The storm around the island

I am still rather amazed that we carved out time for that trip to Kaua'i. Realizing rather late in the game that we had to have Rick signed up for Medicare before we left, we scrambled to get that done, and then when we got back, I had to finish my own enrollment. That took hours, and the paperwork it has generated – and continues to generate – is mind-boggling.

The day before we left, Poppy and I competed in an agility trial (no, I'm not crazy; I entered it before our our trip was planned). Three Qs, one of them also a blue ribbon run; my girl continues to do me proud.

Since getting back, my workload has mushroomed (think nuclear 😳). Along with the usual catch-up one faces upon returning from a trip, Rick's secretary has taken numerous days and part-days off for medical and family stuff, most of them unscheduled, and I'm the 'fall girl.' One of my few remaining graphics clients contacted me about a job that I wasn't going to refuse. And my fiduciary boss has been out of the country for the second half of October, so I've had extra responsibilities there.

Tasks at home have been looming, too. I invited a Ravelry member to stay with us when she comes for OFFF, and then pushed up against the nearly immovable twin walls of resistant men whose stuff filled the guest quarters. They have now mostly cleared it that so I can clean and prep the space – I would have done that yesterday but had to REclean the great room after Rick blew fireplace ash all over it with the shop vac while trying to prep our wood-burner for the first fire of the year.🙄

Yes, it is that season again; the weather has turned cool and wet (just in time for our visitor). I haven't taken much in the way of fall foliage photographs; I seem to always be looking skyward these days. Inspiration? Distraction? Probably the latter. Because overlaying all the work and time constrains is the heavy emotional load of watching my big red goober, Lance, decline precipitously. He appears to have DSLD, a progressive, incurable breakdown of suspensory ligaments. He is uncomfortable in spite of drugs and is losing weight; I'm afraid the handwriting is on the wall and I'm slogging through each day with an already broken heart and ready tears. Such is the price of stewardship, and love.

That's it for now from . . .

An island in the storm

Our trip to Kaua'i truly was an island of calm in the midst of relentlessly rolling waves of responsibilities before and after. Mind you, Kaua'i sat in the midst of relentlessly rolling waves thanks to Hurricane Nolo offshore, with lots of visible damage (as forewarned) from Hurricane Lowell weeks earlier, but it was still an oasis for us. Of course I took a boatload of photos, way too many to share here; thanks to uploading them to Shutterfly so I could make a photobook of our trip, I can just share a link to the album.

You'll see photos from our flights there and back (we got bumped up to First Class both ways!), photos of our chocolate farm tour (a definite highlight), photos taken during the three(!) beach rides I took with friends, photos of birds and flowers and fruit and scenery from the entire drivable perimeter of the island, lots of photos of green sea turtles (we spent late Friday evening and very early Sabbath morning on the beach watching them), a few photos from church and potluck, photos of the Kaua'i Museum, Kaua'i County Courthouse, and from two hikes we took along the coast.

You won't see any photos of the Na Pali coast (the sea was too rough for the boat ride we hoped to take), or of Waimea Canyon and Koke'e state parks (closed due to Hurricane Lowell damage), of a hike up Sleeping Giant (too wet), or of any of the botanical gardens (closed for the same reason).

I didn't get sunburned and will NOT show you photos of the saddle sores and bruises I got from riding in a very uncomfortable Western saddle. But remember my bad steam burn? I purchased some hydrocolloid bandages before leaving and they were amazing. Waterproof and 'invisible,' they stayed on for days at a time, and that big burn healed without pain, a scab or a scar. I have since used one of those bandages on a couple scrapes on my other arm, which healed just as well. I'm going to buy an assortment of smaller sizes to have on hand; I highly recommend them!

That's it on Kaua'i from . . .