July Bloomers for Boomers

One of the first plants we purchased was a Queen Emma Lily, planting it in honor of our mid-90 year old friend Emma who lives in Ukiah, CA.  In her younger years, she made Hawaii a frequent vacation spot.  The blooms are explosions of pale pink and white blossoms.

Shortly after we moved to the Puna district of the Big Island, we also bought some orchids at the local Maku'u Market that were 10 for $10.00, most of which were not blooming, so as they do, it is always a surprise.  We didn't buy many because I've always felt orchids were to fussy for me to deal with.  At first, attempting to be a dutiful gardener, I faithfully watered and fed them, moving them around to try and find the perfect place for them, waiting for them to bloom, forgetting the words of the buyer who said, "the secret to orchids is simply patience."  (Who me?)

Rotating orchids from woods to house.

Wild "bamboo orchids" in the yard

Not having much "success" I relocated the lot of them -- over two dozen up to a woodsy area dappled with filtered light and always accessible to the rain.  And, guess what, one after another have bloomed, usually a couple each month.  And that after having ignored them solidly for about 5 months!

Then, there are the sweet, wild orchids growing on what looks like bamboo -- hence the common name of "bamboo orchids."  These volunteers grow everywhere -- this clump (one of many) in our yard is about 6' tall.

Pohoiki Attitude Adjustment

Even though we live in paradise, ever once in a while you can have a not-so-great kind of day.

Fortunately we also have the perfect prescription.  Today, I left our driveway at 5:17, and at 5:27 here's where I was.  What a place to hang out and read for an hour -- for a quick attitude adjustment.

You can't see them, but there are surfers out there on the far right, and around the corner beyond the tree is one of my favorite swimming places.

Mauna Kea

So, if you have to drive into Hilo to buy a new printer and order 20 bags of concrete, during the tail end of a storm, the view makes up for it, yah?  The top of Mauna Kea is not usually visible because of clouds, but today, we got a rare sighting, and happened to have the camera with us too.

So Not a Cook

For whatever reason, my artistic skills do not extend into the kitchen; I am, admittedly, not a cook.  I try, god knows, I try.  I read the recipe, I gather my materials, I measure precisely -- and I fail, even on the most simple things.    For example:  We use 100% pumpkin as an additive to our dog's meals, but because we had inadvertently purchased a can of pie mix, it sat on the shelf for a few months.  The cool weather this week prompted a cupboard clean out and I was, despite my low success rate, determined to make Phil a pumpkin pie.

I wish this was a picture of MY pie; it isn't.

Of course I don't make crusts, although many of my dearest friends will laugh as they are so skilled at these minimal kitchen basics.  However, I did have a package which called for only water.  Aha!  This even I can do, I thought.  To make a 1/2 portion for a single crust, I opened the package and measured precisely the amount called for.  Next the water.  Sounds so simple, right.  The receipe (of two modest ingredients) called for 2 Tablespoons of water, and 2 Teaspoons of water.  Somewhere in the back of the drawer (not used in 18 months) was my set of measuring spoons.  As little as I do know, I know very cold water is better, so I pulled out the water from the refrigerator and began to measure.  As I am doing so, however, I notice that the "surface tension" of the water in the spoons makes a difference!   So, rather than a heaping T and t spoon, I anxiously adjust it to "level."

Of course I have already preheated the oven to 425 for 15 minutes while I am doing the "easy" part.  That is mixing the two ingredients, water and crust mix....except it is supposed to make one crust, right?  I roll and I roll, the sticky mixture getting stuck on the pie roller (my grandmother's and she would be mortified at my attempt.)  The pie crust mix sticks to the surface on which I am rolling it, and no matter how thin I manage to get it, it is not even close to being big enough to cover the glass pie dish.  When I manage to finally get it pretty close to size, getting it off the surface is a disaster as it tears or sticks, but I do not give up, and finally with some patches, I get it into the pie pan.  (Whew)
 
Determined, I move on.  Next step: Mixing the pie mix with the can of condensed milk and two eggs.  Surely I can do this, I sigh.  And yes, this appears to be within the scope of my skill and I after mixing the three ingredients I am ready to pour it into my patchwork crust....except there is WAY too much.  Figuring that my crust will probably be a mess anyway, I decide to simply pour the balance into a glass bowl and bake it as a serving of a custard, which, now that I think of it I could have done in the first place.

Finally, of course, since all I use is our modest (but adequate) toaster oven, I have to bake them one after another.  I have yet to even use the "big oven" we have; instead, it serves as a cupboard to house the pots and pans for which there is no additional shelf space.  Addressing the mess of the kitchen counter, and accompanying bowls and measuring cups and slopped ingredients is the final step.  In my own defense, I must include the intuitive addition of some cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.  Without these the pie would have been much less interesting.

I shake my head at myself and laugh.  I think it is really good for me to have an area in my life where I feels such inadequacy.  However, while the pie (and custard) are baking I will return to my yard and garden where I can hold my head high and point to amazing accomplishments.

A Buddha View

We are adopting a Buddha-View as we finish up our building projects.

Despite the fact that we LOVE our contractors Rob and Steve and enjoy their company, we will both be glad when this final building project is completed.  The ohana we built last year went up in record time of 16 weeks and included Phil's wood shop as well as the 720 sf ohana and small balcony.

While Phil was in Michigan, the carport went up, and on his return, the railing around the deck got completed.  And now, the work on the lanai is in process and will mostly be completed by early August.  Since the hot-tub is coming by boat, it may be here and installed by Lunel's B-Day.

In the meantime, as the saws cut, and the hammers pound, we are maintaining a Buddha-like composure.  This is a photo of some new "blossoms" coming up at the steps to our front door.  Commonly called "Angel Wings", they are a Freida Hemple Caladium.  Their jack-in-the-pulpit blossoms last only one day.

Lonely God? Hmmmm?

Hmmmm.  We continue to discover all kinds of interesting treats walking the aisles of the local grocery stores, but this one had us giggling.  There are those among our friends who understand the humor involved in our finding this new treat!

In fact, we'd love to have you volunteer your story of the "Lonely God" treats.  (email us:  haysmer@sonic.net)

We found them by accident when we bought a combo pack of rice and potato crackers.  Most of these creations are crunchy and very satisfying for a little snack.  Many have a small sweet and salt combo which is light and fun.

The "Lonely God" snacks were shaped a little like of rotini pasta with a slight green color, were sweet and salty -- sort of like a potato crisp.

Lanai Project Begins

Lanai will run 24' from the corner; French doors will replace far left window

Work begins TODAY!  This is the back side of the house -- where the new lanai will be built. The end of the house faces east, but the back side faces north.

The second photo is of the north yard.  It is the view we now have from our kitchen and dining room windows.  It will be the view through the french doors opening onto the lanai.






There are plans for a terraced garden on the left side of the photo, but it has yet to be created.  Our friend Sam has begun some prep work by digging out "lava holes" for the trees.  Of course all the big chunks of lava will be incorporated into the walls for future garden beds.

The newly finished carport is the perfect place to prep all the lumber -- since it does rain some nearly every day.  Stacks of wood and siding are painted before construction.

After you've hoisted stacks of 16', 20' and 24' boards (2x6" or 2x8") you have sore muscles, but then you get to paint them all, stack them to dry, and finally, move them around back for the contractors to use.

At the end of the day, we head down to the ocean for a swim to relax.

We are hoping most of the project will be done for Lunel's B-day -- August 14th

Imagine it!

Imaginary construct of us in our new Great Northern Hot Tub....soon!

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.”  Gloria Steinem

 

“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were, but without it we go nowhere.” Carl Sagan 

 
“Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one.”   Terry Pratchett

When we returned home from our visit in February of 2012, we admit to some degree of terror; we had just bought a house on the Big Island of Hawaii -- and we still owned a home in Eureka -- and a 22 year old successful gallery business.  "Oh Shit," doesn't even cover it.  What we saw here, when we made the offer on this house was "potential" not just the house itself -- it was as though the house was a symbol for what we might envision.  Perhaps we had individually thought about what our retirement might look like, but we had not talked about it seriously until our Big Island visit in 2011, and after a year of research we were ready to "imagine it."  Suddenly, the outline of it was there -- in our face -- in the shape of this house.  If you've visited our blog at all, you know much of what we have accomplished in 18 months.   Now we begin the last phase of our creative endeavor. 

This week the materials arrived for construction of a 12x24' lanai on the north side of our house.  The photo is an imaginative construct of us -- in our new hot tub.   As the project begins this week, we will, of course, include some photos of the on-going process -- which we believe will be completed for Lunel's BIRTHDAY mid-August.

"Reality leaves a lot to the imagination."  John Lennon

"Why not go out on a limb?  Isn't that where the fruit is?  Frank Scully

Carport Deck Completed

West facing view of new deck over the carport.

We posted this picture a few days ago after completing the carport.  The next step was to create a deck on top of the roof by building a railing around the edge -- adding more usable square footage. While it may not be the best place to hang out at noon, it is the perfect place for morning coffee, evening sunsets and star gazing.

Jade Vine Flower Cluster

The weird "tree scaffold" at the end of the deck was created to utilize a dying Ohia tree.  The 2x4's were painted to match the color of the trunk, with rope strung through the ends to create a trellis.  The spiraling trellis around the trunk will support a Jade Vine plant which has dark green foliage with strands of three foot long clusters of dense flowers. 

Reba and Dexter watching Poko and Dad below.

In a few months,  cascades of purple and blue flowers will hang down from the trellis like a waterfall.  For color contrast (but not pictured)  the foot of the tree is surrounded by large orange and yellow bromeliads.

Volcano News

A couple people from Humboldt Country recently asked about some of the news they were hearing about new volcanic activity on the Big Island -- and how that relates to us and where we live.  The map below shows our Leilani subdivision over at the far right.

Bright Pink at top is from 2014, RED at center indicates June flow.

Living on the Big Island means living on the edge - on some of the newest land on the planet.  We walk on land that is about 200 years new and beaches that are half our age!  Yes, the drive up to Volcano National Park (not shown on this map) takes us about an hour...it is about 45 miles away, however, the eruptions that began in the early 1980's and have flowed into the ocean for nearly 30 years were from a vent much closer to home -- called Pu'u O'o.

(To answer your possible question:  Yes, we knew all about this activity when we bought our house early in 2012.  If you were to examine a detailed topographic map, you could more clearly see why don't panic about this.)



If you were lucky enough to visit the Big Island between 1983 and 2013, you were afforded an aerial view by helicopter or a sea view by charter boat to witness the spectacular vision of red hot lava pouring into the crashing waves of the coast.  However, the flows into the ocean stopped at the end of 2013.  Since 2014 the flow in a more easterly direction.

The amazing photo to the right was taken in January this year, when the flow was moving in a more easterly direction

Map shows flows through 2002

This map provides a historic view of all the flows that began in 1983, but does not show the more recent ones.  Thanks to the USGS for such excellent coverage and photography.

If you would like to read some older history about Pu'u O'o, click on this link:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/dds/dds-80/album.html

(Note:  We would have never posted this information while Phil's mom, Margaret was still alive; poor dear, it would have been too disturbing.)


Recently we attended a stunning two hour film "Dancing with the Goddess" VolcanoScapes at Imiloa that was breathtaking.  Click on this link for a peek. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JECkKHvDs-o

Pineapple Patch

When we moved into our house, we found three pineapples lost in the shady ferns and bushes, so we dug them out and created a plot for them in our mini-orchard.  Since then, we have continued to add to the patch, and as you can see, we are going to harvest some soon....maybe pineapple and rum for July 4th?



All we do is cut off the top of the pineapple and nestle it into some potting mix for a few weeks.  Once it has begun to root, we chisel out a hole in the lava, break it up and add some soil and compost.  Most references say you get a pineapple in 18 months, but some we planted around Christmas already have a small fruits on them.  Several we have harvested from, are producing a second fruit.

The stunning colorful close up is the pineapple on the far right of the photo -- notice the two "rosettes" on the same plant; it is already started producing two more pineapple!   That must be our good compost.

Ingredients for a "Hawaii Lava Flow"
1 oz White Rum
1 oz Malibu Rum
2 oz Pineapple Juice
2 oz Coconut Cream
2 oz Strawberry
1  Banana

Method: Prepare in a blender

Recipe:

1. Blend the 2 rums and the strawberries (fresh or frozen) in a blender until smooth and pour into a tall glass.
2. Blend the banana, the coconut cream, and the pineapple juice in the blender with crushed ice until smooth.
3. Pour this mixture into the glass with the rums very slowly and watch as the strawberry mixture oozes its way to the top along the sides of the glass creating the flowing lava effect. Garnish with a pineapple wedge.