Papa ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, Hana Hou!

I don't think Hana hou is the right word but that's the closest I could come up with. Today is the start of the 1st summer session of Hawaiian class! I have been diligently practicing with Duolingo during the 2 week break; I'm glad classes have started again! Today was a review of what we did last semester. At the end of the class they said that there would be class during the 2nd summer session as well as a fall semester! Winner!

Translation: Summer Class 1.

This is where the title of the class comes from.

The Wehewehe Wikiwiki dictionary.

The chart used to teach nā keiki the alphabet.

We then reviewed the proper pronunciation of the names of many of the royalty.

I did not know 'Beretania' was the Hawaiian word for 'Britain'.

This is Kumu Paige's thesis subject.

The Ulukau website.

The Avakonohiki website.

It's a work in progress so they don't yet have Kohala information.

The Kipuka website.

Resources to help with practice between classes.

The Saffron Finch slept in this morning. And so did I. Sort of. I got up a little earlier than usual but not as early as the Saffron Finch would wake me up!

Five minutes after sunrise.

I worked on the plans for the sewing room remodel today. The last time I drew up house plans was a while ago. And in another jurisdiction. I'm sure the building code has changed since then and also I'm sure there are different requirements here. I have sent in a request for an appointment so I can get more information on what is required here when an owner draws up the plans instead of a professional. I will take in whatever I have drawn up by then. I did not get very far today; I did a rough draft of the relation of the remodel to the property line. But I think I might also need an overview showing the placement of the house and the entire property with any other structures and location of the cesspool. Anyway, that's one of the plans that would have been needed for a submittal to Snohomish County; I am assuming that is a basic requirement for anywhere the IBC is used. (The IBC is a minimum standard. A jurisdiction can enact stricter standards and also amendments to meet its specific situations. For example, Hawaiʻi has a section on Indigenous Hawaiian Architecture Structures.) 

This changed later.

Hawaiian Airlines sent me another email saying my flight has been changed. Once again it is the same flight, I think I need to complain when I get to the airport about how confusing it is that they keep sending the same email saying its been changed even after I have accepted it. Aue!


I got a text around lunch today; the Smart Air filter was scheduled for deliver by the end of the day today! Yay! I went out and unlocked the gate. Less than half an hour later I heard a car pull it; it was here already!

It says its going to Honolulu since that is the closest DHL warehouse to here.

The company is based in Hong Kong. (The scale is to flatten the pages.)

And, yes, it is a HEPA filter strapped to a fan! The founder of Smart Air was a graduate student studying cultural psychology in Beijing during their worst air pollution event in 2013 and wondered if there was anything he could do to minimize the air pollution in his living quarters. He came up with a DIY which was a HEPA filter tied to a fan with a cloth tape measure! This model is the DIY 1.1; it has a blade guard around the side which minimizes leakage and prevents kids or pets from sticking body parts in to the fan. Slots in the guard allow the velcro strap to more firmly hold the filter in place on the fan. This is the kind of solution I would have come up with to avoid the $1000 cost of a regular air filter. The manual above shows the actual test results of the DIY filter in use. It removes PM 2.5 particulates equally well as the more expensive brands at 10% of the cost. They now provide low cost air filters and education about air pollution worldwide; I like to support companies like this.

Jessie called me about an hour later. She asked me to meet her at the fence where we met when I gave her the hand sanitizer the day I arrived. She had a plate of inari sushi for me that she had just made! Yes, I know it is not low carb. But, like when Sensei gives you something, when a kupuna gives you something, you say thank you very much! I had a piece with dinner, it was so ono!


Martin was a little late today in coming to check out what was for lunch. Yes, I named the Gold Dust Day Gecko that comes to visit me during meals. (Though I don't know if it is male or female; there appears to be no sexual dimorphism in this species. So it could actually be a Martine instead of a Martin.) Today he licked some condensation off my water glass, checked out the drawing pad for the remodel plans, and scarfed up a crumb on the table before leaving. Later he tried to hide on the compost bucket, he's a gecko not a chameleon so he can't change colors to match his background but he came fairly close to finding a background that matched him! (Yup, this is the kind of stuff you get when you read a blog by a biologist.)

What ya lookin' at, Mate?

He chose the better surface to blend in with.

The cats did not show themselves at the midday feeding. I think the DHL Express delivery person interrupted them while they were eating so they waited until it was really quiet before they came back. But for the evening feeding, which was about an hour late because of Papa ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, about 30 seconds after I loudly poured the food in to their bowl Wiley came trotting up. About a minute later Mom Cat came in for some food. It was interesting, since I was downloading photos from my phone I did not have it up at the window and was not able to watch them through it so they could not see me. I peaked over the edge but only looked at them with one eye; they weren't concerned. It appears they were not able to identify just one eye as being part of a human. Even Mom Cat did not get spooked though she could clearly see my one eye since I could see their faces.

Governor Ige has said he is getting ready to lift the 14-day interisland quarantine; he just hasn't said when that might be, though it could be June 30th when the initial order expires. If there is no quarantine in July, I might come back to do my own little Obon celebration like putting up the lanterns at the Ohaka.


There was 1 new COVID-19 case reported today; it was on the Big Island. Aue! The total known cases are now 644; the death toll and hospitalizations remains the same with 93% of people now being released from isolation.

Occurrences in the past 28 days.