast is for rain.  We decide to head north to check out a couple of beaches recommended for snorkelling.  Not a good plan.  The further north we headed the blacker the sky became.  Finally it started to rain.  Stopped at a coffee farm for free sampling but decided to pass on the tour.  $15 a person to walk through the rain was not what we wanted to do.  Finally decided we were wasting our time heading to the beaches we were planning to go to and turned back towards Kona.  The weather was better there, although not a bright, sunny day.  We did find a beach and hung out there for awhile then headed into Kona and had lunch at Bubba Gumps.  Wandered a little and then headed to Costco to pick up a boogie board and some shorts for Bill.  The further south we moved, we found better weather, although not exactly a hot day.  Finally ended up on Hapuna Beach to watch the sunset. From there we headed to the shopping center to pick up some ingredients for supper and were treated to some pretty good Hawaiian entertainment at the mall.  Boy can those girls move their hips!  I don't think I am genetically endowed to do that even if I worked at it! Thinking we might head up to Volcano National Park tomorrow but will definitely check on the weather forecast before going.  Not keen to drive mindlessly tomorrow.




Wednesday 24 October 2012

Today, everyone just did their own thing.  Kelli wanted to spend some time preparing for her upcoming interview and had a teleconference this afternoon so she hung out at the complex.  Mike wanted to go mountain biking and Bill and I decided we would go play golf at Waikola Greens.  The course was inexpensive, $48 a round including cart and was a decent course.  We both played well today and enjoyed the company of two retired fellows who have now live here.  Not a hard place to retire I'm thinking!  Nice to be American and have that option!   They were nice guys and gave us some tips as to where the best dining spots are and recommended another course which I have since checked out and have discovered is also quite inexpensive.  You can go to golfnow.com and get discounted rounds or if you play at different times during the day the rates vary.  This particular course that was recommended is high up on a mountain (2300' at hole one and you go as high as 3300').  It is surrounded by rainforest, has fabulous views and has peacocks everywhere!  Sounds good to me.  On the course we played today there were flocks of wild turkeys running around as well as many other types of ducks and geese. I had unbelievable luck today.  Landed in two sand traps and the ball just jumped out on it's own and landed on the green but my absolute best shot was on hole 18.  You had to shoot over a pond.  I changed up my ladybug crystal (because ladybugs can't swim) for an experienced water ball and gave it a mighty whack.  It skipped three times across the pond....hit the rocks on the opposite side and landed on the edge of the green.  It was awesome, or at least I thought so.  Bill just shook his head at my luck.  Our playing companion then stepped up to hit his ball and managed to land both of his in the middle of the pond.  He was so disgusted he packed it in right then and there!  Don't think my shot helped his attitude!   Got back to our condo around threeish and have just been relaxing.  There is nightly entertainment so Bill and I wandered down to the pool to take that in.  Tonight's entertainment was Hawiian music and hula dancing.  Still debating on what we will do tomorrow....may just do a beach/snorkel day.  Don't want to get all our activities done in week one.  It'd be nice to save a few things for next week.

Have been following Geoff and Lindsey's blog on their around the world/7 Wonders's of the World adventure.  They are now just finishing up in Rome and are heading on to Egypt!  I'm thinking I may not recognize them when they get home.  Weight gain seems inevitable as they seem to be enjoying the culinary experience as much as the wonders experience!  They did a cooking class in Rome and the food they prepared sounded amazing!  Hoping they will invite us over to their place when they get home and share their new cooking skills!

Hope things are warming up in Calgary although I just got an email from my super duper neighbours Pat and Marian.  Pat and his son Mike took on our sidewalks and driveway!  Thanks guys.....we owe you.  If it snows while you are in Mexico we'll do yours!

Turkey's on the golf course!  Don't they know American Thanksgiving is fast approaching?!
PS.... Nureen.....I hear you are in New York!  Way to go girl!  Hope you are feeling good and enjoying the sights!
I am being held accountable tonight for my blog.  After exposing Mike for puking at roadside following the helicopter tour, Kelli barely able to hold it together on the flight (she actually held a barf bag in her lap the entire flight) and Bill with his Man Cold it is my turn.  I know they will be checking to make sure I give you a full account of today's events.

So here goes....I will start from the beginning. Up early and off to the gym for my morning workout.  Seems to get better every day!  Came home and made pineapple/coconut pancakes and bacon for breakfast.  Delicious!  Decided that we would hit Kahalu'u Beach as we had heard there was good snorkelling there.  We weren't disappointed.  Tons of colourful fish of many varieties and turtles as well.  The water was a little rough but totally clear.  On my second trip out....first confession....I was feeling a tiny bit nauseous.  Some of you may recollect my scuba diving experience here in Hawaii a couple of years back.  It was always "my dream" that I would get my scuba certification before I turned 50!  Kelli and I took our lessons in Calgary but opted to do our open water dive in Hawaii.  I won't go into the full story as most of you have probably heard it but the short version is that I puked my guts out!  It takes a bit of skill to puke under water with a regulator in your mouth.  Kelli thought it was terrifically funny until we were doing our test and she was my "buddy" for rescue breathing.  There I was tossing up breakfast and she was attached to my tank!  The good news, however, was that I was a fish magnet!  Anyways....fast forward to 2012....almost had a repeat of the same event but this time snorkelling.  I did, however, manage to hold it together and get back to shore.  Probably because my stomach was empty.



Decided we should go have a good lunch before hitting our evening activity!  Snorkelling with the Manta Rays.  The special of the day was Mahi Mahi and it was delicious.  Had a leisurely lunch in an outdoor cafe looking over the ocean (sorry fellow Calgarians), then headed off to the harbour to hook up with our tour.  We took our boat "Neptune Charlie" out for a sunset cruise and on the way out to where we were to snorkel we picked up a school of Spinner Dolphins.  There were several and they were swimming under the bow of our boat and were also leaping beside our boat.  Very cool!  Finally dropped anchor, got on our wetsuits and were instructed to hold on to our rafts.  The Manta Rays come to feed on plankton here.  The lights attract the plankton which in turn attracts the Rays.  We were in the water for 45 minutes and it was one of the most exciting ocean experiences I have ever had.  At one point we had a huge Manta Ray swim right in front of us four or five times.  I could have reached out and touched him but we were told we were not to do this.  Just enjoy the experience with our eyes.  And enjoy it we did! If you ever have a chance to do this..DO IT!!!!  IT IS FANTASATIC!!!  These magnificent creatures live up to 90 years, they have a span of up to 15' and weigh 100 lbs for every foot wide they span.  They only give birth about once every three or four years and their babies weigh 400 lbs.!  OK ladies, can you imagine having a 400 lb. baby!  No wonder they don't mother their young!
Anyways....I am stalling on the ending of this story.  About five minutes before we were to go back to the boat I felt that old familiar feeling starting to take hold.  Darn!  Managed to get myself to the boat "holding it together" but wasn't on the boat for more than a few minutes and I was tipping the sea for the wonderful show!  So long lunch!  It was a bit of a rough ride back to the harbour.....made a few visits to the railing of the boat.  Now, having said all this I will say again....even if I knew I was going to be sick I would do this again.  In fact I will do it again and highly recommend it to anyone who plans to visit here.  (Seanna....that means you!)
I actually looked right down this guys throat four or five times.  Amazing!

Tuesday 23 October 2012

Everyone feeling much better today!  We find we are early to bed, early to rise here.  I got up and did my short little jog down to the gym this morning, did my weights and then jogged back.  Don't be impressed, it's a very short run but I'm actually feeling like I can breath better here. I wonder if my health plan would consider supporting me in this environment.  Sea level, humidity and mild temperatures seem to agree with me!  Typically the last week of my 3 week cycle is my best and this week is no exception.  The good news is that I'm getting a 2 week bonus of no chemo so should feel great for the next three weeks!  How good is that?!!!   We decided to check out the north side of the island today.  We have yet to find a good spot to snorkel.  The water is very rough right now and visibility is not great.  Maureen and Duane (who are currently in Maui) tell us the snorkeling there is great right now with great visibility and lots of turtles!  We still have some recommended spots to check out so keep hoping we will find a spot where we can see something.  We did hit a couple of really nice beaches today though.  Great surf but if you weren't paying attention you got knocked flying.  I watched Bill walking in and saw the wave coming.  He however, did not, and wham.....it sent him sprawling.  I too got pummeled a couple of times but it was super fun!  Wandered through a couple of cute little towns where one of the girls in a shop recommended a little lunch spot that serves lobster tacos!  We picked up our tacos and then headed to Polopu Beach.  We had to hike down a significantly steep trail to get to the black sand beach where we had our lunch.  I was thinking to myself this is going to be interesting going back up but I was pleasantly surprised.  It wasn't too bad and I really didn't huff and puff too much at all!  The hike was so worth it!
This is the trailhead to get down to the beach below!






Monday 22 October 2012

A busy day today!  We were all in bed by 9 PM last night!  Not exactly a lively group but the travel from the day before seemed to have caught up with us.  Slept like a rock and got up this morning and decided to hit the gym.  Out the door in my workout clothes and the old urge to try running hit me.  No one around to see me so what the heck!  Off I went.  Well, I didn't go far but I was very pleased.  It wasn't exactly a run but it was better than a shog for sure.....I'd actually call it jogging this morning!  Don't know if it's the sea air or being at sea level but for the first time it felt not too bad!  Did my weights in the fitness facility and headed back to the condo to find everyone up and looking bright eyed and bushy tailed! Well, everyone except Bill who woke up with a sore throat! Lindsey would say he has the "Man Cold!"   We had an email from our friend Duane this morning who is currently in Maui and he suggested that we should book our helicopter tour sooner than later as the lava is flowing more than usual at the present time but it can stop as fast as it starts.  We gave Mike the job of negotiating a deal for us and ended up booking our tour for this afternoon out of Hilo which is about a two hour drive from where we are staying.  Had a few stops along the way to check out waterfalls, had lunch and arrived in Hilo for our volcano/waterfall sky adventure.  We booked a four seater helicopter with no doors on it.  It was very windy and we certainly were buffeted around a lot more than we were in the Grand Canyon but the volcano was pretty spectacular and not having to shoot pictures through the windows made for much better shots.  It was pretty darn fantastic!  We all were wearing headsets so we could communicate with each other.  About halfway through the flight, Kelli asked the pilot for a barf bag....she was feeling "a little motion sick!"  Oh, oh....this did not sound good.  She did manage to hold it together but said she was gulping big time!  We flew for about an hour and when we landed Mike announced he had a terrible headache and wasn't feeling too good either.   Well, we started back to our resort, got about halfway home and Mike had to pull the car over, jumped out and proceeded to puke big time!   Poor guy!  Don't know if it was something he ate or if it was the fumes from the helicopter but he was sicker than a dog!  Isn't it something that I'm the healthiest one in the group tonight?!
Tomorrow we are planning a quieter day.  Hopefully will hit the beach early and get in some snorkelling.
The Volcano!  Wow!


Here you can see where the lava meets the ocean!

The wind blew so hard I was sure it would blow the hair off my head!  Definitely had some bad hair happening at the end of the flight! A GREAT DAY!!!

Sunday 21 October 2012

Aloha!!!  We are now on the big island of Hawaii.  Arrived late last night and yes, it is a long flight for sure but worth every minute!  We got to Kona around 10 PM last night which is 1 AM Calgary time.  Took forever to get our rental car but finally got that arranged and drove to our resort.  It is really swanky!  One of the nicer resorts we have stayed in.  The condo is large and looks out over a golf course. There are tennis courts and a fitness facility and several swimming pools.  They have all sorts of activities which we may take in.   Last night when we arrived, we couldn't see anything out our windows as it was very dark but my first sight this morning when I looked out my window was a very large bunker!  What a way to wake up!

Kelli and Mike arrived about an hour after we went to bed.  Bill said they came in around 1 AM which of course is 4 AM Calgary time.  Needless to say we were all dragging our feet just a little today.  Took the day to get our bearings around our resort, then we headed out to get some groceries, hit the beach and the guys tried to snorkel but the visibility wasn't great today as the water was a little turbid.  Later this afternoon we wandered into Kona and checked it out.  Cute little place!  Did a little shopping and then headed home for dinner.  Think tonight we will all be hitting the pillow pretty early.  I have had a bit of a stomach ache off and on today and think it is mostly due to being tired.  A good nights sleep will definitely fix that problem.  Tomorrow we are going to head up to the north end of the island and check out some of the sights there.  We have only ever been to Maui before and this island is totally different.  This island is covered with miles and miles of lava!  Looking forward to seeing some of the active flows.  Apparently the activity is quite high right now.  Today we signed up for an evening snorkle with the Manta Rays.  It looks amazing.  We are also going to do a helicopter tour but didn't book that yet.  Mike brought his bike and he and Kelli are planning to do some Mountain Biking while the old folks (that'd be Bill and I) will play some golf!  Hear there is snow in Calgary and I must apologize as I told Ron and Marg I "prayed" it would snow on Saturday.  How selfish is that?  I hope it melts before we get home!
View outside our condo!  Not a pretty sight for someone who is bunker phobic!



Sunset from Kona!

Thursday 18 October 2012

Had a great day today!  Started off with brunch downtown with Kathy and Margot.  A four hour brunch!  Great fun!  Haven't seen Margot in three years!  She and her husband Tom are in town for the Canadian Sports Hall Of Fame Award Dinner.  They invited Bill and I to join them.  It was a fabulous evening!  All sorts of sports celebrities there!  Nine athletes and builders were inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame tonight.  Jamie Sale and David Pelletier sat at our table.  What an engaging, likeable pair! I remember watching them skate for their gold medal.   It was really neat to meet them!

Now home and ready for bed.  Tomorrow another big day!  Aloha Hawaii!  So sorry to hear it is supposed to snow here on the weekend!  Will take my computer so stay tuned for blogs from paradise!

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Only two more sleeps and we are on our way!  Of course Boomer is not coming but I had this photo in my collection and thought I'd include it in todays blog!  He has gone out to be a farm dog once again for the next three weeks.  Two visits in one year!  He's one happy pup!

Had a busy day of running around and getting last minute stuff done, the most aggravating and exasperating being a visit to our friendly local Bank of Montreal.  I rarely go into the bank nowadays as most of what I need to do can be accomplished with online banking, however today I needed some American dollars so had to make the dreaded trip.  I arrived at the bank, only to discover I had left my wallet at home.  Duh!!!!  Not the bank's fault but it does set the tone for what's to come.  I had to drive all the way home to retrieve my wallet, then back to the bank.  Got there to discover a rather lengthy lineup.  Cued up with everyone else and proceeded to observe efficiency at it's best.  At first there were four tellers working.  I'm not sure if the customers had extraordinary demands today or if the tellers were a little challenged but each customer seemed to be taking more than their share of time.  I even overheard one teller asking the customer if he was still with his girlfriend and had he considered asking her????   The line was pretty much not moving but was growing steadily.  I started listening in on conversations which I have previously confessed to doing on a regular basis and I heard one teller ask a gentleman if he was interested in some sort of Mastercard.  The guy answered a definitive "NO".  However, the teller proceeded to describe in detail what the card could do for him.  Reminded me of the telemarketers that phone my house almost on a daily basis, always at dinner time.  I pretty much got the same pitch from a clerk at the Bay yesterday.  No wonder everyone has so much credit debt.  People in the line were starting to get restless.  There were now fourteen people in the line and I was next up.  One of the tellers cleared her customer and as I started forward she quickly slid her closed sign across her wicket and said...."Sorry.  I'm closed".  The lady behind me was majorly inscenced!  "You have got to be kidding?" she said.  I tried to lighten the moment for suggesting there was something to be said for keeping your money under your bed mattress.  We were all starting to grumble.  In 30 minutes these tellers managed to serve 4 customers.  The snorter demanded to know where the bank manager was.  Well, when I finally did get up to a wicket there were two women sitting at desks behind the tellers (I'm assuming one might have been a manager) and they were having a jolly good visit and seemed oblivious to the problem that was occurring right on the other side of the counter.  Actually I doubt they were oblivious....they just didn't give a damn!  Unlike some of the other customers I did manage to hold it together (as you know I often don't) but honestly what is it with banks!?  I realize the girl was probably due for her break but surely another employee (ie the visiting ladies) could have stepped up to the plate and helped out?  Grrrrr.......

Tomorrow I'm meeting up with Kathy and my friend Margot who is here for the weekend from Montreal.  We were all together at the National Training Center for badminton in our youth and have maintained our friendship over the years.  Margot and her husband Tom are here for the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame Awards Dinner tomorrow night and have invited Bill and I to join them.  Should be fun!

Was thinking today about all my friends, kids of friends and family who are scattered across the globe!  Unbelievably here is the list of places they all are....Geoff and Lindsey (Brazil), Barry and Wendy (Morocco), Gary and Jenifer (Vietnam), Duane and Maureen (Maui), Kevin and Michelle (Mexico),
Chris and Amber (China)........I have a pretty well travelled group of associates and can hardly wait to add myself to the list!

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Slept until 8 AM this morning and had a good solid sleep but woke up grumpy as ten bears.  Both Bill and the dogs were looking at me sideways.  Last night when I was going to bed,  I was walking in the dark and forgot that I had my packed suitcase sitting right beside the bed.  Wham!  Stubbed my toe and went ass over tea kettle!  Fell flat on my face.  Bill was up in a millisecond and Kelli came a running!  Fortunately I wasn't hurt.....stubbed my toe for sure and it's still a little sore today but other than that the only thing hurt was my pride!  Would I have ever been ticked if I had broken something which I guess is a possiblity when you take a spill like that.  Anyways.....fast forward to this morning....the toe's still a little sore but other than that there was really no reason to be in such a pissy mood.  Had my breakfast and was trying to decide what I should do today.  Dad sent me home with a big bag of beautiful Macintosh apples off his apple tree and I knew I should do something with them before we take off on Friday.  Finally decided I would make pie!  I am not a pie maker, in fact some of my biggest dessert disasters started out as a plan to be pie!  Well, just felt up to the challenge so got everything out and proceeded to turn my kitchen upside down.  I made three pies, four apple turnovers and a batch of applesauce!  And everything turned out beautifully!  I was so impressed with myself!  I have this awesome apple peeler/corer.  If you do much with apples and don't have one you need to get one.  My Mom gave this one to me years ago and it is the slickest thing you ever did see.  You just stick on the apple, turn the handle and presto....you have a peeled, cored and sliced apple!  You can go through an entire bag in no time flat! They sell them at Home Hardware in Invermere.  But....getting back to my story....I'm standing there admiring my pies and it suddenly occurred to me I was no longer grumpy.....Apple Pie for the Soul!!!



This is my apple peeler/corer! It's a great toy for all you gadget sluts!


The finished product!  One of these has Geoff's name on it!!!

Finished my baking spree and decided to take the dogs for a walk.  It was horrible out there.  Pelting rain and wind.  I found it quite miserable but Boomer and Sienna were enjoying themselves immensely.  I think they made a point of finding every single patch of mud and ever puddle along the way.  Came home and dropped them off and headed out to run a few errands, which included a little shopping for a few things for our trip!  Stopped at the Brentwood Flu Shot clinic but was put off by the line of people. Will try to go again tomorrow. I had never taken the flu shot prior to last year but now it is recommended as they say I do not have the same immune system.  Not sure they are right!  I haven't had any bugs at all over the past year but better to be safe than sorry I guess.

Boomer heads out to the farm tomorrow for a glorious three weeks with his retriever buddy Wyatt!  He'll probably come home limping again.  Just doesn't know when to quit!  Sienna is going to the dog sitters and I have two days to finish getting organized for Friday!  We are all really looking forward to this holiday.  I will even get to eat this time!  Spent yesterday trying on some of my sundresses.  Good thing I tried them on because there were a few that looked pretty much like sacks.  I'm about thirty pounds lighter than I was in Mexico.  Now don't get alarmed.....I had gained a whole pile of weight prior to my surgery.....I'm only about 10 pounds under my normal weight right now. Time to sign off and tackle my thank you letter to the students/parents and staff of Ranchlands.


Monday 15 October 2012


Happy Birthday Boomer!  No party hats so just used sun hats.  Sienna was having no part of the hat so she missed out on the photo!  This from the girl who never dresses her dog up!!!  Can't believe he's nine years old today!  Seems like only yesterday Bill brought him home from the farm as a surprise 25th anniversary/Christmas gift!

Finally have my energy back today.  Got up and did my workout and it wasn't too bad considering I've been a couch potato in that department for the past week!  Puttered around here and "thought" about making apple pie!  Got the pastry made but it ended there.  Just too nice a day to be stuck inside so headed off to Nose Hill for a loop of the park! What a great day for a walk.

Forgot to tell you my funny story from yesterday.  We stopped at the Liquor Store to pick up some brandy for the Christmas Cakes.  I whipped in and said to the guy "I need a micky of your cheapest brandy."  He showed me where it was and I quickly grabbed it and took it up to the till.  He rang it through and asked if I would like a bag.  "No thanks" I said......"I'm going to drink it right now!"  Oh my goodness, you should have seen the look on his face!  One of those jokes where I thought I was being really funny but he sure didn't!  I quickly explained to him what I planned to use the brandy for and he gave a half hearted little snort.  Don't think he appreciated my sense of humour.  Maybe he has customers that actually do do that!  Gotta learn to gauge my audience a bit better when dispensing my humour I'm thinking.

Kelli showed me an facebook posting today that was absolutely heartbreaking.  Just when you think life has dealt you a crap hand you can always find a story out there that makes yours pale in comparison.  I'm going to attach it if I can.  I will warn you ahead of time it is very, very sad.  This young woman is a friend of one of Kelli's resident friends in Vancouver.

  • Hello Friends. Please take the time to read and share this post from one of my closest friends, Debra Karby, who finds herself in need of a live liver transplant.


    IN SEARCH OF A LIVER DONOR:

    Hi everyone,

    This is the most difficult status update I’ve ever had to write (I apologize for the length!). As some of you may know, seven months ago I received the devastating news that I had a highly malignant cancer (Sarcoma) in my liver. The tumor was considered to be aggressive and h
    ad already grown to be too large to be surgically removed. Sarcomas as a rule are very difficult to treat and generally do not respond well to chemotherapy.

    That being said it was decided, at the time, that my best option was to treat it with a high dose of chemo in the hopes that the tumor could be shrunk and made eligible for resection. After 6 rounds I am brokenhearted to learn that the chemo was ineffective and that in fact the disease had progressed within my liver. My family and I have reached out to experts across the globe and explored any and all procedures and treatments that could help. Unfortunately, the summer was filled with a lot of bad news, a lot of disappointment and feelings of despair and desperation.

    Recently, the team of doctors in Toronto have given me new hope when they decided to revisit the option of a liver transplant. I am currently being evaluated by
    the transplant team at Toronto General Hospital. This is no small undertaking as you can imagine - it is a big operation and it comes with great risk. The biggest risk to me is that I will be put on auto-immune suppressants post-surgery for the rest of my life and that with a compromised immune system, the cancer may return quite aggressively.

    Unfortunately due to the extreme uniqueness of the type of tumour that I have, they really can't give me any odds. Their guess is as good as anyone's and they (the Toronto transplant team) would be taking this risk right along with me. The reality however is that this really is my only real hope to extend my life in any meaningful way, so I have come to accept this risk for myself.

    Due to the very unusual circumstances of my case, the Transplant Centre will only perform a live liver donor transplant. I do not qualify for a deceased liver and would probably not make it in any case as the list is extremely long in Canada. (As a side note I've learned that Canada has one of the lowest organ donation % in developed countries.) Toronto is at the forefront of performing live liver transplants - they pioneered the procedure and probably do the most in NA, so I am definitely in the right hands. However, this means that I am now creating risk for someone else, a proposition I do not take lightly.

    I now find myself in the position where I need to ask someone else to put themselves at risk by donating a portion of their liver in the hopes that it may save my life. So here I sit with a heavy heart, struggling with the physical, ethical and emotional questions such a big 'ask' inherently comes with. And so I need to remove myself a bit. I need to present the facts. What's required. Who can qualify. What the risks are. And then I need to say that the choice is in others hands. It is a huge decision. Unfortunately my immediate family members do not medically qualify and I know that this brings them great sadness. I do not want anyone to feel sad, guilty or otherwise whether you choose to be assessed or not, whether you qualify or not, no matter what outcome this procedure might have. I have faith that if this was meant to be, the right match will happen.

    So, here are the basics:
    My donor must be in premium health, must be between 18 and 60, must not have had cancer or suffer from any serious health ailments, must have type O blood (positive or negative).

    To consider becoming a donor, you must register with Toronto General Hospital. They have an extremely thorough process of working with donors that is very much removed from me and from the transplant team, to ensure that the decision is not biased by the needs of the recipient. There is an extensive health assessment done (on paper) by each volunteer. Should there be several volunteers, the team will then choose 1 or 2 candidates that they feel are the best fit. The candidate would need to go through further assessment inclusive of a CT Scan of their liver for compatibility and counseling on the risks of the operation and risk/benefits for the recipient.

    The surgery itself is a major surgery and comes with its own inherent risks to the donor. While Toronto General has not lost a live donor to date, they will explain to any volunteer all the risks that come with such an operation. During the surgery itself, the transplant surgeon (Dr. Ian McGilvray should you want to google him) would remove half of the donor's liver. The liver is a remarkable organ in that it will regenerate to 90% of its complete size within 3 months. The surgery would be in Toronto and would entail 5-7 days in hospital barring no complications and close to 6-8 weeks for a full recovery. While payment for an organ is illegal, we are currently investigating the legal parameters regarding coverage of out-of-pocket expenses and loss of income. We do not want anyone's decision to cause financial burden for them or their family. The Transplant Centre here in TO will provide us with more details in the coming week.

    If after very serious consideration you are inclined to take the next step, you can visit:www.uhn.on.ca/Focus_of_Care/MOT. Once on the site you click on "Living Donor Donation" and then follow the instructions under "Becoming a Living Donor". Alternatively, you can contact the Living Donor Liver Transplant Office at: 416-340-4800 Ext. 6581 and tell them you would like to register for Debra Karby.

    It is with a deep sense of humility and gratitude that I ask you for your consideration. I know many of you may not qualify, and I respect each and everyone's decision to get tested or not. I do ask however, that whatever you decide, if you could please ‘share’ this post - it could mean helping in the most important step of this very difficult journey.

    With thanks and love.
    Deb