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. :-)
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
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!
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!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
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.
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.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
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!
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!
Monday, September 10, 2007
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.
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.
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