09/27 Short Version

Jen & Susan hosted a potluck at their home. Besides their 'ohana, we also saw Kai Chan, Scott & Wakana, & Hamta. Check back later for details.

We started the day with breakfast at Kateʻs Greek & American Deli where we met Ronisha who may come to visit in Hawai'i.

Then we took Kai's car to the car wash for its somewhat annual bath.

We also stopped at Kai's storage so he could pick up his suit; he's going to a wedding on Halloween.

We made a stop at Trader Joeʻs & bought way too much stuff!

On the way back we stopped at Winco so Kai could stock up on Umpqua ice cream; we brought a cooler & ice packs this time. 

Night Market Bon Odori

A bon odori was held this evening as part of the Kohala Night Market; the Kohala Jodo Mission was the main organizer of the bon odori part of the market. Joy had asked Fran & me to staff the table for the bon odori, handing out water & hachimaki to the dancers. Since I had a meeting for the NKCDP Access group to attend, I showed up to help at around 5:15; it was a short meeting so I was able to get there about a half hour earlier than expected. 

We walked around to see what the vendors had during the night market. Sandra, the leader of the Kohala ʻOno Food Hui, was there with her business Kapanaia Farms. She had a bunch of baked goods; I opted for the Peanut Butter Bites; they are small & easier for me to enforce portion control on myself! Fran treated me to a dinner of chicken hekka.

Chicken hekka.

Temptation!

 

Later, we took all the equipment back to the Kohala Jodo Mission. There was a meal provided by the KJM for the dancers & helpers. 

I started out the day by meeting hoa hānau Leilani at Kohala Rainbow Cafe at 11 for lunch. Fran was supposed to join us but her 2:30 meeting got changed to 9 so she was unable to join us. 

I noticed a feral hen with 6 new chicks wandering around in Jessie's backyard today. But later I heard squawking & saw a hen running around all fluffed out & charging at Moʻo from the other side of the fence. I went out but did not find any downy little bodies so am assuming the chicks were under cover some place & mama hen was trying to drive Moʻo away. I will have to watch for them tomorrow.  

When I went to prepare Moʻo's food this evening, I found a surprise in the laundry tub in the Cat Genie room. It was ʻAlani! He was sleeping in the laundry tub!

He was annoyed with me.

ʻŌhuna, on the other hand, did not surprise me. The security cameras caught her out in the yard on several occasions & for a relatively long period of time.

Looks like 2 or 3 forays starting at about 2:45 am.

Wandering around while I was at the Night Market.

In an earlier post I noted how Lingopie gives you the English translation along with the Hanzi & Pinyin. I should have provided more information about the scene that I used to illustrate what Lingopie provides. SPOILER ALERT - The guy facing the camera is the owner of the house where this gathering is taking place. He is saying, "You all wore your clothes wrong" because he has noticed that the robes of the others have the right side over the left side. As in Japanese culture, the Chinese wear the robes with the left side over the right side; EXCEPT when you are dressing a deceased person. Yes, all the other people in the room are dead! (FYI Helpful hint so you get it right if you are wearing Chinese or Japanese clothing with this type of set up; if you can stick your right hand inside your robe like Napoleon did, then you have it on correctly. And not like you are dead. You're welcome!)

 

Today's lesson on Duolingo was Hanzi practice. On the surface, this looks easy since you are basically tracing where the strokes go. But the tough part is the stroke order; I have not yet figured out if there is a basic principle on where to start or what order to go in. I should probably spend more time on those 2 on-line sites I found on Hanzi. While doing the tracing, I also repeat the pronunciation of the word as well as try to come up with a mnemonic for linking the pronunciation with the ideograph with the English meaning. I think the only way I have been able to do as well as I have been is that my bio brain is used to rote memorization of traits of plants & animals & linking them with the scientific name, common name, & indigenous name.

Earlier today I posted an update on Hurricane Lowell. Not much has changed since then but here is a graphic I though you might find interesting. This is a color-enhanced satellite image of Lowell; the color gradient shows the amount of moisture in that part of the cloud cover, red being a very high level. You can also see the well-defined eye; the higher the wind speed, the more distinctive the eye becomes. This image also gives a better idea of how large an area a hurricane can affect when it passes through or nearby an area. In this case, it would easily wreak havoc on the 8 main islands if its path were to turn right today & head northerly.

The next episode of the eruption at Kīlauea is likely to be between the 7th & the 12th.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Dean, Sandra, & Steve! 

Karl & Katherine to the Rescue!

Note: This post was started on 08/17 but posted after Spectrum came back on line on 08/20. 

The readings for the projects to be reviewed by the Leeward Planning Commission on Thursday started coming in last Thursday. But I had other things to do like prep for the incoming storm so I only did a brief look to see how troublesome any of them might be & put it aside for "later". I started scrambling this morning to find someone who had both power & internet & that would allow me to drop in & finish my readings! It took an hour or so & I got a response from Karl; he was busy repairing a damaged roof on their rental yurt but he had his wife Katherine call & give me directions down to their house. I am glad they have Royal Palms lining their driveway; they made it much easier to figure out which house was theirs!

 

I spent the afternoon at their house finishing the readings; they are totally off grid with everything powered by solar panels & they have Starlink. They are such great hosts; Katherine had me join them for lunch when I arrived. Just before I left she rewarded all of us with ice cream for getting through a challenging day! FYI I serve on several of North Kohala's Community Development Plan subcommittees with Karl & Katherine is an artist at the Art Co-op where I go to most of the monthly openings to support the artists.

Mahalo nui loa e Karl & Katherine for letting my use your internet to review these projects!

When I was on my way in to Karl & Katherine's I passed a large tree that had fallen across the road totally blocking it. Karl & several neighbors had been working on it in the morning when a county crew came by with very large saws, a front end loader, & a dump truck to cut things up & haul it away! He said he & the neighbors would have had a difficult time removing the tree since its girth was larger than the bars on their chainsaws. 

Verizon came back on line about 1:30 this morning; the buzzing woke me up! Hooray for Verizon! Now if only Spectrum would come back online, too! Later I called the Department of Water Supply to report that the chlorinator shed had collapsed & asked if it was safe to drink the water. A tech called back a short while later & said they had checked it out & everything was working so no need boil water. Yay!

Yes, I have my phone language set to ʻOlelo Hawaiʻi whenever possible.

Now I have to deal with these 23 texts!

In the morning I had met up with Arlene at Fran's house. Many people are driving to friends' houses to check on them & find out what is happening. They were trying to figure out who had power so they could charge their phones; I told them the Powerwall had kept the power on overnight & could probably charge their phones since it was a lot sunnier today than it was yesterday. Later Fran called & came over right around dusk after I had returned home. Arlene stayed at home where her brother Wayne came by with battery packs that he charged up at his house in Hilo before coming back to the family house to help out his sisters Joy & Arlene.

Fran & Arlene.

Spencer called as I was leaving Karl & Katherine's, I gave him another ride to Takata's. He was looking for something to heat up food with, like Sterno. I told him they could come over to the house since my gas stove was working; I just needed to light it with an outside source since the piezoelectric starter was out because the power was out. But he decided to try the Sterno instead. Since I did not hear from them later in the evening it appears they were satisfied with using the Sterno to heat up their food. Personally, I would have used my MSR Pocket Rocket Deluxe camp stove which I had also offered to let him use. It is part of my hurricane survival kit. 

Today Duolingo introduced me to a very important word I need to learn, "spicy". So I know what to avoid when I am eating my way through China! I am a hot food wimp! 

The Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense sent an alert notifying people that the 911 emergency number was not working. They recommended people call the non-emergency number from a landline or to go to the nearest fire station. Later they sent a recap of what is happening with various serviced today.

The Hawaiian Electric Company sent out its own announcements. Interestingly, the number of people without power increased in the 7&1/2 hours between announcements. They also noted that Kohala experienced wind gusts of up to 91 mph! No wonder those trees went down!  

The Department of Water Supply announcement identified the locations of where they have deployed temporary water tankers to provide residents with potable water. Some areas are not as fortunate as we are where our water is gravity-flow & all we need to do is not waste it so we can continue to have water while the power is out. The tank that supplies our house is just up the road around the curve; I use it as a landmark when I describe how to get to my house. If you pass the big green water tank, you have gone too far! 

The State Public Library system also issued a statement. As expected, all libraries on our island are closed. Libraries on the other islands are apparently closed today for assessment & likely open tomorrow. 

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has approved an emergency assistance fund for Native Hawaiians. Hawaiʻi Island has the largest percentage of Native Hawaiians with the hard hit Kaʻū area being about 35% Native Hawaiians.

I am glad to see that the Community Supported Agriculture subscription I have for fresh fruits & vegetables will be happening this week. Our local farmers need to have income to help repair damages. 

Tropical Storm Lālā is still close by. It currently has sustained winds of 65 mph. It is headed westerly at about 10 mph but is expected to turn & begin heading west-northwesterly in a few days when it is also expected to increase in strength & become a hurricane again by late tomorrow as it approaches the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

The next episode of the eruption of Kīlauea is expected to begin some time between the 21st & the 27th.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Billy Boy & DeAndre! 

Early Birthday Pie

When I went to drop off a plate of dinner from the Kohala Jodo Mission potluck with my friend Libby, she gave me an early b-day pie! Specifically chocolate ganache pie with raspberry drizzle! A wonderful addition to my acceptable sources of lipids for the anything-but-boiled-vegetables meal plan! (She knows I like dark chocolate.)

There were too many things going on today! The Kohala Jodo Mission's Obon observance started this morning with the blessing of the graves at 10 am. It was then followed by a veterans memorial, then the Hatsubon service for people who have passed away since last year's Hatsubon service. At nearly the same time there was a service for hoa hānau Lem's buddy Clifford & also a service for Marcia, the wife of Joe, one of the very active kūpuna leaders I have come to know in the community. Joe was also a classmate of my Aunty Judy. Fran & I stuck around for the lunch after Clifford's service; he had specifically told Fran he wanted her to be there. I strategically chose my carbs & proteins. With the blessings of Clifford's wife Cynthia & half-sister Lehua, I made a plate to take home for Kai.

Top row - carbs including culturally significant ones; Bottom row - proteins.

In the evening we had a choice between going to the ʻOhana Kilo Hōkū stargazing at Moʻokini Heiau or the dinner potluck at the Kohala Jodo Mission. We ended up deciding on the potluck since the weather was turning & a bunch of clouds were moving in that would make stargazing less than ideal. In the end, Kai did not go to either; he was too burned out from the morning activities at KJM where he was representing the family. It was a little too much for him & he was out of spoons.  

I went to the dinner potluck, & like the lunch, tried to be selective with my protein & carb choices for dinner. I made plates to take home for Kai & Libby who had also been invited to this potluck but was too busy preparing for a trip to Oʻahu.

I did the bare minimum in Mandarin in Duolingo to keep up my streak. But Lingopie takes more time & effort, I was unable do anything so I ended up losing my 4 day streak. I will have to avoid starting so late in the evening with Lingopie so that I can finish a decent amount of Mandarin to keep the streak going.

The next episode of the eruption at Kīlauea is likely between now & the 13th.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Kasimir! 

Fermentation & Pickling Class

Today I helped with the fermentation & pickling workshop hosted by the Kohala ʻOno Food Hui. We made sweet cucumber pickles, mak kim chee, & sauerkraut. Sandra was the main workshop leader with Michele & I assisting.  

Sandra leads class in reading info on fermentation & pickling. (Photo by Danie)

Sandra demonstrates testing pH of sauerkraut she made a month ago.

Chopped won bok being brined in gray tubs.

Students & instructors. (Photo by Sandra)

The final products.

I started rewatching The Imperial Coroner this evening; this is the one that got me started down the rabbit hole. The things that got me interested in this series was the diagrams of the coroners report & how Chu Chu the coroner & Commandery Prince An role play the attack on the victim to try to figure out what happened.

Chu Chu inspects corpse & identifies what she has found.

Commandery Prince An acts as murderer while Chu Chu who is standing behind scroll acts as victim.

The Hanzi is interspersed with the regular listening portions of the Mandarin lessons on Duolingo. Here is the Hanzi for the words "this is". In this exercise they are showing the stroke order for the 2nd component of the phrase. One thing I have noticed is that the Mandarin word order is much like English word order, not like ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi where the order is reversed when using adjectives. 

Episode 48 of the eruption of Kīlauea is currently forecast to begin some time between the 24th & the 26th.

Hauʻoli lā Hānau e Clancy!