Preparing for disaster

Beautiful sunny day here in Hawaii. We are waiting for a possible tsunami in the next half hour to hour, but lasting for several hours after the first waves arrive.

The sirens have been going off since 6am, first every hour, then every half hour, now every 15 minutes. We are not in an evacuation zone so we are just sitting tight at our house. But it is weird. We live on a busy highway, but just 35 minutes ago all major roads were shut down to any traffic except emergency vehicles. So it is quiet until the sirens wail again.

How did we prepare when the first sirens went off? We immediately started baking. And doing laundry. Filling the bathtub after each of us got a hot shower. Loss of electricity on these islands is major, sometimes not getting turned back on for months. We don't know if we will have any electricity soon. They even shut down the waste water stations. Those have been known to be hit and badly. Good thing all our laundry is done. Phones are charged up, and the wheelchair is charged. Gas stations ran out of gas, and stores just closed after having unbelievable lines, selling everything from toilet paper to rice. This happens every time there is an impending disaster here. Luckily our gas tank was filled just yesterday and we have plenty of non-perishable foods.

My sister came over because she lives alone, my daughter and grand daughter live next door and I'm getting ready to go over there and play games. We do this when we have disasters. Families draw close. On our news they are showing entire neighbor hoods gathered at high ground, having what looks like a tail gate party, the grills are going, everyone is sitting on their beach chairs. All the beaches are closed, the police will not let anyone get near the water. Its like a party, but with stress, since we have seen disasters here in paradise and they aren't pretty. Hurricane Iniki wiped out the island of Kauai, there was not a single tree with leaves left on it after winds of 270 mph. There was no electricity on that island for 3 months, there was no regular phone service for longer than that. You could not buy batteries or flashlights ANYWHERE in Hawaii for months and months. So we prepare. It might come to naught, but we are ready. Our prayers are sent up and now we will play some games and try to relax. Catch you on the flip side, and our hope is that we are not water logged in the next few hours.

Hugs, and waves ~~~~~~~~~~~~ from Hawaii,

Kat

Children---never know what they are going to say

A few weeks ago my grand daughter U'iLani, got stung by a Portugese Man of War jelly fish. It was very traumatic and she screamed and cried for nearly half an hour. These jelly fish have a long string like tentacle which will wrap itself around you and that is the part that stings. Now this sting HURTS, feels almost like you are getting shocked and where it touches will sting and swell. U'i got the tentacle wrapped around her side and when she tried to brush it off it wrapped around her hand. She was out splashing in the waves and we were sitting on shore watching her when she screamed. Some guy sitting by us jumped up and dove in and brought her back to shore before we even knew what happened. He got stung too. What a hero! Big, good looking Hawaiian guy. He used to be a life guard so he was fast and knew just what had happened. He told us the pitch of the scream is what lets them know that it is a Portugese Man of War sting. I have been stung too, so I know how bad it hurts, but I'm sure it hurts much worse on a little kid.

Ok, that was a couple of weeks ago. Now U'i has determined that she will never swim at that beach again. We have to find another beach for her. This is sad, because Kailua Beach is our favorite. If you saw any news footage of President Obama's Christmas vacation, that is the beach he was at.

Yesterday we were in the car and out of the blue, U'i told us she had an idea for a secret weapon in case anyone tries to steal her. She wants to catch a Portugese Man of War and keep it in a sippy cup. When someone tries to kidnap her, she will open the lid and throw the Portugese Man of War on the bad guy. Or she could make a spear, and wrap a Portugese Man of War on the tip and throw it at any bad guys.

:)

Are you an inspiration for someone?

I spent the early morning reading some blogs, some facebook enteries and putting the phone numbers of some friends in my cell phone. All of these people have touched my life in some way, and even inspired me to be more creative or to be more productive or to look up old friends and stay in touch better with new friends.
This morning's activities caused me to reflect on the many people who have been an inspiration in my life. It made me realize that even little things we do can be the "touch" some other person needs, that even small gestures can be life changing for someone else.
Barb, I can't even begin to say what you have meant in my life. I love you and I am so happy that I can truly say that I have a bestest friend. You've been with me through thick and thin since 1986, when we met. You and I are like spam and musibi, like popcorn and arare, and da kine....you know what I mean. Luv you more than I can ever say and thank you for EVERYTHING. I can't wait til we see each other again. I miss you so very much.
I want to thank Judy for writing, for posting beautiful pictures, for jogging my memory of days gone by and to remember to cherish and live in the now. She probably has no idea that her blog has done this for me, first on the ebay blogs, then in blogspot and now on facebook. She is a woman that inspires me to do MORE, to work harder and to play with abandon.
Reading Judy's blogs let me know where my friend Joe disappeared to! I met Joe on the ebay blogs too. He was there for me during one of my darkest periods. He would write wonderful blogs, exposing evil, espousing good and making me laugh. He was there PERSONALLY for me, not just for everyone else on the blogs. He would email me and send me packages. I have all the gifts he gave me still, except the edible ones. He encouraged me to believe that things would get better, that God was in control. Thank you Joe. I know I haven't written to you, and that though we don't email, or blog, and it has been awhile since we were in touch, still, I think of you every day. I have postcards and things you sent me right in front of my desk, and every time I see them, I think about how you touched my life. I wonder how you are and how your M is and I miss you.
Thank you Chris, another blog buddy. I feel like I have known you my whole life. I cherish the prayers you send up for me and my family. I look forward to your emails and I love talking to you on the phone. You make me laugh, you make me cry, and I am so honored to have "met" you and that you have shared not just your joys with me but your sorrows. Thank you, Chris.
Thank you, Cindy. I'm so glad you found me on facebook. We hadn't talked to each other in 25 years. I don't know why we lost touch after I moved away, but shame on me. I am so grateful for all the fun we had together. I'm so grateful that my first garden was due to you. I can't wait to call you and just hear your beautiful voice again. I am still in awe that you named your daughter after me. I had no idea.
Thank you Mary. You are another person I lost touch with. I was amazed when I found YOUR daughter on facebook. Now I have your phone number and I will be calling you today, too. How strange to see your daughter, all grown up. It seems like just yesterday that she was a tiny baby and that our kids were so small. I can't wait to hear that infectious laugh.
That brings me to my kids, my siblings and my parents. All of you have made life worth living, have brought me so much joy and love. I look at each of you and am amazed at what wonderful kids, brothers and sisters, and parents I have been blessed with. Thank you, thank you.
Thank you, Mal. I need to reconnect with you too, my nekkid chicken soul sister. I think of you every day too. When I dry my hands on that lovely pink kitchen towel that you crocheted with your own lovely hands, I think of you. I think of you when I feed my free range chickens. Every time I see or hear the word cancer, I think of you and your friend Jo, and I miss you so much. I thank you for all those lovely blogs you wrote just for ME and I can't wait to someday hear the end of the story. I love you.
Jodi, you know I love you. I'll be talking to you soon. You ROCK and you are just the best friend a girl could ever want.
To my NEW friends, if you are reading this, you know who you are, thank you, thank you for being there, for loving me when you have never even met me in person. I love you too. I can't wait for the day that we can hug for real.
To anyone reading this, maybe you remember me writing that we should hug our loved ones, we should tell them how much we love them because we never know what tomorrow will bring. Here's a hug from me. I love you all and I'm so grateful for the inspirations you have made in my life.