The Queen!

"The Queen was in the parlor eating bread and honey?"  Heck no...this Queen is in her garden counting out her CORGIS!

Dexter to the left, Reba in the center, and Poko on the right.  Just look at those ears.

Earlier this year we wrote that our wealth was measured by our three wheelbarrows, and three 100-foot lengths of hose.  Guess now we can count our wealth (and fun) with three corgi dogs.



My interest in Corgis came about FIRST because I learned about Tasha Tudor, her beautiful gardens, and delightful books about Corgis, including, Corgiville Fair.  I was inspired by her self-sufficient life style, her crab apple trees and love of Corgi dogs.  It was only after that I learned of the Queen of England's Corgis.

Koa'e Kea

White-Tailed Tropicbird or Koa'e Kea

Phil beautiful "Koa'e Kea" piece today at One Gallery in Hilo.  It was inspired by the navigational star chart used by the Polynesian Navigational Society.

He had this beautiful piece of Koa wood in his wood shop and knew there was a bird shape in it, but it took several weeks to bring the whole piece into being.  It is mounted on Mahogany.  This is his interpretation of the star chart that features 32 points associated with stars.

It is really quite interesting that Phil's mother, Margaret at age 96, left on her Final Voyage on the same day that the Wa'a (traditional Polynesian sailing vessels) Hōkūle‘a and Hikianalia left from Hilo on their three year round the world voyage.  This week, they arrived In Tahiti...10 days early.

The Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage will visit 85 ports and 26 countries, including 12 of UNESCO’s Marine World Heritage sites, through June 2017. The first stop for Hōkūle‘a and Hikianallia is Tahiti, where Hōkūleʻa made her first voyage in 1976. The voyage is made possible by many community sponsors and partners, including Hawaiian Airlines, the University of Hawai‘i, Kamehameha Schools, the James and Abigail Campbell Family Foundation, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and many more.

To read more about this amazing journey, please go to this link:
Polynesian Voyaging Society

Saved by the Lava Wall

Here are some of the parts to be repaired/replaced.

Many friends have reported it has been a rough week -- with Mercury in retrograde, but Phil says, "UR-ANUS is in retrograde!" 

Phil drove the truck into Pahoa yesterday to get gas and to do the annual safety inspection, but he didn't get out of the parking lot (thankfully) before the brakes failed COMPLETELY!  No pedal -- no emergency brakes.  Fortunately, he was still in the parking lot and was able to avoid hitting a pedestrian and roll gently into the lava retaining wall just at the street entrance.

WHEW!!  If the brakes had failed on the highway, it would have been a disaster!

 Our wonderful truck -- BEFORE colliding with the lava wall.

Amazing what damage was done while simply rolling across the parking lot at 3 miles per hour.  We had just decided that we were going to sell the truck and get a new smaller Ford.  This sweet F150 is about 22 years old and has been a faithful work horse for many years.

Uranus -- Greek Deity of the Heavens

Now, the plan is to get a quote on the bumper repair and decide whether it is worth doing the work or just sell it for all the rest of the parts that are in excellent condition.  The brakes will get fixed, and then we can decide the "next step."   We keep saying thankfully, "it could have been much worse."

Happy Solstice Birthday Phil & Paul

Waiuli Park on Hilo Bay

Happy Birthday Paul and Phil!

Friends gathered along Hilo Bay today to celebrate Phil and Paul's birthdays!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

We met Paul and his wife Jan looking for a claw foot bathtub last year when we built the ohana.  They had one -- only a few blocks from our house.  Since then we've enjoyed many meals together, great concerts and have become good friends.   Paul is a professional framer as was Phil many years ago.

About a dozen people showed up for good potluck and talk story.  There were a few wet T-shirts from water balloons, a good chorus of  "Happy Birthday" and great cake!

"Eat Your Vegetables"

For those of you who have followed the antics of Dexter and know of his passion for bokchoy this may not be a big surprise.   Some of our beets were ready to harvest so I dug them out and while saving some of the greens, I realized that Dexter was eating not only some of the leaves, but was munching on the the purple stems.

Since he has taught Poko to enjoy bokchoy it was not too surprising that Poko joined him in a late afternoon salad.  Of course I had to limit their intake, but it was fun while it lasted.  I can never prepare beets without thinking of my dear friend from Blue Lake --Dottie, who seemed to have an infinite number of beet recipes.

"And the BEET goes on!"

 

Phil's New ....WHAT!

Phil is back from his voyage to Michigan.  It was a long hard trip, but friends there helped to make it as comfortable as it could be.  Since his birthday is in a few days, I decided after such a voyage -- he needed something REALLY special for his birthday. 
 
So I met with our contractor and gave him the sizes and details I thought would work...and just look at the smile on his face.  He can't wait to get started...

On the new board for the head of the bed!!!  What did you think??  Rob, our friend and contractor has a really good eye for interesting wood -- this is the Kamani wood he found.

Kamani is a dense, reddish wood from a tree in the mangosteen family, brought to Hawaii with the early Polynesian voyagers.  The tree has many uses including medicinal, tea, cosmetic and construction.

Kamani wood is a dense, reddish wood that comes from the kamani tree, a member of the mangosteen family, which was brought to Hawaii from the Pacific by early Polynesian settlers. Kamani wood is now a common Hawaiian wood, and the tree has many uses. Nearly every part of the kamani tree is used in a variety of applications including medicinal, cosmetic and construction.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/info_8516541_kamani-wood.html

Kamani wood is a dense, reddish wood that comes from the kamani tree, a member of the mangosteen family, which was brought to Hawaii from the Pacific by early Polynesian settlers. Kamani wood is now a common Hawaiian wood, and the tree has many uses. Nearly every part of the kamani tree is used in a variety of applications including medicinal, cosmetic and construction.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/info_8516541_kamani-wood.html

YES

NO

What Is Kamani Wood?

By Renee Miller, eHow Contributor

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• 
  
• Share
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• Print this article

Kamani wood is a dense, reddish wood that comes from the kamani tree, a member of the mangosteen family, which was brought to Hawaii from the Pacific by early Polynesian settlers. Kamani wood is now a common Hawaiian wood, and the tree has many uses. Nearly every part of the kamani tree is used in a variety of applications including medicinal, cosmetic and construction.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/info_8516541_kamani-wood.html

YES

NO

What Is Kamani Wood?

By Renee Miller, eHow Contributor

• 
  
• 
  
• Share
• 
  
• Print this article

Kamani wood is a dense, reddish wood that comes from the kamani tree, a member of the mangosteen family, which was brought to Hawaii from the Pacific by early Polynesian settlers. Kamani wood is now a common Hawaiian wood, and the tree has many uses. Nearly every part of the kamani tree is used in a variety of applications including medicinal, cosmetic and construction.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/info_8516541_kamani-wood.html

"Halfway Down"

Halfway Down - by a.a. milne

Halfway down the stairs
is a stair
where i sit.
there isn't any
other stair
quite like
it.
i'm not at the bottom,
i'm not at the top;
so this is the stair
where
I always
stop.

Halfway up the stairs
Isn't up
And it isn't down.
It isn't in the nursery,
It isn't in town.
And all sorts of funny thoughts
Run round my head.
It isn't really
Anywhere!
It's somewhere else
Instead!


today i was missing my sweet boy, phil, when i thought of a photograph i took a few months ago.  i feel that it captures not only the "inbetween" place of waiting for his return but is also a place i find myself in often.  it is why i chose the tatoo on my leg -- a kanji symbol meaning "the space between."  everything IS in suspension, in the 'process of'' (whatever).  me too, although at times it is annoying as hell, it is also a rare and exquisite torture.

Earthquake in Leilani!

Our subdivision is the football shaped area - three craters are circled.

Night before last there was an earthquake right here in Leilani Estates.  It measured 2.6 -- which is not a lot if you lived in California, but it was only 3 miles deep -- and 4 blocks from our house -- under three tiny craters!

The land here in Puna is very very new -- much of it less than 500 year old, and some of it is less than 50 years old.  This means that there are lots of small craters in this area; many are hidden from view due to the tropical landscape, but an aerial view or a topo map will reveal them.

Our house (left side) is circled in blue -- just below the cloud.

The earthquake the other night in the wee morning hours was centered right here just a few blocks from our house, near three small craters shown in the aerial map.

(From Left to Right, they are Kahuwai Crater, Pu'u Lena Crater, and Pawai Crater.

These three maps will give you an idea of their location and the proximity to our house.

Our house (also circled in blue above) is four blocks west of the craters, and just below the cloud.  I have a girlfriend who has visited a Hawaiian family who lives on the edge of one of these small craters which is now covered with rich forest and jungle.  Hopefully one day we can go explore them since they are so close.

Note the "place name" on the topo map -- this area was once called "Keahialaka" by the Maoli Hawaiians.

Carport Continues

What I love about this carport is how well its design goes with the house and is still open and airy.  You can see through from all sides.


We had originally planned for a peaked roof, but as you can see, this design creates a better visual and functional flow.  Since we already have additional parking, we will also be able to use this great space for
entertainment. 

Yes, those guys are standing on open rafters!

Our friend and neighbor Sam helped me paint it all.

It is now all painted, and awaiting the roof; materials for that will arrive tomorrow.

That means by the time Phil gets home from Michigan, it will be almost done!    
Happy 
Father's Day!

A Day at the Ocean

Today some of the girls loaded up the cars and headed off for a swim and here's where we ended up!  Thanks to Kathy (who had her coconut drill as handy as most people would have a bottle opener) we sipped fresh coconut water spiked with Russian Rum!   Ahhhh...now this is the way to do retirement. 

It takes me 10-12 minutes to get to Isaac Hale Beach Park from our house.  We drive down Leilani a couple miles and turn onto what everyone calls "Mango Road" because it is lined with gigantic mango trees.  It takes us down to what locals call "Beach Road" or the "Red Road" (which used to be made out of red cinder and parallels the ocean, but is now partially paved.) 

At the corner of Mango Road and the Red Road you will find no white sand beach -- but a scene that is typical of the coastline of Puna-- a rugged lava shoreline surrounded by lush groves of coconut and mango trees. There is a no swimming sign which everyone seems to ignore.  Because of the strong currents and big waves in the open bay, swimmers stay inside the blue lagoon by the boat ramp; skilled surfers, paddlers, and divers head out farther.  When a boat is using the ramp, everyone simply swims over to one side to allow for safe passage.  There are plenty of shady trees (perfect for naps) and picnic tables in the park.  Just a few steps away from the beach you'll find a sweet naturally formed small hot tub.

This is being posted to entice you to come and visit us soon -- and see it all for yourselves!

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