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The areas where people live on the slopes of Haleakala, the dormant volcano, are called “Upcountry”. Because of how the roads are laid out, it’s kind of a long drive from Kihei, but it’s always nice to go there. The air is cool, the people are laid back, and there are always stunning views. Yesterday I had two destinations: a nursery, and a Craigslist lead for free furniture.

The nursery specialized in cactus and succulent plants. My pastor had told me about it… huge selection, friendly workers… And he didn’t steer me wrong. The place was amazing. I don’t know how long I spent walking around and looking at everything. I had a lot of trouble deciding what to get.

The tables were packed full! So many varieties!

In the end, I only got a few small things: a couple kinds of aloe, a stapelia (which I will definitely be posting about when it blooms), and a small spineless cactus (Copiapoa hypogaea for the memory archive)

From left to right: aloe barbadensis, stapelia, copiapoa, other aloe

The trip to the free furniture place was also interesting, but less productive. There is an antique store in Kihei that has all kinds of wondrous items from around the world. It totally looks like a Goosebumps TV episode. Apparently, they have storage wearhouses in Pukalani, and were trying to clear them out a little. Only one small room had free furniture, but it was pretty picked over. Other storage areas were open for browsing, so I browsed.

So creepy and interesting.

The most amazing item was a giant wicker ball with pillows and a chandelier. It was big enough for two people to sit in comfortably, and three if they packed in. It was amazing. I briefly considered it for my couch.

So cool

We were off of school yesterday because of Hawaii Admission Day. I slept in, because I’ve slowly become sleep deprived over the last couple of weeks. Then I went in to school. My goal was to figure out the grade book software we use.

While I was there, the piano tuner came. He said the piano needs some work. He said the punchings need adjusting. They are the pads under the keys that determine how far down the keys go. He also said it needed three tunings. This free piano is costing a lot of money. But he did say it was a nice instrument and was worth the investment. My pastor was there and is in favor of spending the money, but we’ll need to check with my principal.

I couldn’t figure out the grading software. It was frustrating and made me feel old, so I left.

I stopped at Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Walmart to walk their garden centers. It was awesome. At one of the places, I saw a banana shrub. I’ve seen them in mail order catalogs, but never in real life. They are a relative of magnolia trees, and the flowers smell like bananas. I checked them, and they did! It was amazing!

Pretty little flowers…