These are a few of my favorite things.

My new friend Kelly asked how the blogging was going... and I told her I stopped. She said I should start again. And now that we have internet (3 days now!) I feel like maybe I will. Blogging is turning out to be harder than I thought.... to be honest, it feels really vulnerable. Many of the things I would blog about involve or include interactions with other people, and it feels so personal to share things that anyone could read. I'm realizing it doesn't have to be a journal or diary.... but a blog. See that? I can evolve.

So. What do I want to tell you about tonight. Maybe I will make you a list of all the things that make me happy about our life here in Hawaii.

1. We are making really great friends. Kellie, Jesse and their boys live right down the road from us, and we can walk to their house. We have plans to build a dwelling on their land. Like Johnny said, you can see whales jumping from their porch. We already feel like we've known them for much longer than a month. Jesse and Kellie, not the whales.

2. Yesterday, I took Lily and Gabe on a walk, and on our way we picked our snacks right off a tree. Tangerines! They were delicious. I love that Lily and Gabe get to eat food right from the source.

3. Today the rain came down so hard it was hard to hear each other talk. Gabe opened the door, walked right out to the edge of our patio and just stared. He seemed so mesmerized, not scared, not excited, just in awe. I stood in the door and watched him for a long time. It woke something beautiful inside me. I love rain. I love Gabe.

3. We have a tiny christmas tree. Johnny got it from a lady he did some work for. It's a little charlie brown pine, in the pot. We'd like to plant it on our friends' property and watch it grow. The best part is that we decorated it for less than 2 dollars... between gifts, thrift store finds and second hand tinsel.

4. As you probably know, I love feeling (palpating) bellies with babies in them. God must know that too, because there are a quite a few pregnant mamas who are happy to let me feel their babies. It's been really fun to do, just for fun.... so relaxed and happy I am to be in this phase of enjoying. (I think that sounded like something yoda might say?)

5. Lots of good reggae on the radio here.

6. We have plenty of work.... more than enough actually, we have been turning down a few jobs even. Our days are super full all of a sudden, Johnny and I piecing our schedules together and taking turns being home with the kids. Whoever is at home can walk to the park, store or library. Or do laundry. The kind of work we've been doing: we are both doing part time office work for a local Dr.who practices natural medicine. Johnny's been doing handyman work, as well as window washing, which could be a full time business. Cleaning vacation rentals when we have time. It's pretty laid back work, but it's physical too, which feels good.

7. We've heard that Kohala (especially Hawi and Kapa'au) has some of the cleanest air in the WORLD. I believe it. It's amazing how clear and clean the air feels. The breezes here are lovely. Tradewinds are something I never knew I loved so much. Such an amazing feeling to have a breeze blow right off the ocean into your window. Speaking of which, our windows are always open! I love that.

8. I feel inspired here. Music is integrating into my life again. I've played with quite a few people, just for fun.... or at the Kava bar in town. I've really missed playing the past few years. I wrote a new song a few nights ago.

9. Every Saturday is the Hawi farmers market, under the banyon tree. Everything from Kohala greens, which are so delicious, organic and cheap, to used clothing and handcrafted jewelry. Its everything I have ever wanted a farmers market to be. People just pull up in their truck, and sell their produce right off the back. No snobby farmer's market fees and prices. Things really are affordable, and all the vendors make a kind of circle around the grassy area, and the kids all run around.

10. Since it's a small community here, Lily knows just about every kid she sees now. So every outing we go on pretty much guarantees that she will see a friend. I love that.

11. There's not a single stoplight or chain restaurant for 20 miles.








12. Avacados grow on trees. and you can just pick them right off and make guacamole.

13. Wherever I am, things are never absolutely perfect, and I keep learning more about love. Which is all I need.

Love, Dani

The last member of our family has arrived!

Our truck arrived, I was so happy, it was a little piece of home that we brought with us and seeing it, driving it, was such a comforting feeling. It has not only alleviated the stress of needing to find a dependable car, but it has also made us some friends. Dani took the kids to the beach one morning and there were some guys that were surfing. When they came in they started talking to Dani, the subject being our Toyota. One of them lives down the road from us, and recognized the truck, even though it only arrived three days before. They were commenting on it and began talking, come to find out one of them has 27 acres of nearly ocean front property just down the street from where we are currently living. Furthermore they have a bus they have been wanting to add on to and turn it into a livable space that they can rent to supplement income. If all that wasn’t enough, they love God and have kids Lily and Gabe’s ages. In the next couple of months I will be working for them and instead of paying me all the money that I might earn will go directly towards future rent. I get to build my family a home, for who knows how long on the Big Island. We were there for dinner the other night, sitting on their porch talking about details when a huge eruption of water shoots out of the ocean, the Hump Back whales were jumping. I love this place!

- Johnny

Whale watching and window washing

It seems that everyone here has a very different mentality when it comes to work. I have yet to meet someone who has a nine to five job that gives them forty hours of work in five days. Most people in fact have multiple jobs, all the while spending lots of time with their families. It seems that the population is pretty split; there are the older folks whose kids are mostly grown and out of the house and then there is the younger generation who are just starting out their families.

So far I have been a plumber, electrician, mechanic, window washer, and for about two hours I was cleaning houses. There has been a lot of interest in my finish carpentry skills and I just dropped a chunk of change on black Friday to get all the tools I need, so hopefully something will come of that. This week I have a lot of landscaping work, which should be fun. The hard part is that there is a lot of driving involved, at least thirty minutes each way, but if there was anywhere to have to commute the big island is the place to be. The 20 minute drive to my landscaping job is breathtaking. It is winter here as well, and even though there is no snow and cold, there are still signs to tell us that it is winter. The signs here are far more delightful, at least for me. First there is the winter swells, waves get huge in the wintertime, so big that they close down beaches and don’t allow people to surf or swim. Another is that the whales are returning. It seems mystical that these mammals of prehistoric size are swimming just a few miles from us off the coast. I have seen a couple already, but my first was the most amazing. I was driving home from a window washing job and looked over at the sun starting to go down over the ocean when I saw this spout of water shoot up out of the ocean six or seven feet high, and then again, and again. I couldn’t believe it I wanted to turn to someone in the car and shout, but I was all alone, I even looked in the review mirror and in front of me to see if I could signal another car to see what I was seeing, but I was all alone in the car and on the road. It was as if this whale had appeared just for me. It got me thinking about the experiences I have had on this island. I have seen and been so many different places thanks to the type of people that we are meeting on this island, and I realized that anything is possible. I don’t need a lot of money, or a fantastic career to be able to experience the amazing things that this island has to offer… it is available to everyone. Not to mention that even the wealthy folks that live here are very down to earth. They shop in the same grocery stores and farmer’s markets that we do and go to the same community events. We have met many new friends who have large pieces of land, and we have gone to their homes for dinner and to see what they are doing. Yurts, solar panels, windmills, huge gardens, mac-nut farms, outdoor showers… the majority of people we meet here are living unique and exciting lives. The fact all this is available to us, it is really exciting, I have never felt like so much was at my fingertips ready to grab.

Yesterday we went to church with some friends that we are going to work on their land in trade for a place to stay, there are some awesome details surrounding that but that I think is for another post. Anyway it was an old Baptist church that I think it’s maximum capacity is maybe 75, that might be standing room only. There were around 30 adults and 20 children. After worship all the kids are invited to the front where they have a little Sunday school lesson while everyone in the church sits and listens, then the kids go outside and play while the pastor delivers the sermon. Did I mention that everyone is barefoot in shorts and t-shirts? We were lucky enough to hit the last Sunday of the month and it was the Sunday that they had potluck so we got to fellowship over food, which is always awesome. To top it all off a tall elderly Scottish man in the circle with all of us holding hands blessed the food. It has to be the most unique church service that I have ever attended and I loved it. The whole morning I was reminded over and over the simplicity of who God is...Love. My kids were so loved and my family was so welcomed. I was nearly brought to tears more than once in the morning, thank you God, I am so loved.

- Johnny

Incredibly Nutritious – all about food.

Many changes have been taking place in our lives… one of them being the way we eat. We tried to eat healthy before, and thought we were doing alright, but our stay with the folks at Gentle World exposed us to new ideas. I really like learning new ways to prepare food, so we bought one of their cookbooks when we left, because I wanted to try some of their magic in my own kitchen. During our few days in their community, eating strictly vegan, I began to feel really different. At first really tired, I think I was definitely de-toxing. Not just physically, before we left I was running on crappy food, a fair bit of stress, and not much sleep. I think we were a pretty sorry lot when we arrived. Anyway, something really cool started happening for me physically after the first two days…. It was while I was sleeping. I would feel really light, and have dreams that involved floating or flying, and when I woke up in the morning I felt really clean and clear and…. well just light I guess. I’ve been thinking that eating animal products is a pretty heavy thing for your body to take on. So back to my mission here, I wanted to share some recipes from the cookbook. BTW, here is their website if you would like to buy one for your own kitchen. http://gentleworld.org/

This Banini Shake is really great. I had it for breakfast the other morning and felt pretty spoiled to be eating what seems like a milkshake so early in the day. As Birds (one of the guys from Gentle World) says, “it tastes just like a malted”. Freeze your overripe bananas (peeled and bagged) for this treat.

Banini (or Vanilla Malted) Shake

1 cup ice cold water

4 bananas – frozen, sliced

¼ cup tahini

1 T maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

In blender, start with 1 cup of ice water, add remaining ingredients and blend. If too thick, add more water.

Banana Bread- so yummy, and you would never guess that is sans dairy and eggs. We used applesauce in place of the oil.

1 cup dry sweetener

3 bananas mashed

½ cup oil

2 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. cinnamon

½ cup walnuts (chopped)

½ cup raisins

mix wet and dry ingredients separately. Combine and mix nuts and raisins into the batter. Pour into oiled/floured loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 45-60 min.

Pancakes – Johnny has always liked making us pancakes for a special breakfast treat, so we were pretty pleased to find this vegan version. Once again, you can replace half- or even all – of the oil with applesauce.

Fluffy Pancakes – yields about 8 small pancakes

1 ¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

2 T. dry sweetener

½ tsp. vanilla

1 ¼ cups soy milk

2 T oil

Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls then combine and make like you would any old pancake.

We have also been creating a lot of meals ourselves out of the yummy veggies and fruits that are sold locally at the farmer’s market…. They are SO delicious, fresh and affordable. Here’s one of our favorites, our own version of something our friends Sam and Hannah made up:

Bean Bowls

Quinoa – cooked and seasoned with braggs and herbs – then cooled.

Beans – either black or pinto – cooked then cooled. Or you can use a can.

Fresh chopped greens – Kale, Bok Choy, Spinach, Arugula, you name it.

Fresh diced tomatoes

Artichoke hearts, sliced olives (both of these are optional)

A sprinkle of something spicy, like Tabasco or Creole seasoning, or whatever you have.

Salsa

Vegan Sour Cream, made by “Tofutti” – try it, you will like it!

Toss all ingredients in a salad bowl and enjoy. J

The vegans have been really kind to us in letting us buy food from them since they buy in bulk. Here are some of the new ingredients they have turned us on to:

• Daiya shredded “cheese”. It looks like cheese, and melts like cheese. I can’t say it tastes just like cheese, but it tastes kinda close and it’s really tasty. When we picked up the cheese Summer gave us the idea of making mini-pizzas…. So we did that night, with our flatbread buns and they were really tasty little pizzas! Pretty cool that there is such a thing as vegan pizza.

• Tahini- LOVE this stuff. Remind me to post the recipe from the vegan cookbook for French toast using Tahini. We bought a gallon from them and I am loving it. It’s awesome in salad dressings too.

• En-er-gie Egg Replacer- for cooking or baking. This stuff is great.

• Vegan chocolate flavored syrup – made by santa cruz.

• Vegan Cookies – these are kind of pricey, but we have bought a few and they are so tasty. They are the big ones, individually wrapped, made by the Alternative Baking Co.

The vegans also have been sharing their home-grown avocados with us, which we are really thankful for… they are so delicious. In truth, the people at Gentle World have been incredibly kind to us, (in addition to be incredibly delicious haha), we are so thankful for all the help and resources they have provided us with. Really, they are amazing, sincere and gentle people, with an admirable vision.

I have more exciting things to share, like we may be converting a bus into a house for us to live in, but that will come later. Much love and Aloha, until next time.

Rambling thoughts from November 1st.

We have a place to call home now… in Kapaau on the northernmost point of the island. I think if you could come visit us you might not feel like you are in the USA. We are renting this place from a really sweet Filipino woman named Amelia. It’s a 2 bedroom apartment, attached to her house. It might have been the garage at one point, but we can’t figure it out. Her kitchen window overlooks into our kitchen. There is a sheet over it…. But we can hear everything she is doing in

her kitchen, and vice versa. Community living for sure.
We share the carport/laundry room/make-shift karaoke diner, and since she also rents a room in her house out to another Filipino lady, there is always someone around. It’s nice, they love the kids, no one expects them to be quiet, and it’s just very relaxed so far. We can always hear chattering or music, whether from them or the other neighbors, because everyone has lanais and the houses don’t have any insulation, so you can hear everything. It’s pleasant, not obnoxious. Last night was Halloween, and Amelia had all her Filipino friends over for Karaoke and dinner in the carport. Lily totally stole the show. Johnny and I were busy getting our house organized, and Lily was out there singing twinkle twinkle with everyone singing along. She had a blast, she was in rare form for sure… with the biggest smile on her face. She kept coming inside to check on her room, or change her clothes, then would run back out. She even ate their rice… but said no thanks to the fish head platter and fried squidOur house is painted bright crazy colors inside and has mismatching -but clean- linoleum in every room. We can see the ocean from our kitchen and bathroom windows. I love it. It’s a tiny town here. Johnny got a call for some side jobs today, which is pretty cool. I guess in tiny towns word gets out fast.

We had a multiple karaoke experiences yesterday. The indoor/outdoor diner we went to last night had karaoke, a bunch of really friendly locals who were also really nice to the kids, and let them sing. They welcomed us to the Kohala Coast and admired Lily and Gabe’s blonde hair. These kids are good at making us new friends.

We took Lily and Gabe to Hapuna Beach today…. Beautiful white sand and clean sparkling water. They loved it. Then to Costco in Kona, and then Pololuu lookout. So beautiful. A good day. Ad we have food now which is really nice. Johnny is returning the rental car in Kona tomorrow, then hitch-hiking back, and then we won’t have a car for two weeks til our truck comes in. No internet, no car, no tv. I have no idea how I will post this blog. Maybe walk to a coffee shop with the laptop. It’s a pretty peaceful life. I played princess and queen with Lily today. She wore the dress Rose just got her for her birthday, and she looks like royalty in it.

Future plans for the next two weeks…. Running, reading, cooking, picking fruit from the backyard (oranges, lemon and avocados), hanging with Lily and Gabe, and playing Lily’s pink guitar. Oh and the midwifery conference in Hilo this next weekend…. Yes!

Last night the roosters in the neighborhood crowed all night. I forgot about that part of Hawaii. All the rooster farms for the cock fights. Poor captive roosters.

Great Adventure!

My first day out, on the other side of life! For the last three days it has been raining on and off, but mostly on. I ventured outside on the second day to go to the closest thing to us, the town gas station. It's about 200 yards from our house up the hill. The sky was looking threatening, but I though I would have time. The plan was that once I reached the gas station I would buy an umbrella, or a rain poncho or something. I was 50 yards and closing, I looked up and saw sheets of rain headed my direction, so I buttoned down the kids in the stroller so that they wouldn't get wet and went as quickly as I could up the steepest pert of my venture. The whole left side of my body was soaked when I got to the gas station, and whats more there were no umbrellas, no ponchos, I mean they had the mantles for lanterns, but no poncho! Luckily I am in Hawaii where the people are awesome and after about five minutes waiting around to see if the rain was going to die down the gas station attendant loaned me her umbrella, I would have felt bad except that it was covered in dust and it looked like no one used it. I got some water and cookies for the kids went home never to venture out again until the sun shone, and shinning it is right now, and I love it!
Dani was in Hilo at a Midwifery conference for the last three days and that is why I was stuck inside with no where to go, the funny thing is that I knew a ten minute drive down the road would take me to a sunny swim spot and another 20 minutes beyond that was white sand beaches where it never rains. Man I love this island, I just need my truck, 8 days and counting and it will be here, I can't wait.
One more thing before I go. I have always loved flying, especially take off and landing, but this time was by far my absolute most favorite. Theres a book I am reading called, 'Dangerous Wonder' by Michael Yaconelli, where he talks about the wonder that children have when experiencing things for the first time, and man was Lily filled with wonder as we boarded the plane (for logistical reasons Lily and I boarded separately from Dani and Gabe, and Lily was sure to tell all the flight attendants not to leave without her mom) and the engines came on, then we were moving down the tarmac watching other planes as the took off and came down. I was glad Lily saw the plain land because when she saw us pull away from the loading dock she started to ask how we were going to get off the plain, I think she found comfort in seeing the plains coming going up and coming down. When the engines roared and we began to be pushed back into our seats Lily began to have sensory overloads, it was awesome. She couldn't stop grinning and looking first at me then Dani then back out the window, man was she stoaked! It was like she couldn't believe that what was happening was happening, she never once showed any signs of fear.
The flight went smoothly Gabe fell asleep and Lily tried but to no avail. They watched movies, colored in books and ate snacks. Getting off the plane was another adventure in itself. Kona airport has no indoor terminal, so you step outside off the plane on a mobile ramp, I got off a little after Lily, and I could not have been more proud. She was so confident walking down the ramp, as if she owned the place. We had packed her little pink backpack brimming with coloring projects, books and a portable dvd player, she could barely lift it, but when it was on she hunched over and carried it along. She kept looking back at me saying, "Come on Daddy lets go," it was awesome, as if I was the one needing reassurance that everything was okay. I wish I could have had a camera her squinted up face from looking toward the sun, while the wind whipped her hair all over the place, and her stuffed pink backpack, she was loving it!
Thank you all for all of your support and prayers, right now we have rented an apartment in a little town on the northern tip of the island, in fact I am told that if I take a twenty minute walk from our place there is a spot where you can see the sun set and rise off the ocean. I have had a few side jobs that have been nice and am currently looking for some work, nothing big just a little extra and Dani is getting really excited about the opportunities that are becoming available for her to practice midwifery on the Big Island.

Love to you all, miss you,
Aloha!
Johnny

Transition

October 27^th 2010

It’s interesting the emotions and feelings that arise when sorting through all your possessions, getting ready to leave “home” for the unfamiliar. At times it’s been hard not to question what we are doing. That’s when I have to try really hard to stop myself from doubting. A few pep talks and encouraging words from some awesome people have helped. I try to remember that the 3 month ago versions of Johnny and I were smart capable, responsible people, who thought that this would be a good idea for our family. I have been noticing a lot of quotes lately, and they all say the same thing in different words… the basic idea behind it is that great rewards usually also require great risk, hard work and determination. That’s where we are. We are definitely taking risks, but it feels like we are really LIVING. We are adventurers at heart, we love warmth, growth, green, ocean, freedom, sunshine, and being together. We don’t care so much about money or security, we know where all of that comes from. What do we have to lose? Even the hardships we have encountered so far have made me feel more alive, our problem-solving skills are kicking into high gear, we are learning to think “outside the box” more than ever before.

I had a moment at our yard sale I was sitting there, playing Lily’s pink guitar (which is the only guitar we are bringing BTW- I love playing it). I was making up a song, (which I haven’t done in way too long) looking out over all of our “stuff”. I felt so full at that moment, the melancholy feelings of what we were leaving behind faded away. What is this life about, if not about living? Is it really about how much money we can make, things we can own, bigger-better-faster electronics? Those things are fun, and we enjoy them like anyone else, but they are not the essence of life. The moments that have brought me the most joy and fulfillment revolve around love, people, spirit and soul-connections. I will have those things wherever I go. And whether I am singing my songs on a thousand dollar guitar, or on a pink toy guitar, it’s the music that matters. It’s all about heart. And we definitely have plenty of that, so we will never be in want.

As I write this, I am sitting in a row with Johnny, Lily and Gabe… flying over the ocean, on our way to Hawaii. It’s been a crazy couple of days, yet here we are. In the last few days we have sold a car, packed our lives into nine boxes and a few carry-ons, prepared the truck for it’s journey on a barge, drove to Seattle, took the truck to a dock, slept at a motel, loaded ourselves and our things onto an airport shuttle, then boarded the plane. It’s all gone pretty well, people are being really nice to us and our kids are doing awesome. They are definitely excited about the adventure we are on, but I think even more that that, they are really happy that we are all together. It’s been really cool taking care of everything as a family. I love that our kids are peaceful and happy wherever we are, because they know they are safe with us. We took a walk in the Seattle rain (with Lily holding the umbrella, she was just waiting for an opportunity) and ate dinner together. Bought 2 bananas and a bottle of water at the 7-Eleven. Gabe and Lily shared a bed at the motel last night. We all went to bed at 8 pm Seattle time, and it felt so sweet to be in one room, falling asleep together. We even got nine hours of sleep. J

Our farewell party was really fun. Looking around the room at all of the people who came to give us hugs and good wishes was really amazing. We have so many good friends and family. It’s wonderful to know that we are so loved, and we will carry that love with us wherever we go. We will miss everyone, yet I still feel like you are with us somehow.

I am so excited about what is ahead.

Love, Dani

PS. One little rant, since when do you have to pay for food and movies on airplanes?!

Setting Out

Still in Boise... everything that we owned - most of it hand picked so that when you came to our abode you would get a general feeling of, "yeah this is the home of Johnny and Dani"- has pretty much been sold and given away. It has been painful and freeing. Things that defined us, that we didn't even know had such a hold on us, are gone... and we are still us. The biggest thing is my (I should say 'our' but I really love that truck, man I never thought I would have one so nice) truck has sold, it is going to a good and loving home and I am happy for it and for the family that it will serve, but it's tough to let go. We are going for better things, to be a family and nothing more, to put our roots down in a new place and explore new things. Man was really meant to live in a warm place I think, originally we had no clothes, right? So, logically we should live in a place where that could be an option, although I would still like everyone to be clothed, it's the idea behind the thing that I am getting at. I am excited for adventure, for change, for growing, for trusting, for seeking and for finding, man we only get one chance to do all this, and I am stoked about what lies in front of our family!
-Johnny