April 26, 2007

Natural pest control

I don’t do a whole lot of pesticide applictions outside. My neighborhood is overrun with feral cats, so treating for fleas has to happen on a regular basis. That requires broacast treatments about every three months. There’s no getting away from that. Other than the fleas, though, I pretty much let nature take it’s course. I have plenty of these guys hanging around, and a lot of geckos, too. They’re pretty good at keeping things under control. I especially like seeing them in and around my herb garden, because I don’t ever apply pesticides in that yard or garden. My dogs don’t have access to that side of the house, so I even exclude the area when doing the flea treatments. Pesticides would kill off the chameleon lizards and geckos, but they thrive happily in the herb garden. Win/win!

Technorati Tags: lizards, chameleon lizards, natural pest control, life in Hawaii, gardening

April 25, 2007

Beautiful tea

Y’all know I love my tea! I’ve blogged about my love of iced tea (it’s a southern thing, you know!) A few months ago I blogged about the teapots, snacks and lovely imported teas I gave to two friends for Christmas. I also love relaxing after my work day with a fragrant and flavorful cup of my most recent blend. I like to shop for exotic teas and discover new flavors, in the quaint little shops of Chinatown and online. I’ve learned to practice restraint and buy in small quantities, because fresh tea is always best. I’ve been hearing a lot lately, and I know you have too, about the health benefits of white tea, so rich in antioxidants.

In addition to it’s well-known array of flavors and aromas, tea can now offer an exciting visual experience. Full Bloom Tea sells unique, hand crafted artisan teas from China. Your teas arrive prettily packaged into artistically hand-tied shapes - a heart, a teapot, bunny ears, a fish - which bloom when you brew your tea. As you pour boiling water over your tea bloom it will begin to open up, releasing the finest rare Silver Needle White Tea leaves. Colorful, amazing and beautiful flowers will slowly emerge. It’s a unique and exciting way to enjoy a tasty cup of our favorite beverage. Each tea bloom will brew three full pots of healthful white tea, infused with beautiful dehydrated flowers such as Jasmine, Globe Amaranth, Marigold and others

To fully enjoy the visual display of Full Bloom Tea, you’ll want a clear glass container to brew and pour from. Full Bloom Tea is offering a Mother’s Day special promo that includes a large (27 ounce) glass teapot and an assortment of tea blooms. Prices start at $29.99, making it a lovey and affordable gift for Mother’s Day or any special occasion. I spoke with my sister earlier today and she mentioned that she can no longer drink orange pekoe tea because it’s too harsh for her stomach. In one of those delightful coincidences that sometimes occur, I was offered the opportunity to write this sponsored post this evening. I’m sending her A Full Bloom Tea gift for her birthday!

Technorati Tags: tea, Tea Blooms, imported tea, tea sets

Hibiscus

I got busy yesterday and forgot to share my workday photos. The work itself was bland. I inspected a single condo in an area called Salt Lake. No, there’s no lake there now, but I read somewhere that there was at one time. It’s an area that I looked at a year or so ago when I was considering moving. I live on the far west end of Oahu. Salt Lake is centrally located on the Southern half of the island, and all of the freeways and major highways come together there. My work takes me all over the island, so it’s a sensible place to live. A home there would cut my time and gas usage drastically. The move didn’t happen, but I have no regrets. I love the Waianae Coast and feel very at home here.

The condo I inspected was an efficiency and only about 300 square feet. The cabinetry and millwork were nice, but it was really just a concrete box. It was on the twenty-second floor and had large windows on one wall, with a view of the mountains only partially blocked by other high-rises. There was also a golf course view if you craned your neck to the left. It’s okay for a tiny condo, I suppose, though not something I’d ever pay the “bargain price” of $229,950 for! The public areas of the building itself were lovely, though. The main lobby was nicely done with marble floors, sections of the walls done in fine wood panels, and a lot of glass to allow for views of beautifully landscaped grounds. I forgot to take my camera in, of course.

I remembered when I got to the car, though. The parking garage was an ugly, industrial-looking concrete and steel, thing, but its effect was somewhat camouflaged by some trees and hibiscus hedges bordering the sidewalk. I’m not good enough with hibiscus (and don’t have the right resources handy) to tell the names of these varieties. I just call them by their color names. Hibiscus is another flowering shrub that’s very popular throughout the island and they add a wonderful splash of color wherever they grow. No fragrance, so they’d make sense for someone like me with all of my allergies. I once had a lovely salmon and yellow double-bloom hibiscus out front, a gift from a friend. It never was very healthy and only survived for about two years. I think I’d like to try some again, but I’ll have to study up on them and find out how to keep them alive first!

Technorati Tags: flowers, flowering shrubs, hibiscus, gardening, Hawaii, work

April 24, 2007

Living a dog’s life

Nah, it’s not a bad thing. Y’all know that I used to work with a canine partner who had a very special talent. It’s been over ten years and I still miss that. I still find myself reaching over to the passenger seat sometimes as I’m driving between jobs, expecting to find a furry head to rest my hand on. I’ve got my boys at home and I love them fiercely, but I miss having a dog with me during the work day.

My friend Cynthia Blue found a way to fill that need for herself. She works a straight job, too, but when she’s not working for a living, she’s working for and with her dogs. I found her blog a couple of weeks ago when I was stumbling around the net. She had written a post about Drive Shaping, a control method I had never heard of before. My own Lance gets excited too easily and I think I’d like to try the method with him. It looks likes it’s easy to learn but would take time to master. Cynthia also blogs a lot about how her dogs are doing in competition. If you look at the top of her sidebar you’ll see her four dogs listed: Lucy, Levi, Angel and Chase. Each has a series of letters after their names that have something to do with their qualifications and all of the accolades they’ve won. I don’t know what those letters mean, except that Cynthia and her dogs have worked hard and it’s brought them all some honors. I do know what CH before Levi’s name means: he’s a champion! There’s a picture of him right there, too, sitting among some of his ribbons. Go visit Cynthia and her very special friends at Tip Tail: From Agility to Zen. I’m looking forward to more stories about her and her dogs, and maybe to learning a few things, too!

Technorati Tags: blogs, dogs, dog training, dog competitions, friends

Towards better blogging

I’ve went to a live chat last Tuesay and another today, where bloggers get to chat with someone who has some expertise to share with us. The chats are the brainstorm of my friend Marcus and he created a chat room just for that purpose.

Last week our guest was Anne Saita of Blogger & Podcaster Magazine. Anne shared tips specific to building a better blog, attracting readership and achiveing good ranking. Her number one tip: content, content, content! If you want people to read, you’ve got to consistently provide them with good, solid content that will make them want to come back for more. Once you’ve got a handle on that, build a community of readers by visiting other blogs with subject matter similar to your own. You can read the entire chat transcript and pick up more great advice on building your blogging skills.

Today our guest was L. Diane Wolfe, author of the successful and inspirational YA book series, The Circle of Friends. Our talk today centered mostly around writing skills, discipline, doing what it takes to be a writer. She generally dedicates twelve hours a day to what she calls “writer stuff.” Being a successful writer takes hard work as well as the creativity to bring characters and story to life. Make sure you check out Diane’s blog so you can get to know her better. Spend some time with the chat transcript too, because she shared a lot of great ideas!

Chats are open to all bloggers and are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Tuesdays. You should register now and mark your calendar for next week so you can join in and become a better blogger too!

Technorati Tags: blogging, writing, live chat with writer, live chat with bloggers, bloggins ksills, writing skills

Make it a Blockbuster night!

What do you watch on the nights when American Idol isn’t on? Maybe it’s some other must-see show, but you know what I mean. There’s just not that much great programming on TV these days and I’m betting that you often find youself with nothing to watch just like I do. One can only watch just so many reruns of Law and Order before the thought occurs that there’s got to be something better somewhere. Where I’m turning, more and more frequently, is to movies on DVDs. I’ve got a nice home collection, but the same problem arises. How many times can you watch the same show? I was a regular at the local mom & pop video rental place for a while, but, sheesh, that got expensive. Well, that problem has been solved! Blockbuster Online can bring a world of entertainment to the mailbox. It’s an easy and convenient way to get 3 movies at a time or all the dvds you want! Sure beats watching reruns, and it’s affordable, too.

I love that Blockbuster has unlimited rental with no late fees! How many times have you rented a movie and not had the chance to watch it before you had to return it? Stuff happens. Life gets in the way. Money wasted and you’ve missed a good show that you really wanted to watch. Because you get unlimited rentals with this plan, you’ll be able to watch more movies when life doesn’t get in the way. No more limiting yourself to five movies a month or whatever your budget was allowing, because you can get all the movies you want for a low monthly fee. I like that. If I only have time for three movies one week, but the next I have fewer committments eating up my personal time, I’m covered! The special signup offer going on right now gets you your first month for only $9.99, and you’ll only pay $17.99 a month after that. That’s sweet! If you’re getting just four DVDs a week, it works out to less than a dollar apiece. And with Blockbuster offering over 60,000 titles to choose from, you know you’ll always be able to find something you’ve really been wanting to watch.

There’s a Blockbuster about two miles from my house. They’re everywhere, so you’ve probably got one nearby, too. Through Blockbuster DVD Subscriptions Rentals you can order movies online and get them through the mail, but return them to store if that’s what’s most convenient. Postage is paid both ways, so pick whatever works best for you. They’ll give you a free in-store coupon every month, too, so you’ll never have an excuse to get caught without something great to watch.

What’s the catch? The offer is only available online. That’s it! Not much of a catch at all, is it? Oh, and the special offer of only $9.99 for the first month? That’s time-limited, so you’ll need to take advantage of it soon. If you love movies (and who doesn’t?) this is too good to let pass, so click on over and get started.

Blockbuster sponsored this opportunity, but you knew that, right?

Technorati Tags: movies, movie rental, DVDs, DVD rental, Blockbuster

The boys

I tried to post pictures of the boys in one of my gardening posts a few weeks ago. Both of them kept me under close scrutiny as I worked. I’d like to think it was because they love me, but it was late in the day and they have a regular time for dinner each evening, so they were probably just making sure I knew what time it was. I got what I thought were a couple of good pictures, but was having that awful resizing problem that kept my blog from loading for most of you, so I didn’t get to share them. Now I’ve been asked for pictures of them and I happen to have these handy, so here ya go!

This is Lancelot the beagle. He answers to Lance and sleeps with me every night. And goes to the bathroom with me every time I enter the sacred chamber. He sticks his head inside the shower curtain to make sure I’m not escaping, drinking water out of the shower while he’s there. I cannot move without him being under foot. Last year I had a severe burn on my foot. Lance had been underfoot as I was removing just-boiled noodles from the stove. He is serving as my footrest as I type this. It would be an understatement to say that he’s bonded with me. Super-glued, maybe.

And this is Buddy. He’s a poi dog (mixed breed, probably part beagle.) He’s old, deaf and nearly blind. He came to me from a rescue center run by two good-natured crackpots. He was badly abused as a pup. He’s been with me for about ten years. He’s had surgery on one hip. The other hip is quite bad now, but the surgery was not too helpful and it was devastatingly painful for both of us, so we’re not going that route again. He is on anti-inflammatory meds and is pretty comfortable most of the time, even if he takes his time with steps and doesn’t hop up on the furniture anymore. He still manages to jump up and down like an excited puppy when I get home from work and when I’m dishing kibbles out for dinner.

Technorati Tags: dogs, pets, beagle, poi dog, mixed breed, Buddy, Lance

April 23, 2007

Link Love Army

There’s a new army being formed. It’s taking no prisoners, but here will be no bloodshed. The Linky Love Army is a collaborative blogging program that pays bloggers for their group efforts in promoting their sponsors. The bloggers work together in various campaigns and are paid for their sponsored posts. We all know how that works, right? But The Linky Love Army takes it a step further. All of the bloggers get a share in the revenue produced by each campaign. How nice is that! Work together as a team doing something you enjoy and make more money doing it. I like that. As a matter of fact, I like it so much that I’ve enlisted and this is my first sponsored post for the Linky Love Army!

Technorati Tags: blogging, paid blogging, Linky Love Army

Our Pete is a hero

Remember Pete that I met last week at the Waianae Boat Harbor? I’ve been thinking about him the last few days because I knew there had been an terrible incident at the harbor, but what are the odds that someone I had just written about would have been involved, right? Well, I’m just catching up with the Sunday papers and discovered that I’m no good at playing the odds: Our Pete is a genuine hero!

I had some fun last week, teasing about being too old for him and what a hunk he is. Yeah, I was being kinda sexist. He probably inspires that in a lot of women. I knew from the brief conversation we had that he is much more than eye candy, so I’m happy to share proof of that with you today. Pete has what it takes to do the right thing. Pete - you rock!

I will not lurk around the Waianae Boat Harbor. I will not stalk Pete. I will value him for his substance, not his yummy facade. I will not lurk …

Technorati Tags: Hawaii, Life in Hawaii, hero, Pete, hunk, Hawaiian man, news, boat explosion, current events, Waianae Boat Harbor

April 22, 2007

Self Portrait Sunday

Have you ever tried to take a self-portrait while maintaining control over a dog covered with shampoo? I think I deserve a medal! I tried, honestly. I tried to get a little more distance so you could see a broader view of both of us. I just know you wanted to see the look of sheer joy on Lance’s pretty mug. And you’d have been thrilled to be able to see that my arms and soaked shirt are plastered with fuzzy shampoo.

Some things just aren’t meant to be.

Sorry to be so tardy once again. The alternative was to take another picture in my jammies. The same jammies I was wearing in a self-portrait a few weeks ago. I’d have hated for y’all to think that I’m defiecient in the pajama wardrobe department, so I had to wait until a few minor chores were out of the way and I could drape myself in other attire. Maybe next Saturday night I’ll remember to put on the rubber duckie pajamas.

You can see all of today’s Self Portrait Sunday entires over at Digi-Cass.

Technorati Tags: photos, self portrait, Self Portrait Sunday, dog, dog bath