Here goes...
And Now for the Back!...
There is still plenty of work left to do, but I'm so happy I was able to accomplish as much as we were able to do today! I'm going to sleep vvverrry good tonight!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Before and After
I've been spending a lot of time in my yard trying to clear up the post-construction mess. This is what I've accompished in the last three weeks. To get a real grasp of how much I've accomplished I'm going to show the before and after.
Here goes...
Here goes...
Monday, July 12, 2010
Day 1 of the Clean Up
I got off to a rough start this morning and really didn't get any of what I wanted to get cleared in the front yard accomplished. Instead I cleared some of the left over lumber in the back yard and when it started raining I spent the rest of the afternoon gardening in the rain. 
There is still so much to do this week. But tomorrow I am taking the day off to have a great 30th Birthday! It is going to be spent at the beach, eating good food and yummy cake!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Sunday Drive
After church today I took a little drive. There is nothing like the sweet smell of the lava, especially when the Lehua blossoms are in bloom. I don't know what it is that makes the lava smell so sweetly, but it is like nothing I could ever describe. It is similar to the way the scent of flowers floats through the air, except it is coming from what appears to be a black desert.
The lehua looks particularly beautiful after a rainstorm.
I drove up to my old house. It is as if time stopped when we left, and the only evidence of it passing is the deterioration of the street signs.
It has also gotten a lot more built up over the last ten years. Overall it was a very peaceful drive and ended with me stopping at my neighbor, Cocoa's house for gardening tips. I forgot to take a picture of her garden. She is originally from Thailand and makes wonders with our poor soil and limited water supplies. I always find inspiration from her garden. It is a hard landscape to grow things unless you can either spend a lot of money to amend your soil, or you have a super cool neighbor that does magic in her yard and can give you tips!
Friday, July 9, 2010
Daily Commute
The point in the distance is Kealakekua Bay, the original landing spot for Captain Cook. He was killed off the point and there is a large monument that marks the area. It is only accessible by boat or down a very rough 4-wheel drive road, if you know someone who has a key to unlock the gate. The bay itself is a beautiful spot to snorkel and kayak. Kona is on the other side of the point, which is roughly an hour north from where I live.
The 1 mile stretch from the highway to my driveway is definitely not for the faint of heart!
Macadamia Nuts from my neighbor's tree.
Lilikoi's (aka Passion Fruit) and some kind of wood flower that starts off as a nut and then flowers like a rose. It looks like someone carved a flower out of bark. Vines love our area. We have so many types of invasive species of vines it is hard to keep track of them all.
My neighbor's wild banana trees.
What foreclosure looks like in my neighborhood.
The sunset greeting me in my driveway.
Beautiful rainclouds that brought a very welcome surprise of rain!
My budding garden was very happy it rained!
I hope you enjoyed my trip home. Commuting an hour each way can be exhausting, but at least the drive is beautiful.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Hale like the House the Koa Wood built!
This is a happy birthday to my favorite White Rasta, Julia.
Julia and I met on a sunny Hawaiian day as she made the ever fateful decision to join First Hawaiian Bank (it is more a cult than a "job" environment).
Ah the joys and not so much fun days that we have experienced (maybe this should be an ode to Nunu?)...as Service Manager Associates. The late nights (ahem...May 29th, 2008? or was it 2007?).
Anyway, you are my favorite White Rasta that looks like a banker...well aside from Michael.
But that's another ode for another day.
Julia and I met on a sunny Hawaiian day as she made the ever fateful decision to join First Hawaiian Bank (it is more a cult than a "job" environment).
Ah the joys and not so much fun days that we have experienced (maybe this should be an ode to Nunu?)...as Service Manager Associates. The late nights (ahem...May 29th, 2008? or was it 2007?).
Anyway, you are my favorite White Rasta that looks like a banker...well aside from Michael.
But that's another ode for another day.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Time Passes 2 Quickly!
Somebody told me today that, "They couldn't believe it was already the end of May!"
I concur. I can't believe it is only 4 measly months until the entire family comes home for Pueo and Nicole's wedding! There is so much still to do.
Where to even begin! I think I need a vacation to catch up on the things I need to get done on my vacation!
I remember the days of old when vacations actually meant fun places to visit and a day spent relaxing at the beach. Instead I spend entirely too much time on home projects (and the worst part is that my home doesn't look like I've spent any time doing ANY type of project).
What is a girl to do?
What I need is a little help. My friend Amy suggested I date a Mexican, that way I automatically inherit his entire family to work on the farm.
That's just a little too high of a price tag for my comfort level.
What I need is an act of GOD.
I need it to rain more. I have figured out that the answer to all of my prayers is rain. The more it rains, the greener my yard will look. The more water I will catch in my catchment tank...which means I have more water to do laundry! The rain will also speed up the deterioration process of any garbage left over from construction, which will eliminate me having to take it to the dump. Grass will grow where now there is only dirt. The rain will also be good for my neighbors and their farms and the wild herd of goats will retreat back down the mountain and I won't have to worry about them eating my budding garden.
Rain will answer all my problems!
It is also only two months until my 30th Birthday! I'm trying to organize a big party. My friends, Michael and Julia, live in a barn and have wanted to throw a barn party. We decided (while slightly intoxicated at Nicci's daughter's 1st birthday this past weekend) to hold my 30th birthday party at their barn. We are pricing Kegs and I'm trying to find a theme that won't cost me very much money. It's my birthday. I would prefer to NOT spend very much money for a good time. It's also an excuse to set up my brother with my friend Jenna.
We shall see.
We shall see...that is if I look outside while the time is flying by!
I concur. I can't believe it is only 4 measly months until the entire family comes home for Pueo and Nicole's wedding! There is so much still to do.
Where to even begin! I think I need a vacation to catch up on the things I need to get done on my vacation!
I remember the days of old when vacations actually meant fun places to visit and a day spent relaxing at the beach. Instead I spend entirely too much time on home projects (and the worst part is that my home doesn't look like I've spent any time doing ANY type of project).
What is a girl to do?
What I need is a little help. My friend Amy suggested I date a Mexican, that way I automatically inherit his entire family to work on the farm.
That's just a little too high of a price tag for my comfort level.
What I need is an act of GOD.
I need it to rain more. I have figured out that the answer to all of my prayers is rain. The more it rains, the greener my yard will look. The more water I will catch in my catchment tank...which means I have more water to do laundry! The rain will also speed up the deterioration process of any garbage left over from construction, which will eliminate me having to take it to the dump. Grass will grow where now there is only dirt. The rain will also be good for my neighbors and their farms and the wild herd of goats will retreat back down the mountain and I won't have to worry about them eating my budding garden.
Rain will answer all my problems!
It is also only two months until my 30th Birthday! I'm trying to organize a big party. My friends, Michael and Julia, live in a barn and have wanted to throw a barn party. We decided (while slightly intoxicated at Nicci's daughter's 1st birthday this past weekend) to hold my 30th birthday party at their barn. We are pricing Kegs and I'm trying to find a theme that won't cost me very much money. It's my birthday. I would prefer to NOT spend very much money for a good time. It's also an excuse to set up my brother with my friend Jenna.
We shall see.
We shall see...that is if I look outside while the time is flying by!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Green Thumb. Me? Really?
The day before yesterday I found out that my thumbs have just a little green to them after all. All these years I really thought that genetic trait skipped me...but judging by the progress my small garden is making, it turns out I have a little bit of a green thumb!
I have tried repeatedly to start plants by seed to no avail. It turns out that I either wasn't giving them enough water, or the birds were eating them as soon as I was putting them out like a fourth grader eating halloween candy.
This month I made the decision to try to do it the right way. I gathered the necessary ingredients and went to work slowly. I inched in to the gardener nook, by starting with small vegetables already a few inches tall, such as tomatoes, peppers, and basil. I was hopeful that I would be able to do it as a real 'gardener' and bought a few packages of seeds. On Mother's Day my older brother came by for diner and also helped me get started. He was a little on the pessimistic side when it came to the cantaloupe though...but I told him not to doubt my budding ability. I still haven't planted the cantaloupe, but I intend too. That day we started the lettuce and a few of the green bean seeds. I made sure to water them daily, and was getting pretty discouraged up until this past Sunday, when I noticed that the green beans were over three inches and the lettuce had sprouted! I am super excited to get the back yard cleared and actually plant garden beds. As of right now I am dealing specifically in pots.
I have a few Mango trees, Avocado trees, and a whole lot of Rangpur limes, a Banana tree, dozens of orchids, some roses (that aren't doing very well), and left over poinsetta plants from Christmas. All of which need to be planted in the ground with my vegetables. I even have a few Jojoba bushes and a Rambutan tree. All of which (except the vegetables) are compliments of my brother. I'm not going to mention how many trees I've already killed that he has abandoned on the farm, it's just nice to know that I am finally able to grow something!
I have tried repeatedly to start plants by seed to no avail. It turns out that I either wasn't giving them enough water, or the birds were eating them as soon as I was putting them out like a fourth grader eating halloween candy.
This month I made the decision to try to do it the right way. I gathered the necessary ingredients and went to work slowly. I inched in to the gardener nook, by starting with small vegetables already a few inches tall, such as tomatoes, peppers, and basil. I was hopeful that I would be able to do it as a real 'gardener' and bought a few packages of seeds. On Mother's Day my older brother came by for diner and also helped me get started. He was a little on the pessimistic side when it came to the cantaloupe though...but I told him not to doubt my budding ability. I still haven't planted the cantaloupe, but I intend too. That day we started the lettuce and a few of the green bean seeds. I made sure to water them daily, and was getting pretty discouraged up until this past Sunday, when I noticed that the green beans were over three inches and the lettuce had sprouted! I am super excited to get the back yard cleared and actually plant garden beds. As of right now I am dealing specifically in pots.
I have a few Mango trees, Avocado trees, and a whole lot of Rangpur limes, a Banana tree, dozens of orchids, some roses (that aren't doing very well), and left over poinsetta plants from Christmas. All of which need to be planted in the ground with my vegetables. I even have a few Jojoba bushes and a Rambutan tree. All of which (except the vegetables) are compliments of my brother. I'm not going to mention how many trees I've already killed that he has abandoned on the farm, it's just nice to know that I am finally able to grow something!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Georgia Rain
Today I was feeling a little homesick for Georgia. You can't really call it 'Home Sick' if it isn't your home, but I don't know how else to express the pangs of longing I have for a place I spent four bliss-filled years of college.
It all started with a phone conversation from Jacqueline yesterday, and was then made worse by a NOVA documentary on storms and tornadoes. I had my first experience with storms in Georgia. The type of storms that cause your Grandmother to come running out of the house screaming for you to get out of the pool. My first experience with that happened when I arrived in Georgia for college a few weeks early and had some time to kill at Grandma's house.
All of my favorite weather experiences happened in Georgia (and some of my least favorite as well).
I miss the rain that would linger for a week at a time, and the clean, crisp cold air of spring, and the daffodils exploding to life in splashes of vibrant yellow. I miss the beauty of the brick buildings and the turning of the seasons, and most especially I miss the green grass.
I have brown grass. I'm not even sure you can really call it grass. Mostly it is weeds and dirt and rock and more dirt.
Followed by more weeds. Interspersed with building materials and moving garbage that hasn't made it's way to the dump yet.
I also miss my friends and being able to just have Sunday dinner, and Memorial Day Barbeque's. Instead I am in Hawaii. Where I am too busy to cultivate lasting relationships....but there is always the beach.
I'm just having one of those Blah Mondays.
It all started with a phone conversation from Jacqueline yesterday, and was then made worse by a NOVA documentary on storms and tornadoes. I had my first experience with storms in Georgia. The type of storms that cause your Grandmother to come running out of the house screaming for you to get out of the pool. My first experience with that happened when I arrived in Georgia for college a few weeks early and had some time to kill at Grandma's house.
All of my favorite weather experiences happened in Georgia (and some of my least favorite as well).
I miss the rain that would linger for a week at a time, and the clean, crisp cold air of spring, and the daffodils exploding to life in splashes of vibrant yellow. I miss the beauty of the brick buildings and the turning of the seasons, and most especially I miss the green grass.
I have brown grass. I'm not even sure you can really call it grass. Mostly it is weeds and dirt and rock and more dirt.
Followed by more weeds. Interspersed with building materials and moving garbage that hasn't made it's way to the dump yet.
I also miss my friends and being able to just have Sunday dinner, and Memorial Day Barbeque's. Instead I am in Hawaii. Where I am too busy to cultivate lasting relationships....but there is always the beach.
I'm just having one of those Blah Mondays.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Bye Bye Berkley
I am a bad dog owner.
No. Really. I am.
It is really quite sad to admit, but I am the epitome of someone who should NOT own a dog. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I've never owned a dog of my own as an adult, with no one else to blame for not spending enough time with the poor pooch, or not training him either. Berkley is half trained. He knows how to sit and shake but that is about it. He knows the word "Bad" really well, but it isn't his fault that I don't have enough time to exercise him. I would let him run around the 10 acres without a leash or chain if he would stay on the property, but he doesn't. He takes off as quickly as a rabbit being chased by a fox and heads down to my neighbors house and then straight up the road.
I have finally accepted the decision to give him away. It is sad. But not as sad as I thought it would be. I think I have found him a really good home with a co-worker that has a 1 acre fenced yard and a golden retriever that tears up her yard. I told her that Berkley doesn't dig up yards, he excavates them. He inherited my designer ability and is constantly remodeling his home. I showed her pictures of him today and will bring him by next week to introduce him to her and her family. I really hope that he does really well! It is also my fault that I've never socialized him, so he is a little shy of strangers.
Otherwise it is off to the Humane Society for Berkley. I really don't want to take him there, but at least he would get adopted by someone who will have time for him. If I had children to spend time with him it would be different.
I've decided that I'm definitely a cat person. Cats are easy. You don't need to tie them up, cage them in or clean up their poop. They live outside, come onto the porch for meals and drop by to give you a little pat on the foot.
Sad as it is, I am definitely a cat person. Avoir sweet little Berkley. Hopefully Pat will adopt you.
No. Really. I am.
It is really quite sad to admit, but I am the epitome of someone who should NOT own a dog. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I've never owned a dog of my own as an adult, with no one else to blame for not spending enough time with the poor pooch, or not training him either. Berkley is half trained. He knows how to sit and shake but that is about it. He knows the word "Bad" really well, but it isn't his fault that I don't have enough time to exercise him. I would let him run around the 10 acres without a leash or chain if he would stay on the property, but he doesn't. He takes off as quickly as a rabbit being chased by a fox and heads down to my neighbors house and then straight up the road.
I have finally accepted the decision to give him away. It is sad. But not as sad as I thought it would be. I think I have found him a really good home with a co-worker that has a 1 acre fenced yard and a golden retriever that tears up her yard. I told her that Berkley doesn't dig up yards, he excavates them. He inherited my designer ability and is constantly remodeling his home. I showed her pictures of him today and will bring him by next week to introduce him to her and her family. I really hope that he does really well! It is also my fault that I've never socialized him, so he is a little shy of strangers.
Otherwise it is off to the Humane Society for Berkley. I really don't want to take him there, but at least he would get adopted by someone who will have time for him. If I had children to spend time with him it would be different.
I've decided that I'm definitely a cat person. Cats are easy. You don't need to tie them up, cage them in or clean up their poop. They live outside, come onto the porch for meals and drop by to give you a little pat on the foot.
Sad as it is, I am definitely a cat person. Avoir sweet little Berkley. Hopefully Pat will adopt you.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Another Day Gone Bye
Why is it that I have so many great ideas for what I want to do with the house and yard throughout the week, but once the weekend hits I am too tired or busy to do any of it! Last weekend I had a list of things I needed to do, and I actually sat on the sofa and pondered what to do first. Instead, I ended up procrastinating and doing everything but the list of things I needed to do. I will be so happy when I have the house finished and no longer need to spend my weekends unpacking, redoing furniture and reorganizing! What is even more frustrating is that there is so much to do in the house that I haven't even started on the yard. It is a little overwhelming, the tasks I have yet to complete.
This past weekend was supposed to take care of the little items like injecting poison into the buffet and desk that are infected with the bore-beetle that is devouring them; washing out the chest that I still need to sand and re stain that goes in the bathroom, cleaning the bathroom, bringing Mom's dressers up and storing them until I have the time to strip and paint them; moving the stuff under the tarps in front of the house to somewhere that is free under the house! You get the picture...there is still a lot to do!
However, I did have fun this weekend. Wild'n came down on Saturday and we had a great time visiting with him. He came to pick up the "new" dryer that Mom has had under the house for the last decade that she got for a steal at a moving sale a really long time ago. The outside looked like you would expect it to look after being stored in the open eaves under our house. It was covered in grime and rust, but the inside actually looked as new as it was when she originally bought it. I did break it to Wild'n that even though it was "new" it probably wasn't Star Energy rated. We had a great laugh at that one.
The one task that Wild'n was able to help me with that was on my list was to move the monkey pod slab that was formerly a table top, to behind my bed as my new headboard. I'll have to post pictures when I finally figure out how to do that. Until then I'm going to get back to watching the biggest loser. Pray it rains, we really need it!
This past weekend was supposed to take care of the little items like injecting poison into the buffet and desk that are infected with the bore-beetle that is devouring them; washing out the chest that I still need to sand and re stain that goes in the bathroom, cleaning the bathroom, bringing Mom's dressers up and storing them until I have the time to strip and paint them; moving the stuff under the tarps in front of the house to somewhere that is free under the house! You get the picture...there is still a lot to do!
However, I did have fun this weekend. Wild'n came down on Saturday and we had a great time visiting with him. He came to pick up the "new" dryer that Mom has had under the house for the last decade that she got for a steal at a moving sale a really long time ago. The outside looked like you would expect it to look after being stored in the open eaves under our house. It was covered in grime and rust, but the inside actually looked as new as it was when she originally bought it. I did break it to Wild'n that even though it was "new" it probably wasn't Star Energy rated. We had a great laugh at that one.
The one task that Wild'n was able to help me with that was on my list was to move the monkey pod slab that was formerly a table top, to behind my bed as my new headboard. I'll have to post pictures when I finally figure out how to do that. Until then I'm going to get back to watching the biggest loser. Pray it rains, we really need it!
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