At least our cars don't run on milk.

But my kids do.

Public Enemy #1 - Mold

After this weekend mold has just taken the number one spot over mosquitoes, sand & cockroaches as most annoying obstacle to enjoying perfection in the tropics. It grows quickly and is a beast to remove. Here are a few of the places I have found it lately besides the usual grout* and shower curtain liner - on a wooden spoon that had been in the dishwasher for two days, the back of someones toothbrush, all over the double stroller, on our microfiber sofa and on this shirt that had been in the laundry basket for no more than three days. It always manifests itself as these tiny black spores. The only thing I've found to eliminate it is something I'm not a huge fan of using much of, but in moments of neccessity - bleach - not everything can be bleached but luckily all of the above can and has been (except for the sofa, which was whitish and maybe could have withstood a bleach solution, but they gave us a new one for other reasons so we are now mold free)

*Another highly caustic but effective product is Tilex Mold and Mildew Root Spray. I highly recommend it wherever you live.

Forecast: Vog

We enjoy ideal weather day in day out - warm, sunny, occasional showers (read - rainbows), no pollution. But occasionally we get Vog. Volcanic Smog gets carried by tradewinds from erupting Kilauea on the Big Island. It's hazy, it's irritating to the eyes and lungs and just plain gross. Luckily it departs fairly quickly. Tomorrow I expect it to be back to normal - sunny and 82.

Sand is not the enemy.

Cockroaches are.

Last week some girls, one whose husband owns a pest control company here (I wonder if they exterminate ants from printers...) were talking about getting roach infestation in their car! So bad that they eventually had to tear out the insulation and redo the upholstery. I have to vacuum and/or sweep every night to make sure we don't get overrun in our house (having none is not an option here) but in the car?! She said that they can live off of one greasy fingerprint for two weeks.

So what do I see crawling on the seat when I'm getting Miles out today. Of course, a tiny german roach. I came home, emptied the entire car and stripped the carseats - cause if they can live off a fingerprint for two weeks then they can live off carseat crud for decades. Especially if they like Cheerios (or M&Ms) - and detailed the car as best I could. Luckily I didn't see any more bugs, just the usual offender - sand. But I'll be watching for them.

All Banged Up. Really.

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I was attacked by a sea urchin.

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Then I was attacked by my surfboard when I tried to climb to shore.

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This guy was no help.

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But this random guy with the tweezers was.

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I demanded to be seen by a lifeguard. Luckily I speak fluent pidgin (If you don't you can learn here) otherwise I would have never understood that he was going to get me some vinegar for a good soak and that he also gives surf lessons to da keiki pau hana.

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One of the offenders friends.

-Just kidding about Ben being no help. There's really nothing you can do. He actually did exactly as asked and took some great pictures.