Well that is not very welcome. Our Wedding Anniversary today, Christmas just round the corner, and I test positive for COVID this morning. My wife tested positive a couple of days ago. For me, I just have aches and pains for now. Hopefully it won’t get any worse.

Happy Holidays 🎄

🌧️ Well it is wet out there.

These are not the best photographs of Wailuku, but I feel as though it is an overlooked gem here in Maui. Wailuku is the administrative home on the island, with the County and Court buildings based there. As such it is away from the tourist routes. At the same time, I wish a little more love was shown to it with some new restaurants, coffee shops, shops, theatre, etc. They are there, just a few more. A new Civic Center is planned. Let’s see what that does to the town.

A street view with parked cars, sidewalks, utility poles, and a mix of commercial buildings under an overcast sky with mountains in the background. Visible signage includes “Native Intelligence.

Mural on a building featuring a person sitting and extending their hands towards a stream, with a child crouched by the water and colorful abstract patterns in the background.

I lay in the darkness this morning listening to the rain lash against the windows. My wife has tested positive for COVID and I am sleeping in a barn on our property - and no, I was not sleeping on hay with hens as bed fellows. Gratefully, I was comfortable.

As dawn slowly emerged, hampered by the dark storm clouds, I could see trees, blurred by the rain covered windows, bending under the strong winds. The hilltop across the valley was shrouded in a light mist. I was lying there alone, and in that aloneness and with the weather howling outside, I could feel the cabin, the remoteness that I had called for a couple of weeks ago.

I felt comfortable and with a wish for this day and the next few days, just to be like this.

My favourite coffee shop, and my local one when we lived in Portland was Sterling Coffee Roasters. I still order from them - only three days from Portland, and free postage. A great service. These arrived yesterday, including their Holiday Blend for the Christmas/New Year period.

Three bags of Sterling Coffee Roasters coffee on a kitchen counter: “Blendo Stupendo,” “Holiday Blend,” and “Chiapas Eupromex.” The bags are labeled with flavor notes, processing methods, and elevation of the coffee beans

I’m trying to switch off today. The last few days have been busy, on top of a bad headache, and next week we’ll be hitting the ground running. So after completing a couple of tasks this morning, I’m dialing it back now. In fact I just woke up from a late morning nap.

🤦🏼‍♂️ Waiting for some toast to pop up, and then realized that I had not put it in the toaster!

Two sides of this evening.

A vibrant rainbow arcs across a cloudy sky at sunset, above a trimmed hedge and a leafless tree in the foreground.

A dark sunset sky with clouds and a crescent moon, with silhouettes of trees and hills on the horizon.

Home alone reading, and doing a bit of writing as well, while listening to Christmas Carols.

I love listening to Carols, and singing them. In hearing them I find the spirit of Christmas for me…and maybe memories of Happy Christmases with family, warmth and familiarity (and I sense somewhere in there, safety).

From a walk at Ho’okipa cliffs just over a week ago.

Small red graffiti-covered concrete building with a tall pole on top, set against a coastal landscape with grass in the foreground and a sunset sky in the background.

I’ve spent the last couple of days playing around with Tot and Siri Shortcuts (or is it Apple Shortcuts, or maybe just Shortcuts…I really am unsure), just seeing what I can do. Trying to create a Drafts lite (very), if you like.

Drafts is not going to disappear from arsenal of text editors, but I have enjoyed the challenge of just seeing what I can achieve. For now I am giving that exercise a rest.

The Boy And The Heron - some thoughts a day later

Almost twenty four hours after sitting down in the theater to watch The Boy And The Heron, the movie is still sitting with me. I chose to see the dubbed version so that I could concentrate on Miyazaki’s sumptuous drawings and the story. I still missed a few plot points and character connections, which I had to clear up with some background reading afterwards. I feel that the film can be read in so many different levels, and for me some of the movies that come out of Studio Ghibli have an elemental feeling about them, touching one subconsciously.

Continue reading →

I have not done this for a while - sitting in a theatre by myself to see a movie - but I am looking forward to it. Today’s feature? The Boy And The Heron.

Inspired by the sticker posts of @maique. I spotted these while waiting to cross the road with my grandson.

Stickers, including some pink bananas, on a pole at a street light crossing

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

Early morning rainbow over Maui, the Pacific Ocean in the background

I’ve just booked a ticket to go and see Hayao Miyazaki’s new anime, The Boy And The Heron tomorrow. I’ve chosen to see the English dubbed version, just so that I could spend more time on the rich animation as opposed to reading text. I’m looking forward to it.

Grilling this evening.

Two cast iron pans sitting on a corten steel fire bit with a grill, each pan holding shishito peppers and one having spring onions as well

Sunday speed.

A large snail sliding slowly across concrete

I recently checked in with my men’s group saying that,

…right now I’d prefer to be in an isolated cabin on the side of a mountain looking out onto the world, and to stay there for a few days.

It might not be a remote cabin, but I have a quiet morning at home, alone, and that will do as second place for now. I needed this.

Those times when I have a host of tabs open, only to accidentally close my browser without saving them, and realizing that I actually don’t miss them. Even the option to reopen the last closed session on restarting my browser feels superfluous.