⛈️ A storm approaches. The thunder is getting louder and closer.

Adolescence covered a difficult and concerning subject, and did it so well. Well worth your time…

The Bunker: Saturday 12th April, 2025: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

It has been a while, but The Bunker has undergone some minor updates. Or maybe it is some ”edits” to what was already there? Certainly not a full blown new mural.

On Hedge Laying: James Rebanks, author of Pastoral Song : A Farmer’s Journey (do read it!), shared this photograph on BlueSky of a hedge being laid. I am guessing that it is on his farm in the Lake District in England? Rebanks’ photograph took me home, back to Britain, to a time and place that sits deeply in …

I’ve just added to new page to my website, Rainbows. Given that I post so many photos of rainbows on this site, I decided to collect them all together using Micro.blog’s Photo Collections feature. As of today there are 89 photographs of rainbows here. The page will update as I add …

😮‍💨 I’m heading to bed tonight exhausted, but it is a good exhaustion. I was working all afternoon in the garden, made some good progress clearing overcrowding plants (hopefully the light of a new day will show that I did), and now just need to lie down. Good night 🌙

Evening rainbow 🌈

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

I’ve joined a writing group. We start writing this coming Thursday, instructions coming soon, write each day, meet up the following Thursday, select your best two pieces to read.

I watched season 3 of The White Lotus because I had seen the previous two seasons, but…

☕ It’s one of those nights when I’m going to bed looking forward to tomorrow morning’s coffee.

Wispy clouds at dusk.

Geckos In The Morning: Sitting outside the other morning, drinking the first coffee of the day, I noticed leaves shaking out of sync with the early morning breeze that was blowing throw. I noticed it there, and there, and over there. Almost everywhere I looked there was a leaf or two shaking. On closer look I noticed …

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

😶‍🌫️ We are still sitting in VOG here. The emoji is a little exaggeration on what we are experiencing, though the air quality is terrible. That along with no wind means that it can get hot outside. Today and going through the weekend the Trade winds are meant to pick up. Fingers crossed that they …

Now that Spring is officially here, I have changed my avatar to a Summer Owl (complete with a Shaka). Thank you again to @andycarolan@social.lol for creating this (avatar number 4, and the third owl). It’s always a pleasure to work with him, and I definitely recommend his work. 🤙🏻

Evening light from a couple of nights ago.

I wrote the poem below while sitting outside by myself at dusk. It was just a stream of consciousness that came to me at the light diminished and the day wound down.

One of those coming across some words just when I need them moments. The only thing to do when the sense of dread and low self-esteem tells you that you are not up to this is to wear it down by getting a little work done every day. ~ Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird And that is what I am doing right …

🎵

We were blessed with three rainbows this morning (or maybe they were manifestations of the same one?), shown below in the order in which they appeared. 🌈

I watched Look Back last night. 🍿

Finished reading: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. I haven’t read it since I was a kid, and just felt like giving it another go. I was little surprised at the violence depicted in it, but enjoyed the story. I can see me slowly working my way through the whole series. 📚

I wrestled two duvets into their covers this morning. They were challenging fights, but I came out victorious in the end!

Listening to the Rain Passing Through: Through open windows this morning I could hear the rain approaching. … Have you ever been on the London Underground? If not and you have used another subway system, I wouldn’t be surprised if the experience on the Underground is very similar to that of any of the world’s subway systems? And …

🌧️ It is pouring. That came out of nowhere. I cannot see that far because of the heaviness of the rainfall.

This morning’s faint rainbow. 🌈

The weather had been hazy today, maybe VOG, though if so the wind kept it at bay. The day got increasingly cloudy and by sunset the sky turned a multitude of colours. Here are a few of the patterns that appeared.

I took my wife to the airport yesterday. Part of the drive home takes me along the coast, the north shore of Maui. Out of the corner of my eye I saw two whales breaching. I think that one was a mother with the calf behind her; they looked different in size from my perspective. Whatever the …

A (Praying) Mantis in the grass. I was pleased to see this one. It had been lying on some concrete 24 hours earlier looking none to happy. I had moved it to the earth beneath the grass. Assuming that it was the same one, it must be feeling better to have had some strength to climb up the grass.

They are coming thick and fast at the moment. This afternoon’s double rainbow. 🌈

While I was out of action this last week because of a migraine, a few rainbows appeared in the sky which I have not posted here. When my health and tolerance of light due to the migraine allowed me outside, I grabbed shots of some of those rainbows - one (maybe two?) a double. I’m sharing them here. …

There’s nothing like the right conditions being in place for me to experience a step back in time. Outside it is wet, overcast and windy…and there’s a nip to that wind. Inside classical music is playing, my wife is enjoying breakfast in bed…oh and I didn’t mention that it is Sunday. With all of this …

Finished reading: Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh. I read this book many years ago, and Thay’s teachings have been in my orbit for as long. With the current world climate, I felt that I needed a reminder, a good reminder of holding onto peace of mind when adverse conditions arise.📚

Outside it rains, steady showers, water trickling down the down pipes. Inside it is quiet. Please leave me here all day.

Another rainbow from this morning as the sun rose following last night’s showers. 🌈

This morning’s rainbow. This one has lingered for a good hour. 🌈

🤫 It has suddenly become very quiet, and I am sitting in gratitude of that. As Skoobs said on his blog recently, …the chaos of this world, to be able to sit or lay in a room with no chaos to speak of is a luxury that can’t be overestimated.

🍃 We appear to be experiencing weather of extremes right now. After a dry spell (grass starting to turn yellow), we have moved to very windy weather (with intermittent rain).

🤕 I’ve been offline for a couple of days now. A bad migraine has taken me down. I haven’t had one this bad for a long time. I’m waking up on day 4 still feeling a throbbing, albeit a lessening to what it was. A humbling reminder of how quickly things can change - good heath, bad health.

A Prayer for Peace H.H. Dalai Lama Released today, 14 March 2025 Today is the fifteenth day of the first month of the Tibetan Calendar, and the culmination of the annual Great Prayer Festival (Monlam Chenmo), a two-week-long festival that begins with the Tibetan New Year. In accordance with our …

I have just finished reading Colin Walker’s (@colinwalker) ebook It’s Only Words, based on his love of writing and his learnt experience of the challenge that he set himself, to post to his blog every day for a year. While not having undertaken such a challenge, I could hear within the …

These two photos capture either end of this morning’s rainbow, which although the ends were visible, there was no join in the middle. 🌈

This evening’s rainbow…just. I caught it just as it faded into the sky behind it. 🌈

The Bunker: Saturday 8th March, 2025: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

No sooner do I put up a post saying that there have been no updates to The Bunker recently, than there is…a new mural on The Bunker!

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

Droplets on a garden light.

The Bunker An Update: To those waiting for the next Bunker mural, I have not forgotten you. There simply have been no updates since the beginning of the year. When I started this series I had number of photographs of past Bunker murals and so I was able to get several photos out quickly. Now we are down to the regular …

Offa's Dyke Path: Offa’s Dyke Path is a walking trail, part of the United Kingdom’s network of National Trails. The path is a 177 mile (285 km) walking trail which follows the Dyke that was ordered to be built by King Offa in the 8th century. Offa’s Dyke runs the length of the border between England …

🌧️ We have woken up to wind and rain this morning. I am singing! 🎶

There was a sprinkling of rain last night and this morning grey clouds are lurking above. I welcome the rain when it falls here. If we get too much sun, a subjective measurement depending on my mood, I can yearn for an overcast day or days with rain falling. This might sound ungrateful to those …

🍿

Last night we sat around a fire saying goodbye to old friends, welcoming a visitor to the island and catching up with news from close family and friends. Above us an inky black sky dotted with stars and a sliver of a setting New Moon.

The VOG has now gone, but all that volcanic dust in the air sure did produce some beautiful sunsets. This one looking over the West Maui Mountains a couple of evenings ago.

Grass Therapy

🤞 The wind is just beginning to pick up. I hope that this means that the VOG will be gone soon. Being outside is not pleasant. The VOG is just hanging in the air. It has been like this for two days now. Sometimes the wind dies down to nothing at night, but I hope that this increased breeze is the …

Those Moments: The author reflects on cherished memories of sharing Fred Basset cartoons with their late father, highlighting the bittersweet nature of reminiscence after his passing.

😶‍🌫️ The VOG is intense this morning. No wind is not helping. Kīlauea has been busy.

🍿

Mural on one side of the Queen Ka’ahumanu Center.

Another rainbow appeared later this morning. Perhaps it is rainbow season? 🌈

This morning’s rainbow 🌈. A double rainbow. They actually arched right across the sky in a perfect arc, but it was raining at the time and I would have got soaked trying to capture that.

I took a while to see this through, but it was worth it.

Yesterday afternoon’s rainbow 🌈

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

We have classical music playing on this Sunday morning, and it is bringing back memories of my childhood. Of my mother having breakfast in bed and reading a Sunday newspaper, all brought to her by my dad. My dad deeply immersed in one of the difficult Sunday crosswords, or on his second crossword of …

We’ve just finished watching this series on Apple TV+.

This morning’s, faint, rainbow out over the ocean 🌈

Following Amazon’s announcement that it will no longer be possible to download and backup Kindle books from February 26th, I have now been through my list of Kindle books, downloaded those not yet downloaded and saved them in Calibre.

I have also brought my Kobo Libra H2O out of retirement. I’ll be …

I drove home yesterday evening coming down the Haleakala Highway. It affords one a view of the West Maui mountains in front, the south shore to the left and the north shore to the right. On a clear day the island of Molokai is also visible to the north west.

My forth time watching this Studio Ghibli movie, and I still love it. 🍿

When Shadow Throws Me a Curve Ball: I haven’t written much on my blog for a few weeks now. There were a couple of posts at the end of January related to a big storm that was passing through the islands, otherwise for the most part I have been silent for almost three weeks. Up until that point I was posting most days. It …

24 Hours of a Storm Passing Through: Well last night was quite the storm. This storm was passing through the Hawaii Island chain. It had already battered Ni’ihau, Kauai and Oahu and was now approaching the county of Maui made up of the islands of Maui, Lana’i, Moloka’i and Kahao’olawe. Being a Kona storm, it came in from the south. …

⛵ I have not seen rain like this here for a long time. I find it fascinating and scary at the same time. I hope that everyone is safe out there. The grading of the land appears to be redirecting the water around our house with small rivers appearing. If not, I think that we might sail away.

⛵ I have not seen rain like this here for a long time. I find it fascinating and scary at the same time. I hope that everyone is safe out there. The grading of the land appears to be redirecting the water around our house with small rivers appearing. If not, I think that we might sail away.

⛈️ Well the winter storm that was heading for Hawaii has finally landed on Maui, and we are getting a drenching right now. The power went out here for a couple hours today. Fingers crossed it stays with us over night. Upcountry Maui has not been so lucky - trees down and power outages since early …

The Bunker: Wednesday 22nd, January 2025: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

On Wednesday of last week there was a new mural on the side of the bunker.

Finished reading: Catnip & Brimstone by Jessica Nickelsen 📚

This morning the skies are still grey. The land is starting to dry out after taking a real drenching last night. The cool air along with the dampness in it produced a few wispy clouds of mist in the valley this morning. It looked quite beautiful.

First I watched the skies darken over the ocean. Then the hazy sign of rain out at sea, the water changing a dark grey in reflection of what was happening above. As the rain got closer to land, the boundary between cloud, rain and ocean diminished until it completely disappeared into a grey wall. By …

Yesterday I just watched the world go by. It was an interesting day.

Some Short Thoughts On Writing: 

I love writing. It is my therapy, my confidante, my playground of creativity, my place of exploration. It is a quiet place where I can go and get lost, forget the passage of time and come out refreshed.

The Bunker Friday 17th January, 2025: 

Sorry no new murals on the Bunker today, but I thought to share a couple of other perspectives as to where the Bunker sits on the cliffs.

🐳 I went out for a walk at the cliffs again this lunchtime, checked on The Bunker...no new murals..., but the whales were jumping. I saw three water spouts, and then a big splash as one breached. This was followed by a fluke slapping in the water. Elsewhere I caught sight of a couple more breaches. …

🐳 I went out for a walk at the cliffs again this lunchtime, checked on The Bunker...no new murals..., but the whales were jumping. I saw three water spouts, and then a big splash as one breached. This was followed by a fluke slapping in the water. Elsewhere I caught sight of a couple more breaches. …

The Story Behind the Photograph: Lovina Beach, Bali: 

In August 1988 I was nearing the end of what would be a 17 month journey. At this point I had spent a couple of weeks in the United States en route to New Zealand. In New Zealand a two week stay morphed into three months. From New Zealand I traveled to Australia where I spent a year. Now I was on …

As the saying goes, I do believe that at times, A change is as good as a rest. Around lunchtime today I felt that I needed to clear my head, take a short break. So instead of laying down or just sitting quietly, I took a drive to the cliffs for a walk, and to look out at and take in the ocean - in …

The Bunker: Wednesday 15th January, 2025: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

I stopped by the Bunker at lunchtime to see if there were any changes. This time just a small update to one of the side panels.

🤔 I feel as though I have missed a day somewhere. I could have sworn that today was Tuesday, but Wednesday it is. I guess that the week is moving faster than I thought?!

🤔 I feel as though I have missed a day somewhere. I could have sworn that today was Tuesday, but Wednesday it is. I guess that the week is moving faster than I thought?!

Sitting in silence as the world wakes up. I wish that I could stay here.

After spending the morning running through websites trying to understand and make sure that I was clear about a legal process, I was very grateful to stumble across someone who has been down the road that I was attempting to figure out, and had laid it all out step by step. Thank you to him. 🙏🏻

I’m catching up with some images from the weekend. Sunday was a good day for rainbows. Here are a few 🌈

The Bunker: Saturday 11th January, 2025: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

Some artists, or an artist was busy last night. This new mural was on the Bunker as I drove by today. I’ve included a few photographs to show what was created.

This evening’s rainbow 🌈

After a thunderstorm to end all thunderstorms last night, the rumbles shaking the house and the lightening illuminating the landscape, we woke up to snow on the summit of Haleakala (please excuse my iPhone Mini 13 struggling with the distance of the shot). It is sounding right now as though the …

I am not long home from my weekly sit with my men’s group. I’ve said it before on this blog, but I am grateful for these men.

A Car Ablaze: 

A couple of nights ago we had not long turned out the lights and were dozing off when both my wife and I heard a thump sound outside. We had no idea what it was or where exactly it came from. My first thought was someone snooping around the house, something that thankfully has never happened and so …

I went to visit The Bunker this morning to see if there was any new art. Sadly not. Instead though, the view towards the West Maui Mountains took my breath away. The air was so clear and with that the Mountains were in sharp relief, etched against the deep blue colour of the sky. In addition to the …

I thought that the Trade Winds had returned, but with aircraft still landing over the ocean, it means that we are still experiencing Kona winds, southwest winds. The usual landing pattern in Trade Winds is to approach over the island, north to south. This video taken a couple of days ago shows a …

The windless days and nights that cast a spell over the island have now left us and the Trade winds have returned, keeping our days cooler…thankfully. However, we took advantage of the lack of wind and sat around our fire pit a couple of nights ago.

For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society, while this video doesn’t show it clearly, the ocean was a dark blue today and glassy calm. And the these big waves broke out of that stillness. Beautiful.

The Story Behind the Photograph: Gazing at the Mountains: 

I can remember being there when this photograph was taken, though I don’t know exactly where there was or who took the photo? I wasn’t even aware of it being taken. I was given a copy much later by a friend who I was traveling with and who took the picture.

The Bunker: Thursday 2nd January, 2025: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

There is an entrance around the back of the Bunker that lets one peer inside. It is possible to go inside, but that involves climbing over a railing, and for now I decided to make do with looking in.

A VOGgy (Volcanic fog) sunset. The magic in the air from earlier this morning has stayed with us. Having said that, being upcountry I would imagine it being a lot thicker and more uncomfortable to be in.

🧙‍♂️ There’s a magic in the air this morning. There is not a breath of wind. The air is cool, with the rising sun making little difference as it sits behind whispy, mist like clouds. All is still. A distant hum of a lawn mower accompanies the bird song. Nothing else. Just the magic.

🧙‍♂️ There’s a magic in the air this morning. There is not a breath of wind. The air is cool, with the rising sun making little difference as it sits behind whispy, mist like clouds. All is still. A distant hum of a lawn mower accompanies the bird song. Nothing else. Just the magic.

A monk seal sleeping at Ho’okipa this evening, while surfers slip pass her/him. We’d gone there to have a picnic at sunset. It was a beautiful evening with not a breath of wind. There was a volunteer on hand to make sure that people kept their distance from the seal. She was there until …

For the Hello Kitty fans out there.

The Bunker: Sunday 26th June, 2022: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

Last night I was happy to find this photograph of the Bunker from a few years back. Yet another capture of this small building to fill in its changing faces.

Word for the Year: While I have known others to do so and have read about others’ processes for finding theirs, I have never had a word that can inform me and be a beacon as I move through a year. The idea of having a word has sparked a curiosity in me, but finding that word has never come naturally to me, and I have …

I think simply because I do not see many whales breaching on the north shore, I was surprised but happy to see just that while sitting on a north shore beach early yesterday afternoon. Just looking up at the right moment, we saw the whale. A couple next to us, deep in conversation, missed it. A …

The Bunker: Thursday 2nd January, 2025: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

The first Bunker mural for 2025 with two views of The Bunker.

This morning’s rainbow. The first of the New Year 🌈

Finished reading: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. I’m still sitting with this one. It packed a strong emotional punch.📚

The last rainbow of the year🌈 … … as the sun sets on 2024.

The Bunker: First Year/Month in Review: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

With 2024 drawing to a close, only 7 more hours left here in Hawaii, I thought that I would review the first year, first month actually of The Bunker project. Only a couple of new murals have been added since I started this project at the beginning of December, so most …

A couple of rainbows from this morning 🌈

An Evening at Polipoli: 

Yesterday evening a group of us went up to Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area for sunset and a picnic. The views were spectacular, looking across the Valley Isle to the West Maui Mountains, with Lana’i in the distance.

🤔 It’s Monday morning but feels like Sunday to me. I think because it is that week. The stretch from Christmas to New Year always feels like the longest week of the year to me, and I get completely disoriented. I can’t decide whether I just want it to be over, or to simply wallow in the holiday feel …

🤔 It’s Monday morning but feels like Sunday to me. I think because it is that week. The stretch from Christmas to New Year always feels like the longest week of the year to me, and I get completely disoriented. I can’t decide whether I just want it to be over, or to simply wallow in the holiday feel …

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

Finished reading: This is Amiko, Do You Copy? by Natsuko Imamura. This was a short read, but both difficult to read the story, and sad. 📚

The Bunker: Friday 20th December, 2024: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

This photograph is of the ocean facing side of the bunker. If anything happens here related to art, it is usually random graffiti. However, I took this photo because of the cow and her calf sitting in the shade of the building.

Reflections on Christmas: 

I watched A Charlie Brown Christmas on Christmas Eve afternoon, as I do each year. I say ”each year,” though it is a fairly new tradition for me, perhaps stretching back to a few years before the COVID outbreak. I find that this short animation touches the Christmas spirit on so many levels. …

The Bunker: Sunday 22nd December, 2024: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

When I went back to the cliffs to see the waves the day after the last posting, someone had defaced or graffitied over the image from the day before. So I thought to include that update here, as well as a photo giving another perspective of the location of the bunker. …

I still can’t get use to this being a Christmas scene. It was a lovely couple of hours, watching the surfers, chatting with friends, dozing. And at times it feels… I’m not sure what the word is, wrong doesn’t convey the right meaning? Despite spending a good many years, …

I’m sitting at home on Christmas night, just the lights of the Christmas tree on, listening to A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge.

The Bunker: Saturday 21st December, 2024: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

Another double billing of the bunker. Aside from the front facing, main painting, some graffiti had also been added to the side, so I decided to share that as well.

☔ It’s raining outside. I didn’t see that coming. We have had such a long dry spell. Still it is welcome and I’m grateful for it.

☔ It’s raining outside. I didn’t see that coming. We have had such a long dry spell. Still it is welcome and I’m grateful for it.

I’m listening to A Child’s Christmas in Wales by and read by Dylan Thomas

OK. One more (maybe 😉) video of the big swell that has been going through the Hawaii islands. This one from yesterday afternoon.

One of my favourite Christmas songs is ”I Believe in Father Christmas” by the late Greg Lake. Here is a version of the song sung by Lake and accompanied by among others, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. It is filmed at St. Bride’s Church, Fleet Street, in the City of London.

The Bunker: Monday 18th November, 2024: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

I posted a photo of this smiley face on the bunker before I started The Bunker series, and so I decided to post two more angles of the building on that day.

Waves, Whales and Celebrations: 

I was going to post this yesterday evening, but after starting to write on our return I was just too tired to finish it. So I’m completing it on the day after. I’ll leave the post in the tense fitting of my initial draft.

A video from yesterday morning, stopping off again to see how the big swell was developing.

While Cleaning the house I’m listening to the late George Winston’s December

The Bunker: Wednesday 7th October, 2015: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

In going back through my photographs I found this distant view of the bunker. Although the artwork is not clear, it can be seen if you zoom in. I also like how this photo gives another perspective on where the bunker sits.

One last photo today of the waves. This is looking west towards the West Maui mountains.

A lunchtime visit to the waves today. If I had brought a picnic, I could have sat there for an hour watching these come in.

A couple of friends grab a grandstand view of the waves coming in at lunchtime today.

The Bunker: Sunday 3rd December, 2023: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

The swell coming into the north shore of Maui continues to grow. This from this afternoon. As yet it has not peaked. I stand in awe of seeing these waves in person, and am grateful that I have the opportunity to do so. The raw power of nature is quite something to behold.

The Bunker Tuesday 22nd June, 2021: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

There is only a partial view of the bunker here, but I didn’t want to lose an opportunity to capture any record of The Bunker that I had.

Another of those mornings when although we live a mile away from the ocean, I can hear the waves crashing against the cliffs. 🌊

The big swell is starting to arrive this evening. My wife and I headed down to Ho’okipa to catch the first waves coming in. Apparently it will get bigger as we go into the weekend. The road and shore line was covered in a mist of water thrown up by the surf.

I was out walking and listening to an episode of the Tricycle Talks podcast. The podcast is an offshoot of the Buddhist magazine Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. In the middle of the podcast there was an advertisement for other offerings that Tricycle currently has, during which it was mentioned that …

Waves at Ho’okipa this evening. The calm before the storm, before the arrival of the big swell coming in in a couple of days. Something for the For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society to look forward to.

Dusk at Ho’okipa this evening. The island of Moloka’i is visible in the distance.

I love this quote, the imagery, from author Steve Edwards from over on Bluesky. I’ve had enough of villain origin stories. Show me how that old man next door who sits in his lawn chair under a shade tree all summer–with a bowl of water for the neighborhood dogs–achieved …

The Bunker: Tuesday 24th January, 2017: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

🤕 After four days, the migraine that I have been nursing finally appears to be dissipating. I’ve been getting them for almost fifty years. In that time their intensity and frequency has varied. What has remained constant is that they come out of nowhere, start with with an aura around my eye until I …

🤕 After four days, the migraine that I have been nursing finally appears to be dissipating. I’ve been getting them for almost fifty years. In that time their intensity and frequency has varied. What has remained constant is that they come out of nowhere, start with with an aura around my eye until I …

Stories from the Road: Hitchhiking Memories: After mentioning some of my hitchhiking experiences in earlier posts, I came across this article by Hilary Bradt in The Guardian. In it she talks about her own hitchhiking experiences. At the age of eighty two she has been hitchhiking every decade of her adult life. While the mind can very easily go …

The Bunker: Monday 13th June, 2016: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

The Bunker: Thursday 28th April, 2016: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

I’m currently listening to A Charlie Brown Christmas (Expanded Edition) by Vince Guaraldi Trio. I love this soundtrack and the associated Peanuts TV special. I’ll be watching it again this year. 🎄

My wife: “I went into the bedroom to get my phone, now I can’t remember what I wanted it for.” Me: “Count it as one less thing to do.”

I’m sitting by myself at home listening to a Windham Hill Christmas Collection.

Letting Go of What I Can’t Get To: I’m talking here of my online life. Over the years I have tried various Read Later services, in the process building up a veritable library of articles that I don’t have time to read right now and so will put aside, neatly categorized, ready to be read later. In time that list gets too long despite …

The Bunker: Friday 1st April, 2016: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

The Bunker: Sunday 27th December, 2015: 

All credit to the artist(s) 🎨

The Bunker: On the north shore of the Hawaii island of Maui, in the middle of a field that sits on the edge of cliffs dropping down into the waters of the Pacific Ocean, sits a small rectangular brick building that I call The Bunker. I have no idea of its original usage. Whatever that was, it now sits empty and …

I’m sitting outside working. First I hear the rain approaching from a distance, falling on nearby trees, rattling them like tracing paper, Getting closer… Passing overhead… Moved on now… Leaving just the sound of the water trickling down the downpipes. The air …

The Cow and The Sheep: Our next door neighbours have a field of probably two acres that is very overgrown. As an example of how overgrown it is, the field is also home to a cow and two sheep. There are times when it is not possible to see them. In fact unless they are walking by the hedge bordering our house, we don’t see …

🎶 Christmas Time is Here 🎶

🫰 Things change. After a few days of beautiful, still weather, Maui winter weather at its best, we now have wind and horizontal rain.

🫰 Things change. After a few days of beautiful, still weather, Maui winter weather at its best, we now have wind and horizontal rain.

App Defaults 2024: 

Last year around this time, following Hemispheric Views’s podcast, Dual of the Defaults, many people shared their own default apps. Rob Knight curated them.

I was not one of those people, but with this year approaching its end and with some revisiting the status of their defaults from last year, I …

I said to myself that it would not happen again, that I am happy withwhere I have laid my hat, but here I am doing my periodic tryout of Mastodon apps. I’m checking out web based clients as well. The Mastodon iOS app has improved a lot since I last used it.

Finished reading: More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa 📚

The Phantom Ship: We have been going through a very dry spell on Maui. Being winter, the weather has been lovely to experience. Cool mornings, warm days, clear skies, no wind. There’s a little nip to a breeze and a reminder of the season when I step into the shade. Last night it broke. I woke up in the early hours …

This morning’s partial rainbow 🌈

All I want for Christmas is the use of a remote cabin, half way up a mountain. Give me the key, show me the way, and I’ll see you in the New Year.

Dying peony flowers.

Early morning sounds - birds singing, a machine tool running…silence. The sun rises on a new day.

Many years ago I remember reading an interview with a Western Buddhist monk. The monk was asked what he had got out of his years of meditation practice. I like the monk’s answer, I know that I get angry. Today I know that I was angry.

This evening was beautiful, crystal clear with hardly a breath of wind. A couple of friends dropped by to say “hello.” At sunset the conversation turned to what to do for dinner? So while I lit a fire, everyone else got busy in the kitchen and concocted a meal from leftovers. Our dishes …

Setting the scene, from the garden.

A big “Thank you” to Andy Carolan for creating my seasonal owl avatar to take me through the holiday period…and maybe through the winter? This is my third owl avatar. Two by Andy and one by heyheymomo. Why owls? I lived in South Wales for just shy of two decades. While there I could hear owls …

Well that figures, the Inbox of my Drafts app is currently sitting at 666 😈 and the app is playing difficult to get, alongside my phone stalking and jumping around. Hopefully this addition to the Inbox will resolve that issue…that or simply turning my phone off and back on! 🤨

🔪 Sharpening knives ready for tomorrow…and it was an overdue job anyway.

🔪 Sharpening knives ready for tomorrow…and it was an overdue job anyway.

Hanging a Picture: Hanging pictures is not my forte. They usually end up too low, too high or lopsided. That along with the copious, probably visible marks on the wall as I try and measure where to place the picture and too many holes as I make up for afore mentioned mistakes, usually sees my wife going in search of …

I keep playing Between Two Points from David Gilmour’s new album Luck & Strange. While it ends with a signature guitar solo from Gilmour, it is the beat of the song alongside the hauntingly beautiful voice of his daughter Romany Gilmore who sings, that draws me back. Between Two Points was …

Lunch break at Ho’okipa Beach Park.

A wave like cloud at sunset this evening.

Aloha from Maui.

Back to Kagi Search: Well things change. Back in July I shared how after six months using Kagi search, I didn’t feel that the benefits over my previous search engine of choice, DuckDuckGo, were sufficient to justify carrying on paying for Kagi. In the last couple of weeks I have reversed that decision and am now back …

🥶 Brrrhhh! Upcountry Maui is windy and cold right now, though those in more northerly latitudes might question my use of the emoji I chose here?!

🥶 Brrrhhh! Upcountry Maui is windy and cold right now, though those in more northerly latitudes might question my use of the emoji I chose here?!

Well who would have guessed? I thought that I was a leak, but it appears that my Veggie ID is… Broccoli. What is yours?

I watched a film unknown to me while flying from London to LA last week. Daddio, staring Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn, with no other cast apart from extras in the background. 95% of the movie takes place in a taxi, maybe more? Johnson and Penn just talk. They had me. 🍿

These images are a week old. Over the course of a day these rainbows greeted me on the day after my return to Maui. Hawaii is known for its rainbows. Last Wednesday the skies over our corner of the island excelled themselves. 🌈

We watched My Neighbor Totoro a couple of nights ago with one of our grandsons. It was the third or fourth time that I have seen the film. I love this Ghibli movie. I find it beautiful to watch. There are pauses throughout the film, sometimes with some sounds playing, sometimes just silence. The …

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

☕ Somethings up, I don’t know what, but I’ve just made my third early morning coffee.

☕ Somethings up, I don’t know what, but I’ve just made my third early morning coffee.

In Gratitude of an AirTag: “I have never lost a bag,” I proudly and gratefully told my wife as we shuttled from one terminal to another while in transit at Heathrow Airport. We were on a bus, zigzagging around buildings and aircraft, occasionally disappearing underground. Nearing our destination we passed some open doors …

😒 “Oh the joys of jet lag,” he says typing away in the early hours of the morning while wide awake.

😒 “Oh the joys of jet lag,” he says typing away in the early hours of the morning while wide awake.

Finished reading: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa 📚

Heathrow airport on a gloomy afternoon…and a lot of aliens hovering above.

Changing tires.

I love how little kids, totally oblivious to the chaos around them at a busy airport, will play, stop to pull up socks and take their time (as it is so very important to do properly). Meanwhile stressed adults run sweating and read faced, moving from line to line, looking for gates, where next?

Adeus Portugal. Até à próxima. 🇵🇹

Playing with the camera.

Current weather in Lisbon. MAAT

Sometimes I find that for no reason at all, or at least no reason that I can put my finger on, a song gives me a strong sense of empowerment. This morning I was listening to a random playlist and the song Technicolor Beat by Oh Wonder came on. I was familiar with this song as I have played this …

We started watching the second series of The Diplomat on Netflix last night. We managed two episodes before sleep curtailed any further watching. If I had been wider awake, I could have watched more. I’m enjoying it because of great acting and the storyline pulling me in. Where will it go? I’ve just …

We went looking for Pink Flamingos this morning. If I understood this page correctly from the Alcácer do Sal municipal website, Pink Flamingos have recently returned to the area. If this is so, we were either unable to see them - the rice fields stretch a long way from the road - or they had moved …

We are back in Alcácer do Sal after two nights in the Serra da Estrela, the highest mountain range in Portugal. I love the mountains and during a brief hike, looking out over these hills, I was reminded of The Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons in South Wales. I use to go hiking in those hills and …

I could sit and watch this movie all day.

Waking up to this, this morning, I don’t have much enthusiasm for getting out of bed and driving home today.

I am thinking that it has been almost a decade since I have been amongst trees in autumn, and I am so appreciating it. The colours, the damp smell, the cool air. It all takes me back to what I grew up with and spent so many years around.

Quiet, silence and stillness this morning. Visiting the Serra da Estrela here in Portugal for a couple of nights. Up in the mountains and appreciating the fresh air here. We are sitting at an elevation of just below 2,000m (6,562ft). Sun out, cool, cloud slowly drifting in.

Phew! Just got home. A late night drive back to Alcácer from Lisbon, not my favourite thing to do…though the bed at the end of the drive is very welcome. A day of meeting up with friends. Dinner with a couple who we know from our time living in the US Pacific Northwest who are in Europe, …

A calm River Sado hosts a flock of young seagulls on a Sunday morning.

🛌 My bed had an iron grip on me this morning. It was quite a fight to get out. I gave into the struggle a couple of times, but eventually won through. Coffee is now being made.

🛌 My bed had an iron grip on me this morning. It was quite a fight to get out. I gave into the struggle a couple of times, but eventually won through. Coffee is now being made.

For some reason I redownloaded Ulysses just now. I have not used it for a long time. I have been getting along just fine with my two workhorses - Drafts and iA Writer. Tot has also been a part of the mix. But not Ulysses. Not for a long time…until now. I am writing this with Ulysses. Maybe it is …

I’ve now heard back from Hawaii Elections. Your ballot has been accepted This message is from your County Elections Division. Your 2024 General Election ballot has been received, validated, and accepted for counting. Mahalo for voting! 🇺🇸🗳️

🏁 A first this morning. I drove from Alcácer do Sal to where we usually park in Lisbon without using GPS (Apple Maps). I’ll need it to get out this evening, but I’ll chalk that up as a win for familiarity and knowing my way round.

🏁 A first this morning. I drove from Alcácer do Sal to where we usually park in Lisbon without using GPS (Apple Maps). I’ll need it to get out this evening, but I’ll chalk that up as a win for familiarity and knowing my way round.

A reading nook.

Capela de Arraiolos.

The weather was so grey this evening at sunset, that it almost looked as though it had been snowing over Alcácer. While cooler than yesterday, snow though was very definitely not in the air.

My wife and I will be out of State on Election Day. Today we submitted our votes electronically. This is the first time that I have voted in a US Presidential Election since becoming a US citizen. What a first election this is. 🇺🇸🗳️

Finished reading: Instructions for Traveling West by Joy Sullivan 📚 The bus aisle is a long series of choices. My sisters and I would arrive home, caked with dust. As if God were baking with red four and sneezed. Even I know a sunset doesn’t save us but still I swerve to the side of 405 just to see …

Pedro Nunes looking out over his Square in his birth place of Alcácer do Sal.

(Some of) the colours of Alcácer’s bridge by night.

Night time is quiet here in Alcácer do Sal. I sit here now and the only sound that disturbs the quiet is the podcast that my wife is listening to downstairs and the crickets outside. Otherwise there is no sound…oh, the roof cracks and creaks occasionally as it cools down from a day of sun …

The first rays of sunlight striking this morning.

📰 I came across a British Sunday newspaper while out today, the FT Weekend for the curious. I love a Sunday newspaper but rarely see one these days (living in Hawaii, the weekend is almost over for most of the world by the time that we wake up). Being here in Portugal increases my chances of finding …

📰 I came across a British Sunday newspaper while out today, the FT Weekend for the curious. I love a Sunday newspaper but rarely see one these days (living in Hawaii, the weekend is almost over for most of the world by the time that we wake up). Being here in Portugal increases my chances of finding …

The clean up, stage two. I noticed as the washing machines started turning, that another level of stress felt released from my body. Finally being able to clean the mop up towels.

Process Zero and Music: Process Zero is a feature of the iPhone camera app Halide. My understanding of Process Zero is that it removes the processing that Apple apply to the photos that iPhones take. The result of Process Zero has been described as more film like, unprocessed. This morning I sat in our living room drinking …

Early dawn light this morning.

A Day of Extremes: If there is a movie buff in the family, it is my wife. I enjoy watching a good film, but my wife, loves movies and the movie industry. So when she heard that the Tribeca Film Festival would be holding a two day event in Lisbon while we were in Portugal, it became an immediate fixture on our …

🥱 Almost without fail, I wake up later in Portugal, sleep longer.

🥱 Almost without fail, I wake up later in Portugal, sleep longer.

I love stepping from the noise and hustle of the street, into the silence and calm of a bookshop. This evening it was Livraria da Travessa.

Where we spent a good part of today, here in Lisbon.

As my wife just said to me as she frantically mopped up a potential stain after spilling a drink on the couch, “I’m pleased that I did it and not you.” Me too! 😉

🚿 Well I didn’t ask for that, but I got a proper drenching getting out of the car. It was like being in a car wash. Water from all sides and a river rushing down the road to clean my shoes!

🚿 Well I didn’t ask for that, but I got a proper drenching getting out of the car. It was like being in a car wash. Water from all sides and a river rushing down the road to clean my shoes!

🌧️ There has been a Severe Weather Warning hovering over us since this morning, and now it appears to have arrived. With that said, the severity of that warning is changing rapidly. The forecast thunderstorms have currently disappeared and it now looks as though we’ll have moderate rainfall into the …

🌧️ There has been a Severe Weather Warning hovering over us since this morning, and now it appears to have arrived. With that said, the severity of that warning is changing rapidly. The forecast thunderstorms have currently disappeared and it now looks as though we’ll have moderate rainfall into the …

Caught in conversation.

Peppers for sale in Mercardo do Livramento, Setúbal.

Always worth a visit, though warmer days than today are better recommended. This was taken over the weekend.

👋 Olá Lisboa. Olá Príncipe Real. In Lisbon for the day with Maui friends. Saying goodbye to them tonight as they head home.

👋 Olá Lisboa. Olá Príncipe Real. In Lisbon for the day with Maui friends. Saying goodbye to them tonight as they head home.

View over the River Sado, Alcácer do Sal on a windy evening.

Well we arrived in Alcácer do Sal late at night yesterday, and it turned out to be the last day of a weekend festival. Alcácer does festivals well. Cars crawled to the venue, also on the route to our house. The festival is the Feira Nova De Outubro 2024. I am not clear what it was celebrating, but …

Olá Portugal 🇵🇹

Watching a fly climbing up the inside of a window of the airplane that I am on, oblivious of the fact (I assume!), that it is about to depart England.

A quiet Sunday morning in an overcast Britain. I’m moving on today and I’m sad about that.

I look at countries vying for power in the world, vying to be the most powerful…and ask myself, “Why?” I am from a country that use to have the largest empire the world has ever known, England, and where is that now? I am about to visit a country that had its own small empire, …

What a difference a few thousand feet make. These photos were taken six days ago as we approached London Heathrow. The first was taken up above the clouds as the first light of dawn made an appearance. As the plane descended into Heathrow we dropped into the cloud beneath us, and we stayed in it. …

Sunrise over Bristol a couple of days ago.

I spotted this character just down the road from my mother’s apartment.

🐦 There’s barely any light in the sky, but I can hear the first birds of the morning singing the early notes of the dawn chorus.

🐦 There’s barely any light in the sky, but I can hear the first birds of the morning singing the early notes of the dawn chorus.

😵‍💫 Well jet lag did its bit last night. I’m up before six having a cup oof coffee having managed probably less than two hours sleep. At least I can enjoy the quiet early hours…it’s beautifully quiet.

😵‍💫 Well jet lag did its bit last night. I’m up before six having a cup oof coffee having managed probably less than two hours sleep. At least I can enjoy the quiet early hours…it’s beautifully quiet.

🧟 Jet lag sucks. Last night, pill aided, I slept for 12 hours, after a day of feeling delirious as I tried to stay awake following my early morning arrival. Today (or yesterday, Tuesday, as I write this) fresh air, a massage and a good meal helped me relax and feel more back in my body. I went to …

🧟 Jet lag sucks. Last night, pill aided, I slept for 12 hours, after a day of feeling delirious as I tried to stay awake following my early morning arrival. Today (or yesterday, Tuesday, as I write this) fresh air, a massage and a good meal helped me relax and feel more back in my body. I went to …

I’ve managed to stick with learning Portuguese for 30 days. I’m surprised with myself and happy. I’m unclear as yet what that means for making myself understood or what I understand? Of course 30 days is little time on which to build such expectations, but I do congratulate myself …

Finished reading: The Lady With The Dog by Anton Chekhov 📚

I feel as though I am pretty tolerant of different toilet facilities that one might encounter in daily life. This is especially so for me while traveling. I’ve used some very basic, very impersonal, very smelly toilet facilities. I’m not saying that I enjoy them or go looking for them, …

🥱 Waking up at LAX, or rather an airport hotel nearby. Heading to the UK to help see my mother and hopefully help with some water leaks in her apartment.

🥱 Waking up at LAX, or rather an airport hotel nearby. Heading to the UK to help see my mother and hopefully help with some water leaks in her apartment.

I made mention that in an earlier post of the Pacific Golden Plover, or kōlea, which visits Hawaii for the winter. This morning I tried to capture some photos of a Plover feeding in our front garden. They are fairly tame, and there is still a limit as to how close that I can get to them. There is …

A crescent, waning moon high in the sky at dawn this morning as I stepped outside.

I’m sitting outside. Everyone is out. The day is ending, this little corner of the world is quietening down. The wind is waning to a gentle breeze. The sun has set and the light is starting to fade. Scattered clouds fill the sky to the horizon, all slowly drifting westwards. The ocean from here …

OK, time to age myself. I was just looking at PCalc on my iPhone. I have the display set to that used by old LED calculator displays. I remember when such calculators first came out, the cool thing was to see what words you could spell out with the display. For example, 710.77345 would spell …

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

Hello Kitty - I felt as though I was being followed today.

🌃 6:10pm and I am in my pyjamas. Well I am home, eaten, showered, I'm not going out anywhere for the rest of the evening....so I figured that I might as well get ready for bed (though I'm not going there quite yet).

🌃 6:10pm and I am in my pyjamas. Well I am home, eaten, showered, I'm not going out anywhere for the rest of the evening....so I figured that I might as well get ready for bed (though I'm not going there quite yet).

I’ll celebrate this.

Finished reading: Soul Writing by Claire de Boer 📚

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

A self seeding fern growing out of fence post.

There is still a week and a half to go before September ends, and this is the site that greeted me when I walk into Lowe’s this afternoon. One of those big figures was singing Christmas songs. Meanwhile outside the sun beat down with late summer heat. Words escape me.

Crazy Wisdom: I have found copies of old blog posts on my computer from an earlier incarnation of my website. This one was from I know not when, but will guess around 2010. I have edited the post lightly to provide link references and clarification where appropriate. While in New York last week for Thanksgiving …

My 61st birthday today. I have just learnt that it is my cousin’s daughter’s 21st birthday today. That 40 year gap makes me feel old! The opportunities of youth, the perspective and learnt lessons (though probably a few more to learn!) of later years.

Watching my grandson playing football (soccer) last Saturday morning. His team won 3 - 1. I was sitting to the left where there are a crowd of people on the touchline, but the sun was brutally hot and I had to take shelter under the shade of a tree. Those tent structures were all accounted for! …

Homemade egg pasta drying.

I’m late to the game here. We started watching Slow Horses on Monday evening, and are now 4 episodes in. I now see what I have been missing. The positive side? I have three and a half seasons to go. 🕵️‍♂️

A thread on Mastodon made me go looking to see if website for the old Camino browser. Indeed it is. Camino use to be my go to browser. A blog post announcing the end of its development was published on Thursday, May 30th, 2013. I remember Camino fondly. It was sad to see development end.

I was driving home yesterday and found myself in a long line of traffic. I live not far off the Hana Highway here in Maui. This road turns into the Road to Hana, a journey which for very good reason, for its beauty and culture, attracts a lot of visitors each year. Morning time can find the road …

Be careful if you are up a ladder. I was topping the hedge this morning. I don’t think that I was doing anything irresponsible, but I almost fell backwards twice. Be careful.

Well the updating has commenced. Apple TV and my iPhone are on their way, downloading their respective OSs as I type. I’ll do my watch later. I am a little on the fence about my MacBook Air at the moment. It’s a 13-inch 2020 and has finally made it to the bottom of the list for Airs that …

😶‍🌫️ It’s a misty, wet and muggy night out there. I didn’t expect this end to the day. Good night everyone.

😶‍🌫️ It’s a misty, wet and muggy night out there. I didn’t expect this end to the day. Good night everyone.

This evening’s rainbow with a Plumeria tree in the foreground (and experimenting with Halide app’s Process Zero). 🌈

A STOP sign decorated in stickers.

We are fortunate enough to have A/C in our house…until we don’t. The split screen system decided to break down last week, and now the hot muggy weather from outside has made its way inside. Aside from keeping the inside cool and in my opinion more livable, the A/C also keeps the …

The 3,000th Post: Sometime in the last month I published my 3,000th post to this blog. When I hit publish on this post, it will be the 3,094th. That feels like a big number to me. Perhaps for some, they left that number in the dust a long time ago? But for me this feels like a lot. My blog started back in March of …

🌧️ Making coffee on a hot, muggy morning, and listening to the sound of rain as it dances off the concrete around the house.

🌧️ Making coffee on a hot, muggy morning, and listening to the sound of rain as it dances off the concrete around the house.

🏃‍♂️ It’s the Hana Relay today. A 52 mile race from Kahului Airport in Maui to Hana, along the twist and turns of the road to Hana. Teams of 6 compete with each team member running 3 legs of 2 to 3 miles each. Waking up this morning I could see a big group of vehicles parked up for one of the change …

🏃‍♂️ It’s the Hana Relay today. A 52 mile race from Kahului Airport in Maui to Hana, along the twist and turns of the road to Hana. Teams of 6 compete with each team member running 3 legs of 2 to 3 miles each. Waking up this morning I could see a big group of vehicles parked up for one of the change …

Changing where I sit an write really does help with my productivity, or with clearing my head and finding the words and ideas that I was looking for. Even choosing a different venue in the house. I look out on a different view, which seems to give me a new perspective even if I know the house well.

Well following my post last week about the new Reeder app, I have decided that it is not for me. For sure I will keep an eye on its development. I believe that through its production, developer Silvio Rizzi is exploring new ways that we can consume our online content, as is The Iconfactory with …

I visited the Rinzai Zen Mission near to Pā’ia this morning for their morning meditation and service. It was a beautiful way to start the day. Here is the closing prayer that we chanted. FOUR INFINITE VOWS All beings without limit I vow to carry over, Kleshas without cease I vow to cut off; …

🌬️ Yeh! It looks as though the Trade winds have returned. They are blowing through the open window this morning. After a handful of days of very hot, muggy weather, hopefully as today moves on through the conditions will be a little more manageable.

🌬️ Yeh! It looks as though the Trade winds have returned. They are blowing through the open window this morning. After a handful of days of very hot, muggy weather, hopefully as today moves on through the conditions will be a little more manageable.

Spotted while out walking just off the shore line, at the end of last week. Someone or some people had been cleaning up debris that had washed ashore. Seeing the work of these good people reminded me of a quote that went something like this, You can’t throw things away. You can only put them where …

Picked from under the tree and ready for a quick lunchtime snack.

Can weather conditions affect WiFi strength and connectivity? I ask as yesterday some of my devices, all the same brand, lost connection with our home WiFi. Up until then they had been working just fine for the best part of six months. Tried as I might to reconnect them, the devices were not having …

The glow today is not from exercise, though I guess that it might as well be. The sun has been unrelenting today - the forecast said tops of 80ºF, though I would say it felt much hotter - and there were no Trade winds to take the edge off. Blue sky, little cloud. I wanted to finish trimming a part …

Quoted in the opening pages of Writing as a Way of Healing: How Telling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives by Louise DeSalvo. While I in no way claim the writing chops of Ray Bradbury, I can hear in his words a truth for me. So while our art cannot, as we wish it old, save us from wars, privation, …

Well I have played with the new Reeder App for a couple of days now. I can’t decide what I think of it? And I wasn’t going to write about it…but I am 🙃 Some thoughts… The convenience of having everything in one place, I like that. The find the reading experience and …

🌧️ Rain stopped play. I was outside topping the hedge and this cloud out of nowhere and dropped a quick but heavy shower. That stopped almost as soon as it started, but not for long. The rain is falling and I can see no blue sky in sight. So I've come inside now and am just seeing what is happening …

🌧️ Rain stopped play. I was outside topping the hedge and this cloud out of nowhere and dropped a quick but heavy shower. That stopped almost as soon as it started, but not for long. The rain is falling and I can see no blue sky in sight. So I've come inside now and am just seeing what is happening …

I’m not sure that I totally understand this, but I like it 🦖

Sitting here listening to The Lark Ascending by Vaughn Williams and I am transported back to an English summer day. I’m sitting on a hill top looking out onto a view of rolling fields stretching into the distance. Blue sky and sun above, scattered clouds, a light breeze. The lazy hours of …

🔌 Last weekend we got through a hurricane, tropical storm and tropical depression with no power outages. From my experience here, that is not what I would have expected. Today has been a beautiful day and it ends with the power going out an hour before sunset. An hour and a half in and still there …

🔌 Last weekend we got through a hurricane, tropical storm and tropical depression with no power outages. From my experience here, that is not what I would have expected. Today has been a beautiful day and it ends with the power going out an hour before sunset. An hour and a half in and still there …

And then there is this evening’s rainbow, two if you look close. Two minutes later it started raining and the rainbow was gone 🌈

A rainbow from yesterday evening 🌈

My 2020 13-inch MacBook Air running MacOS 14.6.1 is definitely crashing more than any Mac I have owned for a good number of years - I would almost say ever, going back to the 1990s. Maybe it is because I am running an OS that is pushing the Air to its limits, but I think not. I never install a new …

I might live to regret posting this commitment 🫠, but today I started using Duolingo to learn Portuguese. I realize that Duolingo’s Portuguese is Brazilian and those in the know tell me that there are differences, but I would like to use Duolingo to get me going. As a backup, I have another app that …

A video for the Pacific Wave Appreciate Society. This one was taken on Maui’s north west coast. 🌊

😮‍💨 I’m exhausted. Today was a long day.

😮‍💨 I’m exhausted. Today was a long day.

A new thing to look forward to on Fridays - @iconfactory’s latest build of Tapestry.

I’m feeling that post exercise glow right now. I’m not long back from the next run in the Watch To 5K program that I’m following - or at least trying to; I came to an abrupt halt earlier this year when I attempted to make it to 5K. We have a Tropical Depression, essentially a Tropical Storm that is …

So I now have a Shortcut accessible from my iPhone Lock Screen. When I press on icon to launch it, I am presented with a window to type some text. When I am finished typing I press Done. I’m asked if the text has a category on my blog, and from there it is published. Like this one 🥳

From my phone’s Lock Screen to typing to posted blog - let’s see if this works.

“I hope that something good happens to you today.”

🥵 It’s humid today. Muggy, like walking through a think cloud of invisible warm water. I think a prelude to Tropical Depression Gilma arriving here this weekend. Gilma is waning which is a blessing. Last week it was a hurricane midway between the US west coast and Hawaii.

🥵 It’s humid today. Muggy, like walking through a think cloud of invisible warm water. I think a prelude to Tropical Depression Gilma arriving here this weekend. Gilma is waning which is a blessing. Last week it was a hurricane midway between the US west coast and Hawaii.

I’m slowly making my way back through the Watch To 5K program. I have just completed the second run of week 2. At the moment I feel that I am pacing myself better than last time. Not racing against myself, but rather trying to set a steady pace to work my way through the program. I’m enjoying the …

After a hot day and strong trade winds, yesterday evening the world seemed to settle down at dusk and take a breather. As the sun set and the sky darkened, we sat outside and chatted. I feel blessed to call this view home.

Watching and listening to an aircraft fly into the distance against a star filled, inky black sky tonight makes me think of scenes from the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I remember being taken to see the film by my grandmother when I was in my early teens. I remember the scenes where we …

A sticker encrusted sign at the local gas station.

🌞 Yeh! The sun is out. The first time for 48 hours. Hopefully it will remain so until the next storm arrives at the end of the week.

🌞 Yeh! The sun is out. The first time for 48 hours. Hopefully it will remain so until the next storm arrives at the end of the week.

🏄‍♂️ Meanwhile my stepdaughter’s partner and their son are off to find the good (big) surf thrown up by the storm. Island life.

🏄‍♂️ Meanwhile my stepdaughter’s partner and their son are off to find the good (big) surf thrown up by the storm. Island life.

Wet mornings.

🌧️ Now it’s coming in. Sideways and every other way that it can manage. Wind assisted.

🌧️ Now it’s coming in. Sideways and every other way that it can manage. Wind assisted.

Wind and rain this morning. Not as bad as the Big Island which is taking the brunt of the weather, but Tropical Storm, now Category 1 Hurricane, Hone has arrived in the islands.

🔌 Charging lights, phones, etc and making sure that candles are at the ready, just in case the power goes out tonight as Tropical Storm Hone arrives in the islands.

🔌 Charging lights, phones, etc and making sure that candles are at the ready, just in case the power goes out tonight as Tropical Storm Hone arrives in the islands.

As Tropical Storm Hone arrives in Hawai’i this weekend, it feels appropriate to read in Orion Magazine about All the Ways to Name Rain in Hawaiian. The are apparently over 200 words for rain in the Hawaiian language. This article touches on only a few of them, but oh how descriptive and nuanced they …

Nature's Friends: Last night my wife and I took our grandchildren to see the movie My Penguin Friend. Set in Brazil, it is based on the true story of an old man who saved a South American Magellanic penguin that he found washed up on a beach, almost dead and covered in oil. The man cleaned the penguin and nursed him …

Well this morning wasn’t planned. What was going to be a quick tidy up before I got on to other things ended up being an exploration as to how to navigate up and down Dictionaries in Apple Shortcuts. I delved into this a couple of weeks ago, and thought that I was done, as in figured it out. …

Coriander Micro Greens, almost ready to be harvested.

It looks as though Hawai’i is in the direct firing line of these two Tropical Storms. The eye of closer storm, Tropical Storm Hone, is due to be close to the Southern Point of the Big Island of Hawai’i Saturday night into Sunday morning. Then according to The National Weather Service, …Hone will …

🚿 Taking an outdoor shower with dark grey clouds rolling in, sprinkles of rain falling, wind blowing. Island life.

🚿 Taking an outdoor shower with dark grey clouds rolling in, sprinkles of rain falling, wind blowing. Island life.

This morning I was greeted with the moon and a faint rainbow hovering above it. 🌈

The moon was still up when I got up this morning.

I have an iPhone 13 Mini. Sometimes when I am traveling, perhaps on a flight to Europe, I like to be able to write. This can happen in my journal, and sometimes I want to write something electronically, perhaps for use when I land. I don’t own an iPad and I might not want to reach up to get my …

I felt fortunate on this morning’s run. I’d left my hat behind. I normally take it to shield my head from the heat of the sun. As I drove to where I run, the clouds started drifting over. Although it was hot, humid hot, I was blessed with the shade of the sun while I was completing the next stage of …

This has been the wettest summer that I have experienced here on Maui. Last week had made me think that the rain was over and that we were dropping into a drier month or so. This weekend would suggest otherwise. However, even this has to be said with some context. We live in one of the wetter parts …

A midweek stop during this last week. I’d grabbed a snack and so stopped to eat it at Ho’okipa Beach Park, to take in this view, and unwind before heading home - asking myself “why don’t you do this more often?”

Morning skies.

I’m growing some micro greens for salads, specifically coriander micro greens. I’m growing them from seed. I still get so much joy from seeing the young shoots lifting up through the soil for the first time. No matter how many times I see a seed sprout, it makes me so happy to see the young shoots.

Being a sucker for new texts and note taking apps I am testing out Quick Note Taking - Type, the app’s website here but available from the Mac App Store. I like what I am seeing so far. Quickly call up the note screen when you need it, type in what you want and then move on. A quick brain …

🛌 I had a bad night’s sleep last night. First I couldn’t get to sleep, then I had a few hours of fitful sleep, and finally I slept for a couple of hours and ended up oversleeping. Now I feel as though I am playing catch up and the day has hardly started.

🛌 I had a bad night’s sleep last night. First I couldn’t get to sleep, then I had a few hours of fitful sleep, and finally I slept for a couple of hours and ended up oversleeping. Now I feel as though I am playing catch up and the day has hardly started.

Something went wrong this morning. It is almost 11:00am and the bed still isn’t made. Trying to fix the WiFi connection on my mother’s iPad from 7,100 miles away (11,400 km for those who have sensibly, IMO, made the metric shift) is a part of the reason that the bed is still unmade. Kudos though to …

🤫 Sitting quietly. Reflecting.

🤫 Sitting quietly. Reflecting.

This morning I headed out on the second run of the Watch to 5K program. I chose the same route that I did for last week’s run, a path that runs along the edge of the Kahului airport here on Maui. The weather was beginning to heat up, but I find it a pleasant path - not too busy, good views of the …

An afternoon rainbow from a week ago. Its posting got forgotten in a software hiccup. 🌈

Tasty artwork.

Currently reading: The Story Handbook by Helen Whybrow 📚

Sprouting again. It feels rewarding to see the seeds grow.

☕ Yesterday was a five coffee day. I am already on my third coffee today, and it is not midday yet. Two is normally where I stop, apart from every now and again. A new pattern? What’s up? 🤷🏼‍♂️

☕ Yesterday was a five coffee day. I am already on my third coffee today, and it is not midday yet. Two is normally where I stop, apart from every now and again. A new pattern? What’s up? 🤷🏼‍♂️

I’m finding Logger for Shortcuts an indispensable tool for developing Apple Shortcuts. Available MacOS and iOS means that I can text Shortcuts regardless of which device I am using. I can track what is going on as Shortcuts run and don’t have to temporarily break Shortcuts to display a value. Highly …

Shadows in the night.

Well yesterday I restarted my attempt at completing the Watch to 5K program that for me came to a complete standstill four months ago. I did go for a run while we were in Portugal. At the time I thought that that would be my Watch to 5K restart. No such luck. One run and that was it. So yesterday …

☕ Oh dear. It’s a three coffee morning.

☕ Oh dear. It’s a three coffee morning.

I received this electronic sticker by email today. My first vote in a US Presidential Election since becoming a US citizen in 2022. The Hawaii Primaries.

A short wave video for the Pacific Wave Association. The wind was blowing hard that day. I felt exhausted by the time that we got back to the car, the wind blown out of my sails. The waves weren’t big, but the ocean was a choppy, choppy, choppy, with the ocean blowing strongly from east to west.

Those times when I have to do something that I really don’t want. I end up wasting time either doing other things that need doing, and are easier, or I simply waste time on mindless activities. …and then I get done what needs to be done. Whether I like it or not, and simply feel better for putting …

I’ve been remiss in my lack of videos for the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. This one is from yesterday. I was driving home and stopped for a moment to look out to the ocean, get my feet wet and breathe in some sea air. As the sound indicates, it was very windy.

Whenever I’m unsure what the weather is doing here on Maui, I always remember a reply that my wife once gave in answer to a question as to what the weather was going to do? She said, Wait five minutes. It is sound advice here.

Young puppy, Mochi, my step-daughter’s little French Bulldog getting curious about the sheep next door. What is not shown is the other sheep and cow looking on. How wet it was that afternoon. How I had to push my way through a hedge to get to Mochi, and go back through it once I had Mochi. How Mochi …

This jigsaw puzzle was very satisfying to do, and the collage of images looks better in the completed puzzle than the image on the box. Some fun, whimsical pieces in there as well. 🧩

Oohh, I wish that I had a zoom lens just now. A white egret stood on our grey roof against the background of grey clouds. The weather is overcast. There is no extraneous sun shining through. The egret was in stark relief against the grey that surrounded it.

I am receiving more texts, spam texts, of late from numbers claiming to be USPS and telling me about packages addressed to me and awaiting clearance from customs. Clicking on a supplied link will apparently resolve the issue. I don’t know what has increased the appearance of these texts? 🤔

☕ The aroma of freshly brewed coffee drifts across the house this morning.

☕ The aroma of freshly brewed coffee drifts across the house this morning.

Playing around again with Cinemin by Tinrocket, a couple of evenings ago.

I’m in the middle of doing this jigsaw puzzle showing a collage of various traditional British pub exteriors and signage. A puzzle that my mother gave to me. I love doing puzzles. The process relaxes me. Doing this one I’m finding is also making me homesick. There is nothing like a British pub and I …

Sunset this evening.

I’m testing a Shortcut where I’m entering the text for my post directly into the Shortcut. Here goes…

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

I’ve been playing around with Tinrocket’s relatively new app Cinemin. While admiring what they can do, I do not normally choose to use apps that give photographs a artistic look, this one I am enjoying though. The images that Cinemin produces is, Inspired by traditional animation art and films …

Well it took a couple of attempts, but with the new Tapestry TestFlight build, Micro.blog is now on my Tapestry feed.

This evening’s sunset view from home. Between the rainbow this morning and this sunset, the day has felt oddly discombobulated. Slowly productive, but sort of disjointed along the way.

This morning’s rainbow, accompanied by the moon 🌈

🥵 The last couple of days have been very humid. This morning outside it is like walking through a thick bath.

🥵 The last couple of days have been very humid. This morning outside it is like walking through a thick bath.

Monday 22nd July, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday 22nd July, 2024 Dear Friends, I don’t think that I am in the business of looking after dogs anymore, at least not puppies. Please don’t get me wrong, I love dogs. However, my step-daughter who has a young French Bulldog has gone away with her family for a week, and my wife and I are looking …

A part of the ruin of the old Sugar Mill in Paia, Maui.

Apparently today is National Ice Cream Day, at least here in the US, and I am sad to report we have no ice cream in the house. Thanks to President Reagan, we celebrate National Ice Cream Day every third Sunday in July, meaning July 21 this year. For more information on this important day, click …

I’ve been playing around with muting keywords on two Mastodon apps. I don’t know what is involved with the coding, though I would have thought that catching individual words is not that difficult? However, from my experimenting I’ve decided that each one catches some, but neither catch all.

Where’s that mute button when I need it?

I was out last night searching for slugs and snails who might be eating our young lettuces, and instead I found this spider standing guard.

I don’t know. Some days just feel to me as though all the pieces are not fitting together correctly. Today everything felt scratchy and irritating. Nothing felt smooth and as though it was running well. I’m hoping for a reset tomorrow. For now I will enjoy the quiet, still evening and the moon rise. …

Those times when on hearing or seeing something I am triggered in a way that nudges something deep down inside me. That perception by the senses stirs something in me. It can be good or bad, or maybe in that moment I am unsure what the feeling is. But that something in me has been triggered is …

Oohh, in the time for the weekend the first early beta build of The Iconfactory’s Tapestry project has just landed on TestFlight. I’m sorry, no screenshots or specifics to share as per The Iconfactory’s request. For now I am just happy to give this a whirl and see where the project is heading.

The moon casts ghostly shadows over the landscape last night. The images were taken through the windows of our house.

🚘 In other news, my eyes do not enjoy me driving at night. I’ve said it before on this blog, but my aging eyes find the glare of the car headlights, especially the bright LED lights, too bright for comfort.

🚘 In other news, my eyes do not enjoy me driving at night. I’ve said it before on this blog, but my aging eyes find the glare of the car headlights, especially the bright LED lights, too bright for comfort.

🔥 I’m back from sitting in the fire of what was my men’s group this evening - at least for me. That’s not necessarily bad, in fact from my experience it is good, though it can be uncomfortable at the time…and require some wind down time afterwards.

🔥 I’m back from sitting in the fire of what was my men’s group this evening - at least for me. That’s not necessarily bad, in fact from my experience it is good, though it can be uncomfortable at the time…and require some wind down time afterwards.

A boat moored on the River Sado. The photo was taken while out on the River Sado in a more modern boat, powered by solar power and completely quiet.

Rethinking Kagi Adoption: I’ve been using Kagi Search for about six months now. I am on the lowest tier of the paid plans which allow me 300 searches a month. It turns out that that is quite enough for me. I have never hit that limit. What I don’t know is if I need Kagi? Or perhaps to be more specific, if I should pay for …

While going through some old notes I came across these few lines: Who am I when others don’t see me? Who am I when I don’t see myself? But don’t let the second be an excuse for the first, because rest assured that the first does happen. I have no idea where this came from or what …

I don’t see these hammer head worms very often. This one I caught a couple of mornings ago. I have since learned that they are an invasive species to Hawaii.

🏝️ Island life. The power went down an hour ago, taking the internet with it. And where we live, the cell signal can be weak. It is improving, but we couldn’t get by without WiFi calling. There is no clear indication when the power will be back on, so it is probably an early night tonight.

🏝️ Island life. The power went down an hour ago, taking the internet with it. And where we live, the cell signal can be weak. It is improving, but we couldn’t get by without WiFi calling. There is no clear indication when the power will be back on, so it is probably an early night tonight.

Turn the volume up and listen to the bees busy at work this morning.

Monday 15th July, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday 15th July, 2024 Dear Friends, I’ll start this newsletter with a subject that the British are well known for talking about - the weather. Our return to Maui has greeted us with a lot of wet weather. Normally here summer is the dry season and winter is the wet season. However in our little …

Looking across to the West Maui Mountains from the Pukalani Community Center as I sat having a bite to eat on Thursday evening.

Speaking in ‘I’ Statements: I was introduced to the idea of speaking in ‘I’ statements when I first started sitting with a men’s group back in 2015. The idea behind this simple suggestion is that I take responsibility for my feelings. So for example, if a driver cuts in front of me, making me angry, later when I am sharing the …

👁️ I was sat watching a movie last night and started getting a migraine aura. Within ten minutes the aura was interfering with my view of the screen. The aura cleared and I waited for the pain of the headache. It did not come to much. I thought that maybe this time I am going to get off lightly. …

👁️ I was sat watching a movie last night and started getting a migraine aura. Within ten minutes the aura was interfering with my view of the screen. The aura cleared and I waited for the pain of the headache. It did not come to much. I thought that maybe this time I am going to get off lightly. …

I think that all looks good with the Shortcut. I realized that there was one error that had me banging my head against the wall, but I think that that is fixed. So testing this Shortcut one more time…and I hope that that is it for now. 🤞🤞🤞

If a post had no category was not working properly, and so testing again.

OK, I have to do one other test. Will the Shortcut work and post to Micro.blog if I choose not to add a title?

Testing Title addition from a Shortcut: Testing my Tot to Micro.blog Shortcut to see if it works when I want to add a Title to the post. This post doesn’t need a title…but hey, I can test the title addition if I don’t try and add a title! 😝

The weather cleared this morning and the fire burning on the side of Haleakala is clearly visible. The good news is that forward progress of the fire has been halted, it is 50% contained, the size of the fire has been downgraded to 355 acres, and there have been no evacuation orders.

🌄 It’s feeling warm before the sun is up. A warning of what is coming today? At least the Trade Winds are blowing.

🌄 It’s feeling warm before the sun is up. A warning of what is coming today? At least the Trade Winds are blowing.

Grilling two evenings ago.

I feel very happy with myself today. I have managed to write a Shortcut which will publish to Micro.blog from Tot, allowing the selection of a category if relevant. The text of the short post is then saved as a text file. Writing, learning…from Tot.

🌧️ It has been a wet, wet, wet, wet day so far, and doesn’t look as though it is going to let up anytime soon. This is more like winter than summer.

🌧️ It has been a wet, wet, wet, wet day so far, and doesn’t look as though it is going to let up anytime soon. This is more like winter than summer.

Another fire on Maui, this time on Haleakala Crater Road, upcountry. There have been no evacuations so far though residents are encouraged to prepare for that potential. 500 acres last night, currently down to 420 acres. More information and updates here.

A second test of sending a post to my blog from The Iconfactory’s Tot app. This time trying with the Micropub API. If this works, a hat tip to Jarrod Blundy, @jarrod, for his Publish to Micro.blog shortcut which I lightly edited.

Testing sending a post to my blog from The Iconfactory’s Tot app.

Well I got the outside work done just in the nick of time. It looks as though we have rain for the rest of the day, though the weather forecast deems to differ. There are times when I really like a wet day or afternoon. It just feels right.

Monday 8th July, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday 8th July, 2024 Dear Friends, Greetings from Maui. I pressed pause on this newsletter last week. I had returned to Maui a handful of days beforehand, and a combination of the travel and jet lag meant that I was exhausted, my body clock was all over the place and I had not shared much on my …

The Story Behind the Photograph: The Taj Mahal: While going through my mixed up and messily catalogued, that is a very generous term, slides, I came across these two images of the Taj Mahal. I am pretty sure that I have some more, but the state of my slide storage means that I am unlikely to come across them in a hurry, chance discoveries aside. …

A large egg has appeared outside of our front door.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 89th Birthday Message

The Story Behind the Photograph: The Khunjerab Pass: This story started as an exploration of the speed of travel, but I decided that there was a story within that just about my traversing of the Khunjerab Pass. The Pass is closed for a part of the year simply because of snow, it sits at 4,693 meters (15,397 feet), and for the rest of the year is at …

Cadaqués, Spain by day and by night.

Nautical scene, Cadaqués, north eastern Spain.

The Bullring in Alcácer do Sal. I believe that there are very few bullfights there, maybe two or three a year. One was due to take place just after we left Alcácer mid-June. Bullring, Alcácer do Sal I find myself disagreeing with the idea of a bullfight. I don’t know what the majority feeling …

Poop Fright: Now there is a click bait title if ever there was one. However I am guessing that what I am going to write about below is something that anyone who has traveled can relate to in some shape or form (please excuse the uncomfortable imagery).I have even heard the Dalai Lama in a public talk make …

Back in the land of the rainbows. Here is this morning’s. If you look closely, it is possible to make out a faint second one above the first. 🌈

Somewhere around 2010 I went to an evening celebrating the anniversary of the massive eruption of Mt. St. Helens that took place in 1980. There were three speakers at the event. Gary Snyder, Ursula Le Guin and a scientist whose name escapes me, but who had worked at the blast zone since the …

🏝️ I drove up to my acupuncture appointment this morning with the windows open instead of the A/C on, enjoying the tropical smells and humidity of the island.

🏝️ I drove up to my acupuncture appointment this morning with the windows open instead of the A/C on, enjoying the tropical smells and humidity of the island.

The air, the landscape was so still and quiet this morning. You’ll probably have to turn up the volume to hear the bird song in the recording below.

🥵 After the dry heat of Europe, I forgot how hot & humid Maui can be. My gratitude for the Trade Winds that keep the islands cooler than they might otherwise be.

🥵 After the dry heat of Europe, I forgot how hot & humid Maui can be. My gratitude for the Trade Winds that keep the islands cooler than they might otherwise be.

🙉 As we make our way back home, I find myself wanting to push back on the familiar sights, sounds and stimuli that are returning to us, and instead hold onto the tastes and experiences that the last three months have brought. Letting go is not always easy.

🙉 As we make our way back home, I find myself wanting to push back on the familiar sights, sounds and stimuli that are returning to us, and instead hold onto the tastes and experiences that the last three months have brought. Letting go is not always easy.

🛫 We will soon be taking off from Barcelona airport. San Francisco next stop. Starting the journey home…though I’m starting to wonder where that is right now?!

🛫 We will soon be taking off from Barcelona airport. San Francisco next stop. Starting the journey home…though I’m starting to wonder where that is right now?!

🛌 My bed wouldn’t let me get up this morning. At least that is my excuse and I’m sticking with it.

🛌 My bed wouldn’t let me get up this morning. At least that is my excuse and I’m sticking with it.

Out walking, pounding the streets of Barcelona.

Monday 24th June, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday 24 June, 2024 Dear Friends, Welcome to my newsletter coming to you from Barcelona. Last night was noise, noise, noise as Barcelona celebrated the Summer Solstice. I am writing this at eight o’clock on Monday morning and the fireworks only stopped going off a couple of hours ago. After …

🎆 Fireworks are going off all around us tonight as Barcelona celebrates the Summer Solstice and the lead up to the Festival of Sant Joan (St. John).

🎆 Fireworks are going off all around us tonight as Barcelona celebrates the Summer Solstice and the lead up to the Festival of Sant Joan (St. John).

Moon rise this evening near to Cadaqués.

Outdoor spaces at Salvador Dali’s house in Portlligat, Spain.

Manuel Moreale’s recent post on Celebrating Failure resonated with me. I’ve read it a few times now. You can ingest only so many success stories before starting to feel bad for not being one of them. It’s partly why social media mostly sucks. It’s performative. Everyone is showing the …

🌧️ We are waking up to a wet morning, the first for a long time. Gentle drizzle accompanying the sounds of small waves breaking. A quick glance at the weather forecast says that we won’t be going far for the next few hours.

🌧️ Waking up to a wet morning, the first for a long time. Gentle drizzle accompanying the sounds of small waves breaking. A quick glance at the weather forecast says that we won’t be going far for the next few hours.

This morning’s view.

Monday 17th June, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday 17th June, 2024 Dear Friends, This one will be brief. My wife and I left Portugal yesterday and are making our way across Spain to Barcelona where we fly back to Hawaii. I hope to pull over during our journey tomorrow to add this to the newsletter - it’s just how the newsletter system …

Do you want an ice cream? Selling ice cream cones at Estremoz Saturday Market.

The Caixa Forum, Madrid.

🚗 Starting the journey home. Driving across Spain to Barcelona to catch a flight. Writing this from a hotel in Madrid. The sounds (mainly traffic) of a busy city rumbles below. The wind blows around the terrace. A different world. Change. Reflecting on so much.

🚗 Starting the journey home. Driving across Spain to Barcelona to catch a flight. Writing this from a hotel in Madrid. The sounds (mainly traffic) of a busy city rumbles below. The wind blows around the terrace. A different world. Change. Reflecting on so much.

🐦 I like how in some Portuguese motorway service stations they play the sounds of birds. After the noise and stress of highway driving, the sounds of birds I find relaxing.

🐦 I like how in some Portuguese motorway service stations they play the sounds of birds. After the noise and stress of highway driving, the sounds of birds I find relaxing.

When I was younger and my grandfather came to visit he use to give me the empty end of an ice cream cone. I never knew the reason why, and asking my mother she does not know why either? My wife and I were eating at this very good Gelato place in Possanco, Comporta called Gulato, and I was reminded …

Some friends in Alcácer very kindly arranged a sunset boat ride for us along the Sado River yesterday evening. This was completely unexpected and a lovely gift. The boat was solar powered and so there was no noise of an engine or exhaust fumes. There was just the sound of water lapping against the …

We revisited Alcácer do Sal’s Railway Station today, and this time got to go inside as a goods train rumbled by.

Anyone would think that someone at Apple is making some announcements right now, going by the content of my timeline! #WWDC

Heavy skies over the beach at Carvalhal yesterday while we were out walking. That said it was warm when the sun broke through, and some people were I the water. The threatening clouds came to nothing.

Monday June 10, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday June 10, 2024 Dear Friends, I write this on Portugal Day, a national holiday, celebrated every 10th June. I did not know what Portugal Day actually celebrated and so I headed over to Wikipedia. According to the Free Encyclopedia’s entry for Portugal Day, It commemorates the death on 10 …

Anger and The Nun - or don't judge the book by the cover: This story share by Robert Rackley on his blog Canned Dragons reminded me of a story that I heard about a Tibetan Buddhist nun. A friend of mine, herself a Buddhist nun at the time, was studying at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala in Northern India. I’ll call my friend …

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. Monuments have lives woven into them.” ~ Pericles

Pine trees to distant rice fields.

Images of the Road: I have long loved rail travel. Sitting in a carriage, watching life go by. Gratefully allowing others to take the strain of the transportation logistics. Perhaps striking up conversation with a fellow traveler, or more likely than not sitting quietly reading, writing, watching, sleeping. When I got …

A stork with nest on top of large concrete structure on the edge of Alcácer do Sal.

⛈️ Well the weather has finally broken this time. At long last. I just heard the longest roll of thunder that I have ever heard - a couple of minutes?

⛈️ Well the weather has finally broken this time. At long last. I just heard the longest roll of thunder that I have ever heard - a couple of minutes?

🌧️ The air was getting heavier and heavier. It was feeling thick to walk through. Above the clouds were building. Dark clouds. Finally, just now, the impasse broke and there was a brief shower. Short, but enough to lighten the air and to allow us to breathe again.

🌧️ The air was getting heavier and heavier. It was feeling thick to walk through. Above the clouds were building. Dark clouds. Finally, just now, the impasse broke and there was a brief shower. Short, but enough to lighten the air and to allow us to breathe again.

Shall I, shan’t I? …. I did. I walked past this gentleman a handful of times as l was running errands in Lisbon. He appeared totally engrossed in reading his newspaper. Something I rarely see these days. Phones yes, I’m on mine now, newspapers no. As unobtrusively as possible, I …

These two donkeys lived in the hotel grounds that we stayed in while down in the Algarve over the weekend. They were not always in their corral, but sometimes were wandering the grounds. On our return one afternoon, the older one greeted us with some loud braying as we got out of the car and walked …

I finished reading: In Love with the World by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. This book felt like a gift that I am very grateful for. I took my time with it. An account of a young Buddhist monk setting off on a wandering retreat who then becomes severely ill and almost dies. What made this book special for …

Fresh fruit. Young grapes on the vine growing above us, and providing shade from the sun.

🛣️ Portugal, the home of straight roads. Seriously, I have never seen so many straight roads, even out in the countryside. They are a joy to drive, because you just point the car in one direction and go. Maybe a few ups and downs, but few turns. At least that has been my experience so far, and my …

🛣️ Portugal, the home of straight roads. Seriously, I have never seen so many straight roads, even out in the countryside. They are a joy to drive, because you just point the car in one direction and go. Maybe a few ups and downs, but few turns. At least that has been my experience so far, and my …

Shadows in the night.

The ground was moving with these little crabs everywhere. By the Canal de Travia, Luz.

Ciao!

This way.

Monday June 3, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday June 3, 2024 Dear Friends, Welcome to the first newsletter of June 2024. Today’s letter will probably be brief (I say probably because I am still writing it!) as we are on the road for a couple of days. This time exploring the eastern Algarve - quieter (in terms of the tourism impact) and …

An Algarve morning.

This is one way to protect your car from the heat of the day.

😧 That moment when I think that I have lost my credit card and driving license, or they have been stolen. That’s when I see how I can loose all sense of sanity very quickly. …. That moment, too many moments later, when I find that they dropped onto the floor of the car. 😮‍💨

😧 That moment when I think that I have lost my credit card and driving license, or they have been stolen. That’s when I see how I can loose all sense of sanity very quickly. …. That moment, too many moments later, when I find that they dropped onto the floor of the car. 😮‍💨

Shapes and shadows by a pool of water.

We returned home from Lisbon late last night. Keyed up from the drive home and hot because if the weather, I went for a walk. In the nearby park the fountain was running, offering cool air within its domain. I sat there and rested, watching it cycle through its colours. I’ve returned there again …

Yesterday’s exhibition. Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira at the Gulbenkian Museum. He is so prolific, even into his 90s, that I found the exhibition exhausting. Fascinating, inspiring, but exhausting.

🫠 Melting this evening (today). Today hit 34°C. The house is warm, at least upstairs (living area)…downstairs (sleeping) is cool. Windows open everywhere to catch any breeze that might want to blow through.

🫠 Melting this evening (today). Today hit 34°C. The house is warm, at least upstairs (living area)…downstairs (sleeping) is cool. Windows open everywhere to catch any breeze that might want to blow through.

Church, Vila Ruiva, southern Alentejo.

Spotted while driving through Vila Ruiva is southern Alentejo today. A little bit of searching online revealed this information on the insect zoo.

🧰 I find it a joy when I discover a really good plumber, or electrician, etc. That person or persons feel like gold to me.

🧰 I find it a joy when I discover a really good plumber, or electrician, etc. That person or persons feel like gold.

I found this cage with Budgerigars in the Center of Alcácer. Next to it was a similar cage with pigeons. I don’t know what or who they were for? It has obviously been there for a some time - though how long, I don’t know?

🥵 It must be hot out there. There is no wind, and the air coming through the windows is cooking.

🥵 It must be hot out there. There is no wind, and the air coming through the windows is cooking.

The wind blowing through the grasses by the River Sado yesterday evening.

Monday May 27, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday May 27, 2024 Dear Friends, It’s early morning here in Alentejo, the region of Portugal that our house is in. Outside feels fresh and cool, but that won’t last for long. After some cooler weather last week, summer appears to have arrived in Portugal and the days are heating up. …

🤫 After just under two weeks of visitors, everyone has left. I sit here this evening in silence. I can feel my body and mind settling, like the snow settling in a shaken snow globe. And with the settling I can better touch my inner life, a place where I rest well.

🤫 After just under two weeks of visitors, everyone has left. I sit here this evening in silence. I can feel my body and mind settling, like the snow settling in a shaken snow globe. And with the settling I can better touch my inner life, a place where I rest well.

I miss maps, old paper maps that you could spread out over the floor to plan your route. That you could fold up to hold on your lap with the section of the map that you were traveling through. I loved looking over them to see all the details they hold - thinking here especially of the British …

The Sado estuary.

Another photograph of Cais Palafitico da Carrasqueira, the ramshackle, zigzagging, interlocking piers on wooden stilts, near to Comporta in Portugal. There have been other photographs of the same area here on my website. It’s a very photogenic area.

🌡️ After a cool week, the temperature is starting to rise again. Clear blue skies and warm sun outside.

🌡️ After a cool week, the temperature is starting to rise again. Clear blue skies and warm sun outside.

I believe that we all have our safe spaces. Those places in our mind and body where we feel comfortable. Part of the practice for this life is, I believe, to stretch those boundaries. This is not a challenge, not “a who can stretch furthest?" dare. Rather it is path through life of seeing …

Barrosinha, Alcácer do Sal.

📯 There was one hell of a lot of honking car horns outside just now. That and a faint sound of horse hooves. I have no idea what was going on, and it stopped before I could get outside. There is a festival happening in the area this weekend, and so I wonder if the noise is related?

📯 There was one hell of a lot of honking car horns outside just now. That and a faint sound of horse hooves. I have no idea what was going on, and it stopped before I could get outside. There is a festival happening in the area this weekend, and so I wonder if the noise is related?

Images of Design Week in Lisbon.

Some of welcome relief from the hot sun yesterday afternoon in Lisbon.

Checking out the wine.

😮‍💨 I am completely exhausted. Just too much going on over the last week, regardless of the good time had. I could spend this evening in and have an early night, but that is not going to happen. We have an event to go to. Maybe this weekend?

😮‍💨 I am completely exhausted. Just too much going on over the last week, regardless of the good time had. I could spend this evening in and have an early night, but that is not going to happen. We have an event to go to. Maybe this weekend?

Monsaraz - one street of maybe two.

🗺️ Well I have just managed to drive around a part of Lisbon without the aid of Apple Maps, or any maps for that matter. It was not big achievement, I did not travel that far, but I could not have done that a year ago. I’m getting to know my way around.

🗺️ Well I have just managed to drive around a part of Lisbon without the aid of Apple Maps, or any maps for that matter. It was not big achievement, I did not travel that far, but I could not have done that a year ago. I’m getting to know my way around.

At Barrosinha nr, Alcácer do Sal

Monday May 20, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday May 20, 2024 Dear Friends, Well I am getting this letter written by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin! We have family staying with us right now and have been busy entertaining, driving them around, showing them the Portugal that we know so far. I am aware of life, business that is passing me …

Everyone has gone for a walk. I am staying at home to rest tired bones and a tired nervous system. We had a lovely couple of days in Lisbon with my sister in law and her husband. However, I did not sleep well the night in the city, and spent a lot of time on the move yesterday. By the time that we …

👨‍🌾 We spent some time this morning at the Farmers Market in Príncipe Real neighbourhood of Lisbon. I enjoy the community atmosphere of these markets. I also just enjoy stepping back from the market, sitting down and people watching. Families, individuals, couples even the pet dogs. Interacting, …

👨‍🌾 We spent some time this morning at the Farmers Market in Príncipe Real neighbourhood of Lisbon. I enjoy the community atmosphere of these markets. I also just enjoy stepping back from the market, sitting down and people watching. Families, individuals, couples even the pet dogs. Interacting, …

🌥️ Well today ended up better than I feared weather wise. No rain, some sun, though cool…especially this evening.

🌥️ Well today ended up better than I feared weather wise. No rain, some sun, though cool…especially this evening.

A hotel lobby greeting.

🏙️ In the big city, Lisbon. Rain is threatening and it feels unseasonably cold.

🏙️ In the big city, Lisbon. Rain is threatening and it feels unseasonably cold.

The Story Behind The Photograph: Two Boys Playing Cricket: Two boys playing cricket just off the Karakoram Highway While traveling the Karakoram Highway through Pakistan I stopped in Passu for three nights. My memory of Passu in July of 1989 was it just being made up of a small collection of houses. Nothing else. One of those was the guest house that I …

Looking north from Arrábida Natural Park.

Man with goat in the Hunza Valley, Pakistan in 1989

🛩️ I just took a look at a live flight map of aircraft over Europe right now. In Central Europe it was barely possible to see the map underneath all of the airplane symbols. I don't know how the Air Traffic Controllers keep their sanity with that level of responsibility?

🛩️ I just took a look at a live flight map of aircraft over Europe right now. In Central Europe it was barely possible to see the map underneath all of the airplane symbols. I don't know how the Air Traffic Controllers keep their sanity with that level of responsibility?

😋 Marmite peanut butter for breakfast. I haven't eaten that for a while, Amazon deliveries in the US turned out a mess. So I bought a couple of jars while in Britain and opened one this morning. Delicious.

😋 Marmite peanut butter for breakfast. I haven't eaten that for a while, Amazon deliveries in the US turned out a mess. So I bought a couple of jars while in Britain and opened one this morning. Delicious.

🧓 I had a senior moment just then. I was staring at the computer unable to remember the web address that I wanted to go to. I could 'see' the site in my mind, but could not for the life of me remember its URL.

🧓 I had a senior moment just then. I was staring at the computer unable to remember the web address that I wanted to go to. I could 'see' the site in my mind, but could not for the life of me remember its URL.

My wife’s family arrive today for a week. I am looking forward to seeing them. I’m sure that we will have a good time, we always do…And my quiet, HSP nervous system will probably have to find some way to pace myself, to find some quiet, recharge time, and right now I don’t …

🌧️ An unexpected brief shower of rain just happened. Last night it looked as though the heavens were going to open up upon us, but nothing happened. This morning it was overcast, but nothing threatening, and it rained. I’ll never make a good weather forecaster.

🌧️ An unexpected brief shower of rain just happened. Last night it looked as though the heavens were going to open up upon us, but nothing happened. This morning it was overcast, but nothing threatening, and it rained. I’ll never make a good weather forecaster.

Thank you to @xxxx (Jacoby) for linking to this article about a 1,200-foot ti leaf lei draped across Pololū Valley to symbolize protection from overdevelopment. What a beautiful gesture.

Monday May 13, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday May 13, 2024 Dear Friends, Greetings from an overcast Alcácer do Sal. The weather has been beautiful this last week. Very hot in fact. It is cooling down this week as the overcast weather might suggest. The fields around Alcácer have been ploughed and in preparation for this year’s rice …

Passing the car ferry heading to Setúbal as we are on the other ferry heading to Comporta. A very small boat with a couple of people fishing from it, sits between us.

In Odeceixe: We visited the town of Odeceixe just over a week ago. I was tasked with finding the destination for the day, somewhere where we had not visited and not far or on the coast. So I picked Odeceixe at random. At first glance there appeared nothing special or unique about the town. When we arrived it …

🐍 I saw my first snake here in Portugal a couple of days ago. It was making a quick dash, or quick sliver across the road.

🐍 I saw my first snake here in Portugal a couple of days ago. It was making a quick dash, or quick sliver across the road.

Some more paintings from artist Veronika Blyzniuchenko. The stars in the lower left are sponsored by visitors, a percentage of the sponsorship going towards the restoration of the Basilica.

These three men came by to play for us (those eating) while we ate lunch. They had been making their way along the restaurants and coffee shops by the river here in Alcácer. I do not know what the occasion was? Unfortunately there is no singing in this video, though I am fascinated by the instrument …

I returned last night exhausted from a day in Lisbon. After a late dinner I could barely keep my eyes on and ended up turning in early, falling asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I have not been so tired for a long time, and this morning was thinking back over the day. I think that it was my …

The Beauty is a Choice - A Lisbon Art Exhibition: My wife and I were in Lisbon yesterday and met up with an old Portland friend who had been living Portugal for eight years. After lunch she took us to an art exhibition at the Estrela Basilica, by a young Ukrainian artist, Veronika Blizniuchenko. It is not an easily found exhibition, situated as it …

We found this very hidden Gelato shop today. What a gem it is. The owner trained in Italy and now makes his own. Delicious. Repeat visit assured.

Highways in the sky.

One thing that I forgot to mention in my last post about running is the amount of walking that I have been doing since setting off to Europe over a month ago. I have done a lot of walking. For one the built environment makes it easier to just walk where we need to go. Second, I like exploring on …

I haven’t written an update on my progress with the Watch to 5K program for over a month now. After being bitten by exhaustion from pushing too hard on Week 4, I had not felt like continuing. Or maybe I should say that I wanted to continue, but the motivation had taken a bruising. Knowing that …

Church bell towers at dusk, complete with nesting storks.

🤧 Hayfever is no fun, even if I do try and put on a brave face when the attacks come. We have just been to the supermarket and I was considering moving in permanently. The air conditioning filtered everything irritable out of the air, and for a few minutes I felt as though I was back to my normal …

🤧 Hayfever is no fun, even if I do try and put on a brave face when the attacks come. We have just been to the supermarket and I was considering moving in permanently. The air conditioning filtered everything irritable out of the air, and for a few minutes I felt as though I was back to my normal …

⚽ I think that the local, favourite football (soccer) team won last night? Just as I was about to go to sleep, normally a very quiet time here, car horns and fireworks started going off.

⚽ I think that the local, favourite football (soccer) team won last night? Just as I was about to go to sleep, normally a very quiet time here, car horns and fireworks started going off.

Monday May 6, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday May 6, 2024 Dear Friends, I realized this morning that I have been on the road now for five weeks. The time has flown by and so far it has not felt as disruptive as I thought that it might. Maybe because the time has been spent at home in Bristol, with my mother, and now another home here in …

Over the rooftops.

Taken in Sintra about a week ago. In the grounds of Biester Palace, a gem to visit to escape the crowds.

😮‍💨 I’m exhausted and am not entirely sure why? There was a lot of walking around Lisbon over the last couple of days for sure, and I slept well last night. Yes, but that was sleeping off yesterday’s walking. Tonight will be an early night.

😮‍💨 I’m exhausted and am not entirely sure why? There was a lot of walking around Lisbon over the last couple of days for sure, and I slept well last night. Yes, but that was sleeping off yesterday’s walking. Tonight will be an early night.

🚶‍♂️ It was as a joy walking through the streets of Lisbon early this morning as the world woke up. Few people around. A new day starting.

🚶‍♂️ It was as a joy walking through the streets of Lisbon early this morning as the world woke up. Few people around. A new day starting.

Late afternoon Lisbon light.

April Photoblogging Challenge, Bonus Day 2: Unputdownable suggested by @jimmitchell

An old church near to Comporta, Portugal.

☔ Where did that come from? It’s raining. The sun was out a few minutes ago.

☔ Where did that come from? It’s raining. The sun was out a few minutes ago.

Keeping an eye on you…or not.

We watched The Deliquents last night on Apple TV. A three hour Argentinian film about a bank employee who steals from his bank and enrolls the help of a fellow employee in his plans. The film explores the narrow thinking of the two men and how they handle the unfolding situations that they create. I …

April Photoblogging Challenge, Bonus Prompt 1: Bubble suggested by @paulrobertlloyd

😬 Those times when you need a gas (petrol) station, but just cannot find one.

😬 Those times when you need a gas (petrol) station, but just cannot find one.

🏁 Yeh! I crossed the finishing line of the April Photoblogging Challenge.

🏁 Yeh! I crossed the finishing line of the April Photoblogging Challenge.

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 30: Hometown suggested by @mattypenny

Monday April 29, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday April 29, 2024 Dear Friends, I have an early start tomorrow (today), driving to just west of Lisbon, and so I’m writing this letter late at night. This first week in Portugal has seen the temperatures drop from the high 20°C when I arrived, to topping out now in the high teens. Though …

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 29: Drift suggested by @SimonWoods

The first thirty seconds of the fireworks display last Wednesday night at midnight, in celebration of the Carnation Revolution here in Portugal. With the holiday weekend coming to an end, I wanted to post as much of this as I could. There was another six minutes of the display after this.

The Story Behind the Photograph: The Details: Close up of a beach. This is a short story. As I go back through the slides of my travels, I am interested in what caught my eye. What I was seeing while I was on the road. One way I look at this is what my heart was drawn to, what interested me, what moved me. This slide could be from anywhere, at …

I just came from a supermarket. I was looking at all the seafood that was available. Not just the fresh catches, but also the frozen food. Large containers full of prawns of all sizes. Containers full of shell fish. Containers full of parts of other sea animals. I found it really quite something to …

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 28: Community suggested by @stupendousman

Looking for that symbol? Sam Rose has created the website to find it. So useful.

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 27: Surprise suggested by @Sdevore

We took a drive today out into the Alentejo countryside south and west of Alcácer do Sal. What with the time of year and the recent rains, the land was very green and the spring flowers were out in abundance. Once the summer sun arrives this land will become golden and parched.

Evening in Alentejo.

Listening to the night time concert.

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 26: Critter suggested by @7robots

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 25: Spine suggested by @thedimpause

🥱 I woke up late this morning, for me. I went out late to listen to music and watch fireworks (after having already fallen asleep). It was a pleasure to see families out and about enjoying themselves. And the fireworks were good.

🥱 I woke up late this morning, for me. I went out late to listen to music and watch fireworks (after having already fallen asleep). It was a pleasure to see families out and about enjoying themselves. And the fireworks were good.

Just home from an evening walk along the Sado River. Tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution here in Portugal. In Alcácer do Sal tonight Rui Veloso will be on stage beside the Sado at 10:00pm with fireworks at midnight…and then the party goes on until the early hours. I …

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 24: Light suggested by @eumrz

I just watched The Elephant Whisperers on Netflix. I don’t know why it has taken me so long to get round to seeing this short documentary? Beautifully filmed - the scenery, the wildlife - and holding the simplicity and yet depth of the heartfelt human/animal interaction.

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 23: Dreamy suggested by @maique

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 22: Blue suggested by @lzbth

Monday April 22, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday April 22, 2024 Olá Friends, This letter is coming to you from Portugal. I arrived here from England two days ago. I had a good time back home but as always found it hard to leave. Hard to leave the UK, hard to leave my mother, hard to leave familiar surroundings and places that hold …

😶‍🌫️ I’m waking up to one of those misty mornings that I sense will transform into a beautiful sunny, and maybe hot day.

😶‍🌫️ I’m waking up to one of those misty mornings that I sense will transform into a beautiful sunny, and maybe hot day.

Mountains, Rain, and Pat Metheny: I sit here in 2024 in a house in Portugal, and a piece of music transports me back to 1985, to a hiking hut somewhere in mountains of the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Almost forty years have passed, but the memory is vivid and the effect of that time on my life feels as real now as it did all the …

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 21: Mountain suggested by @dejus

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 20: Ice suggested by @the This photograph shows the terminus of the Batura Glacier in the Karakorum mountains of Pakistan. It sits at around 4,000m (13,123ft), and at the time that I visited the glacier terminated 0.5km from the Karakoram Highway.

🇵🇹 Olá Portugal

🇵🇹 Olá Portugal

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 19: Birthday suggested by me (@crossingthethreshold)

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 18: Mood suggested by @agilelisa

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 17: Transcendence suggested by @drewbelf

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 16: Flâneur suggested by @chrisaldrich

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 15: Small suggested by @jmanes

Monday April 15, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday April 15, 2024 Dear Friends, Being home, being back in Britain, always fills my time. Whether that is sitting talking with my mum, catching up with friends (on the phone and in person), or going for walks. Routine is not so present in my life and I find that with that my writing diminishes. I …

☔ It’s pouring outside, and not particularly warm either - Spring, from a few days ago appears to have taken a leave of absence. Right now I am grateful for a roof over my head, and heating in the home.

☔ It’s pouring outside, and not particularly warm either - Spring, from a few days ago appears to have taken a leave of absence. Right now I am grateful for a roof over my head, and heating in the home.

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 14: Cactus suggested by @christopherchelpka

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 13: Page suggested by @robj

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 12: Magic suggested by @DaveyCraney

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 11: Sky suggested by @jedda

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 10: Train suggested by @starrwulfe

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 9: Crispy suggested by @rom

🧹 A lot of the clean up has been done, but as the final family members head on their way, vacuuming is what is needed now.

🧹 A lot of the clean up has been done, but as the final family members head on their way, vacuuming is what is needed now.

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 8: Prevention suggested by @anniegreens

Monday April 8, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday April 8th, 2024 Dear Friends, Well the weeks feel as though they are creeping up on me quicker. Though this one could well be because I have had a lot going on. I am writing to you from the opposite side of the world. I have returned solo to England for my mother’s 90th birthday …

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 7: Well-Being suggested by @ridwan

🎶 I’m up early enjoying a cup of coffee. After the birthday celebrations yesterday, my mother’s apartment is still and quiet. Outside a blackbird is singing its heart out. I grew up listening to and loving this bird’s song. I recognize anywhere - here in England, or while watching a movie set in …

🎶 I’m up early enjoying a cup of coffee. After the birthday celebrations yesterday, my mother’s apartment is still and quiet. Outside a blackbird is singing its heart out. I grew up listening to and loving this bird’s song. I recognize anywhere - here in England, or while watching a movie set in …

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 6: Windy suggested by @Miraz An overcast windy day on the Isle of Skye, as spied through the ruins of an old church.

🎂 We are celebrating my mother's 90th birthday today. With my family having spread themselves out around the world, it feels like an international gathering with accents from the US, New Zealand and England filling the room. Happy Birthday Mum, and congratulations.

🎂 We are celebrating my mother's 90th birthday today. With my family having spread themselves out around the world, it feels like an international gathering with accents from the US, New Zealand and England filling the room. Happy Birthday Mum, and congratulations.

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 5: Serene suggested by @chiawase My quiet spot, wherever I am in the world, by the River Wye at Tintern Abby

I’m sitting alone in the bar at an airport hotel at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Back in Maui, where I flew in from an hour earlier, it is just before six o’clock in the evening. Here it is almost nine at night. It’s late but it’s not, depending on which time zone I choose to see …

Looking out over Bristol tonight.

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 4: Foliage suggested by @pratik A remote valley on the north east side of Haleakala.

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 3: Card suggested by @val

Here’s a short update on my running training. I have not completed a run for two weeks now on the Watch to 5K program that I have been following. Initially, as I said in this post, the experience of exhaustion from my last run took the wind out of my sails. Next I found myself getting ready …

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 2: Flowers suggested by @davegullet The first Agapanthus of the year flowering in the front garden.

Reading this news of the World Central Kitchen staff who were killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza hit me in a way that surprised me. Before the Maui wild fires last summer I had not heard of World Central Kitchen. While volunteering in Lahaina following the fires I discovered this charity …

✈️ In the air. Traveling solo to England for my mother’s 90th Birthday celebrations.

✈️ In the air. Traveling solo to England for my mother’s 90th Birthday celebrations.

April Photoblogging Challenge, Day 1: Toy suggested by @pcora

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

Monday April 1, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday April 1st, 2024 Dear Readers, I had to laugh this morning. It’s related to the post that I put out yesterday around busyness (see it below). I had been trying to slow myself down, to be focused and get done what needed to be done, but obviously it was not working. I forgot that this …

🧘 I have, am having a busy few days. When that happens my mind starts to pull me onto the next task before the current one is finished. From that anxiety builds and patience can diminish. I must remember to stop, to breathe and be aware of others around me. Rest…my body will appreciate it and the …

🧘 I have, am having a busy few days. When that happens my mind starts to pull me onto the next task before the current one is finished. From that anxiety builds and patience can diminish. I must remember to stop, to breathe and be aware of others around me. Rest…my body will appreciate it and the …

☕ My coffee in take had been going down. One or two cups in the morning. However, in the last couple of days I have going back to another cup mid-morning. I'm not sure what is up?!

☕ My coffee in take had been going down. One or two cups in the morning. However, in the last couple of days I have going back to another cup mid-morning. I'm not sure what is up?!

🏞️ Digitizing slides. Reliving memories.

🏞️ Digitizing slides. Reliving memories.

I have been silent on my running posts for six days now. I haven’t run in that time, though that is not the sole reason for not posting. The last run took the wind out of my sails. More so than I initially thought. I was tired by the time that I finished my last run because of the increased …

We watched Mrs. Doubtfire last night. I had never seen it. I miss Robin Williams.

Experimenting with a Different Way to Capture the Travel Slides: Benaulim Beach, Goa, India. A month ago I explained how I was capturing the slides that I am using in the “Story behind the Photograph” series (all of which can be found here (RSS), or under the map emoji 🗺️ in the menu bar above). Well I have now found a gadget that I was given a number …

👓 The new glasses arrived today with progressive lenses in them. My first pair of progressives and they feel a little disorientating at the moment. I sense that I'll get use to them, but for now I think that I'll be switching back and forth between the new glasses and the old.

👓 The new glasses arrived today with progressive lenses in them. My first pair of progressives and they feel a little disorientating at the moment. I sense that I'll get use to them, but for now I think that I'll be switching back and forth between the new glasses and the old.

I remember being in college when Space Invaders first came out. Then there was Asteroids, Pac Man, and a few other Space Invaders variants. Pinball machines were still available in UK pubs, and then as Space Invaders started their, um, invasion, evenings moved from trying to keep a metal ball on the …

Monday March 25, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday March 25, 2024 Hello and welcome to another weekly roundup of posts to my blog. This has been a wet winter and as such some outside jobs that needed to be done in the garden have been sitting, waiting for the weather to clear up. Seasons here in Hawaii don’t have as clear a delineation as …

🗣️ I’m trying out various translation apps to decide which best suits my needs. I find apps that offer a slower play back of the foreign language helpful. Though finding an app that has everything I want neatly packaged, is not easy.

🗣️ I’m trying out various translation apps to decide which best suits my needs. I find apps that offer a slower play back of the foreign language helpful. Though finding an app that has everything I want neatly packaged, is not easy.

♻️ I wouldn't mind restarting today afresh. I've got things done, things that needed to be done, but I'm sitting here now at the far end of the day feeling a little dissatisfied, maybe frustrated as well? Such is life....up one day, down the next.

♻️ I wouldn't mind restarting today afresh. I've got things done, things that needed to be done, but I'm sitting here now at the far end of the day feeling a little dissatisfied, maybe frustrated as well? Such is life....up one day, down the next.

🍃 I’m waking up to wind and rain, hard showers followed by a wait for the next one, this morning. Yesterday’s sun appears to be an anomaly at the moment. It appears that we have a little longer before the winter rains recede.

🍃 I’m waking up to wind and rain, hard showers followed by a wait for the next one, this morning. Yesterday’s sun appears to be an anomaly at the moment. It appears that we have a little longer before the winter rains recede.

🌱 Clearing in the garden today. Pulling out an invasive plant. There is still some to move, but it just got too hot….so I started work on a new blog post.

🌱 Clearing in the garden today. Pulling out an invasive plant. There is still some to move, but it just got too hot….so I started work on a new blog post.

I’ve said it many times on this blog…in essence to myself…that not doing something will not get it done. This time I will add that the satisfaction of getting that something done is enormous. To see it in the rear view mirror as opposed to constantly looming over me.

Yesterday I ran the furthest to date. It was only by 0.1km, but at 3.51km this was the further distance that I have covered so far in the Watch to 5K program. Last night I was feeling it. The glow of exercise was accompanied by a tiredness in my legs and by the time that I went to bed, I was …

Keeping the Company of Good Friends: Every Thursday night I sit in a weekly men’s group. I’ve mentioned before the value that I get from sitting with this group, but of late I have been reminded of something else. Maybe it’s the same thing but I am just now finding words for my experience? It’s simple, common sense advice to …

Jacoby asks how far you live from where you were born? So I thought that I would take a look. It turns out that I’m currently 7,191 miles (11,572 km) from where I was born. That distance has varied over the years from just round the corner, to now halfway round the world. None of this was …

The Story Behind the Photograph: Fellow Travelers in Northern Pakistan: Waiting at the border crossing I was going through some more slides of my travels last night and this one has stuck with me through the day. Taken in July 1989, I recognized most of the faces, as well as the nationalities of some of those standing there, but could not put names to them. I found …

🌞 Hey, no rain today. That’s a first for a while.

🌞 Hey, no rain today. That’s a first for a while.

I started week four of the Watch to 5K program today and that meant longer run intervals. I can say with a fair degree of certainty that if it wasn’t for the preceding weeks, today would have been impossible…or at least very difficult. I covered a total distance of 3.43km, and within …

Monday March 18, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday March 18, 2024 Hello there. It is David Johnson here with a weekly roundup of posts to my blog. It has been a wet week here on Maui, especially in the area of the north shore where I live. This region is one of the wetter parts of the island, but even so this week saw more low cloud and …

I was taken to an event last night launching an event that I had no idea was in the works. Epic Swim Maui, a planned swim this summer - sometime between the end of the July and mid August - around the island of Maui. The swimmers, some of the world’s best open ocean swimmers, will swim in …

Today hasn’t quite gone to plan due to a small plastic container that my wife uses to keep vitamins in being hidden at the back of the oven. She was baking a couple of apple pies for dinner tonight with friends, when the kitchen filled with smoke. Out came the barely cooked pies along with the …

Well I am finally ready to move onto week four of the Watch to 5K program. Because of illness and various other road blocks, I have been redoing weeks two and three, or parts thereof in order to get back into the program after a period of not running. Yesterday saw me reach the end of week three …

🌤️ Sun, blue sky and scattered clouds this morning. The world below can now dry out.

🌤️ Sun, blue sky and scattered clouds this morning. The world below can now dry out.

🌧️ Well the sun’s appearance this morning was brief and short lived. Today it has rained and rained and rained. That’s two days now of steady drizzle interspersed with the occasional downpour. More tomorrow or a change?

🌧️ Well the sun’s appearance this morning was brief and short lived. Today it has rained and rained and rained. That’s two days now of steady drizzle interspersed with the occasional downpour. More tomorrow or a change?

Maui Strong: A rallying call since the devastating fires here on Maui last year has become “Maui Strong”. The words have lended themselves to multiple funds to help raise financial help, material supplies and volunteering possibilities, all for the immediate and long-term recovery needs of those …

🌥️ “Here comes the sun,…” 🎶 Hopefully it will continue to make an appearance through the day, and dry things out. That’s a plus of living here in Hawaii. If it rains, once the sun is out the everything dries out pretty quickly.

🌥️ “Here comes the sun,…” 🎶 Hopefully it will continue to make an appearance through the day, and dry things out. That’s a plus of living here in Hawaii. If it rains, once the sun is out the everything dries out pretty quickly.

😶‍🌫️ The last twenty four hours have been overcast and seen more rain than I was expecting from the forecast. Low cloud, mist in places, localized flooding - driving home last night was no fun. And it looks as though we have woken up to more this morning.

😶‍🌫️ The last twenty four hours have been overcast and seen more rain than I was expecting from the forecast. Low cloud, mist in places, localized flooding - driving home last night was no fun. And it looks as though we have woken up to more this morning.

I love this overcast, wet weather. I have the French windows open so that I can listen to the sound of the falling rain, and as it trickles down the down pipe from the gutters.

Cheeky Devil in China Town, Honolulu.

There is a bird singing its heart out as I sit here and drink my early morning coffee. I wish I knew what species it is. The bird’s song is close to a British Song Thrush. Sadly I still don’t recognize all the bird calls here in Hawaii. For that matter I don’t know them all in …

The Story Behind the Photograph: In Bodhgaya (Part 1): A lot happened during my short time in Bodhgaya, and so I am spreading this section of the travels over a couple of posts. Arriving into Bodhgaya with the top of the Mahabodhi Temple peeking above trees One of the first things that we (myself and Ray, an American who I had met on the road and was …

Well the prep wasn’t too much fun yesterday, but the friendly doctors and nurses this morning made my start of the day colonoscopy so much more easier. Much gratitude from me to them for their work today. I’m taking it easy for the rest of the day as I slept little last night, and …

A Little Bit of Magic in the Air: Maui has so many microclimates, and with that the weather can vary in a very short space of time. Yesterday from what I could see most of the island was covered in cloud. Where I live there was a lot of wind, but I had to run Upcountry and there the air was very different. It was still, so still. …

Currently listening to, Somewhere. Nowhere. by Kupla on Apple Music. Here’s the Songwhip link.

I don’t know why I expressed concern over the way switching to Daylight Savings time in this post? I live in Hawaii. In Hawaii there is no move to or from Daylight Savings time. The clocks just stay the same through the year. Perhaps I had some cellular trauma from when I did live in countries and …

Following my earlier post about my woes with Safari’s Hide My Email feature, I have finally tracked down the problem. I had disabled AutoFill, under Safari -> Preferences -> AutoFill, specifically Using information from my contacts. This is from using 1Password which I found rendered …

I was back out running today, and I was looking forward to doing so…which I will take as a good sign. I found myself Upcountry here on Maui and so I went to a playing field up there to complete the next run in the Watch to 5K program. The weather was just right - overcast, next to no wind and …

Monday March 11, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday March 11, 2024 This week has felt like a real mixed bag - work being done on the house, a visit to the doctor - both of which have follows this coming week….And then for my wife’s birthday we spent a night on the island of Oahu, in Honolulu. The Hawaii equivalent of a visit to the big …

Two images inside the Honolulu Museum of Art.

Last Friday, March 8th was meant to be a Watch to 5K today, but I was in Honolulu to celebrate my wife’s birthday and so no running happened. The flip side is that I walked a lot over the day and a half that we were in the city - I was exhausted by the time that we got home and slept for an …

I find the Hide My Email feature on MacOS Safari very frustrating. I can set up a hidden email address manually with no problem, but I don’t think that I have ever seen it work in Safari? No pop up appears offering me to create a Hide My Email address.

Graffiti faces seen around China Town in Honolulu.

Now this is something that I had not seen or tasted before. A green Matcha (green tea) IPA. We had been gifted a sushi meal at Islander Sake Brewery in China Town, Honolulu, and they served as this Matcha IPA from Kyoto. I think that this is the brew? Very tasty, and certainly a striking colour.

Yesterday we visited the Honolulu Museum of Art to see an exhibition of David Hockney prints, both old and new. I had wanted to see this exhibition and with my wife’s birthday a couple of days before the exhibition closes, it made for good timing for a reason to head over to Honolulu to view …

In China Town, Honolulu yesterday evening.

🕑 Oh no. I just found out that daylight savings starts at 2:00am this Sunday. Clocks springing forward an hour = sleep messed up for a few days.

🕑 Oh no. I just found out that daylight savings starts at 2:00am this Sunday. Clocks springing forward an hour = sleep messed up for a few days.

🛌 Those mornings when I just want to throw the sheets back over me and stay where I am…in bed.

🛌 Those mornings when I just want to throw the sheets back over me and stay where I am…in bed.

🌧️ Today has been an unexpectedly wet day. I saw that wind was on the cards, but it has come with a strong dose of rain as well, heavy rain. A very wintry day.

🌧️ Today has been an unexpectedly wet day. I saw that wind was on the cards, but it has come with a strong dose of rain as well, heavy rain. A very wintry day.

I’m sitting in the truck after the first run of week three of the Watch to 5K program. It is my second time going through week three due to various pauses in the program through illness and visitors. I’ve moved to a different running venue, a playing field. It is flatter than the park …

🦥 Slowing down at the end of the day listening to Bedtime Beats playlist on Apple Music.

🦥 Slowing down at the end of the day listening to Bedtime Beats playlist on Apple Music.

Some more waves. This time in Waihe‘e Coastal Dunes & Wetlands Refuge which is managed by the Hawai’i Land Trust. I find it a special area, little known about, steeped in Hawaiian history and with the largest sand dunes in Maui.

I watched episode seven of Masters of the Air on Apple TV+ last night. When I started watching the series I didn’t feel as though it was living up to its reviews, and after two episodes was unsure about watching any further. However, I decided to stick with it and am pleased that I did. I feel …

I’m experiencing a lovely after exercise glow. I headed out this morning for another Watch to 5K run after a week off for family visiting. The runs felt strong and consistent despite the strong wind that I was running into at times. I repeated the final run of week two to get myself going …

Monday March 4, 2024 Newsletter letter: Monday March 4, 2024 Well it has been a long while since I sent out a newsletter to subscribers. The pause was initially caused by an illness last summer when I got pneumonia while visiting Portugal. Then that pause turned into a larger gap. I am now remedying this omission but with a slightly …

That comforting sound as the rain falls at dawn, while I sit in a dark room, slowly getting brighter, sipping my first coffee of the day.

A quick update on my attempt to get myself to running a 5K, through the Watch to 5K program. My wife and I have had a packed week with family visiting. Fun, but on the go showing them the island. There was no time for running, and today I have decided to take the day off, rest, and catch up things …

🫠 Having a slow morning. Our wonderful family guests left yesterday and today feels like a day of rest and catching up on a few things that need doing.

🫠 Having a slow morning. Our wonderful family guests left yesterday and today feels like a day of rest and catching up on a few things that need doing.

Especially for @jean and @Miraz. Waves this morning from the cliffs near to Ho’okipa Beach.

🤕 My grandson was firing a water gun (UK: water pistol) last night. In an attempt to get away I quickly turned and walked straight into a glass door. My head is still feeling it this morning. Ouch!

🤕 My grandson was firing a water gun (UK: water pistol) last night. In an attempt to get away I quickly turned and walked straight into a glass door. My head is still feeling it this morning. Ouch!

The Clean Up Crew - a flock of white egrets chasing the mower as the grass is cut.

The Wall that Heals: A little over two weeks ago The Wall that Heals, a touring replica of the Vietnam Wall Memorial hosted by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, arrived in Maui. It was here for five days, and I went to visit it the day before it left. I saw the actual Memorial in Washington DC almost forty years ago, …

A table outside set for dinner last night, with friends having just arrived from out of State. Although a fire was lit in the fire pit and chairs set around it, a stormy evening dissuaded anyone (apart from myself) from hanging out around it.

Well that was an unintended and interesting experiment today. In getting ready to take our visitors out today I left my phone at home. I realized that I didn’t have it with me on our first stop. For the most part I did not miss it, in fact I noticed that my biggest concern was that it was …

🚗 We have family visiting for a week and so we’re heading out today to show them some of the island. This small island is full of microclimates. Overcast and wet here, sun where we are heading.

🚗 We have family visiting for a week and so we’re heading out today to show them some of the island. This small island is full of microclimates. Overcast and wet here, sun where we are heading.

Well I’m having another break/halt on progress with the Watch to 5K program that I am following. The cause this time is a migraine. I have been getting them for many years, forty five to be exact, though of late their frequency has diminished. Still when I do get them they last for three days …

☕ Trying a third cup of coffee this morning as a remedy against this migraine that I have been nurturing since yesterday.

☕ Trying a third cup of coffee this morning as a remedy against this migraine that I have been nurturing since yesterday.

😔 I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning. It was warm and comfortable. That was as unusual for me, as I am not normally one to lie around in bed. I am feeling a little bleh as well, which surely contributed towards me not wanting to move.

😔 I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning. It was warm and comfortable. That was as unusual for me, as I am not normally one to lie around in bed. I am feeling a little bleh as well, which surely contributed towards me not wanting to move.

This afternoon’s rainbow, with a second very faint one just above it. 🌈

Another Watch to 5K run under my belt, ending my second run through (pun not intended) of the second week. I felt a little stiff to start off, and was careful to pace myself better this time. By the end I had not quite run as far as last time, but felt better in myself.

How I'm Capturing the Photographs for the Travel Stories: A slide being projected onto a wall in a darkened room. When I set off on my travels in the mid 1980’s, I took a SLR camera with me. From my memory I had two lenses, a 35mm and a zoom lens the size of which I cannot remember. I believe that I also had a couple of filters with me. I did not …

I headed out on my Watch to 5K program this morning. With me repeating earlier weeks due to my time off from having a cold, I was running easier, I noticed that. Though if there is something that I learnt today, it is to better pace myself. I think that I went off too fast on the earlier runs and …

iA have just updated the iA Writer beta to 7.1. This update includes a major overhaul of Writer’s integration with Apple Shortcuts bringing with it 18 new actions. iA provide some example Shortcuts to demonstrate what can be achieved now. As my main writing app alongside Drafts, I welcome this …

The Story Behind the Photograph: From the Roof of a Bus: Road from Gaya to Bodhgaya from the roof of a bus Following my time in Patna, I continued my journey onto Bodhgaya by catching a train to the city of Gaya. I travelled to Gaya by train along with an American, Ray, whom I had met in Patna. I had an omelette for breakfast in my hotel room, settled up …

I’ve been experimenting with NetNewsWire’s iCloud service. Thanks to the RSS feed that Micro.blog offers for its Bookmarks feature, I have set myself up with a read it later service in within NetNewsWire. I hope that I don’t over use it as I have a tendency to not read articles …

It has been a week and a half since I last completed a run for the Watch to 5K program that I am following. I’ve had a cold that has lingered, has sapped my strength and made me feel like doing anything but run. Although not quite there in terms of healing, I felt that I was well enough today …

📅 This has been a strange weekend for me. The grandkids were off school on Friday and I kept thinking that it was Saturday. On Saturday I couldn’t get it out of my head that it was Sunday, and then today I wanted it to be Monday. With tomorrow being a public holiday here in the US, Presidents Day, …

📅 This has been a strange weekend for me. The grandkids were off school on Friday and I kept thinking that it was Saturday. On Saturday I couldn’t get it out of my head that it was Sunday, and then today I wanted it to be Monday. With tomorrow being a public holiday here in the US, Presidents Day, …

☀️ It feels good to see the sun this evening after a couple of days of cloud and rain. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy moody weather, but on this still evening the heat of the sun brings some warmth and rest.

☀️ It feels good to see the sun this evening after a couple of days of cloud and rain. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy moody weather, but on this still evening, the heat sun brings some warmth and rest.

My default search engine for a number of years now has been DuckDuckGo. In the past I have also used their browser and their privacy based (redirect) email service. I have been happy with DuckDuckGo’s service, never questioning the quality of their search results. Now though I am exploring …

🚽 If someone redesigned the humble toilet brush, making it more hygienic, I believe that they would be onto something.

🚽 If someone redesigned the humble toilet brush, making it more hygienic, I believe that they would be onto something.

🌊 Before going to bed last night the sounds of waves crashing against the distant cliffs, a mile away, was loud. In the middle of the night it was so loud that we could hear the roar inside the house with windows and doors closed! I have since read that a 30-50ft swell is hitting the north shore …

🌊 Before going to bed last night the sounds of waves crashing against the distant cliffs, a mile away, was loud. In the middle of the night it was so loud that we could hear the roar inside the house with windows and doors closed! I have since read that a 30-50ft swell is hitting the north shore …

Yesterday morning’s view at sunrise.

My wife gave me two of these metal tumblers from Japan for Valentines Day. They are great at keeping drinks cold…, and look good as well.

Yesterday was meant to be my next run on the Watch to 5K program, but I didn’t go out. I had the feeling of a cold coming on twenty four hours earlier, and yesterday I was not right. Today is also going to be a no show. I’m still not feeling right, and don’t want to do too much and …

HAPPY LOSAR Today is Losar, Tibetan New Year, the year of the Wood Dragon 2151. Below is His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s New Year message to the Tibetan people.

Well there’s week 3 of the Watch to 5K program completed. The conditions were perfect today - overcast, barely a breeze, and a comfortable temperature. There was some stiffness, but I was feeling better with the longer runs.

Earthquake just felt on Maui. I’m getting texts from friends across the island with people having felt it. I was sitting in my truck after a run and it just started shaking. Then the guy next to me jumped out of his car thinking that someone was shaking it! About 15 minutes ago an earthquake …

🌴 After a week living in a wind tunnel, last night the winds finally appeared to have blown themselves out. It was still when I returned home yesterday evening, and we are waking up to the same this morning.

🌴 After a week living in a wind tunnel, last night the winds finally appeared to have blown themselves out. It was still when I returned home yesterday evening, and we are waking up to the same this morning.

A Memory: I’ve just left Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram situated just outside of the small town of Sevagram in almost the geographical center of India. I had spent a couple of night’s at the ashram as part of a pilgrimage around India that I had set out on, to visit places connected with the life of Gandhi. He …

A rainbow is never far away here, but the wet and windy weather is producing some good ones at the moment 🌈

Yes I keep saying it, but today’s Watch to 5K run felt hard. At one stage I thought that I was going to start walking during a running stage. Admittedly the island is still experiencing strong winds, but my legs felt a stiffness in them today. …Onto the next leg…

On a roll at the moment. This evening’s rainbow 🌈

The Rubin Will Close Its Physical Space and Become a ‘Museum Without Walls’ - I’m sad to see this happening. I don’t visit New York often, but when the opportunity allowed I loved spending time (long periods of) in the Rubin Museum, taking in its displays of Himalayan art. Still a …

🌬️ I’m not happy with this strong wind. It has been here for a few days now, and it looks like at least another two more days. I’d really appreciate it stopping.

🌬️ I’m not happy with this strong wind. It has been here for a few days now, and it looks like at least another two more days. I’d really appreciate it stopping.

My last run on the Watch to 5K program was last Wednesday, January 31st. The program is structured so that you run every other day. The day in between is for rest and to allow the body to build its strength. However, a cold front moved across the State this last weekend bringing some strong weather …

I have been playing around with the Feedbin iOS app and found out completely by accident that it is possible to save searches. Searches of all feeds or selected. It feels like creating a feed of one’s own, looking out for subject matter that interests me.

The Story Behind the Photograph: A View Over the River Ganges: Photo of a slide projected onto a wall. It was mid November, 1989. I was four months into my journey through Central Asia. With my visa expiring, my time in Nepal was drawing to a close. Not feeling ready to go home, indeed a deeper sense of purpose and exploration beginning to arise from the trip …

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

We went to a birthday party on the south side of the island last night. It was an enjoyable evening. Just before sunset a whale and her calf swam by the house where the party was being held. As if to send birthday wishes, the calf waved it tail in the air a few times as it went by.

Unbeknownst to the friend who text me this, I was just about to walk into the chemist (pharmacy) when he sent me this. I miss Adams' writing. Space … is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly hugely mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it’s a long way down …

I have a number of photographs from our trip to Portugal last year which never saw the light of day because of me catching pneumonia and becoming so unwell. So I am revisiting a Sunday day trip to the town of Beja. During our walk around town we came across some interesting graffiti. Here is a …

Today was a WatchTo5K … actually I suppose that it still is? The thing is that it has been raining pretty much consistently since yesterday evening. Everything from light drizzle to torrential rain. This morning has been more of the latter. The roads are turning into rivers and there is …

I’ve watched the first two episodes of Masters of the Air on TV+. I probably should have done this in the first episode, but for the second episode I turned on subtitles as in places I was struggling to understand what was being said. I notice this more often these days in films and series on …

I’ve just completed my first run of the third week of the WatchTo5K program. This was the hardest so far - I wonder how many times I will be saying that before this training is over?! A couple of longer runs in the middle of the walk/run sequence (and the heat didn’t help). I still find …

📱Well I finally decided to reinstall a cover on my phone. I'd like it to last another year or so, at least, and don't know if I can trust myself not to drop it.

📱Well I finally decided to reinstall a cover on my phone. I'd like it to last another year or so, at least, and don't know if I can trust myself not to drop it.

Finished reading: Foster by Claire Keegan 📚 This is the third book that I have read by Claire Keegan, an author who I had not heard of a few months ago. Each time brought into a story, taken through a snap shot, and then we leave the characters to the larger story. But that snap shot contains so …

We are really getting a cornucopia of weather conditions at the moment. Days of still weather, clear skies and sun, were replaced with two days of howling winds, though clear skies as well. Now the clouds have come in so thick that all views are obscured and it has just started raining.

🍃 I feel as though we have been in a wind tunnel all day, maybe the last two days?! I hope that we wake up to a calmer day tomorrow.

🍃 I feel as though we have been in a wind tunnel all day, maybe the last two days?! I hope that we wake up to a calmer day tomorrow.

Well that is week two of the Watch to 5K completed. This week was harder than the second, though I am also seeing progress. I am running a little further than the previous week. At the moment I am finding it hard to imagine that I’ll be running 5K by the end of the program. However, there are …

🏃‍♀️ I don’t think that my run today will be much fun, though it will be a challenge. Winds are currently gusting 20/25mph, with a forecast for stronger winds.

🏃‍♀️ I don’t think that my run today will be much fun, though it will be a challenge. Winds are currently gusting 20/25mph, with a forecast for stronger winds.

I find myself wondering if it is possible to somehow create an RSS feed for a website that I would like to follow, but that does not a feed?

The dawn chorus yesterday morning.

I have not used the Maui bus service for a good number of years now, but it seems that come March 1 I will qualify for a free travel. According to the article below, I will come under the 55 and older category (I am 60). So that leaves me with something to reflect on! Maui fare-free bus transit …

This morning’s Watch to 5K run was the hardest so far. The fifth in the program, the second of the second week, I think that my calf muscles were tightening up with this new regime that I am putting them through. I’m still pleased that I am on this program, and look forward to see how I …

I took the case off of my iPhone 13 Mini a few days ago to clean the phone. It is a clear case and I could see dirt accumulating around the back of the phone. I cleaned the phone and case, but I have not put the case back on the phone. I feel that the phone looks so much better without it. I …

I just saw a bumper sticker, Love Everyone Now there is a practice of a lifetime.

Dawn this morning, a couple of hours ago.

🤫 All is quiet right now, and I’m loving it. It won’t stay this way, but for now I am making the most of it. The quiet rests my body and mind.

🤫 All is quiet right now, and I’m loving it. It won’t stay this way, but for now I am making the most of it. The quiet rests my body and mind.

I’m happy to have completed Run 3 and my first week of the Watch to 5K app and challenge.

An Early Morning Sound: This is my first post and try out of Vincent Ritter’s new blogging platform, Scribbles. I’m not sure that I need another blog, but I love Vincent’s other offerings - Gluon, Tinylytics, and Shoutouts, and so couldn’t miss out on trying Scribbles. I was outside at dawn this morning and all of a sudden …

The Story Behind the Photo: A Bus Full of People: The original of this image was a slide. I projected it onto a wall and took this photo. I initially posted this photo on September 3, 2023, but offered no context for it. Following the reception to my story about a photograph that I took of Mt.Everest at sunset and encouragement of Miraz and Maique, …

Good morning ☕️. What will this week bring?

Photographs from a walk along the cliffs near to Ho’okipa Beach, Maui last Friday evening. The island in the distance is Moloka’i. The sun is setting behind the West Maui Mountains.

We went to see Poor Things last night. A good and bold performance by Emma Stone, who really carried the movie. However, I can’t fault any of the cast who included Mark Ruffalo and Willem DaFoe. 🍿

That was not easy, but a good challenge. A 500 piece jigsaw puzzle of rocks, a Christmas present that I have slowly worked on, a few pieces each day. 🧩

🏃‍♂️ Heading out for the second run of my personal Watch to 5K challenge.

🏃‍♂️ Heading out for the second run of my personal Watch to 5K challenge.

Accountability and Running: Towards the end of last year the iOS/Apple Watch app, Watch to 5K, was offered at a discount and it got me thinking. I wanted some easy accountability to get me exercising. This app essentially puts a Couch to 5K program onto an Apple Watch, with a companion iPhone app holding all the data from each …

🐳 I saw my first whale of the season this evening. Way out to sea, a few water spouts and the cresting back of the whale.

🐳 I saw my first whale of the season this evening. Way out to sea, a few water spouts and the cresting back of the whale.

The Story Behind the Mt Everest Photograph: Yesterday I posted a photograph showing the last rays of sunlight catching the summit of Mt Everest at the end of a day. After putting it up online, I was reflecting on the story behind the image, and thought that I would share it. The year was 1989, the month September. I found myself in Nepal at …

The summit of Mt Everest, peeking out from behind surrounding mountains, coloured orange as it catches the last rays of sunlight at the end of the day. This image was captured during a month long trek to the Solo/Khumbu region of Nepal around September 1989. Photo of slide projected onto a wall.

This winter feels like a struggle. If not that, a season that is bringing its fair share of obstacles. One blessing is that the weather is not one of them. At least, yet.

Those times when I talk to a delivery person, just making conversation, and they are unsure what to say. I feel that I have done something that they are just not use to, and so are stuck for words?

😩 A frustrating day. I fix one thing (or update it), and something else breaks. I’m calling tech support tomorrow morning. Despite the sound of it, this was not computer related, rather the front gate.

😩 A frustrating day. I fix one thing (or update it), and something else breaks. I’m calling tech support tomorrow morning. Despite the sound of it, this was not computer related, rather the front gate.

Sitting in silence.

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

Cold weather: Yesterday felt cold here, this evening there is a real icy blast…for a home only about 640 ft above sea level, in the Hawaiian islands. Of course it is not the sub-freezing temperatures that parts of the North American continent are facing, but the wind has a cold punch to it. Coming from …

Wednesday was exhausting for me. Being preceded by the busyness of the Christmas and New Year holidays probably didn’t help. I’m an introvert and at times just need time to myself to wind down. Too much external activity and noise and I’m working on reserve tank, my body becoming …

This place is called the Fun Factory and is a favorite of my grandson’s. I’m not in agreement with him on this. I call it soul destroying and a money burner. I wouldn’t tell him this and such, of course, is lost on him anyway.

Home alone, listening to and reading the poems of Han-Shan, Cold Mountain. Thank you Gary Snyder, Red Pine and others. Men ask the way to Cold Mountain Cold Mountain: there’s no through trail. In summer, ice doesn’t melt The rising sun blurs in swirling fog. How did I make it? My …

Year in books for 2023: Here are the books I finished reading in 2023. I’m a slow reader, not living in a family of readers (which slows me down more), but I love reading and am happy with this achievement.

🤦 How to not make a cup of coffee…omit the ground coffee. Happy New Year!

🤦 How to not make a cup of coffee…omit the ground coffee. Happy New Year!

Well, I’m heading to bed after seeing in 2024 here in Maui. It’s been a while since I have stayed up to welcome in a New Year. Good company and a lovely fire to sit around, helped. Good night all, and see you in 2024.

I periodically return to the book One Robe, One Bowl: The Zen Poetry of Ryokan translated and introduced by John Stevens. Ryokan’s poems, expressions of simplicity and insight into the essence of life, calm me and help to give me perspective. This one touched me this morning, TWILIGHT - smoke …

New Year’s Eve and a beautiful sunny morning. What a difference after days, weeks of rain. Cold earlier this morning, though.

A sprinkling of white on a tree top. White Egrets sit out the coldness of early morning.

I am not a screenwriter in any shape or form, but thoroughly enjoyed this episode of Script Notes, where John August interviews writer and director Christopher Nolan - The Dark Knight Trilogy, Dunkirk, Oppenheimer - on his screen writing process. I was impressed by the amount of research that he …

This morning I had a brief, interesting talk with my acupuncturist about intuition. Experiences of it, and reasons why we might have doubted it when intuition has arisen, only to find that acting on that feeling has been the right way to go. I wonder how often I/we choose not to listen to intuition, …

💡 Well no sooner do I write, than the power comes back on. And the rain continues to fall. It is wet out there.

💡 Well no sooner do I write, than the power comes back on. And the rain continues to fall. It is wet out there.

🔌 Power outage. We haven’t had one for a while. The lights flickered while I was cooking dinner, but hung in there. Later we were watching one of the streaming services and all suddenly goes dark. Inclement weather can bring on a power outage and it has been wet since mid-afternoon.

🔌 Power outage. We haven’t had one for a while. The lights flickered while I was cooking dinner, but hung in there. Later we were watching one of the streaming services and all suddenly goes dark. Inclement weather can bring on a power outage and it has been wet since mid-afternoon.

As Boxing Day comes to an end, celebrated in my mind if not in the country where I now live, I look back on the beginning and end of yesterday.

That time of year when I go searching for the ghosts of Christmas past, the good ghosts.

Finished reading: Grief Is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter. A quirky and resonant meditation on grief. 📚

As I get ready for bed, I remember as a kid going to bed on Christmas night. Once the lights were out and I’d said “good night” to everyone, I would sit and stare out of the window, imagining Santa being somewhere out there, traveling over this sleeping city. And I would hope to catch a glimpse of …

As Christmas night falls here in Hawaii, I wish all those who celebrate, in whatever shape or form, blessings, peace and all good wishes.

Joining in the current online fun. I experimented with a few descriptions and think that this one resulted in the best likeness.

Finished reading: A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas. I read this each year. My father’s side of the family is from Wales and I lived there for almost 20 years. This year I read it while rain fell outside, the Christmas tree lit up and carols played. I was transported back to …

I watched A Charlie Brown Christmas last night, something I started doing each year, a few years ago. I think that I enjoy the animation because it shows Christmas through children’s eyes, while at the same time speaking to what is truly important about Christmas, away from the …

Well that is not very welcome. Our Wedding Anniversary today, Christmas just round the corner, and I test positive for COVID this morning. My wife tested positive a couple of days ago. For me, I just have aches and pains for now. Hopefully it won’t get any worse. Happy Holidays 🎄

🌧️ Well it is wet out there.

🌧️ Well it is wet out there.

These are not the best photographs of Wailuku, but I feel as though it is an overlooked gem here in Maui. Wailuku is the administrative home on the island, with the County and Court buildings based there. As such it is away from the tourist routes. At the same time, I wish a little more love was …

I lay in the darkness this morning listening to the rain lash against the windows. My wife has tested positive for COVID and I am sleeping in a barn on our property - and no, I was not sleeping on hay with hens as bed fellows. Gratefully, I was comfortable. As dawn slowly emerged, hampered by the …

My favourite coffee shop, and my local one when we lived in Portland was Sterling Coffee Roasters. I still order from them - only three days from Portland, and free postage. A great service. These arrived yesterday, including their Holiday Blend for the Christmas/New Year period.

I’m trying to switch off today. The last few days have been busy, on top of a bad headache, and next week we’ll be hitting the ground running. So after completing a couple of tasks this morning, I’m dialing it back now. In fact I just woke up from a late morning nap.

🤦🏼‍♂️ Waiting for some toast to pop up, and then realized that I had not put it in the toaster!

🤦🏼‍♂️ Waiting for some toast to pop up, and then realized that I had not put it in the toaster!

Two sides of this evening.

Home alone reading, and doing a bit of writing as well, while listening to Christmas Carols. I love listening to Carols, and singing them. In hearing them I find the spirit of Christmas for me…and maybe memories of Happy Christmases with family, warmth and familiarity (and I sense somewhere …

From a walk at Ho’okipa cliffs just over a week ago.

I’ve spent the last couple of days playing around with Tot and Siri Shortcuts (or is it Apple Shortcuts, or maybe just Shortcuts…I really am unsure), just seeing what I can do. Trying to create a Drafts lite (very), if you like. Drafts is not going to disappear from arsenal of text …

The Boy And The Heron - some thoughts a day later: Almost twenty four hours after sitting down in the theater to watch The Boy And The Heron, the movie is still sitting with me. I chose to see the dubbed version so that I could concentrate on Miyazaki’s sumptuous drawings and the story. I still missed a few plot points and character …

I have not done this for a while - sitting in a theatre by myself to see a movie - but I am looking forward to it. Today’s feature? The Boy And The Heron.

Inspired by the sticker posts of @maique. I spotted these while waiting to cross the road with my grandson.

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

I’ve just booked a ticket to go and see Hayao Miyazaki’s new anime, The Boy And The Heron tomorrow. I’ve chosen to see the English dubbed version, just so that I could spend more time on the rich animation as opposed to reading text. I’m looking forward to it.

Grilling this evening.

Sunday speed.

I recently checked in with my men’s group saying that, …right now I’d prefer to be in an isolated cabin on the side of a mountain looking out onto the world, and to stay there for a few days. It might not be a remote cabin, but I have a quiet morning at home, alone, and that will do as second …

Those times when I have a host of tabs open, only to accidentally close my browser without saving them, and realizing that I actually don’t miss them. Even the option to reopen the last closed session on restarting my browser feels superfluous.

😶‍🌫️ A misty, rainy Sunday morning. Those are the best..at least it feels like that this morning.

😶‍🌫️ A misty, rainy Sunday morning. Those are the best..at least it feels like that this morning.

Finished reading: So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan 📚

Are you in the market for a new guitar? If so, put January 31st, 2024 into your diary. On that date, Mark Knopfler is auctioning more than 120 guitars and amps through Christie’s in London. You can read more about The Mark Knopfler Guitar Collection here, or for a more personal introduction to …

🤒 I have been unwell the last couple of days, though I really don't know what I have had? The main symptoms? Tired and achy, a slight and brief fever. I think that I am on the mend now. If you are waiting on reply from me, I hope to be back in touch tomorrow.

🤒 I have been unwell the last couple of days, though I really don't know what I have had? The main symptoms? Tired and achy, a slight and brief fever. I think that I am on the mend now. If you are waiting on reply from me, I hope to be back in touch tomorrow.

I felt as though this faint rainbow was kissing the sky this morning.

Finished reading: Weasels in the Attic by Hiroko Oyamada 📚

This weekend the north shore of Maui has seen a large swell visiting its shores. The photo below does no justice to the size of the size of the waves that were arriving here. Official figures say that at their largest they were between 18ft and 24ft. Zoom in to the far distance to see some monsters …

👋 …and suddenly it is all over. The build up, the preparation, the day, the eating, the cleanup, and all that is left are memories and feeling of a meal well eaten. Of course there is time spent with family and friends - appreciated and not taken for granted. For now though, Thanksgiving is wrapped …

👋 …and suddenly it is all over. The build up, the preparation, the day, the eating, the cleanup, and all that is left are memories and feeling of a meal well eaten. Of course there is time spent with family and friends - appreciated and not taken for granted. For now though, Thanksgiving is wrapped …

🍂 The house has been vacuumed, the table laid, food prep is under way, family strife laid to rest - Happy Thanksgiving.

🍂 The house has been vacuumed, the table laid, food prep is under way, family strife laid to rest - Happy Thanksgiving.

I was listening to an episode of the Metta Hour with Sharon Salzberg podcast yesterdday, and Sharon said something like (I’m paraphrasing), …and there is the conflict in the world today, in fact what about the conflict that is within individuals… Hearing that made me understand the often quoted, …

Somewhere in Copenhagen.

I’ve had a low grade nothing today. What does that look like? Being able to operate, just, while between time spent sleeping and feeling nauseous. There might be some aching going on in the background? But it does not really develop any further.

Sticking to the Meditation Instruction: I’ve said this before on this website, for example here and here. So why again? As much as anything, I repeat myself because I need to remind myself. There is something unintuitive about meditation. Meditation is a method for reprogramming our heart into different ways of being. We are swimming up …

☔️ I'm grateful for the rain falling this morning, and wish that it would bless the rest of this island with its presence.

☔️ I'm grateful for the rain falling this morning, and wish that it would bless the rest of this island with its presence.

Baldwin beech, Maui, this morning.

The sun has caught my face today, I can feel it. First out in the garden, clearing the planter boxes of weeds which had overgrown them due to neglect. Next to the beach for a walk, and then just to sit and watch life go by - the surfers, children playing in the shore break, parents chatting, …

The weather can be beautiful at this time of year, perfect. Yes there can be days of rain in the part of Maui where we live. That’s welcome, one because we need it, and two because for me days and days of sun can get a little old. But when the trade winds wind down, when the sun does not beat …

Silhouettes

Well no dream last night, at least none that I remember, but I did sleep like a log. I was exhausted and asleep just after 9:00pm.

I spent some time tinkering with my website this afternoon, and sending out some gratitude to various people who make it possible. I’m happy with how it’s looking…until I’m not and the next tinkering session. 😉

Miffy

A Dream - Reading to the World: I had a dream last night in which a good friend, Maique Madeira, was sitting on the floor reading Harry Potter to his daughter, surrounded by a larger group of intent listeners. Not only that, but through the power of the internet, people were listening all over the world (I remember an Apple …

We’ve had a lot of rain over the last two days. With that I’ve felt an increased pressure in the air, and I have put that down to headaches that I have been having. Initially I thought that it was because I was tired, but I think not know. I’ve mentioned this before. Increased …

🌧️ We are waking up to rain this morning, a lot of it. I hope that the rest of the island is getting this as it needs it. We live in the wetter part of Maui, and sometimes I can drive fifteen, twenty minutes from here and I go from rain to sun and blue skies.

🌧️ We are waking up to rain this morning, a lot of it. I hope that the rest of the island is getting this as it needs it. We live in the wetter part of Maui, and sometimes I can drive fifteen, twenty minutes from here and I go from rain to sun and blue skies.

Finished reading: People From My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami 📚

Following the devastating fires on Maui, both Upcountry and in Lahaina, there has been much coverage in the local press about the clean up process. For me, one thing that it has brought to light is the number of toxic materials that surround us on a daily basis. This article on the disposing process …

Well we lived to tell the tale. My wife and I spent five days looking after our grandkids while the parents were on the mainland. Sleeping with them - and being kicked out of bed - going to a birthday party, soccer game, getting them out of the house for school, functioning on little sleep. Today we …

A spiral staircase in a Lisbon hotel.

Occasionally, through something that I see or hear, I am reminded of a line inserted in the middle of the lyrics to the 1984 single Two Tribes, by the English band Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Just think, war breaks out and no one shows up I don’t know what to do with that, but I do think …

Finally we have rain, along with two rainbows 🌈

This Praying Mantis was there to greet us when we returned home yesterday.

😩 Jet lag sucks. Needing to sleep. Trying to stay up so that I don't wake up in the middle of the night...which I inevitably do anyway. Trying to function, get things done, but not really. Finally surrendering and just going to sleep, to wake up whenever the body feels it's ready to....only to feel …

😩 Jet lag sucks. Needing to sleep. Trying to stay up so that I don't wake up in the middle of the night...which I inevitably do anyway. Trying to function, get things done, but not really. Finally surrendering and just going to sleep, to wake up whenever the body feels it's ready to....only to feel …

💦 I'd forgotten how humid Maui can be.

💦 I'd forgotten how humid Maui can be.

Surfacing and Reflecting: This piece started to take shape towards the end of the summer. It is now the last day of October. I was just coming out of recovering from pneumonia, which I had contracted in Portugal though at the time I did not know what I had, and wanted to document for myself what had happened to me over the …

Welcome to America. An espresso in Portugal is €1.20 give or take a few cents. San Francisco airport $4.50 (before tax) 🤯

I was in a coffee shop in Lisbon and I noticed that there was a young woman reading a book. Maybe nothing unusual about that, except she was totally engrossed in the book. She didn’t look up as others came and went, as there were noises of activity around her. I am so used these days to seeing …

Finished reading: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan 📚

Adeus Portugal. Até à próxima. 😢

🌧️ Today has been off and on wet, but it is really coming down now. I hope that we don't sail away.

🌧️ Today has been off and on wet, but it is really coming down now. I hope that we don't sail away.

I understand people’s annoyance at the clocks going backwards and forwards twice a year. However, I do like that time once a year when the day feels that little bit longer, or at least the morning does. Though it normally takes me a week to get over the clocks jumping forward in the spring!

I think that I’ll look to have a notebook beside my bed to record the dreams that I have. I seem to forget them so quickly and easily once I am awake. Last night I had a dream about my late dad that I wanted to tell my mother about. I can’t do that now. The dream has vanished into the …

Photographs from Estremoz Saturday Market: Some more images from last week’s visit to Estremoz Saturday market.

Hopefully I’m not posting some political or subversive message here? “Go with the flow,” would suggest not. Spotted while in Lisbon.

Well apparently the sun is rising right now…7:54am. Perhaps it’s time to get up? Portugal seems to have this effect on me. I can’t get up?!

I don’t receive a lot of eyes on my website, but views in the last few days had dropped to zero…or so it seemed (I subscribe to @vincent’s wonderful Tinylytics service). I was pottering around on the backend of Micro.blog yesterday morning and found out that somewhere along the …

Books in Lisbon: I returned home yesterday from a couple of days in Lisbon with an unplanned cache - four books. Three of them came from a new discovery, a small bookshop that only carries books in English, Salted Books. The shop has only been open for a month, but apparently they are doing very well. Long may that …

VPNs: When to use a VPN and when not to, that is the question? So here I am, sitting in my hotel room in Lisbon. I am on the hotel’s WiFi network. I do not have a VPN fired up. In fact most of the time I do not use a VPN. When I do it is Mullvad. I did use Nord VPN but the longer contracts, it is …

Back in a warm hotel room drying out clothes (the heating cranked up to dry out those clothes) after a good pizza and browsing books in a bookshop. I love a good bookshop, even if 99% of the books are in a language that I don’t understand. I still came out with a book…in a language that …

Well I just got a whole lot wetter than I thought. It is pouring here in Lisbon and I didn’t think that I would be dealing with wet clothes. It seems that I did not pack appropriately. The next 24 hours will be fun - squelch, squelch.

🚘 Heading to Lisbon today.

🚘 Heading to Lisbon today.

The fisherman returning home, or maybe he is on his way to the fishing grounds?

Walking around the market in Estremoz yesterday.

⛈️ Woah! Now it is coming down. We got home just in the nick of time. A meeting canceled, but I prefer to be back home than out on the road in this. Be safe anyone who is out and about.

⛈️ Woah! Now it is coming down. We got home just in the nick of time. A meeting canceled, but I prefer to be back home than out on the road in this. Be safe anyone who is out and about.

A Pilgrimage to Nazaré: Today I made a pilgrimage to Nazaré, the home in Portugal of big wave surfing, and where the biggest wave ever to be surfed was surfed. Even though I don’t surf, I am surrounded by family and friends who do. I live on Maui where surfers from all over the world come to practice their sport, and …

Next stop America. The view yesterday from Europe’s most westerly point, Cabo da Roca in Portugal.

We found ourselves in Cascais around lunchtime. The restaurants were closed, opening in forty minutes, and it was raining. So we went for a walk, as you do when it’s raining, and found a bookshop. If my stomach hadn’t been rumbling and there wasn’t a destination to reach after …

Can anyone help me here? These are the opening hours of a nearby restaurant in Portugal. What do the little “a” stand for/mean? 3ª a Sábado: 12h às 15h | 19h às 22h Domingo e 2ª: Encerrada

This from writer and historian Heather Cox-Richardson, The nights I post a picture are often harder for me than the nights I write. I am not a visual artist, and so I struggle for way too long over what picture to post and then struggle even longer over how to caption the image I choose. I can …

🥱 8:30am and I am just getting up. I never do that, this late in the morning, until I have just done so. I was tired...still feel that way. A slow Sunday ahead?

🥱 8:30am and I am just getting up. I never do that, this late in the morning, until I have just done so. I was tired...still feel that way. A slow Sunday ahead?

😮‍💨 Feeling tired at the far end of a day moving around Lisbon. But getting things done, enjoying ourselves, and meeting with friends

😮‍💨 Feeling tired at the far end of a day moving around Lisbon. But getting things done, enjoying ourselves, and meeting with friends

Another Micro Meetup in Portugal with @maique, along with my wife, Melissa.

Waiting for a meet up.

🥵 very hot today. Peaking at 35C (95F). We are on the search for cooler temperatures.

Alcácer do Sal by night.

I’ve no idea what was happening in Alcácer do Sal this evening, but some people were enjoying themselves. The drummers and those following, were all dressed in a white uniform.

Finished reading Getting Your Important Work Done by Michael Nobbs. A collection of essays on being sustainably creative, using “whatever energy you have available, however limited it may be, to maintain a creative life (or even livelihood).” I don’t know when I came across …

I installed Thwip on my iPhone, and watch, just because…🔈

🧙🏻 A second test of a Drafts action

🧙🏻 A second test of a Drafts action

🧪 Testing a Drafts action.

🧪 Testing a Drafts action.

We went out to Arrábida Natural Park yesterday, and what a beautiful park it is. While walking along Praia do Creiro, one of the handful of beaches in the park, I saw a huge jellyfish and washed up at the shoreline. Its body was as large as a head. I’ve never seen one so large. I didn’t …

Captures from a walk through Alcácer do Sal this morning.

With the temperature in the low 30s, and cloudless skies, this character was overdressed yesterday.

I had a restless sleep last night. First I was too hot, then too cold, then the pillow felt too hard, then too soft. I gave up and moved to the couch, and sort of slept, waking up cold….and so went back into bed at dawn, finally getting up late. I wonder what the day will bring, as I’ll …

🇵🇹 Boa tarde Portugal

🇵🇹 Boa tarde Portugal

Sitting by the harbour in the small Danish town of Havnebyen. Friends from Maui have moved here and we are stopping by to visit them on our way to Portugal. My stay here in Denmark will be no longer than a long weekend, but I’m pleased that I am here. Not just to see my friends, but to experience …

Day 30 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Treasure, suggested by @agilelisa From an art exhibition in Florida in 2018.

Day 29 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Contrast, suggested by @gregmoore Light and dark.

Day 28 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Workout, suggested by @rom Always worth it, but quite a workout. Haleakala crater.

Day 27 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Embrace, suggested by @mroutley Returning to the UK, I always feel the embrace of the British landscape.

Day 26 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Belt, suggested by @annie Taken in a small restaurant/bar in Kyoto in October 2016. A few beverages in view.

Day 25 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Flare, suggested by @matt17r Autumnal light.

🤫 Sitting quietly.

🤫 Sitting quietly.

Day 24 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Belt, suggested by @allaboutgeorge The only belt that I brought with me on this trip. Better than the last one though, when I forgot to bring one at all. Then there was a lot of hitching up of my trousers until I bought a belt.

Day 23 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: A Day in the Life Out walking in Bristol, England today.

I took this photo this morning while having breakfast and have only just looked at it. It’s a striking sunrise, even if I say so myself, with the cloud formations as well. Bristol, England.

Day 22 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Road, suggested by @jomalo An old road maybe, running through the fields above the cliffs near to Ho’okipa, Maui

Day 21 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Fall, suggested by @pcora A Horse Chestnut leaves start to change colour as Fall approaches. Bristol, England.

Jet lag sucks, and I find that there is something settling about sitting quietly while the world outside sleeps.

🥱 Up early, did I go to sleep(?), for a jet lag informed breakfast.

🥱 Up early, did I go to sleep(?), for a jet lag informed breakfast.

Day 20 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Disruption, suggested by me, @crossingthethreshold I had no idea what I would post when I suggested this subject for a photo, but settled for snow in Portland from when we lived there in 2013.

🌧️ It’s pouring in southern England right now. On my way down to Bristol from Heathrow airport.

🌧️ It’s pouring in southern England right now. On my way down to Bristol from Heathrow airport.

Celebrating 60 years orbiting the sun. This time in a hotel at San Francisco airport. On my way to England this evening.

Day 19 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Edge, suggested by @rnv Two edges. The horizon and the west coast of the United States last night, just south of San Francisco.

We safely arrived at the Grand Hyatt Hotel at SFO, and there were two bottles of Prosecco and a box of chocolate biscuits waiting for me. Tomorrow is my birthday. Thank you Hyatt Hotel for recognizing tomorrow and celebrating with me on the road. Tomorrow onto the UK to visit my mother, a visit that …

Day 18 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Fabric, suggested by @adam Rolls of indigo fabric. Chikugo, Japan.

Day 17 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: intense, suggested by @rori The noise from these mechanical looms was intense, as in loud. They were weaving indigo cloth. Hirokawa, Japan.

Here is the full video of me leaning against the wind in the Isle of Skye. Yesterday, as a part of the September Photoblogging Challenge, I posted a still from this video.

Day 16 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: oof!, suggested by @bkryer Being held up by the strong winds on the Isle of Skye.

😰 It is so humid outside right now, that it just saps my energy.

😰 It is so humid outside right now, that it just saps my energy.

Day 15 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Red, suggested by @chiawase A red bicycle in Florence, Italy.

With the release of the new iPhones, I suddenly realise that my iPhone 13 Mini is already two years old. I have no plans to buy a new model, but boy, time flies.

The Trash Collectors: It’s Thursday evening. Time for the weekly ritual of putting the trash bins out for their collection on Friday morning. Tomorrow as I am waking up and making the first cup of coffee of the day, I will be greeted by the roar and grind of the truck carrying the trash collectors. It is a part of the …

Up until a couple of weeks ago I had not heard of the organization World Central Kitchen. While volunteering at Lahaina Gateway following the wild fires here on Maui, food was available through the day both for those coming to collect supplies and those helping in their distribution. One of those …

Day 14 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Statue, suggested by @christopherchelpka I found this character in Bristol, UK.

Danziger's Travels: There’s a quote from the book Danziger’s Travel that has sat with me since I returned from my travels in the early 1990s. Danziger’s words spoke to how I felt on returning to my home country, Britain. I was feeling lost and his words told me that I was not alone. Nick Danziger had …

Day 13 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Glowing, suggested by @anniegreens A hotel lobby somewhere in Kyoto.

Day 12 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Panic, suggested by @maique While I’m not sure that I was panicking, at times I felt uncomfortable as we walked up the switchbacks of the precipitous Halemau’u Trail at the end of our crater hike last week.

Day 11 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Retrospect, suggested by @chadgmoore This just fitted the bill for me for retrospect. A area from my past and which is still in my heart.

Day 10 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Cycle, suggested by @agilelisa I miss the annual Providence Bridge Pedal in Portland. This photo (that arm on the left bothers me) from 2014 of cyclists stopping for the view from the Fremont Bridge, normally busy with freeway traffic.

Day 9 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Language, suggested by @thedimpause If it wasn’t for the pictures of the food in this Kyoto restaurant, we would not have eaten.

Day 8 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Yonder, suggested by @jidabug Inverness, CA.

Ruminations on Travel and Place: Wednesday of last week I went back over to Lahaina to spend the day volunteering. It was hot, very hot, but rewarding. As I drove home I was reflecting on where I had been for the day. I had traveled across a good part of Maui in traveling from my home to Lahaina. Let me try and give some …

🩻 A hospital goes from a place that I rarely see, to one that becomes quite familiar. A chest X-ray just completed this lunchtime, with a follow up doctor’s visit tomorrow morning. All to see how my healing from pneumonia is progressing.

🩻 A hospital goes from a place that I rarely see, to one that becomes quite familiar. A chest X-ray just completed this lunchtime, with a follow up doctor’s visit tomorrow morning. All to see how my healing from pneumonia is progressing.

Day 7 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Panorama, suggested by @dejus The audience in Portland welcoming His Holiness the Dalai Lama, 2013.

Note to self: Do actually look at your ToDo list! 🤦🏼‍♂️

Day 6 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Well, suggested by @val I think that this must have been a well? Now inside a hotel on Lake Como.

I stepped outside this evening to a clear night sky, and there traveling overhead was a trail of Starlink satellites. That was the first time that I had seen them. It looked like a trail of Christmas lights floating across the sky. It was quite a sight. I’m now on the look out for the next …

I like Manuel Moreale’s analogy of seeing the online world as a mirror of the physical one.

Day 5 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Forest, suggested by @ovr The woodland leading down to the river Avon from Durdham Downs in Bristol, my stomping ground when I was growing up.

Sunset this evening from our lanai.

Hiking Haleakala Crater: I spent yesterday hiking Haleakalā Crater with a friend. The mountain sits at just over 10,000ft in altitude. The crater that is there today is not a classic volcanic crater, but rather a large erosional valley. It is believed that two valleys, Ko‘olau to the north and Kaupō to the south, expanded …

Day 4 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Orange, suggested by @ekcragg.

😮‍💨 Exhausted but happy after a day hiking through Haleakala crater today.

😮‍💨 Exhausted but happy after a day hiking through Haleakala crater today.

Day 3 of the September Photoblogging Challenge: Precious, suggested by @odd. Precious memories of past travels, this in Nepal, 1989 (photo of slide).

I spent this afternoon working in our yard. As an aside from this story, I have never quite got use to Americans calling what surrounds their house a yard. In the UK it is a garden and when you are working out there, you are gardening. Anyway, I was out in our yard pushing a wheelbarrow backwards …

Day 2 of the September 2023 Photoblogging Challenge. Buildup - suggested by @V_ Miami, FL

Day 1 of the September 2023 Photoblogging Challenge. Abstract - suggested by @greghiggins Volterra, Italy

August 2023 Newsletter letter: August 2023 Well after a run of 14 newsletters, the last one being at the end of April this year, I have not sent a newsletter for three months now. April and May found my wife and I in Portugal, based in Alcácer do Sal where we have a town house. At some point during our two month stay I became …

🤪 I was going to do something, look something up, and now (two minutes later) cannot remember for the life of me what that was??

🤪 I was going to do something, look something up, and now (two minutes later) cannot remember for the life of me what that was??

I’m more than a little out of practice with yoga right now. This morning I took a one and a half hour class. Plenty of shaking limbs and hard breathing as I tried to maintain the postures. The class finished four and half hours ago, and I am still feeling it.

Volunteering: As the result of an email that I received late on Friday night, Saturday saw me out at Lahaina Gateway, volunteering with the relief effort for those effected by the wild fires almost three weeks ago. Volunteers met up in the town of Wailuku, on the north west side of the island, at 7:45am Saturday …

Finished reading: A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers 📚

☔ It’s pouring here in Haiku.

☔ It’s pouring here in Haiku.

As Maui Breathes: As Maui cycles through the year, I can feel as the island breathes its way through the ebb and flow of visitors. There are deep intakes of breath as the island fills up during the seasonal holidays, and then exhales as visitors leave and Maui quietens down during those in between times when kids are …

Rain is pouring outside as I type this. Grey clouds hang low. The ocean, in the distance, is obscured from view. The clouds might lift briefly revealing all that is currently hidden from view, including the blue sky and sun, but this wet weather feels like it is the dominant feature of today. And …

Yesterday afternoon I just wanted to breathe some fresh tree air, and headed up to the Каhаkарао Loop Trail. Two and half hours later, and just over six and a quarter miles under the belt, I was back at the truck. A beautiful and welcome hike.

I am hearing of a lot of grass roots relief efforts that just came together following the wild fires that hit Maui just under two weeks ago. The wife, Jen, of a good friend of mine normally leads snorkeling tours. Just after the fires company used their boat to ferry supplies to those still in and …

Allowing people to tell their stories, enables them to release the pressure that they hold.

I’m not long back from my weekly men’s group. I am so grateful for this group, especially at this time here on Maui. A group of men who I get to know that little bit more each week. A group of men with whom I can sit and be honest and real with. A place for accountability, vulnerability. …

In the presence of giants. Driving through a forest of Red Woods last week in Northern California.

I always say that I will make a Mana Foods' cookie last, but never succeed. They are so good.

I returned home yesterday to rental cars parked up in the fields around the airport here on Maui. I hadn’t seen that since height of COVID. Then, with no visitors on the island, there was nowhere (apart from the fields around the airport) to park up the huge excess of unwanted rental cars. …

🏝️ I’m starting the journey back to Maui. I’m both wanting to be back home and anxious as to what I am returning to (though very gratefully, my home is safe).

🏝️ I’m starting the journey back to Maui. I’m both wanting to be back home and anxious as to what I am returning to (though very gratefully, my home is safe).

I’m missing Sea Ranch already, but I’m also missing home given what has happened in Maui. I’m heading back there tomorrow.

🐳 More whales swimming past Sea Ranch this afternoon. We can see their spouts way out in the ocean.

🐳 More whales swimming past Sea Ranch this afternoon. We can see their spouts way out in the ocean.

As the day ends here, I find myself still thinking over what has happened in Maui in the last 24 hours. Disbelief at the level of destruction, especially in Lahaina as it looks as though it has been raised to the ground, but also to those who have lost homes in Upcountry Maui. Sadness accompanying …

Sunset this evening from Sea Ranch. We also saw some whale spouts and splashes, maybe from their flukes, way off shore, and were wondering if they were making their way to Hawaii? What a beautiful evening.

Walking through the fields, by the coast, at Sea Ranch.

As I spend some time with family in California, the news that is coming out of Maui of the terrible fires there is heartbreaking. It sounds as though Front Street, and the historic area of Lahaina, including around the Bayan tree has been devastated (though to what degree is unclear right now, …

These misty, Northern Californian mornings, fit my being perfectly.

Hike to the bluff and there are three chairs waiting for you to take a rest, and take in the ocean views.

😶‍🌫️ Waking up to a foggy and damp morning. Perfect for moving slowly.

😶‍🌫️ Waking up to a foggy and damp morning. Perfect for moving slowly.

🥱 Tired after a day of driving.

🥱 Tired after a day of driving.

The Northern Californian coast at Sea Ranch.

🐲 I just paid a visit to The Dragon’s Den, a herbal medicine shop here on Maui. I was looking for a something to help open my lungs as I manage the tail end of pneumonia. I’ve come away with a couple of options, and hoping that I see some results.

🐲 I just paid a visit to The Dragon’s Den, a herbal medicine shop here on Maui. I was looking for a something to help open my lungs as I manage the tail end of pneumonia. I’ve come away with a couple of options, and hoping that I see some results.

☕ I’m drinking my first coffee for around two months. Being unwell just put me off the beverage, and then as I improved my acupuncturist suggested that I stayed away from coffee. This morning I felt as though I wanted to try some again. Right now it is feeling good.

☕ I’m drinking my first coffee for around two months. Being unwell just put me off the beverage, and then as I improved my acupuncturist suggested that I stayed away from coffee. This morning I felt as though I wanted to try some again. Right now it is feeling good.

I get up after a good eight hours sleep (not always guaranteed) feeling fresh and well rested. Half an hour later I am ready to go back to bed. 😩

Finished reading: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers 📚

Sounds of the night: crickets whistling geckos calling their territory with a sound like smacking lips a cow grazing voices cars on the nearby road dogs barking the wind through shrubs All this as I sit outside in the refreshing air, reading.

My grandson roasting a marshmallow at dusk, in PoliPoli Springs Recreation Area, Maui. (Photo credit, my son-in-law).

🔌 Power outage - those times when I realize the value and/or importance of that which I take for granted.

🔌 Power outage - those times when I realize the value and/or importance of that which I take for granted.

I was driving to the post office this morning, and a mongoose suddenly ran out into the road. I tried to swerve, but it was too late, the little animal gave me no time. I hit it. I turned around and drove back to see if it had survived, but sadly not. I lifted it off the road and laid it in the …

☹️ Waking up to the realization that the weekend is over.

☹️ Waking up to the realization that the weekend is over.

😌 It’s Sunday. I need a Sunday.

😌 It’s Sunday. I need a Sunday.

Now. View over Maui from PoliPoli Springs Recreational Area. The island of Lana’i in the distance.

At times I come across the attempt to put fun into a box. “Fun is this and only this, and if you are not doing this, you are not having fun.” From my experience, one person’s fun might be another’s idea of at best, an event to just get through, to endure. This image, which I …

I came across this poem last year on the On Being podcast. Written by the Pakistani climate activist Ayisha Siddiqa1, it is set against the backdrop of our current environmental crises. I find the poem holds a powerful message of the power of approaching the current crises motivated by love. There …

I remember when I first heard Sinead O’Connor sing. I sat up and took notice. Her haunting voice. Her first album was soon added to my collection. Over the years I have listened less of her music, not due to a change in taste, just my ebb and flow of choice of what to I’m listening …

Revisiting a 1987 Journey out of Estes Park: Yesterday a conversation on Micro.blog brought back memories of an episode early in my travels in 1987. In the Micro.blog conversation I wrote, I remember hitchhiking out of Estes Park many moons ago when I was just starting my travels. From my memory the breaks weren’t working properly on the …

Today appears to be a big laundry day chez moi. I’m tripping over clothes, towels, sheets and a big duvet cover.

Well Tropical Storm Calvin left its calling card for us. This morning I noticed water seeping out from behind the drier. The rain had come down the drier’s vent and out onto the floor. I had to pull out the washing machine and drier to get behind there this morning. An unexpected change of …

As I write this, it is grey and misty outside and sheets of rain are being blown across the my field of vision. It has been a wet morning, off and on with the occasional break. Calvin is making its presence felt, even if the storm is pulling westwards away from the islands. A flood watch is in …

Tropical Storm Calvin, which started out as a hurricane in the Pacific, is arriving in Hawai’i tonight, impacting the Big Island of Hawai’i first. With that said, I feel as though its effects are starting to make themselves felt even now - sustained wind, more cloud, and more frequent …

As I try our Obsidian, of course I go looking for a plugin to post to Micro.blog. Thank you @otaviocc, I’m testing your plugin out now.

This morning I’m keeping an eagle eye on the live text stream on the BBC website - my only option - in order to follow the Wimbledon Men’s final. It almost ups the tension, waiting for the next message to drop.

Clean up done. Sitting quietly now. Yesterday evening a collection of friends - kids, parents, grandparents - came over to play on the water slide that my son-in-law had constructed in a large natural bowl that sits on our property. There were a few collisions, but no injuries. My wife barbecued a …

Finished reading: The Cybernetic Tea Shop by Meredith Katz 📚

📝 I'm grateful for journalling.

📝 I'm grateful for journalling.

🥱 Waking from an afternoon nap.

🥱 Waking from an afternoon nap.

This afternoon my wife and I took a two and a half mile walk in Upcountry Maui. The cloudy weather created just the right conditions for walking. A lot of the land that we were walking by belongs to Oprah. Indeed most (all?) that is in this photograph belongs to her. I stopped on the return leg to …

After all the praise for The Bear that I have read on Micro.blog, I took out a subscription for Hulu. I don’t regret doing so. I’m, we are thoroughly enjoying it.

On a clear night, we are blessed with a wonderful view of a star filled sky. Tonight, just before turning in, I stopped to stair up at the glittering patterns above me, and the vastness of heavens that our tiny planet sits in. I find something quite calming and humbling viewing that site.

Reupholstering a couch today. Learning as I go. Patience is one of those lessons!

Some days I wonder what I have achieved from my meditation practice? Sleepy, wandering mind, replaying that incident from yesterday. Providing this does not become a habit as in, “great, it’s rest time,” I believe that what is gained is just showing up. There are so many other …

Going in…looking to retrieve some images off of my step-daughter’s old computer. 🫣

When I am unwell, I quite often find that I loose my taste for coffee. It comes back in its own time as I heal. As I recover from pneumonia I had started making myself a cup of coffee in the morning, but wasn’t really enjoying it. So when my acupuncturist suggested that I stay away from coffee …

🕳️ I am slowly surfacing, climbing out of the hole. I have not written on my blog for about a month. Much has happened, but I have simply not had the bandwidth to post. I've been unwell since May 20th, but did not get a diagnosis, of pneumonia, until June 7th - traveling saw to that delay. I've lost …

🕳️ I am slowly surfacing, climbing out of the hole. I have not written on my blog for about a month. Much has happened, but I have simply not had the bandwidth to post. I've been unwell since May 20th, but did not get a diagnosis, of pneumonia, until June 7th - traveling saw to that delay. I've lost …

This double rainbow, the second can be seen faintly above the first, appeared outside our house this morning. 🌈

The Sunday bikers are making there way through Alcácer this morning. It sounds like a scene from Mad Max out there.

A Stone in Time: There is a remote road on the far west side of the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales. Sealed but single tracked, with an occasional passing place. You are unlikely to see anyone there unless they are out hiking those barren hills. On a cold, wet day, the sort of day that I think about as I …

Absolutely perfect timing. The grandkids and family arrive today…and I get a migraine. It started last night, and will probably last for three days. They usually do. I haven’t had a migraine for a while now, and this one feels as though it is making up for lost time.

Well I had a lovely, unexpected surprise today. Years ago, or so it seems, there was an iOS app called Clear, a minimalist List keeping app. It appears that, also a while ago, I signed up for news of updates to the app. I stopped using the app, and the app dropped off the App Store. Well today an …

Finished reading: On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin. A wonderful read that took me back to the Welsh mountains that I overlooked for almost twenty years. 📚

Current mood, after a day with a lot of driving.

We had a couple of exterior walls painted white earlier this week. While we were in Lisbon, the local birds decided to bless one of the walls with berry coloured poop. Thankfully we were able to clean it off - yes I know time will see the white walls discoloured…but so early after being …

Out for a walk.

I’m sitting in an Uber ride and Walking On Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves plays on the radio. My spirits immediately feel lifted. That never fails to happen with this song.

🤧 In Lisbon. My seasonal allergies are playing up. I don’t blame this occurrence on the city, rather they have been with me since last night. The wind is definitely not helping, though.

🤧 In Lisbon. My seasonal allergies are playing up. I don’t blame this occurrence on the city, rather they have been with me since last night. The wind is definitely not helping, though.

Setting the mood for a Sunday Morning… Sunday Morning Jazz by Gillie Meyer

🥱 I slept late this morning. Very unlike me, I guess that I was tired? Having said that, I have notice that I go to bed later here in Portugal...and so tend to wake up later. However, this morning was particularly late. Not many plans today. A quieter day. Maybe the body knew that?

🥱 I slept late this morning. Very unlike me, I guess that I was tired? Having said that, I have notice that I go to bed later here in Portugal...and so tend to wake up later. However, this morning was particularly late. Not many plans today. A quieter day. Maybe the body knew that?

When a Saturday feels like a Sunday, and then I realize that Sunday is still to come. Long weekend in disguise 🥸

😶‍🌫️ It’s a cool, misty morning, with a beautiful freshness in the air. The sort of coolness that only comes during spring and summer, as a precursor to warmer weather later in the day.

😶‍🌫️ It’s a cool, misty morning, with a beautiful freshness in the air. The sort of coolness that only comes during spring and summer, as a precursor to warmer weather later in the day.

🐰 I’ve said it before, but will say it again, “where do all of these dust bunnies come from?” I vacuum in the morning, and they appear to be waiting for me again by the evening or next morning!! They are more prolific than the real thing.

🐰 I’ve said it before, but will say it again, “where do all of these dust bunnies come from?” I vacuum in the morning, and they appear to be waiting for me again by the evening or next morning!! They are more prolific than the real thing.

April 2023 Newsletter letter: April 2023 I write this at the end of April in a small church square, Largo de São Mamede, on the edge of the Príncipe Real area of Lisbon. Tomorrow will be the end of our forth week in Portugal, the longest period of time that I have spent in this country, and we still have five and a half weeks to …

🏳️ I’m giving in to the third coffee of the morning.

🏳️ I’m giving in to the third coffee of the morning.

🥱 Waking up to a quiet Sunday morning. This is so much appreciated, my big gratitude for the day. I don’t have to get in a car, navigate city traffic and load up. It was a fun two days, but happy to be home.

🥱 Waking up to a quiet Sunday morning. This is so much appreciated, my big gratitude for the day. I don’t have to get in a car, navigate city traffic and load up. It was a fun two days, but happy to be home.

I spotted a Micro.blog sticker in Lisbon today. That brought a smile to my face. 😊 @jean

We are back in Lisbon. An overnight stay. With the city only being an hour from Alcácer do Sal, it is very convenient whether we need to get things done, or a cultural visit. We arrived yesterday, and will be leaving later today. This is a “getting things done” visit, and I am looking …

Keeping an eye on you, in Lisbon.

🥵 Phew! The temperature started at 16°C/60°F today. By 3:00pm it is forecast to be 35°C/95°F. Wilting slowly.

🥵 Phew! The temperature started at 16°C/60°F today. By 3:00pm it is forecast to be 35°C/95°F. Wilting slowly.

🧓 I'm either showing my age, or my disconnect from modern parlance…or both?This week I have had to look up a couple of acronyms that I had no idea what they stood for, but appeared to be being used quite liberally.

🧓 I'm either showing my age, or my disconnect from modern parlance…or both?This week I have had to look up a couple of acronyms that I had no idea what they stood for, but appeared to be being used quite liberally.

A lunchtime well spent.

What an insane range of temperatures we are going to be facing here today. Depending on which side of the Atlantic you are on, it will be going from 12°C/53°F this morning, up to 32°C/89°F by late afternoon. And more to follow in the coming week.

☕ There’s that coffee that I was looking forward to as I went to bed.

☕ There’s that coffee that I was looking forward to as I went to bed.

🙃 It’s one of those nights when I go to bed looking forward to tomorrow morning’s coffee.

🙃 It’s one of those nights when I go to bed looking forward to tomorrow morning’s coffee.

Freedom Day Celebrations: Today, 25th April, is Freedom Day here in Portugal. Last night Alcácer do Sal held a concert with Marisa Liz, a fireworks display at midnight, and then a DJ after that. We showed up for Marisa’s concert, but her music wasn’t to our taste and so we walked back home and got into bed (the concert had …

I’ve been giving Apple Maps the benefit of the doubt, despite warnings to the contrary - thank you @maique. I prefer its layout to Google Maps and Waze, and it’s working in CarPlay. However, after being directed kilometers in the wrong direction yesterday, and not being able to find a place today, …

When I first opened my Mastodon account, I enabled cross posting from Micro.blog. Within a week, I had disabled it. Lack of familiarity with Mastodon was the reason. A few months have passed, and I have decided to re-enable cross posting…for now. My Mastodon posts still disappear after a …

☕ Oh dear, coffee number 4 this morning. I very rarely get this far…

☕ Oh dear, coffee number 4 this morning. I very rarely get this far…

🤫 I’m appreciating some quiet time this morning. Recharging and reflecting.

🤫 I’m appreciating some quiet time this morning. Recharging and reflecting.

😮‍💨 I’m tired after a day of driving and exploring the coast and inland countryside, south of Alcácer do Sal down to Vila Nova de Milfontes. Some beautiful scenery, and lovely weather for it…I can feel it on my face.

😮‍💨 I’m tired after a day of driving and exploring the coast and inland countryside, south of Alcácer do Sal down to Vila Nova de Milfontes. Some beautiful scenery, and lovely weather for it…I can feel it on my face.

I’m playing around with a new, for me, photo editing app. RNI Films: Photo & RAW Editor offers filters mimicking real film. I like the results so far.

Oh what a morning. People clearing the land next to us broke a water pipe. The view from our front door.

Current mood.

🌧️ Now it's raining. The first true rain that we have had since arriving just under three weeks ago.

🌧️ Now it's raining. The first true rain that we have had since arriving just under three weeks ago.

Out for a walk yesterday evening at sunset, we saw a stage being set up in the square outside of the Municipal Building. Maybe preparing for celebrations in and around Liberation Day, on 25th April? It looks as though events are planned.

😶‍🌫️ It’s a misty morning.

😶‍🌫️ It’s a misty morning.

🗣️ Keeping with the Portuguese practice. Three days now. My head is still close to exploding.

🗣️ Keeping with the Portuguese practice. Three days now. My head is still close to exploding.

Hiding under foot on the streets of Lisbon.

📱 I activated the haptic feedback for the keyboard on my phone, and am really enjoying the experience. I’d tried it once before, but it didn’t work for me then. However, after using a friend’s Android with the same feature, I revisited it, and am now appreciating the feel.

📱 I activated the haptic feedback for the keyboard on my phone, and am really enjoying the experience. I’d tried it once before, but it didn’t work for me then. However, after using a friend’s Android with the same feature, I revisited it, and am now appreciating the feel.

Yesterday evening I went into a small café here in Alcácer to order two beers. I almost got two coffees 😂 Keep practicing. 🗣️

I just took my first lesson in European Portuguese using the Pimsleur Method. @jean recommended this method to me, with the first lesson free on Apple Books. I decided to try that before diving in any deeper. Thirty minutes later and I feel exhausted, as though my head has been used as a punch bag! …

A day of unexpected twists and turns. We set off to explore the hills, beaches and restaurants west of Setúbal. However, the hot weather brought people out in droves, parking was in short supply and roads were closed. So a change of plans saw us at the market in Setúbal. We needed to do some grocery …

French Kiwi Juice by FKJ - Songlink

I was happy today to find the Tibetan Buddhist Retreat Center, Thubten Phuntsog Gephel Ling, about 20 minutes drive from Alcácer do Sal. On its grounds is the 16 meter high Tashi Gomang Stupa.

Hat on hooks.

🛌 I needed that sleep.

🛌 I needed that sleep.

Back in Alcácer after a couple of packed days in Lisbon. I find the city stimulates me in much the same way that this small town winds me down. I value both in different ways, and appreciate them being so close. Off to bed soon. Tomorrow, get two new house purchases working.

🌅 The morning after the day before, and what a lovely day yesterday was. Thank you all who were there for a great Micro Meetup 🙏🏻

🌅 The morning after the day before, and what a lovely day yesterday was. Thank you all who were there for a great Micro Meetup 🙏🏻

I’m sure that there will be more of these, but a couple of photos of the Lisbon, Micro.blog Meetup with @jean, @maique, @Portufraise & @helgeg (& friends from the conference Jean was attending). A wonderful afternoon, and lovely to meet more of the Micro.blog family.

🚘 Heading up to Lisboa very soon, for a Micro Meetup afternoon.

🚘 Heading up to Lisboa very soon, for a Micro Meetup afternoon.

Cais Palafítico da Carrasqueira - a place of old fishing piers and huts, near Comporta and the Atlantic coast, Portugal.

Wonky window on a ruined building.

A beach scene from Easter Sunday.

I love writing, it feeds me, even if that writing is personal and not shared. However, at the moment writing time is constrained for me and at a premium. So instead of dropping into despair that I have no time to write, I am trying to adopt a habit of looking for time, and then setting a timer and …

I’m working on a blog post for those who are interested in meditation, but who struggle with it. While I don’t like to proselytize about meditation, I do believe that some people drop it because they approach the discipline with some unhelpful ideas and expectations, and that makes me sad. Maybe a …

Moon rise in the house last night.

🔔 Sitting quietly at home at the end of a long day. Tired but much achieved. The church bells sound nearby for Easter.

🔔 Sitting quietly at home at the end of a long day. Tired but much achieved. The church bells sound nearby for Easter.

🪛 A busy day of putting things up in the house - shelves, lights, etc - running out to pick up items. Getting there. Order appearing out of chaos. It’ll be a long day.

🪛 A busy day of putting things up in the house - shelves, lights, etc - running out to pick up items. Getting there. Order appearing out of chaos. It’ll be a long day.

Evening light.

My body must have known that it didn’t need to get up for anything this morning. I didn’t wake up until 7:45am, which is late for me. That was a very welcome sleep.

I found this rather large fly down at the coast yesterday.

🏎️ I spent this morning driving through Lisbon traffic 🤪. Outside the city now in Parço de Arcos. Rush hour traffic to manage later.

🏎️ I spent this morning driving through Lisbon traffic 🤪. Outside the city now in Parço de Arcos. Rush hour traffic to manage later.

Fresh, Spring air breezing through the open windows. That alone, feels as though it is cleaning the house.

⏲️ So far I am managing the jet lag pretty well. I slept well’ish last night. Though I’ll probably be eating my words in a day or two!

⏲️ So far I am managing the jet lag pretty well. I slept well’ish last night. Though I’ll probably be eating my words in a day or two!

🇵🇹 Bom dia Portugal.

🇵🇹 Bom dia Portugal.

I’ve heard of a Christmas tree, but never an Easter tree.

On the move: I sit in a hotel - on the move. I look out of the hotel window onto a busy freeway intersection - people on the move, going in all directions. I look out on the adjacent airport - people on the move, across the country and across the world. People on the move fascinate me. The human race, it seems, …

🌞 It’s a beautiful start to the day in Northern California this morning.

🌞 It’s a beautiful start to the day in Northern California this morning.

Tukdam: Remaining in Meditation At the Time of Death: I recently watched the documentary Tukdam: Between Worlds. This explored the phenomenon in Tibetan Buddhism where experienced practitioners can remain in a state of meditation after the body has shown all physical signs of having died - no breathing, the heart has stopped. In this state the body can …

🛫 On our way.

🛫 On our way.

A year ago I became an American citizen. I don’t know where the time has gone?

🧳 Getting ready.

🧳 Getting ready.

🍽️ Out for dinner tonight to celebrate my step-son’s birthday.

🍽️ Out for dinner tonight to celebrate a my step-son’s birthday.

It’s that time of year, actually it could happen any time of year, when I start reassessing what app I use to manage my calendar. I wonder if anyone has any preferences…and why?

Good morning. Making coffee ☕️

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 31: Practice, suggested by @hollie Practicing

March 2023 newsletter letter: March 2023 Hello and welcome to the March 2023 newsletter. I am hoping that I can get this months’ newsletter out on time. Time will be a crunch. Because of how Micro.blog, the host for my blog and newsletter, is structured, I will have a small window of opportunity to do the final editing and add …

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 30: Mirror, suggested by @Rori Rows of Parmesan cheese mirror each other as they wait their turn to be cleaned - each cheese is picked out, polished, put back, and then the machine moves onto the next one. Scandiano, Italy.

I look out on this scene every time that I step outside of my front door. Yet it was someone’s words a couple of years back that changed what I see when I step out. This friend mentioned that it was possible to see the curvature of the Earth by looking out to the horizon. Sure enough, he was right. …

We watched The Swimmers on Netflix a few night’s ago, and enjoyed it - even if the delayed review suggests otherwise. A true story, about two sisters who were coached as swimmers by their father. One in particular was driven to swim in the Olympics representing her country, Syria. Based on a true …

That last post was helpful to me. A little bit of accountability.

Twenty minutes writing. Go!

Disintegrating slowly: A couple of days ago I replaced a metal bar that held up a small solar panel. The panel has been sitting on our gate post for around five years, quietly doing its job - charging a battery, and when that is fully charged, operating a gate. The metal bar had also quietly been doing its job. Holding up …

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 29: Slice, suggested by @meandering A spiraling staircase, slicing its way through the floors. Taken at Antinori nel Chianti Classico, a winery in Tuscany, Italy.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 28: Prompt, suggested by @moonmehta This little guy looks as though she’s waiting for a train. I hope that it was on time and prompt. Taken at Temple Meads Station in Bristol, England.

I’ve just been scrolling through the new Apple Classical app. I can’t speak to how good the app is, but I see that there is a lot of potential for me to learn about music here.

I am constantly amazed at the number of times that I don’t really delve into what is on offer with MacOS or iOS. The same could go for pieces of software. Yes, I can competently find my way around, but then I discover a feature that I have just ignored exploring, possibly due to habits formed with …

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 27: Support, suggested by @JohnAN A detail of the support that the Japanese give to long branches on trees. A long wooden pole, tied in place by rope. This photo was taken in the Gyoen National Garden in Kyoto.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 26: Instrument, suggested by @UnfocusedWanderlust A display of Ukuleles in the store front of Porto Guitarra in Porto, Portugal. I always thought that the Ukulele was a Hawaiian instrument but Wikipedia says that it is of Portuguese origin.

On not making the bed: I usually can’t start my day unless my bed is made. It is 7:45am on Sunday morning and the bed is made for today. I can now get on with my day. But yesterday was different… I didn’t make my bed. No one reason - I felt unwell and so got up later, and went back to bed mid-afternoon - but I was …

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 25: Spice, suggested by @cygnoir The spice draw in our kitchen.

🤕 Nurturing a headache and sniffles this morning. I could do with a a quiet Saturday, but there are things to do. I hope that this cold leaves soon.

🤕 Nurturing a headache and sniffles this morning. I could do with a a quiet Saturday, but there are things to do. I hope that this cold leaves soon.

My not so good or clear attempt at catching Venus above a sliver of a new moon, last night.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 24: Court, suggested by @rom I want to say that I didn’t get to the court today because I was sick. However, while the latter is true, I actually never get to the court. 😔

🤧 I don’t know where this cold has come from, but I am definitely running on a half tank at the moment.

🤧 I don’t know where this big has come from, but I am definitely running on a half tank at the moment.

🌩️ We are being treated to the a light show on the horizon, as lightning flashes continuously. There must be quite the storm out over the Pacific Ocean.

🌩️ We are being treated to the a light show on the horizon, as lightning flashes continuously. There must be quite the storm out over the Pacific Ocean.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 23: Chance, suggested by @V_ You take a chance walking under a Kiawe tree that’s growing on a beach in Maui. A Kiawe’s branches have nasty thorns on them. Those branches can break off and lie buried in the sand, waiting for unsuspecting bare feet.

I appreciate all the spammers writing to me concerned if I am having difficulty pooping 💩🙄

Who does a HomePod play for when no one is listening? Unknown to us, we left our HomePod playing in our Barn last night, no one in there. I walked in this morning and wondered what the noise was, the music was on low. I had to stop and listen, and followed that with a “Hey Siri, stop.”

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 22: Insect, suggested by @alexink A couple of insects in our house.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 21: Tiny, suggested by @jasonmcfadden A tiny Buddha, who my grandson refers to as “Baby Buddha.”

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 20: Houseplant, suggested by @jensands The only houseplant currently in our house are these dried seed heads.

😵‍💫 That was an emotionally exhausting and challenging weekend. I’m hoping to carve out a bit of space in the week ahead.

😵‍💫 That was an emotionally exhausting and challenging weekend. I’m hoping to carve out a bit of space in the week ahead.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 19: Analog, suggested by @skarjune My current note book.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 18: Portico, suggested by @annahavron A portico in Bath, England.

Finished reading: The Queen of Crows by Cheri Baker. A good read. I enjoyed it. 📚 // @cheribaker@writing.exchange

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 17: Early, suggested by @krisfredrick Early this morning.

It’s a shame that there isn’t a March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge prompt along the lines of hanging around, or feet first. I have a photo for them.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 16: Road, suggested by @dejus The remote road on Haleakala’s south flanks, looking towards Kaupō.

🤔 I’m really scratching my head with a DIY project at home. I think that I am nearing a solution, but it has taken its time.

🤔 I’m really scratching my head with a DIY project at home. I think that I am nearing a solution, but it has taken its time.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 15: Patience, suggested by @amit On the reception desk at a hotel in Siena, Italy.

😴 Well the visit to Lowes and HomeDepot were unproductive, but the nap in the car afterwards was welcome.

😴 Well the visit to Lowes and HomeDepot were unproductive, but the nap in the car afterwards was welcome.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 14: Horizon, suggested by @crossingthethreshold (me) The horizon from my front door this morning.

If you are looking for an app that reduces the size of video for social media, Video For Ants for iOS is in beta right now - TestFlight Link It includes some interesting app icon options!

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 13: Connection, suggested by @agilelisa Since my first visit to the Himalayas in 1989, I have felt a connection to Tibet and its people. This photo, of a projected slide, is of me on the roof of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, in the 1990s.

I ticked another Studio Ghibli movie off my list last night, watching Howls Moving Castle. It isn’t my favourite Studio Ghibli movie so far, but as ever, I loved the animation and the detail in the images. 🍿

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 12: Shiny, suggested by @odd This shiny store reminded me of a fairground ride. It is situated in Lisbon airport and sells sardines.

🔥 Sat around the fire pit last night with the grandkids, roasting marshmallows, while their parents partied at a wedding next door. A game of night time tag. Shower, movie and then bed. The evening went well.

🔥 Sat around the fire pit last night with the grandkids, roasting marshmallows, while their parents partied at a wedding next door. A game of night time tag. Shower, movie and then bed. The evening went well.

🔊 Sitting in the dark, baby sitting the grandkids, while music from the party that their parents are at, booms loudly from across the road.

🔊 Sitting in the dark, baby sitting the grandkids, while music from the party that their parents are at, booms loudly from across the road.

With Day Light Savings Time starting across the northern hemisphere over the next two weeks, Hawaii, which does not observe the clock change, will become an hour further behind those Northern Hemisphere countries, and US states, that do. At the same time it will creep an hour closer to those …

🌞 I said it yesterday, but the warm sun feels so good. I think that it is the contrast after weeks of wind and rain.

🌞 I said it yesterday, but the warm sun feels so good. I think that it is the contrast after weeks of wind and rain.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 11: Gimcrack, suggested by @Josh I had not heard of a gimcrack before today’s challenge. After looking up the word, I settled on this little farmyard in a corner of our kitchen.

I’m reconsidering my digital password storage options. About a year ago I moved away from 1Password, a piece of software that I have used since it first appeared. Did I need it? I’m now thinking to move back. I just know it. The re-setting up feels a little daunting.

☀️ The warmth of the sun feels just so good today.

☀️ The warmth of the sun feels just so good today.

280 piece puzzle completed. Portuguese tiles. 🧩

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 10: Ritual, suggested by @drewbelf A daily ritual of meditation.

🌊 Returning home last night it was still and dark, and yet I could hear the waves crashing against the cliffs over a mile away.

🌊 Returning home last night it was still and dark, and yet I could hear the waves crashing against the cliffs over a mile away.

The mystery of jigsaw puzzles. I have a group of pieces that I stare at for days, convinced that I still have to find one or two pieces that will bring them all together. Then one day I sit down and, click, click, click, they all come together. No other pieces needed. 🧩🤷🏼‍♂️

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 9: Together, suggested by @sherif Two mannequins standing side by side as the market is set up. Lisbon, Portugal.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 8: Walk, suggested by @lwdupon A photo of a projected slide from my time in India in 1989. I’m unsure where I took this, but I think that it was in Bihar State.

Your windy morning, double rainbow 🌈

A Kona, westly, storm is battering Maui right now. Sheets of rain being blown by winds I would say gusting into the 40’s mph, at least into the 30’s (he says after consulting multiple weather sources).

Of all the movies that I thought that I would watch again, This Is Where I Leave You was not one of them. Looking for something easy going, we chose this movie, thinking that maybe it looked familiar? Indeed it was. Early on it was apparent that this was not a first viewing, but we still watched it …

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day : Whole, suggested by @val I’m always grateful for the whole bean coffee that I buy from Sterling Coffee Roasters in Portland. I’ve made sure to write to them to let them know. Here is their always available, general blend - Blendo Stupendo.

I find that it is easy to take for granted the many conveniences that we have these days, until we don’t have them. The power went out this morning around 7:00am and didn’t come back on again until 3:00pm. I’ve no idea why. Pretty much everything went down with it, including our …

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 6: Engineering, suggested by @ridwan For all the advancements in digital technology, I am fascinated by the precision engineering that goes into analog clocks and watches. This photo is the back of a clock hanging in my mother’s apartment.

Three egrets fly home in formation. Home to roost before another day of foraging.

The first dry, windless day for weeks. Couple that with it being a Sunday, and by mid-afternoon the hum of lawn mowers could be heard around the neighborhood. I was adding to the noise by getting wet and dirty with a power washer, removing grime accumulated through the wet weather.

My wife and I have been watching Shrinking on Apple TV+, and thoroughly enjoying it. Funny, well written, and a good cast. Recommended. 🍿

🌞 The first morning waking up to sun for a long time. Much gratitude.

🌞 The first morning waking up to sun for a long time. Much gratitude.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 5: Tile, suggested by @thedimpause After our recent visits to Portugal, I feel spoiled for choice for tiles to share today. These were taken in Porto.

This morning’s rainbow 🌈

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 4: Zip, suggested by @Miraz This car, sitting in front of our hotel in Florence, Italy last year, looked as though it had some zip to it.

Finished reading: Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata 📚

♨️ We just put a heater on. It's cold this evening, in our corner of Maui.

♨️ We just put a heater on. It's cold this evening, in our corner of Maui.

Spinning wheels today…that’s what it feels like right now. The day started off well, but the wheels got progressively bogged down in the mud as the day has gone on, at least that is how it feels from where I sit right now. Maybe I am too hard on myself and need to take a break, and do …

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 3: Solitude, suggested by @circustiger At dusk on a cold evening, a lone fisherman sits waiting on the beach in Comporta, Portugal.

☔ I haven’t seen so much rain here. Since I landed back on island a week ago, there has been rain with short breaks, and a lot of wind. I just drove home with wipers doing double speed, and rivers forming alongside the road.

☔ I haven’t seen so much rain here. Since I landed back on island a week ago, there has been rain with short breaks, and a lot of wind. I just drove home with wipers doing double speed, and rivers forming alongside the road.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 2: Weather, suggested by @pcora We’ve been having terrible weather of late. Continual wind and rain, with the occasional glimpse of sun. Cold as well.

🌧️ It’s pouring out there. “Out there,” is outside of my truck. I have come to off load the recycling, but it is raining so much that for now I am not venturing out.

🌧️ It’s pouring out there. “Out there,” is outside of my truck. I have come to off load the recycling, but it is raining so much that for now I am not venturing out.

March 2023 Photoblogging Challenge Day 1: Secure, suggested by @mandaris A plant behind a secure window in Florence, Italy.

February 2023 newsletter letter: February 2023 Welcome to my February 2023 newsletter. This month has been dominated for me by travel to Europe. A solo journey made up of two parts. First I stopped for a week in England to visit my mother. From there I travelled down to Portugal for two weeks. Nothing specific was planned for the …

Well that will teach me. I saw a passage earlier today that I liked, and thought that I would build a blog post around. “I’ll remember where the text is," I said to myself, “I’ll pick it up later." Remembering it now and wanting to write that post, I have no idea …

It’s cold, wet and windy today. February is going out with a bang.

Resting in the Anonymity of Travel: Yesterday I landed at JFK airport in New York after a seven and a half hour flight from Lisbon. The previous night I had spent at an airport hotel in Lisbon due to my early departure the next day. Although someone was sitting next to me on the flight to JFK, we both kept to ourselves, eating, …

🧪 Doing a little testing of omg.lol's status updates.

🧪 Doing a little testing of omg.lol's status updates.

🚧 The spam bots appear to be on overdrive for the last couple of days. The amount of junk e-mail dropping in has significantly increased.

🚧 The spam bots appear to be on overdrive for the last couple of days. The amount of junk e-mail dropping in has significantly increased.

🚧 The spam bots appear to be on overdrive for the last couple of days. The amount of junk e-mail dropping in has significantly increased.

💆‍♂️ I’ve just had a massage to ease two days of travel out of me. I’m still less than 24 hours home and feel as though I have a leg in two continents.

💆‍♂️ I’ve just had a massage to ease two days of travel out of me. I’m still less than 24 hours home and feel as though I have a leg in two continents.

Leaving a Book Before I Finish It: I stopped reading a book recently, and for some reason that process of putting the book down sits very uncomfortably with me. The book had been recommended to me by a friend a number of years back. I purchased it at the time, but ever since it has languished, other titles jumping the queue. I …

🛬 Getting there. I’ve not long landed in Honolulu. Waiting for my final flight, to Maui. What time is it?!

🛬 Getting there. I’ve not long landed in Honolulu. Waiting for my final flight, to Maui. What time is it?!

A few views of the TWA Hotel at JFK early this morning. There are always people walking around taking pictures here. The retro sixties look is so well done. The sunken lounge. The old checkin desks that are now used for hotel checkin. The bag conveyor belt is running behind the desks, though they …

Oh jet lag! I guess that I might as well get up? 🤷🏼‍♂️🥱

Tonight’s layover, TWA Hotel at JFK.

🛸 Up, up and away.

🛸 Up, up and away.

I’m starting the flights back home. It’ll take me a couple of days to get there. I’ll miss Portugal. I missed it last time that I left and I’ll miss it this time. See you again soon.

There was a haze of dust from North Africa (sand from the Sahara?) hanging over Lisbon this evening, as I crossed the Vasco da Gama Bridge.

😶‍🌫️ The morning cloud and mist is burning off. It feels as though it will be a warm afternoon.

😶‍🌫️ The morning cloud and mist is burning off. It feels as though it will be a warm afternoon.

🥱 It’s tomorrow. I’d better go to bed.

🥱 It’s tomorrow. I’d better go to bed.

Town, boat, night…from the far bank.

🐰 Where do dust bunnies come from? My current thinking is from “thin air,” and that they are very prolific!

🐰 Where do dust bunnies come from? My current thinking is from “thin air,” and that they are very prolific!

🗒️ Making lists for things I have to do in the next 24 hours before leaving.

🗒️ Making lists for things I have to do in the next 24 hours before leaving.

Catching up. Sunset from the beach at Comporta a few nights ago And Alcácer do Sal from over the River Sado yesterday evening, And tonight.

I have just had lunch and still haven’t been outside yet today. I got up late and just started doing odd jobs around the house. The grey sky outside wasn’t an encouragement to venture out, and I just didn’t think about doing so. I’ll head out before the day is over, but have appreciated the …

🫠 Another ssslllooowww start to the day. Not often for me, but sometimes they just feel right…and nourishing.

🫠 Another ssslllooowww start to the day. Not often for me, but sometimes they just feel right…and nourishing.

🍺 Sitting outside on a mild February evening in Alcácer, enjoying listening to the sounds of the local crowd and relaxing after a busy week.

🍺 Sitting outside on a mild February evening in Alcácer, enjoying listening to the sounds of the local crowd and relaxing after a busy week.

An American Buddhist monk, Ajhan Sumedho, once said, “Suffering is wanting things other than they are.” My suffering today is having to return something that I bought yesterday and is not working properly. I hope that I can make myself understood.

😌 I’m having a sssllllooooowwww morning. Things to do, but I’m trying to recognize that one of them, hiding in the corner, is “take a rest.”

😌 I’m having a sssllllooooowwww morning. Things to do, but I’m trying to recognize that one of them, hiding in the corner, is “take a rest.”

A micro Micro Meetup with @maique. The meetup was “micro” because it was short, 5 or 10 minutes, at the end of the day before we headed off for the evening. Still I am very pleased that we squeezed it in and made it happen. Thank you Maique, it was great to see you again.

🍔 I needed that lunch. The jitters were setting in.

🍔 I needed that lunch. The jitters were setting in.

Happy Valentines Day from Alcácer do Sal.

After reading this post by Amit Gawande, I recognized in what Amit wrote an increasing truth for me when I am writing blog posts. If I catch myself using the general “you” or “we”, I stop myself and rephrase the post as “I…”. I’ve decided that I want …

I went to bed last night feeling so good about what I had accomplished over the last few days. That was soon turned on its head as I woke up in the middle of the night feeling queasy. My diagnosis is food poisoning. I can’t think what else it could be. I’ll spare sharing details here, …

An evening walk along the River Sado in Alcácer do Sal.

I’m was grateful today for a packet of Miso soup that my wife had slipped into my bag just before I set off for Europe a week and a half ago. It hit the right spot late in the afternoon as I took a break from a(nother) day of cleaning up, and moving boxes. I haven’t been far these last …

Open the windows and let some fresh air in, or keep them closed and keep the heating on? ~ One of life’s conundrums. 🤔

☀️ Blessings for the sun this morning. It might not be the warmest sun, but it is the sun in a blue sky.

☀️ Blessings for the sun this morning. It might not be the warmest sun, but it is the sun in a blue sky.

🚗 I landed in Portugal last night. This morning I am heading out on roads that I know, from a previous visit, but don’t know. Always brings up anxiety in me. …Breathe…

🚗 I landed in Portugal last night. This morning I am heading out on roads that I know, from a previous visit, but don’t know. Always brings up anxiety in me. …Breathe…

Apple history - the shop window of a computer repair shop in Bristol.

Sunrise over Bristol this morning, a cold morning.

We had good Ramen here, take away. My mother’s first Ramen and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

Crocuses under a beach tree. The Downs, Bristol.

🥶 There’s a frost outside this morning. Food tops are white, grass is white and crispy. I haven’t seen this in a few years.

🥶 There’s a frost outside this morning. Food tops are white, grass is white and crispy. I haven’t seen this in a few years.

Still a little way to go, but Spring is starting to make an appearance.

I forgot to mention the wonderful fish n' chips that we ate a couple of nights after I arrived in Bristol. Nothing like good old British fish n' chips. Delicious.

It is a cold night out there. Cold and damp. I’m grateful to be inside and warm.

I stepped back up onto The Downs at lunchtime today. Cold, grey, overcast. Trees leafless, ground still muddy. And as soon as I got up there, I felt at peace. That is what I noticed as soon as I started walking. Familiarity, deeply so, and at home…as I ended the linked to piece.

Reg Veg - Clifton, Bristol

😵‍💫 Just woke up, mid morning, after not sleeping most of the night. Jet lag is no fun.

😵‍💫 Just woke up, mid morning, after not sleeping most of the night. Jet lag is no fun.

Wrapped Up and Out Walking: The last 36 hours has been fun and games with jet lag. Waking up at odd hours, trying to function clearly while really wanting to put my head down, and then finally doing so midway through the day. I write this after a sleepless night. Yesterday afternoon around lunchtime I could not function any …

Going by the reception that the movie Everything, Everywhere, All at Once has received, this might not be a popular post. On the flight over to England I watched the movie, and I did not enjoy it. Very good performances from Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan, but the movie itself I struggled to get …

January 2023 newsletter letter: January 2023 I start this newsletter at an airport hotel on the edge of San Francisco airport, and continue it at 41,000 ft (12,496.8 m) as the aircraft approaches the west coast of Ireland. London in a little under an hour and a half. I’m guessing that I will finish this letter in the middle of the …

Back On The Road Again: I started this post yesterday. I am now on solid ground, though will be back in the air in a few hours. Living in Hawaii makes getting back to Europe a long journey. Anyway, on with the post… I write this at 30,000+ feet over the Pacific Ocean, en route to San Francisco. Maui has been experiencing …

Travel is a funny beast, thinking here especially of international travel. Waiting around, crossing timezones, completely messes with my sense of time. Where did it go? What time is it? I sit here watching the busyness and speed of a southern Californian freeway, while I sit waiting for the next …

What is it with pens? I had it with me, along with my notebook, when I was upstairs, but now I cannot find it anywhere. At least that is the story that I am telling myself.

Waking up to this this morning - rain, rain and more rain. A harder version of yesterday it would seem.

⛈️ Lightning lighting up the sky tonight.

⛈️ Lightning lighting up the sky tonight.

It’s wet outside.

🥚 Watching eggs boil.

🥚 Watching eggs boil.

🌧️ Well I guess that is the end of the dry spell that we have been having? It’s pouring outside.

🌧️ Well I guess that is the end of the dry spell that we have been having? It’s pouring outside.

Well MarsEdit made short work of moving the blog posts caught up in this mistake from last night. I’m grateful for that this morning.

I realized this morning that yesterday I sent a handful of blog posts to my podcast website, which is currently on hiatus, instead of here to my main blog. I’ll correct that later by bringing those posts over. Meanwhile the error that caused that should also be fixed (until it slips my attention …

🥱 Waking up feeling a little drugged this morning. I’m putting it down to the acupuncture that I had yesterday. I’ll ease myself into the day.

🥱 Waking up feeling a little drugged this morning. I’m putting it down to the acupuncture that I had yesterday. I’ll ease myself into the day.

Last night Jupiter, Neptune, the Moon, Venus and Saturn were all in a line in the Western sky. I stood outside for a while to see them all before Venus & Saturn disappeared below the horizon, but cloud foiled those plans. Tonight they are in a slightly different alignment, though still visible. …

The ocean is about a mile and a half away, at the bottom of some high cliffs. When all is silent I can hear the waves breaking.

I might live in Hawaii, but it is cold here on Maui right now. I’m sitting outside to read with a beanie on, a fleece with two layers underneath and I can feel the cold air against my nose.

🧘 Sitting in the darkness and silence of early morning.

🧘 Sitting in the darkness and silence of early morning.

Sometimes I need something to clear out the cobwebs. Listening to this rendition of Comfortably Number by David Gilmour live in Pompeii in 2016, did just that.

Dan Rather sadly, almost helplessly says it all, Awakening to Tradegy.

Harvested turmeric after being washed.

I was doing some reminiscing online a couple of days ago, checking in on some organizations that I use to be a part of when I lived in Portland, OR. Specifically I was looking through the pages of The Transition Network and Transition US, movements to build resilient communities reimagined by the …

The “End of an Era” Indeed: Sean Heber has just published this post over at the Iconfactory website, following the pulling of Twitterrific from both the iOS and MacOS app stores. This was prompted by Twitter unceremoniously cutting access to the platform for third party apps. The ”End of an Era” indeed. When I think of the …

I am not sure where this was taken, except that the country is India. I believe that it’s either the Lilajan River in Gaya, or the River Ganges in Patna. Like other recent photos that I’ve posted, it was taken in 1989. Photo capture of a slide projected onto a wall.

I was in bed by 8:30pm last night. Not far off Maui Midnight (9:00pm), but still very early for me. I slept well. I put it down to the acupuncture that I had earlier in the day. There is nothing like waking up from a deep, restful sleep.

It’s not the tools that you use, it is the content that you produce.

I’ve just subscribed to Craig Mod’s January pop-up newsletter Walking TOKIO TŌKYŌ TOKYO² — Winter Edition. Running from January 16th through to the 23rd. That’s it. Subscribe and enjoy the read and exploration.

Another photograph from my travels through the Indian/Chinese subcontinent between 1989 and 1990. This was taken near to Bodhgaya, Bihar state, India, possibly on the road on the way to the town. From the height of the photograph I wonder if I am sitting on the roof of a bus? Photo capture of a …

I’m sitting at home reading a book. Next door my stepdaughter is hosting a party. People are beginning to arrive. There is the sound of music. Voices are getting louder as they compete with the music. As I sit here reading I find myself thinking, ”parties are so much work, not too host (through they …

Kathmandu from across, I think, the Bagmati river. Like other photographs that I have posted this week, this was taken in 1989 during my travels through the Indian/Chinese subcontinent. Photo capture of a slide projected onto a wall.

Swayambhunath, on the edge of Kathmandu, through the mist. This photograph was taken in 1989 and is a photo of a slide projected onto a wall.

Well while I didn’t get out to see the Jaws surf break yesterday that I had spoken about, some people were surfing those monsters and others got to take photos of the day. I did get to see some slightly smaller, though still big waves further down the coast. Plenty of people turned out to watch as …

Sunset over a Tibetan monastery with prayer flags near Kathmandu, Nepal, taken towards the end of 1989. This image is a photograph of a slide projected onto the wall and then cropped and straightened in order to correct the perspective.

Finished reading: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro. A beautiful and tragic story. I was drawn back to the book. 📚

Travels through the Solo/Khumbu Region: Last night I went back through some slides from my 1989/90 travels through Pakistan, China, Nepal & India. I have numerous slides, and they are in an ill arranged mess at the moment. As I loaded up the carousel to put into the projector, I had little idea as to what I would be looking at, even …

John Lydon’s, formerly of the Sex Pistols, band PiL (Public Image Limited) will be competing against five other acts to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest. The band has described the song as a Love letter to Lydon’s wife of nearly five decades who is living with Alzheimer’s. The song …

Quiet: When you hear the word, “Quiet,” what does it bring up for you. Home Fear Avoid A Refuge Your Nature Happiness Trauma Rejection Peace Noise Need Sensitivity Introvert Left Out Don’t Fit In other? This list is not meant to be exhaustive. Just some words that came to me through watching my own and …

A big swell is on its way to the north shore of Maui. Surf of 40 to 50 feet is expected, with it peaking tomorrow. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pe’ahi Jaws Big Wave surf competition happens during this time. I am no surfer, but when these big waves come in I stand there in awe of this …

I’ve got behind on my email over the Holiday period - yes, I know that that officially ended a week ago! - and am now playing catch up, and boy am I finding it frustrating. Last year was good for me and email management. I need to chip away at the backlog, do a few and then take a break. …

😢 I'm feeling sad this morning.

😢 I'm feeling sad this morning.

🥱 Having another attempt at sleeping.

🥱 Having another attempt at sleeping.

🌕 Up early this morning. The full moon lighting up the countryside.

🌕 Up early this morning. The full moon lighting up the countryside.

💆‍♂ A massage that I was gifted for Christmas, I had this morning. I came home afterwards and fell fast asleep.

💆‍♂ A massage that I was gifted for Christmas, I had this morning. I came home afterwards and fell fast asleep.

I Don’t Like Going to the Dump: In central north Maui are two small hills. They are man made. They started life as massive holes in the ground, a third has been dug, those holes were slowly filled up and then stuff was continually piled on top of them. Dirt and grass create the facade of a hill. They are garbage dumps, filled with …

🏃 Hitting the ground running this morning.

🏃 Hitting the ground running this morning.

This morning’s double rainbow 🌈

Let Yourself Rest: My acupuncturist shared this poem, by Jeff Foster, with me yesterday. On hearing it, I felt as though I was being wrapped in a warm blanket. LET YOURSELF REST If you’re exhausted, rest. If you don’t feel like starting a new project, don’t. If you don’t feel the urge to make something new, just rest …

We went to the theatre to see Babylon last night. For me while the movie had its moments, I felt that it could have told its story in a shorter time and didn’t know when to end. Sitting here the morning after, I’ll be interested to see how it sits with me over time. 🍿

We watched Glass Onion this evening. It was OK, but I much preferred the original. 🍿

🏳 I’m throwing the towel in. I’m not going to make it to midnight. Happy New Year, everyone!

🏳 I’m throwing the towel out in. I’m not going to make it to midnight. Happy New Year, everyone!

🪘 There’s some intense drumming party happening out there, somewhere. In between the bangs of fireworks, the beat drifts through the stillness of the night.

🪘 There’s some intense drumming party happening out there, somewhere. In between the bangs of fireworks, the beat drifts through the stillness of the night.

🔥 When the smoke from the fire appears to follow me around, regardless of which chair I sit in.

🔥 When the smoke from the fire appears to follow me around, regardless of which chair I sit in.

Burning the Christmas tree to get the fire going, and a couple of hours later,

🪵 Fire pit set. Fingers crossed that the wind quietens down later.

🪵 Fire pit set. Fingers crossed that the wind quietens down later.

I’ve just cut up the Christmas tree. I’ll use it to start a fire tonight, outside. I always feel a little sad cutting up the tree, and at the same time grateful as well, for it lighting up the darkness through December. 🎄

December 2022 newsletter letter: December 2022 I write this as 2022 draws to a close. While I don’t usually stay up to see the New Year in tonight, weather permitting, I plan to light a fire outside and sit around it with some family and friends to welcome in 2023 . . . or at least stay up for a while into the night. This last …

A man once said while in a circle that I was sitting in, was that the reason that he shows up to sit with other men, is that chances are someone in the group has been through similar experiences as him. He is not alone. That was my experience last night.

Listening to First Mind by Nick Mulvey 🎵

This just slowed me down. Kermit the Frog - “Rainbow Connection” 🎵

I’ve moved back from Vimeo to YouTube for my video hosting. I started on YouTube while hosting some live streaming meditation events during the COVID lockdown in 2020. I subsequently moved those videos over to Vimeo, primarily for aesthetic reasons, but I decided to move back to YouTube …

Oohh, as I step outside at dawn the waking world is so quiet and still. My happy place. 🤗

Those times when I am just wanting to take in a view as I sit or walk, and at the same time someone who I am with is giving a running commentary on what we are looking at, and saying it in a way that is demanding constant acknowledgment of their words. “I can see the beauty! Just sit and take …

🤪 Pandemonium in the house this morning as a huge centipede appeared out of nowhere.

🤪 Pandemonium in the house this morning as a huge centipede appeared out of nowhere.

This has been a week of tiredness. My sense is that I will have to wait until the New Year to have any hope of getting myself back on track.

Just home from a Sound Bath. I’m feeling very relaxed now, and think that I’ll be sleeping well tonight.

🛋 The morning after the day before.

🛋 The morning after the day before.

Doing nothing is exhausting. That or is simply brings up the tiredness in me. All in all, having a lovely Christmas Day with the family.

Well last night’s Willie Nelson concert was a fun affair. The evening was essentially divided into three parts. First Willie’s son Mika played a set with his band. I struggled with that music, a grunge band of sorts. Next up was Willie’s son Lukas played with his band. Lukas is …

Finished reading: A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas. Another Christmas tradition. 📚

Drinking my morning coffee while watching A Charlie Brown Christmas. I watch it each year…though never this early in the morning.🎄 ☕️

😌 Feeling refreshed after some acupuncture.

😌 Feeling refreshed after some acupuncture.

A group of us are going to see Willie Nelson here on Maui tonight. I am not a Willie Nelson fan, indeed I couldn’t tell you anything that he has sung. However, we were gifted the tickets, Willie is very much a part of the Maui community having been a long time resident here, and with his son …

End of the day photo. After the Kona Storm earlier this week, I’m welcoming the still, winter days that we are currently having.

I was heartened by the icons on the back of this bag of Boulder Canyon chips. Amongst the usual social media icons, was one for a RSS feed.

💤 My grandson is asleep in the car. At this rate I will be as well, pretty soon. We are parked!

💤 My grandson is asleep in the car. At this rate I will be as well, pretty soon. We are parked!

🐙 Taking one of the grandkids to the Aquarium this morning, and then to lunch.

🐙 Taking one of the grandkids to the Aquarium this morning, and then to lunch.

Mama’s Fish House last night.

🎄 Sitting quietly before the day begins.

🎄 Sitting quietly before the day begins.

Celebrating 15 years today.

On this shortest day of the year, in the northern hemisphere, wishing everyone a Happy Winter Solstice. And for friends in the southern hemisphere, a Happy Summer Solstice.

🍃 Windy day.

🍃 Windy day.

💡 The power has just come back on after a 10 hour outage.

💡 The power has just come back on after a 10 hour outage.

🔌 Power is out now. Rain still falling. Wind blowing.

🔌 Power is out now. Rain still falling. Wind blowing.

This morning’s storm burst. I have never seen anything like this before. In a lull at the moment, but I think that this Kona Storm has more to bring.

⛈ The rain still falls. The wind still blows. Thunder, lightening. Yesterday evening’s brief reprieve brought beautifully clear skies.

⛈ The rain still falls. The wind still blows. Thunder, lightening. Yesterday evening’s brief reprieve brought beautifully clear skies.

Finished reading: Parade by Hiromi Kawakami 📚

Sunday afternoon Dozing - As the rain falls relentlessly outside.

Now the storm is hitting.

There is a big storm crossing the island right now, I believe the rest do the State as well. Last night lightening was flashing all around us. No thunder or rain. This morning the air felt heavy, waiting to break with something. Since mid-morning the rain has been falling, at times heavily. …

I’m very grateful this morning for MarsEdit, enabling to easily edit multiple links in blog posts, following some changes elsewhere. Thank you @danielpunkass

I haven’t watched any games in this Football World Cup. If England had got to the semifinals, I might have done. Having said that, I see now that Argentina have “won”. I say that as I don’t see how a tournament can be won my a handful of shots at the goal at the end of a …

Currently listening to: Sunday Morning Jazz by Gillie Meyer music.apple.com/us/playli…

We’ve just driven home from a Christmas party. Are my eyes aging or are car lights brighter? I don’t enjoy driving at night these days (though new glasses have made it more comfortable).

Aircraft lights are bright. We live in flight path of airplanes coming to Maui. Not at under carriage down, final descent, but just as they are arriving over the island. At night they come in with lights on, and they are noticeable from a long way off.

😌 Relaxing alone at home.

😌 Relaxing alone at home.

I went to my men’s group for the first time for a while last night. The break was for a number of reasons, some of which I am not completely sure of myself yet, but it was good to be back.

Looking outside while waiting for my morning coffee to brew. The silhouettes of the trees become sharper in the growing light of dawn.

I’ve seen 2 shooting stars tonight. Right now the sky is dark and speckled with the white light of stars everywhere, the red tinge of Mars breaking the mold.

After a long time seeing members of Micro.blog using the service, I have finally decided to try out Readwise. The subscription might decide it for me, as in a little too much, but I have 30 days to decide…now that is a generous trial period.

🚶 Back from a good early morning walk. Appreciating the fresh air of Upcountry Maui.

🚶 Back from a good early morning walk. Appreciating the fresh air of Upcountry Maui.

We watched Amsterdam last night and really enjoyed it. The film is based on the 1933 Business Plot in the United States which intended “to overthrow the government of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and install Smedley Butler as dictator.” I had never heard of this episode before, and so …

😴 It has been an exhausting day. Bed comes gratefully.

😴 It has been an exhausting day. Bed comes gratefully.

🌧 The heavens have opened. I might be rowing out this morning.

🌧 The heavens have opened. I might be rowing out this morning.

The 5,000km journey of Moon, the severely injured Humpback Whale: Every year around this time I look out for my first sighting of a Humpback Whale, on their return to Hawaiian waters from Alaska to calf. That sighting is usually either a spout of water or a breaching whale. This year it was a water spout as I was driving home. I find that there is something …

We had some battery operated LED lights lying around and so I used them to decorate a small tree in the garden.

After the stillness of the last week, Maui, at least the north shore of the island, is experiencing very strong winds. My wish is that these winds would dial themselves down a notch. Wind helps to keep the islands cool. Strong winds hinder standing up straight and unweighted things staying where …

That moment when I realize that I used the wrong credit card and missed out on getting the associated points for my purchase 😤

We watched Triangle of Sadness last night. Too long, I thought, and trying too hard. I really didn’t enjoy the film. 🍿

To my Portuguese friends here on Micro.blog with little ones - I’m thinking of @Portufraise and @maique, and also others who I have overlooked - I have just read this story, Santa shortage in Portugal and I’m thinking of you. I hope that you make it through this Christmas season without …

🤕 Headache since last night and not through lack of coffee. I’ve plenty going on but will rest up when I can.

🤕 Headache since last night and not through lack of coffee. I’ve plenty going on but will rest up when I can.

I had a strange dream last night which involved ActivityPub, something which until a month or so ago I knew nothing about…I’m only just getting my head around it now. Anyway, in the dream I was interacting with someone who appeared to be in two places at once and it was because the person had …

My first micro post from MarsEdit 5. Thank you @danielpunkass

Allow the vicissitudes of life smooth the hardness in your heart.

Finished reading: Fairy Tale by Stephen King. King’s writing kept me going, the story not always. 📚

🌨️ Listening through open windows to the sound of rain gently falling.

🌨️ Listening through open windows to the sound of rain gently falling.

My wife bought this Advent Calendar for the grandchildren. A draw for each day. She has dropped a couple of treats into each one.

🏳 Getting lost on omg.lol

🏳 Getting lost on omg.lol

🥱 Some days I just can't seem to shake tiredness out of my body.

🥱 Some days I just can't seem to shake tiredness out of my body.

👨‍🌾 Tired after an afternoon in the garden.

👨‍🌾 Tired after an afternoon in the garden.

🤫 All is quiet and still.

🤫 All is quiet and still.

November 2022 newsletter letter: November 2022 Hello and welcome to the November 2022 edition of my newsletter. I write this sitting outside at dusk. I look out on the shadows of the night, as lights from distant houses break the darkness. It’s still. Very still. The wind of last week, and that which helps to keep these islands …

Just follow the instruction: I’ve written about this before in relation to meditation, and it has been prominent in my mind again. As such I felt like reflecting on what the message is that accompanies this instruction at this time. Goals With any given meditation instruction I find it is very easy to imagine where I should be …

My mother kept all the letters and cards that I sent to her from my travels over the years. Now she has passed them onto me. Maybe there is a story in there?

A visitor this morning.

A misty evening.

Today has felt like a winter’s day in Britain. Constant drizzle, low hanging misty cloud, and now thunder. The only difference? Although there is a definite drop in temperature, winter has arrived here in Maui, I have been walking around in shorts and a t-shirt.

📻 Listening to Classic FM while working - UK in Hawaii.

📻 Listening to Classic FM while working - UK in Hawaii.

🏖 Beach day.

🏖 Beach day.

Strangers on the Road in Portugal: I am ready to share this story now. I have cooled down. Actually I cooled down once we were back at our B&B, but it has just taken me a while to get this story written down. My wife and I were in the small town of Alcácer do Sal in Portugal a couple of months ago (more on the reason behind that …

And while I am speaking of what we watched last night, a week or so ago we also watched Sydney, about the life of Sydney Poitier. I knew next to nothing about him and found the documentary fascinating. Filmed before Poitier died earlier this year, one is treated to his lovely voice narrating his own …

We watched Official Competition last night. An art house film and comedy. Very well acted by the small cast. I just wish that I spoke Spanish so that I didn’t have to rely on the subtitles. 🍿

Well the high surf warning from the last couple of days has now been extended through to Sunday morning. Not much surfing will be happening as these large waves are causing the ocean to be a frothy wash.

I am not a surfer but I am find myself in awe of the big winter swells that come to these islands. This swell was meant to have waves peaking at 20 to 30 feet. The photo and video below do no justice to the power of the ocean and the visual experience, but hopefully they will give you a taste.

I sit quietly while waiting for the final guests to arrive. We are eating soon.

The Hawaiian inmates of Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona celebrate the Makahiki festival. The Makahiki season began at sunrise on November 16th and runs for four months. This particular celebration lasted through the day. As someone who has worked with the inmates at the Correctional Centre …

📺 Watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

📺 Watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

A walk to the mailbox revealed the arrival of November’s collection from Field Notes.

I love waking up on holiday mornings. It is so quiet. None of the traffic with people on their way to work. Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating today.

All is still and calm outside tonight. There is a high surf warning in effect until Friday night and tomorrow strong winds forecast, along with a drop in temperature. So tonight feels like the calm before the storm.

That’s the kitchen knives sharpened in readiness for tomorrow.

Ready for tomorrow’s gathering.

Currently re-reading: Practicing Peace in Times of War by Pema Chodron. I come back to this book from time to time. I need to. 📚

I just ate a lot of ice cream. Analysts do your work…

Sometimes life feels like a grind, as if there is always something waiting in the wings to jump out and floor me.

🌧️ I'm surprised that we haven't floated away following the rain last night, and this morning for that matter.

🌧️ I'm surprised that we haven't floated away following the rain last night, and this morning for that matter.

Today was a day of unexpected necessity. We are looking after my stepdaughter’s dog, Bronx, while she is away for work. Last night he threw up on a rug in our house while we were watching White Lotus. So this morning I went to rent a carpet cleaner. The rug is looking better and is now drying. …

🥗 A day of sharing food with good friends. What more is needed?

🥗 A day of sharing food with good friends. What more is needed?

The Accompanying Letter: Since February this year I have been sending out a monthly newsletter, via Micro.blog’s newsletter feature - that is except for March where growing pains with the new system caused a hiccup in output. With each newsletter, along with the selected blog posts from the past month that I share, I …

🎧Saturday afternoon listening to the latest version of @hemisphericviews

🎧Saturday afternoon listening to the latest version of @hemisphericviews

✍️ Am writing. It feels good.

✍️ Am writing. It feels good.

Well despite the good weather yesterday, last night carried on the stormy weather from the previous night. As dusk fell constant the lightening flashes lit up the clouds over Haleakala. The light display continued through the night. Quite spectacular, though interestingly there was no thunder. While …

☹️ I keep thinking that it is Friday...

☹️ I keep thinking that it is Friday...

This morning was the calm after the storm. The storm was last night. I was woken up to rain drumming down on the roof. I just lay in bed listening to this furious, high tempo deluge falling on us, and feeling grateful that I was inside. Each time the rain took a pause, I found myself feeling …

💡 That moment when the penny drops.

💡 That moment when the penny drops.

☎️ A morning of research and sitting on the telephone.

☎️ A morning of research and sitting on the telephone.

Today has been a funny day. I feel as though I never really got going.

🌦️ Watching sun light shine through misty rain.

🌦️ Watching sun light shine through misty rain.

Maui, Micro Climates and Climate Change: Maui is known for having a lot of micro climates. Lush tropical vegetation, barren volcano slopes dropping down to the ocean, cool high elevations, hot humid coastal lowlands. We live on the north east side of Maui, and yesterday went to a birthday party at a park on the south east shore, 34 miles …

🧺 Busy about the house this morning.

🧺 Busy about the house this morning.

😳 I think that I slept too long this afternoon, I can’t sleep now.

😳 I think that I slept too long this afternoon, I can’t sleep now.

We watched Raymond & Ray last night. A quirky movie about two brothers, played by Ethan Hawke & Ewan McGregor, coming together at the time of their father’s funeral. I enjoyed it even if I struggled with McGregor’s US accent. 🍿

👨‍💻 testing a shortcut…on my phone.

👨‍💻 testing a shortcut…on my phone.

We watched Causeway last night. Compelling just for the performances of Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry. 🍿

I’m frustrated that I cannot successfully upload images to Micro.blog via Siri Shortcuts. I am aware that Shortcuts exist, but they appear to timeout with me. Maybe it is the internet speed on this island? Via apps or directly, no problem. Any hacks appreciated.

There are times when I appreciate living on the wetter side of the island. Good, lazy Saturday morning weather.

I managed to complete my first yoga routine on Fitnesss+ since returning from my travelS. Those twenty minutes stretching with Molly felt very good and welcome.

🧹 Feeling lighter after an email cleanup.

🧹 Feeling lighter after an email cleanup.

😲 Wow! It’s Thursday already. We’ve been back a week…a busy week.

😲 Wow! It’s Thursday already. We’ve been back a week…a busy week.

Exploring the possibilities of a Wise account. It appears, to me, to be very much modern day banking.

🥱 Tired, oh so tired. The last few weeks traveling and a busy return have caught up with me.

🥱 Tired, oh so tired. The last few weeks traveling and a busy return have caught up with me.

Today I voted for the first time as newly minted US Citizen. It feels good to finally have a say in the country where I have lived for the last fifteen years. Feeling empowered. 🇺🇸

Falling Back: While we were in Europe I appreciated that Sunday morning on October 29th when the clocks went back, and Daylight Savings Time in Europe (or British Summer Time as we referred to it in the UK) dropped away with the arrival of autumn. We had just completed a long drive into the foothills of the …

Phew 😮‍💨, it’s humid today.

The shadowed outlines of the Maui landscape emerge in the pre-dawn light, as a jet lagged me drinks his early morning coffee on my first morning back home for many weeks. ☕️

🏡 Home.

🏡 Home.

Looking out of my hotel window as flocks of birds fly by in the dawn light.

🏝 Getting ready to leave for the final part of the journey home.

🏝 Getting ready to leave for the final part of the journey home.

🛫 Looking out over Heathrow on this sunny morning as we wait to board.

🛫 Looking out over Heathrow on this sunny morning as we wait to board.

A moody, wet Lake Como, with clouds hugging the mountains, as we set off.

I have found time before leaving to quickly edit my monthly newsletter. Hopefully not too many typos and the English is coherent. It will be sent out while we are driving to Milan’s Linate Airport. If you are interested in subscribing, head over here. 📰

October 2022 newsletter letter: October 2022 Hello and welcome to my October 2022 newsletter. I am writing this at the end of a long visit to Europe. I’ll be starting my journey home as this newsletter goes out. Most of the posts that I have shared here come from the journey of the last six weeks. My wife and I left Maui in …

🛄 Starting the long journey home today.

🛄 Starting the long journey home today.

This morning’s view at Lake Como.

🕑 I’m appreciating the clocks going back last night. The extra hour came at just the right time.

🕑 I’m appreciating the clocks going back last night. The extra hour came at just the right time.

🧖‍♂ Resting after a sauna and jacuzzi. We had a long day’s drive and I needed a break.

🧖‍♂ Resting after a sauna and jacuzzi. We had a long day’s drive and I needed a break.

😮‍💨 Exhausted after a day of driving. Resting before heading out to eat.

😮‍💨 Exhausted after a day of driving. Resting before heading out to eat.

Two men in Siena. I’m trying to learn a little more from @maique’s examples.

I expect my NaNoWriMo writing to start a couple of days late because of heading home and settling back in. However, I do want to make a go of this. This will be my first time and I want to make use of the opportunity even if I fall short of the target. Grateful for the MB buddies

👨‍💻 Testing omg.lol Status Shortcut

👨‍💻 Testing omg.lol Status Shortcut

😌 Relaxing on a misty morning.

😌 Relaxing on a misty morning.

😶‍🌫 Waking up to a misty morning.

😶‍🌫 Waking up to a misty morning.

Tuscan sunset.

🥃 Resting after a day of sightseeing. That can be exhausting.

🥃 Resting after a day of sightseeing. That can be exhausting.

Where we are staying, just outside Siena, use to be a monastery. The bell is still tolled in the evening.

Entering SPECTRE’s lair. Aka, a visit to Antinori nel Chianti Classico winery. The entrance to their parking garage. Steps to the reception area. Looking down on the reception area while waking up to the roof. Deep in the bowls of the winery.

More Florence street art…. …these two were next to each other under a small indent in the wall.

Taking inspiration from @maique, a wall drawing from the streets of Florence.

I love listening to the church bells ringing out across Florence on this Sunday morning. A sound that I remember from when I was young and living in Britain.

👰‍♀ Wedding time - my wife’s nephew.

👰‍♀ Wedding time - my wife’s nephew.

Morning view towards Florence

🍝 Decompressing after a day of travel, and meeting up with family. Florence now.

🍝 Decompressing after a day of travel, and meeting up with family. Florence now.

🛫 I’m leaving on a jet plane…thank you Portugal. See you before too long.

🛫 I’m leaving on a jet plane…thank you Portugal. See you before too long.

Apple Maps took us on a colourful route through Lisbon back to our hotel. On a narrow road (or maybe footpath) a woman in front of us turned into an alleyway with a few Euros in her hand. A man was waiting with a white powder in a clear bag. We kept walking.

😌 Relaxing after a good day of walking.

😌 Relaxing after a good day of walking.

Back from my Micro Meetup with @maique. Thank you for the lovely walk, conversation and tour of your corner of Lisbon. 🥰 Photo credit @maique (of course) though I’ve probably missed out on picking the best photo. 😬

🚢 Watching a cruise ship spin itself around as it comes into dock.

🚢 Watching a cruise ship spin itself around as it comes into dock.

📖 Reading with cool air drifting in through open windows.

📖 Reading with cool air drifting in through open windows.

A room with a view at night with Jupiter looking on. The Pantheon, Lisbon.

🍰 Enjoying a quiet rest and a piece of cake.

🍰 Enjoying a quiet rest and a piece of cake.

😠 An unexpected morning of rebooking flights after our Wednesday flight was canceled.

😠 An unexpected morning of rebooking flights after our Wednesday flight was canceled.

A room with a view. The Pantheon, Lisbon.

🧹 Cleaning and reading operating manuals. I find it irritating when instructions manuals don’t have the answers that I’m looking for.

🧹 Cleaning and reading operating manuals. I find it irritating when instructions manuals don’t have the answers that I’m looking for.

🚗 It’s a roady sort of day.

🚗 It’s a roady sort of day.

Face peeling off the wall, Lisbon.

💤 We slept in. Haven’t done that in a long while. We were tired.

💤 We slept in. Haven’t done that in a long while. We were tired.

Sitting tired in a hotel room after a day running round Lisbon getting jobs done. We both feel as though we achieved a lot. Still a few more i’s to dot and t’s to cross, but will take today as a win. Once rested, we’ll head out and to get a bite to eat.

🚗 On the road to Lisbon.

🚗 On the road to Lisbon.

🥱 An early start.

🥱 An early start.

Last night by the rive Sado at sunset in Alcacer do Sal. A couple of these were contenders for my entry to Micro.blog’s A Day in the Life photo challenge.

A Day in the Life 6:54pm, Thursday October 13th, 2022 River front, Alcacer do Sal, Portugal

When I am traveling my posting and time spent keeping up with RSS feeds definitely diminishes. Time writing as well. As much as I enjoy the travel, I also miss the creativity that comes with the other.

🔧 Making sure things work.

🔧 Making sure things work.

Wandering around Alcacer do Sal at lunchtime. Quiet, friendly, sleepy, good food and hot ☀️

🐑 Waking up to the sound of sheep this morning.

🐑 Waking up to the sound of sheep this morning.

🚗 We’ve arrived at Alcacer do Sal. It’s late. It’s dark, but we have arrived.

🚗 We’ve arrived at Alcacer do Sal. It’s late. It’s dark, but we have arrived.

✈ Awaiting big the calling of our flight. Portugal next stop. This is a long trip.

✈ Awaiting big the calling of our flight. Portugal next stop. This is a long trip.

🕦 Finishing off the final bits n pieces before we leave.

🕦 Finishing off the final bits n pieces before we leave.

The night before departure, it’s always an emotional time for me. Standing out on the balcony I look out over the city, breathing in the cold, moist autumn air. Night, I feel, gives me an anonymity and with that the comfort and space for reflection. It will be a few months before I am back …

The Promenade, Bristol,… …and it’s beautiful Beach trees.

🧳 Packing and getting ready to move on tomorrow.

🧳 Packing and getting ready to move on tomorrow.

A local keeping an eye on the street below.

Climbing down into the belly of the Avon Gorge, through the Giants Cave, Bristol.

A Sunday morning walk that took us past Brunel’s Clifton Suspension Bridge. The bridge opened in 1864, and I always find it quite something that the bridge can still carry modern vehicles (though nothing larger than cars).

The silence and stillness of a Sunday morning.

Hot air balloons over Bristol yesterday evening. The weather was glorious for a week into October, but I imagine that it was cold up there. 🥶

Bath is a beautiful city which itself became a World Heritage Site in 1987. I’d forgotten how much so. I haven’t visited for many years. It is only fifteen minutes up the track from Bristol. By chance some friends from Maui were visiting there last night and so my wife jumped on a train …

Moss catching the first rays of morning sunlight.

When you fly half way round the world to see your mum. Then another relative flies in to see everyone, this one is exposed to COVID, is very casual about it indicating that they are fine, subsequently gets it, and then everyone in the apartment has their own views on how to be around COVID. …

Got to keep those visiting, thirsty dogs hydrated.

Good morning Bristol.

We spent the day in Bruton, Somerset, exploring the town, having a delicious lunch and visiting the Hauser & Wirth Museum with gardens designed by Piet Oudolf.

Are British kettles more powerful than those in the US, is it the voltage difference, or does my mother just have a super charged kettle? Water definitely boils quicker here.

Visiting family is wonderful but exhausting. I’ll need a vacation when this vacation is over.

Catching up on some photographs from the last few days. We went down to visit Windmill Hill City Farm a few days ago. Set on four acres in the center of the city of Bristol, it has grown so much over the decades that I didn’t recognize it. An inspiring venture and the first of its kind in …

Oh my, a major update to Tot has just been released. It includes line spacing, something that I had requested for my aging eyes. Thank you to the folks at The Iconfactory for that. And for those who wish to carry Tot around with them on their wrist, there is now a Apple Watch app.

I’m wanting to “go it alone” with Apple Maps, but Google Maps I’m still finding is more accurate. Apple had us walking 25 minutes between two destinations, Google 10 minutes. A phone to call to the venue had Google was the more accurate, and for my mother that was very …

It has been a busy few days, while managing jet lag at the same time. I have so enjoyed being mum again, my sister and her husband and walking the streets of Bristol. At the same time, the silence of this early morning is pure gold. Nourishing.

💤 Those steps through Bristol yesterday gave me my first good nights sleep since arriving. Grateful.

💤 Those steps through Bristol yesterday gave me my first good nights sleep since arriving. Grateful.

🚶‍♂ I apparently have walked 22,069 steps today. I’m taking the evening off.

🚶‍♂ I apparently have walked 22,069 steps today. I’m taking the evening off.

I just received an email to say that Bear 2 private beta is coming. Mac first, iOS later. It has taken a while to get this far, and still doesn’t appear to be rushing to prime time, but I’m interested. I stopped using Bear, and prefer plain text files for my notes, but might be giving …

I never feel as though I have arrived in Bristol until I have taken a walk across and am standing on The Downs.

🌧 Waking up to a wet, wet, wet Sunday morning.

🌧 Waking up to a wet, wet, wet Sunday morning.

😮‍💨 “Those feet were made for walking…” and now they are ready to fall off. A day of city walking.

😮‍💨 “Those feet were made for walking…” and now they are ready to fall off A day of city walking.

September 2022 newsletter letter: September 2022 Hello and welcome to my September 2022 newsletter. I am back in the UK visiting family, staying with my mother. Last night my sister and her husband flew in from New Zealand. Distractions are at a maximum. I’m grabbing some early morning hours to pen these words. I was going to say …

👧 Up late waiting for my sister to arrive.

👧 Up late waiting for my sister to arrive.

🌧 The rain is pouring outside, the temperature has dropped and this is the first true autumn weather that I have experienced in a good number of years.

🌧 The rain is pouring outside, the temperature has dropped and this is the first true autumn weather that I have experienced in a good number of years.

👨‍💻 Updating and fixing bugs on mum's iPad

👨‍💻 Updating and fixing bugs on mum's iPad

I love this.

An unexpected wave of Grief: Grief is a beast, I was going to call it that but will return to what it is, an emotion. Grief is an emotion that appears to always have a surprise up its sleeve. Right now I feel as though I have been hit by that wave that catches you at the beach when you are looking in the wrong direction, …

🇬🇧 Arrived and very jet lagged

🇬🇧 Arrived and very jet lagged

✈️ Awaiting final leg

✈️ Awaiting final leg

Haleakala on Maui with Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawai’i visible while flying out of Honolulu. You might have to zoom in for a better look.

Flying across country last night, sitting at 35,000ft with no nearby points of reference, it was not possible to register how fast the aircraft was moving. In the distance I caught a glimpse of a couple of airplanes flying in the opposite direction, recognizable by their blinking lights. Watching …

🛌 Resting between flights.

🛌 Resting between flights.

TWA Hotel, JFK

Restroom signs, Hawaiian style, at Honolulu airport.

🛫 Up, up and away.

🛫 Up, up and away.

🧪 This is a test.

🧪 This is a test.

🧪 This is a test. Posting to status.lol via Drafts.

🧪 This is a test. Posting to status.lol via Drafts.

🥱 Oh boy, a visitor showed up before sunrise...a longer day than I planned.

🥱 Oh boy, a visitor showed up before sunrise...a longer day than I planned.

💤 Trying again. Good night.

💤 Trying again. Good night.

🙈 Well best laid plans and all that...not to bed yet.

🙈 Well best laid plans and all that...not to bed yet.

🛌 Long day tomorrow. Early to bed tonight.

🛌 Long day tomorrow. Early to bed tonight.

🧪 Testing Draft's action for status.lol

🧪 Testing Draft's action for status.lol

🦉 Trying my first status post

🦉 Trying my first status post

It’s hot outside. Hot, hot, hot 🫠

I have a new strategy for practicing chess and seeing where I am not keeping an eye on things. Play a 6 year old who is focused solely using his queen to take as many pieces as possible.

Sitting here with that satisfying glow of work done outside and having freshened up under our outdoor shower. The post COVID fatigue lingers, but I sense is receding…slowly. I just have to respect it, do what I can do when I can, and rest in between. But today, jobs needing doing are now …

A Tuesday evening rainbow (a second is just visible) 🌈

I have been tired through today after staying up until the early hours for The Queen’s funeral, but I am pleased that I made the effort to watch as much as I was able before succumbing to weary eyes. It meant a lot to me to see and be a part of the day as it happened, or as much as I could …

I’m waking up this morning to the start of my 59th orbit of the sun, a bit bleary eyed after going to bed in the early hours having watched a part of The Queens funeral. 🥱

We went for a late morning walk in Waihou Spring Forest Reserve in Olinda. Being up country, the air was fresh and cooler. A short but very pleasant walk. And this little character was waiting for us when we got back to the car.

A Sunday rainbow… …and a little later a double rainbow. 🌈

I built a fire last night, the first for a long time. Some friends were visiting my stepdaughter and just as they were about to leave they asked to see our house. My wife mentioned that it was a lovely evening for a fire, which immediately had the grandchildren running around trying to find …

I have had the live stream of The Queen lying in state in Westminster Hall playing in the background as I do other things. Every so often I’ll come back and sit and watch people file past Her Majesty’s coffin. Every twenty minutes the flow of mourners is stopped as the there is a …

This post COVID fatigue is eating me alive. An odd metaphor to use, and while it is not true, at the same time it feels very apt.

Periodically I have to remind myself that not doing something will not get it done.

I’m a bit late to the game here, but I have just discovered that in Mastodon one can enter Alt-text when posting an image. That’s wonderful for accessibility.

Well that is brief but sharp rainstorm cleared the air. I’m feeling much lighter now.

Another step towards feeling better, I did a short Yoga routine on Apple Fitness+ this morning. Fatigue is still floating around and I’ll probably lie down before the day is over, but Yoga had not been on the cards until now. 🦠

Reflecting on a Year without Dad: This last Wednesday was the first anniversary of my Dad passing away. I was blessed to be at home for the last two weeks of his life, helping to look after Dad and just sitting with him. I might not have used the word blessed as I dropped everything and made quick plans to return to Britain …

I realize that am in town, only a 30 minute drive from home, for the first time in over a month. I’ll chalk that up as another win and sign that I am getting better .

I remember seeing photographs of her coronation in magazines when I was young in Tibet His Holiness the Dalai offers his Condolences for Queen Elizabeth II

I’ve been listening to BBC Radio 4 off and on through the day. As I prepare dinner this evening, Radio 4 are just starting their Friday morning programs. First on is the Shipping Forecast. I have not heard that for so many, many years. In an instant I am transported back home.

Clouds covering the moon last night.

I have had BBC Radio 4 streaming this morning, listening to people remember and reflect upon the life of Queen Elizabeth II. As she had got older I would say to my American family that it would be huge news when The Queen passed away. Now that news has come to pass, it feels all the more larger. …

Now that I have a Mastodon account set up on OMG.LOL’s Mastodon Instance I am wondering how to use it? 🤔 Cross post from Micro.blog? Free standing? If the latter, when and what do I post there? What goes in one and what in the other?

One of those feeling a bit better and so I’ll clean the house, wash the bed sheets and freshen things up days.

After seeing @maique’s new avatar, I contacted Momo to ask if he could put together something for me. I love owls, and used to have a family of Tawny Owls living on my property in South Wales. Now to update the few avatars that I have around the web.

Your Thursday evening rainbow 🌈

August 2022 newsletter letter: August 2022 Hello Friend, Well if one thing could define August to me, it would be COVID. After, how long is it, two and half years since the initial breakout? After watching COVID travel around the world. Following Maui become so quiet with no visitors allowed in. Watching the vaccines being rolled …

This might not be the most appropriate analogy, but COVID feels to me like someone leaving the room after letting off a silent fart. I tested negative for COVID over a week ago but I can still feel the effects of the virus in my body, fatigue being the overarching symptom. I am not well. 🦠

We watched Petite Maman a couple of nights ago. I’d describe it as magical. A meditation on grief. Through leveling the playing field, I won’t say more, it becomes an exploration of children trying to understand their elders, and parents, their children. Gently paced. A gem. 🍿

I was happy to see this this morning, nine days after testing positive for COVID. I’m still not feeling 100% - fatigued, that taste in my mouth - and so I’m pacing myself right now. However, I felt just well enough to pop out and pick some groceries this lunchtime. Small wins.

I don’t know what COVID does to coffee tastes buds? My regular taste buds are gratefully receiving and enjoying a little food. However, after a week of not wanting coffee, I brew a favourite brand and it tastes like mud water to me.

My wife’s first day and night of COVID was not good. Fevers, in and out of sleep. Day two she is looking brighter though not out of the woods yet. Now I feel as though I am teetering on the edge. Although I have been sleeping in a separate room, indeed building, and wearing a mask when …

Kundun: Kundun, or The Presence, is one of the names that the Tibetans use for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. In 1997 Martin Scorsese directed the movie Kundun, a biographical story of the current Dalai Lama written by Melissa Mathison. I remember going to see the film a number of times when it came out. I …

Gratitude arising simply for feeling blessed for what I have in my life.

My wife had a scratchy throat last night, took a COVID test - negative. She slept well but woke up with similar symptoms, took another test - positive. Thankfully the symptoms are mild at the moment. It has taken over two years for the virus to finally find our home.

I love the smell of a freshly fallen lime.

The moon rising last night… The moon setting this morning…

Those times when the writing gets difficult and my mind starts looking for distractions…in other words my mind goes looking for more pleasant experiences. Writing is pleasant when it is happening easily, when I am in the flow, not so when I am hacking through the undergrowth for those elusive …

Finished reading: How to Be Alone, a poem & book by Tanya Davis. Beautiful, perceptive…and truthful. Be sure to also check out a YouTube presentation of the poem with Tanya Davis narrating. I believe that it will be five minutes well spent. 📚

As I sit a Zebra dove calls out in the stillness, resting my heart.

Finished reading: The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai 📚

Today has been acted through a fog. I was up until 2:00am last night because of a call for a meeting in England (11 hours ahead), and then got up this morning at 6:30am. I’ve cat napped a couple of times during the day, but in between has been a struggle.

This evening’s rainbow 🌈

Saturday evening’s picnic table.

I love Sunday mornings. They are just over too quickly.

I’m not sure what is going on in this photo, taken in Tibet in 1995. I believe that it was taken near to Drepung Loseling Monastery and that the monastery just visible in the middle right might be Nechung Monastery, home of the Nechung Oracle. Both monasteries have been reestablished in exile …

I had another sighting of the International Space Station at dusk this evening. The viewing was especially clear, with the ISS flying directly overhead.

Another slide coming out of my evening going through old travel photos. Like yesterday’s image, this image is a photograph of a slide projected onto the wall. The photo was taken at Drepung Loseling monastery in Lhasa, Tibet in 1995. At the time of the Chinese invasion, Drepung was the largest …

I feel as though I have started receiving more spam emails in the last few weeks. Thankfully my email client is catching most of it, but I would still prefer not to be receiving it.

This photograph shows the village of Zhöl at the foot of the south wall of Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. The photograph was taken during a visit to Tibet in 1995, and is actually a photo of the original slide projected onto a wall a couple of evenings ago while I was going through pictures from my …

Quiet and stillness bring me to peace, like the stillness of a forest lake at sunset.

Out for an evening stroll I could clearly see the International Space Station fly over. That was at 7:51pm. It will be back around at 9:24pm. Pretty nippy.

Opportunistic rosemary plant growing on a dead Hāpu’u tree.

Spending this evening going through some old slides from travel back in the late ‘80s and ‘90s. Emphasis on some. I have a lot of slides.

I just completed a yoga routine on Apple Fitness+ set to the music of ABBA. ABBA’s music was always present when I was growing up and I feel a wonderful sense of joy in what the four musicians offered. The routine was just the right uplifting practice for this early Monday afternoon.

July 2022 newsletter letter: July 2022 Hello Friend, Sharing reflections July has been an unseasonably wet month in the part of Maui where I live. Parts of the island have been struggling with water shortages, while my family’s property is looking green and healthy. For that I am grateful, and at the same time I sense the wet …

English scientist James Lovelock died this week on his 103rd birthday. A bit of a maverick, he was looked on with some scorn by the scientific community when he developed the Gaia hypothesis in the 1960’s and ’70’s, along side Lynn Margulis, which sees the Earth as a self-regulating system. Like all …

The lights over the lanai cast sufficient light for me to read while rendering the world beyond in total darkness. I watch the creatures of the night emerge, attracted by the light. Aircraft fly over bringing visitors to the island and residents home. Crickets whistle, the wind blows, distant …

Sometimes Faith is all that I have. The practice might appear on first read, on first hearing it to not be of any benefit and rather questionably lead anywhere. “How can that work?” At such times I am asking myself to build on the faith that has come on the back of past lessons learnt from sources …

Sunrise through the window this morning.

Tired, but in a good way, having just finished trimming the hedge which I started last weekend. Showered, dinner next and then a quiet evening.

Interesting clouds floating over the house.

Our house looks out onto the Pacific Ocean, in the far distance where water meets the horizon. I have been looking out onto that view ever since we moved here, just being grateful for the beauty of it and the perspective it offers when my mind is foggy. Then one day a friend visited and observed …

I have my voting papers for upcoming elections here in Hawaii. The first time that I will be able to vote in the US since becoming a US citizen.

I have just made use of my step-daughter’s infrared sauna to help rest some weary muscles. Yesterday was an extremely exhausting day, while at the same time also being very satisfying, as I trimmed and leveling off our hedge under a hot sun.

Bronx’s view of the neighbourhood.

Seeking shade.

Peninsular Notebooks, Porto: My analogue journaling and tracking of todo lists happens in Field Notes notebooks. Over the last couple of years I have grown to love the convenience (for me) of the size of Field Notes and occasionally will buy notebooks of a similar size but made by a different brand. While my wife and I were in …

The Great Lakes, summer 2022 edition of Field Notes has arrived and looks beautiful.

What I am reflecting on today, So I’m here to tell you that the path to peace is right here, when you want to get away. ~ Pema Chödron, Practicing Peace In Times of War

Tropical Storm Darby is having a lot to say for itself today. Rain, rain and rain, though interestingly the wind has died down from this last week. 🌧

On Saying Goodbye: Unintentionally this post is following close on the heals of my last post. I came across the article to which I refer in that post while writing this one. I still have an image in my mind of when I left my house in South Wales about sixteen years ago. All personal belongings gone, just an empty …

I came across this article in The Guardian from 2002 about the eco-house that I built in South Wales. I found a PDF version on my computer and then went looking online, and it is still there. How green is my karma | Green building | The Guardian

Some days just feel difficult, like trudging through treacle. Today is one of those days. It feels hard to get anything done and focus. I’m trying to accept that and bring it to light as opposed to hiding it under distractions.

It rained last night and I woke up to rain this morning. It’s a Saturday and right now a rainy Saturday feels like the right mood for the day, a situation that I could settle into quite comfortably right now.

I love Rainbow Shower Trees. Their flowers come in yellow, as in this photo, red, a sort of hyrid of these two colours, white with a hint of yellow, white with a hint of red. For me a Rainbow Shower Tree in full bloom sings to me of joy and happiness, and on a hot day a mature tree offers plenty of …

I had to psyche myself up for a job today. A job which through no process of negotiation that I am aware of, always falls at my feet. It is - changing the bed sheets. Now, no sniggering! The first part of this is easy - strip the bed, put the sheets, pillow cases and duvet cover in the washing …

Sitting nurturing a migraine on its second day. Just wanting the world to be still and quiet.

Summer showers, Heavy but brief - Steam rising from the asphalt.

June 2022 newsletter letter: June 2022 Hello Friend, Well I have been quieter in my posts this month. Not that I am the most frequent of posters at the best of times, but I feel that I have been vocal in my quietness through June. I look back through the month and believe that the main thing that saw this lack of writing output …

Currently reading: Practicing Peace in Times of War by Pema Chodron. Actually I have this book on regular reruns, picking it up and reading a few pages during my meditation practice. I need to be reminded of the material in this book. I need to be reminded that as much as I might complain about the …

I love the expression (emphasis mine) that Thich Nhat Hanh used, in the quote below, to describe the dopamine effect that we feel when receiving a response through our devices. We all crave connection, and many of us try to find it through our phones or e-mail. We feel a neurochemical sweetness …

Amazon has its uses 😋

I find myself making another cup of coffee…and I have to be honest, I don’t know whether I am doing so because I want it, or as a distraction from what I am doing?! ☕

I find something very compelling in this quote by Mingyur Rinpoche, that we can train our minds so that ”happiness will arise naturally.” Our mind is very important and all our experiences of happiness and unhappiness arise in the mind. So if we can train our minds then happiness will arise …

Finished reading: Silence by Thich Nhat Hanh. I read a few pages each morning during my meditation time. A beautiful book and a reminder to quieten the noise of, in Thay’s words, Radio Station NST: Non-Stop Thinking. 📚

Come and join me for sunset at the cliffs near Ho’okipa, on the north shore of Maui. In the center distance it is possible to see the island of Molokai.

Music, smells, sounds…they can all be so powerful in invoking memories. I was reminded of this while watching a short video about ABBA’s recently premiered Voyage Concert series in London. Hearing those old songs, and with listening to them on Apple Music as I type this, I am transported to the time …

A clear, starlit sky over our home.

The struggle sometimes (always?…no, I’ll stick with sometimes) of putting pen to paper, tapping on the keys, and getting a piece of writing finished and ready to go public. This critical, judgmental voice in the head crying out the piece’s imperfections or the way it will be received. And, of …

Morning rainbow 🌈

Another day draws to an end.

I’m nurturing some stiff muscles this morning, along with happy memories after hiking through Haleakala Crater yesterday.

I’ll be hiking through Haleakala Crater tomorrow. I’m looking forward to being in that other world environment. Not so much to a couple of steep climbs on the route. Here’s a video of a rainbow at the summit, dropping down into the Crater, in early December last year.

Sage advise in a public restroom.

A new version of iA Writer has dropped today, version 6.0, along with a new website. I have been beta testing v.6 and while there are new tools that I like and appreciate, I am generally underwhelmed by such a major upgrade. UI changes on iOS are welcome (lightening menu) content blocks feel tidier …

Just a few years after the movies release(1989!), I finally got round to watching Dead Poets Society and enjoyed it very much. What a lovely man Robin Williams was, and such a loss in his passing. 🍿

I won’t be watching the WWDC keynote. I have never watched an Apple Keynote. However, I will be keeping an eye on news sites and the Micro.blog timeline later in the day to learn what goodies Apple has in store for us - and opinions of those goodies! 

Let the party begin. My grandson is having his 6th birthday party today. This water slide appeared outside this morning.

I’ve started playing around with Tot Pocket and Siri Shortcuts for getting text to different places. I don’t know if I will stick with this setup, but I realized what I have at hand and don’t use.

We watched the movie Language Lessons on HBO Max last night. Very different. Very “of the times”. Like a series of Zoom calls. Well acted, it held me. I recommend it. 🍿

May 2022 newsletter letter: May 2022 Dear Friend, Following a day of interruptions and what I might call discombobulation I wrote the following in my journal last week (and posted it to my blog), It’s been hard to find time to write today. I’m feeling it. Writing is important to me, very important. I can trace …

Finished reading: Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It felt to me like a contemporary presentation of Buddhist teachings on death, impermanence and letting go. I’m already trying to bring an awareness of what Burkeman talked about into my life, and will be …

Coming back from time at the beach and a swim in the ocean, taking a shower, and that taste of salt as water washes away the dried salt in your hair.

Remembering my father: sitting at home on a Sunday morning, listening to Classical music and reading (though he would probably be doing the weekly difficult crossword puzzle in the Sunday newspaper).

We watched The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021) this evening. I knew nothing about the Tammy Faye & Jim Baker story, but thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Jessica Chastain’s performance as Tammy Faye was superb. 🍿

It’s been hard to find time to write today. I’m feeling it.

Meditation and the Spaciousness of the Mind: There is a wonderful description of meditation which describes the role that the mind’s innate spaciousness can play in meditation practice. I have read a couple of versions of this story, my retelling probably borrows from both. It goes something like this… Meditation is like trying to tame a wild …

Evening light as rain approaches, a rainbow framing the scene. 🌈

Reflecting at the end of another day.

I never met Corey B. Marion, the founder of The Iconfactory, but feel as though I in part knew him through the omni presence of The Iconfactory in my Apple life - Icons, Desktops, a host of apps including of course Twitterrific (which will be how I always see Twitter). Thank you and RIP Corey.

I’ve dropped the ball with Micro.blog’s current May Photoblogging Challenge, not getting past Day 1. Then when I do sit up and find a photo for one of the prompts, I am a day late! So this one is for yesterday, Day 22 textile, from my wife’s online store for vintage textiles and ceramics, Cloth and …

An Incredible Journey: Not my choice of title, but the title that journalist Sarah Ruppenthal used following her interview with me four years ago. I was reminded of the article recently when an old friend got in touch having come across it online. I first met Sarah when she came to do an article about the house that my …

I watched Licorice Pizza last night and enjoyed it. Maybe dragged a little in the middle? I’ve been listening to the soundtrack today, a rewind to the early 70s. 🍿

We recently watched Operation Mincemeat on Netflix, the movie of the story that I linked to in this post. I enjoy films that cover aspects of history from the Second World War, and this one did not disappoint. 🍿

The heat of the day wanes. The gentle wind that moved in late afternoon, stills. The night creatures start to emerge as dusk settles over the landscape. Stillness. Quiet. The end of another day.

Memories of The Road: Summer has arrived here in Maui, at least a preview of what summer is to bring. The last few days have been devoid of wind, hot and muggy - and has included a well timed air conditioning breakdown (hopefully that is not a preview of summer as well!). By late afternoon the air is still and feels as …

Those days when I feel as though I am wrestling with my own mind for what is going to get done.

Watching the performers, the creatives, the writers, artists and musicians, those who have dared to put themselves out there unsure of return. Doing so simply because they couldn’t imagine doing anything else….other than sharing their creativity with others.

Menehune Mayhem: I spent yesterday at the Menehune Mayhem competition at Ho’okipa Beach Park. This is a surf competition for kids established a number of years ago by pro-surfer Ian Walsh. The thin sliver of a beach that Ho’okipa is was packed, with all visitors and competitors being focused on one end of the beach …

I took this photo of what I’m calling a Ghost Rainbow at around 8:15pm this evening, and it had just been raining.

We recently saw Waterman, a documentary about Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, or “Duke” as he was affectionately known, Olympic gold medalist, world record holder and surfer. I had known about Duke for a long time, but did not know his story. This documentary does a good job of showing who the man …

I think that this plant is an Agave Vivipara L.? For the last week we have been watching this stalk grow out of the center of one of these plants, with absolutely no idea what final result will be? We are assuming a flower or flowers of some sort. It has taken approximately five years to get to this …

We took our grandsons and their cousins to see a movie last week. As I stepped into the cinema I realized that it was probably my first time in a movie theatre for over two years. With COVID having been the reason for the absence, I could feel my trepidation as we stepped in.

This is not a droid sitting on a wall, but a movement sensor switch for a light sitting above it. My first entry for the May 2022 Photo Blogging Challenge.

April 2022 newsletter letter: April 2022 Hello Friend, Welcome to my roundup of posts from April 2022. This is my first newsletter for a couple of months. No sooner had I re-booted my newsletter in the month of February, encouraged by Manton Reece introducing a newsletter feature to Micro.blog, my blogging platform, then I …

Lunchtime: We arrived at the restaurant. A sign hanging from a rope in front of the door asked us to ring the doorbell. A waiter opened the door, greeted us, asked if we had a reservation, "no," we replied. This did not appear to matter as the rope was unclipped, we were gestured to enter and shown to a table. …

We finally got round to watching CODA last night, and both enjoyed it very much. A feel good movie, but with some beautiful touches enabled by the movie’s subject matter. It took me into a world that I know nothing about. Well worth the praise and honours that it has received. 🍿

Hello, Bookstore This is one that I will be looking out for. June 28th is bookmarked. In Theaters April 29. On Amazon & Apple TV June 28.

Be nimble…catching up with some photos from our March visit to Porto.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s message yesterday for Earth Day.

After a month’s hiatus, I have just rereinstituted my newsletter. You can subscribe here.

Sunset while walking at the cliffs a few evenings ago.

Sitting on The Downs: It was last year, 2021. I was back in Bristol, England. My dad was unwell, nearing the end of his life. I went to sit on The Downs, and area of public open space of 400 acres that looks out over the Avon Gorge. Wide open spaces, woodland, trees and bushes. I was blessed to grow up around The Downs. …

Today’s distraction.

Following yesterday’s post and reminder by @manton about Micro.blog’s read-later bookmarking service with highlighting, I went back through my bookmarks to spring clean those that I no longer wanted. There were a lot! Embarrassingly a lot. I shall be more judicious in my bookmarking going forward.

Wordle 306 5/6 🟨⬛🟨⬛⬛ ⬛⬛🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 This was one of those, “well this could be one of many words, let’s just hope that I find the correct one before I run out of turns.” Fortunately I did 😮‍💨

…young people like me were parched for the vision that poured out of pulpits of Black America, and the vision of a Black Reverend from Atlanta, a man who refused to hate because he knew love would do a better job… ~ Bono

The Early Bird Surfers - Reflections on Making Time: A couple of weeks back I had an early morning Hawaiian Airlines flight to catch to Honolulu. In flight time the journey is a hop, skip and jump. Throw in airport time and it can take just as long as any long haul flight from parking the car to getting to the gate. And this was rush hour. For the …

Eating celery and remembering my dad. I have memories from when I was a kid of a glass full of celery sticks, dad picking out one, dipping it in salt and taking a crunchy bite out if it.

I’ve, well, dithered around this for a while but have finally decided to subscribe to John Gruber’s & Ben Thompson’s Dithering podcast. Two podcasts a week, each no more than 15 minutes. I’ll try it for a month to see if I want to stay with it.

My wife prepared these two Easter baskets before going away. They now await the arrival of our grandsons. 🐰🍭

Today’s wet weather has brought out the Aseroe rubra or Anemone Stinkhorn fungi, that I wrote about last week, in greater numbers (the red dots in the photograph).

What a fascinating story, with a perhaps unfortunate code name. Operation Mincemeat: The Welsh drifter who helped end WW2

I didn’t have much luck with the quality of video uploads earlier to convey that the rain is really coming down now, and so sharing a few photos. 🌧🌧

It’s Saturday morning, pouring with rain outside, and those two fit my mood perfectly. The forecast is for a wet day, a day for hunkering down. 🌧

After seeing copious mentions of this book online, I am currently reading: Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman 📚

Wordle 295 3/6 ⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛ 🟩🟩🟩⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Just a little bit of luck involved in this one today.

This came to me this morning as I was reflecting on motivation. You don’t stop because you are not the best. You keep going because you are doing what you love.

Nature is an amazing thing. I’m seeing more of these fungi growing out of the mulch in our garden. Some searching online revealed that they are ‌Aseroe rubra, more commonly known as Anemone Stinkhorn or Starfish Fungus. They omit a foul smell that attracts flies through the black, sticky, spore …

Finished reading: Reconciliation by Thich Nhat Hanh 📚

I bought a paper shredder yesterday and have spent some time going through paperwork that I want to get rid of securely. I find something deeply satisfying about watching the papers being chewed up into a pile of little pieces.

The timing and professionalism of this piece of presenting. While I can’t remember this particular shot, I do remember growing up watching James Burke on British television. His skill was in making science subjects accessible to the ordinary person. I’m sure that he played no small part …

Well this was unexpected! Pink Floyd re-form to support Ukraine

I watched Windfall on Netflix last night. A thriller based around the story of a man who breaks into the holiday home of a tech billionaire and his wife when they are not there, and then they show up. I was disappointed by it. I couldn’t always believe the characters, some plot lines felt thin …

Those Moments Where Your Life Changes Forever: Some days something happens which changes our lives forever, even if in that moment we are unaware of what the consequences will be. Sometimes that change will happen consciously, being planned and prepared for. Other times life just throws them upon us unexpectedly and possibly, in that moment, …

The aloneness of early morning. Sitting and reflecting on what is important, what resides in the heart , however deep While the rest of the world sleeps.

I step outside this morning to drink my coffee, a US Citizen. More later...

Sometimes I come across a quote, a few words in a book or online, that are just what I need to hear in that moment. I came across these words today, When we make it safe to fail, We make it safe to succeed. ~ Kobi Yamada They struck me, struck a cord, and a single read through is not enough. I am …

This was not a large puzzle, both in physical size and in terms of number of pieces - one hundred - and subsequently did not take long to finish. The puzzle was not a big challenge. No, what drew me to it was the striking depiction of a Japanese Macaque. 🧩

Very early hours at the airport. My Uber ride drops me off and I walk into a checkin hall unusually quiet. People sleep across chairs. People sit quietly. Lights are dimmed. Officials arrive at the checkin desk, passengers jump up and hover, waiting for desk to open. I am quickly checked in and it …

Deja vu of Britain on the back streets of Porto.