Cora’s pikake is in bloom. Pikake, also known as jasmine, is a drought-resistant plant that grows better in hotter weather. Waipahu is a perfect place for it. This leggy plant shares a pot with gifted papaya from the birds.
Mom trimmed it about a month and a half ago, and it recently started blooming. She’s so proud that she told me to share it with you. This plant’s variety is the double-flowered rose pikake.
The bougainvillea are also blooming. I’ve trying to be more attentive to the ones in the front yard recently. They need trimming and weeding, and have been fighting a good fight this hot summer during water restriction. These are shots from a couple that I’ve been taking care of.
On a slow day at Kuakini Thrift Shop, I was scanning the shelves, and I came upon this Christmas ornament of two musubis sitting on the couch. It made me smile. So kawaii.
Wouldn’t this look cute on your tree?
Here are a few other items that I wanted to share.
Vintage wooden cutout Christmas tree–I love the graphic label on the packaging.
Two small ginger jars–I loved the color of the jars
Vintage sunglasses–I thought these were very on point with today’s fashion, very 70s
Japanese charms–A tiny wooden cow and a carved bead with a bear(?) on it.
These two flowers aren’t for sale. They were part of vintage Japanese hair ornaments that were falling apart—now used as decoration for the shop—each petal of the flower created with ribbon. I remember wanting long hair so I could wear these types of ornament in my hair.
I initially thought this would be a weekly feature, but I realized there wasn’t always something to show you in my thrifty finds. I’ll post when I find something interesting to share. These pieces may not be something I’ve purchased, but they are thrifty finds I thought others would like. Look out for more of my Thrifty Finds.
My latest hike. A new one for me I had never been. All I knew was that it was steep.
I can never get stronger if I don’t continue to challenge myself.
Amy from Human Playground, Breaking the Pain Barrier
I heard this statement while writing this post and liked it. As a hiker, I hope I learn from this statement to conquer fears and weaknesses to make myself more vital to do these incredible hikes.
Up we go.
The view as we go upwards
Then more upward we go.
With some assistance
Whew! We made it, and the amazing view from the top. It was worth the workout.
The clouds were beautiful!
We stopped off at the fish pond when we got down. What a peaceful spot to cool down.
I used to walk to the office when I worked in Hoboken. I’d get off my bus in Jersey City (the next town over) and do a three miler with my laptop in tow. It was an excellent start for my day of mostly sitting.
I walked on the Hudson River walkway from Bayonne to the George Washington Bridge. My section was from Exchange Place to Hoboken, approximately 3 miles. Most of it was on the waterfront, with beautiful morning views of the Manhattan skyline.
I decided to capture images of my morning walks to take advantage of having the opportunity to be at these locations at beautiful times of the day. I walked in all seasons and types of weather. The city of Jersey City and Hoboken kept the walkway as clear as possible to make these images happen. Here are some of my favorites.
I’ve been pokey with posting my adventures. A couple of weeks ago, I went on a hike to the beautiful Lulumahu Falls with my cousin “E” and friend “L”. This was my first time on this trail; I didn’t know what to expect.
FYI: this is a permitted hike, here’s the link for where to get the permit.
We started out early, it was slightly drizzling. I was prepared for wetness and mosquitoes, wearing long pants and my trusty insect repellent [Natrapel Wipes, 20% Picaridin, no deet]. “L” had been to this hike before but did say she and her daughters did get a little lost. We started out confident and prepared.
one of the several stream crossings
We follow the pink ribbons past a stream and a grove of yellow ginger in bloom. The beautiful scent greets you as you come upon the ginger plants.
so many blooms
What comes with a wet trail? Many fungi of all different types. They look so beautiful, I’m sure they are all inedible. I thought of trying to look for elephant ear fungus, but the waterfall was calling me.
These reminded me of lily of the valley
The important stream crossing
Biggest stream crossing
If we only knew this, stream crossing would be an essential section of our hike. We have been following the pink ribbons till this point. My cousin “E” said there were also pink ribbons with black polka dots. But at that moment of the hike, I didn’t see them at that point. We saw a pink ribbon across the stream. We went right and crossed the stream. From that point, we continued to follow the pink ribbons. At some point, we started seeing pink and yellow ribbons, some very hard to find, and large sections with no ribbons. We kind of e we were getting lost, and “E” decided to leave breadcrumbs so we could find our way back. Thinking about it now, we should have turned around at that point. But we still felt like we were on the right track and could hear the stream.
E’s breadcrumb
I don’t know how long we continued on, but we were lost. Somehow, we made our way back, without using ribbons (we couldn’t find them anymore), to the before the large stream crossing. We meet two hikers returning from the falls, who told us to follow the stream and look out for the pink ribbons with the black dots.
Our mistake was to cross the stream and continue straight instead of following the stream. We made up to the waterfall with a few more stream crossings and boulder scrambles, always looking out for those pink with black dot ribbons.
Lesson Learned: if waterproof boots fill with water, it takes a while to drain.
me and my stick vs boulders and the stream
Now on the right track, I started taking pictures of the hike. This hike is at the base of the Ko’olau mountain, right before the Pali lookout. And it must get more than its share of rain. Everything is lush and green. Here are some things I saw going up to the falls.
We made it!
Walking up to the falls, you never have it in full view; you either are below it or scrambling over boulders, but once you walk around the last grouping of boulders, this tall and mighty waterfall comes into view. Wow! What a beauty! Not that I want to get lost (one plus, I did get a workout), but this beautiful waterfall is made up for our extra stroll through the woods. We were soaking wet from the sweat and humidity of the day and all smiles that we had made it.
Princess Hot Flash 