Month: January 2013

Leilani put so much easy-comb stuff in her hair that we could have made her into Pippi Longstocking

Thai curry, made from scratch with true coconut milk (also made from scratch by opening, scraping, grating, and pressing mature coconuts):

More Ahukini feral cats:

True colors, not photoshopped….

We picked up the raw material for our Christmas gifts:

On our way home we stopped at Ahuikini Pier:

Still in the 2nd week of November. It was almost as if we were still on vacation. We really took every free moment to enjoy our beautiful island. This is the Kuilau Ridge trail near the arboratum, inland of Kapa’a.

Leilani loves to climb trees:

We arrived at the shelter just in time for the clouds to roll in…


and a refreshing little rain with beautiful rainbows.

Yes I photoshopped it a lot, maybe a bit too much, and the original got lost when my laptop died. I think it really did look like this, just the camera did not pick it up.

The trail a little bit beyond the shelter:

The Sleeping Giant, seen from behind:

Back at the arboretum

Leilani sat in the Plumeria tree at Hoku and read while Andy went shopping. I think this was the “My Secret Unicorn” book that she loves, and probably the first chapter book that she read entirely by herself:

It’s pretty amazing how much time we took for little outings in the first 2 weeks back, during Andy’s lunch break or after work. This time was Wailua beach, which has little tidepools in the rocks now:

This is the table Leilani made during her summer camp–the Kaua’i Arts Academy at Island School (the other tables were also done by kids at her summer camp).

It’s at the rebuilt pavilion at the south Lydgate park (near the playbridge). We were there for potluck, but we were the only ones. It was windy so we ate in the pavillion on Leilani’s table:

Our food here is beautiful as ever:

An anole in our orange tree:

Done and said by Leilani: “Goodnight iPad, sleep tight, see you in the morning.”

Leilani does pottery once a week with Renee, but I think she like’s Renee’s chickens just as much. Here the Silkies are raising different chicks–even though they’re not chicks anymore:

And more beautiful sunrises:

Another short outing to take advantage of life on Kaua’i. This time we went further to Kalapaki beach near Lihue (and to think that’s the tallest building on Kaua’i):

It’s a great beach for easy waves, and Leilani learned to body board here–and loved it:

Then we went exploring to a new beach we’d never been to before, Ninini (“running waters”) just outside the port area. You have to drive through the public access roads at the Marriott hotel (follow the signs), and then hike down a little path behind the derelict building that used to be the Whaler’s brew pub. It’s a small beach, not for swimming at all, but it’s always fun to be out exploring and getting some new shots of Kaua’i:

The ugly “ruins” of an unfinished condo project really mar the view of sunset. What were the developers thinking and why hasn’t the county planning department condemned this eyesore.