Island life

As those of you who have been to the island(s) know, there are these adorable 4-inch-long lizards everywhere. I have recently learned that "everywhere" includes in our house. Rational me (tee hee) responds by going "oh, cute" while I continue my business. However, Actual me shrieks, ducks, and runs away talking to myself while checking to make sure they're not scurrying across my skin. It's not comforting!

Last night I'm propped up in bed reading Potter and out of the corner of my eye I see one of our little friends on the wall across from me. I had to read two extra chapters until he disappeared because somehow that is more comforting.

I don't think the photos we saw before coming here do the house justice. From the driveway, you can see the long porch. All those upstairs windows are the master bedroom, but we're not quite tall enough to see the water.

After the adventure this morning, we had amazing smoothies from Banana Joe's. Due to Chris' forethought, we brought Rum along to improve the experience. Then we had a nice lunch in Kilauea. So we ended up spending the afternoon doing nothing. Really nothing. That kind of nothing that you can only do on an island. Reading, sleeping, nothing. Dinner out in Hanalei (Brazilian-Mexican) was a treat.

Since boogie boarding is not for me, I spent the day reading. Whoo hoo! Sometimes in the living room! Sometimes on the porch! Sometimes at the beach! This book is really long!

C got up early this morning to make us pancakes. I'm helping. He's making his mom's "stick to your ribs" kine pancakes. I cooked up the Portugese sassage. Mmmmm. Now, how long should we wait before we go snorkeling?

It's 7:00 AM and the house across the street is under renovation. The crew of 5000 is mercilessly pounding the roof structure with hammers...not quite in unison. And yesterday during my "peaceful" early morning run, there was a guy mowing his lawn at 6:15 with the dew still heavy on the grass. There would be bullets whizzing over his head in my neighborhood if he pulled a stunt like that. Mahalo.

I finished Harry Potter this afternoon and I'm bursting!

I'm serious with that title there: you shouldn't read this post until you've read HP7 because I'm going to be talking freely about the book, specific plot points, and the finale, and encouraging others to as well. There will be nothing about Hawaii in the post, I swear.

Last night we were watching a movie. The house was warmer than normal, probably because it had been shut up all day, and there was almost no breeze. The boys kept fidgeting because it was so hot, but Brooke and I, each wearing a sarong, were just fine. We offered the boys sarongs, but they declined.

Before I left for Hawaii, I speculated that it would be nice to have a couple sarongs, so I could lounge around comfortably. However much I thought I would enjoy the comfort of a sarong, it is actually 10 times better. I must figure out a way to work these into my day-to-day wardrobe.

I have this picture, and I am trying to come up with a catchy way to link it into the blog, but in reality, it's unrelated and I just want to post it anyway because it makes me so happy.

You know what would really make Hawaii perfect? If I my skin, at some point, could be dry. If I could touch a piece of furniture and not have it be slightly damp. If I could walk across the floor without sticking to it just a little bit. If I could put on perfectly clean clothes and have them feel fresh.

That's what I miss most about home. Well, you people, of course, but also the feeling of dry.

I long to be cradled in the soft bosom of my curbside recycling bins. Here's what it takes to be a conscientious recycler in Hawaii. First, you've paid a 6-cent tax on your beverage bottles, so you're best off if you take them to the redemption center and get some of your money back. The "redemption center" is a field, off the highway, for which you have no address, that is "open" only on Tuesdays from 8am-2pm. It will take two drives through town to find it. They take only individual beverage bottles (glass, plastic, cans) and figure your refund based on weight.

Then the regular recycling center is not far. You need to separate your corrugated cardboard from your newspaper, from your other paper/board. They take all kinds of glass, but only limited kinds of plastic, and no milk cartons, those are just trash.

All in all, it takes an hour, but it gives you a chance to hang out with the locals, and you get to feel like the best tourist ever when you're done!