Well, you lucky people (all 7 of you!) I'm back. I think. I am now in Hawaii, on the bigh island, in Hawi (pronounced Havi' ) which is in the beautiful NW corner of the island. It's truly wonderful. Things grow like wild here. I'm staying with Alex Achmat, the husband of my neighbor, Susan Walsh. We are doing a house exchange. Alex and Susan's son Max, and daughter in law, Maya, will stay in my apartment while I stay here. Now who do you think got the better end of the deal, considering that it's cold (somewhere around 40 degrees) and rainy and cloudy most of the winter (well, there's occasional sun) in Portland? Anyway, Alex is getting me "oriented" and then he will go  to Portland for a family reunion. I've been having a wonderful time eating mango's with passion fruit and suchi and wandering around in the sun. Alex took me to Waimea for groceries and we drove along the mountain route and returned along the ocean. The water is that amazingly blue color. Haven't gone swimming yet but intend to soon.
 I'm not going to write more until I know if this is really going to post. Hope to talk to you and post pictures and hear from you soon!