4/25/05 - 5/1/05

I've opened a Vacation Rental Nov.2007! Click HERE to check it out. I wrote in this blog for 2 years and now after 3 years I'm excited to say I AM HERE Permanently! Come over and visit, I know you'll love it! Dawn 10/20/08

Monday 4/25/05 - Sunday 5/1/05

At the Annual May Day Lei Contest today I had a treat common to the islands called "shave ice" (not shaveD ice). It is similar to what mainlanders call a snow cone, but much better and finer. The barista used a machine to prepare a finely shaved ice, and offered different syrups to flavor it. I ordered one made from a bean that is used in traditional Asian dishes I was told. I can't remember the name. The ice was orange with specks of brown in it and tasted a bit like ginger but nutty. It was fantastic! In general, Hawaiian food is pretty hard to describe. The varieties of foods reflect the melting pot history of the islands. Different cultures have brought different foods and plants with them but I'm starting to learn to cook dishes as I come across them and then asking how to make it. So far some of my favorites are soy beans (left in the pod and cooked with sesame oil and the local seaweed as a pupu), Ahi (fresh raw tuna), any fruit I can pick, and any meat that has been pre-seasoned with oriental spices. I also love the local avocados but they will be in season only a short time. Avocados from the mainland are 2.95 each so I don't buy them. Maybe when I'm a bit more desperate. I like the lettuce here too as there are tons of selections but the prices scare me some so I'm pretty picky. The Asian food aisle is interesting to me and I've bought a few things but I'm still learning so I'm not really sure what to do with it all. I bought some noodles that were brown the other day because it was served in my plate lunch -- The local version of noodles in broth topped with scrambled eggs, green onions, and, sometimes, pork -- the plate lunch is Hawaii's version of high camp. I mixed them with some stir fry I made the other night. Must be a wheat version of chow mein noodles.

At the contest there were booths selling crocheted leis, jewelry, fresh flowers, paintings, etc. There was also a white elephant sale and they were doing a silent auction on the leis that were in the competition. It was great fun. I saw Jackie, who now lives on the North side of the island so I don't see her much anymore and Cheryl, my supervisor at the college. I met some very nice people. I chatted with the woman selling crocheted leis for quite awhile as she knew Cheryl also. This year the contestants in the Lei making were encouraged to make leis of local yard materials rather than getting materials from the forests.

http://www.humanflowerproject.com: Starting in 1927, May 1st was declared Lei Day in Hawaii. Certainly Lei Day has become a flamboyant celebration, complete with beauty contests, lei-making competitions and exhibitions, and, more recently, heightened awareness of Hawaii’s dwindling species and vanishing floral habitat.

On May first, these beautiful garlands are the main attraction. May 2 is more ceremonial: “The contest leis will be taken to Mauna `Ala, the Royal Mausoleum at 2261 Nu`uanu Avenue,” starting at 9:00 a.m. The public will be invited to “drap(e) the leis on the crypts and tombs of our ali`i” (chieftains). Maybe the ancestors will suggest a way out of Hawaii’s floral conundrum.

The Garden Island paper's article on May day stated:

LIHU‘E — The forests, home to a lot of materials gathered by Hawaiian lei makers, are on the verge of losing a lot of their offerings, most notably, the endemic plants which can be found nowhere else. This prompted the Kaua‘i Museum ‘ohana to create a special award that would bring more awareness to the plight of the Hawaiian forests, the award being the Kaua‘i Museum 25th Anniversary Award that was won by Kirby Guyer. Kauai News reporter Dennis Fujimoto writes that commercial lei makers assert, “ ‘If I don’t pick ‘em, someone else will.’... This type of attitude would’ve earned a quick slap on the mouth from kupuna (55+) in other times, but in today’s society, it is accepted, with the result being the depletion of many of the lei materials growing in the forests.” The Kaua’i Museum presented its 25th Anniversary Award to Kirby Guyer for her lei made of backyard materials. Another prize went to Jodi Gardner, for a garland woven with “the grass found growing near Nawiliwili Harbor” and agapanthus (blue lily) blooms: one part ecology, another part Martha Stewart DIY.

As I sat at the park bench eating my Ice I met a girl that had to have been 16 at the most with 3 children and her mother. They were so sweet and seemed to really enjoy being together. Families seem to stay together here like in the old days (when I was a kid and Troy Fishbeck was not born yet LOL). I've met quite a few people that live in multi-generational houses. Grandparents take care of the grand-children, and they just generally share everything as one family. One of the ads on TV that annoys me is an add about how a very low percentage of Kauai children go to pre-school and how they are trying to raise funding so every child can go to pre-school and excel when they get in kindergarten. I beg to differ. These children are pleasant to be around and maybe someone needs to figure out that it might be better that they are being raised by their family and not in day care. Maybe kindergarten should be about learning to get in line, cut with scissors, etc. like it used to be instead of figuring they learn that in pre-school and try to push them so much. It's amazing how pleasant it is to go anywhere here. All of the kids are so well behaved. Anyway... off my soap box on that one.

I didn't get the house I was wanting to rent in Lawai. They decided to sell it and will call me if they change their mind about renting while it's for sale. I also decided not to get the place in Waimea and will look a bit closer to Lihue. Sandy Barr called and won't be coming in July so I've got plenty of time to find a place I like.

PICTURES FROM THE ANNUAL MAY DAY LEI CONTEST