FROM THE KITCHENETTE

THE KITCHENETTE

This is where we live. When VARDOFORTWO the blog was born, back in October, we posted pictures of our safe at home space we have come to know as THE KITCHENETTE. I credit my therapist for reminding me of that word which is just what our home is ... the kitchen and her ette. Leslie from The Oko Box Blog posted pictures and story of what it takes to live in 'safe' fashion with stuff that 'ordinaries' or 'civilians' have/build with ...Least I forget how MUCH WE HAVE living in The Kitchenette I felt compelled to make her our very special pin-up girl. With out her we would be dead meat!

HERE SHE IS: Dressed in beautiful flowing tropical golden folds, The Kitchenette is always oh so lovely wearing a print of ti leaves and banana fronds. An old favorite print that has blessed so many places we have called home, first cut and sown for our cottage on Puhala Drive in Manoa Valley on O`ahu. In the background above the full-sweep of golden folds and tropical leaves the silvery all-powerful Denny Foil encases the cabinetry that keeps on stinking after all those thirty years. What? You wonder what those dancing geisha are doing above the doorway in The Kitchenette ... that my dear friends is a keepsake that has weathered thousands of miles of wandering, originating in Lahaina, Maui Jodo Mission when once we danced with friends at O BON ... the feastival to honor the dead. A truly wonderful time, a real grand dancing in a circle time.
ABOVE YOU SEE THE VERSATILITY OF A SHEET (many time washed and safe, safe, safe) & DENNY FOIL. The dark green sheet-wall is skillfully stretched and tacked with push pins, across a gaping opening between nirvana (The Kitchenette) and ... hell? No, not quite, but purgatory yes. Once again the mighty DENNY FOIL hidden and taped behind the sheet, creates a sturdy barrier temporarily or for as long as you need it to be. Ever the island folk we have kept the decor a la Sig Zane adding colors of Hawaii and the shapes of things we love about `aina-- the ULU, breadfruit panels were cut and hemmed years ago when we lived on Wailuku Drive in Hilo, Hawaii. What we have kept can be washed easily and folded into small spaces for ease and mobility.

OUTSIDE THE KITCHENETTE TODAY: What is that man looking at?

OMIGOD! It's BLUE SKY

When a shed is a home

Elizabeth Feudale-Bowls of Allentown, Pennsylvania lives in a steel shed near her home because she has multiple chemical sensitivities. The shed is a safe place for her. Her neighbors think it's "a eyesore" and the judge has ruled that because Elizabeth Feudale-Bowls and her husband did not comply with building code, the shed will be taken down at the end of the month. Stories like these attract the attention of all of us with environmental illnesses like Elizabeth experiences. The article in Mail Online the internet version of the UK Daily Mail notes that "simple things like laundry dryer sheets and ...." make her sick.

Friday, November 7, 2008

I began this post two weeks ago when VardoForTwo was just being born.(This post shows the date of my original draft) I wasn't sure how to include Elizabeth Feudale-Bowls' story, yet. Now, I do. As I rested and recouped from the affects of a toxic exposure to dryer sheets I tracked down a followup story about Elizabeth. She is appealing the judge's ruling to tear her safe place down. The attention she is getting is a double-edged sword (geez I don't actually like that image, but ... perhaps you have another way of putting it). She is fighting for her safety and getting a lot of negative/positive attention. It takes a lot to do what she and her husband are doing. I've posted a comment on the Seattle Examiner on line article that invited feedback.