Damn! WE HAVE DRY WOOD TERMITES!!!!

We saw these funny looking seed things on the kitchen floor and in one of our cabinet draws. I searched the internet and saw a picture that looked like what we saw. Oh no, dry wood termite droppings!!!!

We had the house inspected today by Terminex. The inspector verified that, yes, we have dry wood termites! Based on the color of the droppings, he suspects that they are in the KrafMaid cabinets and came directly from the factory. Apparently they do not push out the droppings until about 3 years after infesting the wood! He additionally stated that good contractors typically fumigate the cabinets before installation! Who knew!!!!

We are scheduling tent fumigation for January 2011!!!

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Whales and Stars!

We were sitting outside last night admiring the clear skies and stars and we heard them!  We are beginning to see more activity.  Last Thursday we saw a pair of juveniles whales fin slapping, tail slapping and breaching.  You could see them with your eyes, but it was better using the binoculars!

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The Stockings are hung...

on the ohia pole!

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Mother Nature - "At the Marti Gras"

I finished my ceramic mask today.  I was not happy with the green matt glaze I put on the top part of the mask. There was not enough contrast with the lime leaves.  So, I added some brown acrylic paint; better.  Then I embellished the piece with beads and wire.  So, I decided to call it Mother nature - "At the Mardi Gras".  See this post of the mask in its early stages.

This mask may not be to everyone's taste.  Hopefully Scott will like it enough to agree that we can hang it in the house!

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First Night Time Whale Sounds

Scott heard the whales last night and was sure they were near our cliffs.  Unfortunately, I slept through the event!

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Green Flash!

I finally saw the "green flash" on the rising sun yesterday!  Scott tried to video tape it without success.  I think the binoculars are still the best way to see this phenomena.  You just need to have a good sun rise time so that you are not holding the binoculars for 5 minutes!

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First Whale Sightings of 2010 - 2011 Season

On October 20th 2010 the first humpback whale was spotted off of Maui.
http://www.pacificwhale.org/content/first-humpback-whale-season-sighted-maui

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Always an Engineer!

Hmmmmmmmmm...can we do it?

Scott's sister Martha wanted the palm tree down! Too high to trim and too messy! So the two of them developed a plan with some input from me and Diane. After sleeping on the plan for a night they both decided it was too dangerous!

A few days passed and Scott got the bug to try it anyway, but the plan was enhanced; the use of some chain link and pad locks instead of ropes.



Adding the chain link and pad locks

To be honest, I still felt a little uneasy. Of course, Scott had the dangerous job of notching the palm with the chain saw above his head. The biggest concern was that the notched top of the palm would crack and fall before Scott was safely off the ladder!

Final notch - chainsaw overhead!

Scott thought that he had notched conservatively and climbed down the ladder to test it with the rope. Well, it snapped off easily! And fell dangling from the linked chain.  A little earlier than planned! We had hoped to move the ladder out of the way to prevent damage when the tree top fell. Luckily the ladder suffered only cosmetic damage...and we were all safe!!!

Now what do we do!!!

Let's hope the chain does not snap!

The End!

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At Least We Didn't Have to Call the Coast Guard!

Although it does not look like it from our departing photo, the seas and winds were up when we left the Florida Keys yesterday!  As a reuslt it was a wet and wild trip home!  We did spot an osprey when traeling through one of the cuts which was calme water.  I was glad when we touched land 3 1/2 hours later!

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Florida Keys

About three hours after leaving Miami Beach we reached our destination Islamorada in the Florida keys.  We were concerned about choppy seas so we took the inside passage which resulted in a fairly smooth ride!  Only a couple of times did we have to refer to the map to find our cuts through the land. We saw a bald eagle and of course several other water birds!

Later that evening we took the boat out to watch the sunset, but there were clouds at the horizon so we missed seeing it hit the ocean.  Then on to a resurant by boat. 

Below are the tarpon found in the waters at the restaurant!  Earlier there were several sharks as the resturant feeds them about sunset!

The real adventure started when we left the restaurant in the "dark"!  Although the boat has running lights, we had no light beam to see the markers back to the house!  Oh boy what fun!  The boat had a GPS system with maps, but none of us were very skilled using it!  And we had several "chiefs" aboard all with different opinions on the path back!  With a little help from the moon, common sense and trusting the GPS system we SLOWLY made ti back to the house safe and sound avoiding the 1 foot sand bars!

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Manatee!

We were sitting outside yesterday evening and Martha spots something in the water near her dock!  Low and behold it is the rare manatee!  We got a few pictures, but it was a challange!

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Ummmmmm Good!

Went out on the boat yesterday!  It was a beautiful day!  Scott and Martha went snoreling for lobsters and Diane and I measured and holed the little buggers!  We saw dolphins and a turtle too!  A great storm in the distance and lots of activy on the water!  I got a little more sun then I care too, but oh well we are in Miami with one of the worlds best skyline!

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Shopping then Gambling!

Arrived in Phoenix on the red-eye Friday 9/10.  Not much sleep, but at least I did not have to leave the next day for S. Carolina like Scott! The temp was HOT!  I forgot how HOT, HOT is in Phoenix!

Melinda and I did some intense shopping the first three days, then we were off to Laughlin, NV for 2 nights and three days.  Lost some $$, it was still hot and got stuck for about 50 minutes in traffic from a highway accident on the way out of town! But still had sisterly FUN! :)

Golden Nugget Hotel Room

$1.99 Breakfast
2 bacon, 2 sausage, 2 eggs, 2 pancakes!!!
Note: coffee and teas extra...

50 minute stand still - Yuck!

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The Ford Escape Hybrid is Pau!

Yesterday, we said "goodbye" to a great vehicle!  Scott sold his Ford Escape Hybrid (34 mi/gal) to a local beekeeping couple who live on the Hamakua coast.  Now it is time for Scott to go on the hunt for a new vehicle!  He will probably search on the mainland as well as Big Island! Fun, fun, fun!!!

  

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Color Staining the Concrete with Iron Sulfate

Yesterday I "painted" the master bedroom lanai and exterior landing and step with a solution of iron sulfate!  I am pleased at the outcome.  There are a few tricks we learned in the process that should make it easier for the next projects!  The carport, the second lanai and the courtyard side walks!  The best news of all is that it is inexpensive!  Acid stain is about $70 a gallon compared to $5 for the iron sulfate which you then mix with 1 gallon of good old H2O!

Stained and sealed!

Stained - not sealed

Almost done - waiting for more sealer to arrive!

All done!  Not too bad!

We are seeing some white come to the surface on the concrete that was most exposed to the rain.  In that area the concrete aggregate is exposed.  So some of the salts may be leeching to the surface.  we are hoping that the concrete still has moisture and the sealer is showing white until it dies completely??!!??

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Birthday Tuesday!

Scott celebrated his 59th on the golf course of course!  We traveled 40 minutes up the mountain to Volcano Golf Course.  The air was crisp and clear with a brisk breeze!  At times we could see the plume from the Halema'ma'u vent!

After golf we enjoyed a lovely diner at the Kilauea Lodge in Volcano.

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At least we din't have to call 911!

Late afternoon today we were sitting on lawn and noticed a couple of spear fishermen off the sea cliffs.  We heard someone yelling and realized that two of their buddies on the cliffs were calling them to come in.  Good thing because the calm waters were turning into larger waves!

 

They guy on the top of the cliffs was waiting for the wave set to end, then he called them in.  As they swam in, the first guy hit the rocks and started to climb to safety with out much trouble.  However, the second guy made it to the rocks, but a new set of waves moved in and ripped him from the rocks.  He was pushed very close to the cliffs and I hoped he hadn't hit his head.  His friends waved him out to sea to get into safer waters. Mean while one of the guys on the top ran towards the street.  He came back with a garden hose which they eventually threw to the guy.  With the help of the garden hose and the first spear-man pulling, the guy made it to safety! Whewww...

Scott did see about a 20" parrot fish hanging from their stinger!  We hope they did not spear the one that we see off of our sea cliff!

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Me Thinks We have Hit the Bottom!

Not the housing bottom but the solar bottom...
Our electric bill was $22.16 for July!  Only about $.60 was for actual electricity, the rest was taxes and fees!  The trend has been going down thanks to the longer days.  It should start to trend the other way as the days get shorter.  And after a year we should see something like the classic "U" curve!  Kind of fun...

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Friday is Clay Day!

Peter, the instructor, loaded the electric kiln on Friday. My four garden plaques, pinch pot (I added some under glaze, a first for him and me!) and planter all went in. So next Friday we will unload the kiln and I will be ready to add some glazes to my pieces, that is if they all survive the bisque firing!

I created phase one of my wall mask Friday. I still have to create two bird of paradise "horns" to be fired separately and final assembled after all pieces are glazed. You can see the two straps in the last photo that will hold the horns (I hope). I will make these pieces next Friday. In addition there will be twisted copper wire coming out the side of the nose, near the eyes and there is a surprise feature! The mask is a little on the "odd" side, but it is art!

PS You can enlarge the picture with a single mouse click...

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My Paddling Days are Coming to an End

Tuesday is my last class day for paddling the University of Hawaii 6-person outrigger canoes. We end with a pot-luck of course! Last Tuesday as I arrived, the NCL ship Pride of America was pulling into harbor and passed the University of Hawaii canoe hut.

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Lava is on the Move!

Scott and I visited the recent lava fields about 3 weeks ago and we were surprised to see all the cooled lava that had crossed hwy 130!  Well Kiluea is at it again!

The photo below was take at noon yesterday.  I follow a local blog which keeps the community up to date on the volcano activity on the island.  Check it out for more photos!  Hawaiian Lava Daily

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Big Island Tournament Pau!

We returned from the Kona side of the island late Thursday afternoon. Scott’s softball team did worse then they had hoped, winning only one of three games! But they did score quite a few runs. Unfortunately, the other teams scored more!

The opening ceremony for the Island Tournament started at 8AM Wednesday. Mayor Bill Kenoi and the Director of Parks and Recreation Robert Fitzgerald were there to provide motivation and mahalos to all of the kupuna! The Kupuna League has been going for 36 years! Wow that is a long time! Since we are not going to the state tournament in Maui, Scott’s softball season is over for the year.

In Kona, we had some down time to enjoy some food, drink and surf! But it was good to get back to the east side and home…

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