Singing a Mango Song

Had my first mango of the season today, divine. Just peeled the skin back and let the juices run down my fingers. And yes, I rubbed them off on my skirt at the end and went on back to work.

Next will be mango lassi, mango crumble, mango chutney, mango and ice cream, mango and yogurt, mango and chicken, mango and hot sauce

mmmmmmm

Vog

Glad I don't live on Big Island right now, but we're even seeing some vog way over here on little ol' Kauai.

Yes, No, No....Yes Definetely

February 19th 2008...so there I was with a plus sign preggo stick in hand. My first thought was, "At last." My second thought was, "Oh...my...god." I've been here once before. Last year in May. That pregnancy ended sadly, but not uncommonly in an early miscarriage that was quite protracted and ultimately clinical and invasive. Here I was again deathly afraid that history might repeat itself.

I did some breathing exercises and let the sad thoughts slowly drift off before speeding (sorry baby!) out to Waimea to pull Nick out of his office with an early birthday card announcing, "You're going to be a Dad. Congrats!" I had picked out the card months before, with lovely thick paper and a small nest nestling a tiny bluebird egg, saving it for this exact purpose. It took him a second to actually get what I was on about but his happiness was clear and immediate.

The next day I was scheduled to see an dentist for which I always have to take an antibiotic due to a slight mitro valve prolapse. Would an antibiotic hurt a barely four week old zygote? embryo? I decided to ask my doctor when I went to pick up the prescription and was promptly given a pregnancy test by the nurse. And then another one. Both were negative.

Could it be that I'm actually not officially "late" until tomorrow? What about the two Sigg bottles I drank in the last two hours? I knew I was pregnant. The doctor shook his head, "Let's put it this way, if you actually are pregnant I'll have to reevaluate the brand of pregnancy tests we buy for the office." I felt like pounding my head against the wall but instead I did something worse, started crying. I hate feeling weakness in a clinical white room. Doctors and pregnancy, my ambivalence from last year started to creep back. I went to the lab for a blood test and was promised the results the next day.

The evening, another positive pregnancy test. The next morning, another positive pregnancy test. Nick then forbid me from peeing on any more sticks. "Enough already, we'll find out either way really soon."

Morning goes by...no phone call. Lunch passes...no phone call. 2pm my cell phone rings. "You're not pregnant."

But...the 3 positive tests I've taken? "There is something wrong with your urine" before hanging up.

Oh god...I've hysterically induced a pregnancy. I call Nick. Is it possible I've hysterically induced a pregnancy?

Phone rings again. Same doctor. "Lab mixed you up with someone else. Congratulations."

And so we were off...

Meet the Lil' Chum

We're 13 weeks pregnant! Baby coming Oct 27th to a small island near (or not so near) you!

Kauai Garden Fair

Kauai County Farm Bureau and UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources present

Saturday, April 19th
13th Annual Kauai Garden Fair
Kauai Community College Campus Lawn

On Saturday, April 19th the Kauai Community College front lawn will spring to life with gardeners, suppliers, garden lovers and consumers here to shop the wide variety of plants, landscape products and equipment and to find out the latest gardening information and tips. Whether you garden yourself, seek local garden products, or simply enjoy experiencing the fruits of the garden and tropical landscaping, the Garden Fair is a great way to spend the day!


· One day FREE EVENT for the garden

· MEET OVER 30 garden related vendors, companies, agencies and organizations

· ONE STOP SHOP for varieties of tropical plants, orchids, produce, seeds

· LECTURE SERIES on garden related topics (schedule below)

· UH CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION Exhibits – Master Gardeners,

· 4-H LIVESTOCK AUCTION – fun for the whole family

· VEGAN FOOD by Blossoming Lotus, PRIZES AND MORE!


UH College of Tropical Agriculture and HR – Lecture Tent Schedule

9:30am - 10:15am Growing anthuriums

10:15am – 11:00am Growing orchids

11:00am - noon Plant your own, take it home, nutritious eating

noon - 1:30pm Growing tropical fruit trees Milan Rupert

1:30pm - 2:15pm Color Caping: Colors which make you look best

2:15pm - 3:00pm Growing native plants

I love you but I'm going to mace you in the face

Finally watched The Darjeeling Limited. I'd put it off because I'd heard bad reviews but once again it was a reminder to make my own choice. I loved it. Totally and completely.

I think my order of favorite Wes Anderson films are now

1. The Royal Tenenbaums
2. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
3. The Darjeeling Express
4. Rushmore
5. Bottle Rocket

Curious about The Fantastic Mr. Fox, coming out next year

The last three months have been full of more vivid, wild and tripped out dreams than at any other point in my life. I'll submit the odd gem out for analysis.

Weird Dream 1: I was being methodically pursued among the rows of a gilded 1930's theater by translucent, gangly aliens. The only way I could make them cease was to obviously kill them off...which I did by cracking their upper jaws back like pez dispensers.

Biting the Apple: Temptation to Run off into the Distance

I'm not feeling 100% today. A little more like 43%. Took some good friends to the airport who are moving to....

That's just it, they have no idea. They got the yen to leave the rock and are heading to the mainland to pick up an airstream rv they purchased online and proceed to drive around the country for the next 6 weeks deciding where to hang their hats. Did I mention they have a one year old? I am impressed and while I am so happy I get to go home tonight and curl up in my quilt, make a cup of tea and reread whatever book I can lay my hands on, part of me is yearning for a little more horizon scanning.

Like when I was in Tasmania I had this momentarily overpowering urge that said, "What if you just stayed. Or buy a ticket to Santiago and head back down to Patagonia. Do it. Bite the apple."

Instead I flew home and spent this morning throwing up my delicious homemade organic smoothie in a public restroom at the Maatson shipping dock while my friends offloaded there car for it's cross Pacific return.

But then I remember a friend from college who after talking a long time about the Lutheran hymns of his Minnesota childhood, sat back on his Montana porch and sighed, "I like home."

Back on the rock

What's the best thing about wrapping up what's been an outstanding overseas holiday? Getting to stand in HAWAIIAN AIRLINES line at the Sydney airport where staff somehow swallow their pride and say things like "Aloha" and "Mahalo" in lilting Australian accents while smirking at poor souls in next line waiting to board an American Airlines flight to LAX. Suckers...

Now I'd like to spend the next 45 minutes rhapsodizing on the deep rich mustard colors of the Tasmanian button grass plains, or the baby wombat I saw trying unsuccessfully to burrow into his/her mummy's pouch. However, travel has taught me one thing. Most people really don't want to know that much. So in summary, did I eat vegemite? No, it's nasty. But I did fall in love all over again with the country of my 5 year permanent residence visa. I'll wack some pics up over the next few days as that tends to go down smoother.

Nick is currently in Molokai touring deep dark valleys while I'm eating Subway at my desk thinking, ok time to get back to work. The temperature today is a balmy 72 and I had a bird of paradise bouquet on my desk welcoming me home (thanks lovely anonymous co-worker!)

Blown Away By Tasmania

Literally

I'm not really doing the whole blogging thing on vacation. It's way more fun to look at koalas and duck breaking tree branches than type. But only 6 more days and I'll be back tap tap tappy tappin

Over and out

Help Wanted

Will you clean my house for me? At least my sheets?

Argh, leaving for Australia on Thursday morning (so I'll be blogging upside down soon) and have the energy of a caterpillar. I have a mountain of laundry in the closet, some sneaky mold appearing on the edge of bookshelves (my absolute least favorite part of living on Kauai) and a fridge that I need to either clean or discover the cure for cancer in already!

I will pay you in guava. And you can have all the chickens you can catch.

Lock up your children

I just got my confirmation letter from the University of Hawaii-Manoa welcoming me to the Elementary Education program. This means that in a few short years I will be actively manipulating, er molding, the minds of impressionable, er sweet, children.

My class rules will consist of:
1) No Lunchables, ever
2) Be nice to Mr. Winkles the friendly class piranha
3) Forget the apple, I'll accept homegrown lychee and mangoes.
4) Charlotte from Charlotte's Web was a martyr and thus should have some sort of shrine
5) I'm Ms. not Mrs. Teacher mahalo very much

Beware the Beach Babes

A slight change of plans moved us from Anini to Kahili Beach (aka Rock Quarries) over the weekend. We woke up in the morning to albatross calling and spotted frigate birds, white tail tropic birds, nene and a breach happy humpback. I'm going to come right out and make the bold statement that R.Q is my favorite beach. Yes, there are others more beautiful but EVERY. SINGLE.TIME I've been down there nothing but fun has occurred.

I told someone this today who sniffed, "It's a little overvisited." But all day Saturday and Sunday there were about 6 people in the water at it's most crowded (ok, it was also real flat) and a couple of local families fishing and playing with their naked sand covered babies.

Compare that to some of the beaches closer to me and it was heaven. My favorite Poipu Beach story (only about 10 min from my house) was hanging out with Nick one night watching the sun slink down while munching some cold pizza. A woman in an ill-fitting swim suit proceeded to crawl cat like through the sand scowling? grimacing? pouting? for her husband who snapped the whole scene like a pornographer gasping "Oh yeah baby, that's hot, no THAT's hot right there."

I had grease on my lips, tomato sauce on my fingers and sand down my jocks and even I knew...that was so not hot.

Sweets

Last night bawled against Nick through the lovely Minnesota-set film, Sweet Land. Gorgeous!

Woke up early this morning inventing ice cream flavors I'd like to try. Ideas included: carrot and ginger sorbet, chocolate and chili 'scream, lychee sorbet and coconut date 'scream.

Hoping to get to North Shore tomorrow for a camp out on the lovely Anini Beach. Have been invited to free rein of an amazingly juicy pink grapefruit tree up my road, so off for a scavenge. Makes to best breakfast juice I've ever had.

Better than Folgers in Your Cup

I've been having some slow mornings lately and really relishing the extra time in bed. From my window I have a nice view of a jungly canopy of dense palms and mango. The first thing I hear before opening my eyes is the distant sound of a morning commute, ubiquitous chickens clucking, rustling and finally the roosters. Then come the doves with their cooing which sounds an awful lot like "ooooh" "ooooh" like they're seventh graders watching skateboard videos. Then comes the shama with it's machine gun song followed by the japanese white eyes that flit their tiny (look like flying green marshmallow) bodies through the leaves.

Finally, the sun breaks over the hillside across the valley and the dark green turns to gold.

It's always good to wake up this way.

A Red Flower Day

It's been an anxious week so I'm giving a lovely hibiscus to the universe in hopes of attracting some positive lovin'