To Everything There Is A Season

One of the spacious carports -- beginning rock walls

...even for catching up our blog followers with the latest month of news. (Can't believe it's been over a month since our last blog update.)

From Ecclesiastics come the the words:
To everything there is a season...and
a time to every purpose under heaven..
a time to cast away stones, and
a time to gather stones together.

For over a year we've been "casting away stones"... from the lava/stones that changed our lives too suddenly and dramatically last year.

Now, both figuratively and literally, we are gathering stones together.

Things are moving quickly on the building projects and beginning landscaping. As our regular blog followers know, the art studio was completed many weeks ago; we are both spending happy times there.

Next came the carports: Completing both of the new carports meant also providing large spaces to work even if it is raining.

New table -- without the 3 leaves

Sheetrock done

The purchase of this house included all the furniture -- except a large dining room table. We've known what we wanted -- something solidly classic in wood, with leaves to expand space for dinner parties. We began what we expected would be a long search, but found the perfect table on our second stop!!

Work on the lanai (just off the back porch) began in earnest in September: framing in the space, exterior walls first, then windows, drywall inside, texture and painting. We have beautiful tiles for the floor and assembly has even begun on our new cedar hot tub.

Carving first on Monkeypod wood

Lanai walls textured and painted -
 Phil inspects the extra deep tub

Phil has been continuing his new art direction -- carving and painting -- similar to those we shared on our July 1st blog entry. The one pictured here is of the 'Apapane bird - an endemic Hawaiian honeycreeper who drinks the nectar from the lehua blossoms of our ohia tree forest that surrounds our home. They live in packs and their lovely songs echo in the forest. Their crimson feathers were once used to adorn capes, helmets and leis of the Hawaiian nobility.

Adding color

A time to gather stones together!!

Lunel still works on pages in her journals, but is spending more and more time in the yard; it's a whole new big canvas for her, but her approach this time will be tempered by wiser maintenance choices -- more trees and flowering shrubs -- less weeding.

One of her projects is utilizing the beautiful chunks of lava our excavator dug up for electricity and water to the art studio as well as clearing spaces for the two new carports.

During September we also sold and bought a different truck -- one day! Our contractor needed a new work truck and friends in Leilani just happened to be selling theirs. Even though we planned to eventually replace the older work truck -- we were pleasantly surprised when it all came together so easily.

Although cooler seasonal fall weather is slowing coming, we still have many bright sunny days with temperatures between 70-80 and we both are enjoying it. Nice that the lanai and hot tub will be done before winter season!
(yes, we DO have 'winter' here in Volcano, Hawaii -- at 3500 elevation)