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.