Photo journalism

The car the day of The Incident. The bumper is caved in, the trunk smushed in and the lights winged out. Sigh. I particularly like the curliness of the license plate. It hardly looks like $2,300 worth of damage from this angle.After a week at the body shop. New, shiny, freshly painted, and the license plate hammered flat. I guess I should have given them the pristine one that lives in the glovebox. They painted the rear bumper by mistake - it looks great! Too nice to put new bumperstickers on. A random picture from my trip to Maui a couple years ago. How many different shades of blue are there in the world? I think they are all in this photo.

Communing With Nature

A good morning. Dozer and I had a nice walk up the mountain this weekend. And by "up", I mean that we made it about halfway and then had a nice long sit down in the sun. I startled a rabbit, we saw lizards and hawks, got buzzed by hummingbirds and inspected by sparrows. I go sight-seeing and he goes sniff-smelling. I end up seeing more interesting things when I am waiting for him to finish smelling things than when I am walking and looking. Go figure. I should have gotten a picture of him grazing on the new grass... he was truly a "sheep dog" today. It is also good for my self esteem when he chooses to lay next to me instead of trotting at the end of his 15 ft lead. But I also like it when he is confident enough to wander off.

The info about the dairy was in one of the Hawai'i guide books at the condo. You know how words like "goat" and "yarn" jump right out at me. That same day we also went to the winery and to the Maui Cattle Co for lunch. mmmm.

I am thinking of going to see a bargain show of "Quantum of Solace" before it leaves the big screen, and also of spending more time at the local dive bar. It is cheaper to stay home, but maybe if I do something with my face and wear a cute shirt someone will buy me a beer. Some days I really miss being in a relationship and then I come to my senses. Maybe when everything is done off of the knitting "to do" list.

Mem'ries...

I realized the other day that, even though I have been back for 14 months now, I should post some of the rest of the pictures from my trip to Maui. We spent one afternoon at the Surfing Goat Dairy. We went on the evening milking tour and got to bring the goats in from the field, watch them being milked (and help, but only a little), and do a little feeding. It was the best time.

We admired goats...We admired the goat-keeper and they wanted him to hurry up and open the gate, already!
Random children (and grownups, not pictured) flung hay at the newest crop of goat kids...
And that's the end!

Vacation Recap: Part 2

Tuesday dawned bright and mild; a good day to go on an adventure. After a yummy brunch, we went to the ocean (just a few feet away) and played in the surf, laid in the sun, and generally relaxed. Around 11 we piled in the car and drove to the Tedeschi Winery. It was serene, gorgeous, and welcoming. We tried several yummy wines and brought a few home. My favorite was the Raspberry Dessert wine. We didn't have time to take the tour, but I hear it is lovely.


Our defenses down, we crossed the street to the Ulupalakua Ranch Store and had some lunch. I had the Maui Cattle Co cheeseburger and it was fantastic. They also have local elk-burgers, but they were sold out by the time we arrived. They are trying to build a market for local-grown, grass-fed beef on the island, instead of shipping the cows to feedlots on the mainland. This beef was sweet and flavorful, the burger made right there on the porch for us. Add the relaxing (to me) Hawai'ian muzak, the calm cloudy day, and the greenery all around, and I think it might really have been heaven.

The highlight of the day was the trip to the Surfing Goat Dairy . We took the 3:15 Farm Chores tour, and got to bring in the goaties from the pasture, learn how to milk a goat, watch John milk very fast with the automatic milking machine, feed some goats, play with the babies, and taste some amazing goat cheese. It was a blast. The goats they keep for milkers are all hand raised and very friendly. They keep Saanens and French Alpines. I bought a cute t-shirt and some yummy cheese (feta, sun dried tomato, and mango flavored).

After those adventures, it was time to turn in to the resort and have some dinner. There may have been a spot of laying by the pool / beach too. I did make some progress on the burgundy Icarus shawl and Mandy's sweater over the course of the week, while in the car and during odd moments in the hotel, watching Law and Order. Hey - it was my vacation, I could watch TV if I wanted!

And again, there ARE pictures, but they are trapped in the laptop.

Vacation Recap: Part 1

We arrived in Maui on Sunday night and stayed in Kihei at a lovely little place. I particularly enjoyed watching the birds - even the parking lot birds were interesting! I saw zebra doves, a purple breasted dove, mynahs, sparrows, and a cardinal. We breakfasted at Denny's (outdoors!) and watched the ocean while we ate.

We drove south along the beach until we got to the lava fields, where we could go no further. We visited an 1838 church and graveyard and dipped our toes in the ocean at Makena beach. We also visited Big Beach and the red sand beach. Lunch was found at a roadside taco stand which had great ambiance and fantastic food.

In the afternoon we settled into our room in Ka'anapali. I forget where the rest of the afternoon went - wading in the ocean or a well-deserved nap, I think. We also browsed the brochures and Maui books in the room and discussed what we wanted to do over the week. We walked to the corner store and got some supplies for dinner and then watched "The Claim" which was one of the Netflix I brought. It was okay. I think I ordered it because it has Sarah Polley (from "Go"), but it was a very slow, convoluted story with a lot of poorly defined flashback sections. It was beautifully filmed, but hard to figure out what was going on and unsatisfying in the end. The credits say it was based on Hardy's "The Mayor of Casterbridge" which I have heard of but never read.

PS. there are pictures, apparently I hit publish by mistake. I will try to upload the pictures tonight.