Monthly post

Well, here we are again more than a month since my last post. To be fair there was a lot going on. I went to Hawaii...It was beautiful. Family time, was not so much. It's too bad but none of the conversations I had added up to a hill of beans when my dad decided I needed to do something. So that's the last trip. I'm not going to say anything more about it. I need to mend the damage that this did to my relationship with my dad. He is aware but we haven't really talked about it.

The highlight of my trip was snorkeling in Haunama bay. The reefs were so full of life and I could have spent hours doing it but didn't have the stamina for that. I spent about 2.5 hours in the water but then was nauseated and dizzy so I decided I needed to quit. That part was disappointing but it was so beautiful I'm glad I got the time I did.


We hiked to Manoa falls. It was slippery, muddy, and filled with people. However, the flora was so verdant and lush, it was awe inspiring.

The falls themselves were a little lackluster in comparison to Oregon falls but it was midsummer and they were barely a trickle. It astounded me that so few people paid attention to the signs telling hikers not to get into the water because it's contaminated with Leptospirosis. Adults and young children were playing in the pool at the base of the falls. I'm too cautious to take that kind of unnecessary risk.

Pearl Harbor ended up being prohibitively expensive for me. So while my sister's family went to Pearl Harbor the rest of us went to SeaLife park where the highlight was actually the aviary. It was full of love birds and cockatiels and there was food to feed them. It's so much more fun to interact than to watch. Lilly was fascinated by them.

Apparently, my hat was delicious and my brother a good perch.
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They did have a fun Dolphin show and a Whalphin- apparently the only known hybrid of a Dolphin and a Faux Orca.  She's also fertile and has a daughter.


I found an amazing store called Fabric Mart where I got these beautiful Hawaiian prints for $2.99 or $3.99 a yard.


We did go to Pearl Harbor in the end but just to walk around the public spaces.  Almost all the exhibits cost $40-$50 a piece so we stayed in the public places. Lilly had a lot of fun playing on the equipment.




We stayed in a family guest compound in Laie which was quite a luxury.  It is owned by a family that my SIL was a nanny for and they joined us for 4th of July.  My only complaint was it didn't have AC and there was stinging grass.  However, I had a lovely pool to swim in and we had lots of room to move.


There was a central living area with a kitchen, dining, living rooms and library and then three out buildings contained separate bedrooms and bathrooms.  The two buildings connected to the main space had two bedrooms and two bathrooms each and then a smaller building out by the pool had just one bedroom and bath but three beds.




Laie beach was just across from our driveway- It's called Pounders by the locals because the waves will pick you up and pound you into the sand.  We experienced that but it was still fun.  We went to another beach to allow Lilly time to play in the surf and to gently loll about.





We ate most of our meals on the Lanai and when I had time, I sat and knit there where the trade winds blew cooler air.



The property was littered with coconut trees and we had fun cracking coconuts a couple of times.  We also had avacados, breadfruit, and all manner of flowers.




The Polynesian Cultural center was just a short walk from our compound and we went there for a luau and show but didn't have nearly enough time to see the exhibits.  We got a tour but they said it takes 19 hours to see the whole thing and we never made it back.



There were other things- Fireworks at Turtle bay, seeing a sea turtle in the surf, and ukulele lessons but I'll let this be all for now.

Being Positive

(retrocative post)

Morning
Another lovely day. I love the little hummingbirds that come to the feeder on the back porch. I have a ton of grapes on my grapevines this year which I see every time I look out the back door or window. I also have a ton of lemon balm which we intend to harvest tonight and make into various yummy things. I love my Tuesday nights with Marian Harris and Trudi Trudchen Stuber. We get to be productive and creative, when we want to, and otherwise encourage and support each other.

Noon
I forgot my positive things at lunch so while I'm waiting for the car to cool here are a few. I had this really awesome talk about the SCA with one of our doc students who has only done Ren faires. He's really interested and may bring friends. He really tapped into my passion for this hobby.
I wrote a blog post about our trip to Hawaii and it was fun to relive the good memories and look back at pictures. I had yummy left overs for lunch today! Someone asked me for help with a furniture issue and I didn't have the right tools but just offering and trying helped me to start establishing a relationship with a new coworker. I had a nice chat with one of my coworkers today.

Evening
Tonight's positives double as progress reports. Tonight I picked a bunch of weeds (lemon balm)... enough to almost bale. Then Marian Harris, Trudi Trudchen Stuber, and I stripped the leaves off, washed them, and threw some in a jar with sugar and apple cider vinegar and the rest into a boiling pot of water. Both steeped-one while boiling. We strained the leaves out of the tea (boiling water plus leaves=tea, right?), added lemon juice, sugar, and pectin to make jelly and canned 30 1/4 pints and 7 half pints. So from weeds we made a lot of tasty jelly and shrub concentrate. While we did so, we planned out ideas for Christmas and marked additional preserve recipes to try, many with ingredients that we already have. And thankfully, before they left, the kitchen was put back in order. When I walked out to say goodbye I watched a family of nutria go skittering back down into the canal. And for entertainment, the cats are now chasing a fly with purposeful concentration which is to say with no regard to property, life, or limb.

Knitting content...

I have before and after blocking pictures of my Fiori di Sole.
Before:


After:


I also started a little shawlette just before we left for Hawaii and finished it the day I got home.  I'm calling it my little bit of Hawaiian sunshine.
Before:


After:


I've cast on the Pretty as a Peacock shawl in Malabrigo sock in the Solis color way.  I've been rather busy with other things so it's really not getting much attention.  However, I think I'll take it as my knitting to convention and maybe events, but I have sewing to do there.