The Other Side of Paradise

Some of you picture Hawaii this tropical paradise, which it absolutely is. I’m going to provide a balanced view for you, the other side of paradise.

Gecko Poop – it’s everywhere. Be careful what you leave uncovered. We have one that must live on the ceiling, because there’s a fresh deposit on my dining table everyday. I’m ok with that. It would be wonderful if it would poop in the same place everyday; no surprises, I know where to look to clean up. I have found the poop next to my teacup and also next to

my breakfast brownies (both uncovered).

I believe these are moth “nests”. They’re a beautiful, funky lime green. I hung my new robe up and the next day there was one of these and I could feel something alive inside. Ewwwe....

Spiders. I don’t even bother taking the webs down, I’d have to do it everyday. The spiders have been the easy ones to make friends with, I have found.

Dumping the potty…remember, the toilet is down the stairs, around the path and 500 ft from the house.

Mosquitoes: it’s been 19 years since I lived around mosquitoes in Minnesota. They were a pain, but I never welted up from them. There are 6 kids of mosquitoes here. Four come out in the daytime and 2 at night. I find the daytime ones viscous! They are black and white striped with nasty red eyes. They come and get me while I’m distracted and making dinner. By the time I’m done with dinner, my legs look like this. Our house is not screened and really doesn’t have the possibility to be, the way the windows were put in. I’m told I won’t taste so good after I’ve been here for a little while. Where we were first staying there were mosquitoes that Jonathan and India reacted to and didn’t bother me. The opposite is true at this house. Clothing has been my best defense and once dinner is prepared, they all go away (or at least most of them!). (I know! I can't believe she showed that picture either!)

Ants – they’re roommates that don’t pay rent, eat your food and don’t clean up after themselves. Another critter I have just surrendered to being in my life. As long as they stay OUT of my packaged food, I can live with them.

Gardening

The whole reason for moving to this home was to garden. The property of 5 acres came with garden beds and a raised nursery.

The hurricane winds blew down the covering on the nursery and the ex-husband didn’t leave the beds ready for gardening as he said he would.

After seeing what the pigs have done to this yard and hearing what they’ve done to neighbor’s gardens, I have not been anxious to do any planting. Not to mention that the day-to-day living activities take more time here.

I felt like a hypocrite when my techy guy starts to plant seed with India. I must tell you something about Jonathan. He makes everything seem absolutely effortless. NOTHING is a big deal. He can watch India, clean the house, cook a full meal and have the dishes washed without breaking a sweat or feeling stressed at all. Maybe I just make everything seem/look really hard (that is something I’m looking at and working on – he is such an inspiration to me).

So they started some seeds: Cilantro, Lemon Cucumber, Hubbard Squash and Cumin.

The squash are so fun because they sprout so quickly, India asks to go out everyday and see them. We’ll keep you posted.

Now Jonathan is also my Garden Hero.

My Yard Hero

We are renting a place on 5 acres of Hawaiian Rain Forest. It rains here about 150” per year and the daily temp is 78 degrees. That means that EVERYTHING grows, A LOT.

I was apprehensive when we went to sign the lease. I am not a lawn mower/weed whacker. I’ve hooked up with a tech guy with baby soft hands (they are really very nice). Anyway, I was worried about all of the lawn maintenence, but J assured me that it would be no problem.

Well, 4 weeks went by with no lawn mowing. He hired a guy to mow and whack and he worked at it for 3 hours, just doing the basic stuff. He wasn’t very meticulous and J wasn’t as happy with his results as he had hoped to be.

Two weeks went by and lots of talk about mowing and I suddenly heard the sound of a gas powered engine! Yes, he was out mowing!!! He came in and said that was quite a job and that he really would rather work an hour and pay someone to do it. That just takes too long, how long was I out there anyway? “One hour.” One hour! That’s it? All that time and it was only one hour?! “Yes dear, that is great meditation time.”

That was 3 or 4 weeks ago…no sound of a gas powered engine except from around the neighborhood. People wonder about our neighbors. Across the street they’re on 20 – 25 acres and each family member is building a “house”. Next door there are 4 family members on 6 acres, each with their own home. They are our closest neighbors. Behind us is a Guava grove and someone has a home there for painting (from what I can tell, they’re never there). For the most part our home is very private – you’d have to WANT to see us to see us, if that makes sense. Our bathroom is outside, so it is good that our property is pretty hidden. Now if you have binoculars…enjoy the show! J

Rainbows

I am enjoying living here. I love this house and this land. I’ve been getting up early, because we go to bed so early, but also, because I want to see the sunrise. Some days it’s uneventful and some days it’s breath taking. Today you could see the top of the volcano clearly – it’s usually cloudy up there, so that’s neat. I also saw a rainbow that took my breath away.

It was close and bright and I could see BOTH sides!

And it was a double. How much more amazing could that be?

Look how vibrant the other side is!

The weather is wonderful – 66 – 68 in the mornings and then around 76 during the day. I really love the 70’s...very comfortable. It will be sunny, cloudy, rainy, sunny, rainy, and cloudy – all day long, that’s what today is like, you get all of the weather.

Did I mention I noticed a seasonal change the last of August? I’d been in Nevada for 18 years and it’s pretty flat seasonally. I did not anticipate coming to Hawaii and experiencing seasons. Granted, this is the 2nd season I’ve been in, we came just in time for summer to start, and now fall. In Vegas we didn’t get cooler weather (fall weather) until October, so it’s fun to have “fall” again. I LOVE fall. I know I won’t get to enjoy the leaves turning, but I love the slippers, robes and sweaters. It’s not sweater weather yet. I’ll take a picture and blog when it is, that’s for sure. I’ve already been into the Chai Tea in the mornings. That little India, she loves everything I love to drink. Today I had some Chocolate Caramel coffee, I know, I don’t drink coffee and when I did I didn’t drink flavored. We’ll, it looked good and was $4.99 @ Ross. A few times a month I enjoy it. It’s hard to say “no” to her all day long, so she got some w/ a little 1/2 and 1/2 and Chocolate Stevia - “yummy!” she said and hers was gone before mine. She’s definitely like her grandmothers, can’t keep her cup filled (those poor waitresses)!

Bananas

I got a little lesson in bananas from my neighbor last week. He told me that they like room, air, space and light and that I needed to trim the leaves and move the keikis (young banana trees).

I got the gumption the next day, after it rained. I got the hatchet and trimmed all but 3 leaves on every tree. It was amazing! Tiny tree frogs (I think) were leaping from the leaves. Even the earthworms were “jumping” from inside the branches. The earthworms here are wiry, feisty and strong. They really “jump” or hurl themselves into the air. (I would too if I could and was in that situation.) The branches are filled with water and worms (if you knew me in my worm composting days, or my youth, you would know this is very exciting for me – I love worms).

By the time I was done I was soaked and there were giant banana leaves all over the ground.

There are two stalks of bananas waiting to ripen and then I’ll need to chop those trees down. They die once they’ve produced. When you keep things thinned down and cleaned up all of the energy can go into the producing plants.

I think it takes 9 months for the banana to flower and ripen and 18 months from the plants start to finish. If anyone wants baby banana trees, come on over!

Birthday Gifts

 

Check out these great new, funky rain boots my parents sent me for my birthday! Rad, huh? What’s even radder, is that I NEED them! They’re practical AND cool. It’s very wet here, about 150 inches of rain per year. Yes, you Vegans – it’s a far cry from the less than 4” we got in Nevada. It’s a BLAST so far, 19 years in the desert, ah, my partched soul is soaking it up! Now, ask me how I like it in Feb, March and April when it’s been raining for 4 or 5 months… Anyway, India and I are LOVING our boots, I can’t wait to wear them into town. Thanks mom!

 

My grandma got me these cute, fuzzy slippers. Yes, it gets cool enough to wear slippers here!  We’re at 1300 ft (elevation) and it’s damp, so 67 degrees feels a bit chilly, plus, coming from dry, hot Vegas, I bundle up a bit more than most people here! I love it! I love to be cool and have cold feet, until I slip them into these slippers. Thanks grandma!

 

Jonathan got me this awesome computer stand. I can bring it to the bed and watch a movie. It keeps my lap top propped up, off my lap, so my legs don’t feel like they’re on fire while I blog AND it really helps my wrists by elevating my key board. He also got me these techy speakers. Have you ever listend to some songs or watched a movie and the volumes all the way up, but you can hardly hear it (especially when you’re getting 10/150 inches of rain on a tin roof)? Not with these powerful little things. And tin – no more tinny sound from a computer speaker. THANK YOU Jonathan!

 

Can we say Trader Joe’s? Yes, we can! Thanks to Don, who brought me my shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, maple syrup and brown rice pasta. Yum, yum and ahhhhh. Thank you Mr. Don!

The Loft

Every week I crawl up there and clean up India’s play space. We are working on “cleaning up” and keeping things nice and neat. We’ll get there. It’s nice and neat now, so you can see what it looks like.

 

This is a wooden dollhouse I won at a silent auction at the Waldorf School. I got it for a song!

 

I found this “baby bed” at the Transfer Station (dump) for $1. I think it’s a cathouse or something. Works great for India’s dolls. How many dolls get to take a nap in a tent? Her babie’s potty is close by. That’s how she potty trained herself, with a doll that pees. It only had to pee a week or so, she “trained” for about 6 months. She was diaper-free right around her 2^nd birthday. No diapers @ nap @ 2 ½ and no diapers at night when she was 3. Isn’t it nice to be saving $40+ a month? Oh, yes!

 

This is the suit case that holds the baby clothes for froggy – these are the 3 month old baby clothes that she squeezes her 3 ½ year old body in! She wants to wear them to the store, but that’s where I draw the line. I’ll post a fashion show for you, if I had a sense of humor, I would think it’s funny. I’m sure you all will. (Poor thing, having such a serious, strict mother. Should I start a fund for therapy now? She can at least thank me for that.)

Organization and Order! Yes, I’m on the Leo/Virgo cusp – August 21. 

Pineapples

 

Do you know how easy it is to grow a pineapple? Well, I haven’t done it yet, but all you have to do is stick the top of a pineapple in the ground and it will grow! After you harvest that pineapple, it will continue to grow another one. I think it does take about a year for each pineapple to grow, but if you replant each one, you’ll have a patch going!!!!

 

Many people live on farms on this side of the island and two friends each gave me a pineapple one day. Look at the size difference of the tops? The pineapples were the same size, sorry, I didn’t take a picture of them.  They were both WHITE pineapples, which are FAR less acidic than the yellows and MUCH sweeter – oh, they are soooo good! Oh, you also can eat the core; it’s almost unnoticeable. Awesome, huh? We now have at least two white pineapple in our patch.

 

This one is from are pineapple patch, the only one the ex-husband left for us. Anyway, it’s yellow and India said her mouth hurt eating it, so I think that’s enough pineapple for her for a few days. I did have to cut out the core, she kept handing it to me, all chewed up.

 

Playful Kitties

Well, I checked and Lilly and Rita are boys – but what’s a name? India named them, and should it matter that Lilly and Rita are boys? We’re living in freedom out here; so, Lilly and Rita are boys.

Just to refresh your memory, Rita is the black one with exotic green eyes, and the largest. She/he sort of seems to be the leader. I think she, he, is the leader because I’ve seen each cat lick her/him. Hmm, that doesn’t sound right, the mother licks the babies. Anyone with a pet psychology degree, help me out here. Anyways, much of the time the preening turns into wrestling; which is quite fun to watch (I enjoyed watching high school hockey). These cats RUN all over the place. They are fast, fearless and aggressive. (I did mention in a previous post that we have NO mice or rats – which run rampant in these parts, didn’t I? Side note: One lady had to get rid of her stove because the rats had made a home in it and no matter how many times she cleaned it out, it still smelled like rat hair whenever she used it. She must not have baked much.) 

 

Lilly is the ginger cat with ginger eyes. She, he, is the smallest and seems to possibly be the youngest and least dominant. She, he, may even still be a kitten.

 

Chrysanthemum IS a girl and she seems to be in the middle. She takes her paw and moves the food bowl closer to herself when it’s just her and Lilly eating.

 

Roughing It

 

Some of you are amazed at the change in lifestyle we’ve made. For me, this change has been in the making for a while. This is how I want India raised, in the country, in nature with room and space to use her imagination.

 

I love living in the country. I love how quiet it is and private. This is actually a great location; we’re 5 mn from a Laundromat – which I have to use – and a grocery store, hardware and about 6 restaurants. It’s a tiny town buy has a lot a restaurants – no fast food. I haven’t made any lotions – no need for them here. I brought a supply of oils. Everything is pretty expensive to ship here. The rule is anyone that visits must bring a box of Trader Joe’s goods.  :) I have adjusted to grocery shopping here, buying different things that are affordable. The other shopping, for the “stuff” is hard. It’s like a full time job, going to so many stores because no one store has everything, even Wal-Mart. They are out of so many things and now they’re remodeling so it is a complete disaster, just as school was starting too. I do feel like I live in Russia, the store will sell out of apples or eggs. Isn’t that crazy! It’s such a change from Vegas, but that’s what I wanted. Yes, Target, Trader Joe’s and Sam’s are greatly missed here, those were my 3 stores. I hate Wal-Mart, but it’s the only store, well, there is Ross. Things are actually cheaper, and of course better quality than at Wal-Mart, so I start there first. But I’m looking for a robe, no robes. Only moomoos. There are no slippers for children. So I do have to order things. I’m letting the grandma’s know what India needs. One sent $ or a flashlight for her. You should see how dark it is here when we arrive home late. The car is far from the house. We started parking closer to the house, but got stuck in the soggy soil and took 2 1/2 hours w/ a neighbor to get pulled out...

 

We have our hot shower and Jonathan added another washer and now we have water pressure – it’s wonderful! We also pulled out this “tub” and cleaned it up today, I’m bleaching it all night and I might have a tub (and a bath) tomorrow.

 

We’ve been without TV since Jan. It was easier than I thought. We had all the movie channels and cable and ended it between seasons. I started reading again, there's a lot of great books out there and I got recommendations from friends. Nothing beats a good book, a so-so one can make you quit reading for a while. I only miss TV when I’m sick and just want to lie around and don't have the motivation to read. We have movies we can watch on our lap top, but we go to bed early, when it gets dark, between 8 – 9pm. Just enough time to get dinner and clean up after Jonathan gets home.

The Yard

Banana, the grasses in front are Lemongrass

Papaya, Banana, Roses

Sugarcane on both sides of the "starters garden"

 

We have many banana trees, several varieties.

 

Hibiscus and Banana

Sugar Cane 

Yellow Ginger - divine....