Gettin' 'er done, Maui Style!

Shermie Wormie and myself are seriously missing Janet.  Not really, but it sounds good, right?  Phil is a never ending Wonderland of Doggie Free Time with no consequences!

This is how it rolls on Maui.

Need to secure a parking spot for a family member - no problem!  Throw a couple of chairs down and too e**ing bad for some random chump that may also wish to enjoy the beach park.

Buffing one's driveway:

Sidewalk repairs that take so long a path is worn into the grass:

Tree trimming:

Small children feel compelled to take their own coasters to a restaurant:

Small children, forced into servitude.

Small child being allowed a one and a half minute break:

Huli Huli Chicken, cooked street side:

It feels like every extended family on Maui goes to the beach with a huge spread of food and a bouncy castle.  Janet wants to be one of these families!

They caught a teeny tiny baby gecko inside their condo and set him to freedom out of doors.

The little baby is on the left hand side.  You can barely see him.

A delicious lunch out

Tubby time rolls home!

We want to be this pup.  Not only is he super cute, he gets to live on Maui!

Last lunch!  They are sad!

Poke tacos with Avocado cream.  Delicious!

ALOHA!

Some of us were at home recovering from major chest surgery, and thus unable to fly for six weeks.  Others were able to board an aircraft and go to Maui!

Meg and Janet and Finley left Sher-Man and I with the patient.  Is this advisable?  What if his health goes sideways?  I don't know how to do CPR or paw 911!  Phil's chances are much better with me than they are with Most. Stunned. Puppy. Ever. Sherman.  He lives to eat, poop, play, sleep.  Repeat.  I am doing all the heavy lifting and it's exhausting!

Apparently, whilst not their taste, the condo is lovely.  Meaning, it has been renovated in the last decade.

Janet isn't so sure about the River Rock flow through the unit, but Finley loves it.

Finley, chip off the old Engineers block, built a huge Lego bridge.

With these structural skills, even at such a tender young age, it seems quite plausible that Finley could get a job in China, building bridges.

Janet was somewhat shocked that Bronwyn didn't show up and surprise them.  After she checked the arrival time of the AS flights, calculated in disembarking, car pick up and driving time, Bronwnyn should have arrived around 6PM.  Janet waited on the lanai, watching every vehicle that turned into Palms at Wailea.  Never happened.  Janet was so convinced this would happen as Good Friday is a holiday, so it really only meant Bronwyn taking two days off work.  Guess what?  Good Friday is not a holiday in the USA!  What kind of western, Christian country doesn't celebrate Good Friday?  After a phone consultation, Bronwyn advised they needed to beware of Easter Sunday - a much bigger deal.  Bronwyn told Janet that in Portland, Target and Nordstroms were closed on Easter Sunday!

Point in case.  Meg, Janet and Finley trooped 40 minutes to have latte at this stand.  Guess what - Easter Sunday and closed.

Finley has made some major inroads in the pool and sand department.  He engaged in some heavy labour.

Check out the new flip flops!

 All this new found interest in the pool resulted in some pretty cool swimming togs!

Today, they went to Hallimaile Restaurant located Upcountry, to celebrate Meg's upcoming birthday.

Spicy Shrimp Lettuce Pockets:

Monchong for Meg:

Ahi Poke Bowl for Janet:

A real Hawaiian specialty for Finley - dry, cooked pasta!

The Birthday Girl had Lillikoi Brulee:

The keiki's (children) that live in UpCountry Maui have a pretty sophisticated appetite.  Check out this childrens menu!

Seriously, Shrimp Cocktail??

There was a super cute chicken family across from the restaurant.

Check out these turtles!  These guys were amazing and five came ashore while they were watching.

This was the last guy they saw come out of the ocean.  The area where they are is loosely roped off, but apparently there is a $10,000 fine for approaching them.

Everyone loves to dis Whole Foods, but turns out it's not any more money than other stores on the island.  An added bonus - you can buy small portions of what you need.

Another round, my good man!  Last call,  Aloha style:  milk, white wine and a Mauijito

Good night!

Who Remembers The Board Game Operation?

Phil had a big surgery!  He had a 8cm lump removed from between his lungs.  Here he is about 3 hours after his surgery.

Turns out there was an "oops" moment during Phil's surgery.  Whilst removing the tumour, they somehow irritated the heart and he went into cardiac arrest.  The surgeon had to manually massage Phil's heart for two minutes to get it going again.  As a result, he was hooked up to many millions of dollars of equipment for 24 hours.

Phil is home now and all is well.  If you saw him, you wouldn't even know he had surgery.

Best.  Fan.  Club.  Ever.  Little girls baseball league, down the street!  How cool is this!  Mental note to my puppy dog self:  drop by more often

This was a veritable gold mine for me.  Janet had to scream her head off to not stop me from raiding this pile of baseballs.

We also had visitors this past weekend.  Meg and Finley came to check up on the patient and do some car repairs.

 Meg liked Sherman.   Finley not so much.

Another visitor was Miss Bean, next door neighbour.  Amber and Kris have gone to Mexico for a week.  Amber's dad was here for most of the week, but he had to return to Vancouver, so now Bean is staying with us for a couple of days.

Here we are, frolicking on Beans' bed while she looks on longingly, wishing she could relax on her own bed!

Miss Bean is trying out her "hiding in plain sight" on the brown sofa in an effort to get a break from Shit Head Sherman.  He is completely oblivious to the fact that none of us older doggies like him.

OK, OK.  I know what you are going to say.  Much against my better judgement, and mostly because I felt sorry for him, I decided to play with him.

Good night!

The End of an Era

Neighbours Jack and Gwen have lived on Monteith Street for 45 years.  They have now moved to a one level townhouse.  Newcomers, Janet and Phil have been on Monteith for only 33 years.  Slackers!

We had a party for Jack and Gwen that most of the neighbours were able to attend.

Fun Costco meat fact!  If the cost of meat is over $100, they use a label that doesn't have a barcode they would normally scan.  Why?  People will switch the labels from a much less expensive piece of meat and put it on their expensive cut.  Seriously, who thinks this shit up?

Jack gave a really nice speech and both he and Gwen were very touched.

Phil had a graphic artist turn a photograph into a painting look alike. 

In case it's not obvious, Janet took the above photo under the dining room light fixture.

First the people had Carmelized Onion Tart, Cilantro Dumplings and Sushi (thank you, Ken and Karen!)  Then the people had Roast Beef, Baked Beans, Greek Salad and Bread Salad.

Master Carver, Phil

Dessert:

And just like that, they were gone.  Sad day on our street.

This little Jack Ass still thinks we can be pals, but it will be a frosty day in Hell before I buckle.  I let him lie beside me now, but that's as far as I am prepared to go.

These really stupid sleeping positions are wearing thin on me, but not so with the supposedly intelligent adults who coo and make all sorts of stupid comments and bust their asses to take photos.  Really, people?  I am somewhat delighted to report that they fail to coo when he poops in the house - something I am trying to train him to do!  We'll see who wins this battle! He has no clue who he is dealing with!