Sunday, March 23, 2008

Happy Easter!

Easter Sunday started out rather rainy - not like this winter, just normal tradewind rains - but has since turned into a lovely day with sunshine, clouds, and light breezes. I got a bit more weeding done after breakfast. Mike's been working on the studio. And now I'm trying to catch up pictures on Picasa and news on this blog. New pictures have been posted: "More Studio Views".

Last night we had our good friends (from Idaho who moved here before us) over for a 'sneak preview' of the studio, dinner, and games. Even the little ones seemed to have fun exploring and climbing the furniture. Kerry, Pohaku and Cedar got out the giant frisbee to throw around on the front lawn. I gave Molly and Willow a tour of my garden plantings. And Mike and David finally got a chance to catch up with eachother a bit. We all enjoyed some lively discussions using the Socratic method of questioning that Kerry, Willow, Molly and I had been reading about in our Literature Club. A good time was had by all.

Much of my time of late has been spent with wedding planning. It is, shall we say, an 'interesting' process trying to coordinate info and ideas between Hawaii and Philadelphia. Thank goodness Julie has joined in, bridging the gap from her home in Bonners. It's been a real blessing.

The big news item from the Big Island is, of course, the volcano. Yes, the eruption has resumed. Yes, there was an explosion up at Halema'uma'u (the crater where Pele lives), inside Kilauea Crater. And no, they have never seen anything quite like that before. And no again, no one seems to know why it happened or what it means. The town of Volcano has not been evacuated as some news is reporting, but there are evacuation plans forming, just in case. The lava is flowing again and it's a bit closer than the old flow field, but still on the other side of the rift zone from us. The reason this is considered safe (a relative term, we all know) is that it has found a clear path to the sea, so it should keep going that way. We'll see... And, no, we still have not gone out to see it but plan to soon, maybe this afternoon.

We have 1 more week before our first guests arrive, and April is getting pretty booked up already! It's nice to have the inquiries and reservations trickling in again. Our new driveway gets pushed in tomorrow and then we can clear out the carport, etc on this side. We'll have our own entry to the studio to maintain privacy for our guests and for ourselves. I'm pretty sure we'll be 'camping in' for a bit before we can actually move in. All part of the adventure!

Mahalo nui loa to those who wrote to me and called recently. It gets kinda lonely here sometimes out on this rock in the middle of the Pacific. Love and aloha, Liz

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Ides of March News

Things are happening so fast now I hardly have time to keep track of them!

The new bathroom is just about done! Floor laid, cabinet, sink, tub and toilet installed. The tiles around the tub/shower turned out beautiful; it was Mike's first tile job so he's justifiably proud of it. The whole interior of the studio is taped, textured and painted, ceiling fans are up, lights wired, temporary kitchen sink set up, stairs to the porch are being built... It's great! Just waiting on both electrical and plumbing inspectors to give their stamps of approval so we can proceed.

We got a small dumptruck load of crushed rock (3/4 minus, according to Mike) delivered today; it'll get used for tamping under the pier blocks, the stairway posts, and a few muddy spots here and there. Also, the guy who delivered it, Ashley, will be helping us clear our driveway and turnaround area on the next lot. This needs to get done before our own deadline of the end of this month. Our first vacation rental guests arrive at the beginning of April, so we need to clear out the carport before then.

We took plenty of photos all along the way and they'll get posted soon. If anyone's interested, let me know and I'll get on it sooner (hint, hint). ;-)

And besides all this, the volcano is actively flowing lava again! We've been so busy that I'm the only one who has seen it, and that was at a great distance one evening after Sufi-dancing. The volcano is coming to life in other ways too: Halema'uma'u, the crater within Kilauea Caldera and home to Pele, has opened up a new rift that's putting out massive amounts of sulphur dioxide and steam! And it glows at night!!! Exciting times!!

And the tradewinds are back, bringing lovely breezes and showers again, so our drought is over and the grass is no longer crispy. I picked my first batch of green beans from my second crop this winter! (Ha! I've never been able to say that before!) All the carrots were harvested a week ago - so yummy and crispy. The avocado is in full bloom, there's a pineapple beginning to develop, and little squashes and chayote are forming for future delectables.

This afternoon, we took some well-earned time off and drove into Hilo to watch a matinée. We saw 'Mad Money' which was a fun one. As we say hereabouts, "I'd pay a dollar to see that." And that's how much it costs at The Kress! Afterwards we went out for pizza at Big Island Pizza, and sat at an outside table to enjoy it and watch the airplanes making their big turn before landing at the Hilo airport. It was a lovely change for pace for us after weeks of working hard. :-)

Until next time... aloha, Liz


PS: I haven't been hearing much response lately and I'd really like to know who all is reading these letters, just to know if someone's missing out. If you want to leave a comment, use the little icon underneath each blog entry. Or if you're family, you know my email. :-)