A Solid Foundation

So far all the warnings I've heard about building taking twice as long in Hawaii have come true.  Still, we're making progress.  We finally have a foundation - at least the concrete portion of it.  Ours is a post-and-pier foundation so all the wood posts and bracing are still to come.  But the concrete is now done, which is certainly a milestone.  Here are a few pics:

 Digging out for the footings.  The bottom of the holes/trenches is covered in gravel and compacted.

 Building the forms and cutting the rebar.

 Forms done and rebar in place.

 Day of the pour.  It took a five-man crew and a few wheel barrows.

 After the pour - forms stripped and ground backfilled around the footings.  Locations of the precast concrete footings are marked in white paint.  Also notice the new wire mesh fence on the upper right.

Precast footings in place.  

(Thanks to Jake for helping me dig all those holes and lift the 150 lb footings into place).

King Kamehameha Day

Blake writes:

June 11th was King Kamehamea Day, a state holiday celebrating the monarch who united the Hawaiian Islands - mostly by war, but we won't talk about that - in 1810. The king was born here in the North Kohala region of the Big Island, so he holds a special place in the hearts of the locals. There is a statue of him in Kapaau, just 3 miles down the road from us.  On King Kamehameha Day there is a lei draping ceremony during which dozens of 25-foot long handmade leis of all variety are draped on the statue's arms. Also, a floral parade winds its way from Hawi to Kapaau, ending at Kamehameha Park for a festival of music, crafts and food. It's small town Americana with a Polynesian twist. All good fun.

 The man of honor bedecked in leis

Intricate botanical displays at the base of the statue

 The floral parade featuring the fashionable Pa'u Riders

 The descendents of King Kamehamea are honored by forcing them to wear a buttock-revealing outfit

 This is a rural place so horses are big here, and they enjoy wearing outfits.

 The Lions Club

Spectators

 Deborah, Lucy and the King

Breaking Ground

Blake Writes:

After weeks and months of waiting – waiting for the drawings to be finished, waiting for building permit approval, waiting for bids from subcontractors – we at long last feel as though we are starting to build a house.  We heard the satisfying rumble of heavy equipment as our lot underwent a bit of regrading around the building footprint and as a long trench was plowed from our water meter and our new electrical pole to the point where they will enter the house.  We even put up our first structure: a Rubbermaid shed to house our burgeoning collection of garden tools.  It took half a day to build the foundation and another four hours or so to assemble.  For a plastic building it looks pretty nice, and the termites won’t be interested in it.  I was still putting in the final screws when Deborah immediately took to prettifying it with little flower beds.

I also now have a framer and a foundation guy picked, so all the major subcontractors are lined up – or at least the ones I need right now.  I’m sure we’ll have our share of more periods of waiting to come, but right now it feels like progress.

 Our neighbor Fred helps with the excavating.

 The big trench - not the work of a giant gopher, just the underground path for electrical and water lines.  In the meantime our neighbor Alex wants to play World War I.

 Concrete is poured to set the meter pole.

 Deborah tackles the encroaching greenery from the neighbor's unkempt tennis court.

The new shed - with Deborah's gardening touches.  We could almost live in it - which is good because it's almost all we can afford here.

Kitties and a doggie

Well again,  it has been a while since I wrote. It seems like mostly I would have the mundane daily things we all do in life to tell you about; how dull would that be to read? Unlike most years we are not traveling but actually living here. We are not as interesting in this situation I would think.

We did get our building permit the day after my last blog. I also got an agreement for my rental space to open my business. I will take possession on June 1^st. I hope to be open for business by the 15^th. I have spent much of my time preparing for the business; making custom sheets for my tables, getting all the appropriate licenses; ordering skincare products etc.

Blake and I also babysat for our neighbor Alex. We took care of his dog Lucy and his cat Momma Kitty for 3 weeks while he took a trip to Portland. I had a great time with those two and now they think they are our pets. Lucy in particular is very attached to me. I really wanted a dog, but Blake does not want the commitment. I understand that. So Alex has agreed/suggested that we should share them. He would sign a paper that says he is really their owner; that way Blake can relax. LOL So, I just bring the pets over each day for visits and take Lucy for walks. She is so popular; when ever we go for walks eveyone knows her. I have met so many people because of Lucy. The cat just comes over on her own as cats will do;she spends much of her time at our house and eats here too.. She likes to sleep with Blake at night.

 We adopted the pitiful stray kitty that lived here when we arrived. Blake named him Fao which means ugly in Spanish. He so ugly he is cute.  He only has one ear and that gives him an odd look; the other ear is quite damaged, from what we don’t know. We do not even know what sex it is yet; so we just refer to him as he. The cat does not seem to mind. He would hide from us in fear when we arrived and now he comes up on our porch for meals, lets us get close to him; I try to touch his occasionally. He does not run away anymore, just pulls back. He and momma kitty are great friends. He likes Lucy too. I believe that having the two of them here has made a difference for Fao. He made so much progress the 3 weeks they lived here and continues to do so. He has always lived here but was still a bit farrel. The people who own this home are on the mainland with family they are seniors with health issues. They found homes for their dogs but they just moved away and just left the cat. Alex our neighbor is a softie; so he would feed him once they moved. No one wants him…so he is ours now. We told Alex we would take care of him now that we live here. He is an old cat.

So that’s about it. Mostly I am going to post pictures. They are worth  1000 words.

we like to hang out together

Momma Kitty

FAO

I love it when Deb lets me get in bed with her. I sleep so soundly.

I love going in the car!

I am from the old country LOL

 I see dead people.