OHANA ISLAND HOME

No, seriously this is NOT our home. lol (I took this pic on Maui about a month ago.....it's a shelter being built by an Outrigger canoe club there, I believe.) I will post a picture of our actual home as soon as we finally put on a new roof (and at this rate, I'm not holding my breath, but we hope to get it on by the end of summer). Yes, the hubs and I will do it with probably a hired and younger helper. 

I did tell you, I'm sure, that our humble Island home is a mere 640 square feet? Yep. And it's single wall construction too. That's another story, but story short, it's where the outside wall and the inside wall are the same board. (I did say board.) There is NO insulation anywhere. You know how your electrical wiring is hidden inside your walls? Well, our electrical wiring is on top of our walls, but hidden by "decorative" wood molding. (Not very decorative at all.)

Oh yeah, and our washer, dryer AND hot water heater are OUTSIDE the home. (Not kidding.) It's under a covered roof on our lanai (patio) but it's still outside. Of course, we don't have to go through snow to get to it either. lol

Suffice to say, it's an old plantation worker style home built in the very early 60s. Building codes have changed a lot. When we upgrade, our home will be double-walled with insulation, our new metal roof will be strapped down with hurricane straps, etc.

The part of the island where we live, the year-round temperature is very comfortable. 99% of the time we have very nice tradewinds. We don't need air conditioning; a ceiling fan will suffice. Even so, our electric bill runs approximately $160 a month with just two people. (We have some of the highest electric rates in the nation.) So, we're always looking for ways to cut utility costs. Thank goodness we plan to go solar very soon. 

We have a good sized yard which is so important to us. So what we give up in indoor living space, we make up for outside. Ying and yang - it all works out. Some pics:

Our yard has banana plants (they're not really trees, though that's what people call them), papaya trees, coconut trees and a lychee tree. His mother has a mango tree and his uncle has avacado trees, so we're  pretty well set for fruit. It's beef and poultry which cost a fortune here....too bad we don't have room for cattle and chickens. lol

Just wanted to give you a small taste of my life on the island.

Aloha! (for now)