Westport Beach.

At last, pictures from the family's trip to Westport Beach! Enjoy!

Mmmmm, s'mores.

Twirling!

"Let's go fly a kite. . . "

". . . up to the highest heights."

“The setting sun, and music at the close,
As the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last,
Writ in remembrance more than things long past.”

William Shakespeare
(King Richard the Second)

Home Again!

Saturday evening the family rolled down the driveway and filled the quiet house with the lovely sounds of chatter, laughter, and the general noisiness of people I had missed so much.  Everyone had a fun time and they told me all about their adventures over my hastily prepared pasta dinner.  I received a phone call an hour previously saying they would be arriving home hungry, thank goodness for pasta penne, tomato sauce, mozzarella, sliced veggies, and a pretty place setting; nothing turns food into a feast like cloth napkins and candlesticks.

I plan to post pictures of their trip this week in between the garden tasks Rachel and I have set on our calendars.  I promised her when they got back (and if the weather remained warm, which it has!!!) we would place our chick order and start the seedlings in the greenhouse.  Hurray for Spring!!!  I am so ready to pack away the sweaters and stick my hands in some warm black dirt.

Elizabeth :)

Home Alone . . .

Hello everyone, this is Elizabeth!   

The weather here has gone from snowy and cold, to warm and wonderful.  My family has taken a motor home trip to the coast for a few days; the sea air should bring them all home refreshed and ready for spring.  I had a call from dad this afternoon, he said they have a site right next to the beach and the weather is "good," which I choose to translate as perfect.  He did have one complaint; sadly, it isn't quite windy enough to fly the kite Rachel took with them.  While they are gone, I get to hold the fort down here . . . alone; not something I've had to do very often . . .

At 21 years of age, you would think I'd have spent more significant amounts of time alone.  Actually, a more accurate statement would be staying home alone.  When I was sixteen the whole family minus me went on a week long trip to Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore.  I stayed because the trip conflicted with the start of some classes I wanted to take at the local JC, and then I wasn't really alone as I had a grandparent living nearby who was chauffeuring me to and from school and spending parts of the day with me.  But this time, three days, two nights, just me.  It is not as scary as I remember, I learned the first time round that the house likes to creak and groan for no apparent reason, but this time I have a new fear . . . Bob the Rooster!

I hate to admit it, but that rooster scares me!  I am perfectly willing to scoop poop, gather and wash eggs, and even lock them in at night, but letting them out in the morning is a whole different task.  Normally dad lets them out in the morning, and when he is away Rachel fills in; as I have yet to convince dad to invent the automatic chicken coop door (wouldn't that be cool!) I have to do it.  You think after a long restful night’s sleep Bob would greet the person who lets him out with some appreciation, instead he generally crows, chases after the hens, and then charges the person who just released him from confinement.  Bob has had a beef with me ever since that fateful flea powder treatment followed by several de-spurring sessions; then again it could be from the time I hit him with a golf club . . . well, he started it!  Whatever it was, I keep my distance.  So I have adapted a series of steps to successfully let out the chickens without confronting that rooster.

Step 1) Arm oneself, I find a broom or umbrella are the best protection (not a golf club!)
Step 2) Set up the plank and unlock door.
Step 3) SlideopendoorshovedoorontoroofturnandRUN!
Step 4) Pray you did step three correctly or else you will have to go back and fix whatever didn't work.

Only when I reach the pathway to the house do I turn and make sure the chickens are successfully pouring out of their coop, you could say it is my "Sleepy Hollow Bridge."  So far this has provided freedom from conflict with that pompous bird, but I still hold out hope for an automatic door someday.

Have a nice weekend everybody!

P.S. Sorry for the lack of pictures, the family cameras also went to the beach :)

Riding the Wind

Recently I received a strange and unexpected gift: Pain.

Episodes of blogging, online newsreading, email composing, and even old-fashioned pen-to-paper journal writing result in shooting pains up my arm that settle as a dull ache in my elbow. The right hand fields the greater affliction, of course, but both arms carry the painful resonance at times.

A gift? You might question.

Yes, a gift.

Pain . . . that gift that nobody asks for, yet every time it enters my life I come away with some new understanding or acquisition that changes my life remarkably.

Pain: The motivator to change, accept, adapt as fits the situation.

I trust this episode will be no different.

For me writing is like breathing . . . I must do it. Copious journals and rambling blog posts attest to my natural inclination to put thoughts into words scrawled in a place that holds them for longer than the breath a voice carries them upon when they become conversation. The spoken word evaporates or changes into remembrance (sometimes incorrectly) over time, whereas words etch a thought (right or wrong) that lasts intact.

Alas, this delightful dalliance of blogging and soul-refreshing exercise in journaling must be laid aside for a time. Healing must happen.

What will I do? What new activity will fill the moments previously blogged?

Aha! Therein lies the adventure, and I eagerly await it!

In the act of creativity,
the artist lets go the self-control
which he normally clings to
and is open to ride the wind.

~~ Madeleine L’Engle ~~
Walking on Water (81)

And so, I unharness the strictures that cause pain this day, spread my arms wide, trust that wings of delight will sprout fully, and take off to ride the wind. I anticipate soaring over new territories and discovering new ways to create and share and enJOY it all.

When I return (and surely I will, though like a famous Hobbit drafted into service, I know not when I shall cross this bloggy home’s threshold once again), I shall come bearing gifts gleaned from the quest. More than pictures and retelling of tales, I hope to bring a fresh beacon of insight worthy of sharing.

As for today . . . I must be off this computer and about the business of relying on wings so that my arms can rest and rejuvenate.

Be well, sweet friends. I carry you in my heart and prayers until I return to sweep off the welcome mat and put on the kettle once again.

. . . and the wind gently blows . . .

. . . newly unfurled feathers ruffle . . .

Whoosh!

Finding Blue Hawaii

When Lily asked me to accompany her to Hawaii to say farewell to her sister, I immediately accepted. I packed with an eye to respectful attire while preparing my heart to support and encourage my friend through a potentially difficult moment. I concentrated on what I could give. But as I have found over and over again, the gift of friendship and love spills a bounty of blessing right back onto me.

In meeting Susan a year ago I gained access to a personal side of Lily that had been previously unknown. Though stricken with Alzheimer's that robber her of short-term memory, Susan had free reign of memories from long ago and shared them freely. We learned how Susan, the first-born, battled sickliness as a child, thus Lily (second-born) received instruction from mom to always, "Take care of your sister!" Setting off for places like the Catholic boarding school they both attended in Taiwan brought about the regular call to care for Susan. Throughout childhood and beyond Lily "Took Care" of Susan even to the final days and beyond.

Their bond deeply twined their hearts.

Lily's devotion and love shined brightly for all to see as she clutched a portrait of Susan and herself amongst the flowers of my gardens (formerly resting on the casket) and watched over the last details of Susan's burial.

Lily took care of her sister . . . and did it well.

After the ceremony, we gathered at an obscure looking restaurant in a typically-Hawaiian strip mall. All admonishments against "judging a book by its cover" applied to this unassuming little place that rolled out the most FABULOUS gourmet Chinese feast I have ever eaten!! Seriously! The taro duck ranked as my favorite, but the chicken, fish, scallops, beef and many many vegetables (like fried spinach -- Delish!) that poured forth in each new course caused me to gasp at the thought of dessert . . . until it arrived: A platter of delicacies including ice creams, puddings, chocolate decadence, and even red velvet cake (my favorite!).

We celebrated Susan's life with smiles, laughter, a few tears, and lots of good food. She may have been attending the wedding feast in Heaven without us, but Chef Raymond of Pah Ke's did his best to compete without a bit of complaint from us.

We left with smiles of satisfaction.
Susan would have loved to see this happy family portrait.

Now that the tasks had been completed, we bid farewell to the family and returned to our hotel to rest. The day had taken its toll. At day's end we slept soundly and awoke Wednesday with a full day on this Island Paradise stretching out before us, as we didn't leave until Thursday afternoon.

And so I entreated Lily to show me her "Blue Hawaii." She complied, and the stories and places came together wonderfully as Lily walked back to days long ago when she first came to the Island of Oahu, proudly clutching a fresh degree from Michigan State in Hotel Management (even today she has a school pennant hanging in her Grass Valley office). Well-acquainted with Elvis' film Blue Hawaii, Lily took a position at the elegant Ilikai Hotel (as seen on Hawaii Five-O, she always reminds me) in the heyday of Hawaiian tourism of the 1960's.

The Blue Hawaii of those days looked less like this . . .

And more like this.
This romantic isle of swaying palm trees

Exotic Banyan Trees

And sweetly fragrant Plumeria

The islands attracted a host of celebrities and stars and Lily's job in management kept her in steady attendance to some of the greatest celebrities. She is quick to note that Jack Lord of Hawaii Five-O fame was soooo vain that he would only allow photos of his "best side." She recounted meeting Bob Newhart, Carol Burnett, and countless other delightful "stars" who were really just nice people. She mentioned that Don Ho drank too much, but entertained everyone with genuine enjoyment. Her greatest praises fell on Elvis Presley. "He really was nice . . . the nicest I met," she would recall. "He had to stay in his hotel room a lot, because the fans really gathered around and he signed autographs and gave kisses or took photos as much as they wanted. He was never rude." Lily also believed that his movie, Blue Hawaii, really captured the spirit of the Hawaii she came to in the 60s as tourism mushroomed.

In this Romantic Paradise, Lily met Chef Karl and they married (complete with a three-week honeymoon to romantic Kauai). Their careers took them to Hong Kong and on around the world to work in some of the finest hotels. Their high-profile careers brought them back to Hawaii, wherein Lily became a manager in the Halekulani Hotel's 5-star restaurant, La Mer.

The hotel resembles a rambling plantation from Hawaii's golden days of pineapples from Paradise. The beauty literally spills out unexpectedly from every place imaginable.



The rolling greens and open verandas invite one to step back in time and live with genteel grace and T-I-M-E to spare for drinking in the tropical splendor wafting on a balmy breeze. I happily played along with the magic . . . and it felt WONDERFUL!



Luxury waits around every corner. If the warm waves of Waikiki do not entice you, maybe this sparkling blue beachside-pool will do the trick. Such choices . . . I love choices.



I tried to convince Lily that a table at La Mer would suit the mood and it would be my pleasure to have her as my guest, but she wouldn't budge. Lily doesn't fancy French food with all its sauces and fats . . .



Instead, she directed me to the tropically-infused option of dining under the swaying palms and setting sun. The magic continued as we made our way to The House Without a Key. Smitten with the charming name, I followed her lead to another facet of Lily's Blue Hawaii.



A Blue Hawaii for Lily (naturally) and a Chi Chi for me (only our bartender knows for sure if we imbibed fully or not -- *snicker*), paired nicely with some Maui chips while we awaited the arrival of our Sashimi and Beef Satay.

The tradewind-swept stage hosted crooners in the traditional style, while a lovely Miss Hawaii of yesterday swayed gently in the telling of her Island's special beauty. More fairytale than ever, we sipped and sighed and enjoyed the sheer beauty of this tranquil moment.

The sun gently slipped low on the horizon, igniting the sky with that every-day event:

A Spectacular Sunset

As murmurs of "Ooh" and "Aah" floated amongst those gathered together, our attention focused on an announcement by the Hawaiian trio. By special request they would be reaching back to share two timeless favorites. As the intro to Tiny Bubbles floated our way we all smiled that silly smile associated with those little bubbles. But then a hush fell over the veranda as we heard the gentle singing of the words by a patron. Seated next to his long-life love, this romantic man sang every word into the tear-sparkled eyes of his darling wife. When he belted out "I'll love you 'til the end of time" I felt my cheeks glisten. (I missed Gary; I know Lily missed Karl.)

The next song caused everyone to grab a hankie, as the trio crooned The Hawaiian Wedding Song to the still-in-love couple. My writer's mind ran a jillion scenarios for this couple, but none matched the brilliance of his smiling face gazing into her deep pools of love as he promised all over again to love her to the end of time.

We breathed deeply, feeling so relaxed and happy to be enjoying a moment of such joy -- thankful that once upon a time Gary decided to celebrate one of our our anniversaries at a Swiss Restaurant in Grass Valley and that day has led to all of this . . . and more.

Oh thank you, Lily, for showing me your Blue Hawaii.

Shop, shop, shop

Get on your shopping shoes! We're going to Downtown Honolulu for some serious shopping in Chinatown and a few other places.

Naturally, I popped in to the famed "International Market Place" and picked up some earrings, purses, luau dresses for the girls, tasteful T's for the guys, and faux tropical flowers to tuck behind girlish ears . . .

BUT -- I really yearned to see the foods of Hawaii all splayed out for selection to be carried home for delection. I'm an a-typical shopper who prefers to view the food rather than the souvenirs.

So, Lily bid me grab comfy shoes and we set out.

We stopped in for a breakfast at this cafe

Wherein she had shared many a delightful breakfast with her mom and dad (obviously a family favorite eatery serving breakfast all day and within walking distance of their high-rise condo). It offered standard breakfast fare, with the exceptional jug of coconut syrup on the table (had to try it -- delicious!) and passionate fruit juices on the menu.

After paying the tab we hopped on The Bus

And made our way downtown.

We stopped off at The Palace for a tour, but I mentioned that earlier. Walking from the palace to the heart of China town brought me exactly what I sought:

Market Stalls brimming with Hawaiian Style.

Fresh Fish

Or just the parts . . .
Chicken feet
(hmmmmm . . . Dim Sum makings, I see) Pork items of various cut

Or maybe you prefer Goat?

Or Beef?


Or perhaps . . . NAH!
(This proved a bit much for even me,
quintessential hunter of unusual food.)

Stepping over to the exotic rainbow of fresh fruits and vegetables
refreshed me after the meat survey,
reviving my sense of sheer wonder at the choices.

I never did manage to get the name of the pink beauty
nestled next to the Star Fruit and persimmon


The Lotus Root got me to wondering how you would prepare it . . .
Boil? Bake? Steam? All of the above?
Avocados the size of my hand?
This may be a bit closer to Heaven than I originally thought!

Fabulously dressed Lychee Nuts

And NOODLES, Noodles, noodles!

Noodles? Precisely what we craved for luncheon.
So we slipped into a side door at the entrance of another grocery store.
(I thought it was a break room for employees,
Until I realized it was far TOO SMALL for even that.)

Lily beamed at her success
in finding this "special" noodle shop from memory.

She immediately set out to order lunch for the two of us.


Tea arrived, naturally

Followed by rice porridge
(and those peculiarly delicious 1000-year-old eggs)

With Noodles and Shrimp soon thereafter.
SCRUMPTIOUS doesn't even begin to cover the velvety smooth noodles,
paired with the sublime taste of shrimp cooked just so to perfection.
(Though the heads and shells tip off those around that I am not Chinese --
I carefully peel and remove all but what I choose to ingest,
while Lily removes head and chews out all the rest from the shell
removing a stripped shell at the end.)
We left and stopped off to take a peek
into the Japanese market at Ala Moana Shopping Plaza.

These pre-packaged and minutely managed meal items
proved quite a contrast to the Chinese markets . . .


Well, not completely different.

After all the luscious and unusual foods
I had little desire to look at Prada bags and Hermes scarves,
so we left the mall and came back for one more
Pai Family tradition:

Ice cream at Lappert's
in the Hawaiian Village,
our home base.

I lapped up an exotic coconut, macadamia, fudge swirl
while Lily selected her favorite: Chocolate.

We made our way up to the room to give our feet a rest
before setting out for the Halekulani Hotel -- Hawaii's finest.

Lily served as management in the 5-star restaurant La Mer,
But I will have to save our last adventure for another post
as it is dinner time around here and I'm needed elsewhere.

So, take a rest, freshen up a bit, and get ready for more beauty
and memory-making adventure as Lily takes me down memory lane
to the "Blue Hawaii" world she came to in the 60s.