I slept through the night. No 2:00 AM pain. The medication must be working. Or, maybe I had food poisoning from something I ate and it has worked it’s way out of my system! But if that were the case, why did it just happen at 2:00 AM?
I have been able to lay more block on the bathroom walls. Being 6″ block, I will need to cut a special piece in the corners to make up the difference. Also, in the corner where the plumbing vent comes up, I need to get a coupling and some glue before I cement these block in place, so the block in that corner are just stacked there. This gives me a better visual on quantities!
At one side of the kitchen gazebo, I had built up some rock walls and backfilled behind them to create a flat area for a second lanai. Today, I set up some forms around this area so that I can pour concrete here. I won’t have time this trip to pour the concrete, but this is one step closer!
In anticipation of leaving the island, I didn’t want to leave a large pile of gravel out in the roadway for others to help themselves to, so I began moving it onto the property.
And, of course, I had to visit the ocean shore for a quick dip in the swimming pool.
This is the view out towards the ocean from inside the swimming pool.
Last night, or I should say, this morning, as it was 2:00 AM that I had a repeat of last night’s discomfort. This morning was not as difficult because I knew it would eventually end. But I had the same pain with the same result, except this time I made sure I took an extra light with me to the toilet so I didn’t have to return in the dark! I was able to poop during the day yesterday, so I knew I wasn’t stopped up, but the feeling of a solid ball or rock just under my ribs was there again. Trying to poop at 2:30 AM was again unsuccessful!
I tried taking an antacid, but with my stomach relatively empty, the antacid tablets made me throw up – the dry heaves – which was absolutely horrible!
And, once again, I was able to go back to sleep at about 4:00 AM and didn’t wake up until 8:30 AM.
In spite of this, I was able to add more to the four columns in the house foundation, to bring them up to the height of the walls in the corners.
I also did not eat any tomatoes nor any citrus, yesterday, nor today!
September 30, 2024
This morning was another repeat performance at 2:00 AM. The first time I thought I was going to die, it hurt so much. This time, I was afraid I would not and woulf have to suffer this every morning forever! But yet, just like the last two mornings, the pain was gone when I woke up, and I just had to deal with the soreness.
After breakfast of pancakes, I loaded the truck with my empty water bottles and went to the water station in Waiohinu! While I was filling my bottles, others came with larger containers such as the 250 gallon cubes, loaded on a trailer or in the back of a pickup truck. They were able to collect 250 gallons in half the time it took me to get around 60 gallons in my individual bottles!
When I returned to the property I began laying block on the stem walls of the bathroom. I intend to lay two or three courses of block to raise the walls above the level of the surrounding ground, then build frame walls up from there.
There are more guavas on the small guava tree near the chipper.
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!
The grass and weeds were getting tall out in front of the gates, so I borrowed my neighbor’s lawn mower and mowed in front of the property.
While I had the mower, I mowed both sides of the road and down to the corner.
On the way down to the ocean at Honuapo, there is a fruit stand in front of a large property. I stopped there and picked up a couple of mangoes and these bananas.
They are really short and extremely fat, so I wondered if they were plantains instead of bananas. When I ate one, they tasted like bananas, but they were definitely not the apple banana common on the island, and they didn’t taste like the ones I buy at the grocery store in Arizona. I think the ones in Arizona are shipped in from Costa Rica.
Down at Honuapo, I parked at the far end near the point, under some trees.
This is a prime spot for parking, as few other places here have large trees like this that provide shade and privacy.
The wading pool was totally full,
but it had not overflowed into the overflow pool next to it . . . yet!
The ocean was pretty calm, as well as the larger swimming pool.
The sky was a bit on the cloudy side, and the temperature today is lower than other days. This has made the water in these tidal pools a few degrees cooler than normal … but still refreshing and a good substitute for a bath!
In order to pour concrete around the compass rose in the gazebo extension, I found it necessary to build a ramp over the steps to get the wheelbarrow up there. Just an old 4 x 10 beam that is pretty rotten and has a huge crack, and a 2 x 8 plank.
Using the mixer, I mixed up a couple of batches to pour one of the four sections surrounding the compass rose. I put no coloring agent into these batches so the compass rose should stand out!
Using the new screws, I began fastening the boards to the roof on the extension. This is a tedious process as I am putting in two screws in each board where it crosses each ceiling joist. Unfortunately, the battery in my drill ran out of power, so I will need to charge it before finishing.
The red headed cardinals are becoming a regular visitor to my feeder.
Sometimes they come in pairs, and sometimes they come one at a time.
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Inevitably, they are followed by the larger Northern Red Cardinal who prefers to chase all the other birds away and tries to rule the roost, so to speak!
After grouting the columns yesterday, I removed the forms.
I also put some small blocks between the four compass points in the gazebo to form the center of the compass rose.
But it didn’t take long until there were at least five birds partaking of the offerings in the bird feeder.
The Hawaiian Honeycreepers seem to have taken over by sheer numbers. They even tend to hold their own with the larger Northern Red Cardinal . . . as long as there are two or three of them. Unlike the Red Heared Cardinals who typically come alone or in pairs, the homeycreepers tend to travel in a group of four or six!
I pried the 3/4 inch thick blocks out of the spaces between the block in the column I poured yesterday, and set up forms for more. I cut the rectangular wooden pieces to fit into the opening, and then place the longer 1″ board over them and would them together with a screw or two straight in.
Then, using my strap ties, I bind them all together into one bundle. I tighten the bands by adding additional pieces of wood like wedges to stretch the bands tight, and hold the 3/4″ blocks of wood in place. Otherwise, the pressure of the concrete would push them out of the recess in the column.
I poured the four points of the compass rose this morning. Using some liquid concrete coloring agent, I made the North and South points red, and the East and West points black. Actually, the North and South points are a bronze color. I had some of the bronze powdered coloring agent that I used in the main areas of the original gazebo surrounding the islands.
The East/West compass points did not require as much concrete as I mixed, so rather than throw it away. I used it as grout in one of the columns of the house.
Using the excess concrete from pouring the compass rose, I grouted one of the columns for the house. The black color will contrast with the gray color of the block, should I choose not to paint the columns.
After I washed out the mixer and finished the surface of the compass points, I removed part of the forms from the column.
When I set the forms on the column, I cut 3/4 inch thick boards to fit inside the rectangles between the block. Tomorrow, I will pry out these small blocks of wood, leaving the grout recessed into the column, giving it another dimension.
After considering different patterns, I settled on a compass rose in the floor of the extension to the gazebo. I started with the square in the center, and built forms in the directions of the four points of the compass, with the longest one pointing North,
Then I finished installing the roof deck boards that I had painted. I had just enough screws to tack them in place. In the next day or two, the screws I ordered should get here to the post office. Then I can permanently screw them to the ceiling joist/rafters.
TropicalCastaway 