Rambling thoughts from November 1st.

We have a place to call home now… in Kapaau on the northernmost point of the island. I think if you could come visit us you might not feel like you are in the USA. We are renting this place from a really sweet Filipino woman named Amelia. It’s a 2 bedroom apartment, attached to her house. It might have been the garage at one point, but we can’t figure it out. Her kitchen window overlooks into our kitchen. There is a sheet over it…. But we can hear everything she is doing in

her kitchen, and vice versa. Community living for sure.
We share the carport/laundry room/make-shift karaoke diner, and since she also rents a room in her house out to another Filipino lady, there is always someone around. It’s nice, they love the kids, no one expects them to be quiet, and it’s just very relaxed so far. We can always hear chattering or music, whether from them or the other neighbors, because everyone has lanais and the houses don’t have any insulation, so you can hear everything. It’s pleasant, not obnoxious. Last night was Halloween, and Amelia had all her Filipino friends over for Karaoke and dinner in the carport. Lily totally stole the show. Johnny and I were busy getting our house organized, and Lily was out there singing twinkle twinkle with everyone singing along. She had a blast, she was in rare form for sure… with the biggest smile on her face. She kept coming inside to check on her room, or change her clothes, then would run back out. She even ate their rice… but said no thanks to the fish head platter and fried squidOur house is painted bright crazy colors inside and has mismatching -but clean- linoleum in every room. We can see the ocean from our kitchen and bathroom windows. I love it. It’s a tiny town here. Johnny got a call for some side jobs today, which is pretty cool. I guess in tiny towns word gets out fast.

We had a multiple karaoke experiences yesterday. The indoor/outdoor diner we went to last night had karaoke, a bunch of really friendly locals who were also really nice to the kids, and let them sing. They welcomed us to the Kohala Coast and admired Lily and Gabe’s blonde hair. These kids are good at making us new friends.

We took Lily and Gabe to Hapuna Beach today…. Beautiful white sand and clean sparkling water. They loved it. Then to Costco in Kona, and then Pololuu lookout. So beautiful. A good day. Ad we have food now which is really nice. Johnny is returning the rental car in Kona tomorrow, then hitch-hiking back, and then we won’t have a car for two weeks til our truck comes in. No internet, no car, no tv. I have no idea how I will post this blog. Maybe walk to a coffee shop with the laptop. It’s a pretty peaceful life. I played princess and queen with Lily today. She wore the dress Rose just got her for her birthday, and she looks like royalty in it.

Future plans for the next two weeks…. Running, reading, cooking, picking fruit from the backyard (oranges, lemon and avocados), hanging with Lily and Gabe, and playing Lily’s pink guitar. Oh and the midwifery conference in Hilo this next weekend…. Yes!

Last night the roosters in the neighborhood crowed all night. I forgot about that part of Hawaii. All the rooster farms for the cock fights. Poor captive roosters.