2023.

 It’s hard to believe that I haven’t posted on this in over 2 years. Mostly because I had a huge block that was a struggle to overcome. But I wasn’t UNbusy. 

—in March 2023 I went to Mexico. By this time, I'd had a cough that nobody seemed interested in fixing in New Mexico, so we had started looking at other places to live, places that had better healthcare and yes, that includes Mexico. 

I was severely blocked. I coughed so hard at times that my O2 would drop and I would get dizzy and almost pass out. I had nothing left for art. Beloved worked hard to try to bring me back from that. 

 

 

 

Ultimately, though, we decided to move to Hawaii. We moved to Hawaii because I'd been sick with a nagging cough for about 7 years. Not only would the doctors in New Mexico NOT run actual tests but they nearly killed me by throwing pills at me to "let's see what this does." Seriously. I'm not being dramatic. A nurse practitioner gave me a broad spectrum antibiotic "just in case you have an infection" without testing to see if, in fact, I had one, and without warning me that it would make me susceptible to c. Diff., a nasty bacteria that invades the guts and without proper attention, can cause your colon to rupture and then you die.  A physician's assistant then failed to run a test for c. Diff. but instead patted my hand, tested me for pregnancy (I was 53) and diabetes. I would up hospitalized on a morphine drip - I have never known such pain since giving birth - and a high-potency antibiotic also on a drip. It was not fun.

And I still had that cough. 

I sold my car, kept the newer one as "the car" since we both work from home, and we moved everything into pods and shipped them there.  

  

  

We bought a little fixer-upper about 1/4 mile from Kaneohe bay and immediate put a new roof on it. 

Christmas, 2024.

We had heavy-producing banana plants in our yard, and feral chickens.  

We bought a couple of electric scooters, a kayak, and some paddle boards. 

We had originally planned to stay in Hawaii indefinitely. We bought a house and rented out our New Mexico house. 

I had a decent studio and I started painting again. 

 A little 4"x4" painting I did at He'eia State Park.

 Kaneohe Clipper 13th hole, Oil on panel.

IN particular, I was interested in capturing the view across the bay.  Several times. 

    

24x30" oil on board - Looking Across Kaneohe Bay from He'eia Park

I was painting again. 

 I was also paddle-boarding in the bay, and snorkeling with a group of other older ladies who liked to do such things. 

I had a decent studio in Hawaii but a lot of my things started mildewing and molding. Metal objects I'd owned for decades in New Mexico developed deep pits of rust.  Hawaiian style houses are leaky, made to allow extra air to flow through them, so there's no keeping out the tropical level humidity. 

Ultimately, Hawaii was a no-go, because did you know that the tropics are hot? You can't practically air condition a house there because they are  1) leaky and 2) electricity is triple what it is on the mainland. 

It's true.  

Hawaii wasn’t a good fit for permanent living, despite its beauty. 

We explored Oahu, joined the little Honolulu Musium of Art, which has an impressive collection of ancient Asian art. 

We hiked. Yes, I could hike again!

 

 

 I started getting interested in graffiti.    

When you see pictures of Hawaii you don't often see the graffitti. 

 

There's actually a fair amount of Hawaii that's pretty run down, once you leave the resorts. The tropical climate is fairly erosive. There are junked boats and cars pretty much everywhere.