Yesterday we spent a lot of time looking around at things with which to restrain the plumbago.
See it started out like this:

(again, click to enlarge, the effect is enhanced)

And I spent a good deal of time the other day pruning it back. I still haven’t photographed it in its restrained state and now it’s dark again so I can’t go out and take it now. I’ll try again tomorrow.
But this being Hawaii, if it’s left to itself it’ll only be another week or so before that shrub starts sending feelers out along that sidewalk so I had plans to put up some sort of retaining restraining thingamabobber to keep the bloody thing beaten back.

Thought about building a little retaining wall with the concrete blocks as I have in my front garden. Only in Hawaii each block costs something like $5 and I wasn’t interested in paying $800 or so to build this thing. Then we thought about putting garden benches against the shrub, but they wouldn’t be sturdy enough to keep the shrub held back, and since the whole goal is to retain the use of the pool deck on that side of the pool, anything that’s wider than about 12″…..

Anyway we spent a good deal of time yesterday morning running around looking for things with which to restrain the plumbago, but then we decided to bag it.
Went into Honolulu to pick up a reading lamp for Joan then, after a markedly exciting time finding parking we went to check out the Mission House Museum. Basically we were interested because we’re both big fans of Sarah Vowell’s Unfamiliar Fishes
We drove around and around and around and around and finally scored a great place to park right behind the museum. Had a turn around the mission cemetery then went to get tickets for the museum only to find that they’re not open on Mondays. And we would have known that if we’d been able to find the hours on the museum’s website. But we couldn’t so we didn’t so we sat outside trying to find a place to eat. Had a lovely chat with a cabinet maker who is working at the museum, wandered around the grounds and spent time chatting with a quartet of psittacines of some sorts (I’m still not sure what they were because I’ve not had the chance to enlarge the pictures enough to see them clearly) who live on the grounds.
Went to lunch, Hank’s Haute Dogs which was seriously yum, then wandered back home.

For some reason that I have yet to be able to explain, even to myself, we got suckered into taking Caitlin (and Libby) to Ala Moana mall today so Caitlin could try on clothes. Still not sure how that happened, but both Caitlin and Libby enjoyed Caitlin trying on clothes. Andrew and I went to Shirokiya which has a great food court, but has contracted in it’s coolness since we first were there 20 years ago. Lunch, and then we were waiting for Caitlin again so Andrew and I went to the Lego Store.
It has been decades, eons since I last had a chance to play with Legos. And you walk into the Lego store and they have big bins of Legos set next to tables with big Lego tabletops! Andrew and I spent about 45 minutes standing at a bin with a pair of Japanese boys. Andrew was building a spaceship, I revisited my childhood and built a great little secret compartment car. The kid standing next to me was maybe nine-ish, muttering to himself in Japanese while he was building. Every so often he’d pop up with “AH! Okay!” grab another piece of Lego out of the bin and add it to his whatsis which turned out to be a pretty cool flying sort of thing with an axe attached to it. His little brother was maybe five and was fascinated with the Lego people but was very dismayed (in English no less) to find a Lego person with two faces. Andrew put a second head on the Lego person with two faces which seemed to amuse him.

So a placid sort of day, if accentuated by some of the most seriously nuclear mosquito bites that I’ve run across in the last 15 years. And one of the best phallic clothing displays at Sears that I’ve ever seen. Andrew will have to post the photo.
Tomorrow we’re likely be running around to the north shore and doing some grocery shopping.
I’m hoping it doesn’t pour, but the weather report isn’t favorable.