...and Don can be played by Don Johnson.

Good heavens. Just don't know how else to start. Good ya-gotta be-kiddin'-me Heavens.

In our last episode, Don and I were dealing with an uncooperative ex-landlord and wondering about our only-in-our-imagination budget. Today, we assume our ex-landlord is still being uncooperative since we have not heard otherwise, but my-oh-my, how the other has changed. My silver Solara has a new mom and dad, thanks to an ad in the Maui News that we forgot about. About a month ago, it seemed to make lots of financial sense to sell my convertible and bring the jeep over here. Not only would the cash be dandy, but we are paying storage for the jeep. SInce we simply rent a car when we go to the mainland, it just seemed more prudent to bring Mr. Jeep over here. But then nobody bought my car. After prayer, we decided to sell Don's fine-for-a-realtor-but-kinda-fancy-for-Maui Lexus OR my car. It would be interesting to see which would sell quicker: cute or fancy-schmancy. Cute won. Actually, we had decided to keep my car and focus on selling his car, but the ad in Maui News stayed in there until it expired next week. Don took a call last night, and outa the blue, there was someone who wanted the car, said they had cash, and they would be here at 10:00 in the morning. AT 10, as Don and I were finishing up giving her a good shine, they pulled up. Thirty minutes later, they drove out with their new convertible Solara and Don and I had considerably more cash than we had yesterday. Can I hear a resounding PRAISE GOD!!!! When the Lord says He's got our backs, I guess we just gotta believe it!

We are settling into our new digs. It is pretty spectacular here, I have to admit, but there are some things to, shall we say, adjust to. The property itself is a two bedroom bungalow right on the ocean in North Lahaina. The lanai runs the entire length of the house, and has dining on one end and a living room-type grouping at the other. There is a small yard with a lawn - although the grass closest to the seawall is pretty much dead, due to the waves that splash over at high tide. At the south end of the yard is a smaller deck that is next to the sea wall, and has a small lip on to the wall itself. This small deck has 4 lounges. Unfortunately,the furniture is made from iron, so that, and the painted decking, are both in pretty bad shape, having been beaten up by the surf. Don put our beach chairs out there, so we sit in the evenings and watch turtles and spotted eagle in the glow of the setting sun. Last night, we actually saw a ray launch himself out of the water and glide for about six feet!! Amazing!! This is when we just pinch ourselves, and remember that we did nothing to deserve this. It is simply God working through this client. Nothing more.

It is significantly warmer here, without the trade winds and accompanying showers just a couple of miles to the north in Ka'anapali. It is also a bit noisier, with families with little kiddies on both sides of us. The neighbors to the north also have at least two dogs, and when our front gate isn't closed, they tend to come wandering in. We have no fenced yard, per se, so they can come right into our backyard from the front. With the ocean as part of our boundary, and having a doggy that's afraid of the ocean, we're not that worried about FloJo wandering off. She likes hanging around us. So, the neighbor dog thing still has to be worked out, but they don't seem aggressive - just curious about the new kid next door.

Another aspect of this place is the onsite caretakers. They are a couple of apparently very nice guys, being extremely polite and friendly. The issue once again is the lack of fencing around the backyard. The property has two houses - the larger bungalow in which we are living and a smaller "ohana" where the guys live. The ohana is on the street side of the property, near the big gate that is at the entrance. There is a courtyard big enough for our two (oh, wait. We only have one, for a while) plus a couple more. The two houses are separate, but there is a straight shot from the ohana to the backyard, and the sea wall. This would not necessarily be an issue if we understood from the get that we might be sharing the space once in a while - after all, we are here at the generosity of our Don's client. The problem comes in that there are NO WINDOW COVERINGS WHATSOEVER!!!! This is a place with lots n' lots of windows out the back because there's lots n' lots to see!! I don't want to be one of the things that is seen!! In fact, not sure anyone wants to see that. The other problem is that since we face pretty much due west, the sun starts beating in around 4-ish, raising the temp inside to about 173 degrees...celsius. I am planning to speak to Don's client about possibly popping up some sunshades on this wonderful lanai, thus taking care of both privacy and sunacy issues at once.

Well, it's 4:45 and my eyes are now getting hit by the sun. I am so grateful to be in the middle of this great adventure, and I can't see what God, the author, has in store next!!