“Until the solar kit come in, all we really need is 1 candelabra and a chin strap so we can switch it from your head to mine, and back and forth.”
Dear Verna,
You’re in FRANCE!!! Just thinking of you there puts me in the mood for the yellow ochre of grassy fields, the cobalt blue of the Provence pottery that matches the sky, and a mix of ultramarine blue and alizarin crimson for the perfect violet of those lavender fields.
I can’t wait to see what comes out of Ed while he’s there painting. I’ve been painting a bit here, in between the hours of construction and animal husbandry. I now refer to all my time spent cleaning the house, taking care of the animals, and the general picking up after us as, my ‘animal husbandry’ time. Caring for the animals and the husband some days CAN be lot of time. I was chatting with a new friend recently, and she said, “Wait, both you and your partner are artists?” “Yes,” I told her, but then lowered my voice and explained, “but all that really means is we are in desperate need of a housekeeper.”
It hasn’t been all work around here. The fair was in town last weekend and after my Sunday crack head cleaning day at the Butcher Shoppe, we went! Slipping back into an old reel of a teenage date scene, Lover won me a stuffed animal Narwhal in the first try at the basketball game, and said, “Here baby, you gotta carry this ‘cause you’re my girl.”
Our construction at the hale is coming along beautifully. Lover continues to be a design genius and just the same way he plans every meal with the intention of eventually accepting a James Beard Award, he begins every home project idea with the goal of us eventually being in Architectural Digest Magazine. Wait till you see what we’re doing with those huge 7’ windows you guys are giving us. I’m framing out big areas in the shed wall where they will be mounted. I’ll have some great pics for you in my next letter. But, while he IS a creative phenom, there is no shortage of scary ideas that he’s highly attached to. I already told you about Kashmir being flipped on her side and becoming the post for the entry gate… his new one also involves cars. We were driving down the road past a vacant lot that has many many dumped cars and he says, “I need one of those things that can cut the car doors off all these and I can turn them into our privacy fence.” I didn’t say anything, but if he ever does get a hold of a plasma cutter… omg.
Speaking of cars, I cannot thank you enough for the use of the big van while you’re gone!! I’ve been able to help cover bartending at Gerties when necessary and Lover doesn’t have to stay in town with me. I’m also on a mission getting big construction materials that I need while I’ve got the transport. Move over Christina and Kurtis!! You have a new little sister!!!
Since it’s been so long since my last letter to you, I have quite a list of laughs in your new section, Overheard @ The Butcher Shoppe~ So here we go!
– “The pot pie has kale in it?” “Yes, but only a millennial amount.” (The current pot pie special has a roasted chicken foot sticking out of the crust. Lover tells everyone it’s a classic 16th century garnish.)
– “None of your books have any covers on them.” “Right. I don’t want them to be judged.”
– “We DO have vegan burgers. A healthier option. But if you miss the meat, you can put a strap around your thigh with a bit of fur to rub the tips of your fingers on while you eat your impossible burger.”
– “Time to change the record. I’m putting on Sesame Street for the millenials”
-“(cough) oh, man, sorry. I’m choking on lettuce. Classic butcher.”
– “Boo Boo, do you want me to take you into the walk-in and show you what it feels like to live in Boston in the summer!!?!!”
– Customer Friend: “Do you believe in Karma?” Lover: “I believe that if I leave my flashlight on, it runs out of batteries…”
– … and while I was crack head cleaner one Sunday, “Baby, you don’t need to wear your dress if you have your apron on.” But only I overheard that one. Teee heee!! ;P
The Butcher Shoppe has been really fun lately. The Sundogs (the bakers of Sundog Bakery), have a new employee, Jack, but called Jack-Fruit by us. He’s there working every Sunday with us and made family meal for us all last Sunday. I love this crew. Between the bakers and us, 1 couple lives in a tent, 1 couple in a trailer, and Lover and I, in our cave. But there we are, sharing a bottle of Beaujolais and snacking on local oysters with Mayan Scorpion hot sauce made in Puna, with a squeeze of local cumquat, surrounded by Perigord truffles, foie gras, and homemade sourdough bread, feeling rich indeed.
Another richness in our lives recently is a wood fired ofuro! Well, a DIY one. ;D
I can’t believe how big your van is. We picked up a big water trough tub (that Lover calls a ‘Goat Tub’) and made our own ofuro a couple weeks ago. It’s the big silver one, the same kind that we use out in the field for the cows and horses. We heat it up once a week now and have a great soak, in warm water, with the amazing smell of the fire lit right under us. The cave opens to the east so we can see stars and the outlines of the ohia trees. Just fabulous.
We have it propped up on cinder blocks because it’s on smooth lava floor, but I’ll build a deck around it eventually where you can sit, soap, and rinse before soaking. It’s hard to tell in this pic but we have it in the lava cave across from the deck. I thought that area could be a studio one day, but it’s a cute little spa area. You have to get there by walking down the path from the house and through the lush grove… another one for Lover’s Architectural Digest article and interview. 😀
That’s all for now love- still more to come. We celebrated Bug’s ELEVENTH birthday!!! I know. Smile, sob, sniff, smile, break down and cry some more. Then smile! Enjoy your fabulous vacation. I’m attaching a bunch of the pics from our ‘Eyes of the Artist’ Show. It turned out wonderfully. We should do Maestro Ed’s eyes one day!!
And in case you’re out in the country, a toast to you with Pernot (a summer liquor that will inevitably be forced upon you at some point, if it hasn’t already) with a loud ‘Santé!!!’ To the health of you and the maestro.
With great Aloha,
KK
