Surviving Haleakala and other adventures

Can you believe this is us?

Yes, Dad and I blazed down the road to the volcano on Maui!! We were picked up at our hotel at 3 am and rode to the summit of the volcano to observe the sunrise. It was a crunchy 45 degrees with a wind chill of about 30. After waiting an hour for the spectacle, we rode in the van partway down to just outside the national park boundary where we got our helmets and bikes. (Federal law prohibits the ride operators from starting at the summit because of the dangerous conditions and liability issues.)

We started at 6500 feet and coasted 21 miles down to sea level at the town of Pa'ia where we had breakfast and climbed back in the van for the return to the hotel. It was screaming fun!!! I was right behind the guide all the way down and Dad was back in the line of our 8 companions on this adventure. Clearly we were the oldest (65 is the age limit), but we were not the most cautious or the twitchiest. Dad said I was the best of the women because I let it out and stayed at my assigned distance behind the guide (25 feet) the whole way. I often had to ride my brakes to keep from overtaking him. The other women were strung out behind me since we had to ride single file down the two-lane switchback road. They all seemed to stretch the distance between bikes and the leader and I had to slow down for them to catch up. I had a ball and would do it again in a heartbeat. The curves were awesome and the few straightaways allowed me to live up to my high school nickname of "Parnelli".

Where DOES the time go??

I just realized how long it has been since I updated this.  I really have to do a better job.

Take this weekend, for example.  No one knew where Dad and I were--The New York Chocolate Show! (Check it out at www.chocolateshow.com)  We drove over Friday, got in about 6, walked all over, had dinner, hung out on Times Square, and went to sleep kind of late.  Saturday morning we took a cab to the Metropolitan Pavilion for the show where Dad was in the Mars American Heritage booth, and I cruised the other exhibitors,  tasted chocolate, bought books, and watched demonstrations.  We ate dinner at the Playwright Tavern (Irish, but not real good), and went to see "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."  Daniel Radcliffe was very un-Potterish and John Laroquette truly deserved his Tony for an amazing performance.  It was a great show.  Today we drove home in time for church, and Dad is leaving for DC for the remainder of the week.

The bunnies are back!!

I was busy picking strawberries and heard some rustling and saw a few flashes of brown fur. Here are the three babies whom I disturbed from my garden. They ran and froze just like Mom said to do. I finished and left them to find their way back to the nest. They are not rabbits, they are hares, according to local experts, because they do not live underground in burrows but rather are born in shallow nests and live more above ground.
Mom was on my front porch the next day observing and being observed by the cats through the glass door.
They actually must have decided that berries are really tasty because the next time I went to pick, most of the fruit had bites taken out of them.

High Five for Dad and Me!!

What do you think of our pasta collection?? These are 1-pound boxes of pasta destined for donation to a food bank when we think we have enough. It might well be doubled before we are ready.

Some of you know but others do not. Dad and I started a project on February 4. Today is our 4-month anniversary of Nutrisystem. Together we have lost more than 50 pounds!! I am really proud of us. I have dropped two pant sizes and got to buy new jeans, and Dad has had to buy new belts and pants. (Remember the Hawaii post about emergency shopping for his trip to Dubai??) His shirts are baggy and his pants were sliding off his hips. He is wearing things from his closet he hasn't worn in 15 years! I am pinching inches around waists of skirts and passing them on. We put out three big bags of too-big clothes for Am Vets to collect last Monday. It is great!! We plan to continue until ... we're done!

Yard beauty

Here are two focal points of spring: our Chinese dogwood on the left and "Wild Thing" (Eddie's rose) on the right. I love my little piece of earth!!

OUCH!!

Well, the first strawberries and radishes I picked today are not the only things that are RED.
After spending three days in bed sleeping off a sinus infection, I got the crazy idea that the best thing I could do was work in the yard with Dad for about 4 hours yesterday. It was only 90 by the time we quit at lunch. Do you think we put on sunscreen?? (Remember, Dad is the one who takes at least half an hour slathering up in Hawaii before he goes outside.) NO-O-O! So we are sporting really pink faces, necks, and arms. But the berries are really sweet, and the radishes are really crisp and snappy. And we picked green and red leaf lettuce for our dinner. I love gardens! I am channeling my Grandma Hofmann.

"Oats, peas, beans, and barley grow ..."

There are no oats or barley, but the peas and beans are ready to go.

This is what the garden looked like at the end of March just as we were ready to go to Hawaii. These beds were planted in carrots, beans, rutabagas, and beets



Now, let's see what we have looking out the deck right now.

Here are the peas and onions:
And our amazing strawberries (we are having some for dinner tonight!):
And more peas and lettuce:
And more peas and spinach and radishes:
And more peas and lots of potatoes (you see two of four beds):
Here are the blueberries (under cover for bird protection) and more peas:

And now tomatoes and green peppers:
And squash (zucchini, crookneck, spaghetti, and butternut) and cucumbers:


We are set until it is time to harvest and preserve everything. Come on over for good eating!!