Mountains and Islands

Last night, just before turning in, I saw a flash of light in the sky just out the window. The weather kahunas had forecast thunderstorms on the evening news, so I should have taken precautions then and slipped Hoppsy an herbal calmer. She hates thunder. At about 5:00 this morning, she was in the bed, shaking like a leaf, panicked. The thunder was rumbling. Within moments, Doc jumped in too. It was cozy, but a little cramped and very hot. So I got up to get her the herbal and found the cats all gathered in the kitchen, waiting for breakfast. I fed them. That rousted Crawford, who is none too fond of thunder herself, but can't hear it so well anymore. She is, however, very keen on the smell of cat food. Anyway, after all this, going back to bed didn't seem all that practical. I didn't think I'd get much sleep anyway. So, I brewed up a pot of coffee and here I am. Lucy has taken my place in the bed, right next to Doc and Ron. The three of them are snoozing peacefully. Cra...

Here's a cheesy picture for ya! That shaka is pretty feeble. I gotta work on that. My reference to Pick Your Nose in the last post reminds me of Freddie's. That's what we used to call Fred Meyer, a buy-everything-you-need-in one-place place that popped up all over the Pacific Northwest long before Walmart ever rose to dominance. Anyway, we always called it Freddie's, until the passing of the company's founder. Then we called it Dead Fred's. Here on the island, there's a mortuary called A Hui Hou, which is Hawaiian for Until We Meet Again. Kind of sweet, don't you think? In Buffalo, NY there's a chain of mortuaries called Amigon. Ron says that when he was a kid, everyone called it Am I gone? Some years ago, I remember reading about the brilliant minds at General Motors, scratching their heads at why the Nova didn't sell well in Latin America. They didn't get the fact that no va means no go or it doesn't go in Spanish. In Southern Califor...

On Saturday, we spent a little while at the Cultural Heritage Festival downtown, where dancers and drummers performed, representing the the varied cultural makeup of Hawaii. There were also booths selling food and crafts; Portuguese, Hawaiian, Filipino, Chinese, Okinawan, Japanese, Korean. I didn't see any bagpipes and kilts and no lederhosen, but that's OK. It was small, but still pretty cool. We caught a glimpse of the Korean Lion dance for one, along with a few other Asian performances. I approached the Hawaiian booth and was frowned at by an enormous Hawaiian couple. Not much aloha there. They didn't seem too happy to be there. In turn, not many people were making purchases at their booth. Maybe that's why they were miffed. Or maybe it was because of their grumpiness that nobody lingered long there or pulled out a wallet. As I scanned their wares (mostly jewelry) I read signs describing the materials from which the necklaces were made. They read something like, ...

We bought ten more coffee trees yesterday. The ladies at Hilo Coffee Mill are great. That's where we bought them. Their primary business is wholesale coffee, either green or roasted to your taste. But they also have their own coffee orchard and sell coffee seedlings. They have a website, too: www.hilocoffeemill.com . If you want to try the best coffee Hawaii has to offer besides Kona coffee, or some other great beans from around the world, check 'em out. They coffee from Guatemala, Mexico, Africa, Brazil etc. Ask for Jeanette or Kathy. We bought baby trees this time. They're about half as big, for half the price. Since we're pretty sure they'll grow, it seemed the prudent way to go. Now all we have to do is wait 3-5 years for the perfect cup of home grown java. Today's weather has been pretty horrible. I started raining at about 10 a.m. and hasn't stopped since. Tomorrow however, is another day. The weather forecasters are actually predicting sun for our ar...

This morning, my neighbor, who apparently has a rain gauge, reported to me in passing on the road that we received 1.25 inches of rain last night. It did rain pretty hard. I guess in most places, that much rain in one night would be quite a lot. Here, it's a pretty normal night. This morning, the rain stopped and the sun came out. Within a very short while it felt not unlike a sauna outside with all that moisture evaporating into the atmosphere. Whew! It was even muggier in town, as always. So while the temperature stayed at about 85 degree, the humidity was at least 85%. Neadless to say, it was a little toasty for Doc and his canine and feline siblings today. We're cooling off nicely now though. The zucchinis are flowering like mad and beginning to get a few fruits on them. It looks like we should have squash coming out our ears before too long. I'm making plans to make zucchini bread. The tomatoes are doing well too, with small, green orbs replacing blossoms there. Ron ha...

. Yesterday, like today, it rained. So it wasn't too tough early in the morning, watching the water fall in sheets from the sky, to make quick plans to drive to Kona. The excuse? We need stuff at Costco, of course. Hey, if I've got to patronize a big box once in awhile to reap some savings, it might as well be one that takes good care of it's employees and puts profits back into the company rather than into the CEO's pocket. Anyway, we donned our swimsuits under our clothes, slid on the slippah and headed to the dry side. Before shopping, we spent a couple of hours at the beach. We crashed our old favorite resort; The Orchid at Mauna Lani. Technically, we do have legal access to their beach, no matter how much stink eye the staff might give. That's because all beaches, even those affiliated with a resort, are public. Nobody can actually own a beach in Hawaii. So, we hung there, and at their pool, posing as wealthy haoli tourists. Then it was off to Costco to buy sun...

Aloha! It's been a pretty hot few days, with south winds usurping the traditional trades. Yesterday the vog was so bad that our zucchini leaves were actually burned by the sulfuric air. They are a bit shriveled, but I think the plants will live. Doc has been staying cool lounging on the lanai. What a pretty boy, huh? I planted an avocado tree yesterday. Tomorrow's chore is to add two more coffee trees and another avocado. There are several species of avocado and the fruit at different times of the year. So with any luck, we'll one day have avocados year 'round. Holy guacamole, batman! I played tennis today with some athletic and talented ladies today. We played indoors at the venerable Edith Kanaka'ole tennis stadium. They are the only covered courts on the island. The surface is rubberized, so is a bit grippy underfoot and the ball comes off pretty fast, making for a bit of a challenge to the reflexes. The lighting is also weird. For some reason, they built the co...

The past several days have been more wet than dry, with the past two all wet. In fact, we were cranking up the volume on the TV to hear it over the sound of the downpour. Today, however, is showing the promise of some blue sky peaking through the clouds. We'll have to wait until the foliage dries out a bit before we can mow. The rain was the result of the remnants of tropical depression Daniel. The storm began as Hurricane Daniel, then became Tropical Storm Daniel as it got nearer to us, then became a tropical depression (whatever that is) then because nothing more than some rain. It wasn't very exciting. We didn't lose power or anything. Ron and I have a new thing when the power goes out. We hang out on the lanai with a giant flashlight and play scrabble. We have too much stuff. Despite our efforts to purge in Colorado before the move, we still have more than we need, want or have room for. This is a tiny house, after all. We've been making trips to Wal-mart and Home D...

Life is mellow here in the rainforest. We erected a shelter for our tractor last week so we could move the machine off the driveway to make room for stuff. The stuff came, all the way from Colorado. We are now finding places to put the stuff, one box at a time. Despite our attempts to simplify our lives and purge a huge amount of stuff before moving here, we still find we have too much stuff. That's the American way though, right? We converted an old dog Kennel just off the driveway into a storage shed. We were planning (and still are) to actually build a structure there, but in the meantime, we opted for tarps, a shower curtain and some 2x4s. Hey, there are people living in shelters less attractive and secure than this. Hey. It works. We had both a bad and good car buying experience this weekend. We recently decided that, since my old purple truck is now deceased, we should buy an economical commuter car to zip to town and back when we don't need the utilitarian virtues of the...

We have a lovely pair of cardinals that visit our back lanai every morning and afternoon. This timing generally coincides with the feeding of the cats outside. They swoop in and steal the cat food. When there's no cat food out there, they chirp incessantly until there is. We hung a big seed ball for them, but they prefer the kitty kibble. Oh they'll nibble at the seeds. But given the choice, they'll take tuna and salmon flavor over sesame and sunflower any day. They've become carnivorous. Yikes! Keep all the small children inside! My friend Gail once told me about some wrens visiting a little bird house she'd put out. I asked if they were looking to buy or simply wren-t! Ha ha ha.... Tonight, I was looking for a saucepan big enough to steam some extra long green beans without cutting them. Somehow, I began singing ala Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam "She dreams of colors, she dreams in green... can't find a bigger pan.....It's too small. These beans they won...

Howdy ya'all. Oh, and alo-o-o-o-oha! I heard word this weekend that a giant double cottonwood tree in the front yard of my Colorado cabin was blown down by the wind. That is a big tree so it must have been some strong wind. It toppled over roots up, with one segment going across a portion of the driveway and one toward the road. The good news is that it didn't hit the electrical wire that runs very nearby, nor did it hit the barn or the house or anyone's car or anyone's head. Whew! My renter-buddy Mark is already on top of the situation, having begun the arduous task of cutting it up. He'll have plenty of firewood this winter. The fourth of July festivities were pretty low-key at our house. We dosed the dogs with herbal doggie mellow-out pills, then did our best to keep them calm as the neighbor's grandkids fired off bottle rockets and other noisemakers. We also roasted a leg of lamb in our new smoker/bbq/grill. It's a very cool little contraption, and it wa...

Aloha all you blog fans. Sorry it's been several days since my last post. We've been busy, taking advantage of the nice weather, to mow, scoop, plant and till. Ron has continued his frenzied quest to rototill the entire island, or at our entire five acres, grinding up patches of dirt in one place to scoop up and drop into another place. His tilling has been curtailed, however, because of the huge amount of water it takes to clean the thing after each use. With the nice weather, our water catchment tank went from full to half in a very short time. So, it was either cut back on the tilling and subsequent need for massive amounts of water or resign ourselves to schlepping the dirty clothes off the the Laundromat and taking showers at the pool. Today, however, it is pouring. Mother Nature is doing her part to replenish our supply so we could be tilling again in a few days. That is, of course, weather permitting. I have now planted all our fruit trees. Last week, we purchase 10 coff...

Those of you who know me know I am not one who is known for her speed. "That Toni's got wheels" is not something anyone would ever say about me. I am reminded of my Deluxe softball days and, in thinking back, can still feel Tom Finocchiaro's hot breath on the back of my head, his hand gently but firmly pushing me in the back, trying to get me to run faster around the bases. Tom always batted cleanup. I was often up just before him and could be counted on for a single most of the time. I would get myself to first. Then Tom would hit me in with a colossal smash. Before I could reach second base, he was on my tail. That's how fast he was and how slow I was. "C'mon Toni," he would say from about one foot behind me. Sometimes he would even clip the backs of my heals with his toes. "Let's go! Keep going! You can do it. Run faster." If he'd only known how hard I was working to go that slowly. On a tennis court, however, I do have wheels. I...

Here is a picture of the happiest dog in the world. This is my Hoppsy. She's awesome. She is smart, funny and would make a respectable center fielder on any team. Even now, at the ripe old age of nearly 11, she can snag the tennis ball right out of the air. What a champ. Oh, and did I mention that she idolizes me and worships the ground I walk on. I've got to get one of those bumper stickers that reads, "I aspire to become the person my dog thinks I am." The other day, while swimming alongside triathlon girl, I was feeling a bit frumpy. Today, I was a cross between Janet Evans and Heidi Klum, gorgeous and fast in the water. That's because on one side was an enormous woman who could not actually swim. Rather, she walked back and forth across the pool. I give her credit, though. At least she was there. On the other side of me was a snail's pace breast stroker who did not seem to want to get her hair wet. My freestyle stroke sent me past her like an Olympic sprin...

It appears that Ron is experiencing the trip from hell. He was supposed to arrive in Hilo at 4:45 this afternoon after a long trip that took him to Colorado, Arizona and California. Instead, he was stuck at LAX for hours on end. He finally called to say that United would put him on a late afternoon flight and then arrange for a hotel in Honolulu since he would be arriving there far past the last departure to Hilo. He had a few other choice words about United. Apparently , there were hundreds of people stranded in Los Angeles, missing flights and connections. The lady standing in the line behind him was worried that her vacation would be over before she could get out of the airport. What a bummer. When he asked what was causing all the trouble, the gal behind the counter said, "It's summer." Hmmmm... Someone should buy the decision makers at United a calendar so they'll be able to see summer coming next time and can then prepare. Ron was in pretty good spirits, all thi...

While the gentrification of North Glenwood Road is in progress, that progress is decidedly slow. We, of course, for better or worse, are a part of that process, being the middle class haolis from the mainland that we are, transplanted to the rainforest. And there are a handful of others I've seen. These are people who actually walk their dogs on leashes like I do; people who mow their lawns and landscape; people driving SUVs. I even saw a guy jogging the other day. But it's nowhere near complete - this middle-class haolification if you will - of the neighborhood. Not by a long shot. There are still plenty of places with rusted old cars overgrown with foliage. There are sagging car ports and dilapidated catchment tanks. For every spoiled pet pooch in the neighborhood there's a farm animal or guard dog tied out in someone's yard. There are homes with rows of chicken shelters covering the front lawn and no small number of makeshift structures that have seen better days and...

More like buns of blubber! I started swinging a tennis racquet on Monday and running around a court again like a maniac. An old, fat maniac, but a maniac none-the-less. It was WAY fun. I really do love hitting tennis balls. I'm taking drill classes on Mondays and Thursdays. I happened upon a flyer posted to a downtown bulletin board advertising classes for kids, so I called the instructor on the off chance he might have something for adults. Voila! It's been a long while since I played regularly, so I peter out pretty fast. My butt is killing me! I haven't moved laterally like that in awhile. My butt and my shoulder and my forearm and hand from gripping the racquet - they're all letting me know they are alive and well but extremely sore for the moment. The pain should subside in a few weeks. And even if it doesn't, I don't really care. It's a blast. I'll just power down the Aspirin and keep on playing. It rained pretty hard last night and continued throu...

Either I am the world's slowest swimmer, or the girl in lane next to me at the pool today has some kind of kick. She was actually kicking, with a kickboard, using only her legs, and propelling herself faster than I was swimming with all of my appendages combined. I am slow, that's for sure; probably the slowest swimmer in the world. Still, that was some kick. As it so happens, she is a triathlete, training for her next race. She hopes to compete in the Ironman next year. She looked fit and buff and was also very nice. OK, so people watching doesn't always make one feel better about one's physique. Looking around though, there were still a few people splashing about today who were chubbier than me. The weather was warm and nice today. It's raining again tonight. That's just fine by me. It can rain every night for all I care. Just give me a little bit of sun sometime during the day. The weather man was reporting today's conditions as exceptionally hot with hig...

Let's say you're feeling a little down about your situation in life. Maybe work is a drag. Or you've put on a little weight. You're getting a little older and you don't like the additional lines you've noticed popping up on your face. Whatever your woe, I've got the cure. It's people-watching. That's right. Just spend a little time watching others and you will, in no time, feel better about yourself. The other day while filling a water jug at the Mountain View Store, I happened to get in a little people-watching by accident. My spot on the spigot afforded me the perfect view of the parade of low-lifes marching in and out of the tiny market. I watched one guy in utter amazement. He staggered out of the passenger seat of a car that had just pulled in and parked right in front of me. His hair was about shoulder length and brown, I think. It was hard to tell, since it had obviously not been washed in this century. Neither had his clothes. It was quite so...

Yesterday, I jumped on my newly repaired tractor, revved it up and proceeded out to the back 40 (OK, the back 4) to mow down more of the head high, gnarly grass overwhelming the property. I was cruising along nicely, making good progress, inch by inch, foot by foot, when --- whoa! I put it in reverse and nothing happened. The back wheels were spinning in the mud. No problem, I surmised. I'd had this happen before. Just lock the back hubs and power out. I tried it. The machine wouldn't budge. So I slammed the Deere into full four wheel drive. Still no go. Hmmmmm.... The front wheels were spinning too, but they did not seem to actually be touching anything. Turns out I had run them over a ledge, hidden well by vegetation, below which was a hole at least three feet deep. I tried a trick the tractor dude had taught us, whereby one lowers the loader to the ground and beyond, using it to lift the front wheels off the ground. When dropped all the way, the loader touched nothing. In fa...