More Photos!

Letting all of you know that I've added more photos at last!
Use the link on the sidebar to get to my Picasa albums. (Oh wait, it doesn't come up as a real link, does it? Well, copy & paste; that'll work.)
The newest albums are 'Building the Studio 2' & 'How Does My Garden Grow'. They're best viewed as a slideshow, so you can read the captions.
More coming soon, so stay tuned!
Aloha!

Holiday Greetings!

A big Kona storm hit last week with winds gusts up to 70mph! A Kona wind blows from the southwest instead of from the east. This brings a lot of extra-moisture-laden air up from the tropics and also allows the vog from the volcano to settle over Hilo area, except that these winds were blowing way too hard for any settling to occur. We spent much of one night restrapping the canopy over the open part of our roof where the studio addition ties in. Very exciting and more than a little harrowing with lightning flashes and thunder booming all around as well as the big winds! So no more cutting off the roof during the rainy season! Fortunately for us, we didn't have any damage beyond a few smaller branches; not everyone was so lucky. We lost power off and on for a while, and the water system lost their main pump so we didn't have water for a couple days, but everything's back to 'normal' now, with trade wind showers (read: downpours) blowing through, and all utilities working again. Mauna Kea still has a mantle of snow above us all.

We spent yesterday looking for something to use for a focal point inside for the holidays - think 'Christmas plant' rather than 'Christmas tree'. What I had in mind was a decorated palm tree, and there's actually one variety called a Christmas Palm, but it was nowhere to be found. There are plenty of fresh cut Northwest trees shipped across the ocean in container loads, but since we're living in a tropical locale, I wanted something entirely different. Besides, to me a Douglas fir looks so much better when you've been tramping around the woods behind your house for an hour or two, through the snow, looking for that perfect specimen to bring down the hill and into the house. And I'm having a hard time now and then with NOT having all the aforementioned traditional family-oriented holiday activities this year, so there's another reason to do something new this time around. In the end, I chose a huge 4-foot wreath, big enough to hold my ornaments, maybe some lights, and not take up too much space in our cozy little livingroom. I think it's just perfect!

Pahoa puts on a darn good annual Christmas Parade, and we had a blast watching it last weekend, even in the rain (tail end of that storm). There were marching bands, many, many decorated floats from various groups and clubs, bellydancers, pirates, horses & llamas dressed up as camels led by three wise women, all the while being narrated by the funniest emcee talking in pidgin most of the time. Santa arrived on his outrigger canoe! It was great! They passed out bubbles to the crowd beforehand, so we could blow to our favorite parade entries; there was a pretty steady stream blowing the entire time which lent a festive atmosphere to all of downtown Pahoa. Well done!

The Winter Solstice is coming right up. Solstice has always been a pretty big thing with our family. That's when we would have our big holiday gathering with fireworks, family & friends, and a huge bonfire to bring back the sun. Some of our new friends here have invited us to join in their celebration of this ancient winter rite. We're all very glad to have that to look forward to soon!


Here's wishing all my readers a lovely and loving holiday season, whichever way you choose to celebrate it!
Aloha, Liz

End of November Update

Quick, while it's still November, time to update my blog! It's not that nothing is happening: We have been busy with Life and I haven't taken the time... At the moment I'm trying to cool down with a tall glass of lime-water, after spending a long hour in the Outback (beyond the fence) pulling out tanglefoot fern and in-sensitive plant (see previous blogs for descriptions of these). The mosquitos and biting gnats are fierce this afternoon. So it's a good opportunity to finally spend some time here again. I've transplanted several of the birthday orchids into my garden areas, some wired to ohia trees and some set in between big lava rocks. This is a perfect climate for growing orchids inside or out, and they seem to be enjoying their new locales. The tomato seedlings have just about all succumbed to rot from too much moisture here. But my squashes and chayote are growing well in their beds, the green beans are starting to climb the chainlink fence, and I can hardly keep up with the basil! Still need to transplant the bananas, ulu, and cacao, hence the work in the Outback.

Mike's brother, Matt, flew over from Maui for Thanksgiving weekend. We had the big turkey dinner with all the trimmings, and for an island touch I cooked the local sweet potatoes - they're purple inside! A wee bit drier but with the usual delicious flavor. For dessert, we had a pumpkin pie and a pineapple cheesecake. It took us several days but the 15# turkey is but a fond memory. While Matt was here we had great weather the whole time, perfect for doing a few sight-seeing things, soaking in the warm ponds, and getting most of the beams up on the roof of the new studio.

We didn't get the huge storm that hit the other side of this island and some of the other islands yesterday. In fact, it was a lovely day, overcast a bit with nice tradewinds. We spent the afternoon at Panaewa Park with friends from the homeschool group. Mike & Kerry both got a little worn out playing soccer with Pohaku, and I had a wonderful neck & shoulder rub from Molly, and we all got in some good visiting.

Kerry's job search has yielded nothing so far and she's starting to get discouraged. But we have been finding other ways to occupy our time. We're both taking a tai chi qigong class twice a week, just up the road in Pahoa Town. We've been learning some interesting Chinese Traditional Medicine, practicing good gentle exercise, and meeting new people who live close by. That's a big plus right there. And soon she'll be getting her first aid/cpr certificate from the Red Cross, and is looking into the possibility of CNA training, too. Seems like something will come through for her sooner or later.

We found some gorgeous 16" ceramic tile just north of Hilo through craigslist, drove up and bought 4 boxes of it for the studio bathtub surround. I guess we'll be learning how to do tilework before too long! Well, it actually may be a while before the finish work gets done. The roof beams have slowed down Mike's rapid progress. He's at the part now where each beam must be measured separately and tied into the existing roof; very time-consuming work and a very long slope to work on. Meanwhile, that part of the roof is protected from the rain by a high canopy. It's working well, but we're all looking forward to getting the tin up so the whole place can dry out.

Work, work, work!

All of you who were holding your breath waiting for pics can go ahead and gasp for air now!
Photos have been posted at this site: http://picasaweb.google.com/elizacacia

Work on the studio proceeds apace. The floor is all done, the first inspection has occurred, the Trex porch is on (our 'deck' has a porch!), and at this very moment Mike is sawing off the roof overhang - VERY noisy as his saw cuts through the corrugated metal. Remember, there is no insulation in the walls in these climes, and windows are single pane, so every noise comes right on in even with the doors and windows closed. Thank goodness for those noise-cancelling headphones that we got for airplane trips! They really help during some of the more noisy bits of construction.

We had our first snow! Yes, even in Hawaii! At 13,796' elevation, Mauna Kea (white mountain) does indeed get snow, although the locals say it didn't get any at all last winter. It's very pretty and just far enough away that we can appreciate it. Mostly though, we've been getting lots of rain. It is the rainy season after all. But seldom does it rain all day long. Or over all the island at once. So we just enjoy whatever comes our way.

Kerry passed her PADI SCUBA certification yesterday! Yipee! It has been a life-goal for her for years now, and although there was a bit of a rocky start to the program, she has ended up really learning a lot and enjoying the experience. She says she'll definitely do more diving, and soon! Winter brings in some of the best dive conditions for this island, so I guess the timing was pretty good after all. (We kinda wondered with all this rain and runoff and flash flooding.)

My garden now has 2 kinds of bananas, the baby cacao tree, and an ulu (breadfruit tree) awaiting planting. Oh, and a coconut palm that we got from a local school at their Arbor Day giveaway. I thought Arbor Day was always in April, but apparently it's in November on the Islands. It makes sense when you think of the right time for tree-planting; since this is the start of the rainy season, it's time to plant trees... and gardens. All my many seedlings are growing rapidly and, as they get big enough, being transplanted into the free-form beds I'm creating. I've also been hard at work - and it IS work, believe me - clearing the Outback, as we call our land beyond the chain-link fence. It's full of shoulder high tanglefoot fern and sticker vines - I refuse to call it sensitive plant anymore but that's what it is. Every part of the plant from roots, to vines, leaves and even seed pods, is covered in little thorns that scratch you, or worse, break off and irritate the skin. 'Insensitive plant' would be a better name! The tanglefoot fern is almost fun to pull out in comparison! I'm making paths through this jungle to get to the spot where I want to create my tropical garden, with the fore-mentioned trees and other jungly fruits & vegies.

Lest you think we are working at the expense of playtime, let me put your mind at ease. We take our morning and evening walks almost every day, especially enjoying the flocks of little birds, the sunrise/sunset colors, and getting to know our new neighbors a little. We've been spending time at the beaches and took the whole day off on my birthday to meander about along the coastline, exploring every little pocket beach and even discovering more lava-tube caves to explore further. The warm ponds are only a 20 minute drive from here, and we take advantage of that every now and then; not nearly often enough I'll grant. And we're all doing a lot of reading when it really is too rainy, or too sunny, to do anything else. Now that's luxury!

Above and Below on the Big Island

Two days ago, I planted some seeds to start a container garden... they've already started to come up! Marigolds, cucumbers, chard, & tomatoes in little pots; an entire planter of mixed lettuces; and another container with basil & parsley starts from the farmer's market, along with cilantro from seed, and garlic that was sprouting in the kitchen. A nice little beginning to keep me going until the big garden beds decompose enough to be planted. That should take about 2 months in this climate. It seems odd to be starting seeds in October; I would never have done that in North Idaho! But it is prime planting season here in Hawaii, so lucky me! I have to get used to the idea of planting just enough to eat from fresh, as opposed to enough to can and freeze and store away for the long Winter and on until next harvest season. Here, we'll be able to eat from the garden all year long, so I guess I only need a couple tomato plants at a time, huh? And how long a row of green beans??

I also bought a cacao tree from which I hope to get the pods to make my own chocolate. It takes about 3 years for a cacao to begin to produce pods, and these pods grow directly from the trunk! They'll start out yellow, turn orange, then red and will have these fruits in all stages at the same time; sounds colorful and exotic. There's quite an involved process getting from cacao pod to bean to nib to actual cocoa and then on to chocolate. It's all so fascinating and I love the idea of being able to produce my own. I have the keiki (young) tree in a pot for now until we get an area cleared out back. Cacao want to grow in the shade of other taller trees - it's an understory jungle tree - so we'll tuck it between some of the big ohia.

We had fun visiting Volcanoes National Park with the local homeschool group this past week. Explored all around Crater Rim Drive: the Jaggar Museum, the Visitor Center, took a guided walk with a ranger who had grown up in the Park during the 70's when the caldera was full of lava curtains! But the highlight was exploring the Thurston Lava Tube. The first half of this huge lava tube has been smoothed out somewhat and lit up for an easy walk. The fun part comes at the mid-point of the tube where most people go on up the stone stairway to ground level and continue their hike back to the parking area. That's where we open the gate (it's okay, you're allowed), turn on our flashlights, and explore the second half of the tube where it's been kept in a more natural - and very dark - state! This section twists and turns as it crawls deeper into the earth; there are drop-offs, chunks that have fallen in, ledges and cracks. Ohia roots dangle overhead and rainwater drips through tiny cracks in the lava. It is awesome! And, I'll admit, a little scary to me, although Kerry absolutely loves it inside this earth-womb. The littlest kids and most of the moms opted to stay up at the surface in the sunshine, but all the teens and big kids (including Mike) went all the way to the furthest reaches of the tube, another 330-some yards; even little Kyla at 5 years old, was all smiles and excitement on this, her first trip inside the earth. I went partway in and then took a scared little Cedar back out to Mommy; then went back for another go, and ended up helping a tourist in the midst of a panic attack back to the surface. I understood her completely: been there myself, so it was interesting to be able to help another soul through it.

Progress on the ohana/studio has been slow but is picking up speed now that we're done running around every day. The delivery of our first load of materials arrived on Wednesday, as scheduled. Everything was off-loaded, accounted for, and moved under the carport before it rained again. Mike has drilled holes in the concrete and in the foundation blocks for rebar to connect the two and keep them in place. Right now, he's setting each block on its own mound of mortar mix so it'll rest level, then filling the hole with epoxy and sliding the rebar into its hole... it'll all set up and stay put even in a hurricane should one pass by! The siding on that side of the house will come off and be saved for reuse later. Then the beams and joists and all that can go up. I'll keep you posted.

So, everything is here now, and only 2 casualties: my golden elephant figure and my favorite mug from my good friend Karen :-( I was sad about that, but if this is all we lost I must have done a pretty decent job of packing and the sea must've been fairly calm to bear our cargo along smoothly. :-)

The only glitch now is the Post Office; they have completely screwed up our mail now. If anyone has sent us anything and it has been returned, keep trying. You have our correct address, and if it is on a lucky day it will get through to the Pahoa PO and then be delivered to us. Otherwise, it seems that somewhere along the way, it gets caught in the wrong slot or who knows what; we know that there are bills, checks, and dvds gone missing. :-( If anyone knows of any tricks besides calling the local PO, filling out their paper and online forms, let us know!

I know I should be posting photos here, and I plan to, but I need a chunk of time when my local computer genius (aka Kerry) can help me decipher the instructions for doing so. Don't hold your breath, but pics are coming eventually! ;-) And don't worry Mom, and anyone else on dial-up, I won't overload it!

Boxes And Bins And Cargo, Oh My!

Our Blazer & freight arrived - already! - all those boxes and bins from Idaho. Yay! Only one casualty so far: my little golden elephant broke his trunk; other than that, so far so good. I will be slowly making my way though the rather large stack in the spare room for some time to come, but it's a fun process. The hale begins to feel more like it's really our home with each little addition from our previous home. Of course, the challenge is finding a spot for it all!

Mahalo nui loa to Honolulu Freight & Kona Trans for the safe passage of our possessions. :-)

Another Gorgeous Day!

Two weeks here and construction on the ohana/studio addition has begun! Mike has been acquiring many of the tools he'll need for this project and has met with his chosen building materials supplier. Yesterday, he rented a cement-cutting saw - quite an amazing contraption with a place to attach our garden hose so it keeps cool while cutting - and after many false starts and a few minor repairs, the slab was cut to accommodate the foundation blocks. That was Step 1. Now we await the first delivery from the supplier; it's supposed to arrive 'sometime next week' and have everything needed for the foundation and floor framing. While we wait, we have to figure out what to do with all these chunks of concrete laying about... maybe use 'em to border raised beds?

Kerry has easily slipped into the Hawaiian lifestyle in the week she's been here. Of course, she's been coming to the islands since she was 6, so that helps. She has already connected with the local Dive Shop and signed up for the next set of SCUBA classes, which start just next weekend. This has been a longtime dream of hers: to become SCUBA certified. So she's been swimming laps and treading water every chance she gets to build up her endurance. This is a great activity for her since she's been bothered with shin splints lately and hasn't been able to do much hiking or running (which she normally enjoys). Another Island goal of Kerry's is also being met: she's learning Japanese! Found some cool online courses to start with; if we find something local, she'll do that too. Her third goal for her time here is to find a job, and with the way things have been falling into place for her, we have no doubt that the right one will show up soon!

We start each day by sharing a papaya. Still getting plenty of avocados, lemons, and guavas from our yard, and other fresh produce every Sunday from the Maku'u farmer's market. We've picked ulu (breadfruit) from the tree at the Ahalanui warm pond, one of the places where we like to swim. As soon as it's cut from the tree, it'll start to drip its sticky latex sap; this can be used for boat caulking (it's that sticky!) or to bind deep cuts. To cook the ulu, I cut it in half, boil/steam until tender (an hour or so), cool it enough to handle, then peel and cut out the core. Then this time I cut it up into bite-sized chunks and semi-mashed them. Sauteed onion, garlic and hamburger, added in the ulu, along with 'a little dis, a little dat'... and ended up with a yummy dinner - it was ono (means delicious).

Five more boxes of media mail arrived all in one day, but some of our mail is still being redirected back to Idaho!?! Go figure. We'll try again to stop the previous mail-forward request (from May) and get the post office system straightened out - wish us luck! So glad Chris is at one end to intercept and forward the stragglers before they end up yoyoing back and forth forever! Thank you Chris!

A couple nights ago, Kerry and I were invited to a women's new moon circle at Suzannah's house in Hawaiian Acres, upcountry. (She's a mutual friend of a friend, but that friend didn't show up.) Her moon lodge is a platform way up high amongst ancient ohia trees, and there was the most awesome nightview of the stars and of the glow from Madame Pele's latest lava flow! It was so nice to make some new friends. We enjoyed singing and chanting together, lovely cups of tea, and peaceful deep lulls in the conversation, but the real bonding came in descending the ladder - two of us needed some extra help and encouragement there, and then there were big hugs all around and a light Hawaiian rain when everybody made it down safely! Kisses from heaven.


PS: I love hearing from those of you who have written to me or posted comments. Feel free to continue!

We Made It!

Whooo-hooo! We made it! It took a week to get back online but I'm happy to say we're here at last: on the island of Hawaii, in our cute little home. Although it's been raining more than not, it's a lovely warm tropical rain, sometimes a downpour, but always nice and warm.

Most of this first week has been spent settling in, transforming our hale (pronounced hah-lay, house) from 'vacation rental mode' into our home. Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy this kind of project! We bought some wire shelves for each of the closets for a little extra storage space that allows the air to circulate, a very important consideration here in this humid climate. And of course, we had to get more bookshelves! One box of media mail has already arrived, the rest could take up to 5 weeks from when we sent them. Our car and freight are somewhere out in the Pacific, on their way over still.

My little pineapple patch was completely overgrown with ferns and a kind of 'clover' viney thing. It didn't take long for me to get it all weeded and looking healthy again. The one pineapple that was ripening had been harvested and enjoyed by one of our guests, but there will be more. Every time we eat a pineapple, we cut off the top, dry it for a couple days, then plant it in a little mound of cinders. It takes a year or so before they start producing. Each plant will give 3 pineapples, one at a time, and they each take about 10 months to mature. We have yet to eat one of our own home-grown, but only because we've never been here when they ripened.

I started a future raised-garden bed and a compost bin. The soil here is mostly cinders, kind of a volcanic gravel with a thin layer of humus & dirt on top, very fertile but hard to work with. There are also larger chunks of rock that we dig out with a prybar and add to our blackrock walls. There are rock walls lining our driveway, around a bed of ti plants, and along the fenceline in spots.

I made my first batch of guava jam with 4 huge guavas from our jungle next door; I got a whole quart of delicious jam! Also in the jungle are at least 3 varieties of wild orchids blooming rampantly, very pretty above all the ferns and other greenery. We have a nice crop of lemons ripening a few at a time, and loads of avocados on our tree. It's avocado season - yay!! The 3 varieties of gardenias in our yard are blooming, as well as the star jasmine, making heavenly fragrance waft in the windows.

Yesterday, Mike & I packed a little picnic lunch and drove down the road to eat it at one of our favorite nearby shoreline spots called Honolulu Landing where the ancients would draw up their fishing canoes. It's so nice to be able to be near the ocean again; that's something we both missed a lot during our time in Idaho. After enjoying the ocean for a while, we drove towards Hilo to the Panaewa Rainforest Zoo to meet up with our friends, Molly & Willow, who moved here from Bonners Ferry a few years ago. Their homeschool group was having a field trip day at the zoo so there were lots of little kids there, too. It was great to see all these people again; we're sort of 'honorary grandparents' of the homeschool group here, which is a fun way to pass on my accumulated knowledge about homeschooling.

I could go on and on but I need to have breakfast and get outside into the sunshine (before it starts to rain again!). We'll be picking up Kerry from the airport this afternoon, and look forward to having her join us in our Hawaiian home.

Last Days

The frost finally hit my garden 2 nights ago, much later than usual, but since it was only a spotty frost there are still loads of flowers in bloom, all looking very pretty and bright. Makes it a bit hard to leave this lovely garden I have created over the years. Most of the vegies have been harvested and eaten up, the surplus given away to friends, and the remains added to the compost pile. Our friendly neighborhood black bear and its younger cousin have been visiting recently and trashing the fruit trees, and this morning I saw a deer eating from the apple tree right outside our bedroom window. I admit it, this is the kind of thing I will miss.

We turned the furnace on 2 nights ago; it was quite chilly that night! Since then, the days have been mostly showery, but with sunshine coming through at times and warming us eventually. The weather has definitely turned to Autumn temps, and we feel we are leaving just in time. If only the rain holds off while we're loading the UHaul tomorrow...

Boxes, bins, the coolers, file-boxes are all packed up, taped up, labeled and ready to be loaded up. That's the next step. Our last chance for internet connection will be Sunday morning, before we move the office to the shop where Chris will be running things for Hubbell's Heating. Then we'll be offline until our new hookup comes through on the island; I think the wait is about a week, after our arrival on the 27th. I'm not sure I can wait that long... I may end up taking advantage of the internet cafe in Pahoa-town.

We've all been taking turns with the melt-down process, when the whole situation becomes overwhelming. (Nice of us to take turns, don't you think?) My turn was this morning. At the same time, there's not a doubt in our minds that this is the right move for each of us at this time. It's just that when we've been in the same place for such a long, long time, the deep roots we've put down are difficult to loosen up for transplanting. It really helps to know we'll be back in May for wedding preparations!

Okay, so we're off on Monday night to start the next phase of the journey. After closing down the house, we'll spend the night at Grandpa's house in town, then leave at the crack of dawn for Spokane. Kerry's flying to San Jose to visit family & friends there (lucky girl!) while Mike & I drive on to Tacoma and stay with Tom & Lynrae. Next day, it's up early again to unload our cargo and drop off the car at the freight company in Seattle before noon. Eventually, we'll end up at a hotel near the airport and fly out the next day. The whole process will take a few days, but sooner or later, we'll get to our new home in Hawaii!

Two Weeks To Go!

Time flies. It zips, zooms, and whizzes right on by. With only 2 weeks left, we are busier than usual this harvest season, but for the first time in many, many years it's not with putting up the harvest and preparing for Winter. Instead of closing down the garden, I am also closing down the house, and Mike is closing down the business. Well, his part of it anyway; Chris will keep going under the new name of 'Hubbell's Heating'.

I have sold or given away all my houseplants and the house seems naked without them. I keep hearing purring outside my window but Cleo is the only cat left on the farm. She'll be moving to her new home soon, maybe this afternoon if she comes 'round in time. (I think the others are letting me know they're doing well and are happy to have a safe home in our absence.) Kim & Joe are going to adopt my chickens too, bless them. As soon as Joe gets the coop finished, we'll figure out a way to wrangle and deliver 'the girls'. Oh, and Mogley bought our boat so it's almost still in the family!

My last big yard sale of the season was last week and it was a huge success. Thank you to Grandpa for the use of his carport and yard in town for my sale :-) So now that the boxes and bins of yard sale stuff are out of the way, there is a growing pile of boxes and bins ready for our move. We're packing light but it still adds up. And I've just started in on the kitchen.

My friend Karen is throwing a good-bye party for us this evening, before things get too hectic around here. And I have a tea date with a sweet sister-friend, Helewise, tomorrow. I'll sure miss my close friends here. I hope to eventually create a new network on the island, and to keep in touch with those still here on the mainland. In reality, I know that time and distance take their toll, but I appreciate knowing and having this circle of support while I do have it... and then releasing these angels as they drift away. It's okay... it's all good.

Less Than a Month!

The countdown calendar has begun! And I thought I wouldn't feel that time was running out until we turned the page of our wall calendar to September! Lots more sorting and packing around here, and actually, I've done just about all I can do ahead of time. So for the past week I've switched gears temporarily and have been spending a little time doing the things I enjoy most around here: gardening, playing with grandson Jimmy, fishing and boating with Mike, and going up into the mountains.

I had a lovely day last Friday with Jimmy, now 3, here all day while mom Katie held a yardsale. It is such a joy to my heart to have this little guy around. Even when I'm just listening in on his imaginative play it brings back such a comforting feeling; I always enjoyed hearing my kids at play with some elaborate set-up of blocks, cars, horse models, 'schoolbus people', etc. And having conversations with a 3-year-old is pure delight (unless you're in a hurry!). I am definitely going to miss being able to have him over so often, and I intend to take full advantage of our proximity while we're still here.

We have finally found homes for our fur-babies! Blessings on Kim who wants to adopt all 5 for her 10-acre farm. Kerry and I will be delivering Edward and Orion tomorrow, the rest a few at a time. We couldn't wish for a more perfect place for these kitties; they'll have run of the horse stalls, pastures, yard, garden, and hay barn... kittycat heaven! Kim loves cats but her husband says not inside, so it's a perfect fit for our outdoor pets. Thank goodness.

We've been getting the Blazer ready for shipping by buying all 4 new tires, and replacing the windshield. Wow! I forgot how clear the view could be up ahead! We didn't have any cracks - well, not until Mike pushed on it! - but there were plenty of rock chips. The transport companies tell you that the windshield must be completely intact before they'll ship it. So that's done now. Our pages of lists are slowly getting checked off as we get closer to Moving Day - September 25th.

Oh, by the way, our Hawaii house is just fine. The Hurricane That Wasn't wasn't a problem, the earthquakes only knocked a few things over, and the lava is still miles away.

Going into the Great Unknown

Hurricane Flossie is heading for the Big Island, expected to hit early this afternoon (Hawaii time) bringing high winds, torrential rains, and flash floods. We're safe from flooding in our area, but high winds could possibly do some damage. I love a good storm, but it's sure hard to just be watching it all from a distance.

So while we're worrying from here about our house and our friends over there, a 5.4 earthquake struck the isalnd! The epicenter (in Kalapana) is just about in our area (Pahoa). We heard the quake shook for 10 seconds in Hilo which is about 25 miles away. That's enough to do damage, but we haven't heard any more news yet.

And we know that the volcano has been sending lava from a whole new area! That's been going on for a couple weeks now, very exciting but not for us to worry about - so far. We keep monitoring this through the Hawaii Volcano Observatory website: http://volcano.wr.usgs.gov/hvostatus.php

I wonder: will we even have a house to move into?

Sure we wanted a change of pace, but really, this may be going a bit too far!

We've Got Our One-Way Tickets!

Hope everyone is enjoying this glorious summertime! Even when the days are over 100*, we are finding ways to appreciate the abundance of the season. As long as I keep it watered, my garden grows like mad and provides us with loads of delicious vegies, beautiful flowers, and wonderful herbs. I'm drying a year's worth of herbs to take with us and keep us well-stocked in that department. We just eat up the vegies; no canning or freezing produce this year! And the flowers are loved both indoors and out.

Here's our Big News:
We bought our one-way tickets! Moving Day, when we say good-bye to our Idaho home, is September 25. So I guess this adventure is really going to happen!

Here's the plan:
1. We load up a UHaul trailer, our luggage and ourselves and drive to the Spokane Airport (2-1/2 hours away). K gets dropped off there (with her two pieces of luggage) - she is greatly looking forward to a long week with her cousins in San Jose before heading out to the middle of the ocean.
2. Meanwhile, Mike & I continue the drive across eastern Washington and over the Cascades to the Port of Seattle to send off our boxes and the Blazer.
3. We will also need a rental car for the actual transfer day, and a hotel for a couple nights.
4. Then, on the 27th, off we go! It's a straight shot to Honolulu. And, after a brief layover, on to Hilo.
5. After gathering up our luggage, another rental car awaits us and we drive to our house, arriving by evening.
6. K joins us a week later!
7. Our crates and car will take 2-3 weeks to arrive; they get to go by ship to Honolulu, then barge to Hilo. The books are travelling via Media Mail - it's the cheapest way to get them there, though it does take about a month.

We aren't really bringing much stuff with us. Our Hawaii house is already fully furnished since we've been renting it out as a vacation rental. But there are some things we've been unable to find on the island - like a decent nut-chopper! - and other items we 'have' to have with us. Then there are the tools and kitchen equipment and so on that we already have and can't really afford to buy again. We'll be building the ohana right away and then moving into that, so we will need to outfit it. But it'll be small and won't require much - simple island living, you know.

Meanwhile, I've been going through every box and bin, every drawer and shelf, every closet and all the outbuildings, paring down 32 years of accumulation on this farm. It's an overwhelming job at times, so I try to do at least a little each day. I had my second big yard sale of the summer last weekend, and it was a huge success! Got rid of lots of good stuff. It feels so good to lighten our load!

Some of the preparations are not so exhilirating though: Snape, the 7'-long red-tailed boa, has already found a good home with his original owners who were overjoyed to have him back. That felt good. However, it's much harder bearing to part with our furry friends. We're working on finding loving people to adopt our kitties. Got some leads and some maybes, but so far we still have all 5 cats. I don't think the chickens will be quite so agonizing to part with, although they are really sweet girls and we will sure miss the fresh eggs - until I get new hens, which is high on my to-do list once we're settled in.

I'll keep you posted as things progress.