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

• 
  
• 
  
• 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