June 21: Our Very Own Lanai

As I have mentioned before, I have very much enjoyed eating breakfast outdoors during our previous tropical vacations. That inspired my husband to build us a screened in deck to replace the half-built deck our house came with. And he did a great job. It is attached to an entrance from our living room and has two exits to the outdoors. The entire deck is screened in (including under the floor) to prevent bugs from entering (especially mosquitos, because I especially detest mosquitos). It has skylights and high ceilings and a ceiling fan, and enough room for our grill, a patio table and chairs, and a bunch of other random things (including the honey extractor we use to harvest honey from our beehives, because where else would we store it? 😏). In Hawaii, this kind of deck/porch/veranda is called a "lanai". According to the interwebs, "most lanais have enough space for furniture sets, greenery, and even ceiling fans, so they’re a living room that’s always on vacation." Check, check, and check. 

On Monday, the weather was just perfect in the morning, bright and sunny, cool with a gentle breeze, so I sat on our lanai to eat breakfast and read (I'm currently on a Michael Crichton binge, having just read Jurassic Park and the Lost Word, I moved on The Andromeda Strain, all of which have been delightful). I absolutely loved sitting "outside", watching and listening to the birds (including our adopted wild turkey we have affectionately named "Elena", after the Turk in Final Fantasy VII). Fela, our black cat who is not allowed in the real outdoors, seems to also enjoy the lanai; it's like a gigantic "cat-io" (a patio for cats) for him to pterodactyl at the birds (which is what I call the weird sound he makes after he sees a bird. Who knows what pterodactyls really sound like, but I think they sounded like Fela hunting a bird). It's also fun to watch our Ginger cats slinking around the yard, and from the deck we can see the duck coop, the planets' chicken coop, and we can sorta see the beehives, in addition to several of our fruit trees and tons of flowers. It is absolutely delightful, and I am so thankful I have the time now in my life to be able to enjoy this.

With delight,

♥Jamie