I have been home a few days from a mainland vacation. The nice feeling are still with me .. In spite of ants and huge black bumble bees making life trying.

Daisy, once bitten, steers clear.

Bee stings can kill little dogs.

I have been stung and so has Steve, through a cushy towel.
It has been a battle royalle  trying to move them on.

Yesterday morning one held me hostage at my back door, even though I had the can of Raid.
(They must not be able to read)

While I was gone, we had some high winds and everything on the lanai was covered in volcanic ash.
The lanai is the 'room' we live in.

Yesterday, (yes, on a Sunday) I started cleaning out there, a little here and there and wound up spending the day on that side of the house and away from the bees.
It needed a deep cleaning. We even replaced the fairy lights ( net lights) behind the bakers rack..
It looks so pretty at night.

This morning Steve was trapped, eye to eye by a pair of Carpenter Bees as he was trying to read his paper.
 
I waited until they gave up and left before I ventured forth with my coffee to sit at the table and read.

It's what we do most mornings.

......Then I noticed it
Debris on my clean Bakers Rack.  What !  It may not have been noticable by any one but me.
Debris! shavings? Plant pollen?  or ??? from where.
I could not figure it out

It wasn't from me or Daisy.. probably not the cats
I called Steve to come and 'look'. I felt certain he would know ... and boy was he going to get it~   
He could not figure it out..."Sure looks like saw shavings".

 
We had a nice lunch, and tried to figure out again what that was when we saw that it was back.
I truly thought Steve is playing a joke
I'm clearing the table and he calls me to return.

"I've figured it out" .

"I am not biting on what ever it is."

"Seriously. look up there at your birdhouse"

I see the panduit ties to keep things from crashing down.
 ...And ?
I see nothing. He points again. Then I see....

 
 OMG!

There was one of the Carpenter Bees, doing a fair job at chewing a hole in the bottom of the birdhouse.

Better the birdhouse than me. (The center one under the wreath)

We had just spent an hour at the table inches away.

 We left, but returned with a squirt bottle. A well placed aim from the hand sneaking out from behind a door
seemed to discourage this one, for now.

I had never seen these before coming to Hawaii.
They are a common nuisance here in Hawaii.

It appears they are from Brazil and were pretty rare.
If they want these they best get over here before they drown!

Oil Companies do make a profit. but that is NOT why you are handing over wallets at the pump! 

There are two separate issues at work here.
The only thing they have in common is that it is about OIL.

First off, we need to do a little critical thinking... beyond what you are spoon fed by your Congress... 
Don't be a lazy wanker.  It is your own responsibility to learn truths. You are a huge part of the solutions or problems facing us today.
Find out how our world functions and why. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. It's not rocket science folks.

When you want to point the finger at the real culprit/reasons why you are paying almost 5 bucks a gallon instead of $2.50, it is not your oil company.
(Instead, I have seen that some oil companies ( Valero, California, for instance, has made huge donations in their local communities.
I personally would welcome more of this trend)
 
The difference between the Wall Street speculators involvement pushes oil prices to up around $100.00 against what the real price of a barrel of oil... about $65.00. 
 Can we really afford to not know the truth.. can we afford not to vote?

Get that finger pointing in the right direction... Start with the deep pockets of wall street speculators... then keep that finger pointing going toward a feckless SEC for not controlling a gone wild Wall Street.
So, call or email your Congressman.
Tell them what you expect or he will be gone. It is personal!!! 

When we hear we need less Government, We better be looking at who's mouth that come out of... and what their agenda really is. ..
( Wouldn't we like to know just how much $$$ these talking mouths made off  of us with their cries for 'Deregulation'   )

These guys are legal pick pockets. I can tell you it was NOT my Congressional people who voted to let them do it to us . ...because they did not vote for what ever the deep pocked lobbiet wanted...

Eight years of the Bush Administration ( and their congressional cronies voted for ) all but killed the S.E.C.... a S.E.C that was put there by much wiser people.. to PROTECT CONSUMERS
  
Then that Congress of less than 100 people, over a short period of time, voted the lobbiest agenda, and pushed a population of some 60 million, in our county alone, down that that slippery slope of mayhem and disaster for us all...for $$$$$
They could not have done that without the help of silent/unknowing people!
 
The real oil price problem....is not big secret.

Please, read this article.
It spells it all out for you. That is, IF YOU WANT THE TRUTH!!!!
the...Editorial from the St. Louise Post Dispatch..The Real Oil Problem... .

 Yes, oil companies do make big profits, mostly because of volume... and that is another story for another time.

                     
Some time back,  a year or so in people time, Lady walked into the pet store where I was in temporary quarters.

She obviously liked fish because she walked past each tank and peered in.

THIS COULD BE IT!  I could go home with that one. 
She kept looking over at me as I danced and flashed.

My heart sank as the clerk took up several gold fish instead.

Lady was at the register... right across from me. I knew I had to really get her attention... but what? I was in this tiny display bowl.
I flared, I showed her my best side. I finned from one corner to the other, around and around.  I was exhausted but I kept it up..
Then Lady pointed toward me. The clerk looked over at me... I flared. I waved my fins and tail... I gave it my all

I heard Lady say.. I'll take Fred with me..

Fred? the clerk said.

Yes, Fred.. that is the name on that bowl...

The clerk walked over as I was dancing my heart out.... She turned the bowl... and said, "Oh, the inventory tag,, F for fish and red for his color.. F-red."
 
As the clerk put me in a darkened bag, I heard her say.. 'It sure seemed he wanted to go home with you"

Boy, and how I was thinking.

In that first day in my new home I got a larger apartment.. and now this one has even more space and certainly deeper.
I live in the kitchen, by the sink. The area seems to be a command center for humans.
I get lots of visitors here. I am right in the middle of everything.

This morning Lady redecorated my space as she cleaned .... Now I have all these rounded smooth pretties in the bottom of my tank. Some are the same color as me.
I can really dazzle my guests now.

I see there are lots more round things over there.. maybe she is still looking for a larger place for me.
My secret dream is a 1 gallon tank home for me... in this same area. I could really dance for Lady then.

Lady still calls me Fred. I am her 'dancing jewel'. That's all pretty kewl.
Other fish I know don't have a name...
Can you believe that??

... after I hastily dinked off from the Classmates web site.. I wondered what each has done with their lives..... how many artists are there among us.. 

I'd like to know what ever happened to Jim Jenkins... he wanted to be an artist.
Our freshman class relished life and was the most fresh, creative collective body to a person.   
By the sophomore year.. it was all about cliques and following..  

I am wondering how many were afloat on the tides of their parents inabilities... and then their own.  

Something I notice is that most are marking time.. (mentally retired)  as opposed to living their dream.
Maybe they never had a dream...
Some chose a career and then died... even though their bodies moved to the daily rhythm.

One of my friends became a cop.. Even then, it was because it was a secure job.. While he and his wife have a beautiful daughter.. I have to wonder if that is all he fed his soul and was it enough?   

BUT.. ( big smile) I have another friend.. he lives in Panama.
 
Maybe I will go back to that site and see what happened to each of us.
 
I may have had my own rough start.. but how many people do you know have something they produced go into that first moon shot?.
How many have built their own home.. live on a tropical Island, or live their dreams?

Who of us are still creative.. mentally alive...and still taste the life we have been given?

 Which of us have run the bases before us, and see more down the line~

At CostCo, they had Lobster.......
I have not had lobster since Connie and Jim were here and treated us all...a couple years ago.. Fabulous!

On the mainland, CostCo always had them behind a freezer door... easy to find.
I usually kept them on hand for those special times... like the wind blew today....or not.

I really really like lobster... but, we all know how pricey they are.
I ran the litany of all the reasons why I should treat myself ... picked out the largest package and tossed it into the basket.
I am sure I heard breath being too quickly drawn.... but that was probably me too. 

My bucket list today reads like a restaurant menu....:Toasted Coconut Creme pie from Marie Calendars. When not available, lets hope for mixed raspberry ( rasplberry ) .
If I should die on you watch... poke some lobster dredged though garlic butter and pie into my lips.

Never mind the mess... I'll clean it up whenever I get to where ever my spirit is going~ .  
 

I swept this little Gecko up yesterday. He may be the tiniest one yet.. certainly new born.
Obviously he is new and has not read the 'No Gecko's in the House' rule.
I let him jump into a planter where he will find food and safety.

   
  so cute, but tooooooooooo small to cuddle

In the past, I have had some pretty fair homes..and managed to fill every inch.

When I needed more space, I moved into larger homes. 

That said, I was pretty good at finding space to store all the goodies I never said No! to..
All went well until that one time I had to relocate in haste.
I lost..... 

Since that time, I have worked continually at shaping some sort of system that would keep me organized and yet, have what I wanted.. treasures and crafty things. 

Several years ago, we retired and downsized in a new location, and committed the two biggest sins of livable downsizing. 1. Never downsize closet space &  2. Never downsize cabinet/storage space.
Planned storage cabinets in my garage were stuffed and stacked to overflow. Nested luggage still lives in my closets SIGH~  but.. that will change soon.

Over time, I had become jaded, hating the cleaning frenzies that always happened each time I saw something that might work for me.
I was/am avid about chasing and reading articles about organizing and getting it all together

I am pretty sure some of you are tracking right with me, 

I THINK I FOUND IT!!!!    Epiphany 101

The first two items were my wake up call.
1. Create a home for everything
2. Put things back in their homes

Again I am finding myself the center of another cleaning storm. ... learning how to be organized... truly organized, efficient and effective.
 
The good news is that this time, I have touched things (including paperwork) that I have ignored and not seen in years.
I was able to progress much further when I learned these two 'secrets', than ever before.
Once I determined my own basic needs and wants, I was able to toss/shred/sell what is not going to live here.

After a few monthly yard sales, I am seeing daylight and making room for that luggage in the garages storage instead of my closet.
There is even room for (see through) storage containers future garage sales

*My own 'secret'  to great storage is to Use see thru storage containers that can nest in your storage cabinets, are both waterproof and dust proof.
It may be a small added expense to swap out what you are using, but it will pay off big time when you never have to search or rummage through cardboard boxes again.    

I feel like I have been set free.

Am I ready for that next move?
Close.. really close.

Even Morning Jedi need their morning coffee first...
 
You know things are going to be BAD when that great coffee bouquet that woke you up has spread itself all over the counter tops and spilled onto the floor.

The upside? It was only a 12 cup pot. Still, that is a LOT of mileage spread out.

In checking under the sink.. next to the pot.. the seals held.. no coffee under there, BUT!! I spotted another problem.

Note to soap dispenser filling person (obviously not Jedi): FILLING TO OVERFLOW IS NOT MEASURING!!!!! .

 FYI...I have cleaned up the mess and repainted the rusted metal baskets.
This Jedi does NOT do the ( now required) carpentry work to repair that damage. 

... sori, no pix.. it was not a pretty site/sight

There is a heck of a lot of controversy out there on this subject alone..

I personally do use the plastic vs paper when I have to choose. ... ( A save a tree thing).
Facts are there is less plastic bags hitting the land fills than paper.. but there is still that lingering problem of how long thing and they can be recycled

Supposedly there are the biodegradable ones that I have yet to see.. knowingly.

I have yet to let fly my plastics. Less than 1% are these culprits... and the rest of us that are responsible have to pay for their lack of their judgement.   I detest bag trees.
When I do use the plastic, I get multiple uses.. I use them for carting things around, my knitting, other crafts and sewing. I like to be able to see what is in my storage.
 
I probably get three uses out of them before they get used as a kitty litter and doggie do round-up.
 
I have a collection of some reusable fabric 15 bags that are in use..

I sure came alive when I saw the article from American Chemistry Council...quoted in a Better Home & Garden article dated Sept 2010 (page 249)
*They collected some 84 reusable bags from shoppers.. Nearly all bags had some Bacterial growth, with 12 %
testing positive for E-Coli. THAT got my attention!!!

This article had been hanging around for a few months but when I read that...It took only minutes to get them into the washer and drier.
The article also recommends that we get more specific about use, keeping canned goods, meats, fresh fruits and veggies  etc separated.
 I have always wrapped my meats in plastic before putting the in my bags, but now.. my bags get a trip through the washing machine before returning them to use 
 (I live 40 miles from my usual food market.. so putting meats and cold things in plastic keep them cold has always made sense. I also have a cooler that travels with us, full time, so we can preserve what we buy..It is a way of life  on an Island  .)