Countdown 'til move-in by Christmas! And a little travelogue...

Sometime last month, I switched from thinking about our new place as a construction site. I now see it as our soon-to-be Hawaii home. It's looking very livable, and it's easy to slip into the reverie of Robert and me sitting on the lanai with a glass of wine, watching the sunset. What I noticed today (Sunday as I write this) is the serene quiet that comes from living on 11 acres.  I can hear the Pacific waves crashing sometimes, and birdsong fills the jungle.

One major accomplishment since the last blog is the custom barn doors and screens are completed and installed on both the main house and the master suite. Eric (the lead carpenter) and Ramon are rightfully proud of their work. I told them that the doors are so fine they look like a piece of furniture! Eric even added a custom Sapele wood cover over the rails from which they hang. 

The electricians completed everything they can do until the kitchen cabinets are in, which is scheduled for this week. Their next big job is to hang the handmade sconces and pendant lights...once the shipment arrives from Bali. Silly me, I thought since I saw them in a catalog that they would be available "off the shelf". Without them installed, we can't get our final inspection, and I am betting they will hold us up!

Assuming that our solar installation guy Jeremiah completes his work in a couple weeks, the next blog will focus on living "off the grid". We have solar panels and batteries with no connection at all to the local grid. We get our water the old-fashioned way, by collecting and then purifying rainwater. 

PS The fire, smoke and threat of the lava has subsided for a bit (the lava flow stopped a scant 170 yards above Pahoa Village Road after burning just one house-it may be temporary but we are enjoying it!). 

TRAVELOGUE

It's amazing just how magical the island of Hawaii can be. Last week friends visited from L.A. We went out on a night snorkeling trip where we floated off a diving platform while enormous, 8-14' wingspan manta rays swam within a few feet of us. Once I got over the shock of their proximity, and convinced myself that those enormous mouths only eat plankton, not 60 year old guys, I relaxed and opened myself up to the experience. It became just the manta rays and me while I floated mesmerized, almost hypnotized by the majestic grace of these huge creatures-I highly recommend you give this a try when in Hawaii!

Even better is what happened twice this week. Every morning I hike to the ocean, then swim in the 81 degree water off Kehena Beach.  On Sunday before my friends Dan and Phil arrived for a few days, I was able to swim out and play for a long time with wild dolphins right off Kehena Beach. Monday and Tuesday, we were all on the lookout, but no dolphins came by. Wednesday, the last morning my friends were in town, a large pod of 30-50 dolphins swam near Kehena again. We donned mask and flippers and swam out to be greeted by playful spinner dolphins. They pinged us with their sonar while swimming circles around and then underneath us. Just like with the mantas, the proximity of these wild, beautiful mammals gives you pause for a few moments. Then you realize that the dolphins just want to play, and they seem as delighted to be around us as we are to be with them. 

After these magical swims, you have a huge smile the rest of the day. As a French woman friend put it when I told her how wonderful I felt, she said, "yes, you feel like giggles all day long!". 

Custom made pocket door pickled to match walls-come on in!

Custom made screen doors in Sapele wood

Stefano climbing and cutting coconuts

No can openers were available so Stefano resorted to a trusty, rusty machete to open a coconut. The juice is incredibly refreshing...and I make a mean "Puna Colada" with it!

This guy had fallen from a tree and was happily blooming on the ground last week. 

Bathroom tiles going up!

The Hale LaLaLa crew checking out one of our 400 coconut palms

Ricky peeling an orange from our fruit grove

Jonathan during his visit

The electricians finished almost all the lighting and wiring this week

Custom-made doors from afar

Balinese Capiz shell doors in master suite

Look at the play of light on the lanai ceiling and the doors, wow! 

Balinese Capiz shell doors with custom made Sapele wood frames and screens in main house suite

Acacia wood floor marries well with the Sapele of the door frame

Dan at Uncle Robert's Beach

Phil at Uncle Robert's Beach

Dan and Phil touring the house and gardens

Dan is a landscape architect. He was inspired by the tropical gardens he saw!

Myself, Michael Barton and David Rubin after the snorkel trip-Elation all around!

Tadeya and friend, and David Rubin, Michael Barton and me before the  manta swim

Manta pics from our boat crew. I had an underwater camera but was so taken with the experience that  I didn't want to interrupt with fumbling with a camera! By the way, note the markings distinct to each manta. Local researchers have catalogued and named all of the over 230 mantas of the Kona coast.

Construction and destruction (from lava flow, but NOT OUR HOUSE) on track

There's nothing like a molten river of 2000+ degrees hot lava to get your attention and focus your thoughts. Bob Kirk and his crew have moved quickly to get deliveries before the road is taken out by lava. The forecast now is for sometime next week. We will still have access to Hilo (our "big" city where we stock up supplies and groceries), but it will take longer. And I am sure traffic will be Hell with all of us driving through neighborhoods with streets not designed for commuter volume.

The good news is that the house project is on track for us to move in by Christmas. In the main house, the wood floors upstairs are installed. The kitchen cabinets are being custom-built right now, and will be in by Thanksgiving. The electrician and the solar guys are scheduled to complete the set up of the electrical system and solar power in November. Downstairs, drywall is up and painted with two coats, one to go, of a cheery bright yellow. Ceiling fans are in, and all the large windows went into the eaves.

In the master hale, all the tongue and groove wood walls and ceilings are complete. The master bathroom drywall is taped, and was probably painted today. Next week the floors are going down.

It's starting to feel like our home and less like a construction site! I even drove over to the Kona side of the Big Island on a furniture shopping trip this week and filled a 14' box truck with a beautiful, unique elephant bamboo sectional; 8 woven bamboo chairs; and a special, hand-carved, painted five foot tall Thai lady statue.

In downtown Pahoa, our little village, the lava will cut it in half next week. It's already crossed a couple roads and is poised to take out the main highway in a few days. Yes, it's a tragedy, but we are all drawn to the molten lava like moths to a flame. Viewing the 2100 degree lava is awe-inspiring and depressing at the same time. I was feeling sorry for myself until I saw a video of an elderly lady in her home. She read the evacuation notice she had just gotten since her home is in the lava flow and will burn soon. She calmly read it, then called her daughter to come help her pack. Our home is not threatened by the lava which is 7 or more miles away and moving downhill toward the ocean, not towards us. So it could be much worse for us, and I gain good perspective on dealing with disaster and the wonder of lava flow every day.

Aloha for now! Send your comments and love our way!

Oh, one last thing. Here's a 1 minute video I shot yesterday in downtown Pahoa where the lava is about to engulf the road, it's quite surreal!

 http://tinyurl.com/Pahoascene

These are apple bananas. If you've never tasted an Hawaiian, fresh off the tree banana, you're missing out! The ones you buy in stores back East are McIntosh, bred to ship, not to taste good. 

Who needs Fall when we have Australian Flame Trees blazing red for us here?

Custom-made doors for bathrooms' pocket sliders

The loft, or where you'll stay if you arrive uninvited ;-)

Kitchen before wood floor went in

Guest bedroom before painting

Bob Kirk painting guest bathroom

Master Hale-I love the play of the sun shining in!

Ginger flower

Stunningly blue ginger flower

Orchid straying into the vireya trail

 Bromeliads below...

First coat of yellow in guest bedrooms

Kitchen and living room floors almost done. Look at the beautiful triangles of light from the windows above. 

Me at Kehena Beach today. Even if there's a volcano flowing, it's still 80, sunny and a paradise!

First building on fire in Pahoa Oct. 27. Note that smoke is black. It only turns white if firefighters douse it with water. There's no saving structures in the direct path of the flow.