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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Ceramics

I was one of the first at the class this AM. But it wasn't long before everyone slowly trickled in. The class is more like an open studio.

This week I created four vegetable garden plaques that I will hang on the raised beds. I will try glazing these four. If they turn out OK, I will probably make more. I will paint the rectangle with a chalk paint or white board so that I can pencil in the plant date.

The other pictures are of the pinch pot I created last week.  next week I have a much more agressive project in mind... Of course they all need to be bisque and glaze fired.  So the color will go on at another time.

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Working the Steps

Scott is working steps that take us up into the lava erruption!  They are looking pretty good.  Two  more to go!

View of the ocean from the first step

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Ceramics Class Starts

I am taking a 10 week ceramics class at the Kea'au Community Center. Not much in the way of instruction, but we have use of kick wheels, one bisque and one glaze firing and access to many experts, all for $10. The best deal in Hawaii!!! A couple of neighbors are in the class with me and of course lots of other “seniors”. After a fashion I got going and made a whimsical pinch pot. I should have taken a picture! Next week I will get it on film!!!

Friend Susan using the manual kick wheel

Some of the others at work

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The Huli Drill Got Me!

I started outrigger canoe paddling with the University of Hawaii community class a few weeks ago! Love the paddling! However, yesterday we did a huli drill - Hawaiian for flip that canoe, right that canoe, get back in the canoe and bail out the water out of that canoe! Unfortunately, I got hit in the head and shoulder by the "'iako" ( part of the ama, which is the outrigger) and ended up in the emergency room. Six metal staples and several hours later, I was home taking in the clam surf and sunshine! Staples come out Monday! Talk about a few bad hair days!

Warning the photo below is graphic. You may want to ask small children to leave the area! LOL!

PS No where in the Inherent Risks does it talk about a hard knock on the head!

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