It will be a partial veranda on one end of the house only, very basic. He put a screened room on the back of the house - we call it the 'no fly zone.' Had the cement floor done, but he did the rest. Great job, too. He calls it 2x4 engineering. lol The front will just be big enough for a couple of chairs or a bench so we can sit and look at the view (which unfortunately will change when they widen the highway). On winter mornings it will be great for coffee, and in the afternoons it's all in shade, which will be nice in the summer.
Where are you?
Know absolutely nothing about astronomy but guess my stars must be lined up. Mitch (Texas forum) lives 5-6 miles called yesterday and said he is probably going to sell his home in the spring and this would be a good time to break down his flower garden. WooooWheeee. A whole pickup load. Of course, being the botanist that I am not I don't know what half of it is or where to put it so he is coming over shortly to help out with that.
He had a water garden with no fish and there are a lot of plants that will go into my little pond. Cannot believe my good fortune. We just had trees removed and my yard has gone from heavy shade to all sun. All of these new plants are for full sun. Can you believe it?
Gotta go......can't let him come to help and I'm in here sitting down.
LouC
This is the same Mitch that wrote todays article. Actually has written several.
This message was edited Oct 21, 2007 1:54 PM
Christi darlin - you have fun with those new plants, and get the low down on where Mitch is moving to ...yadda yadda yadda. He may not share the info with all of us, not realizing that we are interested. Be sure to say Howdy for me!
K - be careful with the spiders and such like. I was just telling Christi that my brother in San Diego is in the hospital with MRSA after getting a spider bite! He's okay now, but nearly lost his hand! Be careful - please!
Carol - your BaliHoya is already so beautiful, how could it possibly get better???
Shari, thanks for your concern. I'm so glad your brother is doing better. I asked my doc last week about that because I was bitten by something when we helped our friends with their grape harvest and it's just clearing after what, nearly a month? I have an autoimmune disease and take drugs that suppress the immune system, so I was a little concerned. She said that shouldn't be a problem, but that I might have an allergy to the insect bites and also they sometimes leave a bit of themselves behind that can cause infection. YUK!
So, as usual, the best advice is wash, wash, wash, rub-a-dub-dub, everyone! She did tell me to call my internist if it happens again, though.
Christi, way to go! Good luck with all new stuff. It was meant to be. :-)
oooooowweeee I'm tired. Mitch didn't get to come today and I tried to get all the plants pruned, cleaned and repotted or planted. Lots of water or bog plants. Had to borrow the neighbors books so I can try to ID. I don't have room and she has the San Antonio Riverwalk. Mitch said he didn't care if I shared with her. He's a doll. Young enough to be my grandson. Oh dear, oh dear. Where did the time go???
Just popping in tonight to say that those fires in Southern California are not looking too good .....hope everyone will be ok.....watched a show last night on Texas and they said every Texan gets bitten by the fire ant!
it was awful.Do they run around in Winter too or you have some respite then?.....we have a spider who's toxins eat your flesh away after the bite.....looking like a terrible shark attack!
Let's hope everyone will be ok.
Hi everybody,
I talked to a friend in LA yesterday and he said the fires in Malibu are really bad. It's blowing up a storm where I am but so far that's all. It sound awful but mostly it will mean a lot of cleanup when it stops.
I got two bad ant bites last week - one on each foot. They itched and were quite painful (they were a day apart so I had all the symproms twice) then it was like a 24 hour flu nug.
Both my arms have nasty sores which I've had for ages. I think they are infected spider bites. I've been to Kaiser half a dozen times and gotten no help. I'm doctoring myself with powdered sulfer which seems to be gradually healing them. We also have fire ants and they bite!!! Nasy little things.
Good thing I have a great view.
katiebear
No respite from the fire ants, it is a year round threat. The spider you are describing is here too.....we call it a brown recluse, there is another called the black widow that can do lots of damage.
Several years ago I worked for a tv personality. I went to Hollywood with him to film a pilot. We were there about a month. My first week was in the home of his agent and she lived in Malibu. Never seen such luxury anywhere. However, the actual land base is terrible. Only thing there is a view of the ocean. The side of the hill goes almost straight up. They carve out a small ledge for the house (the back of this house was in the side of the hill......no openings). This lady called it a cruiseship because it was one room long.
Two levels, swimming pool everything you could ever desire including a full time housekeeper, cook, and gardener. The small area of lot around the house was like a japanese garden on one side and a lush jungle on the other. Outside the fence they kept it cleared for a couple of hundred feet for a fire break. The native tree is mesquite.....really, really ugly everywhere there is not a home. This house was originally built for Sly Stalone and one of his wives. One morning on the way into LA, this is some 40 miles out) her husband drove me down Pacific Hiway. There were miles and miles of black from previous fires. Next there would be a mile or so of what looked like a garbage dump......that would be the entire contents of a house that had slidden down the mountain side in a mud slide.
When you see pictures of Malibu the photographer has done a very tight closeup of a given area so you don't see the actual mess. While I was there they had a water main break. Seems this happens very often. A truck with bottled water came to Pepperdine (which we were just down the hill from) for the residents to get drinking water. They dipped water from the swimming pool to flush the toilet. This was so often that the bucket stayed in the bathroom all the time. The majority of the residents have enourmous generators....sort of like their own electric plant because the power is out all the time too. The canyons between Malibu and LA were every other one black from fires.
This is more my idea of hell than heaven.
Kaperc, your new lanai sounds wonderful, especially the shade in summer. How very clever of your husband to be able to do that kind of stuff - Frank has no talent with that sort of thing - mind you, if he did I would have him working all the time (I am the one with the big ideas!))
Katiebear, gosh the spider bites sound terrible, I hope Christi isn't right that they are brown recluse bites (does kinda sound like it), we had them in Arizona and they are bad news. I get some sort of spider bite here, usually if I have been crawling into the banana patch, which does the same sort of thing on a much, much smaller scale. We have found that putting rubbing alcohol on them works. I would have thought Kaiser would know what has bitten you if they are local...glad to hear your home remedy is working for you...
Shari, hope your brother is on the mend, how very frightening! I guess you have all heard of the flesh eating bacteria that has been going round? Last year my grandsons high school closed all the gym showers down because a couple of kids had it on their feet. I believe it took strong antibiotics and a lot of time to get them better. A guy at work had a horrible infection that wouldn't respond to the usual drugs and he had to get a shunt put in and go daily to the hospital for antibiotics directly into the blood stream.
Christi - wow! From your description of the Malibu area, I am glad I can't afford to live there! What were you doing for the TV personality? More important, who was it???
Aloha!
Anthony Mark Hankins was his name at that time. That was a copyright name and when the business broke up he had to get another name. Now he is known as Antthony. hahahah
He is one of the designer/personalities on Home Shopping Network. I'm told he is still there but I don't ever watch it or look for him. Almost 5 years of a very different lifestyle.
Guess I have had an adventure or two.
What are you up to today, Jenny? It is raining here so guess I will get out the trusty Dyson and get with it.
Darn, I have never watched the HSN so I don't know him! Guess you have had an adventure or two!
Well, it's 6am for me, and I am on my second cup of tea! Frank is still asleep and Braveheart crawled up on the bed with him as soon as I got up, Candy is asleep on her bed, so all is quiet in our neighborhood! This is my favorite time of day, the moon is still shining on the ocean and in about half an hour the sun will be getting up, its so pretty up here from my grandchildrens bedroom to watch the sun rise.Today I am planning on the ever present weeding for a couple of hours and I have to clean out the fish ponds filters, one of them is running kind of slow... After that, it's dropping my FIL off to Kalama Heights for the daily activities and taking my Mom to the grocery store. Grocery shopping takes us for ever because Mom only has a tiny bit of vision in one eye, but we stick to one store and she has learnt the layout so although it is very slow, it is something that she can manage with a little help.
This afternoon I will have a date with the dyson too...It's a lost cause in this house with the dogs and the afternoon trades bringing all the lava dust in, I can get it looking respectable for about two minutes flat!
With the leaves now falling they stick to the coats of the dogs and the bottoms of feet and come right in the house. Since they cut the tree with a chain saw there is a very big variety of sawdust that is still blowing off the roof......and coming into the house everytime the door is opened. With two grandsons living here and their friends coming and going this weekend.....pretty much a mess.
Dust is impossible. I can clean one room and go to the next and the first room is covered by the time I get back. I look and say, gee, we are breathing all that stuff. Another thing I have just learned to live with and don't get excited about "clean" anymore. Used to be obsessive/compulsive about it. One day decided that the person who died with all the dishes washed and put away, all the laundry done and put away, all the beds clean at one time, the car washed, the yard mowed, an infinitum.....NEEDED TO GET A LIFE. Working on having more of a life now. Even if it were possible, and it's not, everything would be to do all over again less than three days after I am gone. Need to focus on things a little more lasting than that.
Aloha,
Kilikina
good day to listen to bruddah "waz".
Hey Kilikina...I hear you about dust!!! Around here we call it Pele's Hair...it has little particles of volcanic ash in it...great on your lungs!!! Luckily, we don't get the Kona winds too often that bring the Vog - make my sinuses all yucky!!!
Even in the middle of the ocean on our boat there was dust!!! Actually...dead skin from our own bodies!!! Makes you want to jump off and swim to shore!!!
Aloha
LOL! In my heart of hearts, I really want to be that person who dies with the dishes done. It will never happen! I am still trying to remodel the house from hell, and somedays it feels like I am drowning - I have come to the understanding that you have to break some eggs to eventually make the omelet!
We rarely get the vog either, but man! I hate it! Kicks in my asthma. Worst thing we get is the burning of the cane, luckily it doesn't come our way, but friends who live in Ma'alea harbor area get their lanais covered in "Hawaiian snow".
Carol - any idea what Lilylove's plant is? She posted under Tropical crepe myrtle....
For those who don't know (I had to look it up) Christi signed her name in Hawaiian .....I am going to have to look mine up - probably very long and unpronounceable!
Aloha, Mom. What is this about dying with dishes done? I am apalled. It is my experience that dishes are never done. You can do a whole sinkload of dishes right after a meal only to find a dirty glass that doesn't go in the dishwasher sitting there at your computer station. Well, I'm not washing a single glass. It sits on the counter by the counter until the next meal where the same silliness is repeated. There's always something. This condo will never be featured in Architectural Digest anyway.
I always say Fort Lauderdale is among the dirtiest places we ever lived. It's a shame because it is very pretty and subtropical and all: We have palm trees, banana trees, birds of paradise and bougainvillea but the dust that gets in here, you wouldn't believe!
Vanity and male pattern baldness caused me to shave off my hair years ago and keep it shaved but my wife has a very full head of read hair. She "sheds" quite a bit. I swear, if you swept here, you'd think we have a golden retriver living with us. Then there's this black stuff that falls from the sky (airplanes and the eastern seaboard's dirtiest oil-fired electrical plant). No matter, we still love it here. We just have to clean a bit more, that's all.
I'm glad I found this thread. I hadn't heard about quite a few of you for a long while. Although I never met anyone personally, Dave's Garden is the kind of community where you know of someone without really knowing them directly. I just started a 7th Underwater Gardens thread. Maybe you want to check it out:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/782950/
Take care, all.
Sylvain.
LOL, Sylvain!, a retriever! Hope she doesn't read that! Maybe a beautiful Irish setter with that red hair! My granddaughter is a red head too, but now dyes it blonde because of all the attention she gets about her natural color - such a shame, but when you are sixteen I guess it's important to be like everyone else!
Have already checked out the new thread, thanks for starting us up again....I enjoy our community too...
Oh wow. Mike has the same natural style as Sylvain and the same solution. I have really bad, baby fine hair that is almost totally pewter grey. I have been cutting it myself for about 5 years.......must be every two weeks. Right now it is pretty long. #8 or #7 of a Wahl's barber sheers. Hold on. That is long. For two years it was #2 or #3. Oddly enough I got a lot of positive comments. Especially from the ladies who would always say "I wish I had the nerve." Or "My husband won't let me cut my hair". Mike would be lucky if he control anything I do. Very unexpectedly got positive feed back from the male population as well. And do I care who likes it and who doesn't. Have always marched to my OWN DRUMMER. I'm a very prim and proper lady with an attitude.
Love you guys alot.
Aloha Kakou
Kilikina
PS Jenny, All the phrases on this site are what should be used for a Hawaiian Wedding.
Hope I haven't told you some goofy things. Http://www.alohafriendsluau.com/words.html
I shave my hair down to nothing with a 3-blade razor about 2 times a week. If I leave it longer than that, it gets difficult to shave. The secrets: Use a good quality shave cream such as the Headshave cream. The other secret is using a fresh blade. A blunt blade will cut you: paradoxical.
Gail has known about the retriever/setter situation. When she was younger, her haid had more of a rusty copperish colour and I said people would think we had an irish setter. Now that she aged like we all do, her hair is lightening. It is now more coppery than brown. She is a natural redhead who has never put so much as a perm in her hair. She gets compliments from the hairdressers each time she visits them.
I have tried to find the hawai'ian transation for "polar bear". That's my nickname in real life, in my e-mail, on Dave's. When I worked for the canadian government, they sent me in the sub-polar regions to train their employees in unemployment insurance rules and regulations. I made 2 trips in the dead of winter when the temperature would manage to go up to -40 Farenheit at mid-day and -45/-48 during the night. I don't mind the coldand the howling wind that blows from every direction 24/7. I was dressed accordingly. I had a great time.
On my second visit there, an elder came and sat at my table during lunch in the main building's food court one day. Elders don't usually approach foreigners. They usually don't even think of them as belonging to The People. He told me he been observing me. He checked around and People who had gotten to know me approved of me. He also informed me that should the tribe ever feel like adopting someone, I could be part of the polar bear clan. I was honoured. I told him I wasn't surprised because somehow deep inside of me, I always knew I was a polar bear. He told me that I was wise and left. It seems there are no words in hawai'ian to describe a polar bear: what a lucky, blessed people to have managed to ignore polar realities and bears all this time.
Sylvain.
Sylvain...No bears here so no word for them!!! And the concept of polar probably never occured to the ancients. Your story is wonderful!
My name in Hawaiian is Kalola...
Man o man....I'm gone overnight and you guys start talking about dishwashers (Ha, ha, ha....oh, that gave me a tummy ache from laughter) and Hawaiian polar bears? I think the closest the islands came to that would be Iz in a white coat! Have I tuned in to the Sci-Fi chanel instead of my friendly DG tropickids? dishwashers and hawaiian polar bears...next I spose you'll be telling me that some folks have an air filter that sucks the dust out of the air before it even lands on all those little "collectibles"...you know - the things we put on tables and shelves that "collect" dust....my Dyson works great on pet hair, and such...but the rollers sure have to be cleaned a lot...everything from the carpet just winds around and around...hmmmmm - I need to move to Eureka!
Dishwashers? Wow! Anyone ever have the circuit board on their shorted out due to cockroaches? Now...THAT's the tropics!!!!
V
All this time I thought you guys lived in Paradise. No such thing. Huh? We all have our own things to contend with. Tonights local news was warning us about the fireants again.
Lots of rain today and they come to the surface. Can kill a small animal and make an adult like me very sick.
Yes, our dishwasher went out and they cleaned it really well, and then it worked again for several more years. I was never so embarrassed.....it was several years ago and we lived in a very old house. After it was cleaned out it worked for a very long time.
Did my nails the other week for the first time in a year, and between dishwashing, gardening and spraying with the deet stuff, the polish lasted precisely one day! What a waste of time! Ahhh yes, paradise! Don't you believe it Christi - everywhere on this Earth has good and bad points....the trick is to try real hard to get "good tunnel vision". DD is in the dumps right now, seeing everything bleak and dreary....trying to cheer her up....shouldn't take too long.
She's worried about her mom and very best friend being gone from her for awhile. Tell her how much you are loved by others and how lucky she is. You'll be back soon.
LouC
I need a dishwasher. I hate washing dishes by hand. The only time I enjoy it is when I have the house to myself and can make the windows rattle because of our sound system. lol. I don't do it for long, just long enough to do an evil laugh.
Amanaka
Hey, Pep. Is that your Hawaiian name?
Kilikina
Great polar bear story, and what a tremendous compliment from The People....
Fancy cockroaches shortening the dishwasher! My MIL did have one of her light switches go because of cockroaches. They were behind the switch plate happily eating the wiring! She was utterly mortified, I tried to cheer her up by saying that they were only eating wiring because she had such a clean house they couldn't find anything else to eat!
The Hawaiian language is so complex - there are only thirteen letters to the alphabet so where you put stress on a word gives it a different meaning, I rather think you have to be born to it to fully understand....
Kinipela Kukana (my name in Hawaiian - I hope)
ALOHA!
Yep, my name in Hawaiian.
Amanaka
Man am I ever in Heaven. Last night I just googled "Hawaiian Language". One website which I have bookmarked had a personal story about IZ. He was truly a great person. His heart and love matched his girth. But, on this same site were the words to the songs that I listen to everyday. In Hawaiian and translated into English. Sylvain is credited with introducting him to me although he didn't know it. Early this summer he mentioned IZ, I went to iTunes and was instantly in love. I already loved the islands and tropical plants and the fantasy of life there. His music gives substance to my dreams and an appreciation for a people that has been diluted for generations. I can see how this great young man in such a sweet simple way mobilized the People to appreciate who and where they are.
Aloha
Kilikina
You should hear my flat Texas monotone pronounce that, or maybe it is better you don't. lol
I agree with Jenny Sylvain, you were paid a wonderful complement.
Israel certainly had an amazing gift that people will continue to enjoy for generations to come. I think he was the epitome of "Aloha" , and his rendition of Hawai'i is one of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard.
Anyone ever heard Kealihi Reichel (not sure of the spelling of the last name). He is not as romantic as IZ...but beautiful music as well....and a great voice!!!
Hopefully getting some rain today....5 days no rain and things start feeling ominous!!!!
Carol, when do you go on your trip?
Manana, Sheri....and I can't wait!!!!!
Perhaps my finger nails will grow out and get a bit cleaner....and the scabs on my legs where I have scratched too hard at the mosquitos will heal before I come back and start all over!!!!
HAHAHA -
Thanks for asking! Can't wait to see you end of the month!!!!
(Just thinking about having morning tea and brekkie with cloth napkins....heaven!!!)
;>)))
Have a wonderful, wonderful time....hug your friend tight, and come back rejuvenated and relaxed.
See you on the flip side!
Yokwe Yuk
S
Hello,
My wife and I are going to Oahu in May and we are hoping to be able to locate many plumeria to photograph and are also hoping tobe able to go to some of the farms where we can see and buy assorted Plumeria, Helconia's and other tropicals.As we recently moved to Florida and need to do alot of landscaping we decided that our love of Hawaii and its beautiful plants and gardens would be the thing to do here.If anyone could please give soma advice of where to go please let me know as I am not able to locate information on the best locations to go to photograph and places to go to buy plants to bring home.We are also considering visiting the big island for a day or two.
Thanks,
Robert
Aloha Robert, glad you stopped by. I don't know much about the farms on Oahu, but the Big Island has many flower and plant farms - I am sure Carol will know the info when she gets back from NZ.
All plants for export need to have a export tag on them, ie inspected my the Dept of Ag. I think it may be easier to go to one of the sites and have them mailed to you - you can't leave any of the islands with any fruit or plant in your suitcase.
If I may sugest a site to you, check out "Mauiplumeriagardens. com". This young family have some wonderful plumerias, and will ship to the mainland I believe. They are located here on Maui, and as a matter of fact they are part of Carols family! Their selection of plumerias is great and they are nice healthy plants....
Jenny
Another suggestion would be to check Garden Watchdog for places that ship tropicals. I agree with Jenny, don't try to take them with you, they will just be confiscated and you will lose your investment. But for pictures...try this...scroll down and several will be listed.
http://davesgarden.com/products/go/advanced.php?zip_distance=25&zip=Enter+zipcode+or+location&state=hi&country=XX&type=publicgardens&search_text=&sorter=company_name&submit=Search