Mahalo nui loa!

I can’t believe my good fortune.  To the right is the view from our sublet hammock.  Life just keeps getting better and better.  It looks like Dave, Porter Borwn, and I will soon be living in an extremely fancy 3br house in the lower foothills of the West Maui mountains.  It has unobstructed views of the ocean and neighboring islands, Lana’i and Moloka’i from a giant lanai (balcony/porch) that reaches across the living room and connects to the master bedroom.  Downstairs are two additional bedrooms and a full bath.  Somehow the amazingly wonderful landlords have decided to rent it to us for half the normal price.  


Just ask.  Last week when Scott (head brewer at MBC and owner of my housesitting gig) returned, I was really stressed because no one even wanted to talk to me about renting out their place to dog owners.  Scott suggested I place a “housing wanted” ad on craigslist, so I poured my heart out about our plight, attached some pics of us and the dog, and doubted anyone would ever look at it.  The next day, I got this call and an offer for a ridiculously awesome 3br house.  Yes, he called me to offer this place!  I hate to post this prematurely because we haven’t signed the lease yet, but they said it’s ours if we want it.  There was a giant rainbow in the sky as we left the place yesterday.  I take this as a sign that the right things are happening.  Thanks, universe!  I’ll post pics and/or a video clip once we get the keys.  


In the meantime, here’s breakfast:

Life has been pretty relaxing and lazy for Porter and I.  Dave is at work and I start on Monday, so I’m trying to take advantage of all the down time I can get right now. I think Porter is just happy to live in a home and not a pickup truck.  


The dog survived surgery and a stressful plane ride from Oregon to Hawaii.  I met them at the airport on Wednesday in my new island girl hippie dress (which totally helps me look like a local :o) with a lei made of seashells for Dave.   We went to meet the vet in this funny little building and Porter was wagging his tail so much that his giant animal cage was moving.  He seems to enjoy Hawaii so far...though I suspect he wants to make a break for it and run to the mountains ASAP.  We’ll take him on a good hike this weekend. 


In other news, my awesome job just gets better and better.  In addition to working from home two days a week and teaching 11th and 12th English, I get to co-facilitate senior advisory with a couple of fun, positive women and the school is giving me a phone and a laptop.  I start a week of professional development on Monday and then the kids come back the following week, when the two days of working at home will also begin.  I think it’s going to be a lot of fun!


Oh!  I swam with a giant sea turtle!  that was on Tuesday or so...I went down to the beach with my new/used snorkel gear to see what I could see.  There were turtles hanging out near the lava rocks at the East end, so I snorkeled over that way.  It was a little tricky with waves coming in, but totally worth it.  A HUGE sea turtle, about the size of a truck tire, saw me just as I saw it.  I was flailing around a bit, trying to stay in position with the waves, when the turtle saw me and started swimming toward me!  It was about three or four feet away.  I wish I had a picture.  The underwater camera finally arrived with my kayak and camping gear, but I haven’t opened the boxes just yet.  I’ll pull it out soon.  Anyway, I kind of freaked out a little bit and backed off.  It was seriously like having a small dinosaur (that is a much better swimmer than I) head in my direction.  Amazing!  


I should be able to get in those canoes this evening if all goes well.  I will take pictures and post them when I recover from the crazy workout.  Keep your fingers crossed about the Miami Vice house.  You could have an entire floor with lanai/yard access and full bath to yourself when you come to visit.  Seriously.  

Aloha, 

Jen