Guam 2020: Post 7 - Walking in the Cool Morning

This morning I was able to stay in bed until 5:00 AM.  That's not a bad time to get up.  It gives me plenty of time for worship in a quiet house.  Sunrise isn't until 6:45 AM.  I'm planning on walking at 6 AM every day, while it is still a cool and comfortable 78 degrees Fahrenheit.  I know that seems hot for some of you, but you have to remember, it isn't 78 degrees with the tropical sun shining on you.  It is the coolest part of the day, and I'm going to take advantage of it.  Plus, it feels really nice compared to January in the land of freezing fog, etc.  (My apologies to those of you who are still there, you really are welcome to come visit me.)



I got started late this morning, but I did start.  The good thing about starting late is that it was light enough to take pictures for you.  The road is lined with Ironwood trees and their segmented needles.  You can see that the road goes up in this direction headed toward the main gate. This is a positive benefit of walking here.  I hope it will train me to hike hills better.



I'm walking between the two gates on the AWR property.  Yes, I live in a gated community now.  Random people need to be protected from walking too close to the wrong side of the antennas when they are broadcasting.  This keeps me off the main highway that circles the island, and away from aggressive dogs.  I haven't found out the distance of one lap, but I hope to soon.



The morning light really shined on some of the towers.  There is also a swing set left behind for children who formerly lived here.



At the other gate, you can see the main AWR building and some containers holding construction materials.  Piglet and Lucky found me there, and then the other dog on the compound, Zippy came along.

His owners moved back to the states and so he gets to live here now.

The main problem with this walking place is that my house is on it, and every time I go by it, there is a strong gravitational pull trying to divert me from my exercise goal.  I'm going to have to have a strong resolve to keep walking.  This morning I was able to talk to my daughter on the phone for the first part of my walk.  And a little bit later Rob came out of the house and walked with me for a while.

I'm thinking that if any of you want to chat with me on the phone, this time of day would work quite well.  6:00 AM Guam time is 12 Noon Pacific Time.  Get me your phone number and tell me what day you are free, and I'll call.  I have a good cell plan for calling the states.   And just so you know, I'm on the other side of the International Date Line, so I'm one date later than you.

On Saturday evening I tried using the microwave to pop some popcorn.  The microwave was making normal microwave sounds, but not one kernel popped, so I figured that the popcorn was too old and threw it away.  The next morning Rob couldn't get his oatmeal to cook.  He looked things over and pronounced the microwave broken.  We had used it since we first arrived, but apparently overworked it and it gave up.

So this morning I had to cook my oatmeal on the stove, and at lunch we didn't warm up the rice.  Rob was going to talk to the AWR people today and see if there is a solution.

After breakfast I worked on getting ready for tutoring tomorrow.  I emailed all my clients and reminded them of the time we agreed on.  It is going to be a challenge keeping everyone's time straight because of the huge difference in time zones.  When I start work tomorrow, Tuesday, at 7:30 AM, they will be meeting me Monday at 1:30 PM Pacific time.  Hope I truly have that straight!  I also sent out invoices.



Then I got to start working on my newly set up art table.  It is in the living room, right by the window.  I think I am really going to enjoy looking out at the lawn and the hills and the coconut trees.   My first project is to paint Plumeria.  I drew some in church in my journal off of a photo on my phone.



 I was going to transfer it to watercolor paper and paint it too.  The only problem is that I forgot to bring some graphite paper.  I remember getting some out, but somehow it didn't make it all the way into my suitcase.  I'll have to see if my daughter can send me some.  I resorted to having to draw again, on watercolor paper.  It won't hurt to get more practice.  Then I painted one flower.  Hmm... I think I am going to try again tomorrow.



When I'm finished with Plumeria, I'm going to get start on Hibiscus.  I saw these beauties on my walk this morning.







Just before Rob got home from work, Amy called and asked if we wanted to come for supper and to say good-bye to Nathan.  He was here over Christmas and has to fly back to the states to go back to school early tomorrow.  We agreed to just share what we had.  So I put some rice in the rice cooker and quickly made some Vegetable soup with a ginger base from what I had in the refrigerator.  Amy had fruit to share, some granola, and some little cranberry mint balls for dessert.