The Lava Tube Hale #5

“I’ve found our OV business. We will open a sign store and all we will sell is NO TRESPASSING signs. We’re gonna kill it.”

Dear Verna,

Today I vacuumed lava. Ungoogleable yet again! As if that wasn’t Hamilton’s middle name already, our life is easily following all things ‘ungoogleable’ out here. I’m finding that lava ‘dust’ is a daily occurrence. Who knew!!! There were also tons of spider webs and while spiders ARE one of my totems, I decided I had to pull alpha rank here. I can’t wait to take that room apart and power wash those walls. My vacuuming got rid of lots of the lava dust that builds up on the small ledges and falls onto the floor and coffee table daily. Such a unique thing to deal with. And as you and Ed have done with your home, all things will have to be custom. We are on your same path with everything we build in this severely unique house as well as in our daily problem solving. Just when I thought our rain season had perhaps let up, we had TWO nights of major rain. The roof of the library (where we are currently sleeping) is going to be completely redone and raised up to the surface level of the kipuka but not quite yet. The major leaks pop up in new areas each time it rains but seem to maintain their position somewhere over the bed. Last night lover tacked a trash bag to the roof to guide the multiple drips down into a patron bottle we inherited with the house situated on the window ledge. “Baby are you proud? I just saved us ten grand.”

It’s all good though because we finally have a plan!!! I can’t tell you how good that feels to finally choose one of the thousands of options we’ve come up with in the last 3 weeks. We will convert the storage shed/garage structure into our first little Hale. Ahhhh, even feels good to write it. Currently there are two rooms (one enclosed and one not) of equal size. We’ll move the dividing wall back to create one large room (the living space) and one 6’ wide hallway that will be what Lover calls the ‘Utilities Corridor’ where we will house the water tank pump, the on demand hot water heater, the washing machine, the solar batteries, tools etc etc. I can never remember his frilly names for things so in my mind it’s always ‘The Pump Room’. Shhhhh! 😀 Once we convert this, we’ll move in there and begin construction on the lava tube hale. The beautiful thing is that when we can move into the Lava Tube Hale, we will already have a guest hale ready! I can envision things going so much smoother and faster without construction needs moving us from room to room. I’m also thinking that this hale is going to be where we will use the roofing you’re giving us. Either that or we just replace some of the tin sheets that have pukas and use your roofing for the other hale. Not sure yet, but we will use it somewhere!

I’ve been posting my emails to you on my blog and it’s been so fun to share all these experiences with everyone, but everyone wants to know who you are! ‘Who is this woman that you write to?’

‘Who is this Venerable Verna?’

‘Who is this mentor that is your Gandhi, Verna? Do we know her?’

‘Who is this woman!? Can I write to her?’

I think some were actually upset, as if I was hiding you all these years. 😀 I just explain how mentors are essential, and how you have born witness to my life for some of my most challenging years. I explain that though we do see each other in person, we have always communicated mostly by email and that seeing your name in my inbox is a ‘stop everything!’ moment till I can read your letter in full. One friend said, “What’s your mentor’s real name?’” Ooops. Was I supposed to change yours?

So I’m back in K-town today. I have a paint and sip class tonight at Gertrude’s. These nights were I come home late and Lover is home alone is always a ‘check my phone every 2 minutes’ evening. Heeee!!!! I get home really late as the class usually wraps up around 9p. The last time I drove home after a class, I called Lover to open our gate for me as soon as I turn off the highway and hit Aloha. He didn’t answer though so I arrived, opened the gate, parked, closed the gate, and climb down our lava path to the kipuka. The generator is on and the lights are on so I’m not worried but when I walk into the library, he’s standing over the record player wearing every magical necklace he owns. The bone jaguar carving with turquoise and amber, his string of rainbow colored day of the dead skulls, his Navajo clay pot on a string, his jade wheel from our shamanic wedding ceremony in Merida, and ALL his rings. Every single candle, backup candle, and emergency candle is lit and placed all around the room and he also has on his linen suit jacket, his holstered knife, and the big mag light.

And dare I ask, but I must, “What’s with all the voodoo, Lover?” His eyes were so big since he didn’t hear me come home in our little soundless electric car.

“Lover!!!! Something is fucking with me out there,” he yells.

I’m already dying to break into laughter from the moment I saw his ‘survival outfit’ but I try to hold it in. I never discount paranormal experiences but he is one that gets scared far sooner than one should. I couldn’t WAIT to hear all about it.

He had gone out in the dark to turn on the generator and had to turn back because he forgot his headlamp. When he went back out, he heard soft children’s laughter and said he froze in his tracks. He turned on his red light setting of his lamp so he wasn’t a lit up target and forged on to the generator shed. He got it running and while he was walking back to the house, he heard 4 loud knocks like someone hitting 2 2x4s together, or hitting an ohia tree trunk. ‘Knock…Knock…Knock…Knock…’ each knock was about 2 seconds apart. Now the property next to us is so heavily overgrown that no one is cruising around in there and stalking us unless they can float. Without lights and the crushing sounds of grass and sticks and rocks, no one is getting around in there silently. The property to our north has kids and sound travels differently at night. This was my logical conclusion for his episode but all that logic didn’t help him and he let the generator run out of gas on it’s own as he wasn’t about to go back up there and wait for more knocking or children’s laughter. I wish I got a picture for you of him wearing all his voodoo. Classic Hamilton moment.

Omg! I just drank Bill’s latte.

I’m sitting at the coffee shop in target where I can charge the car at one of their 2 charging stations, YAY!!! They give you two hours free too. Nice place to sit down, write to you, and drink Bills latte. Poor Bill! He probably waited and waited for his drink. I really didn’t see his name till just now. Which I can deduce is because the name was facing AWAY from me and in view of everyone else sitting here…

Oh God… I wonder if he saw me take it (Please insert wide eye emoji here). That would be horrible! And there’s a smiley on it? Maybe he’s dating the barista. OR maybe she likes him and finally got the nerve to draw him a little picture on his latte and I ruined everything!

I’d better get outta here.

More later! I love you.

KK