January 2018
Sadly, our short trip to Maui and the weekend immediately following was the only time Curtis and I had together in the month of January. Over the weekend, we built a second raised bed garden and planted more squash, beans, and potatoes. We finally found a washing machine for $20 and had “loads of fun” catching up on laundry, and trying out our solar-powered dryer (also known as a clothes line). We made our favorite food and spent every minute together, and ended the weekend with a sunset trip to the beach. Then it was back to reality, with Curtis working 56 hours in 4 days before leaving for the rest of the month.
My time home alone has gone pretty smooth, besides a few noteworthy moments. You’ve probably heard about the missile alert text that sent all of Hawaii into a panic. Well, most of Hawaii that is — I actually didn’t get the missile alert, just the “false alarm” one, and I’m so thankful I didn’t. I was home alone and have no idea how I would’ve reacted, but I certainly didn’t need that stress after Curtis had just left. If it had been real, there are sirens that are supposed to sound, so I’m not concerned about not receiving the message. I was just going about my day, playing with Charlotte outside, and came inside to make a grocery list. I went on Facebook and saw some posts from my friends on the island posting things along the lines of “I love you all.” I was a little confused until my phone buzzed with the “false alarm” alert: “There is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii. Repeat. False Alarm.” Well that’s good… I went to the grocery store later and walking past the aisles, I would catch snippets of conversations about the event. “That guy should be fired!” “People were putting their children in sewage drains!” “How are you?” “Oh, I’m just so happy to be alive!”
The event that affected me personally was the one where Charlotte rolled in a dead fish at the beach. I thought I was being a cool mom, letting her follow her nose and roll in the sand to her heart’s content — something I let her do every time we go to the beach — but this time was the first that things went so horribly wrong. Even worse, because I drove home with the windows down and all the windows were open in the house, I didn’t notice the smell until we were cuddling together in bed that night. It was SO BAD! But I was lazy, and decided to wait until morning to take care of her. The next day consisted of multiple baths and loads of laundry, and scrubbing her down with lemon juice as instructed by the internet. The scent lingered for a few days, but I think it’s gone now!
Aside from all that, Charlie and I are doing all we can to make time go faster. Things are growing really well in the garden, it seems like things are popping up much faster than with our garden in SC. Even more exciting, we have a giant mango tree in our yard which is in full bloom, promising delicious mangos this summer! We’ve gone to the beach a few times, go for walks on easy trails about every other day, and hiked to the Makapu’u Lighthouse again. I’ve been trying lots of healthy recipes, working, doing some long-put off art projects, and working on a giant puzzle on those days where I just want time to go faster. January seemed like a long month, but now that it’s over, the countdown is on for the arrival of some special guests this month. 🙂 Happy February, everyone!
