Happy birthday, Miss Marvelous!

Ayla turns 4 today. I am her Popo. Happy Birthday and Hau‘oli Lā Hānau to a beautiful princess! Buona Giornata! I love you very much!

Ciao, baby!

Our son-in-law Travis landed a job rotation in Naples, Italy. Yes, it’s true: in less than two weeks he and DH’s only child Ari and their children Miss Marvelous and three-month-old Perrin leave Oahu for three years. Our family and close friends have got used to the idea and the many advantages of moving half way around the world from Hawaii.

Travis is a civilian who will be working for the U.S. Navy that has a large base in Naples. His expertise is in water engineering. There will be better pay, proximity to all of Europe, international school for Miss Marvelous, and many other benefits, including a generous housing allowance, for this young family.

What they leave behind will likely still be here when they return. Culture shock, most likely. And their dog Pua, who will not make the trip but will move in to live with us instead. Poor Ula!

Aloha, ciao, hello, good-bye, but mostly good luck and see you again soon!

DH and I hosted a going-away party on Saturday at our house and invited some old friends, neighbors, and people in our rural Kaaawa town who Ari grew up with. The guest list included our little friend Oliver, a playmate for Miss Marvelous.

Flooding and road closures of the severe weather storm the previous five to six days—with chilly air, a tornado, thunder, lightning, and hail stones— were not a problem anymore, thankfully, and all the folks, almost 40 of them, arrived and stayed ’til the end. It’s not uncommon for us to schedule a party, only to have stormy weather on the day of the event. Go figure.

I planned three food stations (hot food, cold food, and beverages) and a simple-to-prepare, mostly Italian menu. The only item I had to actually cook was the mushroom risotto that I precooked the day before following instructions from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2004; ISBN 1-4000-5446-X).

The rest involved finding space in the refrigerator and freezer, and washing the produce:  Palermo’s ultra-thin crust Margherita pizza (frozen, three to a box from Costco), sushi (1 big platter made to order at the last minute from the Ninja Sushi store), fresh romaine, bocconcini (small, marinated mozzarella balls, 40 to a tub from Costco), fresh tomatoes (found some cute, flavorful, 1-1/2″ ones that I sliced in half and drizzled with bocconcini marinade), steak (broiled to rare and sliced for serving so diners didn’t need a knife; the meat continued to cook on a steam table), roasted asparagus (with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, 500 degrees F. for 5 minutes), and brownies (baked in the morning from a Ghirardelli mix).

I brought out the nice stem glasses for the Italian wine—hey, what better occasion?!—and, although we didn’t request that people bring anything, they did. No one got thirsty. Ari brought Bubbie’s mochi ice cream from Miss Marvelous’s school fundraising event. Ari loves mochi. I wonder if they have mochi in Italy?

Of course, we have to visit the kids in Italy! They announced they will come back home to Hawaii in November for Perrin’s first birthday luau. Kalua pig from the imu and the works. Hearing that, this big change in our family is easier for Papa (DH) and Popo (me) to take. Ciao, baby! See you on Skype!

Copyright 2012 Rebekah Luke

Twelfth day of Christmas smile

Like my adult psychic readers, our 2-1/2-year-old Miss Marvelous likes to let me know that she knows. I can always tell when she’s been to the studio. After she leaves, I find little messages. Mostly she will rearrange things. She must know I am visually sensitive and like to see the living area neat and tidy, for example.

For the Christmas holiday I took three Christmas balls from a larger collection in a basket in the foyer and put them in a smaller display stand  in the living area for a design “repeat” where normally there is an ipu (gourd). Later I found Miss Marvelous “helped” me by neatly putting the items back the way she originally remembered them, that is, she remembered where the ipu belonged, and she saw the big basket of shiny colorful ornaments.

Today, as I packed the decorations away — it’s the 12th Day of Christmas when I usually take things down — I missed a Christmas ball from said collection. I looked around the room and noticed it sitting, again so very neatly, on a low shelf next to the portrait of me that Miss Marvelous likes. Ahahaha!

Copyright 2012 Rebekah Luke

New life for old ornaments

Greetings! from our family to yours. Christmas decorations are up at the studio, and the look gets more Zen-like each year. A collection of beloved ornaments begged to be included instead of being left in the storage box, so I came up with what I think is a clever idea.

I culled the soft and fairly unbreakable ones, stuffed them into a big stocking, and hung the stocking next to the toy box. The next time Miss Marvelous comes over, there’ll be some new surprises to discover and play with.

Soft ornaments fit into stocking for pre-Christmas fun. Each had a place on Christmas trees past. This year the toddler in the family may play with them.

Our social calendar is filling up. For example, this week DH and I will be taking Miss Marvelous on an evening trolley ride with her school; it’s joong-making time with my friend Nani; and I’m gigging with the Punahou Alumni Glee Club. I mustn’t forget tai chi and water exercise as usual.

On Saturday I’m giving a workshop at Kaneohe Yacht Club for members and their guests on how to make lei garlands for the holidays. It can be a stressful time, especially with the kids’ new baby and exciting job change — more about that later!

I’m reminded to relax and stay in the present and make time for Miss Marvelous to play with her stocking. ~ Rebekah

P.S. Do you like the snow? It’s courtesy of wordpress.com

Copyright 2011 Rebekah Luke

New mural is a big deal

Miss Marvelous and I experience the new "Hawaiʻi Loa Kū Like Kākou" mural created this month by Native Hawaiian artists at the Hawaii Convention Center. This photo shows only a small section of the painting with the tip of an 'auamo (stick used on one's shoulders to carry things) that represents the concept of balance for the world. The entire ʻauamo image including the opposite end extends the width of the mural. The artwork will be officially presented to the public today, October 19, 5:30 - 7 p.m., street-level entrance. For a related article, please see my October 8 post. — Photo by Peter Krape

The marvelous last days of summer

DH and Miss Marvelous

Toys

Miss Marvelous, 27 months

Summer’s almost over for Miss Marvelous. In a couple of weeks she’ll be going to school!

DH and I gave her mom a break today and took our granddaughter “holoholo,” meaning “to go out for pleasure.” Shopping. Drawing. Eating watermelon. A trip to the pool!

Then we checked out the activity on Kaneohe Bay. There’s always something happening on the water.

Today’s sights included the sailing yacht Lady Barbara, headed out from the yacht club, and the sampan Nisei, just as she pulled in to Heeia Pier.

The Lady Barbara at Kaneohe Bay

We're excited to see the sampan Nisei tie up at Heeia Pier

Miss Marvelous gathers her toys with help from her Papa

Copyright 2011 Rebekah Luke

Images of the farm fair

Posting my favorite farm fair photos from the 2011 Hawaii State Fair and 4-H Livestock Show at Kualoa Ranch today. We all like the fair because we get to see the farm animals. And I think the windward Oahu ranch is a great place to stage it, don’t you?

Kualoa Ranch provided the venue for the weekend fair. Not bad, eh?

“Made in Hawaii” and “buy local” seemed to characterize the food choices in both the farmers market and the food booths, including Kualoa Ranch All Natural Grass-fed beef, Kahuku corn, and OnoPops.

Check out all the local Hawaiian flavors of this frozen treat. I had "surinam cherry clove." The list includes "mango lime habanero," "watermelon hibiscus," "pickled green mango" and "starfruit lemongrass."

I love Kahuku corn!

These are my photos of the animals:

Our friend Oliver and a miniature horse named Buttercup

Some of the several kinds of fancy pigeons

Newly born chicks

The out-of-town judge from Texas gives pointers to these 4-H'ers exhibiting their lambs. The champion is the one on the left and in the photo below.

"Slick" is the name of this champion market lamb, exhibited by Sydney Porter, 15, and bred by Paul and Vera Eguires.

Here's Sydney, again, exhibiting "Major," the champion market steer.

Besides eating the food and viewing the animals, there was a tent full of plants for sale.

Flowers and bedding plants galore

Fresh herbs for our recipes

Among the educational exhibits & demonstrations, I learned about aquaponics (e.g., raising tilapia and organic vegetables in one closed system)—something I’d like to invest in at the studio—from Olomana Gardens, and DH picked up some fresh garlic herb butter from Naked Cow Dairy.

For the small kiddies there were the ubiquitous inflatable bouncies, horseback rides, and a couple of carnival rides. Before we left, Miss Marvelous and her dad had to spend their tickets one one last ride.

So much fun on the whirly ride! Wheeee!

The farm fair continues tomorrow, Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission. I’m not sure if any large animals will be there tomorrow, as the auction takes place this evening. I hope the fair comes here again next year.

Copyright 2011 Rebekah Luke