Well Made

I just finished putting up cellular shades throughout our home. I didn't buy the best...out of my budget...but hey, they're folded pieces of fabric...how difficult can it be to make them? Evidently more difficult than I thought. I've had to exchange several due to sloppy workmanship and/or poor quality control at the factory.

Tonight we took the kids to the playground at Waihe'e School: not only to enjoy the great play structures, but to soak up the beautiful surroundings, and cool, misty air. As I was walking across the school's lush green field, I passed a small palm and saw what cellular shades look like when they've been constructed by Someone Who Cares.

A Day in the Life

From postcards to vacation brochures, much of the Hawaii the rest of the world sees is focused on the beaches, the whales and the luaus. And though those things are a part of our island life, there are the everyday sights that touch the residents and remind us we truly live in paradise. Sights that still take our breath away...even if they'd never make the cover of a travel magazine, or grace the pages of a guide.

Last night I took the family for a walk at Keopuolani Park. We were treated to the view above as we got back to the car: a lush baseball field with a backdrop of the setting sun...giving us one last dose of warmth, filtered through the 'Iao Valley, just before dipping out of sight.

A Walk in Paradise

Went on a photo hike today. Though I've lived here over a decade, I had never been to Twin Falls...so today I set out to change that. What a beautiful hike. I know there are several pool and falls to explore, but I was pressed for time. That, and the fact I was wearing $2 slippers from Longs, while stepping on mossy rocks in deep creeks while carrying camera gear, limited my exploration a bit. But remember my previous post about getting the family out into nature more? This will be one of our next adventures.

With Gratitude

My mom came to visit at the end of November. It was a dual-celebration...Thanksgiving and a pre-Christmas shindig. To make it feel like Christmas from the get-go, we put up our tree in mid-November, and though it felt a little early at the time, that tree has been a cornerstone of the season. There's something about it, despite the fact it's fake. It's almost 10' tall, it's just the right circumference...not enormous, but not too skinny, and it's so real-looking that people lean in and smell it just to be sure. We plug it in first thing in the morning as we drink our coffee, and the minute the sun starts to set, we plug it in again. The cats have found the base to be to coziest home ever, the kids stare at the ornaments with a refreshed wonder every day, and my wife and I get lost just looking at the lights....it's as though they block out the worries, and take us away to a place where everything is OK.

We're having some friends over for a delayed holiday celebration this coming Tuesday and they asked if we'd keep our tree up for the event. It wasn't hard to say yes. What will be hard is taking it down afterwards. Like I mentioned in the post on New Years, this past year took it's toll, and though we've been blessed beyond description in so many ways, we're still entering 2010 somewhat weary from battle. This tree has been our mental respite, and more than ever, the magic of a Christmas tree, has carried us through the season.

It is said thatMartin Luther cut a fir tree from his garden one wintry evening and placed it in the nursery of his home for his wife and children. He wanted them to envision the snowy dark beauty of the night of Jesus' birth, and he decorated the tree with lighted candles to represent the stars in the sky.

To this day, those lights still mesmerize...and I'm grateful. Though it's already January 2nd, let me wish you and yours, one more time, a most wonderful New Year.

It's Time to Get Ourselves Back to the Garden

I'm far from new-agey, and I'm anything but hippie...but I have made a New Year's Resolution to get my family outside and into nature more. God has blessed us with a beautiful home, and we spend countless, priceless, hours there...enjoying time, and enjoying each other. But He's also blessed us with life in a paradise, and it's a goal of mine to get the whole family out of the house and into the island even more this year.

Then can I walk beside you?

I have come here to lose the smog,

And I feel to be a cog in something turning.

Well mabye it is the time of year,

Or maybe it's the time of man...

but we've got to get ourselves back to the garden.

-Woodstock, Joni Mitchell

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou #2

It was exactly one year ago that I started this photo blog with a post wishing everyone a Happy New Year. In that post, regarding the blog itself, I said "let's see where this goes..."

Well I'm happy to say I stuck with it. Some months I posted more than others, but all said and done, this my 103rd post. I'm excited to see where it goes in 2010.

The New Year's celebrations were in full force tonight in our neighborhood. I think the struggles of 2009 have taken there toll, and people are ready for a fresh start. There were more Christmas lights up this season than I've ever seen on island, and tonight there were more fireworks than I've seen in the last several years combined; dramatic aerial displays were launching from every other driveway. The display above was two doors away.

It was hard not to get a little choked up tonight. You could feel the human spirit celebrating the hope for better year. Perhaps a positive side-effect of this past year has been a renewal of community. Oscar Wilde once said, "What seems to us as bitter trials, are often blessings in disguise."

"The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is to live inside that hope."

-Barbara Kingsolver

I wish you all a very Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!