Make Man Rain

Its called Make Man Rain (mah-kee) when the rain falls at the same time the sun is shining. I think this is because the freaking centipedes come out! I have seen two of these disgusting creatures in the last 24 hours - one crawling around on the sweet bread I was eating and the other slithering near my infant child! As a kick, their legs are an eye-catching electric blue to let me know how grossly poisonous they are.

Well life here in Kohala is certainly something new. New Years came and went with a wonderful and welcoming party at Cousin Billys house. The single largest spread of food I have ever seen! From one end of the garage to the other and up the center. Imagine a food and Im sure it was there. As one man commented "Holy smokes, they even got spaghetti!"

At midnight they hung a line across the yard and from this line dangled a dozen or so of these specific fireworks. There were three drums at the top and a steamer of fire crackers coming from the drums. You lit the bottom and the fire crackers exploded up the streamer until it reached the drums which were loaded with louder and more elaborate explosives. The streamers varied in length but I couldnt tell if this was intentional or not. There were other parties going on around the block and they all did this or some variation of it so I guess this type of firework is specific to New Years and/or Hawaii.

Yesterday Mr A, Bradda J, Bradda Clay, and Cousin Billy all went out and dug a grave. You bet. A 6 foot deep grave. Someone has to do it and I suppose why not a bunch of strapping (young?) men. Thats something I like about life in Kohala so far. Everyone seems to be as self sufficient as possible. Of course, you probably have to be since there isnt really much in the way of "convenience retail".

This is your official tour of our house-for-the-time-being.

In this picture I am standing in the front doorway looking into the place. On the right you will see a closet. There are two of these on the wall and the space is substantial -something I wish I had at the Ellis house. Through the doorway in the middle is a hallway/stairs that lead to Bradda Clay's house and our (private) bathroom. I didnt take a picture of the bathroom but its pretty straightforward - sink, mirror, shower, toilet. To the left you will see our bed (unmade of course). The three of us share this and Im fairly sure its a queen. I wasnt worried about it being on the floor until the whole centipede fiasco started. In front of the bed you will notice the small table that is our dining table/office space! Like a kotatsu but smaller and no heater!

In this picture I am standing in the corner where the bed is in the previous picture. The television, which doesnt get tv but does play DVDs, is to my right at the end of the bed. What you are seeing here is our front door and kitchen. Standard stuff. But the exciting part is that kick ass treadmill in the corner. Not only does it work but it has a CD player and a fan and is pretty much awesome. Only bummer is that when I run I am staring at a wall!

And this is the gigantic aloe plant that is in between Bradda Jason and Bradda Clays house (therefore, its right outside our door). I recently learned that their father had dug a 26 foot cess pool BY HAND directly under this plant. Keeping with the theme of self reliance.