k-brow: something for everyone

A little break in the cleaning action, as P returned to HI for a few days to turn 50, and to tie up loose ends. We haven't been especially productive, and have spent the time he's been here, mostly hanging out, or visiting old favorite Oahu haunts. Last night, we went to dinner at Roy's, the restaurant of local boy chef Roy Yamaguchi. Yum. I had the best cocktail I think I've had in a very long time. Later, P ferreted around the internets and found the recipe for me. Maybe to get me to stop talking about it, since it's been a major topic of my obsession, since:

ROY’S HAWAIIAN MARTINI
A signature cocktail and most welcoming beginning to any Roy’s experience.


1 ripe pineapple, rind removed
2 cups Skyy Vodka
1 cup Malibu Coconut Rum
1 cup Stoli Vanil
2 oz simple syrup or liquid sugar

Place one inch slices of pineapple into one gallon container. In a separate container, blend Skyy Vodka, Malibu Rum, Stoli Vanil’ and simple syrup. After sugar is completely dissolved, add to sliced pineapples. Let stand at room temperature for at least three days (the infusion process gives the beverage a subtle pineapple taste). When ready to serve, for each drink, fill a martini shaker with ice, pour in 4 oz. of Hawaiian Martini mix and shake aggressively. Strain into chilled martini glass and garnish with a wedge of fresh pineapple. Serves 6.

I will be making these, for sure!

Father's day is tomorrow, and I have to say, I've never before been conscious by how many ads for dad-type stuff there are out there. I don't know how I'll feel tomorrow. I've been really sad, lately, about my dad; it sneaks up on me, unexpectedly, at times. I'll see little things that remind me of him; a display of gorgeous tomatoes at the farmer's market, a fishing rod at the hardware store. Or I'll hear my mom complaining about a rabbit in the garden, and I'll think of how he'd have recommended just going out and shooting the damn thing. My sweet cousin messaged me on Facebook a few days ago, sending love and support for the coming weekend, and it struck me that we're in the same boat, now. Sometimes I get so caught up in my little shut-in world, that I don't stop to consider how I'm almost never alone, in my situation.

I am cranking out the last rows of the body of Miss February Lady. No idea, really, if it'll fit okay or not, just confident that blocking will erase a world of woes, should it come to that. I've recently come to the conclusion that I am at SABLE (stash acquisition beyond life expectancy) status, and I need never buy yarn again. A happy place for a knitter who's just gone unemployed, unless she's a knitter who likes to shop for yarn, and I do. But last week, as I emptied the yarn dresser out, and lovingly packed those many, many skeins into the two big Rubbermaid tubs, it hit me that I've got lots to knit, in the coming year. And incredibly, nothing which will suffice for the Whisper Cardigan. meh. I've got other things in the pipeline.

Still no move date. The coming week holds some more handyman time with Randall, and some decisions to make about how much home improvement I can afford. I'm still under budget for this place, and for the Atlanta house, too. After a banner week, in which I trapped 4 rats in 4 days, I appear to be done with rats. I know the recent rain may have lured them back outside, though, so I continue to set and place the traps diligently, in hopes of conquering this problem once and for all. I've been locating the rat nests and stashes around the house; mostly under sofas, behind the big green hutch, and in the pantry. I found the gnawed top of my dog biscuit jar, a crime I had wrongly accused Cricket of committing, some weeks ago. I found the remains of my Easter candy, as well as some shredded vacuum cleaner bags in the pantry. Mercifully, the rat bastard left me 3 bags intact, which hopefully will get me through this move and into the Atlanta house.

A friend, a few days ago, was talking about resurrecting her blog, and turning it into a type of gratitude journal. I have a hard time sticking to any one format for my blogging (witness the paltry attention paid to knitting, these days) but this is an idea which intrigues me. Some things that I'm grateful for at the moment:

The NRN
Broken screens as an excuse to run my air conditioning
The cousin, who's been a tremendous moral support to me, lately
Jo Sharp
Showtime On Demand
Tricycle Daily Dharma
The return of Nu'uanu's rains
The plethora of lizards here: skinks, anoles and geckos!

Cricket is grateful for the rare treat of the Frosty Paws canine ice cream. He's a slob, though, and just tosses his trash around.


On to my dinner of chips, guacamole, asparagus, pineapple and ramen noodles. Yes, we are well-fed here at Chez Nu'uanu Estate!

k-brow: sarong living and media check

I'm unemployed at last. With 3 paychecks coming over the next 6 weeks, it could be worse. I finished up at school, and have been trying to muster houscleaning/purging/organizing mojo, with mixed results. The heat and post-school exhaustion have conspired against me, but I'm getting a bit done, and finding my rhythm. Also, continuing to trap rats, and ferret out their little hiding places within my house.

Some lovely knitting in public yesterday, for WWKIP Day, and then Blogless Michelle and I hung out and ran around, picking up a big dog shipping crate for Master Cricket, who will soon be flying the friendly skies to his new home in Atlanta. He'd outgrown the one he'd traveled in from Australia. Blogless' brother-in-law generously gave me one from one that dear, departed Emma had used. I gave him some pinot noir in exchange. Win, win.

One of the great joys of summer and not having to be anywhere in particular, is sarong living. Two years in West Africa and time spent traveling in SE Asia have made me a dedicated sarong wearer. Cooler than a skirt, and somehow more versatile, (it's a dress! a towel! a blanket!) I am all about the sarong these days. Oh yeah, and I'm drinking my coffee iced in the mornings, in an attempt to keep cool.

Crazy violet toenail polish: "Jiggy" by Creative Nail Designs. Some salon stuff I scored via my sister's Beauty Supply connections. I am always all about the shades of purple, these days.

Little else. I have taken advantage of our Showtime On Demand to marathon season 1 of "Dexter" which was grimly pleasing in a rather scary way. I never thought I'd get sucked into a series about a vigilante serial killer, but Dex's do-good attitude about his hobby, and his mad forensic skillz, plus that terrific supporting cast just hooked me. Now it's on to season 2...

This video, Roseanne Cash's "The Wheel," was posted on the Owl's Wings blog a few days ago, and I am just bedazzled by how many tarot images there are in it. I love the song, and adore the tarot-ness of it all. Enjoy.

Rosanne Cash   More CMT Music   More CMT Music Videos

I wonder if it's just some director's brilliant idea, or if Roseanne is an aficianado of the cards?

I'm off to fry some rice for dinner, with veggies. Broccoli, red peppers, edamame n' bacon! Yeah, I know...bacon's not a vegetable.

k-brow: hillbilly exiled

Where would I possibly find enough leather
With which to cover the surface of the earth?
But just leather on the soles of my shoes
Is equivalent to covering the earth with it

Likewise it is not possible for me
To restrain the external course of things
But should I restrain this mind of mine
What would be the need to restrain all else?

—Shantideva

I am a big fan of Tricycle magazine's online Daily Dharma. You can be, too.

School is over, though my work isn't nearly done. Fatigue, crushing heat, and a sore knee forced me to flee early today, after an emotional goodbye to some of my students and their parents. This job, with this age group, drives me crazy. The kids are biologically programmed to rebel and fight me at every turn, but are so young still, that some get teary when they tell me goodbye. Arrrgh. And the parents...I love the parents, all about my age, and funny as hell. Am I glad to quit the job? You betcha. But I'll miss the parents, now, especially now that I'm not accountable to them. And the kids, well, the 11 year old is a thorny, feisty creature.

I came home and slept off my Keneke's food coma in the breezy heat, and then got up and played with the dogs and drank more ice water

I am watching some History Channel marathon of "Hillbillies: The Real Story" about my people. Fascinating stuff. Feeling a little sad that my experience of teaching American History is ended,for the moment, but more than a little jazzed about going back to hillbilly land, if only for a drive-by.

A little shot of a graveyard angel, from my Oahu Cemetary walk:


I promised knitting, and I am a woman of my word:
(click my pix to biggify)
The Simple Yet Effective Shawl, in its tadpole form. A bit of a tedious knit, but I like the stripes caused by alternating skeins. Noro is addictive. Kureyon sock yarn is a bit like knitting with twine, but I know it will soften up.



Miss February Lady, almost done with the body. The true color is the more purple version above, with a little help from the touch-up features of iPhoto. I love this pattern, memorizable lace is a beautiful thing.

I need to go to bed, nap or not. My sleep is all jacked up, still, due mostly to silly aimless naps and coffee drinking and general craziness. But tomorrow is a long, intense day of working my ass off, so I should admit to that, eat a salted caramel and just take myself to bed.

k-brow: been awhile, hasn't it?

I still tag my entries with "k-brow" in the hopes that DisKnit will return, but then I haven't been exactly an exemplary blogger, myself, now, have I?

I tell you, it all hinges on the damn camera, on how it seems like too much work to shoot, download, upload and narrate my life pictorally. If I could just log in and write, then it seems like it would be easier. meh. I think I'm just overloaded.

P has moved to Atlanta, and is living in the empty Atomic Ranch. I am wrapping up life here, though it seems to move at an incremental pace, as school creeps on. It will go faster, after school is out and I can dedicate my energies to getting ready for the move.

Two more working days (not counting tomorrow, which I will spend, in its entirety, in the classroom) and I can walk away from this job, which has been such a trial for the past 3 years. Of late, it's been particularly odious. The students have been just plain mean to each other, a co-worker has been giving me the silent treatment, because I openly disagreed with her about someone we'd interviewed to be my replacement. The interviews went badly, and I eventually just took myself off the committee, after realizing that I really didn't care, and didn't need to care whom they hired for next year...

I am spending tomorrow, all day, in the classroom, in hopes of getting the major bulk of my work done, so I can leave on my last paid day. I do not want to give any more time to my employers. It will be nice to be at work with no one there, to print out the report cards, to pack up closets, to sponge all the dead ants out of my desk and clear out my cubbies. Try to remember what it was like to love teaching, love having my own classroom. Try to sort out whether this is a huge sea change in my feelings around my career, or just this crazy job, these past few years. Time will tell.

I've been getting together, sporadically with the knitters. Dinner with Acornbud and son, who knits not, spinning with Opal, finally making it back to knit night, and hanging out with Barb and Lilikoi and sampling the joys of Menchie's Frozen Yogurt.

Knitting has been going on, if sporadically. February Lady for at-home, and Laura Chau's Simple Yet Effective Shawl for out and about. Pix to come when I get around to it.

My war with the rats continues. They are winning, I think. I caught one last week, but my remaining snappy traps are bent out of shape and I need to replace them. I'm thinking about going with an electronic trap, which my friend on Maui recommends. It's expensive, but re-usable, and if it raises my catch rate, it'll be worth the cost,(about $40 + batteries) since now, the rats are springing the snappy traps and eating the bait, some nights. Rat drama seems to be a major topic of conversation amongst the catless denizens of Hawaii, amusingly enough. I had a discussion with my auto mechanic's wife, last week, and she was sketching out the differences between roof rats, Norway rats, and mice, for me. It seems I've gotten one Norway rat, 3 roof rats and about a dozen mice, if her taxonomy can be believed.

Now, kind readers, to reward your patience, as I document the sorrows of my spinsterly life of rat-battling and child wrangling, I have some pix of life in Nu'uanu:
A beautiful temple here on Nu'uanu Avenue, about a mile from our house. Isn't it just gorgeous? I wish my house looked like this...

A favorite dogwalking place, the venerable Oahu Cemetary. Especially now that the pink trees are in bloom. I do love me a graveyard.

The latest pic of our stream. Note how dry it is...we haven't had much rain in the past weeks.

The most photogenic member of our household, looking ahead.

I am off to bed, to rest up for tomorrow's toil. Insomnia has been plaguing me a bit, but I'm hoping to get a few hours tonight...

k-brow: feed the fangirl

In light of the fact that I have no current photos to post, here's one from Christmas, when P and I went to a strange little town out in West Virginia, on a drive. Most of the stores were closed, alas. Because there were some incredible antique/junk shops in the area. I think the place was White Sulphur Springs? Somewhere just across the VA border. Anyway, a purple pimp hat, and a reflection of P, reflecting on such things.

Utterly lacking in mojo of any kind, I found myself making yarncakes this evening from all my laceweight. Sometimes it gets me knitting. Tonight...not so much. The Schaefer Anne is a mean bitch to roll. It tangles up and catches on itself in the swift, and I did my share of growling and cussing as I wound it. Still, it's pretty, even if it doesn't send me rushing for my needles. It's been a sort of lost weekend, with Speech Festival and a whole lot of sleep. I did bathe and clip the dogs, but for the most part, I've been in some sort of low-key hibernation. I don't understand it, but hope it passes soon.

We closed on the Atomic Ranch, and P is camping out in it this weekend. Says it's very quiet and peaceful and green, there in the urban forest. I can't wait. Alas, there's 6 weeks of contracting, building, cleaning, painting and packing in store for me, before I get that pleasure. Gotta somehow find the wherewithal to pull out of my personal stuckness.

Acornbud and I went to see the new Star Trek movie, on Tuesday, at the IMAX theater. Now I have always been fond of the series (in all its incarnations) from way back, though it usually takes a back seat to my more modern sci-fi obsessions like Battlestar Galactica. But a re-imagined and rebooted version of the series has set my not-so-inner fangirl all a-flutter once more. Okay, I think the villain, Nero, could've been a bit scarier, but the conflicted Spock was spot on, and Kirk was obnoxiously pleasing with his swagger and daddy complex. I am happy, and no doubt will see this film again. Gotta feed the fangirl.

My current favorite beach, again, that nameless Windward side park, with a long curve of sand, and a sweet little bay.

k-brow: response

Thank you for the nice comments on Must Have, and the congratulations on the house. I'm very happy about both!

Must Have was knitted from Paton's Street Smart booklet, from 6 skeins of Paton's Classic Merino in Dark Natural Mix. I used US 6 and 7 needles. It was not a hard knit, if one knows how to do cables, but it definitely took some concentration. The charts for this pattern suck eggs, but the written directions for the cabling are excellent.

I prefer charts for lace, but written descriptions for cables, I think.

Here's an outside shot of the house, and its cool roofline. It's a tri-level, with lots of woods out back.


Vog continues here; stinging eyes and sore throat. I'm actually thinking of not running the dogs this eve, just because of the ickiness; it must be affecting them, too. I will hang out with them outside, though and let them poke around in the woods so they feel like they've gotten some kind of workout.

Star Trek, the Movie is out. I'm antsy to see it. But P is in Atlanta...my moral dilemna is whether or not to sneak out and see it on my own, or with geeky friends here (Acornbud? Did you read this?) or hold out til he comes home...though he may be seeing it in Atlanta as I write this. Arrgh. The trials of the long distance marriage are already kicking in...amor de lejos es para pendejos...

The weekend is shaping up, nicely. Some knitting tonight at Mocha Java, and some more knitting at Bluewater Grill in Kahala Saturday. The Pet Expo at the Blaisdell Center all weekend - shopping for dog toys and hanging out with agility friends. Some pre-packing, some mousetrapping, The Tudors, the requisite beach time...I'm just looking forward to the good mix of downtime, social fun and no work to speak of.

k-brow: little update

So yeah, I finished Must Have. Must Have taken me a lifetime to do it. But it is warm and cozy and pretty and I am pleased with myself over this.

It still doesn't have buttons, though, because in spite of being the woman with a grillion buttons, I don't exactly have a bunch o' matching ones. I sorted all my buttons out, a couple weeks ago, searching for the magical seven that would transform this sweater into a Fully Finished Object. Nah. But I did have fun admiring the spoils of my grandma's button box and several yard sales.


It's been so long since I've posted that quite a bit has happened that I should probably catch you up on. First (well, in my mind, anyway) I've been sick. Off and on since mid-March. A flu, an eye inflammation, just endless exhaustion. I think my life has gotten way too complicated, trying to teach and figure out this move at the same time. I've been pretty gentle with myself, though, and am coming out of it, I guess.

In the meantime, with our ranch house in Atlanta, there proved to be so many complications, triggered by the home inspection and our recalcitrant sellers, that we terminated the contract. Sad, too, until we found out that the Modern was back on the market. So we made our original offer again, and it was accepted. So now it's the Atomic Ranch, again, and I'm happy, though trying to see the lesson in all this; this falling in love with a house, losing it, letting go, bouncing back, and then getting what I wanted all along. Always with the analysis of attachments, yeah? We close on the house in about 10 days. P will attend, I am here in HI, which has turned nice and sunny, with a whopping dose of vog, which I guess isn't really nice.

Beltane came and went. Celebrated in low-key fashion, as is my custom. But a pretty altar.

I had all kinds of things to say here, but they seem to have dissolved. I should probably post more often.

k-brow: grillin' and chillin'

More veggie grilling
In answer to the questions about my veggie grilling...I take asparagus, zucchini, onions, peppers, whatever veggies I have on hand, and I just hit 'em with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Sometimes, if I'm REALLY ambitious, I mince some garlic, or use sesame oil and herbs. I used to just brush them with salad dressing, but recently, I'm trying to eat more very basic, simple foods, so it's usually just the olive oil and the lemon juice.

I pre-heat the grill to about 500 degrees and then just put the raw veggies on and grill away. Sometimes, (but not always) I brush the grill itself with olive oil, first. I grill the veggies about 5 minutes, grill lid closed, on high, and then check them, turning them with tongs.

With peppers, I start them with the outside skins on the grill first, and then when they get sear lines, I turn them and do the other side.

With asparagus, I start them spread out, and then as they get more done, I pile them together. You have to make sure they're perpendicular to the grill grate so they don't fall through.

I grill and taste and grill and taste till everything's done, and not too burnt.

Expect a lot of shrinkage. What looks like a huge amount of veggies cooks down rather quickly, so grill more than you think you're gonna need. They make good omelet fillings, salad additions and snacks.

I have not grilled eggplant. I'm a little afraid of it, having had the good, the bad and the ugly with this nightshade. I'm thinking to start experimenting with it, as I had some superb eggplant milanesa at Soul de Cuba in Chinatown the other night. And I like Baba Ganouj, so I'm thinking that grilling the eggplant may just make it palatable.

Today, I've spent the day entertaining my handyman, who came to give us estimates on rebuilding our rotten deck and termite damaged bathroom. These things are liveable for us, at this point, but the house cannot be marketed with them as is, in this economy, so we're tackling them as major repairs. Those, and the replacement of the dead dishwasher (though in truth, we get by just fine washing our own dishes) and the repair of the ailing washer are just big investments that we are biting the bullet and making, in hopes that they help to sell the house. My handyman reminds me that houses don't come up too much in Nuuanu, and by the time we put it on the market, it'll be hot on Oahu, and Nuuanu will seem cool and green and welcoming to all comers. I bought the house in June, and used to sit in our condo in Waikiki and watch the morning mists pour over the pali and envelope the Nuuanu and Manoa valleys and dream of living there... now, of course, I go down the hill and head east to Hawaii Kai to see the sun, and breathe some dryer air, but all things change as the seasons change.

It feels like we are in some crazy nuclear winter these days though. Maybe it's just that I work on the Windward side of the island, which gets lots of afternoon cloud cover and due to my cross-Ko'olau lifestyle, but winter seems to still have us in its grip. Cloudy, low 70's, and I've worn long pants and long sleeves more here now than ever before. I usually work in shorts or skirts and tank tops, but this spring, it's not the case. Craziness. The shawls and sweaters are definitely getting a workout.

A sweet shot of Ella sleeping.
She seems thinner, and less muscled, these days, though her senior panel at her annual physical revealed robust health and good physical condition for her nearly 11 years. She sleeps more deeply, now, too. Cricket is most definitely in his physical prime, these days, big, very fast and powerful. His fearfulness with strange people and dogs makes him a constant worry out in the public sector, but I feel like I have to walk a fine line with him; keep the stress threshold down, expose him in a safe, pleasurable way to as many new sights and sounds as possible. It takes more energy than I think I have, sometimes. When he gets to Atlanta, we'll resume working with a trainer, privately, this time, to deal with the reactivity. I know the trainers who do that work here, and feel like the venue isn't a good one for him; I want to work with someone new, someone I don't have a history with, too.

The prospect of moving has triggered all sorts of questions and wonderings...

Will I have to dress up more for work? And wear makeup?

Should I sell the CR-V here, and just drive my dad's truck, which he left to me, in Lexington?

A new place seems to be the ideal situation to start new patterns, to keep the good stuff, and to cast out the not-so-good. I think this is what's keeping me working on this move so far, as it seems, at times, altogether too much to face.

Must Have is stitched together. Photos to come this weekend. I'm not 100% thrilled yet, but as you know, my FO's grow on me. I love the sheepy smell of it, but it's gonna get washed and blocked, because I want to squeeze some length out of it.

I'm swatching for the February Lady Sweater, with some Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed. I love the yarn, though it's DK nature worries me a little with gauge issues; the pattern calls for worsted yarn. The Silkroad is a pretty fatty DK though, and I nearly have gauge with #7 needles, and I'm told that the pattern sizes run big, so I'm pretty ready to cast on. Time to knit something purple.

k-brow: feed your head

So many things, these days, are restoring my energy and joy. I am a moody person, by nature, and go up and down, with the moon and as the wind blows. Recently, though (probably with lengthening days and a steady diet of supplements and nettle infusion) I am more "up" than "down."

Here are a few things that are making me happy recently...

Reya's blog, with its recent series of entries on spirit guides, complete with tonic and recipes is giving me food for thought. I highly recommend her as a regular read, especially if you're interested in the seasons, shamanism, or photography.

I swear, would starve if it weren't for the gas grill. Most of my dinners cooked at home involve, if not the Le Creuset dutch oven, the big rusty gas grill. Asparagus and red peppers, from Costco. Basted in lemon juice and olive oil and eaten right off the grill.

My neighbor's bird of paradise flowers are blooming. Just gorgeous! I see it on my daily stroll with Ella, who likes a little walk away from the ever-bouncy Cricket.

Red and green foliage in Waimea. I don't know what this tree is. It has fat shiny leaves.


This pic, which I took last fall. A pile of opihi, or limpet shells that I found on the Big Island. I wish I'd taken some, but for some reason, I thought they might be kinda stinky, and I was roadtripping in a rental car, and wasn't sure of my ability to get them back to Oahu without complications. I have never eaten opihi; apparently they're hard to find, and quite delicious. Somebody had themselves a little feast.

Aloha Shorts is this terrific local storytelling program on our NPR station. It's on every Tuesday, at 6-ish, and is a wonderful showcase of the voices and experiences of the islands. I will definitely try and get this show through some streaming source, once I move back to the mainland!

Off to cook dinner now; leftover potato-kale soup and salad, with fresh-baked bread.

k-brow: spring breakin'

My spring break is winding down to a close. I'm trying to get last minute bills paid, laundry done, lunches for the week planned and organized, and am doing a fair job of working through my to-do list.

After we recovered from the jet lag and sorrow of losing the beloved Modern, spring break has turned out pretty nice.

We went to Blogless Michelle's art opening at the Chinatown Boardroom on Wednesday night. She'd painted an ukulele that was in a show of local artists. The Blogless One was fresh in from Wisconsin, and didn't seem worse for the wear, though I wonder if she crashed later? I gave her tea and a shower and she trundled on down the hill with husband and baby to her opening, which we attended later. Great fun, and it's amusing to see how different artists painted the ukeleles.

We put an offer in on our backup house, and it was accepted. Though this is a pricier house, it needs far less work than the Modern would have, in terms of updates, fencing, flooring, etc. so we are pretty much breaking even on what we'd spend. Which is far less expensive than housing in Hawaii, Northern VA or California, given the adjustments for the times. The new house, which we shall call El Rancho Sur (remember, now, I'm currently living in Chez Nuuanu Estate) for want of a better name. So El Rancho Sur is a ranch house, with a big tree-filled yard, a screened in porch, and a white brick fireplace. Assuming everything goes well, we'll own it by mid-May, and P moves in at the end of the month. I'll follow in late June or early July, depending on when Chez Nuuanu Estate sells or when I've had enough of sun and sea...

We took a road trip on Friday:

We went to the North Shore, via the H-1, coming through Wahiawa, stopping for excellent Mexican food at La Palenque, then through Haleiwa and on to Shark's cove and Sunset Beach. We made a stop at Ted's bakery for chocolate haupia pie, and I spotted Pamela Sue Martin, the actress who used to play Fallon on Dynasty. She was eating pie and looked happy to be doing so. Then we proceeded to drive, through Kahuku, stopping to get banannas at a roadside stand; hoping for lilikoi - passionfruits, but no luck, and on around the Windward side of the island.

We stopped at this gorgeous beach park, that looks like a scene out of "Lost". Not sure what it was, maybe Heia?

It was getting stormy.

The sand was very hard and packed, a perfect place for a walk down the beach.

We were alone, except for a few surfers and these two, who were trying to warm up after a swim. We walked too far down the beach, and got caught in a rather cold rain, and raced back to the car, absolutely soaking, and drove on home, to warmer clothes and potato-kale soup for dinner.

There has been knitting going on, and even the attending of the Mocha Java Knit Night last Thursday, after a cheering dinner at Genki Sushi, with Opal and her mom, and Dayna and Barbara. I've been on a knit night hiatus, of late, preferring to cocoon in my own house with my own food, but spring break has me feeling resilient and social, for a change.

I'm finishing up the button band of Must Have, and will stitch it together tonight or tomorrow, for a final completion of this sweater which has been too long on the needles. I fear it may be too short, and if I had to do it all over again, I'd have just added 3 or 4 inches to the pattern, right after the ribbing, since there's no shaping whatsoever on this thing. My final verdict is that it is a fun knit, with some design flaws, namely the fact that it wouldn't have killed the designer to mirror the cables, and add a little waist shaping. When I began the pattern, I had no idea how to really plan for those things, and so didn't do them, followed the pattern verbatim. It's been 1.5 years on the needles, though, so I'm happy to power through this UFO. I think I'll be able to squeeze some more length out of it with wet-blocking, and will certainly wear it, as it's soft and cozy, and utterly comforting in color and demeanor.

Whiteout conditions and sheeting rain coming off the pali have me worried about my planned grilled chicken and asparagus and red pepper dinner...Really, it's white outside, with a fine mist pouring into the bedroom windows before I shut them. Arrgh. Will this winter never end?

Gonna go put some rice on, now, and pretend that it's just a passing shower.

k-brow: back from atlanta

So I'm back. My whirlwind trip to Atlanta was more work than play, I've gotta say. We must have looked at 60 houses, due to a real estate agent who really does her homework, and my husband's need to see every damn thing on the market. We made an offer on a house we'd been admiring for 2 months online, one that P had actually visited twice before, on previous trips to Atlanta. Incredibly, the day we put the offer in, other offers went in for it, too, and ours wasn't accepted. It was a 60's modern, unimproved, on a huge lot. I was heartbroken, in the way that one shouldn't be over househunting. I cried loud and long, yesterday, when the realtor called and delivered the sad news. I was so sad, because we could have made the offer weeks ago, and we just waited, saying "it's too early, we're not ready yet." It was too early, but even if we'd made it 2 days earlier... Now I'm over that, though I think it will be a long time before I can drive by that cool house, once I'm in Atlanta. No other moderns on the market to speak of, though, so I think we'll write an offer on one of our backups. So much for my dream of the 60's kine atomic ranch lifestyle in the Deep South. I think the backup house is a normal ranch with a screened in porch, and a fireplace, though, so it's a happy compromise. It's a nice house, with a shady yard and some ethnic restaurants not too far away.

I really have to get my head out of the hypothetical imaginings that the real estate search always triggers in me. Like the job search, I can't put energy into it, unless I visualize vividly, the new life in the house. The meals cooked, the way the dogs look lounging on the floor of the living room. The way the light will fall across my bed in the morning. All that thinking and projecting causes me to fall in love, which invariably breaks my heart a little when the offer isn't accepted. I think I need to be more Buddhist in this endeavor, practicing nonattachment. Or more Wiccan, setting some energy loose in the Universe to work on my behalf, in the best way possible. And then, trusting in that process. This "I see it, I want it, I can see us in it, and I love it" approach is painful.

P says "toughen up". But he was sad, too, as he's the great fan of modern architecture, and is, in fact, the one who got me to start considering it.

I give you P's creation of "cheezettes"- little cheese turnovers made with feta, cheddar and the leftover filo dough. Great cocktail food, and a decent lunch with salad. Our friend Janis' mother makes the BEST version of these; I think she uses puff pastry and stuffs them really full with a mix of cheeses and herbs.


Our dishwasher died an untimely death last week. Nothing like having to replace an appliance when you're trying to make a move. The wiring was shot on it. But while the repairman was here, he found evidence of mice and rats back in the dishwasher cavity, and so the war begins anew. I had caught a rat in the snappy trap last week, and last night, my mousetraps were all sprung but caught nothing, so I suspect it's one of rat bastard's relatives. I've patched all the holes I can figure out that might be giving them egress, but apparently they're doing well in the house, or they have another way in. Dammit. The appliance repairman remarked that living against the mountain as we do, we couldn't avoid having vermin. And even last night, driving up our alley, I saw a mouse running from neighbor Vernon's to neighbor Barbara's yard. Grrrrrr...

Nevertheless, it's spring break, and even when I'm sad, I'm happy. I finished one of my jolly neapolitan socks; just need to graft the toe, and cast on for sock two. I haven't really felt the knitting mojo, but my 8 hour flight from Atlanta to Honolulu left me no choice; I had to knit that sock. I guess I'll be grateful, come next November.

Today, an attack of my teaching storage room, and a great purge of school and teaching stuff that I just don't really use. I've been dreading this part of the house clean up, as it's the biggest mess ever. A tarot reading yesterday focused on the Justice card, and the message of making decisions with wisdom and discrimination. Does the decision call for severity or mercy? I think severity is the order of the day as I attack that room. Not a lot of time to do it, since I'm lunching with Charlene at 2, and Blogless Michelle is coming by later to use my shower so she can go to her art opening, clean, after a daylong flight from Wisconsin. With a baby. Yikes. The woman has more fortitude than I do, that's all I can say.

Off to be severe with my stuff.

k-brow: there are no words

in this here blog:

Grass Doe

Just amazing, beautiful pictures of people, places and food.

k-brow: oh look, a meme!

I'm on spring break now and feeling lazy.



1. Can you cook? What?
I'm a good cook. I specialize in soups, stews and peasant foods, for the most part, but am also able to bake bread, cakes from scratch and biscuits.

2. What was your dream growing up?
To be a hippie chick and live outside of Blacksburg, VA on a little farm with chickens, horses and goats, with my guitar-playing soulful boyfriend.

3. What talent do you wish you had?
Some sort of musical talent.

4. Favorite place?
In all the world? Probably the area of the country where I grew up. Close contenders are: the Sonoran Desert, the island of Java, London.

5. Favorite vegetable?
Kale. Homegrown tomatoes.

6. What was the last book you read?
"The Friday Night Knitting Club". meh.


7. What zodiac sign are you?
Leo

8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings?
Ears pierced.

9. Worst Habit?
Procrastination.

10. Do we know each other in real life?
Many of you do.

11. What is your favorite sport?
I am not sporty, by nature. Dog agility?

12. Is a glass of water half-full or half empty?
Half-empty.

13. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me (after we called for help, of course)?
Oh, just talk your ear off.

14. Would you share an embarrassing moment with me?
Um...no doubt.

15. Tell me one weird fact about you:
I constantly look for ways to break tiny insignificant rules.

16. Do you have any pets?
2 poodle dogs.

17. Can you read a book upside down?
uh...why do you want to know?

18. What time is it where you are now?
5:23 pm. Time to walk the dogs and figure out dinner.

19. Who was the scariest fairy-tale/children movie hero ever for you?
I was terrified of pictures of a cyclops in a children's encyclopedia.

20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
I'd be more muscular.

21. Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
your conscience.

22. What color eyes do you have?
hazel.

23. Ever been arrested?
I had a warrant placed for my arrest for a bicycle traffic violation, but I paid a fine and got off without going to the pokey.

24. A cop or a robber?
Probably, in spite of my sneaky ways, a cop.

25. If you won 10,000 pounds/dollars today, what would you do with it?
Maybe do some repairs on my house. Take a trip to Japan. Bring my sister along.

26. What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew?
Dubble bubble.
27. Favourite fastfood restaurant?
Taco Bell, and in Hawaii, Zippy's.

28. Do you believe in ghosts?
Yes.

29. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
Knit. Read. Daydream.

30. Do you swear a lot?
Hell, yes. More than I'd like to.

31. Biggest pet peeve?
Gosh, I can't think of anything that really bothers me at the moment.

32. In one word, how would you describe yourself?
Eclectic.

33. Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

k-brow: court intrigues

A weekend dedicated to the migraine, and too much fioricet, resulting in more sleep than any one person needs. I feel better now, and actually managed to get a few things done, knitting, even. But I'm left with the residual feeling of deprivation. Now back at work, all I can think of is that Spring Break is coming, and not a minute too soon.

This thing, this theme of "Keep the country country" cracks me up. There are very few places on Oahu I'd call actual "country", and certainly Sunset Beach/Waimea, where this pic was taken, isn't one of them. But I do get the gist of it, that desire to return to a simpler time, or at least to preserve what simplicity remains. (as always, click to get biggety-like images)

Speaking of old times gone by, and simple stuff that's gone completely crazy in these modern times...

Our school is having this crazy spring fling with a court and everything. A court. Here in the islands, there's this practice of choosing a king and queen (formerly on May Day) and princesses and escorts, in the elementary schools each year. Like a prom, only not with the dancing and dates and suchlike. But definitely an opportunity for sowing the seeds of princess behavior. Hell, I've heard it's even done in preschools. It's a little bit precious, especially as it gets all mixed up with Hawaiian language and culture studies, at least at our school. The queen has to do a special hula, and each class that performs (because it's nothing if not a huge freakin' performance opportunity) has to bow to the court before the performance. It's some crazy stuff, and coming right hard on the beginning of break, end of the quarter and right before state testing. I complained about the bowing thing, today, and got a good warning about trying a little harder to not mess up the authenticity of the fete...showing proper respect to the court, etc. Oh man... while I like royalty and all, and DEFINITELY think our queen is a good kid and one who deserves every honor, this court thing has gone a little over the top. My bowing complaint was mostly because it didn't flow with my class's performance, which requires them to start offstage, not onstage. Nevertheless, I sucked it up and choreographed in a little bow. I know not to mess with royalty. Or traditions at this school. It's just that this mix of European royalty tradition and Hawaiian culture played out in school customs is something I can't quite get my head around.

I am counting the days. Oh lord, am I counting the days. I am so counting the days.

Lest this turn into a rant about things I don't really mean, I feature now a shot of the burgeoning Nuuanu stream, the very one that runs through Acornbud's backyard, and on downhill into our own neighborhood. I go to sleep each night to the sound of this creek, and it is very full right now, with all the rain we've been having. It is more natural uphill, in our 'hood it's this fenced in culvert thing, as pictured. Still, the area is lush and green. Occasionally, one sees ducks hanging out, and I think our resident toads do their breeding there.


No knitting to show, I am trying to finish Must Have, so I can wear it on my endless flight to Atlanta. But our jade plant is responding to the newfound sunshine with a touch of red.

k-brow: lion or lamb?

Thus goes March. Yesterday, sunny and cool; possibly the most beautifully perfect Hawaiian spring day I've ever seen. I got sunburned standing outside at school, coaching my students through their dance practice. Today, it's cold and rainy again. Rain all day, and temperatures back in the 60's. I had a migraine, leftover from yesterday, and spent much of the day in fitful sleep, aided by the miracle of Fioricet. Awoke at 5pm, declared myself cured, and took the dogs outside for a sunset frolic at Nuuanu schoolyard.

It was Pi day; 3.14, so P made a pie; Bstilla, to be precise:

So yummy, accompanied by a green salad. Too rich for dessert, though I am eating a bit of dark chocolate with a cup of red zinger tea now.

Because of the all day sleep, I'm not the least bit sleepy. I'm sitting up, shrouded in Lady Eleanor, Ella at my feet, watching first a fascinating show about ancient architecture on the History channel, and now the movie, "Yentl" on Showtime. Knitting on this sweet confection of a sock:


The elusive Trekking 126. It's been lounging in stash for a couple of years. I think, at one time, it was discontinued or in high demand or something. I love its colors; neapolitan, or like that Brach's coconut candy that's so hard to find. The pattern is the basic sock recipe from Sensational Knitted Socks, which is my sock bible. Knit 3, purl 1, top down on 2 circular needles, size US1. Trekking is my go-to sock yarn. I own others, but it is this yarn that I most frequently knit up into socks.

I'm feeling sock-positive, these days. I am not one of those knitters who knits exclusively socks. You know the ones. But moving to the mainland, I'm thinking that a few pairs of handknit socks could be a good thing. It would chew up some stash, as well.

I've seen the new Knitty, and I love the Reverie and Sourwood Mountain patterns. Especially Sourwood. I will knit those mitts. I've got the perfect yarn for them, a deep green Jo Sharp Silkroad DK, in stash. Another portable project for one burnt out on hefty undertakings.

I am going to Atlanta for a few days over Spring Break, week after next. Might as well go see the place where I'll be living...looking forward to the getaway, looking forward to spring on the East Coast, but oh my, do I fear that nonstop flight from HNL to ATL!! Endless time in the air. I'm already making a playlist for the iPod; I've corralled the perfect book; Wally Lamb's "The Hour I First Believed", and I've got the socks and the UFO Chevron Scarf to finish. And still, it will be an endless flight, in coach. Thank the goddess I have an aisle seat.

I love this movie "Yentl." It's about a woman in eastern Europe, in the early 1900's, who wants to study Torah. Barbara Streisand cuts her hair, and somehow convinces the men she's a young boy and goes to seminary, only not seminary. I guess it's yeshiva. Anyway, good stuff, for an escapist night. We have the love interest of Mandy Patinkin lighting up the screen as well.

I went to Knit Night on Thursday, mostly because errands took me there, but also to wish Acornbud a happy birthday. She ended up gifting me with a bag of lavender flowers and some homemade soap! Heavenly stuff, both. The lavender is destined to be stuffed into a sachet, and the soap is too pretty to use, but I guess I'll have to. I hadn't been to Knit Night for weeks, and I haven't particularly missed it. It feels like too much, the working all day, coming home and running the dogs and then racing out to Ward Center. The group is bigger, now, and it just seems easier to curl up on the couch and light a stick of incense, brew a cuppa and knit in my own peaceful house, most nights. There is the social dimension, though. I will play it by ear, this Knit Night hiatus.

In a total non-sequitur, yesterday, at school, at lunch, we were talking in the teachers' lounge about how I would miss local foodstuffs. I remarked that I was very consciously making sure to keep Apple Bananas, pineapple and papaya in stock all the time, now to enjoy while I'm here. Two of my coworkers remarked that they never ate fresh pineapple here, but preferred the canned! I nearly fell out of my chair. One remarked "I don't like to mess with it." Hey, I'll mess with it. I was always a fresh pineapple eater on the mainland, though, it seemed more like a splurge or a rare treat, there, rather than diet staple that it is here.


We found daffodils in the Safeway today. 'Tis the season.

k-brow: i am elinor dashwood

Take the Quiz here!

I was so honest taking this quiz, it wasn't even funny. But I was hoping to get Anne Eliot, who is my favorite Austen heroine. Ahh, well, I won't cheat.

Cold. Rainy. Frozen lasagna in the oven. Gonna go finish the Clapper and do some schoolwork.

k-brow: a dispatch from the submerged world

I'm up uncharacteristically early on a Sunday morning; it's about 7:30. I'm up because Ella peed on the bed in her sleep. Arrrrh. Doesn't happen all that often but it's a rude awakening. Spay incontinence can be a bitch. Heh. I said "bitch" in reference to my female dog. Lest I sound completely uncompassionate, let me assure you that she is being treated, with Chinese herbal compound Suo Quan Wan, which works fairly well, and is much gentler than the alternative, Proin, which my vet describes as "dexatrim" for animals. I think she drank a lot of water last night and was just really tired or something. Anyway, the sheets are in the wash, and the bed is coated liberally with Nature's Miracle. Rude awakening, nevertheless.

But all worth it, because I got to see a patch of blue sky. That is something, around here, let me tell you. It's been a whole lotta this, recently:


We simply do not see the sun in Nuuanu, and it rains more often than not, these days. I've taken to going to other parts of the island to see what sun there is to be seen and to feel like I'm drying out a bit. It's been windy, too, adding to the general feeling of cold. I'm not alone in my incessant whingeing about this weather, but I'm even getting tired of hearing myelf!

The external conditions are mirrored for me, internally, so I really want to do nothing more than burrow under the sheets and sleep until April wakes me up. But work is eating my life right now, so to work I must go, where it is no sunnier, and where I am scrambling frantically, to finish out the quarter, as well as coach a bunch of kids in a dance performance that I'm just learning as they are. Ugh. I do not like this extracurricular aspect of teaching. Usually I run a homework club, but as our class gets ready for its big Spring Fling, it's flinging extra responsibilities my way. Add this to the burgeoning hormones and pre-adolescent drama of the 5th graders, and you've got a recipe for exhaustion. Far worse than the exhaustion, though is the condition of "no joy."

A conversation with a friend last week reminded me that life could be far, far worse, and that I am very blessed and lucky, indeed, but it's a difficult time of year, nevertheless. I won't be but so magnanimous on the blog, thank you.

Still, there was a little glimpse of blue sky today.

My knitting on Clapotis, in the "Driving Through December in Virginia" colorway of Silk Garden, continues. I am on the last few decrease rows, now, and am enjoying this knitting, with its stockinette soothing me all the way. I chose to knit the thing on straight needles. I often start a project on my Lantern Moon straights, mostly because they are so beautiful to see and touch, but then, as the project gets heavier, I switch to the Denise circulars. Not so for this project. The rosewood was too nice a match for the earthy colors of the yarn, and I needed the thrill of pleasure I got each time I picked up the needles. It hasn't been all that heavy, and the Lantern Moons are pointy and fast, fast, fast. Even for a slow knitter like me. Here is a progress shot, though we are long past that, as well:

I am looking forward to wearing this so much! I have never knit a clapotis that I kept for myself that was truly satisfying, and I have a feeling this will be the one.

I spent a nice evening at Acornbud's last week. She surprised me with a Guinness upon my arrival, and things just got better from there. It was good to get out of my own house and head, and just enjoy the company of friends and great food. Chris made a rare appearance, and Blogless Michelle came over and brought vegan cupcakes along with Baby Max, who is not pictured here, alas... which were these incredible gingerbread things with lemon buttercream (except that there was no butter nor cream in the recipe) frosting. Now I'm no vegan, but when someone brings me cupcakes, especially in a flavor I was craving, I'm not going to quibble semantics. Blogless Michelle is taking over the world with her culinary experiments, and establishing a new identity as a meat-eating vegan. We are the happy beneficiaries of her experiments.

There's sun actually shining across the valley this morning. Albeit, a weak lemon buttercream sort of sun, but it shines nevertheless. I'm going to refill my coffee and try and finish up my clapper this morning, and hope for beach weather soon.

k-brow: worth the wait

The end of Rosedale. Well, except for the sleeves. I saved the sleeves, so I could see a clear image of the color runs of the yarn. I have several small balls of Kureyon left from the frogging. I want to felt them together to make one larger ball, but would like to stay true to the color runs of the original balls, so I kept the sleeves for now, whilst I work on this salvage project. Ahh, Rosedale, you deserved better...

The year I moved here, really, on the first day I arrived here, I found, discarded in my yard, a phalenopsis orchid in bloom. I brought it inside, kept it as a pet for a long time. It made a baby sprout and then the whole thing seemingly died. I was sad, but quickly healed my pain by focusing on the ease with which dendrobium orchids are grown. Forgot about the phalenopsis. Moved on. Occasionally I checked the pot that was sitting outside on the wall (with all the other "done blooming" orchids) but didn't give it much thought. Two days ago, this greeted me as I walked out to work:

Well worth the wait, and I never saw it coming!

P is back from Atlanta for the moment. He's been looking at houses, which aren't nearly as expensive as homes in Northern Virginia, California, or Hawaii. Nothing's been decided yet, as far as places to live go; we have plenty of time, at this point.

I am cooking dog food and waiting for a time between showers to go out and walk Ella. She is the Dog of the Day; ie, the one who gets the energetic focus.

k-brow: freeing the Noro

Today was windy and cold. On a wild whim, I decided to wear Rosedale to work. I knitted this sweater more than a year ago, and I have had mixed feelings about it since I cast it off the needles. So many errors, so much awkwardness. I knitted it because I craved a technical challenge; the corrugated ribbing + intarsia panels were so seductive. The funky, candy-colored sunset Noro Kureyon just made me happy every time I picked up the needles. But my raglan lines were ugly and the intarsia panels were puffy. I never wore it. The Kureyon was itchy, even though I knew it would soften up, if I soaked it. Probably a good blocking would cure the puffitude of the intarsia, too. Alas, I couldn't bring myself to love it. Today, I almost did. It was so warm, and so many people stopped me in the halls to admire the crazy colors and sporty design.
This evening, I decided it wasn't fair to keep the Kureyon enslaved in a sweater I had no love for. Not since I've experienced true love, in the form of Icarus, or the Malabrigo mitts. So I decided to free it for other uses.

I did not reckon how damn difficult it would be to frog corrugated ribbing, let alone intarsia. I learned anew, that I'd had 3 balls of yarn working at any one time on this sweater, and all the little scrips and scraps and woven in bits were enough to make Jesus cry. Not the baby Jesus, either, but the full grown one. It was like unraveling clown vomit for awhile. I've done about half of it, and I'm giving myself a break. This yarn needs to be washed and skeined again, later, to knit again. It's so crinkly and crunchy. But the Noro love in my heart is strong.

k-brow: warming the heart

I give you curried pea soup, and an unintentional peek into my obsession with Le Creuset cookware.
This is my whole collection, bought piece by piece, over about 8 years. On sale. The kettle, a gift from P last Christmas. But the soup...the soup is yellow split peas, carrots, potatoes, celery, curry and fresh spinach, with generous helpings of grated ginger and garlic. I've been feeling the need for a healing broth, a la curry. It isn't done yet, but smells heavenly.

Icarus...I haven't yet blocked him; the bed I use for blocking is covered with stuff waiting to go to the Goodwill, but I've been wearing him every day. I'm madly in love with the softness and the warmth. Hawaii still is in the throes of its windswept winter, and the merino is cozy.

This is how I wear it. I think if I blocked it, it would grow; I would like it a tad bigger, but it's okay for the time being.

Here's a shot of me wearing Icarus in Rivendell...functional fashion for Elvish events!

And here's the outside shot, showing that the shawl isn't really all that green.
I am home alone, and enjoying the quiet. I took the dogs for a leash walk this eve, both together, which is no easy feat for my two. There was cavorting and barking, and it took us awhile to find our rhythm. I usually exercise them separately, if walking is the order of the day. I think I need to do more of this with them together, just because of the extreme subdued behavior afterward. I can play fetch with them for a long time, and they come home riled up and in a lather. But this walk has left them so mellow. I'm no Cesar Milan fan...okay, I think he's cute, but maybe there's something to this 'walking is good for the pack' thing he always preaches. At any rate, I'm trying to walk my own ass out more often, these days. Something about the beginning of Lent, and the need to reinforce good habits.

The timer tells me the soup's ready. Off to turn over a load of laundry, and to cue up "Letters From Iwo Jima" on the dvd player.

Oh and we are getting a crazy hard rain right now. The windows are rattling in the house and the once-catatonic (heh, I said "cat" to describe my dogs) dogs are getting their bark on!

k-brow: blood of the lamp

Happy Belated Valentine's Day. We usually celebrate in a low-key, homecooked meal way. Today, lower-key than ever. Ate school party chocolate, and walked the dogs. Otherwise, we spent the day cleaning house, purging stuff, preparing for the mother of all Goodwill runs. Not as bad as it sounds. P kept threatening to make a chocolate souffle and never got around to it.

I was driving in Manoa today and saw a truck with a spray painted message on its tailgate. Now I think the writer in question meant to write "Blood of the lamb" on it. But they got a little carried away with the can and it ended up reading "Blood of the lamp." I am so sorry not to have a pic of this fabulousness, but I was driving fast and he (not sure why I'm assuming this is a man) was driving faster. Blood of the lamp. May it illuminate your life.

Two weeks ago, I was going to Mocha Java for knit night, and I saw a racy black car with a big decal on the back windshield that said "Hemo Yo Panty." At the time, I had no idea what it meant, only that someone was driving around with the word panty decalled on the back windshield. Later, after mutual confusion, Opal asked her mom what it meant, and her mom gently informed her that "hemo" is Hawaiian for "take off." sigh. So damn tacky. On a car. Out on the street. Pah! I know tacky isn't the word for it, but at the moment I have no better.

We've had howling winds all day here, and our power was out for several hours after the dog walk, say from 6pm to about 11:00. We were cold and tired, so we just went to bed. Then the power came back on, and we'd done nothing about dinner, so we ate leftover salad and wine. Now, I'm wide awake and it's 1:30 am. Glad it's a 3-day weekend.

Knitting mojo remains dicey at best. I'm plugging on Clapotis, though suspecting that I should concentrate on earlier UFO's instead. Just so I don't have to haul the Wicker Basket of Shame to the mainland. I've made so much progress on the clapper, anyway, that it's become a UFO in and of itself.

I went to a great dog training seminar last week. Greg and Laura Derrett, these international agility superstars were en route back from Melbourne, Oz, and stopped by Hawaii to give a 2 day seminar in Mililani. I audited the first day, which was all about agility foundation work. Foundation work is all the games and tricks and techniques you do with the dog before you ever introduce it to the obstacles. The Derretts believe that taking a long time with foundation work makes training the obstacles easy-peasy, and makes for speed and control in competition. I did a fair amount of foundation work with Ella, but know that the person with whom I trained here did not empahasize it, mostly because her clients didn't want it; they wanted to go to the obstacles. I kinda understand that, the obstacles are FUN! Now, having Cricket, who is so bratty, and out-of-control, I realize that we'll probably never run courses, except maybe in private lessons. So the foundation games become a way to build control, and bond with my difficult dog through training. Anyway the Derretts were incredibly funny and I felt really lucky to have a day with them. It made me a little regretful, for a tiny moment, that I had retired Ella, but I'm enjoying the not-training with her so much that I can't really regret.

In Mililani, I visited Blogless Michelle in her new home. She made me an avocado shake. Not something I would have ordered myself, but hey, I drink Nettle infusion, who am I to turn down someone else's idea of green heaven? It had coriander in it and was actually quite nice. I also saw that awesome baby Max, who has definitely raised the bar for looks in a baby. He is just a gorgeous child!
Me and the avocado goodness:

There's been some knitting at Joy's place, as well. But no pix, because I keep forgetting the camera. Suffice to say, I'm out and about and having fun, these days. Gotta taste that rainbow.

k-brow: spring, finally!

Our cold seems to have broken for the moment, replaced by fragrant humidity, and haze. Not ideal, but I like being warmer. The plumeria tree is trying to get leaves and blooms, too. So I can't complain. I am in the midst of multitasking; cooking up stew for my dogs, writing a letter of recommendation for a student who's applying to Punahou (Barack's alma mater!) and watching "Lost."

Little knitting of any consequence has gone on. I finished Icarus about 10 days ago. It had completely dominated me, that shawl. I was knitting about 2 rows a day, and feeling like I would never see the end of it, and suddenly, it was done! Just like that. Then there was the bind off, which pretty much took me a whole Saturday. And now, it's done, though unblocked, thus far. I've been wearing it as a scarf, and am kind of pleased with its wavy edges and the incredible softness of the merino. A true luxury item, considering the hours and hours I put into it.

Now I can safely say 2 things with assurance: (1) I enjoy knitting lace, and forsee more in my future, and (2) I will never knit a big shawl on little needles in laceweight yarn again. So there you have it. Icarus, the anticlimax.

Lots going on in my life. Things I haven't blogged about, so writing about it now seems hurried, somehow abbreviated. Long story short, another chapter in our nomadic life is about to begin. P got a new job in Atlanta, and we're planning to move there sometime this summer. This has more to do with his career and habit of taking jobs in far-flung ends of the country every few years, than with any burning need to flee Hawaii right now. But the truth is (and regular readers know it well) that I do miss life on the mainland and welcome the change.

So yeah. Reactions and the first thoughts in my head...

The logistics of the move just dazzle me. And not in a good way. Didn't I just get unpacked from a crazy move from DC to Honolulu just 3 years ago? Pah!

Shipping 2 dogs in the summer, from one hot place to another? I'm still working out this one.

Selling a big quirky house during a slow economy feels daunting. Moving to a place with far, far lower cost of living is appealing, though.

Quitting my job (I resigned today, but will work through the school year) feels wonderful. It was like taking a big weight off my shoulders. I can enjoy my work again, without feeling embroiled in work drama. A temporary high, doubtless, but I'm committed to enjoying it as long as it lasts.

Leaving friends, my hairdresser, the best vet ever, the perfect dogsitter, the ocean, spam musubi, poke and a walkable, safe downtown? I'm crying over all these things. I don't let myself think about the volcano, the stars and the plumerias, lest I lose my resolve.

But honestly? Seriously, I need to be closer (2 hour flight, or a 10 hour drive) to my family. I can go to VA for a long weekend from Atlanta. I need 3 or 4 seasons, my mind and body just work better that way.

I feel like I'm telling a story that I've told before. Only this time it's all different. Bear with me.

k-brow: a poem

Imbolc Blessings to all and sundry! In honor of the 4th annual Bloggers Silent Poetry Reading, I give you my own contribution:


Green Frog at Roadstead Wisconsin

It is the way of a pleasant path
To walk through white birch, fir,
And spruce on a limestone trail
Through the quiet, complacent time
Of summer when, suddenly, the frog jumps
And you jump after him, laughing,
Hopping, frog and woman, to show
The stationary world its flat ways.
Love is a Frog, I grin that greenly
To your green eyes and they leap
At me. Up, I will enter the Frog World
With you and try the leaping ways
Of the heart that we do not fail to find
The sunlit air full of leaping chances.

- James Schevill