Meet Kala

I've known Kala's mom for a couple of years now, but this was the first time I had met Kala. When he came to hug me hello, I told him how handsome he was and he fell to the ground...what a clown. He is all grassy because there was a cool water slide at the birthday party!

Playboy Alternative

These adorable bunnies hopped all the way from N'awleens to Kona, Hawaii for the Easter Holiday. Not only from New Orleans, but each a Katrina survivor. This picture does not do justice to the joy and wonderful bonds of friendship that was too obvious not to notice. They may have been crushed, but definitely not destroyed, hmmmm... sounds like an Easter story to me!
Eat your heart out, Hugh Heffner!

New Creations

I took this picture at a local farm supply store, I just couldn't resist...the title of this picture: "the ones that got away"! Happy, Happy Easter!

Let's Hear it for the Boys!

Happy pizza, happy day! It is always a happy day when I get to spend it with my grandsons. Today, we decided to create pizza pie! We used as the crust an organic flat bread. I never really got into flat bread until I discovered what a great pizza crust it makes!

I gave them a little lesson in proper pizza cutting. I actually worked at a pizza parlor, including delivering pizza's for a little period of my life...so that makes me an expert..ha! ha!
Yummm, no more happy face, only happy stomach.

No creative design, just a lot of cheese, Portuguese sausage, olives and mushrooms.

Pizza's about six dollars...a day with the boys...priceless!

Dog Flowers

Every year these orchids surprise me. Evidently the former owners embedded them into the Hapu'u ferns and they do so well there..
Honey is such the "alpha" female, there is nothing I can do, no picture I can take without her trying to get her face into the format....but I do love her.
I have two other dogs, Skoshi (ika ball bearings) and Ziggy (the Marly), but Honey is always number one!

A mullet is still a mullet

I find it interesting that the G20 summit and the opening of Mullet season coincide today, April fools day. I guess if you are a mullet, you lose either way!

This is a pic of the MaN sewing his Hawaiian Style fish net in prep for this season...and more!

Happy Plant

This has got to be one of the most interesting orchid plants I have ever seen (not that I'm a connoisseur or anything). It is a hybrid and goes by the name of Masdevalia a big name for a little tiny flower. Orchid breeders are interesting folk, they work hard to produce these wonderful plants just to make people like me happy!

Today I am particularly thankful for:
The beautiful things God gives us in nature
I want to do better at:
My artwork
And live this value:
Forgiveness

Some Salmon?

Fresh, wild salmon filet's. Sprinkled with Herbs de Provence, that lavender taste is incredible. I am trying to be more sodium conscious, so this is all that I seasoned them with and as it turned out, I could truly enjoy the flavor of the fish.
Fresh, Ka'u-organically grown Chinese peas. I blanched them and tossed lightly with a pinch of Kosher salt and juice of half a Hawaiian lemon.
Okay, I cheated, a little bit of Poke' on the side. My body must have been craving the fish protein and oils.
Oven baked the salmon for 20-25 minutes....ono! delicious! Perfect end to a perfect day! The MaN chose to eat it with poi...also.

Total thankfulness for:
My daughter, son in law and grandkids found an awesome church near their home.
Representing this value:
Gratefulness in all things
Shooting at this goal:
Time management

It's only Johnson and Johnson

This is what happened when I let my grand nephew play with the powder...should I be concerned about him??? LOL!

And all the trees of the fields will clap their hands!

The Hapu'u that grows around the perimeter of my yard is a native Hawaiian plant-fern family. This particular fern is a referred to as a Hawaiian Giant and stands about 7 feet tall, which is actually small for this fern. The new leaves emerge from the center or heart of the fern covered with soft down and bowed as if in prayer...I like to think they are praying blessings over my home.

My Two Cents

This is the warm and cozy corner, from whence I write my blogs, check my email,visit facebook, twitter and whatever else my laptop calls out to me to do. I am so appreciative of the ability to connect, even if it is virtually. And blah, blah, blah to those people whom spend their days evaluating the effects that email, facebook, twitter, blogging and all other virtual communication can have on us. Especially the concern that it will keep us from really being with people. To these people I say, come, move to the country where I live....in the middle of too small and rainforest. It would cost me thousands of dollars to physically visit, just once a year, all of the wonderful people that I am able to communicate with everyday via the internet. Imagine if these self appointed analysts were living in the day before the railroad was built. Perhaps an article written in the monthly Tribune would go something like this: Although the Pony Express is doing a wonderful job in connecting people at a faster pace than ever before, I am concerned with the fact that two letters a year may give people a false sense of relationship security. It would be healthier if these letter writers would get into a stage coach, brave the thousands of miles of rough roads and severe weather. Of course, taking a course in defense would be helpful, in case they should be held up or attacked. In spite of these possible disasters, physical relationships are much healthier than the dependence upon pen, paper and the pony express!

So my friends, blog, twitter, facebook, my space whatever, just keep on talking it up and letting the spirit carry your love!

Chicken Project

In an earlier post, I featured the "mommies" of these fine eggs. Now they are producing exponentially, which is great for me! As a result of this production, my grandchildren and I have a "Chicken Project" going on. Every Sunday, I receive 18 fresh, clean, organic brown eggs from them. In return I give them $5 to invest in the raising of the mommies. They can buy healthier feed, egg maker vitamins, supplies to do a chicken hutch re-design or guest room addition or to treat the girls to a pet-a-cure...okay, just getting silly, and checking if you are really paying attention to this post.

We are only into week 2 at this point, and I realize that it is okay for Nanna to keep them accountable to the project...I guess that's what we are here for! I will keep you posted on how this progresses...or if it just turns into an inside yolk!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun!

I love it when I do something for the first time and it turns out to be the bomb! I mean good bomb...not like bombed out. Anyway, this weekend, for the first time, I attended a women's clothing exchange party. I definitely had my doubts, as I did not know what to expect. Each woman was asked to bring, besides her clothes, an appetizer or a dessert and whatever you drink. I thought, at the least, I can make some new friends, spend time with some of my old friends, have a few glasses of wine and have a nice girls day out.

But, oh my gosh, I could not believe the great selection of clothing! Not to mention the fun of just ripping your clothes off in the middle of someone's living room, because everyone else was doing it! All of my clothes went to new homes and I came home with some really cool outfits. There were a couple of generation of women there, from varied walks of life, which made for a great eclectic selection of clothing.

The food was great! I made bruschetta and served it with baguettes toasted with olive oil. There was a great hummus dip with crackers, a platter of biscotti, veggies, spinach dip and much more. The wine was great, a nice assortment of reds and whites, one woman even brought the home brewed beer she and her husband make.

The participants were welcomed to take home any of their clothes that did not go, or donate them to a local women's shelter...one of the ladies volunteered to take them. This was the first event held at this particular hostesses home and it was so successful, that she has decided to make it a semi-annual event....perfect, in six months I will be ready to update my wardrobe! Great "green" event!

Meet Ziggy

It is all about the eye contact, I swear! When I looked into the box of puppies that the guy was giving away free...these eyes grabbed me.

No less than the perfect piece of antique jewelry, or that wonderful fabric that you just cannot stop fingering and feeling. Okay, if I was a guy, it would probably be the perfect golf club or that new power tool...anyway..

I did it, with only a few words exchanged and about three minutes of cuddling, in my car she
went. He did mention that the next stop was the dog pound, and although she already had me, this, I reasoned would be my justification for leaving as one, coming back as two!

She now completes the trinity, all female, all black. I also figured that she would help counteract the "alpha" female's controlling behavior as well as get the pressure off of doggie number two. Also, unlike the other two, she loves to ride in the car, so now I have a partner.

So much for my doggie tails!

Gotta Get Artsy

A little piece that I just finished. The cross is re-cycled, a Tiffany piece, probably off of another larger piece that I found on the beach a long time ago. The cord is cotton/silk and the findings are silver. As you can tell, I am just beginning, just finding my way. My goal of course, is that the pieces will improve as time goes by. They will always have incorporated into them some "found", "re-cycled" or organic element. I still plan on managing this blog when I get famous (just a little humor, there). I am open to suggestions or examples or lessons, highly teachable!

Equal Representation

My grandsons wanted to make sure that I give them equal representation (see previous post), so here is a picture of my third oldest grandson....well at least they're a team!


The joy of the Lord is my strength!

A Good Head on His Shoulders

I always brag to people that having a big family is like having a huge retirement nest egg, because I will always have someone to take care of me.

This is my second oldest grandson! See, I have nothing to worry about!

Green Valentine

A journey of love, the creativity and adventure that go into choosing a valentine gift for the love of your life can possibly be more significant than the gift itself. Two years ago, on Valentine's day, my man and I agreed that we did not want to face the crowded restaurants and parking that can undermine the romantic mood of the occasion and decided to take a day for ourselves. We drove out to a park, located at the mouth of a river, looking out to the beautiful Pacific. Because the water is so turbulent there, wonderful and unusually shaped rocks are abundant. We agreed to find a rock that would be our Valentine gift to each other. He went his way and I mine. We found our rocks, returned to each other...and the picture tells the rest. Yep, heart shaped rocks. I never realized how many things in nature are heart shaped, rocks, shells, leaves, flowers, birds....be creative and green this year!

Chive Talking

Since I was a little girl I was cursed with a sense of humor and wit! And I mean cursed, as in "you cannot imagine the trouble it has gotten me into!". As I matured, and even to this day, I have to pray for discernment, to know when not to open that hole in my face which provides an escape route for those witty little things to tumble out of.

I was so pleased with how my one chive plant has been multiplying itself and just couldn't wait to show it on my blog. Simultaneously, titles started coming to my mind. Being the humorist that I am, it makes sense that there would be a play on the word chive. Then, even though I work hard at repressing it, the serious side of my thinking started to participate in this process. It dawned on me that jive is a jargon or hip way of talking that can fall under the definition of wit or humor.

What does this have to do with my blog? If you have been following this blog faithfully, or if you have just read a couple of my posts, you are probably aware of the "Jesus" thread that runs through my musings. It is not my desire that this blog be limited only to readers who share the same belief system as I do. The value system that I commit my life and my thinking to is the catalyst that creates a firm foundation for my inclination towards optimism (in spite of difficult challenges) faith (in mankind that looks beyond one's personal baggage) and hope (in our future in spite of what our nation is facing). And almost incomprehensible to the human mind and heart,the ability to love and forgive without condition.

Whether you share my belief system or not, my goal is that these qualities will provide the springboard for purposeful and useful muse, meditation or pondering..or even just a good belly laugh!

So, I will blame my wit on Jesus, because, as you can see, He teaches me how to enjoy life and reminds me to laugh, every chance I get!

Wade in the Water

Whether or not you read or believe in the bible, it is probable that you have heard the Exodus story where the Israelites are being pursued by the Egyptians. It appears that the Israelites are toast! (wow, as I write this, it dawns on me how history seems to be repeating itself). However something miraculous occurs and the the toast becomes Egyptian rather than Israelite.

Whatever the outcome, the Israelites were not going to stop and surrender. Come "heaven" or high water they were going forward, choosing their own destiny, whether they lived or died, it would be their decision!

Making a 180 degree change at mid life, leaving the security of leadership and management in the corporate setting has been quite a challenge. Learning to slow down and embrace the unexpected. Appreciating the things that come my way, even if not planned for, or on "my list".

My doggies love me for it!