I did a little research and apparently slugs to not like sand. It will cut their underside and kill them. So, Quincie and I gathered a small bucket of sand at the beach. My precious plants are now protected with sand fortresses.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Slug Battle - Round 2
I did a little research and apparently slugs to not like sand. It will cut their underside and kill them. So, Quincie and I gathered a small bucket of sand at the beach. My precious plants are now protected with sand fortresses.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Poison Dart Frogs
This one is for Linda, the frog lover!
Carl was at a home in Manoa last week and saw this cool frog and several of its friends. He said they were so fast it was hard to snap a photo.
Here is the Wikipedia article about it.
Carl was at a home in Manoa last week and saw this cool frog and several of its friends. He said they were so fast it was hard to snap a photo.
Here is the Wikipedia article about it.
I cannot bear it
I finished The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte a few days ago. It is a wonderful book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is the sort of novel I want to write. The characters are real, and the story is interesting, yet believable. I love the language of this book, especially the expressive way the characters speak to each other.
I picked up a new pet phrase, "I cannot bear it". It sounds so much more dignified and dramatic than, "this sucks" or "I can't take it anymore". This phrase can be employed in all sorts of situations. ie. "I cannot bear it if on my daily visit to my humble lettuce patch I should discover another tender plant has been devoured by those ruinous slugs!"
I enjoyed this story so much I was sad to reach the end. That was the last unread Bronte sister book on my list. I spent a couple days looking for my next book. Nothing seemed right. After reading something so delightful I could not bear the thought of a silly, modern novel, or a serious instructional book. I decided to try something different. I selected a book of classic poetry. The experience has been wonderful.
It is a short collection of poems from some of the most well known poets of the romantic age. Keats, Wordsworth, Shelley, etc. Listening to it has been very enjoyable. The narrators voice really helps bring them to life. I have gone to the internet to look up and read with my eyes some of my favorites and to learn more about the lives of the poets. Fascinating.
TO MY SISTER
William Wordsworth
I picked up a new pet phrase, "I cannot bear it". It sounds so much more dignified and dramatic than, "this sucks" or "I can't take it anymore". This phrase can be employed in all sorts of situations. ie. "I cannot bear it if on my daily visit to my humble lettuce patch I should discover another tender plant has been devoured by those ruinous slugs!"
I enjoyed this story so much I was sad to reach the end. That was the last unread Bronte sister book on my list. I spent a couple days looking for my next book. Nothing seemed right. After reading something so delightful I could not bear the thought of a silly, modern novel, or a serious instructional book. I decided to try something different. I selected a book of classic poetry. The experience has been wonderful.
It is a short collection of poems from some of the most well known poets of the romantic age. Keats, Wordsworth, Shelley, etc. Listening to it has been very enjoyable. The narrators voice really helps bring them to life. I have gone to the internet to look up and read with my eyes some of my favorites and to learn more about the lives of the poets. Fascinating.
TO MY SISTER
William WordsworthIT is the first mild day of March:
Each minute sweeter than before
The redbreast sings from the tall larch
That stands beside our door.
There is a blessing in the air,
Which seems a sense of joy to yield
To the bare trees, and mountains bare,
And grass in the green field.
My sister! ('tis a wish of mine)
Now that our morning meal is done,
Make haste, your morning task resign;
Come forth and feel the sun.
Edward will come with you;--and, pray,
Put on with speed your woodland dress;
And bring no book: for this one day
We'll give to idleness.
No joyless forms shall regulate
Our living calendar:
We from to-day, my Friend, will date
The opening of the year.
Love, now a universal birth,
From heart to heart is stealing,
From earth to man, from man to earth:
--It is the hour of feeling.
One moment now may give us more
Than years of toiling reason:
Our minds shall drink at every pore
The spirit of the season.
Some silent laws our hearts will make,
Which they shall long obey:
We for the year to come may take
Our temper from to-day.
And from the blessed power that rolls
About, below, above,
We'll frame the measure of our souls:
They shall be tuned to love.
Then come, my Sister! come, I pray,
With speed put on your woodland dress;
And bring no book: for this one day
We'll give to idleness.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Gardening Again
My first experiment in gardening in Paradise was semi successful. Nearly everything sprouted, and we actually harvested some tomatos and cucumbers. The basil from a year ago is still alive and kicking. After the slugs ate my cucumber plants, and the cilantro never made it past 4 true leaves, I gave up. For a while. That was about 5 months ago. Last week I started gardening again. I just can't resist. There is something very satisfying about growing food.
Produce shipped from the mainland is ridiculously expensive and rather poor quality. The week boat ride drives up the cost, and doesn't do much for freshness. We eat a lot of fresh vegetables. Quincie and Carl especially love them. I love to cook with cilantro and in Utah it grew like a weed. It was easier to grow cilantro than grass in my front yard. It's pretty awesome when you mow the lawn and it smells like salsa.
It is a whole new ball game to garden in Hawaii. I thought it would be easy. It is exactly the opposite of the Utah climate. It is humid, warm, nearly always sunny. Sounds perfect! Gone were the days of freezing June nights and scorching August days! You can dig with a plastic shovel, rather than a jack hammer. Those points are as great as they sound, but they come at a cost. Living in Paradise is never free!
First off, there are slugs. They are big, fat, and very, very hungry. They ate an entire bed of fully mature cucumber plants in a few days. These plants were loaded with cucumbers, in various stages of growth. I thought all those prickly, itchy, fuzzy things on the stems and leaves were supposed to keep critters like slugs off. Guess not. By the time I figured out what was going on, they were dead. Such a sad, and useless death. Salt is the prescribed revenge. Apparently it makes them dissolve, just like water and the Wicked Witch.
Second, there is the soil. It is salty, and on our part of the island, mostly red dirt, which is full of too much iron. No need to eat red meat, just eat some home grown tomatoes to get your iron. If you can get them to grow. I have since learned to add a TON of potting soil to the dirt if you want to have much success. Growing in a container, filled with potting soil, is also a good idea. You can move it around, and out of the way of horrid things such as slugs.
Third, the temperature. Some things just don't grow right when it is ALWAYS between 70 - 80 degrees. Corn doesn't get too sweet if you don't break 90 for at least a week. Lettuce does so much better if the nights drop below 65. Tomatoes, also like the heat to ripen. I found that growing hybrid varieties that were specifically developed for Hawaii makes a big difference.
Fourth, the jungle. The things that grow well here, really, really grow well here. I am not kidding. In the year we have lived in this house a TREE has grown from nothing, to 7 or 8 feet tall. I did not plant this tree. Some other tree produced a seed that happened to blow into my yard, and it happened to sprout and grown. The trunk doesn't have much of a diameter, but it is 7 or 8 feet tall! In Utah that would be a miracle. Here, it is annoying, weed, that much be chopped down rather than pulled or whacked with a weed whacker.
I am now the happy gardener of cocktail tomatoes, Manoa lettuce, cucumbers, and some cilantro. The cilantro doesn't look so good, but I love it so much I am willing to keep trying until I achieve success. I have planted some mini bell pepper seeds, but no sprouts yet. Hopefully in a few weeks we will be eating home grown veggies again. Wish me luck with the slugs!
Produce shipped from the mainland is ridiculously expensive and rather poor quality. The week boat ride drives up the cost, and doesn't do much for freshness. We eat a lot of fresh vegetables. Quincie and Carl especially love them. I love to cook with cilantro and in Utah it grew like a weed. It was easier to grow cilantro than grass in my front yard. It's pretty awesome when you mow the lawn and it smells like salsa.
It is a whole new ball game to garden in Hawaii. I thought it would be easy. It is exactly the opposite of the Utah climate. It is humid, warm, nearly always sunny. Sounds perfect! Gone were the days of freezing June nights and scorching August days! You can dig with a plastic shovel, rather than a jack hammer. Those points are as great as they sound, but they come at a cost. Living in Paradise is never free!
First off, there are slugs. They are big, fat, and very, very hungry. They ate an entire bed of fully mature cucumber plants in a few days. These plants were loaded with cucumbers, in various stages of growth. I thought all those prickly, itchy, fuzzy things on the stems and leaves were supposed to keep critters like slugs off. Guess not. By the time I figured out what was going on, they were dead. Such a sad, and useless death. Salt is the prescribed revenge. Apparently it makes them dissolve, just like water and the Wicked Witch.
Second, there is the soil. It is salty, and on our part of the island, mostly red dirt, which is full of too much iron. No need to eat red meat, just eat some home grown tomatoes to get your iron. If you can get them to grow. I have since learned to add a TON of potting soil to the dirt if you want to have much success. Growing in a container, filled with potting soil, is also a good idea. You can move it around, and out of the way of horrid things such as slugs.
Third, the temperature. Some things just don't grow right when it is ALWAYS between 70 - 80 degrees. Corn doesn't get too sweet if you don't break 90 for at least a week. Lettuce does so much better if the nights drop below 65. Tomatoes, also like the heat to ripen. I found that growing hybrid varieties that were specifically developed for Hawaii makes a big difference.
Fourth, the jungle. The things that grow well here, really, really grow well here. I am not kidding. In the year we have lived in this house a TREE has grown from nothing, to 7 or 8 feet tall. I did not plant this tree. Some other tree produced a seed that happened to blow into my yard, and it happened to sprout and grown. The trunk doesn't have much of a diameter, but it is 7 or 8 feet tall! In Utah that would be a miracle. Here, it is annoying, weed, that much be chopped down rather than pulled or whacked with a weed whacker.
I am now the happy gardener of cocktail tomatoes, Manoa lettuce, cucumbers, and some cilantro. The cilantro doesn't look so good, but I love it so much I am willing to keep trying until I achieve success. I have planted some mini bell pepper seeds, but no sprouts yet. Hopefully in a few weeks we will be eating home grown veggies again. Wish me luck with the slugs!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Workspace
I have worked from home for years. Sometimes my desk has been in a corner of my bedroom, and sometimes I have had an actual office with a door. Since I switched from a PC to a laptop a few years ago my "office" has been where ever I can sit with my computer - the kitchen table, my bed or the floor of an airport - anywhere with an outlet nearby.
For the last year the kitchen table has been my primary office. I have been happy to be home, and not wasting hours of my life sitting in traffic. I love being in the heart of our home where I can multi-task and interact with my family. My days go something like this - 5:30am alarm goes off, make sure both kids are up, fire up the laptop and check email while I start a load of laundry. 6:00am, drive them to seminary, come home, move laundry around, check my "to do" list for the day, find something to eat, and start a load of dishes...
I am able to bounce back and forth between business tasks and home tasks all day long. It is precisely the life I choose. The following is not a complaint, or whining, just a simple fact.
Working at the kitchen table comes with certain drawbacks, and even a few risks. Either I pack it all up multiple times a day or my laptop and work papers are present during meal time. Neither is great. I don't like to put away a project until it is complete. I like to end each day with a clean desk, which means, completed work. While not always possible, it is what my brain prefers. So, my laptop and stacks of papers have joined us for many a meal.
Definitely not relaxing to have work staring me in the face while I ate. Definitely not sending the message to my family that I am focused on them with my work staring them in the face during family time. Certainly not a safe place for papers and electronics.
A few weeks ago as my computer narrowly escaped a spilled drink, I stated working on a plan to carve out some dedicated workspace. I had been having a hard time focusing on my work and thought maybe it was time for a real desk again.
After eliminating some clutter, and annoying Ryker and Carl with excessive furniture rearranging, I freed up a few square feet of space for a desk. It needed to be just the right desk. I didn't want my back to the door, or to the window. I like looking out the window while I work. Amazingly I found exactly what I wanted on Craigslist - for $25!!.
I asked the kids what they thought of how I had rearranged the house. They both said it feels more homey. Interesting how the addition of a work desk to the corner of the dining area has made our house feel more homey to them. I think it is because the family space is no longer invaded by my work. The kitchen table is now for eating, and doing other family things. My office supplies and other work items are put away, and it feels better. I like it.
For the last year the kitchen table has been my primary office. I have been happy to be home, and not wasting hours of my life sitting in traffic. I love being in the heart of our home where I can multi-task and interact with my family. My days go something like this - 5:30am alarm goes off, make sure both kids are up, fire up the laptop and check email while I start a load of laundry. 6:00am, drive them to seminary, come home, move laundry around, check my "to do" list for the day, find something to eat, and start a load of dishes...
I am able to bounce back and forth between business tasks and home tasks all day long. It is precisely the life I choose. The following is not a complaint, or whining, just a simple fact.
Working at the kitchen table comes with certain drawbacks, and even a few risks. Either I pack it all up multiple times a day or my laptop and work papers are present during meal time. Neither is great. I don't like to put away a project until it is complete. I like to end each day with a clean desk, which means, completed work. While not always possible, it is what my brain prefers. So, my laptop and stacks of papers have joined us for many a meal.
Definitely not relaxing to have work staring me in the face while I ate. Definitely not sending the message to my family that I am focused on them with my work staring them in the face during family time. Certainly not a safe place for papers and electronics.
A few weeks ago as my computer narrowly escaped a spilled drink, I stated working on a plan to carve out some dedicated workspace. I had been having a hard time focusing on my work and thought maybe it was time for a real desk again.
After eliminating some clutter, and annoying Ryker and Carl with excessive furniture rearranging, I freed up a few square feet of space for a desk. It needed to be just the right desk. I didn't want my back to the door, or to the window. I like looking out the window while I work. Amazingly I found exactly what I wanted on Craigslist - for $25!!.
I asked the kids what they thought of how I had rearranged the house. They both said it feels more homey. Interesting how the addition of a work desk to the corner of the dining area has made our house feel more homey to them. I think it is because the family space is no longer invaded by my work. The kitchen table is now for eating, and doing other family things. My office supplies and other work items are put away, and it feels better. I like it.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Just Plain Odd
It's Sunday evening, dinner is done, kids are in bed, and here I sit in the cool, quiet solitude of my dinning room. I can hear the waves of the ocean and smell the coming rain. There is nothing much going on at the moment, and that is nice. It is very, very unusual. I am not quite sure what to do with myself. I am just tired enough that if I were to read I am sure I would be asleep in about 5 minutes. I could do as my mother would, and putter around the house tidying things up. I do have a basket of clothes left to fold, but it's nothing urgent.
Do you have any idea how odd that is? That I don't have anything that I perceive as urgent to do? I am sure that there are moments all the time without any urgent demands on my time, but I have my own agenda, and I ALWAYS perceive something or another is urgent.
I have gone through my nightly ritual of making my "to do" list for the next day. Plenty of junk to do tomorrow. Some might even be urgent. The way my brain works, it is best to make my lists at night. Once I get it all out on paper, or in my computer, I can let it go and rest. If it is all still bouncing around in my head it is difficult for me to relax.
Do you ever notice that sometimes your shoulders are tense and elevated, like they are protecting your ears? A long time ago someone told me to put my shoulders down and relax. I think it was a chiropractor. I must tell myself that 20 times a day. It's a good first step to relaxing the rest of your body. They are down where they are supposed to be right now without any self reminder. Just plain odd.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
The Beach in a Bottle?
The beach has a magical effect on my body. It's like a trip to the best spa in the world to me. I leave the beach feeling pampered and beautiful. I am not sure if observers would agree with my assessment, but the beach makes me glow inside and out. I am so lucky to live where I do right now. I need to go to the beach more often. We went on Saturday and I still feel great!
I love "beach feet" The sand buffs my nails so they shine, and does something magical to all those rough dry spots. I love to walk on the sand - both hot and dry, and cool and wet. The feeling of sand between my toes is sensory pleasure on the most basic level.
The beach is a perfect place for sleeping. Mattresses should be made out of sand. It doesn't take much to arrange the sand under a towel for a perfectly contoured fit. Between the comfort of the sand mattress and the sound of the waves crashing, a nap is inevitable. The sun is warm, but the breeze is cool. It is perfect.
I don't know exactly what it is, but my hair is great at the beach. All the natural waves and curls are released, but the frizzy fuzz is nowhere to be seen. I think it might be the combination of the salt water and the constant breeze. It's like having my hair slowly blown dry on cool - the ultimate diffuser! I am seriously considering making a spray bottle of sea water to spray my hair with, just to see if I can get that effect at home. I always hate to take a shower after a trip to the beach and ruin that fabulous natural do.
I think the very best beauty secret of the beach is what it does for my skin. My skin is so soft for hours after the beach. No lotion or potion on the market can even come close. It is baby butt perfect - soft, silky, and smooth. The sand must exfoliate and the salt water hydrate. The little bit of color from the sun only adds to the effect. I am lucky that I don't burn easily. I love the feel of the sun on my skin. If only I could buy a skin treatment that even promises to deliver those kind of results.
Swimming in the waves is so relaxing. It is like a gentle massage. All the tension seems to float away, each wave taking it further and further from me.
The beach is truly magical, and better than any spa. If I could capture that magic in a bottle, I'd send you some.
I love "beach feet" The sand buffs my nails so they shine, and does something magical to all those rough dry spots. I love to walk on the sand - both hot and dry, and cool and wet. The feeling of sand between my toes is sensory pleasure on the most basic level.
The beach is a perfect place for sleeping. Mattresses should be made out of sand. It doesn't take much to arrange the sand under a towel for a perfectly contoured fit. Between the comfort of the sand mattress and the sound of the waves crashing, a nap is inevitable. The sun is warm, but the breeze is cool. It is perfect.
I don't know exactly what it is, but my hair is great at the beach. All the natural waves and curls are released, but the frizzy fuzz is nowhere to be seen. I think it might be the combination of the salt water and the constant breeze. It's like having my hair slowly blown dry on cool - the ultimate diffuser! I am seriously considering making a spray bottle of sea water to spray my hair with, just to see if I can get that effect at home. I always hate to take a shower after a trip to the beach and ruin that fabulous natural do.
I think the very best beauty secret of the beach is what it does for my skin. My skin is so soft for hours after the beach. No lotion or potion on the market can even come close. It is baby butt perfect - soft, silky, and smooth. The sand must exfoliate and the salt water hydrate. The little bit of color from the sun only adds to the effect. I am lucky that I don't burn easily. I love the feel of the sun on my skin. If only I could buy a skin treatment that even promises to deliver those kind of results.
Swimming in the waves is so relaxing. It is like a gentle massage. All the tension seems to float away, each wave taking it further and further from me.
The beach is truly magical, and better than any spa. If I could capture that magic in a bottle, I'd send you some.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Time keeps on ticking .....
Time doesn't seem to fit precisely right. It's like wearing someone else's shoes, or a shirt that was sewn a little skewed in the seams. Time is an arbitrary, mortal construct, forced over the head and shoulders of infinite, immortal beings. We need some way of measuring, but it isn't our natural state. Our minds play tricks with it sometimes, and are the precise masters of it at others.
Have you ever had the experience of waking up 1 minute before your alarm goes off? I went for years without ever setting an external alarm. I would look at the clock before bed, tell myself what time I needed to wake up, and then like magic I would! I never over slept, not once! The internal clock is perfection!
Marking the passage of time is an odd thing. It is especially odd here in Hawaii. Everyday is pretty much the same, like Ground Hog Day. It could be yesterday, or 6 months ago, it looks like the same dang day. It would be an 85 degree and sunny day, but the same as any other, none the less. There is no external sensory input to help you place an event on a reliable time table in your memory. Here in Hawaii the stage setting and back drop are pretty much identical from day to day. You can't say, "Oh yes, I remember, that happened some time in spring, before the snow melted, so it was early spring, March I think." It just doesn't work. The last three years are a blur. Lots of memories, but it would be hard to tell you what happened when, or even what happened before what.
As of sometime this morning, it has been 40 years since I arrived here on the earth's surface. I know that the BIG 4 O is supposed to be a milestone of sorts, but I pretty much feel the same. It would have been a great excuse to do something extraordinary. I had several good ideas, but I didn't do any of them. It was pretty much a day like any other. I worked some, played some, spent time with family and friends. It was a nice slice of what my life has become, and I like that.
Have you ever had the experience of waking up 1 minute before your alarm goes off? I went for years without ever setting an external alarm. I would look at the clock before bed, tell myself what time I needed to wake up, and then like magic I would! I never over slept, not once! The internal clock is perfection!
Marking the passage of time is an odd thing. It is especially odd here in Hawaii. Everyday is pretty much the same, like Ground Hog Day. It could be yesterday, or 6 months ago, it looks like the same dang day. It would be an 85 degree and sunny day, but the same as any other, none the less. There is no external sensory input to help you place an event on a reliable time table in your memory. Here in Hawaii the stage setting and back drop are pretty much identical from day to day. You can't say, "Oh yes, I remember, that happened some time in spring, before the snow melted, so it was early spring, March I think." It just doesn't work. The last three years are a blur. Lots of memories, but it would be hard to tell you what happened when, or even what happened before what.
As of sometime this morning, it has been 40 years since I arrived here on the earth's surface. I know that the BIG 4 O is supposed to be a milestone of sorts, but I pretty much feel the same. It would have been a great excuse to do something extraordinary. I had several good ideas, but I didn't do any of them. It was pretty much a day like any other. I worked some, played some, spent time with family and friends. It was a nice slice of what my life has become, and I like that.
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