Have I Mentioned the Prehistoric Nocturnal Snails ....

In a different chapter of the book entitled "Toto, We're Not In Kansas Anymore".....

..... these are sooooo not your mother's average garden snail.

Imagine stepping on one of those (or two, as they tend to be very social and are usually  seen in pairs or groups) .... in the dark.... in your flippies.  No, thankfully,  I have avoided that particular indelicacy... so far.  I think you could turn an ankle on one of these beasts.

They say Maui has no snakes... I don't know.  I think they are camoflauged and hiding out in these armor-plated shells, meeting nightly and planning for the revolution.

The Wonders of the Deep ....

After so many days of gusting winds and choppy seas, today was a (lazy) paddler's dream outing.  The ocean was like glass:  small bloppy waves at the shore and then soft, gentle... swells is too big of a word, implies too much up and down.... we were in the soft, undulating bosom of the sea.  The sun was out and visibility down to the ocean floor was, well, I'm pretty sure we could have seen all the way down to the sampans bobbing in the South China Sea.  I know I'm being a little overly dramatic here.  Everyone knows its nighttime there and you wouldn't be able to see much looking up through a moonlit sea.....

What we could see in these perfect conditions was the most amazing coral bed.  I wish you could see - the colors, the textures - a huge field of knotty, brain-like coral with sea anenomes tucked in here & there, and big (BIG) mushroom-like corals, and even some fish.  It was like we were in a glass bottom boat.  We were dry snorkeling.  It was breathtakingly beautiful.  What a treat.

And on we glided through this soothing and glorious morning.  And, lo, what splash through yonder ocean breaks?  It's two sleek, graceful Nai'a having a little morning frolic.


(Not my photo... thank Google images)

 [In looking for the photo, I found one that, for reasons unexplainable, I felt the need to also share ....



.... but I digress.]

We hung out with the dolphins for a while (alas, no cows).  Then turned around to paddle back across the stunning coral beds and awww, shucks - the breeze is kicking up and we paddle into the wind all the way back.  Oh well. 

You can't always have a lazy, lovely morning watching dolphins at play not 30 feet in front of you, now can you.

Blogus Interruptus....

Funny how one litte aspect of your life comes a tad off the rails, and you find you have no time or energy for stuff you like to do!  Tending all the details of our currently very needy property up in Haiku has consumed me, lo these past three weeks.  And, to add vinegar to the baking soda (anyone with kids who've gone through the 4th grade will know what a mess that can make), Michael was off island, trying to do what he could to help from 6,000 and 10,000 miles away.

We had the combination of finishing clean up & painting of the studio, then trying to get it rented (so far unsuccessfully), PLUS beginning the task of rehabing the 2-bedroom unit.  Locating & coordinating a cleaning/hazmat crew, a painter, a handyman, a carpet/flooring guy and the million details and possible permutations in between was no damn fun.  And between showing the studio to prospective tenants and meeting with these various vendors, shopping for and/or buying necessary items (like new kitchen cabinets, grrrr), I think I've put more miles on the car in 3 weeks than the entire year!!  Happily, gas is just now starting to come down a smidge ($4.56/gal).

Oh, and in the middle of all that orchestration, we get a call from the tenants who are still there that the cess pit is overflowing.  Happy Happy Joy Joy!  Luckily, it was not as dire as it sounded, although we did have to throw money at the problem and get taken care of.  Crisis averted (until the credit card bill comes anyway). 

Sooooo.... studio still empty.  Lots of phone calls & emails.  Numerous viewings.  Couple of applications.  But then, in a peculiarly oh-so-island style,  no further follow through, or additional details come to light, stories change....   Honestly though, we are thankful to figure out those things sooner rather than later.  So, we wait.  We hold out for the right tenant (yeah, when pigs fly and they let lawyers into heaven).

And the former petri dish unit - the two bedroom - is making significant progress.  Old carpet gone, every inch cleaned with a toothbrush (okay, many toothbrushes) , fresh paint top to bottom, new flooring throughout, some architectural upgrades (the afore-mentioned new kitchen cabinets, built-in closets in bedrooms, laminate flooring in living room, carpeting elsewhere).... we are getting there.  Couple more cosmetic touches and we'll be calling Better Homes and Gardens to send a photographer for our two-page spread.  Then we start the advertising/talking to people/showing routine and the search is on for a good tenant.  And that should happen right about the time Michael takes off again for another - tho mercifully much shorter - bout of off-island travel. 

Livin' La Vida Loca, we are.

Ami's Escape from the Horrors of Haiku ...