MELE KALIKIMAKA!

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on this fine hawaiian christmas day! Hope you are all enjoying the holidays with friends and family. My parents came in a week ago so we were lucky enough to have family to spend the holidays with.

A little shout out to my neice and nephew, Ashley and Philly, who learned the correct pronounciation of Mele Kalikimaka and called to wish us one before they were put to bed for Santa. Pretty impressive considering my mom has been here for a week and STILL can't pronounce it correctly! :)

Love you and miss you all,
Danny and Lindsay

We're ALIVE!

Hello all,

Sorry for the total lack of attention to the blog, however, the last couple of months have been very busy. We moved to a new house. Bigger, better, and available for visits! Danny was promoted to management at Kona Blue and has been working long, hard hours. We had a HUGE storm here that left feet of snow on the peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. We survived okay but apparently Maui was devestated. I promise to have pictures up soon and will write much more interesting posts in the next few weeks. My crazy sister signed up for the 25 days of blogging. HA. Not me my friends, not me! Oh..and for those who don't know, my sis and her family moved to Kansas.

I'm on lunch break from work so I'll leave it at that and hope you are all still checking out the blog in great hopes I have something interesting to say. ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHA!

Neighborhood Pests

This is a Jackson Chameleon. This little girl was found in Jeanne's yard on a hibiscus bush. Apparently they are classified as "pests" but how could you resist those eyes and toes?!?!? Sure beats a grey squirrel or chipmunk huh? We spent the better part of an hour just watching her climb around. That is Jeanne's arm, by the way.

Hail to the Victors!

Last but not least, Michigan. My true home (though I haven't lived there since I was 2), my family, my college team, my raison d'etre on Saturdays. Despite disappointing, bowl showings (c'mon Lloyd, give us a bowl win? please?), legendary but tragic OSU games (DAMN YOU TRESSEL!), and the NFL draft (where will be without Breston?) I am ridiculously hopeful that, yes, this will be the year. I am a sox fan after all! With Chad Henne, Mike Hart, Super Mario, and a stealthy Arrington ready for some offensive action, and big bad Crable on D, I see a run for a national title. I've already started teaching everyone at work Hail to the Victors, though I have had some resitance from Bob, who earned his DVM at Minnesota. Boo. He's also from NY which is a whole 'nother problem but we'll ignore that for now.

SO! To honor my roots, and my love of college football, I will shout, "LET'S GO BLUE!", proudly sing Hail to Victors with gusto, and imagine myself at the Big House every saturday as I have done for 31+ years (since I was there for the '75 season, right mom?).

Go Pats!

Second in the sports series are the Pats. A couple of months ago, it occurred to me that not only would I have to set my Sunday alarm to 6:30am to watch the gridiron gang on TV, but that the chances of getting to see Brady and the boys play every sunday would be slim AND none. With the pain of utter despair at not witnessing the Belichik Baptism of Randy Moss, I did some research and discovered that DirecTV had come to the Big Island. "FRET NOT!" I said to myself and began working hard to make my dream come true of watching the Patriots every sunday while enjoying the warm, tropical weather of Hawaii. Thanks in part to the H.Lee Schlorff College of Getting What You Want, and my degree in "How Could You Possibly Say No To This Proposal?" I have achieved my goal and will be watching each and every touchdown, interception, and brilliance of Belichik in his frumpy sideline couture, albeit at 7am Central Pacific Time, unless it's a night game!

So in anticipation of their first regular season game in NY against the Jets....GO PATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go Sox!

I was reading through some old blog postings andI realized I have neglected to comment on some of my favorite things...sports. SO, here is the first in a series of sports themed blog postings. Since we are heading into the last leg of the season I decided it would be appropriate to give a shout out to the Sox. Our beloved Sox. Though we have not been able to watch every pitch, hit, dinger, or Manny blunder throughout the summer, we have been paying attention and trying to, at the very least, listen to the games from our computer.

As we embark upon the three game series with New York, 7 games up on the Yank-mees, I wish the boys and all my friends in Red Sox Nation to keep the faith and kick some A%#@!!!!!!! GO SOX!!!!!!!!!!

Hurricanes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis, OH MY!

We survived nature's fury! Sorry I could only scrounge up a satellite picture. I'm sure you were all hoping for a picture of bending palm trees and Danny flying through the air with an umbrella but Flossie was a total failure and complete letdown. On Monday (day before the storm) we were out buying toilet paper, rice and water. Unlike other parts of the country where you stock up on other things for an emergency, the word here is buy as much toilet paper and rice as possible. Who knew? Anyhow, on the day hell was supposed to rain down it was sunny, warm, and eerily quiet. Danny spent the day out on the water and said it was actually quite pleasant. GEEZ! They closed schools, banks, declared a state of emergency and essentially told everyone to stay indoors. It was actually quite funny in the end.

Meanwhile...the night before the hurricane there was 5.3 mag earthquake just south of Hilo (other side of the island) that I felt! It was at 7:30pm and was strong enough for me to feel it while sitting down and make the doors on the tv armoire sway back and forth. That was VERY exciting!

THEN, last but not least, the day following Flossie, there was a tsunami warning issued due to an earthquake off the coast of Peru and 25 miles below the ocean surface. The tsunami DID, in fact, hit the island but it was only a foot or something lame like that. So for two days in the middle of the week we had QUITE a buffet of natural occurences. We're glad none were deadly or destructive and hope they stay that way in the future. Though we were a little excited at the propspect of using the shake of the earthquake to cook our jiffypop on the propane stove we would be using because of powerloss due to the heavy hurricane force winds while watching people flee the coast from the monster wave washing up over the island. We live at 11oo ft so it would've been very entertaining, especially since our tv would've been out. HA!

Aloha!

Good News!

The patient is okay! Two lumps were lipomas (fatty lumps) and the one from his tail was a perianal adenoma with complete excision meaning he is fine. YAY! Trip would like to thank everyone who showed their concern and sent all their warm wishes. He has been able to remove the humiliating e-collar and return to normal activities. Those include lounging on the lanai, chasing Monty, digging a hole under the pine tree, drinking out of the "water feature" and cleaning the grill.
Trip would also like to wish the innkeepers at the O'Grady B&B a Happy Anniversary. The boys are glad to know their favorite vacation spot is owned and operated by a happy couple who understand the daily needs of the common canine. Here's a paw to 40 more!

aloha,
Trip

Poor Tripper D

Poor Tripper D had surgery yesterday and is being forced to wear an e-collar so he doesn't lick his incisions. Awwwwwwww. He had four lumps removed yesterday, 3 of which are going out for biopsy. Keep your fingers crossed!

He is a little uncomfortable but otherwise doing well. It certainly helps that mom can provide some serious dope to keep him pain free!

Anniversary Trip

We recently celebrated our 2nd anniversary. I KNOW! Hard to imagine. Anyhow, we were lucky enough to have received a "complimentary" night at a resort up north on the Kohala coast. The Mauna Lani is a gorgeous resort that otherwise would be on our wish list. Since we had reservations at Ruth's Chris (a family fave) my parents thought it would be nice if we didn't have to drive the 35 mins home and enjoy a night at the resort.

The next day we drove up Kohala - a dormant volcano on the norther tip of the island- and got a glimpse of Hawi (pronounced hahvee) and Keaau (don't know....). This is the best shot because it has Mauna Kea on the left and Mauna Loa on the right. SO COOL. The camera was on the spare tire. Not bad huh?

Just wanted to share our little adventure and thank everyone for their good wishes on our anniversary! Who would've thought we would be living in Hawaii 2 yrs later? Not us!

Aloha

Typical Day

This was taken with a co-worker's camera phone just after Danny reeled in the 45 lb ono he's holding. The boat was on it's way back in from the cages. I just thought everyone would enjoy a picture of Danny at "work". If only the rest of us could call this work! (;

Aloha! We took a mini-vacation to Hilo and the "other side" of the island. Hilo is on the east side of the island and is actually the rainiest city (if you can call it that) in the US. Unfortunately for us, the whole island except for Kona has been experiencing drought like conditions which made the waterfalls a little twinky. It's interesting though because the east side is waaaaaaay greener and has a lot of gullys and gulches that cut through the belt road (main road around the island).

All in all, Hilo was pretty quiet and somewhat unexciting. They do have a mall though. That was cool.The next day we went to Waipio Valley. We took a 4x4 SUV down into the valley to a stable and then road horseback throughout the valley. It was AWESOME. First of all there is one road in/out and it has a 25-32% grade. It drops 900ft in less than a mile which is RIDICULOUS. 4x2 cars/trucks can't make it down. It felt like the back of the car was going to flip over the front. And to make it more interesting it's a one lane road so you have to stop at certain points to make sure no one is coming up. There are people who live down there but most do not have running water, electricity, etc. They use generators and grow taro. Some of them looked kinda weird but all in all seemed like an interesting bunch of people. Danny's horse, Journey, was a mello guy and took good care of him. My horse, Mighty Mouse, was a little pushy and always wanted to be at the front of the pack. We HIGHLY recommend doing this to anyone who comes to visit. The valley is unbelievably gorgeous.

On our way home, we were able to sit in our car on the side of the road just south of Waimea and look at Hualalai, Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Kohala. It was pretty cool. Kohala was covered in clouds and Mauna Loa was only giving a peep show but it was still amazing to sit there and look at the peaks of all the volcanos that produced the island. Hualalai is the one we live on and usually we don't get to see her from the northeast side so it was quite a treat!

Wishing a belated father's day to both of our dads and Matt and most importantly Kevin, for his first father's day!!!!! Hope it was a good one!

Our Trip to the Other Side

Photobucket Album

MANTAS!

This is Lefty. He is a Manta Ray. He is eating all the tiny plankton that were attracted to our flashlights. He was probably about 10ft wide wingtip to wingtip. Unfortunately these pix do NOT do the Manta dive justice. It was like being in

another world. Lights everywhere and these huge, graceful mantas doing loopdeeloops and grazing the tops of our heads. It was sooooooo cool!

George, the morey eel, is apparently a fixture at the manta night dives. He only catches 1 of every 15 fish he tries to eat. Poor guy. He actually got nailed by a manta and ended up slithering around our arms and tanks. Kinda creepy but totally fun at the same time. Also, Danny was not thrilled that I took a shot of him (with the flash!) with about a foot between us. Oops.

Starting next weekend, Danny and I will have TWO WHOLE DAYS off together every week. YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! The weather has been so so. Warm...yes. Dry? that's a whole nother story. It's been raining cats and dogs here every day (at 1100ft at least) and yet there is a drought on the east side of the island which is considered the rainiest place in the US. Go figure.

aloha!

AMAZING!!

This picture was actually taken a couple of weeks ago by our friends Alan and Greta. On the last day of my SCUBA certification we were heading to our second dive site and caught sight of a pod of pygmy killer whales. They don't actually look like killer whales and aren't nearly as big. Apparently they don't usually travel so close to shore but we lucked out. Jeff, the captain of the boat, got in front of the pod and we had the opportunity to throw on our snorkel gear, quietly slip into the water, and swim as fast as we could to get this close. It was beautiful and awe inspiring. They were so quiet and moved so fast. It was definitely a once in a lifetime moment.
aloha

Dolphins and Octopus

I forgot to mention that this past sunday I was invited to "swim" with dolphins and Danny went on his first shore dive to see the reefs. A client of Kona Vet owns her own boating/charter business. She primarily does dolphin tours where you drive up the coast (on the water) and find one of the big pods of spinner dolphins and then follow them, snorkel with them around you, etc. It was actually pretty cool. Her website is http://www.dolphinjourneys.com
Danny's trip gave him the opportunity to see an octopus as well as a bunch of fish, a lava tube, and some eels. Pictures? Yeah....neither of us took any!!!!! HA!

On the bright side we'll be diving together tomorrow night on the Manta Dive. We bought an underwater camera JUST for that trip so stay tuned....if anything there will be pictures of me or Danny in our SCUBA gear which should be enough for a giggle.
aloha

P.S here is the link to our other pix... http://s179.photobucket.com/albums/w309/lsogrady/May%202007/

We're back online!

We're back! These are the latest photos. I know it doesn't seem like there are that many but trust me...you'll thank me for culling. ANYhow, a girl I work with was kind enough to take us and the boys to a trail waaaaay up at about 4000 ft or so. It's like being on another island because it's cool, lush, wet, and cloudy. Apparently we need to beware of aggressive wild pigs...who knew?!?! The boys loved their new trail and are looking forward to rooting out the pigs...at least Monty is!

The Biscuit is becoming a neighborhood favorite since I have to start it at least ten minutes before driving it and then have to step on the gas pedal to rev the engine so it idles lower therefore making it driveable. GOOD TIMES! Our neighbors love us at 6:30am....who wouldn't?!?!?

aloha,
L&D

Technical difficulties

Aloha! Sorry there haven't been any updates lately. Our computer is on the fritz (hopefully a new battery will improve it's condition) which prevents us from adding any new pix to the blog. There is quite a bit of news to share but it's not as fun without pictures!!! So if you don't mind waiting a little bit longer.....
The boys and kitties made it here safely and we are SO HAPPY to have them here. We missed all of them so much. Life is much better here in Hawaii with the boys and girl. They have already made friends with Sunny and Hunny (the two goldens who live "upstairs") and have a date to meet a 2 yr old Newfie named Koa, a 2yr old Rhodesian named Capone, and the Kona Vet mascots, Big Scooby, Cracker and Cupcake. Zazu and Lula (now hulalula) are not as happy because they want to be outdoors but we're trying to keep them indoors to avoid other problems. We'll see how long that lasts.
We bought a 1974 Bronco that we have appropriately named "The Biscuit" after Seabiscuit. It doesn't look like much but it runs like a champ!
Last but not least, Lindsay passed her PADI Open Water SCUBA class. She is now certifited (not certifiable...don't need a class for that!). It was a big day yesterday since the task of clearing her mask was a big one and she had to do it TWICE at 50 ft. Very nerve racking but she did it, passed, and will now be able to dive with everyone when they come to visit...G? Lizzie? Anyone?
We're headed for the Manta night dive next wednesday so hopefully we'll have some cool pix from that.
Otherwise, life is good. Summer is here. The only way we know that is the bugs are more numerous and people keep complaining about how hot it's been. RIGHT! It's not really that hot, especially compared to the icky, sticky, 90+ degree days in New England. There have been small earthquakes that are causing quite a stir. No one is sure whether or not it's activity from Mauna Loa or Hualalai. Unfortunately, Hualalai (the volcano we live on the side of) was scheduled to erupt ten years ago and apparently missed her cue. On the other hand, Mauna Loa has a bulge that is causing vulcanologists (right?) to predict an eruption from her in the near future. It's really kind of exciting in a weird, maybe our house will be swallowed by lava, kind of way. (:

aloha

Happy Mother's Day

We want to wish both of our mothers, Eileen Schlorff and Susan O'Grady a very happy Mother's Day. We're sorry we can't be there to show you our love but hope you can feel it coming from six thousand miles away. We love you both so very much and offer our mahalo nui loa for being our moms.

We would also like to wish LA a great day. I'm sure the kids had something fun and entertaining planned (right matt?).

Lastly, we would like to wish our SIL, Sarah, a very, very, happy FIRST Mother's Day! Hopefully you're off the schedule today and will have the opportunity to enjoy your day with our little hoku, Ava.

aloha nui loa!
D & L

Vrrrrrrrrrm!!!!

These are our new wheels! Yes, that is a camo design. We both take it to work depending on the day and YES we both wear a helmut no matter how far we go. The funny thing is that we only had to buy one helmut because of Danny's skinny little head! (:

That picture was taken a couple of days ago by Gramps O'Grady. The boys have been spending quality time with one set of grandparents while the other set is away. This picture almost made me cry because we miss them (and the kitties) SO MUCH! Two weeks from today they should be living aloha!!!

Ode to the Boys....We miss you so!

testing

Photobucket Album

Liquid hot laaaahvaaaaah

Photobucket Album

New and Improved!

Aloha! Unfortunately, we had to change location of our Hawaii blog. Turns out some sites are better than others for blogging and since we were newbies we didn't know. I apologize for any invonvenience but our NEW blog spot will make it even easier for us to keep everyone updated on our Hawaiian adventures!

malama pono

Linds