Here it is December
again —Tom and I are still healthy and mobile. Life is good as we continue to
maintain our dream home and keep the spackle wet and pliable as we sculpt our aging
bodies into rock hard shape.
(I'm doing the face exercises and lifting and stretching my neck part--A,E,I,O,U.)
We have two new additions to the family Rocky and Apollo—that today become one year old. We are having a party later, inviting all of their cat, and dog friends. This week Apollo chewed up my brand new business cards, which the FEDEX driver so graciously let him bring back to the house—ALONE! Imagine, the driver thought Apollo was so well trained he didn’t even bother to honk his horn! Apollo eagerly ripped open the box and drooled and chewed on each and every card inspecting them for quality and leaving his stamp of approval. I am so proud doesn’t quite describe it. Zeus, our most royal Great Dane spends most days sequestered in the garage. He is eight years old now and can only take so much excitement. He prefers to stretch out on a premium carpet next to the Bentley until two in the afternoon, or until nature calls.
Tom and I are still working out in the gym, only not at the
same time. I prefer to walk or jog on the treadmill, alternating on the recumbent
bike with a dash of weight lifting and crunches thrown in for good measure, whereas
Tom does about one thousand crunches a day, and will grunt and groan through a
grueling workout, his sweat glistening from every pore and then want to blend
up a fruit tree mixed with protein powder for breakfast. I am still
counting calories and limiting my excitement to writing and I’ve just taken up
bowling again. Golf is too hard on my lower back and pinched sciatic nerve. The
doctor approves so long as I continue to lift weights. (Doc-what about the bowling
ball?) I know you are wondering at this point (I wrote pint first, so what the hell, I’ve quit but do go ahead) how much
longer will she go on? My eye lids are drooping and I think I have a crick in
my shoulder. Seriously, whose idea was
it anyway to send Christmas letters?
At harump-donk-humpf my memory is starting to fade. It is a good thing that I
keep an appointment book throughout the year to record all my activities or I
would have to make this shit up.
Tom’s daughter Natalie came for the summer with three of her
children, Ashley, Andrew and Kaitlyn. We
were thrilled –and the time passed quicker than originally expected. Thank GOD for diazepam.
I am working on a novel. Goodreads.com is sponsoring my two book giveaways, click on my blog links. My book, Letters to a Prisoner by Connie D. received an Honorable Mention in
Poetry at the New York Book Festival, not bad for a self-published book on
a small budget. And I just released Meadow
Pause Revisited by Cornelia Connie D. DeDona, another poetry and
photography book that is available on Amazon and my blog. On Saturday
April 16, 2011, I lead a panel on Alternative Publishing at the Kapolei Public
Library. In September I was accepted as
a member into the NLAPW (National League of American Pen Women). I had three poems and two photographs
published in the 2011 issue of Rain Bird, Windward Community College’s award winning annual journal and will be in
next year’s humor issue as well, that makes five consecutive years. Also two of
my short stories were published in One Forty Fiction. I appeared on Olelo from Jan.
11-14th (local Hawaiian TV channel) in January to share my story with
Habilitat- the place of change; a drug rehab in Kaneohe. I also like to write
and perform slam poetry. I went back to
Habilitat in August and performed my slam poems and invited some of the Habilitat
residents to join me, we had a blast. You
can Google me; I have three Facebook pages, two domains and one ex- large weakness
for dark chocolate and peanut M&M’s.
I am looking forward to foreign travel again sometime in the
near future, where and when is top secret even the pentagon doesn’t know. I am sending the documents to Mission Impossible
as Vantage Deluxe World Travel has
been permanently crossed off my Christmas list; clearly service at Vantage is
not something they do these days what with cut backs, news link and joke
forwarding not to mention arranging air travel to and from Hawaii. I’m also
boycotting them in support of the Amazon Rainforest, which has suffered huge
blows just by Vantage Travel’s mail order business ALONE.
But I digress; I have a brand new Nikon D-5000 which I
picked up in Vegas this October. Tom and I saw Elton John and the Million Dollar
Piano in the Coliseum at Caesar’s Palace.
Elton John named his new piano Blossom, after jazz singer Blossom Dearie.
The Coliseum is so big—they have people every so many feet just to direct
traffic, luckily I didn’t have to use the restroom. It was awesome and ear splitting at first—I’m
not quite sure if I’m now permanently deaf or if they actually lowered the sound
but I was really rocking to some old favorites by the end of the concert.
Tom also contributes regularly to the Hawaii Fishing News.
They like him so much, they gave us a whole page with photos in the June issue,
Tom and his crew David Johnson--photographer, Dr. Steven Wonderlich and Mikey
Ordenstein had the unfortunate experience of having the boat’s prop get tangled up in a huge cargo net out in the middle of
the pacific ocean. They had to take
turns jumping into the ocean to cut the prop free, and it took hours. I had recently written a poem about the one
of the garbage islands in the Pacific Ocean titled The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which was also included. (BTW, also
in my new book, Meadow Pause Revisited-- for more info: www.corneliadedona.com )
So in-between crunches, feeding/ training the bull mastiff
puppies, writing fishing poems and articles, buying flashlights, recycling cans
and bottles, dumpster diving for perfectly good stuff, fixing lawnmowers and
maintaining our one acre estate, Tom is learning the computer and has joined
Facebook. You can find him there or email him at capttommydedona@gmail.com . He was accepted into The Ono Golf Club, a men’s
group at Hickam’s Mamala Bay Golf Course, where he walks the course every
Thursday. Who knows he may even run into the President there? Tom bought himself a 2011 Nissan Frontier
truck. He also accepts donations of gently
used books for the Friends of the Library where we both volunteer year-round. (Please
if it has mildew, a broken binding or dead insects, put it into the trash—otherwise
thank you and let us know if you need a receipt.)
Our son Jason is fit and doing well. He is still in a
relationship and knows what it is like to have a teenager in the house, as his fiancé
has a thirteen year old daughter. He spends Saturdays with us and occasionally
comes bowling. In September he helped
Tom cut, and weld a new gate next to our automatic gate in the front. Now we
can walk outside without having to open the huge sliding gate or use the
electric gate mechanism. He also convinced
us that it was a good idea to install a photovoltaic system this year. My
electric bill surpassed reasonable over two years ago. We also purchased a new energy saver
refrigerator, since the old one quietly died on Thanksgiving night. It’s a good thing I have two. We are hiking up Koko head trail together next
weekend, (after I pick up my real Christmas tree from Habilitat) which is a
walk in the park if you are a triathlete.
The last time I climbed up that hill, I sweat bullets and swore with the
eloquence of a sailor. This time I’m
bringing my new camera—to video our adventure, just in case my amnesia returns.
Have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season! Tommy, Connie, Zeus, Rocky and Apollo
Jason, Connie and Tommy 11-24-11 Heeia Kea Boat Harbor
What?
