And It Came To Pass....

This phrase is a well-known one from the bible -- in fact, counting the various translations, it appears over 600 times. It's generally applicable in most situations. When we first arrived in Hawaii in 2012, we found a local translation nailed to a mango tree on the drive down to the ocean; it said simply -- "it's only a matter of time."

And so it is -- Lunel has reached the decision to proceed with bi-lateral knee replacement. It was this time last year she met with two orthopedic surgeons whose opinions both resulted in the same diagnosis. There will be continued pain, inflammation and swelling due to bone-on-bone condition in both knees. But it was only a year-and-a-half since the traumas of 2018, and she was not prepared to make the decision at that time. Since January of this year the situation has deteriorated further.

Surgery is set for June 16th here in Hilo, so between now and then, she is directing a massive up-tic in the landscaping projects. Since we have cleared back so much undergrowth, there are now numerous blank canvas areas. Fortunately, we have a weekly young friend who devotes four hours every Wednesday to bring Lunel's vision to life. The photo below are rough -- but she hopes to have lots of plants, and shrubs in the ground so she can simply enjoy her recuperation watching them grow.

Of course Phil and the three corgyn will be on 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th helping her achieve a "home run" recovery!

Keep Your Sense of Humor

And on the 1,542,500,000,001 day God said....

Corgi Wisdom and Humor

Coming to terms with (yet another) new reality,we're tryin' to keep our sense of humor while we deal with Covid19.  Take all precautions and stay safe.

Recently our oldest boy corgi "Poko" had foot surgery and thus had to wear the dreaded 'cone of shame..' Hmmmmf!! Now it's their turn to laugh at us. The colored meme was created by our friend CC Pirate whose comment indicated that we needed to be held responsible for the mess we've made of our Earth, and Covid19 was God's answer: a "reboot."

Haysmers' Holiday Preparations

Last year at this time we were hoping to move into our new home before the holidays, but it didn't work out that way.

Fast forward one year later with escrow closed, we have the joy this year of holiday preparations in our own home.

Realizing all of our treasured Christmas ornaments were part of Pele's collection after the volcanic event last year in Puna, we were happy to receive many ornaments from friends -- plus a few from after holiday sales.

Treats?  Presents?  Cookies? Stockings?  -- WE ARE READY

Last week, we discovered there was a tree farm just down the highway and today, we got to set it up and decorate it.

No, Phil, not
that kind of "skirt!"

At our house blessing last month, attendees brought a variety of gifts including amaryllis, and a very special antique hand-made Persian Bakhtiari rug. The word Bakhtiari is the name of the town where the rug was made. The word Bakhtiari is a combination of two small Iranian words: Bakht (luck) and Yar (companion.)

POKO, LANI, AND TUDOR were most curious about the process and wanted to know where their "stockings" were.

And Another Loss

Today is a sad day for us.The stress of relocation not only affects humans, but our beloved four-legged family members as well. 

We are so grateful for our temporary housing situation here in Kea'au, but the additional stress of so many dogs and neighbor dogs as well has been too much for our Tu-Tu girl Reba, who we nicknamed Reba-Bo-Beba. Today she will be moving back to her original family in Captain Cook who love her and will take good care of her. 

She has never really "played well with others" and there have been scuffles in years past, but this has placed too great a strain on all of us. She will be in a beautiful setting with lots of grass and trees and a place that will smell familiar to her.

A good friend offered to pick her up at our place and take her to her new home for us. After our final goodbye, we decided that a trip down to the ocean would be in order -- and, it matched our mood pretty well. Grey clouds scudding across the sky -- rain dripping down the windshield and the ocean -- the slate color of tombstones.

Introducing "Princess I'ilani"

Tasha Tudor and Corgyn

As most of our friends and ohana know, we have been a three-dog family for many years.  Now, once again, we feel our family is complete with the adoption of our newest corgi -- Princess I'ilani.  While we were initially considering a puppy at first, when we met this little girl, we fell in love. 


She is a sweet, gentle petite little girl and her given Hawaiian name means "midget from heaven."

We had the name "Tasha" on the refrigerator for years -- thinking that one day we would add a little girl to our family -- named in honor of Tasha Tudor.  (If you don't know who this grand lady was, please check out this link: Tasha Tudor and her CORGIS .)
 
I'ilani is also one of Reba's pups so she is Poko's true little sister, and already the two of them are best buddies.  Reba mom even seems a bit relieved that Poko has a youngster to play with.

(And, for those of you who wondered about our sanity as we considered the idea of an additional puppy -- we have come to our senses and decided three is quiet enough.) 

Dexter Dinkums Wigglesworth III

Dexter the puppy

Travel Papers in Order

About 10 years ago, we adopted our third corgi dog.  One evening we were perusing the dictionary for new words when Phil came across the word dexterous and declared, "Dexter" would be a good name."  But, further down the page, he also found Dinkum -- which is an Aussie term meaning genuine or authentic.  It was during the first few days in his new home that we discovered how VERY wiggly he was, and as pet names do, the full name morphed and emerged as -- "Dexter Dinkums Wigglesworth III."

Departure from Humboldt Dec 2012

Sadly, early in 2012, we lost both of our other, older corgi dogs, so it was Dexter who, after completing all his travel papers and packing his favorite toys, made the big move to our new retirement home in Puna on the Big Island of Hawaii.

We arrived on 12-12-12, but within a few weeks Dexter scared us all by having his first seizure -- not the best way to meet the new vet, but after a few weeks on his new medication, he recovered very well, and by the end of 2013, he wanted to know if he could have a brother or a sister.  (Actually we ended up getting two!)

A few days ago, after two years of no seizures at all, he surprised us once again and after conferring with our vet (Dr. Lyons at Maika'i Vet in Hilo LINK to VET ) we have increased his medication.  After a few days of disorientation and rest, we trust he will be doing well and stabilizing on his new dosage.

He, like us has aged and his sweet face and shoulder withers are laced with grey.  Our other two corgi dogs (Reba mom and Poko pup) treat Dexter with respect and are staying close during his recovery.

For those of us without human children, these are our "kids."

The Queen!

"The Queen was in the parlor eating bread and honey?"  Heck no...this Queen is in her garden counting out her CORGIS!

Dexter to the left, Reba in the center, and Poko on the right.  Just look at those ears.

Earlier this year we wrote that our wealth was measured by our three wheelbarrows, and three 100-foot lengths of hose.  Guess now we can count our wealth (and fun) with three corgi dogs.



My interest in Corgis came about FIRST because I learned about Tasha Tudor, her beautiful gardens, and delightful books about Corgis, including, Corgiville Fair.  I was inspired by her self-sufficient life style, her crab apple trees and love of Corgi dogs.  It was only after that I learned of the Queen of England's Corgis.