Hoto Cleans Up

Hey! Is that my hand?

2012-02-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

I like my hands.

They've accomplished a lot, which is important because they certainly look like they've been around the block a few times.

A rose by any other name...

2012-02-14T10:11:00.001-08:00

...Should still have bacon in it.

Note to self

2012-01-21T15:56:00.001-08:00

Do not drive S2000 in snow without rock band on hand to assist.

Before the Snow

2012-01-18T10:57:00.001-08:00

There is nothing like the deep and rich yellow of a Daffodil on a blue sky winter's day. Pictures like this are worth a hundred gray and snowy days under leaden clouds.

Venus shines over last sunset of 2011

2011-12-31T17:03:00.000-08:00

Rather spectacular View from our friend's condo at Big White Ski resort.

According to the star chart, Uranus is just out of view in the upper left,

so...

...please keep it that way,

Spectacular views

2011-12-29T17:17:00.000-08:00

From the "Tile Field" trail in Big White, Kelowna.

Cross country skiing at Big White

2011-12-29T17:16:00.000-08:00

A fantastic winter wonderland. Empty trails. Bright sun. Blue sky.

I am so glad I am not high right now...

2011-12-15T22:12:00.000-08:00

Babe in Toyland

2011-12-15T22:11:00.000-08:00

Doesn't it seem...

2011-12-15T22:09:00.000-08:00

That the Christmas season has just FLOWN by this year....

Twinkly

2011-12-15T21:27:00.000-08:00

Van Dusen gardens Christmas lights display with Terry and Joanne.

Wifey dressed for the wedding

2011-11-29T20:00:00.001-08:00

Don't ask.

Dressed to kil(t)

2011-11-29T19:58:00.000-08:00

Good boys.

Birthday card from the ever-relevant JanetK

2011-11-29T19:57:00.001-08:00

Getting Cold Feet

2011-11-20T12:20:00.001-08:00

Sandy doesn't like to put on her socks but she sure likes them once she's out in the snow.

Fall again

2011-11-06T14:44:00.001-08:00

Lovely days

Pre-renovations

2011-10-08T00:34:00.000-07:00

Nothing that twenty five years of steak and vodka can't successfully obscure.

2011-10-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

The Game is rated Aaaaaaaarr!

2011-09-28T10:13:00.001-07:00

Monkey Island RETURNS!!

http://www.telltalegames.com/monkeyisland

For the love of boobs!

2011-09-26T10:57:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows I'm a boob man.

This coming Sunday, I'm running in the 5km CIBC Run for the Cure to benefit Breast Cancer Research.

I'm trying to raise a little money. I only need a little bit. Some of my friends have kicked it off already (Thanks DIANE!, ROBBY!, PAUL!).

I'm running for my 2nd Mum: Marguerite Simpson, for our family friend Barbara Sherrington, and most recently for Cindi Armstrong who passed away just a few weeks ago in Canmore. All of them were taken before their time.

I'm also running for our friend Colleen F who is a survivor!

Donate to me with your credit card, just a few bucks is all I need. It all goes to the right place and Colleen provides cheerful evidence that sometimes you can win the battle.

http://www.runforthecure.com/goto/hoto

Love to all

St. Bernie

2011-09-24T19:44:00.001-07:00

Getting some pooch time with Bernie the St. Bernard on Galiano.

Mouthful

2011-09-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

And then some: Johnny's footlong in Vegas.

Safe distance

2011-09-24T18:11:00.001-07:00

... Between wifey's fish and my ribeye.

Sorry that Mum is missing this. Next time...

Yesterday

2011-09-20T08:22:00.000-07:00

Wished my pop (and Ma) happy birthday(s), rebooked Air Canada flights, worked a 12 hour day, helped wifey unpack and store a giant load of shopping from Costco, removed and repaired a glass shower door, unloaded my drum hardware from our SUV, did two loads of laundry, ironed shirts and pillowcases, took the garbage and recycling out, removed our closet door then the washer dryer and repaired a dryer vent (and put it back again), remade the bed, repaired a garment bag and watched a movie.

Back to it today.

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Sent from my iPhone. Please pardon typos.

Only because...

2011-09-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

Levor climbed a tree and nailed it fifty feet up in the sky.

HiDef antenna a la Ghetto

2011-09-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

This is the sorry assed HD antenna that I made from instructions that
I found on the internet. Our friends Sarah and Levor on Galiano Island
are able to get 12 HD channels where otherwise they would get only
peasant-vision.

Back in the jug agane

2011-08-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

Not since 1984 have these two rubes sat in a classroom together.

Drug Runner

2011-08-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

Chico makes a drop off the Miami coast.

Cathy tried wakeboarding

2011-08-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

Everyone looks so happy

Say Uncle

2011-08-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

Hours and hours of hauling kids around in a boat is actually more fun
than I thought it would be. I must have an Uncle gene in me
somewhere.

Healing

2011-08-08T22:46:00.000-07:00

Good things

2011-08-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

Yes please

2011-08-07T06:50:00.001-07:00

...and a glass of the Duet would be nice.

Think I could put down roots here

2011-08-07T06:47:00.000-07:00

.... And a nice big lawn to mow too.

From my point of view.

2011-08-06T16:52:00.001-07:00

Vacation: going well so far

2011-08-06T16:45:00.000-07:00

You should see the other guy.

Nk'Mip

2011-08-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

Lunch above Osoyoos

Getting Shirty

2011-07-28T14:54:00.001-07:00

I'm hard to get along with.

Especially if you're a dress shirt.

I have a pair of orangutan arms, narrow hips and other strangely shaped bits, all of which ensure that off-the-rack shirts rarely fit me in a flattering way. Most men's shirts are made for someone with shorter arms, or a thicker middle, and end up blousy and plain on my odd-sized frame.

Last century, I decided that I would not settle for crappy shirts any more, and struck out to find brands that would fit well, last long and look good. Having discovered few at any price that worked, I promised myself that I would have some shirts made for me by the world's best shirt makers. Someday. I searched through guides and learned a lot about what it took to make shirts that would fit you.

I also had some very specific needs: My forearms are freakishly long in comparison with my upper arms. My body is long and pants sit low on my hips. I need a shirt with a long bore and long tails to stay tucked in when I sit. I'm no waifish stringbean, but I have a narrow body, and despite having a little pot belly, anything other than a tapered bore ends up gathering like a fallen sail at my waist. I don't like placket buttons ... too fiddly and annoying in the bleary morning ... and so the placket opening has to be short, so that it doesn't gape at the wrist. But the French cuff that I prefer must be ironed flat, and therefore the placket has to be just the right length for the opened cuff to lie flat under the iron. I like a taller collar, and due to an adulthood of excess, collars need to fit loosely around my burgeoning neckline. I don't like pockets. l don't like gathered and bunched sleeves. On and on and on and on.

In short, I figured out what I liked and, although it felt vain at times, I knew what I wanted, and I searched hard for it.

Eventually, in 2001 I found myself at the doorstep of Ascot Chang in New York city, a remote outpost of Chang's Hong Kong mecca for lovers of fine shirts and suits. Having saved up for some time, I had the requisite cash needed to order the mandatory minimum of four shirts. It was a hefty bundle of US bills, in four figures, and considering that the exchange rate at the time was something like $0.85 US to each Canadian buck, I was prepared to hand it over with more than a little anxiety.

They took more than thirty five measurements from me, and sat for over an hour listening quietly as I delivered my sad litany of complaints regarding traditional shirts. They treated me like a King. Then they quietly and politely took my money and sent me on my way.

A few weeks later, my shirts arrived from Hong Kong. They were perfect in every way ... two white and two blue. They fit me like a glove. They looked great jacket-on or jacket-off. They were lovely. I loved them. They loved me. People mentioned them.

And all was good.

But as they are wont to do, these shirts eventually wore out and became irreparably damaged over many years of laundering and ironing, and, well. ... from life.

Sadly, this year, I finally had to throw out the last of those shirts. In the mean time, I had sought a slightly more cost-effective and local vendor. Having found one, I had more shirts made, but still, the costs were high. A few hundred dollars for a custom-made shirt sounds like a bargain on some days, and an extravagance on others.

Over the past couple of years I've found a few pret-a-porter shirts, now and again, that fit well. Surprisingly Mexx produces a slim-fit line that comes close, and Ted Baker periodically turns out a shirt that fits me, but none are exactly what I want, and Baker's line leans toward the $300-mark. For a shirt that isn't bang on, I rationalized for myself, what's the point? And these shirts aren't made with the kind of quality that can withstand years of wear, laundering, and life. Seams fray, fabric shrinks inconsistently, button holes are poorly made, buttons are cheap. And the fit is never, well, good enough.

Well, recently, I stumbled across a local gem of a men's bespoke tailor and shirtmaker, here in Vancouver. Today I picked up two shirts that Steve had made for me, precisely to my dimensions. And to my shock and disbelief, both shirts together cost over $100 less than a single Ascot Chang creation. To my critical eye, the construction and needle work are consistent with shirts made for me in the past that have cost three times the price. If you've had the pleasure before, then you'll know what it's like to pick the sleeve bore, to specify the length of the placket in millimetres, to pick the specific location of your French cuff button holes (always have two put in, so that you can adjust the length of your sleeve to match different jackets), to pick the height of the collar and length and angle of the point, to add 2 1/2 inches in length over all, so that it stays tucked in neatly, to choose the perfect fabric... Heck, it's nice to spoil yourself now and again, guys. But to get all that for just over $100 per shirt, is a staggering deal. You can barely walk out of Banana Republic or any other middle-America-milquetoast-McClothing shop with a shirt for less.

I'm gobsmacked.

And, as you've guessed it, quite picky too.

But being picky in life means that, more often than not, you get what you want. And, surprisingly enough, being picky helps you discover that you're not the only one who wants to make things better.

If you're ever in Vancouver, gents, go meet Steve at Samson's, who is a quiet and understated guy with a keen eye and a busy shop. He's hidden away in the main floor of a gray condo tower on Seymour just across from Shopper's, in the 1200 block.

Suits are his bread and butter, so shirts are always a lower priority for him. Give yourself a few weeks to wait for the product.

I'm going to live with these for a few months and make sure they hold up, and then I'm going back with a vengeance. We're going to work some dress shirts up with some custom collar- and cuff- treatments, adding some patterns and embroidery, as well as put some casual shirts together for me.

Trust me, it will be worth your time.

Thinking

2011-06-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

Church and State Winery

2011-06-18T22:50:00.001-07:00

Oliver, BC

Touring

2011-06-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

I don't want to drive ANY more

2011-06-18T16:17:00.001-07:00

(hmph)

A Hazy Day in Oliver

2011-06-18T09:28:00.001-07:00

Staying at Tinhorn Creek winery, visiting other wineries and hanging out with friends this weekend. Weather cool and non cooperative. We are used to it being an oven down here.

The accommodations at Tinhorn have a spectacular view though.

Unfortunately the local orchards seem to be firing off noisemakers, perhaps to scare birds? Started at 5:30 am and there are about four to six popgun blasts a minute that disrupted our sleep.

2011-05-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

Finally

2011-05-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

A decent commute home.

This can only mean one thing

2011-05-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

I am with my Mother and Father and therefore Vij's is on the menu.

Veggie Patch After

2011-05-24T19:41:00.001-07:00

No that's not a mohawk. Those are spring onions.

Veggie Patch Before

2011-05-24T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hotato Patch After

2011-05-23T18:08:00.000-07:00

After a good Hototilling

Canadian Summer BBQ Season is here

2011-05-23T17:55:00.000-07:00

Potato Patch Before

2011-05-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

In need of a weeding and rototilling.

Studious

2011-05-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

Working in my ersatz office, my office away from the office: parent's library in Alberta.

Under Ha Ling peak

2011-05-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

Greg, Johnny and Don overlooking Canmore Nordic Centre.

Status update = Beach, Gulf Island, Dogs

2011-05-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

Pre reception sparkling

2011-04-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

Looking a little socialite at the Westin Ottawa

2nd to the buffet

2011-04-23T20:31:00.001-07:00

A fine Ottawa wedding

2011-04-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

Always nice to be at a wedding with an RCMP colour guard.

Ottawa bound

2011-04-22T08:58:00.001-07:00

Headed to cold Ottawa for a cousin's wedding, just as Vancouver starts to finally hit its Spring weather.

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Sent from my iPhone. Please pardon typos.

Crazy Dyke Bitches

2011-03-18T19:05:00.001-07:00

Daisy and Sandy have a seriously unhealthy relationship.

(Frozen Elbow River with Jeff, March 2011)

Hoto had a little lamb

2011-03-18T14:06:00.001-07:00

In Bragg Creek on short notice. Mum and I are home alone and therefore have free reins to make whatever we want for dinner.

Therefore:

Mum just marinated the lamb chops and we will make up a batch of our deadly custom Vij's lamb popsicle sauce.

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Sent from my phone. Please pardon typos.

2011-02-26T15:09:00.001-08:00

2011-02-26T15:08:00.002-08:00

2011-02-26T15:08:00.001-08:00

2011-02-26T15:07:00.002-08:00

Ice walls

2011-02-26T15:07:00.001-08:00

Above the seawall. Exceptionally rare in Vancouver.

Penultimate

2011-02-19T22:46:00.000-08:00

Well, today is our second to last day on Kauai. This is one of the
longer holidays we've had where we've stayed in one place. When we
fly out on Monday evening from Honolulu, we will have been in Hawaii
for two weeks, on Kauai for 12 days. We've stayed here on Kauai
before for two weeks. It was worth it then. It has almost been worth
it now.

It has been warm and lovely each day. Each day it has rained, but
almost every day we have been able to lie on our beach towels in the
sunshine as well; such is the way of Kauai, known for being the
wettest place on earth.

Each morning we have awoken to the sounds of the surf pounding the
shoreline 20 yards from our pillows. Doves and frogs burble in the
trees outside. There's the traffic I mentioned earlier. But we have
grown more accustomed to it.

Almost every morning one or both of us has got up, made the coffee or
tea, and watched whales breaching, puffing, slapping and fluking their
way across in front of our cabin. The tour boats are usually there
with them too. Sometimes not.

Each day we've watched the clouds or the vog cover the sky, but each
day the sun has battled through.

Each afternoon we have retired to our deck to read and to sup a frozen
concoction blended with fresh pineapple and coconut milk.

Most nights (let's see: nine out of eleven?) we have fired up the
barbecue and grilled a steak or some chicken: a luxury we are not
afforded at home.

Each night we have watched the sun disappear into a flare of red and
gold, always into the low-lying clouds toward Polynesia. We have been
here so long that the sun has been setting slightly more north in the
sky each night, and is now setting behind Ni'ihau, a small island off
the South West corner of Kauai. Or rather, it would be if it wasn't
usually descending into the clouds.

Most days we have been able to swim in the ocean. We have snorkeled
off Poipu and Salt Pond and seen a breathtaking array of colourful
tropical fish, as one does here.

Tonight we walked on the beach under the stars and came across a large
wedding party stretched out across the beach to the water; 4x4 trucks
and giant white lights glaring across the broad expanse of otherwise
empty beach. It was surreal. The bride danced in the sand with her
beau, illuminated with tiki lantens jammed into the sand, Big surf
crashed to shore, illuminated in the lights, and little crabs, like
flashes of light, zipped across the sand in front of us, as we walked
past.

We are not sure if we'll be back to Kauai. Like everything in this
world, it changes. Not always for the better. We change too. And
with those changes come new horizons and new thoughts.

Somewhere in those horizons, we dream of empty beaches, peaceful
backwaters, and quiet contemplation together.

Saturday

2011-02-19T20:57:00.001-08:00

A bottle of cote du Rhone, a barbecued steak and a moody sun sinking into a silver sea.

This is one you lock away and bring out on those cold and dark winter's nights, when you are tired, when you are working late, and when a pair of board shorts and a pair of sandy flip-flops are two thousand miles and an ocean away.

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Sent from my phone. Please pardon typos.

Night 13 of 14

2011-02-19T20:35:00.001-08:00

Keoki's in Poipu

2011-02-18T18:57:00.000-08:00

Cheers!

Vog

2011-02-17T16:02:00.000-08:00

This is what Volcanic smog does to the sun. You get a tan, but a high haze blurs the blue sky for a bit.

This from two days ago on our morning walk, Kekaha Beach.

Hi'iaka

2011-02-17T15:11:00.000-08:00

Today the wind blew fiercely and blasted away the vog from the volcano on the Big Island; this is what had caused the high smoky haze through which our sunlight has been filtered for the past few days.

Blue skies arched above us this morning so we were on the beach at Kekaha right away. The wind goddess was whipping up the sand into an exfoliating blast, so we retreated a few steps to the neighbouring lawn.

We baked for almost three hours until the rain made an appearance.

Waiting it out on our lanai reading our books.

View from the beach blanket

2011-02-17T13:12:00.000-08:00

Kekaha Beach.

Lumaha'i

2011-02-16T18:18:00.000-08:00

A warm day on hot sands at one of my favourite places in the world.

A few people were there today. We've been on this beach many times with nary a soul for a neighbour.

This time we had about a dozen, but there's plenty of room.

Bird of Paradise

2011-02-15T20:53:00.000-08:00

Kalaheo, Kauai

Another day

2011-02-14T20:05:00.000-08:00

High and bright haze, today, but with the sun shining brightly
through. Made for a good afternoon at Salt Pond park. Lots of pretty
fish seen while snorkeling and plenty of hours under the warm sun.
Back at the cabin now, after a few shopping stops to replenish
supplies, for BBQ chicken and greek salad.

This will be our fifth night of BBQ out of six.

It must be paradise.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T18:02:00.000-08:00

Salt Pond Beach, Kauai

Toast

2011-02-13T20:42:00.000-08:00

To all our friends and family who would enjoy this bottle of Prosseco with us, along with the chatter of geckos and a rather spectacular sunset...

[clink]

By the way

2011-02-13T18:45:00.001-08:00

...This is the "after" shot of the "Decisions, decisions" post from a few days ago.

We decided to have both the Lava Flow and the Honolulu.

Yup

2011-02-13T18:38:00.001-08:00

Sun

2011-02-13T15:37:00.000-08:00

It is out in force today, finally. Baking down. We hit the beach at
9:30 this morning and lasted until just before 1pm.

Whale of a good time

2011-02-12T17:32:00.000-08:00

We are watching the gray whales breach and spout in the Kaulakahi
Channel out in front of our cabin.

The sun is obstinately intermittent but the rum and coconut is persistent.

Blended

2011-02-11T19:52:00.000-08:00

So, we are surviving the night time traffic and the missing beach. This is, of course, paradise. However if there is one thing that drives wifey c r a z y, it is a rental landlord who promises a blender as part of the accommodation amenities, but fails to deliver.

The weather remains unsettled, with patches of blue amongst forbidding gray, and the periodic shower. Today we slept in. I managed almost 12 hours sleep. I am working my way up to the full 1/2 day of sleep.

After a morning walk on almost-empty Kekaha Beach, we packed our usual lunch with a tipple in the thermos, and drove off in search of solid sun. We managed a swim and snorkel at Salt Pond, with a bit of tanning thrown in the patches of sunshine, that is, before the smoking rednecks drove us off ...to find a retailer.

You see: Wifey had discovered that the promised blender consisted of an Oster bottom end and a Sunbeam top end ... Or something like that. Needless to say: It was NFG.

So it was off to Wal-Mart in Lihue. But first I wanted to try a gluten-free baker in Kapa'a. On our way north through Wailua we came upon a two-mile tailback headed south on the Kuhio Highway. Having missed our turn to the baker, we ended up having to pull a U turn and getting caught up in the terrific jam.

Since we first came to Kauai 13 years ago, Kauai's recreational developments haven't really grown, thanks to strict regulations on building permits. However the number of visitors has grown dramatically. Where the two major state highways meet in Lihue, there is a constant backup of tourist rush hour in the middle of the day. It used to take 2 hours to drive from one end of the island to the other. It would now take four. The blend of locals and tourists has mixed up a potent batch of frustrated commuters and confused visitors.

I can completely sympathize with the locals and their bumper stickers: "If you love Kauai, go to Maui."

And we are part of that horrible rush that is bringing this island to its knees.

Kauai is starting to become everything that I dislike about Maui. Crowded, congested roads; too few beaches populated with too many self entitled tourists; goods and services too expensive for the locals; residents almost completely reliant upon tourist dollars that are competed for with more and more local attractions managed by new immigrants and transplanted mainlanders; aged infrastructure groaning under the weight of the tourist burden with State and County budgets unable to keep up with the demands that the rest of the world is placing on these island jewels.

We have spent many days on Polihale beach with not another single person in sight for three miles in each direction. Now, the rutted 4x4-only cane field road is easy passage for anyone in their rental Jeeps, and there's a constant stream of those jeeps passing in front of our cabin on their way out to - what used to be - the end of the road.

We, on our fifth visit, are the problem, of course. Soon, the silent Kauai refuges will have to be found in the adult swim hours, poolside, in some overpriced luxury resort with no privacy and demanding, boorish neighbors.

People like us.

Call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.

Is that the sound of a $15 Wal-Mart blender I hear? Well, then fuck it. Wifey says it's time for a strawberry daiquiri.

Morning Walk

2011-02-11T11:33:00.001-08:00

Kekaha Beach, 9am

Waiting

2011-02-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

Drum n Bling

2011-02-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

The nexus for Shelley and Hoto: Hermes window display in Waikiki

Our afternoon

2011-02-10T19:17:00.000-08:00

Break

2011-02-10T19:16:00.000-08:00

Lono

2011-02-10T19:09:00.000-08:00

We landed in Lihue to mixed cloud and sun. Since our Kekaha cabin was
not going to be ready for us until 3 pm, wifey had mapped out our
Costco, Wal-Mart and Big Save shopping lists. We got the rental car
(we always go for the cheapest) and made our way around Lihue,
gradually filling up the back seat with liquor, food, water, pop and
the bare essentials. Then we drove down into Koloa to get our snorkel
gear from Snorkel Bobs, as one does, and finally out to Kekaha.

Things change.

This is our third stay in Kekaha and second at Hale Aloha. After
unpacking and getting settled, we discovered that a few things have
adjusted themselves in the intervening years. Some dramatic and some
subtle.

Subtly, the traffic along the traffic along the Kaumualii Highway
between the Pacific Missile Range Facility and the rest of Kauai has
changed dramatically in the four years since we were here last. It's
heavier and starts earlier in the morning.

Around 4 o'clock in the morning.

But the most dramatic change in the landscape is what the storms have
done to Kekaha beach.

Formerly an 11 mile expanse of unbroken and unspoiled beach that
started a mile east of our cabin and extended ten to the west, ending
in the wild and dangerous dunes of Polihale, Kekaha beach has been
decimated by storms, and the beach across from our cabin is gone.

A lava rock seawall has been dropped into place to stop the
encroaching brine, and the mighty waves splash up so high that their
spray almost lashes the road.

Just after we discovered this, the storm god washed his hands of us,
and unleashed a torrential tropical storm so vengeful that we spent
the night and most of the next day inside.

The rains and wind will also keep us out of Polihale, whose dirt
access road through the cane fields is now impassable to our modest
rental car.

So we lie by the cabin in a warm patch of sunlight and wait for
permission to leave.

Sans Souci

2011-02-08T22:00:00.000-08:00

Decisions, decisions...

2011-02-08T17:02:00.000-08:00

Honolulu or Lava Flow.

Mighty Mai Tai

2011-02-08T16:47:00.001-08:00

The Sunset Lanai bar's award winning mai tai.

New Otani Kaimana, Waikiki.

Well, two.

Beach Day

2011-02-08T16:14:00.000-08:00

A nice breakfast at the Hau Tree restaurant was followed by two hours of swimming and tanning at San Souci beach in front of the hotel. Now off to stroll up the beach to Waikiki in the sunshine.

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Sent from my phone. Please pardon typos.

Oahu

2011-02-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

Arrived in Honolulu after a bit of a bumpy flight.

On the way over from Vancouver we watched the movies Hellboy, which was very entertaining and funny, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, also funny and intended to put us in the mood for Waikiki. Which it did.

Our plane descended down through thick cloud and we landed in a light rain which, as we made our way off the plane through the open terminal, became a torrential tropical storm. We got our bags and found a taxi and as we drove out from underneath the airport underpass the rain had stopped. Then 10 seconds later it was torrential again.

Anyway, we found our way to the New Otani Kaimana hotel, where it was bone dry, checked into our modest room and made our waey to dinner. The Hau Tree restaurant in the hotel is one of Waikikis finest, as it turns out, and we had one of the best meals we've ever had, which is rare in the US. I had a pan seared duck breast appetizer served on a poi/green onion pancake with a tropical fruit chutney. It was unreal. And four giant, juicy lamb chops to follow. Phenomenal service, which is not rare in the US. The two intertwined Hau Trees that shade the outdoor dining room are impressive, and their branches actually intrude on the sight lines for some diners. Under these trees, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island.

This morning we woke up before sunset to discover that our land side room had a rather spectacular view of the sunrise over Diamond Head.

We are still in bed. The sun is shining hot through our open balcony door, the incredibly scented breezes are wafting through the room, and we are actually getting a sun tan ... We're not even up yet.

It is likely going to be a very good day.

Whistler Cross Country

2011-01-08T15:22:00.000-08:00

A beautiful day to ski in the Callaghan Valley trails.

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T23:58:00.000-08:00

Winter wonderland

2010-12-29T21:31:00.000-08:00

> Today we drove up to Whistler for some Cross Country skiing. Wifey has been trying to kick The Cold That Won't Quit and finally felt she could handle the trails. It hasn't been the best weather in Vancouver, admittedly, and so our eyes lit up when the skies cleared over highway 99 as we drove north.
>
> The trails were pristine, and the air cold enough to keep the snow crisp, without freezing us.
>
> This pic was taken looking north west from the Mountain View trail.
>
> Finally, a view worthy of a Christmas card this holiday season.
>

Making it right

2010-12-09T20:27:00.000-08:00

Instant Bedroom installers showed up tonight after working a different install to correct the mistakes made yesterday:

- two missing cupboard doors: installed

- wiring conduit cut in the wrong place: partially resolved

- wallbed installation askew at top by 1/8 inch: adjusted
- filing cabinet too deep for the desktop: brand new deeper desktop cut, bullnosed, stained today and installed this evening

Buuuut, the desktop was stained the wrong shade. Doesn't match.

Aaaalmost there.

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Sent from my phone. Please pardon typos.

Heavens to Murphy

2010-12-09T11:01:00.000-08:00

> The install of our new murphy bed and built-in office for wifey is not yet complete due to some mistakes by Instant Bedrooms. However they are going to correct them shortly and the installers were very nice guys that worked very hard to get things right, so far, at least.

Bedtime

2010-12-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

The wall bed is a vast improvement over the old futon, which was too low to the floor for some of our more aged guests to comfortably get out of, and was crammed up against the wall. This features the "autoleg" which drops automatically as the bed opens and raises the bed another 6-8" off the ground.

Table that

2010-12-09T10:45:00.000-08:00

I designed this so that wifey would have storage and a large work surface. The drop table was a mandatory feature, and Instant Bedrooms were one of the few with a recessed version of the table, that doesn't look like it was just tacked on the underside of the bed.