Last time I was away and came home from a trip, the entire inside of the fridge was coated with the contents of an exploded Orange Crush can.  Yesterday when I returned home from Hawaii, the inside of the fridge looked fine.  However, the rest of the house is absolutely filthy.

Nicky proudly told me that he and Denis partied like wild hyenas all weekend.  Apparently Luke decided to come home for the weekend from Calgary, and brought Dan (The Boarder) with him.  So I guess the four of them were just having a testosterone ball, as I see every scrap of frozen food was eaten.

I was going to return to the gym today, but instead must wield a vacuum and then a mop to get this place into shape.  Mostly it’s the several pounds of pet hair that need to be removed from the wood floors.  For those of you about to call the health department, please be assured that my commercial kitchen is hermetically sealed in the basement.

I’m proud to say that Marilyn and I ate like monks while in Hawaii, so I lost a few pounds and gained a tan.  We tried to walk a lot, and found that on Kauai the beaches go on for miles and miles.  We saw several seals sunning themselves on the sand during our walks.

Kauai turns out to be quite an interesting little island.  It’s the oldest of the chain of Hawaiian islands, and as it’s quite tiny, is easy to navigate.  One hears Hawaiian spoken there quite a lot.  The island is dotted with tiny towns, though there are two larger centres.

We went to an outdoor market at Kapa’a and I bought a Polynesian flower themed apron.  I thought that would both be useful as well as a nice memento.  Next winter when I put it on while baking fruitcakes I’ll feel nostalgic for sun and sand!

I tried to snorkel in front of our resort at Poipu Beach, but the current was really strong.  At one point I had one hand on an outcropping of lava, and the other was holding my underwater camera.  As I tried to take pictures of the fish my body was horizontal, just like in the cartoons.  I knew if I let go I’d be swept away.

Much tamer pursuits involved lying by the pool, barbecuing insanely thick steaks, and browsing through stores.  I felt extremely moderate in my purchases as I only got two dresses, one T shirt, a pair of sandals, a pair of earrings and one pair of shorts.

Now it’s back to the old routine.  I have my creative writing class at UBC-O today, and am looking forward to being back.  Country Woman has notified me that they will be featuring my business in their December issue!  So even though the house resembles an abandoned lean-to, there’s always good news to counter the bad.