Current wish list

http://www.amazon.com/SE-LED-Blue-Hurricane-Lantern/dp/B0037ZNLTW/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top



http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25ecodZ5yc1v/R-202352425/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=solar+lights&storeId=10051#customer_reviews



http://www.amazon.com/Swivel-Battery-Operated-Fan-Adapter/dp/B004DSD8GI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_6

Thinking about just getting one of these little cuties from Home Depot

I'm only planning to use it for occasional heating anyway....

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=203630355&R=203630355#shipping_options


I like this one, but costs twice as much, supposed to heat up to 1500 sq feet, yet reviews say more like 1000

The Avocado House.. again :-)

I've posted about this several times... I just keep coming back to it because I just love the tiny cabin to the left, not the tower part, as well as the outdoor bathroom. I want!! :-)

Check out more pics:
https://plus.google.com/photos/106890479048322236291/albums/5157013922962071169?banner=pwa&sqi&sqsi

Now this is a great idea!

I would totally like to try this!  I just wonder how it would work on the rainy wet side of the island...



http://www.thesietch.org/projects/solarthermalpanel3/index.htm

Close encounters!

What an awesome shot!!  However to say "Nearly Flattens Boat..." is a bit of exaggeration...

http://damontucker.com/2013/01/22/whale-nearly-flattens-boat-off-the-coast-of-maui/

I like this

People say it a lot, but there is deeper meaning...

http://www.amauiblog.com/what-does-aloha-mean/

Got to save this link for future reference - all about Cacao pests and problems

http://www.dropdata.org/cocoa/cocoa_prob.htm

Link to new blog page for chocolate business

http://crazypineappledreamchoc.blogspot.com/

Let's get this party started! LOL!

Looking forward to combining my lavender business and my new small handcrafted chocolates... This will be fun!

More Lil' Pete

Well, I can't ship Lil' Pete to Hawaii with me... so dang, it's been a hard decision....

Lil' Pete has been this symbol of doing what may be unthinkable, going against the norm, but still surviving and flourishing - growing a pineapple plant in Montana.

It was 3 years ago, next week in fact, that I left my horrible marriage and cut the original Lil' Pete off and took him with me. He was a tiny pineapple, yet starting to ripen on a tropical plant we purchased randomly at Home Depot. I cut him, almost as an afterthought, on my way out the door, with the pickup load of my belongings, and away we went. I've not looked back, it was a HUGE move in the right direction. Hasn't all been easy, but it's been worth it, for me, and for Lil' Pete.

And now, here I am deciding what to do with this tenacious pineapple plant. In the end my dear friend Cathy has agreed to take him, albeit possibly sneaking him into California as contraband LOL!

This is him today, he's growing really big now, he's on a roll and so am I! The little plant below him is a ratoon he pushed this fall, it's "baby Pete" LOL!

Here are some links of Lil" Pete over the past few years.

http://crazypineappledream.blogspot.com/2010/05/lil-pete.html

http://crazypineappledream.blogspot.com/2010/03/new-digs.html

http://crazypineappledream.blogspot.com/2010/03/were-setting-down-new-roots.html

http://crazypineappledream.blogspot.com/2010/02/ive-got-great-family-and-friendsand-lil.html



Him after an unexpected snow....



That's Baby Pete when I took him off....



This was him shredded after a huge hail storm..

Yes... I'm into my pineapple plant Lil' Pete  

On shipping personal items

YIKES!!!

And I hardly even have any personal items left!! I've scaled down so much toward this move that I'm feeling I just gotta call it somewhere!

I've gotten quotes for shipping... upward near $5K, and I can't afford anything near that!

I first set a budget of shipping small items, at about $200, maybe $300, and it'll likely be double that... I've done a combination of flat rate boxes as well as some larger parcel post. The flat rate are cool because they get there quickly, are traceable,  and of course "if it fits, it ships". Yes, I've shipped some pretty heavy flat rate boxes securely taped, and over taped, and strapped with strapping tape.

For the parcel post boxes, by the time it's all said and done I will have shipped about 8 of those, not cheap and takes every bit of 6 weeks to arrive. Yet, some of the items I wanted to have there are bulky shaped and won't go into a flat rate box. I shipped 4 large ones out about a year and a half ago to a friend's house in HI, so all my camping stuff and some misc is already out there.

I have a few other items, family treasures, antiques, my bedroom set, and my bikes, these will all stay here in storage in my friend's basement for now. I am planning to give myself a one year deadline in which to deal with these items. My hope is by then to have a more permanent place to live and to find someone one to co-op on shipping items over with. I know of a few people that have some straggler items left on the mainland.

It's been an interesting process... I've set items aside, thinking I'd like to have them in HI, only to later remove them and either store them or sell them.

I plan to replace most of my furniture, etc on the island. It took me a little while to come to this decision, yet, I've decided that my old farmhouse rustic style stuff may not be what I want in the tropical environment. I am drawn to a more island inspired style now and will likely build around that. Also, in true HI form, I plan to incorporate more Japanese style items, of which I already have some.

Anyways..... that's my two-cents for today on this adventure :-)

Free shipping - NOT

Starting to figure out that most companies will NOT ship to Alaska and Hawaii... I mean I knew this already... but... reality is now hitting home. So, the great deals like Overstock, are no long great deals. Thank goodness for Amazon!!

A girl can dream right...???

A friend told me they are building an HPM home package, so I checked em out... Love this one :-)

http://hpmhawaii.com/home-packages/pilikai/

Tiny House Swoon

Why yes... some of the tiny houses on this site do make me swoon..... I LOVE the kitchen in this little place! The whole place is pretty dang awesome!!!

http://tinyhouseswoon.com/tiny-tack-house/

Here's more links to this little cute...

http://chrisandmalissa.com/blog/2013/1/18/pad-hosting-the-tiny-house-design-workshop

Sure looking forward to returning....

Volcano House is making great progress!

http://www.hawaiivolcanohouse.com/





So excited to see it coming along after an over 2 year closure.... Set to open in 2013 (no set date or month) there soon will be a place to dine or have a cocktail in the park after a long day of hiking.



Also the cute little cabins are available now ($55 per night), as is the campground ($15 per night) - fun!

Some more space saving ideas!

I'm sure in a tiny home it doesn't take much to make it overflow with personal items. I'm thinking boat building techniques are the way to stow and go.

http://tinyhouselistings.com/squirrels-shoes/

Another resource I want to stash away for later

Several products for living off grid ... seems to be a bunch of links, however nice that someone's done the work to put them all together. I love to support enterprising peeps if I can!

http://buildingbylotus.freewebspace.com/afilllyets_home_page1.htm