Blog — papale lauhala

June and July blew by as I just realized it's August! I've been catching up on stuff, trying to get lauhala processed, keep up with weeding, and some bona fide galivanting. I got to take my new-to-me holomū for a spin in a pīkake themed outfit. Had lunch with girlfriends Cara and Kimi. Kimi is wearing the vintage Mamo Howell mentioned in a previous blog entry. It fit her better and she just happened to have a lei hulu pīkake of her own that perfectly matched the holomū. Then Cara got me hooked on DeStash Hawaii's Instagram... and I experienced my first online video conference...

The Mauna Lani re-opened after a big renovation and COVID-19 shut down. This was their first May Day/Lei Day celebration in a couple years. I was the only lauhala weaver that was able to attend this time. In the past I would bring whatever project I was working on and weave and talk story with the other weavers and visitors. I decided to change things ups and take 1/8 inch mauʻu bracelet kits and invite Cara to drive out with me to make bracelets. I forgot to take pictures of our finished lauhala bracelets. We dolled up with pāpale, lei, and vintage...

Wow, this month turned out to be eventful as things opened up from COVID-19 restrictions. Especially with Merrie Monarch and Earth Day. While I still generally wear masks while out in the world, it was strange but nice to see friends' full faces again. First off, the Ka Ulu Lauhala O Kona weaving conference has been scheduled for September and registration packets became available. This year it will be held at the Outrigger in Keauhou a.k.a "the Old Kona Surf."  The hotel is on the verge of a much needed major renovation, but the pool has a slide. This year...

I stopped by Kimura's Lauhala Shop the other day to pick up our coffee. Yes, I buy our coffee from a lauhala store. We drink 100% Kona Coffee. It may be considered premium coffee, but it tastes great "black" and we love supporting local agriculture. Also, the natural caffeine levels in fresher coffee makes it more cost effective and convenient, IMHO, as one doesn't have to drink as much to get the same wake up kick in the morning. Kimura's prices are very reasonable. The coffee doesn't travel far from farm to roaster to their store. I digress... Stopped by for...

These pictures were taken over the past weeks and during my visits at Māʻona Community Garden.   I almost always forget to take "before" pictures.  The picture (above left) is an "after" picture but one would never know we actually thinned the puhala. The above right picture is the underside and one can see the stubs of branches we cut from the trunk.  It had been so tightly packed with branches that very little ventilation was causing the leaves to rot before truly drying.  The picture below is some but not all of the green waste. With devastating invasive species such as...