I was talking about traveling with my friend Kristin the other day and she asked me where was the most beautiful place in the world that I've ever been. I didn't have to think too long before I replied "right here". Even after living here for 2 years, I am struck by the awesome beauty that surrounds me every day. The lush vibrant green vegetation, the intensely blue water, intricate tropical cloud formations, and brilliant stars at night. You really have to come here and see for yourself.

So, it's been a year since my last Blog post...boy that went by so quickly in some ways, and in others it seems like ages ago. There's no way I can capture the last year, but I'll try to give you a few scattered highlights. Click on the links above for more pictures.

I am beginning to understand why hawaiian culture has so much reverence placed on Pele the volcano goddess. Her influence on this land is present everywhere and it is especially intense where I live because we see signs of active lava every day. From just about anywhere around where I live you can see the giant steam that rises from where the lava is flowing into the ocean. At night, you can see the clouds in the sky glowing red above the crater where the lava comes out of the ground, and sometimes you can even see rivers of lava flowing down the hill side. It is hard to not be continuously in awe at the forces of creation that are in full swing right in front of us.

Last fall the lava started flowing into the ocean again. This time with more force and closer than I've ever seen it. The size of the steam plume is about 5x what it has been since I've been here. See the Lava page for more photos.

So pretty soon after I returned to Hawaii last year, my landlord decided he liked the way I fixed up the place so much that he wanted to move in! There may have been other factors involved but I wasn't so happy to move so soon. I found this awesome house that I lived in for about 4 months but the rent proved to be just a little too much for me to stay in. Click here to see more pictures of the place.

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This is the sweet little place (affectionately called the Love Shack by the owner) that I moved into last March. I'm in heaven here with ocean views from bed. A few of the highlights are seeing 8 whales from my bed one morning! And now that the sun is moving to it's winter location, I can watch the sunrise over the ocean from bed! While my life does feel up in the air in a lot of ways, I must be doing something right to get to be in a place like this! Click here to see more pictures of the place. We're renting the main house out as a vacation rental when the owner is out of town. If you know anyone interested, send them here.

My Friend Dan taught me how to make Pizza in April and I've been making it almost every week since. We have such great fresh vegetables at the farmers market which I pile on for one of the best vegetarian pizzas I've ever had.

Now that I really feel settled here, I've been having a lot of small dinner parties. My place can only seat about 4 or 5 which makes for an intimate evening....just how I like it. Here are my friends Betsey and Chris who are the regulars at my place.

Betsey's birthday.

I haven't been playing in nature as much as when I first got to the island, but I do make it down to my favorite beach every now and then. This is shipmans beach which is an hour hike to get to. It is magically beautiful and secluded.

Kristin and one of the alien looking banyan trees near the beach.

Shipmans is a favorite turtle hangout as well.

Here is my friend Nikki showing me how to make an intricate bougainvillea lei.

A little Mendocino reunion at Wendy and Richard's house.

I started a garden for the first time in my life and it's thrilling to have fresh herbs and vegitables. I've planted Tomatos, Basil, Mint, Cilantro, Eggplant, Kale, Arugula, Lettuce, Peppers, and Rosemary. Even from only a few planter boxes, I have enough for a salad every day. It's been great, since I don't want to waste it, I've actually been eating a big salad every day, and it doesn't get old and slimy in the fridge like lettuce from the market.

My previous land lady Beatrix invited me to join her 7 day chakra healing class which was quite new and fascinating. She is an amazing woman who kept popping up in my life in different ways. The latest is when I helped her organize a Holotropic Breathwork workshop which I had been wanting to experience for a long time.