Happy New Year 2026

 

A January Visit with the Haysmers

 

The "Haysmer Hale Herald" News

After a year of really BIG THINGS it is both comforting and normalizing to be finding joy in small and ordinary things, and to see them not small at all and life as  anything but ordinary. So a blog post about some simple but delightful occurrences in our week.

Birthdays and bananas - dogs and dedications and continuing to turn a house into our new home.

Lunel invited a group of girlfriends for a celebration -- and the cake!!! OMG. It was light fluffy sponge cake with many layers of whipped cream and lilikoi. We shared an outstanding dinner at the "Rim Restaurant" with window seats only a few feet from the edge of Kilauea Volcano. (Yeah, we know that might sound weird to some people, or the fact that we now live in a town called VOLCANO!)  We have always known we were living on "an edge" of a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean; we still love it here)

The dog-and-beach photo is one of our beloved Reba-Bo-Beba who is doing very well in her new home. (The trauma of our relocation and stress resulted in some sad dynamics between her our other corgi dogs.) She has been re-homed in Kona and we get periodic updates and are happy she is now doing well.

As for the dedication -- hopefully it is large enough for you to read; if not just click on the photo to enlarge it. A framed copy is hanging on the wall just as you walk into the art studio, dedicating the space to Phil's grandfather and Lunel's dad whose influence in our lives helped shape the people we are today.

AND LOOK GUYS -- we have bananas in our yard. The the flower of one of our many bananas looks totally alien. FYI: Bananas are not trees - technically the plant is an HERB, but the  banana is a fruit. We're lucky to have about 12 of them -- ranging from keiki (baby) size to this over 20' tall.


A nearly unbelievable set of circumstances and the involvement of many people lead us to our charming new home (Hale Le'a) for which we are grateful. It was hard to lose our home, 99% of all our possessions -- but finding this house which included buying all of the previous owners' normal home furnishings, meant essentially moving into someone else's fully-stocked home. It has taken many months, but we are feeling more settled and comfortable. The library and our art collection is gone which means we have been on the hunt for some haysmer-style art.

Part of the excitement these days is the conversion of this (photo) space into what will be a big lanai with a hot tub (where the light blue elliptic is.) We are envisionaries  - the transformation we created with our beautiful Luana home in Leilani Estates we can do again, albeit slower, with the help of our highly competent contractors.  We WILL post the after photos in a few weeks.

Gardening in Hawaii: Before & After (repeat) Before & After

In 2012 when we bought our retirement home in Leilani Estates there was virtually no landscaping and lots of encroaching jungle. Most of the lot was red cinder with little grass. It was a rather large canvas that we managed to turn into an amazing one-acre garden paradise...in six years. The photo below is just one of dozens of beautiful landscaped beds bordered by lava walls Lunel built.





We have been blessed to find a charming home in the little town of Volcano -- famous for its Volcanoes National Park Link to the Park, that is only four miles away. While the former owners kept the house in extremely good condition, they had little interest in landscaping.

Now, over seven years later, the challenge is no longer the fact that we have a new blank canvas, but that our bodies are also seven years older and that changes how we approach landscaping this time around.

After a few days of clearing -- oh, there's the trees!

Where are the trees??

Here, at 3500 feet elevation, there is less "jungle" and more forest, but there are still encroaching invasive plants and vines, and our lovely forest of ohia trees are suffocating with dense undergrowth that needs to be cleared out, as exampled by these two photos -- before and after clearing a small section.

Under debris -- layers of lava you cant see

With three corgi dogs, a fence is a must, particularly as we have a couple of neighborhood cat-visitors who the dogs will chase through the thick underbrush and out the other side. But getting TO the property line to install a fence is quite the feat. Here are a couple of photos of what we (together with some younger capable help) have accomplished so far.

Plants waiting: some gifts, some bought

The edges of the building are of our new studio but the photos show how many feet we have cleared from invasive plants, vines and weeds -- and some really thorny brushes. Temporary dog-fences are in place now and we can begin to imagine what we will be planting. This time around, the emphasis will be on flowering shrubs and less typical "flower beds" (our previous home had over 30 individual beds!)


These are not really "before" photos but show several weeks of hard work. The red lines show how far back we have cleared -- and the true property line is still about 12 feet, leaving a nice natural green barrier between neighboring lots. Under the debris in the photo on the left are beautiful layers of lava which we hope to feature once all the weeds, grasses and roots are cleaned out.

Good thing we are visionaries when it comes to terraforming and will keep the blog updated as we continue our landscaping improvements at Hale Le'a (House of Gladness.)  Stay tuned!

Giving Thanks

HAPPY THANKS GIVING ALL!  We know it's been a long time since our last update.  Phil haS been very busy trying to keep up with the sales of his beautiful hand carved koa reef fish, and has even had a couple of special orders.  Lunel continues to find pleasure in manicuring the gardens and flower beds around the property. While it is cooler here at 3500 ft elevation, when the sun is out -- it is very pleasant to be outside (with long sleeves.)

She also continues to add pages to her art journals and is now working on #3.

The Corgyn have been supervising the goats as they are led from one grazing pasture to another -- and this week -- they were just on the other side of the back yard fence -- and a constant source of entertainment.

This last week Lunel was practicing a beautiful Hawaiian chant (oli) of thankfulness -- "Oli Malaho." She learned it a couple years ago while attending an informal language class. Words and translation are below.  If you'd like to listen here's the link:
   OLI MALHAO CHANT





WE DO HAVE OTHER NEWS -- but it is still under wrap, so be patient and we will tell all, soon!!

Practicing Normality

Our healing view of ocean from yesterday's outting

In the midst of the obvious chaos of our lives, the last couple of days we have tried to focus on "practicing normality." Attending to the business of medical tests, making doctors appointments for Lunel's health and well being, getting insurance forms completed, working with inspectors, adjusters and -- buying underwear and a toaster oven...life has been a bit crazy.

Our new Hawaiian host family have been unbelievable gracious in letting us share their kitchen for group meals and we have been taking turns with prep and clean up. Phil bought a dog pooper-scooper and walks the 3/4 acre property doing doggy-duty -- for a total of seven furry family members. They have nearly completed an additional 300 sf of screened in space that allows us to have some fresh air in our tiny room -- so we six (us and corgyn) are not all so tightly packed.

Yesterday, our Exercise In Normality was to drive down to the ocean -- NOT an area where lava is involved and set up chairs and just b-r-e-a-t-h-e in the fresh sea breeze. The dogs are used to a full one acre area to romp in, but here, we are taking them out every couple hours for a walk around the grounds which include a small hydroponic garden, small orchard and surprising sprays of orchids.

Lunel in bottom left -- surrounded by all her girlfriends

If you are visiting our BLOG for the first time -- the latest images of the corner of Leilani and Luana (where our house was - scroll down a few entries...) is now a 20 foot deep lake of lava. (we are not putting those on this blog entry again) In the last few days 200' foot high fountains of molten lava have been shooting up right at what was our corner of Luana and Leilani. Lava continues to follow its own course covering acres and homes on the way to the ocean.
Link #1 to our corner of Luana and Leilani 
Link.  #2 what was our corner Luana & Leilani.

FOR NOW: Although we are homeless, living out of a few bags and boxes, we have been the recipients of amazing generosity -- clothes, gift cards to Home Depot and Amazon and the Go-Fund-Me account that was set up for us by Astra (present owner of Many Hands in Eureka.) Lunel was gifted with a small box of jewelry which she wore on Tuesday night to her "Girlie Girl" night -- a tremendous support network for her.

Happy Birthday :"Reba-Bo-Beba"

Lady of leisure on her birthday

One pancake for each dog

"Hey dad -- ??more?"

Everyone who know us at all knows how crazy we are about our FOUR corgyn (plural for corgi.)

Today was a special day because it was Reba's 10th birthday. She, like us, has been on glucosamine for a couple years, and thankfully, she seems to be doing well. 

Waiting very patiently while they cool

Today, her two kids, Poko and I'i Lani, and grandson Tudor joined the celebration with special (gluten free) sour dough pancakes, made with our own daily-fresh kefir. 
Tudor (with the black tuxedo) is only nine months old. Hopefully he'll still be around for his 10th and my 80th birthday!

Just because they had theirs doesn't mean they didn't want more!

Heiau (shrine) for our Corgyn

But, on a sad note, all of us share the sadness of the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth's beloved "Willow" who is the last of a long line of corgi dogs in the Royal Family. While our family/ohana is not royal, we lovingly remember all of our corgi family too: Chauncy, Abbey, Dexter and Paka.  Queen Elizabeth's "Willow"

Aye! The EARS have it!

When Corgi puppies are born, their ears are soft and floppy, but about week eight or so, the ear muscles begin to develop slowly as the ears began to go up. By week nine or ten, one or both ears will stand up. Here are three photos taken only three days apart that illustrate how quickly this change happens.

I'm working on my ear muscles!

Wheeee! My ears are UP!

See, I got one up today!

Not only are my ears up, but I am running through the green grass OUTSIDE, and playing with my "Unko Poko"(uncle), my mom Lani, and even my Tutu Reba, who is trying to be patient with me.

Not only am i very TALL I am also very L-O-N-G -- Mom measured me nose to tail at 26"

Hobbits and Corgyn

"TUDOR" - is 8 weeks old and is waiting patiently for his ears to perk UP

Corgi dogs (plural, Corgyn) and
Hobbits have several things in common, particularly Corgi PUPPIES!

• They obviously have short legs
• They are fond of snugly, cozy places
• They believe mealtimes are critical
• Meal times for both are identical
• They love many occasions to frolic.
• They know naps are very important 

Happy Birthday to Me!

TUDOR - age 7 weeks

It is probably true that some birthdays are more memorable than others, but this one was spectacular in ways even I, as a consummate organizer, could have never anticipated. As our blog readers will know, recently we got to be surrogate parents as our young corgi, "I'I Lani" had four adorable puppies. During the process, we decided that we really would like to keep one...but which one?

"Mom, I can help you with these boxes."

As the puppies were fully weaned, we were able to see them safely transported on Sunday to the breeder so they could be adopted...all except for the one we chose to keep, "Tudor." He is named for Tasha Tudor who wrote and illustrated children's books featuring corgi dogs, (Corgyn) of which she had several. So, awakening on Monday (my birthday) I got up early, made coffee, and while the rest of the family (Phil and our other three corgyn) were still sleeping, I got to play with the new puppy...who had fun not only with his toys, but with the boxes and wrapping from my birthday.

of course it ain't this big...YET!

My friend, fellow artist and weeding partner, Kate arrived around 8:30 along with our dependable yard guy. As a team of four, we managed to cut of a big limb from a dying ohia tree, weed a shady area called "The Terraces" (all of our landscaping beds have names,) and plant a bunch of anthuriums, hibiscus, and a new Jacaranda tree near the sculpture described in the previous blog.

After cleaning up, we were delighted by visits from friends and then off to Pahoa Village for a late lunch. Then another unexpected thing happened. A couple blogs ago, we showed a photo of what we envisioned for a structure to go on top of the lava outcropping near the front of the property. Well, a new neighbor had a large pile of wood left over from their project and offered it to us at a good price. The best part? It is already sanded and stained -- exactly the color of the photo in our previous blog!  (Thurs, July 20th)

I got a lovely large solitaire peridot necklace from Phil, and lots of cards arrived in the mail -- some from people I've not heard from in some time. All in all, a fabulous birthday -- including homemade, tart lime bars from Penny who lives one block over, and a rousing party with the "Girlie Girls" who meet every Tuesday evening.

"Tu Be or Not Tu Be"

New family: Dean & Mark

"To Be or Not To Be"...that was the question.

Our oldest corgi, "Reba" (also known as "B") became a grandma recently, when her daughter "I'I Lani" had her puppies.  "Reba" became "Tu-Tu-B" -- tu-tu being the commonly used name for grandma here in Hawaii.

But the answer to the question of keeping the puppy evolved into the Shakespearean quote -- "to be or not to be." And, much as we wanted to believe the answer was "yes" it seems there was another answer...and it wasn't just "no."

The "how" is less important than the choice we made to  just "let to" and trust. Yesterday we said our sad goodbyes to the puppy who has delighted us for eight weeks -- particularly in the aftermath of the election results.

We also decided what this sad world really needs is for everyone to just sit down on the grass and hold a puppy! We had no expectations from the new family on Oahu.  We said goodbye at 1:30 in the afternoon, and only eight hours later received these lovely photos from her new ohana. Looks like the puppy's got a pal already -- and her new family will keep us posted on her future adventures.

What the world needs now -- are PUPPIES and ALOHA!!

Tasha is Three Weeks Old

Tasha Tudor with her Corgyn

OMG!! Just look at those tiny little toes (and toenails!)

Ms. Tasha is three weeks old today and is growing fast. For 6-7 years, we have had the name "Tasha" in mind for a puppy girl -- because of our appreciation for Tasha Tudor's love of corgi dogs and her lovely illustrated children's books about gorgyn. I'I Lani (mom) is getting a little slim on milk, so we are supplementing the puppy's diet with some goat's milk.Her tiny toenails are long, eyes are open and mom and pup are doing fine. Holding a puppy first thing in the morning is SO much more rewarding than watching the news...or most anything else for that matter. What a great early Christmas present!

"There's puppies in my belly!"

"Hey mom, she sure smells different>"  Poko

"There's puppies in my belly, puppies in my belly." Lani

We must "share" something of our youngest's pregnancy and birth of CORGI PUPPIES because it will make us Great Grandparents.

"What?  There's room for all of them in there?"

"So Mom, did you really do this?"

Before the romantic excursion to Kona side, I'Ilani and Poko had been doing some normal "role playing" but after she returned, it was obvious that Poko noticed a difference.

Mom and Dad (Lunel and Phil) have been reading up on gestation and delivery, figuring out where to set up the "nursery," lining up the vet, mobile vet, and qualified friends to be on "stand by."

For those of you who don't know. REBA is the mom to both POKO boy and little Princess I'ILani who will be having puppies officially making us Great Grandparents for Thanksgiving.

Puppies for Thanksgiving?!?!

Here's Phil with Koa -- a handsome Corgi for our Princess I'Ilani (ee ee lani).

Although they met earlier this year, their love was not consummated until this week....which means Corgi puppies for Thanksgiving.  (Not what you are thinking....we will still have TURKEY!)

Puppies!!! Puppies!!!


Some mornings, before "dad" is up, the three "kids" and I head out to the back steps to enjoy the early morning sun and a cup of tea.  The sun angle at this time of year is so magical as it moves across the yard.

Ao Pokole Poko (Short Cloud) is on the top step, Princess I'Ilani (Midget from Heaven) middle, and Reba-Bo-Beba (mom) on the lower.

The other day, Phil caught an image we think must be a garden sprite.  (Although it has been enhanced some, it did indeed have a 'bubble-like' shape with rainbow colors.)

REMEMBER:  You can 'click' on any photo for a better view.