My friend had 3 dogs run off and a week or so later were recovered at the Waimea pound. They had been taken there because the closer pound was closed because of a nearby fire. There was also a fire up mauka, but that one was further from the other pound.

While the dogs were missing in action (so t ospeak), their owner took ill, was admitted to the local hospital and then shipped over to Oahu to a hospital there. It appears many people prefer not to be operated at the local hospital. well, just after the dog came home, so did their owner.

While the owner was in the hospital, I stayed at her house to watch the dogs. I now have a part time day job, so could not be there at lunchtime to feed the puppies. In a strange twist of fate, I had t osend the puppies elsewhere for daycare so they could get lunch. Thus I could watch and care for all of the dogs except my one (and his brother and sister). Once my friend came home and I moved out, the puppies came home and I began taking my dog back to my home. I still have to take "Koa" up there on workdays, because he still would miss lunch.

In an even stranger twist of fate, I relate the following.

A month ago I lost my wallet. I had gone to the Post Office to mail coffee to a customer. Then I went to the local grocery store, bought a couple items, paid by credit card and came home. The next day at noon, I had to help a neighbor and whil dressing, discovered I could not find my wallet. I could swear I had put the wallet in my back pocket at the store, but that was the only place I could have lost it. I called the store and stopped back there twice in the next week and they did not have it. I odrered a new license, COSTCO card, new credit cards, reported the wallet lost to the police, and so on.

Fast forward one month (to yesterday, and I KNOW that you are ahead of me for a change). The supermarket called and said that they had my wallet for quite some time, and was I going to come get it? I stoppe dby last night and sure enough, was presented with the wayward wallet. All looks intact and no one had tried to use any of the cards. There were a couple of cash cards (gift cards) that could have been used with little or no chance of detection, and they were still there. There was no money in the wallet, but I don't think I had any in there that dat as I was going to use the credit card for the food and the package was already stamped.

My boss went bck home to Kauai because a relative had passed away and it is almost Saturday when our resort guests check out and many head home from their vacation.

One of my neighbor coffee farmers is on vacation on ythe mainland. She called and let me know that they need to move back to the mainland and that will necessitate them selling thier coffee farm. It has trees, a pulping and drying eck and even a website. It's a turnkey operation with a fantastic coffee and website and domain. Contact me directly for details before she contacts an agent.

Finally, in order to install my water catchment tanks for irrigation, I needed to borrow a substantial amount of money for a short time. The majority of the principal of the loan will be repaid through a cost-sharing arrangement with a contrct I have for water conservation. Rather than go to a bank, I went to my self. I set up a "Solo-401K" type account, as a small business with no other employees. Thus I have my own 401K plan with one member. For a $75 check fee, I was able to borrow from my 401K with no penalties. The 5 year loan comes with a interest rate of Prime plus 1% or about 9.5%. However, the interest does not go to the bank; rather it goes back into my own 401K. Thus, I am borrowing from myself I borrow money and it comes back to me. Although the interest comes back to me and is reinvested, if the money is not needed right away, I'll transfer much of it to ING Direct at something like 4 to 5 % interest. That means that part of the money will only cost me about 5%.

All in all, a very strange time when a number of items returned from whence they came.