So here's the random stuff that I've been doing (again Cokely is doing mysterious things so I cannot write for her except to drop another passing reference which will be: "Trivia Newton John" to see if it will bring her back to the blog - [You've been served! - ahem]).
I rang a peace bell before entering the temple and then just sat in front of this amazing Buddha statue. It was very peaceful and the place was certainly (no joke here) one with its natural environment. People were just hanging out, there was a little jazz concert for peace and it was just what I needed - calm, no expectations, beautiful, people hanging out with nature, swans, carp, all kinds of great things - sorta like living in Maine. I couldn't resist - although I did wait for someone else to do this because I didn't want to break any rules - I took a picture of the Buddha. I have no idea how big it is and it really was the only religious statue I've been in front of that was completely calming and welcoming. Here he is:
After that I drove the island,I actually ended up back in Haleiwa, had lunch and headed back toward Honolulu. I saw really great things, a beautiful windmill 'farm', Coconut Island (I called my Mom from a park looking at the island - she's been there too - it was cool to look at this place and know that she and my Dad had been there before), and a bunch of other interesting sites including a shrimp truck that was pictured in the guidebook I had and the ranch where Lost was filmed.
On my way back toward Honolulu and the airport I saw a sign for the Laie Temple [no offense to my pals who hold this place as sacred, although I recognize I'm testing our friendship a bit here]. I remembered reading about it but could not remember why it was important. When I turned into the drive, everything changed - the landscape went from a very natural and at times a bit beat-up and rugged site to a very manicured and homogeneous landscape. It was like going from rural Maine into a suburban subdivision. As I drove in, I saw this very white, bleached looking, squared off building that made me think of old US government or military buildings from around WWII. It was very impressive, controlled, and clean. I pulled into the parking lot to check things out.
I walked into a pretty building, although it was also a bit stuffy and stiff. There's was a very nice man (in black pants, white shirt and black tie) and a pleasant woman in a blue, floral mumo who greeted me. As I looked around I realized where I was - I was with the Mormons - all the women were dressed in these very proper matching mumos and men in the same pant/shirt combo - it was as if the Stepford Wives and Brady's Go to Hawaii merged together. As I was talking to the woman who greeted me, I looked over and saw this panoramic scene with a giant, alabaster, floating Jesus above a replica of a traditional Hawaiian village and all I could think of was colonization. I stayed and talked with a very nice young woman who was fulfilling her mission year and also what she wanted to do with her life. The fascinating part was differences between the Eastern and Western ideologies and most striking was the very stark physical contrasts in both actual human-made objects and the atmosphere / feel of the place. My trip back to the mainland was uneventful and ended as I began but in reverse; I woke up looking at the Pacific and saw the day ending over the Atlantic.
3. During the end of June / beginning of July, I did exciting things like mow the yard, weed the garden, as noted previously - plant things with Neil, cut things down, work on my refinishing my porch windows, go to fun social events, revise an article for publication (due in Sept or Oct if you need something to fall asleep to I'll send it to you once it's out), apply for jobs, sleep a bit, go kayaking, swimming and buy a ticket to Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in upstate NY.
4. What's Falcon Ridge Folk Festival? Well, it is this amazing event that officially last for three days (Fri-Sun) but unofficially runs for four and one-half days in Hillsdale NY. My pal Ruth Hill went last year and simply described it as "rejuvenating". Officially, the festival is in a ridge (Duh!) - there are four stages where people perform / hold workshops: the dance stage, family, workshop and main stage. Music starts on Friday from 12 noon to 12 midnight but some days it starts at 10:30 (not main stage). Starting at 7am, you can go to the amphitheater and lay down a blanket / tarp and chairs [seating is no chair / low-chair, high chair, and no rules - aka shelters and little tents] to mark your place. If you aren't using your spot, someone else can. Since I apparently don't sleep like most people, I ended up waking up around 7 (or before) on Fri and Sat and so found a couple of AWESOME places to set-up in front of the main stage. It is very relaxed and non-confrontational. You simply set-up camp and do whatever the hell you want.
My friend Ruth and I left on a Wed. with the belief that we would be able to buy a few supplies, drive the six hours to FRFF and set-up camp before dark. Despite our best efforts we were unable to do so partially because the major camping stores we visited did not have the stuff I was looking for [just trust me here - too annoying to recap]. Plus it was during the muggy hot heat [redundant, I know] wave so we ended up staying in Great Barrington NY, near the MA and VT border at a humid Comfort Inn which, for free, provided us with a lovely smell of newly sealed tar and around 10ish at night I managed to set-off the car alarm. You're welcome, FYI, to all those who stayed near us.
However, being the lucky gals we are we had an 'awesome' Thursday. First, on our quest for breakfast, we stopped at K-mart where I got the chair, umbrella, tarp and a few other things I was looking for [take that fancy schmancy camping stores] and then we had a nice local breakfast at Martin's. I realized while we were there that my standard Kristina uniform of black and navy tee-shirts might be uncomfortable in 100+ degrees or so, humid weather so I decided to splurge and purchase a tee-shirt.
Picture this: there I was on Saturday, another hot day, trying to be practical - wearing a white shirt (which I think this is actually the second white tee-shirt I own), listening to the indescribably wonderful Mary Gauthier (who I think had a perfect or near perfect set), sing about dark things [my favorite] in this GD happy tee-shirt.
I wished for my Carolina Roller Girls skull shirt but alas, all I could do was try to downplay the ridiculously cute dorky shirt I now own. As a jammie shirt it's pretty GD awesome I must say but not really what I wanted to wear seeing MG. It's hard to describe FRFF. It was the first I'd been camping since the mid-80s - I's like to note that the last time was camping in February (or maybe March) in Minnesota. All I can say is: chilly. I had a great time - really - even the porta potties were ok. We set up camp on Thursday - arguably the most difficult day weather wise - two tents, a communal shelter and a joint shower. This is the view from out site - the teeny white on the right side is where the main stage is.
Plus Ruth (who is most generous - no comment about me, ahem) helped our neighbor with her camp site. I think we had one of the best places - it was higher up on the ridge - we could hear all the music from the main stage really well and it was removed from the usual hubbub. Most people just camp and go see music but there are quite a few that after the official music has ended at midnight, they go to a number of larger campsites (below us in other camping areas) where people perform in a lot of ways - primarily in song-circles or in mini-performances. The music will last until 4 or 5 am. On Thursday night there was a good size stage set-up in a camping area with musicians performing - some were part of FRFF, some had performed in previous years and others were new. Ruth and I went to that - it was pretty interesting - I went back to the camp after it was done and she roamed around and performed in the other "informal" areas. That's basically what we did for the whole time - listen to music, walk around, talk to people, listen to music, eat, pee+, listen to music (or jam if you're Ruth), sleep a bit, repeat as needed. I saw some great established bands, newer / "unestablished" musicians and some who I was not impressed with both "known" and "unknown" but it was all well worth it. A new band from VT - Split Tongue Crow - hung out with us and jammed with Ruth. We also had neighbors from VT who hung out with us a bit. We also found out from a FRFF regular that our camp was where Gillian Welch and her band stayed a few years ago which just added to the magic. I highly recommend it and hope I can return.
5. During FRFF I noticed that I had a little bit of a reaction to poison ivy, which very easily and most like came from my very own yard. Of course, I had thought about bringing medication and forgot. The end result is that it spread to my arms and legs and after going through multiple tubes of ointment, I started on steroids (the dreaded predinose) last Monday. The result? Well the usual crying over ridiculous things (if you buy me a beer I'll tell you the parking space story), is not happening. Instead, I feel hopped up so the end result is little sleep and lots of production. I could provide the genealogy to the events but here's the major end result: porch windows are still waiting, dining / music room has been stripped of wallpaper, primed [the main house color is two coats of primer], painted w/a legit color, cleaned and previous and newer art/pics have been hung-up. Also, the wall by the stairs has gone through a similar process, the stairs have been painted and the ugly, stained wallpaper above the stairs has been taken down. There are pics on facebook but here are a few more:
Then with all my extra steroid driven energy, I also stripped the wallpaper, with multiple borders from the dining / music room. Here's one picture of the final result:
Last but not least, as with any home reno project, once one begins there's a chance that more projects will get started then ended. So that said, thanks to my friend John's initiative, here's what the top of the stairs now looks like. The good thing is that the loose, in some places water stained, wallpaper is gone. Even though its the traditional yuccky green color that the previous owners enjoyed, it is way better than what was up there a few days ago.
I think that is all. Many other small, fun things have happened but the blog is long, I am tired and it is late so I shall end here. Thanks for reading. I'm sure there will be another post in August, which I guess could be good or bad depending on who you are and if you subscribe to a purely dualistic way of thinking about and seeing the world. : ) Until the next entry.....
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