Final stretch, and the lava's on the move again

When we broke ground on our new house late in January this year, our contractor Bob Kirk promised us a move-in date by Christmas, 2014. With only three weeks left to December 24, it's looking very good for us to be sleeping in our own house for the holidays! No pressure, Bob, just keep the pressure on the subs that stand between us and moving in!

The construction site was a beehive of activity yesterday. Bob and his remaining carpenter Ramon were there along with 7 guys from Zen Woodworking installing the cabinets and countertops, and the plumber came by to set up his next day's work, too. After some questions about whether the cabinets would hold everyone else up, Miles, the owner of Zen, got us back on track. You'll see how nice they all look in their not quite finished state in the photos below.

All three bathroom tiles are pretty much done, and should be completed today. I had to make a last minute decision not to use the floor tiles for the two guest room showers. The material Robert Welsch and I picked detracted from the warmth and elegance of the Italian wall tiles. We are going to have Bob Kirk do a half-inch cement pour and try to match the finish of the acid-stained cement lanai decks that he did earlier in the project for us. It's better to decide now to make the change than to live with something you don't like for a long, long time!

Remaining to be done is the final hookup and testing of the solar system and backup propane generator; plumbing including installing the toilets, faucets and other fixtures; setup and testing of the water purification system (more on that in a future blog-we're completely off grid for water and electricity) and the final electrical work. Now it's the custom-made hand distressed copper sconces and pendant lights that are late arriving from Bali. We didn't really understand that they were custom and would take this long when we ordered them from a catalogue. But they're in Honolulu on their way here to Pahoa now, and with luck, they'll arrive in time for installation by Christmas!

This evening I pick my husband Robert up at the airport. He's staying for three months and can't wait to see the progress in person.

Today's travelogue and video are photos of my latest houseguest Joe Crea's and my outing with our friend and guide Paul and his friend Joseph to visit the tidal pools, then the mermaid ponds, near us in Kapoho. The tidal pools are accessible only with permission from the owner of the private land we traversed to get to them. The owner Carl built himself a typical beach shack where he lives right by the crashing of the waves on the Kapoho shore. His property looks like a Hollywood set for an abandoned home in post-apocalyptic Earth. The natural beauty of the coast and the tidal pools and ponds is spectacular, especially in the "magic hour" for photography when we visited (right before sunset). Oh, one more thing. Note that like most places we visit in the Puna area where we live, we're the only ones there. It's rural and desolate out here-please don't tell anyone how beautiful it is or it will become like Honolulu!

Here's a link to the video in case the one above doesn't show up on your mobile device
http://tinyurl.com/tidalpoolsinWaWa

Lastly, a little bit about the "June 27 lava flow". The flow that was threatening our village of Pahoa stopped magically 170 yards above the main street. After a quiet couple of weeks, a new river of lava is barreling down the mountain. We can smell the smoke many days, and see it in the distance. The lava is about 2.3 miles above our village. It's not an immediate threat, yet, but it's headed directly toward the Malama Shopping Center as of now.

Aloha!