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Sometimes, you just have to go out to eat...
 The days went forward...but it seemed I was going backward. I missed Riley terribly
and wondered how she was doing. Debbie was faithfully letting me know that Riley was doing fine and even playing with
Kitty ...Riley and a cat? Wow! Miracles do happen.
Not all
was work, nature was waiting and there was plenty of it....along with great restaurants. Ahh, there is nothing like Bubba
Gumps for lunch or dinner. During the day you can see the boats and water activities like parasailing and jet skiing - fun
yeah? At night the tiki torches are lit and the darkness on the water brings the white water hitting the rocks more to life.
The outdoor tables are just a few feet from the water, you just can't get better than that! Right down Ali'i Drive there
is also 'Huggos on the Rocks' that is a wonderful lunch on the sand, yes the tables and chairs are in the sand
under umbrellas - oh yeah...and how about that 'bad *** cup of Kona coffee!' Oh, there's more but just no more time
right now, I'm sure more later on this yummy subject.
Back to the work of the Inn... On October 18th (day
after we landed) I went to Lowe's and looked at their paint. I was ready to get painting, since the walls at
the Inn were in desperate need of a new coat of paint and a new color. I knew that a neutral beige was the way to go
since the Koa wood was so beautiful and rich feeling. The current paint color was a shade of white that did not
blend with the wood or the tile on the counter tops, yes, it needed help. I am a bargain hunter and so I always look at the
'opps' paint...and there it was...three one gallon buckets of neutral sand color paint. I looked at it with eyes wide and
heard Holy Spirit say "this is it, the perfect color". I grabbed them quickly and went to buy a gallon
of matching semi-gloss for the kitchen.
Since the kitchen was the most important room to have clean, I started
there. As I started to prepare to paint the inside of the cabinets, I saw just how filthy every square inch of the  place was. I had intended to paint that day, however after seeing all the dirt I spent the entire day just cleaning the kitchen.
Towards the end of the day I still had not finished, however I found a good place to end and went to collapse.
The next day was a new fresh day and I was ready to go at it again. I made the decision to just paint the inside of the
cabinets and the backsplash area above the sink and then show off the color, I wanted to make everyone liked it. It looked
so much better and I was happy to hear "it looks great". The following morning after the breakfast buffet,
I prep'd the kitchen and painted the day away.
The next day I finished the kithen and dining room while the bed
and breakfast guests were away for the day. There is so much to do and see in Kona and the surrounding area, no one sticks
around the Inn too much.
During the process of painting the kitchen and dining room there were some strange
things spoken to me about the color and the timing of my labor, even tho everyone said they liked what I was doing. There
were some other indications that maybe our efforts were misjudged and the journey was going to be harder emotionally
than we thought. Of course Jim is a solid emotional guy, but I cried and cried.
 Days went by...and I slowed my plans alittle, but I did not give up! I knew that if this place was to be ours soon
this was all worth it and more...and if it wasn't - well...I tried to think positive. The next rooms were the Living Room,
Entry and Hallway, all still in the main house. Jim and I cleaned and cleaned and I prep'd the rooms for paint. The following
day Katie and I painted the Living Room and then put it back together. We still were not used to the humidity, even
though it was now in November it was in the mid 80's... we were sweating! However the new paint looked amazing
so it was worth it. The next day Katie and I finished the Entry and Hall in good time and had some good talks.
Then,
another heart dropping incident happened that day which really made me cry out to the Lord, and to Jim. Even though I
encouraged proper communication with everyone so we could all be on the same page... there was not a proper
communication protocol at the Inn, so when someone showed up that I did not expect, to do a job I wanted to do, I did not
understand.
So much emotional pain, in so little time...it really threw me for
a loop, a big loop....But God! it was His divine plan, I just
could not see it right then!
As the days began in December it became very obvious that something was going to have to be done
about the house in California. It was not leasing and time was ticking on day by day and the cost of keeping it going was
cha-ching cha-ching. Because it was a decision that had to be dealt with even though we had not pre-planned it in our budget
we both knew I had to go, sooner the better. I called my dear sister Debbie to explain the situation and she gladly bought
my ticket, we had money coming in to pay her back while I was there in California, so she was gracious to give us a loan.
Mahalo again Debbie! With Hawaiian Airlines you can fly with them on days that fit into your budget, the 'best deal' days.
So I picked two of those days to fly to and from and packed my clothes. The flight there was alright after a snafu with one
of the airline attendants. He did not want to help me with my luggage and I was really struggling, I was one of the last people
on the plane so all the upper storage units were filled that were in the section of my seat. The other problem I was noting
is that my seat was above the wing and it did not have a window, it also seemed extra small and very claustrophobic so that
was not going to be good. I politely asked if there was another seat available where there would also be some space
for my carry on suitcase above me, and there was! Mahalo nui loa Lord. A nice aisle seat. Seeing Jason was awesome! When I came down the Sacramento
Airport escalator I searched and there was David! Hi DaviD! Just as I gave him a hug I looked to the left and there was my
Jason, awe. Big hug. Then I looked and there were two girls – with Jason. Hi girls, who are you? and what are you doing
with my Jason? HaHa. I
was still dressed for the tropics, oh no, it was kakakk cold outside. When I saw my van I was happy, and we proceeded to go
to Debbies house with one of the girls following behind us in her car. Riley! I was going to see my Riley!!! Yeah!!! When we got to Debbies I was ready
to see my poodle, it felt strange and the anticipation felt surreal. Debbie and Joe greeted us and I gave them a very quick
hug. I looked down and there she was, my Riley. I sat down on the floor and wrapped here with hugs and love. Her expression
was one of bewilderment and happiness as she put her front legs up on Debbie as if to say 'I still love you Debbie, thank
you so much for taking care of me'. When she returned to me it was with the resolve 'I have
my mama back'.
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