Monday, February 18, 2008

Have you seen me?

Hawai‘i is the "Endangered Species Capital of the United States."

Last known footage of the Kaua‘i ‘Ō‘ō

Warning: Sad

Weekend in Review

This weekend I borrowed a friend's Dick Brewer up at Hanalei Bay and managed to get quite a few nice little rides! Ok so the surf was microscopic, but I managed to pearl only once which is a big achievement for me.

Later that night Nick and I used a christmas present gift certificate (thanks Kristen) to dine at my all-time favorite Kauai establishment, The Blossoming Lotus. Nick ordered a new garbanzo masala dish that turned out pretty bland but my "Udon Odyssey" was sublime as always. The B. LO was my first revelation that when done well, vegan food tops anything the meat and dairy industry can toss at us.

Yesterday I began a cleaning frenzy. The type of frenzy that only envelopes me once or twice a year and makes Nick run out the door clutching his bike without looking back. The type that moves furniture, tears about piles of junk and digs deep beneath the bed. I made great headway clearing out the workshop beside the house, this building made of rusting corrugated iron and screen has become a stockpile for Nick's "treasures." By treasures I mean molding scraps of mosquito net, random screws, broken kites and trail food from two years ago. I carved out a nice sunny corner beneath two large windows to use for crafting, reading, yoga or just plain nothing.

I also fought a prolonged battle with an anole. I really, really don't like sharing my house with anoles. I don't hate them like I do the ants or the occasional cockroach/centipede. But I do not want to live beside them at close quarters. Why? They are really brazen, hang on the wall above my head and do little chest presses to show dominance and jump like Olympian hurdlers. I am terrified of one jumping in my hair. The thought of it is currently sending tingles down the back of my arm.

So I tried to chase one out yesterday with a broom. It would sullenly move in slow inches, pausing to chew a mosquito or give me a death stare. But finally I won and as I watched him?her? run down the boardwalk in front of our home and disappear beneath the banana tree I felt the exhilaration of a soldier at the end of battle.