Hoskinwood Family

Good morning! I have been meaning to sit down and blog for days. I have been pretty busy though, which is a little surprising for someone that's unemployed right? I spent a total of 24 hours painting the studio, so that ate up some time. Saturday was spent running around with Maria all day. Sunday was spent all day at the Makawao Rodeo after painting all morning. So you get the picture.

SATURDAY: Maria had the day off so we headed out to the Maui Swap Meet in Kahului. I was so excited to go again after having not been since last September or August. I couldn't wait to get my hands on some butter! Not your regular, average butter (not that there's anything average about butter...yummmm). Lilikoi butter, guava butter, and pineapple butter! They make three kinds. One of the great things about living in Maui, is the variety of items that you can really only get here, regional items that are made here and are so delicious! Sure, you can find some of the stuff in some boutique-type place on the mainland. But here, they are to be found everywhere. To be fair, I mean to say this about all of Hawaii, not specifically Maui. Some of this delicious butter spread on banana bread, well not much can compete really. Maybe crispy bacon, or goat cheese. Maria and I were wondering aloud if it's just as fattening as regular better or less so because it does have a kind of jelly consistency. I am really pulling for the latter since I spread so much of it on my morning toast. And last night I had the Coconut Porter that Maui Brewing Company makes. SO delicious!

My favorite part about the swap meet is that it is not just crafts and other local goods, but fruits and vegetables as well. I got a carton of strawberries, three mangoes, six bananas, a pineapple, red pepper, and something else that I can't seem to remember right now, all local, for about $15. You can't beat that! Here especially. Food is so expensive.

After the swap meet, we headed to kite beach. Jason wanted us to drop by so he could show us his improved moves on his new kite. He was really catching some air! Man! He has a new video camera coming in and then I can post some videos of him. It really is quite impressive. I am proud of him. He has really committed himself to the sport and has made huge gains in his skill level. And is an excellent teacher of the sport as well.

That afternoon we Maria and I scooped up Jilliane and the three of us plus two dogs headed to a little beach close to Baby Beach. Kevin met us there as well. The dogs were going crazy and we were trying to eat our lunches without the dogs running by and getting sand all in them. This was my first day to get in the water, and let me tell ya - it felt so great! The water here is just the perfect temperature. We were enjoying cooling off in the water and then looked over and noticed that, of course, the puppy had found Maria's leftover food container that she had buried in the sand. Oh well, we figured. The water felt too good to actually get out of. Plus, there was this windsurfer that was watching the puppy intently and we kind of figured she was going to scold us when we got out of the water for letting the puppy run loose.

SUNDAY: Jason, Maria, and I headed about seven miles up the hill to the Makawao Rodeo. We were to meet up with Kevin and his roommate, Jenny. A friend of their's that I have just met, Hilda, also joined us. That is who you see in the photo here. It was so hot! Oh my gosh. It was the warmest I have been in Maui, except for a day we spent at Black Rock Beach. Fortunately, after about an hour of that, a big patch of clouds headed our way for some relief. We all just sat and visited and watched the rodeo. The beer tasted extra good since it was so hot. Surprisingly, Bud Light Lime is delicious, even though I hate Bud Light. Then I switched over to Hoegaarden, which for $3 you just can't beat!


I wasn't a big of the calf roping. Maria wasn't either. It's just too hard to watch for me. The calf starts yelping and everything and it looks like their legs are going to break when the paniolos are trying to wrestle them down. Then they struggle while they are trying to get back up on their feet but they are tied together. I know, it's probably hypocritical. I'm not a vegetarian or anything. It's just hard to watch is all I'm saying.

Two things I found unique to a Hawaiian rodeo:

1. You can purchase Cup O' Noodles at the concession stand...for a dollar. Definitely not your typical concession stand fare.
2. The rodeo clowns wear surf trunks.

Oh, and I heard a Cypress Hill song playing over the loudspeaker too which I found equally strange.

That evening, we finished off our fun day with a round of Bocce Ball at Pa'ia Bay. It's so fun to play bocce and have beers in the park!

I started off really strong, and went downhill from there. Kevin caught up to me and we were neck and neck. Then, of course, Jason catches up and the VERY END and beat all of us. I was frustrated because I love every chance I get to beat my brother at something, anything.



I am anxious to get up some photos of new little studio that is 90% completed. However, I'm going to wait until it's 100% completed. Until then, I will put up some photos of the outside area and the hostel area in the front house. I still haven't forgotten that I need to put up an entry for my trip to Kansas. I think I can get that done tonight or in the morning. Right now I have to fill out an application for the Hawai'i Department of Education, for a substitute teaching gig.

Last night, Kristina and Riki took the hostel employees (Maria, Terry, Renee, and myself) to this wonderful sushi dinner at Jacques. Oh my gosh!!! It was so good. We had shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, caterpillar roll, ahi tuna salad, and a rainbow roll. It was great and we all just talked and talked and had some good laughs about some of the people that the hostel seems to attract. That is a topic that is definitely good fodder for conversation. It's been a great week. I just really, really miss Philip. Otherwise, great week.