September 26, 2024
The bathroom and the gazebo continue to be my focus.
Building forms around the outer edges of the bathroom at Holowai took the better part of the day. These forms are on top of the slab “footings” I started with and will be the basis for the walls. They need to be level and square, while the footings were a rough outline.
On the side away from the driveway and not in a direct downhill line, I blocked out a section within the forms wide enough for the door.
September 27, 2024
Setting up the generator and the cement mixer next to Holowai Street, I was able to shovel the sand/gravel from the pile directly into the mixer. Each mixer batch creates one totally full wheelbarrow load, but it is difficult to control a wheelbarrow that full, so I would dump about half the load into the wheelbarrow and then wheel it down to the bathroom. There, I would have to shovel it into the forms, dumping the last bits that I could not shovel directly into the forms.
While I was mixing, I poured more of the gazebo floor around the compass rose.
After finishing the surface of the “stem walls” at the bathroom (not necessary for a troweled finish, just tamped level with the tops of the forms) and troweling the surface of the gazebo floor pour, I still had some time to do a bit of trimming around the property. I piled these branches up next to the chipper.
September 28, 2024
At 2:00 AM, I woke up with a severe pain in my abdomen. It felt like there was a tennis ball stuck in my intestines! Just off center, on the right side and directly below the ribs, was an area that felt hard and was very tender to the touch. I lay there in bed in agony. By rolling to the side, and sitting on the edge of the bed, I was able to pull on a pair of shorts and my sandals. Then, carefully, I made my way down to the compusting toilet using one of my inflatable solar lights as a flashlight. I sat on the toilet seat and tried to poop without straining. I knew that straining to go was not a good thing! Nothing! Plugged up tight! But yet, not! It didn’t feel like I needed to poop, I just thought that it might make me feel better. Sitting up was better than laying down, so I tried to make my way up to the gazebo to sit in one of the chairs. Unfortunately, my solar light ran out of power and I found myself in the dark. Carefully, I felt my way back to the gazebo. Being able to brace myself on the arms of the chair did help, but I was still in pain! Around 4:00 AM, I went back to bed and was able to fall asleep. I woke up at 8:30AM.
The pain was gone, but my abdomen was still tender and sore. All of my movements were caeful and measured so as not to jostle my belly. I drove over to Pahala about 15 miles away where there is a drug store. I dscribed my experience to the pharmacist and he said, “You really need to see a doctor about that!” Yes, but, . . . my doctor is in Arizona, and anyone I see here will be “out of network” as far as insurance goes – which will be worse than having no insurance! Eventually, he recommended I try some prilosec, or maybe some omeprazole, while strongly reiterating that I need to see a doctor. I said, “Well, if you hear about some haole who died this week from a stomach ailment, you will know it was me!” He chuckled. He also recommended an antacid and that I not eat anything acidic – like tomatoes, or citrus!
If I weren’t already feeling a bit sick, the price of milk in the grocery store next door would have really done it!
On the way back to the property, I stopped off at Honuapo and soaked in one of the shallower and therefore warmer tide pools! This helped my sore muscles in my abdomen to relax!
I was able to remove the forms from the stem walls I had poured yesterday.
Using the screws that had come the other day, I finshed screwing down the boards on the roof of the gazebo.
The other day, I had spotted some golf clubs under a storage container at my neighbor’s property. I retrieved them and plan on trying to clean them up and maybe playing a bit of golf at the course in Discovery Harbor. After all, I really have nothing else to do! It’s gonna take a bit of work, and they might be too far rusted. But not today!
TTFN
TropicalCastaway 