The "Board" meeting

The other morning I was on my way to work at the school and stopped to look at the waves at Ali'i Beach Park. The park was closed off because there was a movie being filmed there. So I decided to go to the other side of the harbor, Haleiwa Beach Park.

As I was sitting there, I noticed three stand-up paddlers in the water. The water was so calm, no wind, no waves. They were sitting on their boards, going into the water to get wet, just having a great time. As I watched them and took some pictures I realized they were just out there having a "board meeting". What could be better?

A hui hou aloha,

Jane

Merrie Monarch

For the last several years I've gone to a huge hula competation in Hilo on the Big Island. One of my hula sisters here has an "in" to getting tickets, and the same seats pretty much every year. People come from all over the world to see this. It's actually not something that just any halau (school) can enter...you have to be chosen.

This is really THE biggest thing going on in Hilo every year. The actual competition is only three evenings, but the festivities last pretty much for a week before hand. Then on the Sunday after, the whole town seems to close down for a rest.

Thanks to DeDe, we also have an "in" for rooms on Banyan Drive in Hilo. A lot of people end up staying farther away or not being able to get rooms or not have friends/relatives to room with.

The "Merrie Monarch" as he was called was King David Kalakaua. He is credited with reviving hula after the missionaries banned it here. So every night before the performances, everything stops to let the Royal Court enter the stadium. Then they leave it's the same thing. The people who portray the king and queen have been selected based on their community service.

So for three nights, it's hula, hula, hula. Since I've gone for so many years, I know to bring a stadium seat (for all those hours sitting), water and binoculars. Our seats are high up, this makes it easier to see the formations the dances are in.

This is such a big thing here that it's televised every night "live" on the ABC station. One of the news gals went to school with my kumu, so every year she comes up and does "spot interviews" with someone in our group. Good fun!

On Saturday, during the day there's a parade down the main street in Hilo. This year it was 2 hours long! There is something so unique to Hawai'i that's in pretty much every big parade. This is the Pa'u riders. These are ladies with ornate floral headdresses with long dresses. There is one for each of the different island. The flowers, shirts, dresses, horse lei are all in the colors of each island that they represent. For example, Oahu is yellow, Big Island is red, Maui is pink. It's really something to see.

On Thursday night it's the "Miss Aloha Hula" competition. These girls dance both ancient and modern hula by themselves. Friday night is the ancient or kahiko hula for men and women. Saturday night is the hula auana or modern hula. This is actually what most people are familar with.

"Hula is the language of the heart, therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people".

King Kalakaua

Aloha and a hui hou,

Jane

The MH

Bet you're wondering what's the MH? Ever since Terry aquired his parent's mobile home as part of the trust settlement...we didn't know what to call it. It's not a condo, it's not a house (bigger than our home, though), it's not a trailer... the correct term, as we've found out is "mobile home". Just too long, confusing and it's not mobile! So now we just call it the "MH".

Even Jack and Lauren are calling it that now.

The day that hubby took posession, we stripped off wallpaper and started painting. If hubby was going to be there two weeks a month, we were going to make it ours. The first two months, the only furniture we had were things that our kids gave back to us after their years of use! Strange feeling to be getting used furniture from our kids. We did buy a bed like we have at home because a good nights' sleep is a must!

You have to appreciate that the MH is probably double the size of our hawaii hale. When I was there the first time in March, I had wanted to buy some furniture, but because of being sick, that was put on hold. When I went back a week later, I was feeling better and went a little crazy!

The day that Lauren and I had lunch together, we stopped in Pottery Barn. There on the floor was the perfect sofa! To make it even more perfect, it was more than half off. For those of you who know Pottery Barn, this was a huge bargin. So with the help of son and son-in-law and daughter and daughter-in-laws expert advice, we suddenly found ourselves with a new white sofa!

Since this seasons BIG color is green, I got the pillows. I was so pleased and could hardly wait to show hubby the pics I'd been taking. Cruzin' WalMart late one night, I found the perfect table...not only was it the perfect size and color, but the $$ of $25.00 made it even more perfect~ Now I was on a roll. Since the store that I bought the sofa at didn't have the chair that I'd always loved...I was on a mission to find it.

After going on the internet and calling the Pottery Barn stores in the area, I found one. I begged daughter to please, please, please take me (I just knew it would fit in the back of her van). So after dropping Lauren off at school, buying her a Starbucks we were off to South Coast Plaza with Jack. Sure enough, they had the chair un-boxed and ready to go. Got one more "perfect green" pillow and we were off.

Since these pictures were taken and hubby has been there working, the bedroom is now painted to match the spread, he bought a flat screen tv and even went to Crate & Barrel and got an entertainment center for it.

So next time I go, I'll be taking some pictures for the walls, and little things to help the MH become more of a home-away-from-home.

Aloha and a hui hou,

Jane

Grandparents Day

Months ago, I was reading the school calendar that Lauren had brought home from her new school. I saw that they had "Grandparent's Day" listed. Right away I knew that this was something I really wanted to do. So I made a reservation immediately on my favorite airline!

I didn't realize that I'd be going over to help with the grandkids two weeks before my much anticipated "Grandparent's Day" trip. But that is another story!

I flew in the night before and picked up Lauren in the morning and took her to school. Then I waited until the appointed time. I'd been to her school numerous times, even working in the classroom, but this felt like "the first time".

All of us grandparents were treated to a tour of the classroom, looking at artwork and assignments. We were given a packet to work on with our grandchild. Lauren had to put a plumeria in her hair. I answered questions about mommy when she was a little girl. Lauren really thought that some of these things were pretty funny!

A bell rang and we were dismissed to the chapel for the program. Lauren's class was first up and performed a song and poem about grandparents. That's her in the blue hat on the end! The rest of the program brought a lot of laughs and also a few tears.

At the end of the program, we grandparents were allowed to take our grandkids for the rest of the day. Lauren wanted to go to Nordstrom Cafe for lunch and then shopping. Sitting there talking with her (she seemed so grown-up), I realzed how truely blessed I was to not only have this special little girl in my life, but also the rest of my family. The best part of being a grandparent is having the time to really appreciate the Grand-est things in life.

Big Mahalo to Jen for the photos!

a hui hou and aloha,
Jane

I Promise!

After realizing that there are bloggers out there that have WAY more going on in their lives than I ever could, I've been shamed into trying to get my blog caught up!
So now that I'm back from the mainland, no court for a couple of weeks, no company, no association pressing matters, no short trips to Hilo, no talks to give in church, feeling really good and hubby is off to the mainland, I'm going to get caught up! I promise!

So without any pressure I'm going to start posting all the exciting, fun, aggravating, breathtaking and just plain boring stuff I've been up to in the last, let's see...month! Yikes, that long! This could really keep me busy for awhile!

So stay tuned for the "trying to get caught up" posts in the near future!

Aloha a hui hou,
Jane

Time...and the lack of it

Remember when it used to drag by? Seemed like the ice cream man would never come, the bell to dismiss class would never ring, wedding day seemed like an eternity away, excitedly waiting for the birth of your first child, these were times when it didn't matter how many times you looked at the clock, it never moved!

I'm not sure when time started speeding up. Was it during the years the kids were growing up? Was it when they got married? Probably was sometime in between. I'm just not sure. One day you wake up and realize that suddenly the clock is spinning like a top. The problem with this is that there's still the same amount of hours in a day and some days those hours just don't seem like enough.

I guess what started all this was the last month, I feel like the clock is completely out of control! I made two (2), yes two trips to San Clemente this month. One was unexpected to babysit, (when I got sick), then a special one for Lauren's Grandparent's Day at school. On top of all this, our little association here is FINALLY going somewhere.

I was home a few days when Terry left for his regular trip. I'd been very busy when I was there, actually getting some furniture for the MH (mobile home) so that we didn't have to share a chair anymore. More about that whole thing later!

My neighbor, Karen, and I have spent precious hours going over the rules, violations, fines, etc. I actually feel like I'm on a little bit of overload with it all. The association has hired a management company, so that will take care of all this starting next week. So the last two weeks have been spent in meetings, at the computer re-writing, phone calls, attending North Shore Neighborhood Board meeting, more phone calls, more re-writing......aaarrrgggghhhh! All the while the clock is ticking away. Just gotta hang in there for a few more days.

A friend from church, his father passed away, so we made sandwiches for that. I'm speaking to the youth on Sunday, so I've been working on that talk. We're having an Open House for the new gym, so more sandwiches. A friend won a my "custom made scrapbook" at the auction, so I've been putting together some ideas for that.

On top of all that comes St. Patrick's Day. Good friend Rickey, called that morning, he made me feel bad that we weren't doing anything, so threw that party. Good fun. Easter Sunday dinner with neighbors, also good fun. Geoff called and asked me how their taxes were coming along. I really hadn't started on them, so I promised I'd do it that day. So looking at the clock again, I got started and it really didn't take too long.

My sister Penny and her husband will be here in a little over a week, so I'm planning a little "tour" for them. Gotta get the house together for that. Really need to do something with all this crazy paper that seems to be all over the office, lawyer stuff, association stuff, church stuff, Geoff's taxes, and, and, and! Maybe I just shouldn't look at the clock?

Whew! I'm tired just writing about it all! Well, promise to get caught up here in the next week. I just glanced at the clock. Yikes. The sun comes up early along with waking the roosters, so...
Night all!

Aloha and a hui hou,
Jane

Early Morning

Early this morning I was writing an e-mail and I looked out the window. I could tell it was going to be a wonderful sunrise. I quickly ended the e-mail and grabbed my camera and was off. I was already dressed, so this saved some time. I drove towards Haleiwa (since this is east of us) and I tried to think of somewhere I could stop to get that "right" shot.


I pulled into the post office and jumped out of the car. Right across the street was the perfect shot! Across the street was a group of coconut plams next to the Waialua Community Association building. I stood there and probably took 20 pictures. The sky was changing by the second it seemed and I didn't want to miss any of it. It just seemed so perfect- the sky was orange, yellow, purple and blue. The trees were still dark. Pretty good if I do say so. Except for the street light sort of in the picture, Oh Well!


I just love this time of morning. There really isn't anyone out. The tourist haven't made it out yet from Waikiki, a lot of people are already headed to work in town and there isn't really any surf right now, so the surfers are all sleeping in.


Since I've always been a "morning person", I guess that's why I love it so much here at this time. Even when we lived in SC, I was out early, but it just wasn't the same. This is really "country", a two lane road, sidewalks that pretty much "roll up" at night and loads of chickens running around getting an early morning snack.












I took these two pictures from where I was standing across from the WCA. I just turned each way and snapped. I'm still amazed at how deserted it is. The picture on the left is facing West, towards Waialua. That's Mt. Kaala in the background. Even Cafe Haleiwa isn't open at this time. The picture on the right is facing east towards Haleiwa Beach Park. Notice there's really not anyone on the road. You can see there's a sign letting you know there's a signal up the way. This is the one signal in Haleiwa Town.

Last Saturday my hunk was trimming the hibiscus and cut his leg with a saw. He was very worried about tetnaus, so he went to the drs. yesterday and got a shot. He came home from the mainland also sick (hummm wonder who gave him that? :) So as you can imagine he's been hacking and limping. Poor guy! But he is getting better.

I leave tomorrow morning for the mainland for "Grandparents Day" at Lauren's school. I've had my ticket for a long time, so I'm really excited. I really hadn't unpacked my suitcase from a week and a half ago. So hopefully I'll have some new pics to put on my blog. Not sure if we're going to the Happiest Place on Earth again, but I'm taking my pass just in case.

Aloha and a hui hou,
Jane