O, Christmas Tree

One of the best things about the holiday season is the fresh scent of a pine tree in your home. One of the worst things about the tree? Falling needles. And unless you got your tree from Helemano Farms (see Green Life, November 2008) or you’re adamant about watering, you know what I’m talking about. Dehydrated trees are the biggest cause for falling needles. But who has the time to constantly water them? Enter the Quench-a-Tree. It is disguised as a wrapped present that fits nicely under your tree, and it holds 5 gallons of water—enough to water your pine for a month! Of course, I checked: they ship to Hawaii.

Better than Real Life

While working on HHR’s gift guide, I came across the Pioneer 60-inch Pro-151FD Elite Kuro Flat Panel HDTV. One word came to mind: WOW. It comes from Pioneer’s esteemed Kuro line, which has perfected the plasma picture. This TV is going to change everything. It boasts unheard-of black levels, resulting in picture quality so pristine it’s been called incomparable to its competitors. Not to mention its Home Media Gallery, which connects your networked PC to your TV, allowing you to immediately view stored photos and other audio and video files stored in your computer. It’s a little pricey, but judging from the reviews, it’s definitely worth it. $6,500, from Audio Lab LLC in Honolulu, 595-8066.

Happy Halloween!

It’s FINALLY here! And you KNOW I couldn’t let the holiday come without doing another carving. Here is my latest work. You might have seen the Welcome Home pattern at The Pumpkin Lady. Well, here it is in carved form, accompanied by Hi Spider. Now go have fun trick-or-treating! Happy Halloween !

Electric Recyclables

I just heard UH and Apple are recycling electronic goods this Saturday, October 25, at various locations. You can recycle old PCs, Macs, cell phones, pretty much any electronic good you no longer need. Better to recycle than to have them building up in our landfills.

My Carving

OK, so I’m caught. The Getting Pumpkin-ey picture is an iStock photo. I hadn’t downloaded the pics off my camera yet. BUT the pic here IS mine. At least, the one in the middle is. If you can’t tell, it is a skeleton peeking out from behind two tombstones. Scary, I know. The “wave” on the left is my friend’s and the “original” jack o lantern is my boyfriend’s. We had a pumpkin carving night and everything went really well. EXCEPT we weren’t counting on our pumpkin’s lives being so short-lived. (Mine lasted less than a week.) I read that spraying the pumpkin with WD-40 or spreading Vaseline over carved parts helps, but I am choosing to just carve another one when it gets a little closer to the date. Almost here!

Getting Pumpkin-ey

Halloween will be here in exactly 11 days, and it’s hard not to get excited. I LOVE carving pumpkins and getting festive with pumpkin treats. Martha Stewart Living this month has SO many great ideas for what you can do around the house with pumpkins. My new thing that I just learned last year is carving pumpkins using patterns. I’ve been downloading free pumpkin patterns, usually from The Pumpkin Lady. It’s so incredibly easy to make these “intricate” carvings, it’s ridiculous. Just remember to use a pumpkin carving tool and NOT a regular kitchen knife. I got a small detailer from Foodland for under $2. That, paired with the saw on my Swiss Army knife, seemed to do the trick. But for you serious pumpkin carvers, check out DIY network’s videos on carving with power tools.

If you carve or decorate with pumpkins, I want to see your pics! Send them to joanner@pacificbasin.net.

Hawaiian Feet

If you read my post last month, you learned that despite what I’ve heard are deceptive appearances, I am not a local. However, I have lived here for more than a year now, and I’m definitely adjusting. I get cold when it’s in the 70s and the sand in my purse is now a staple. And my feet are adjusting, too. I only wear socks when I’m working out and find myself barefoot more than I ever was on the Mainland. My tough feet definitely need a good scrub now and then. When I was working on our bathroom feature, I found these cool pumice stones at Red Bamboo. They’re cute and cost only $7.