Vicky Durand’s Adventure Blog #73

August 24, 2014

Welcome to my adventure Blog #73

Today is the anniversary of Duke Kahanamoku’s birthday and this always brings to mind the time when he was the spokesman for Hawaii’s first International Surf team to travel to Lima Peru in 1957 when my mother was on the team and won.

It has been another exciting week here and life continues to offer challenges. I have to agree with author Joshua Marine who wrote that challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming these challenges is what makes life meaningful.

The boards for my back patio are slowly being cut, stained and assembled weather permitting. I am told the patio cover will be on by the end of this next week. I have been waiting for many months for this to happen so it is a joyful thought. 

It has been a fun week with two wonderful dinner parties. It was a birthday on Sunday eve and a get together at an estate in Kipahulu on Wed. The food on Wednesday was catered by chef Ryan and the sushi and four coarse dinner were over the top and all with great new friends. 

It has been off and on cloudy and rainy all week so I didn’t get to see the blue moon other than a few glimpses on the dark drive home Wed. We have been under a possible hurricane as well as a tropical storm warnings as I write this but luckily not much wind so far. 

Yesterday Caleb the plumber came to run disco water pipe into shed. It has been running in through hoses which are easily cut and in the way of lawn mowing and weed eating. This is a big relief and certainly looks better. A trench was dug for the pipe and became a muddy mess. After Caleb left I discovered part of the plumbing connection was leaking so he had to return and fix it in the dark.

I have discovered a really great desert. I put frozen bananas, a little coconut milk, vanilla, and a little whipping cream in the blender and it turns into a pretty healthy delicious soft ice cream. The people who have tasted it say I could sell it. Maybe a stand at the bottom of the driveway?

Exciting news…….My coconut partner Indrajit Gunasakara made it into The Arts section of the New York Times on August 1st. The article is titled “ON the Verge of Vanishing, Then Getting New Llife.

I am thinking about a new possible writing project. It would be a story about a Hana man who had a bar and dancehall here in Koali. He let the Hawaiians drink in his bar and run up bar tabs. Then when they could not pay he took their land. He was able to accumulate about 1,000 acres from local families which haoles now own and the descendants now do gardening work for these people. And, of coarse, the locals are not happy about this situation. I am hoping to start some interviews this next week.

Better get going now. Wishing everyone a great week and thanks for tunning in.

Aloha Nui,

Vicky