Aloha !
The day had come. I somewhat dreaded having to this. I dreaded making the lauhala hula skirt that I will be wearing on Sept 15th's performance. I was thankful that Kuani offered to help . Three of us went over to his home in Seaview, The initial plan was for him to show us a spot where we could gather the lauhala leaves and then quickly give us a demo on how to prepare it to attach to a waistband made of hemp cording to make a hula skirt. Well, it ended up being six hours of continuous work , of which I am so very grateful both to Kuani and to Ulu .
When we arrived at Kuani's home, he walked us down the street to jungle land . I wasn't prepared to walk into the ' jungle ' as all I was wearing was my flipflops. And well, instead of wearing jeans so that I don''t get bitten by mosquitoes and fire ants, I was wearing a strapless short dress. This was what I wore every day if I wasn't working in the kitchen. Never expected to have to actually get the brown lauhala leaves , only expected to be shown the location , as that was all that was implied. Well, we had to walk into the jungle just a tiny bit to get to the hala trees . There were long lauhala leaves everywhere . It was the best place to get the fallen brown lauhala which is what was needed to make the hula skirt. Some of the leaves were more than 7 feet long. Some were probably 10 feet long. The reason I dreaded this was because the lauhala leaves have very sharp spiky ends on both sides of the leaves, and also tiny sharp ones on the back spine of the leaves . Oh fun. I had brought 10 brown lauhala leaves that I had picked from Kalani. We use the brown fallen ones for the hula skirt. All in all, by the end of the day, I had gathered an additional 35 more brown lauhala leaves with the help of Kuani . I dragged them to the truck , literally. They were very long , and menacingly sharp. The lauhala leaves picked had to be simular in shade of colour, no holes or rips in the leaves. They had to be perfect. That took time to find the good ones.
Kuani showed us how to strip the spikies. We used gardening shears to cut the spikes off each side of the leaves , and then a small towel to rub against the spine spikes in the opposite direction to remove them. But first, we had to soak the leaves in water to soften them to make them more pliable to work with . We used the hose and Kuani had a huge garbage can that he filled with water so that we could soak the lauhala leaves in. When I say leaves, imagery of maple, oak , apple and peach comes to mind. Lauhala leaves cannot be compared to them visually. Its like comparing lychees to watermelons. Speaking of which , Kalani has huge avocadoes growing near the Loft. Huge. Huge , organic and delicious. I mean huge. but it looks like avocadoes on steroids. But back to lauhala .
Kuani tied a clothesline between two palm trees. He then tied a prepared waistband made out of braided hemp ( length measurement of one's waistline plus 5 inches on each side , ten inches in total , using 9 lengths of hemp cord and braiding them using three strands per section for braiding , to make one very long braided thick braid to be used as a waistband. ) He marked off where the actual waist measurement would be , going in 5 inches on each side. Another braided hemp was done, this time , 6 yards long , but thinner than the waistband braid. With this 6 yard braided hemp cord, he went 5 inches in and started tying the lauhala leaves, first tying a knot several times to secure it . and then tying on each lauhala leaf on one by one , folding each over the waistband , with the smooth spineless part of the lauhala leaf being front facing. When you reach the other marking for the 5 inches remaining on the waistband, you stop, and tie a few knots to keep the entire lauhala ties from shifting. Once it is all tied on , it is trimmed to the right length, approximately 10 inches from the ground or just below a pa'u skirt that is worn underneath.
I was so grateful that Kuani helped me Soraya and Ulu with the lauhala skirt. Towards the end, he stripped a bunch for me and both him and Ulu helped me by removing all the tiny spikes from the lauhala leaves spines.
It was 6 hours of straight work. I now ahve all my lauhala leaves prepared. I have made my waistband. Now , all I have left is to make the 6 yards of hemp braid , tie on the prepared lauhala leaves and then trim then . What a great relief !!!!!!!! After the trimming , I have to iron the lauhala leaves on the skirt flat with a very hot iron. The lauhala skirt looks very primal. It is beautiful when you dance with it on as it makes a soft woody sound and moves with every subtle movement of one's body . I danced with a borrowed lauhala hula skirt at Puuhonua o Honaunau .
Oh happy day ! Didn't have lunch but all the lauhala leaves are prepared !!!!!! So very happy happy happy ! And better still , no injuries ! I was wearing some tough gardening gloves !
And earlier in the morning, as I was waiting for Soriya to pick me up , I was walking just outside Guest Sevices and I missed getting hit by a falling palm frond by a mere 2 feet. That's pretty damn close for my liking. Scared the daylights out of me. Its not like you get a warning or anything. The palm fronds are huge . I know they weigh a lot . This one fell from a very tall palm tree. I asked Barcus at dinner how much a palm frond weighed and he told me between 50 to 100 pounds, depending on the size. Well, the one that fell a few feet away from me probably weighed about 75 pounds . Its length was the width of the road , that's how big it was. Holy crapola ! It could have killed me. Seriously .
I know I have angels all around me. Thank you God for keeping me safe !
With much Aloha,
x0x0x0x0x0x0
Molly
.
Sunday 26 August 2012
Friday 24 August 2012
Luau , Volcano Trip, And Joel the Hugbot
Aloha !
The last few days have been really hot here on the Big Island of Hawaii . The heat just zaps the energy out of me and all I want to do is take a nap in a hammock. " The dog days of summer " someone said to me today .
Joel left for Burning Man this morning . I took his picture before he left. I told him that I wanted to take a before and after picture . He is going to have a complete makeover when he is at Burning Man .Burning Man takes place in Black Rock Desert, Nevada every year. Joel said ," I 'm gonna tell them ' today I woke uip, looked in the mirror , and I saw a hippie ! I need a makeover please, do as you please ! ' " Joel ' s hair is long, well past his shoulders . And then, there's also a long scruffy beard . It makes him look much older than his 41 years. I told him if he wants to be radical , get a wall street look . He laughed. " What if they give you a spiky mohawk ? " " I'm o.k. with that " he replied. " But that's high maintenance . You will have to gel it to get it to stay stiff. That would be way too fussy for you . "
It was really funny as I did bring my camera to breakfast . While waiting to get served in line , I turned around and there was Joel standing behind me, wearing a one piece skin tight silver suit that completely covers him from head to toe . It is so tight that you can see his glasses poking out , creating an interesting frame for his face. And, as Malcolm said, " Its so tight that you can see all his junk. " It true. We all wondered if Joel could see this , that his genitals were clearly defined fully in this suit. No subject to interpretation there. Joel is going as a ' hugbot '. In fact, he has written hugbot in small letters on the top right side of his suit. He plans to go around Burning Man giving hugs. Someone said " I mean, would you let you kid get hugged by a man in a skin tight suit that shows all his junk ? " But , apparently, anything goes at Burning Man .
Now, I back track and write down the things that has transpired in the last week . Last Saturday ( August 18th ) I performed at a Luau to celebrate Volcanoes National Park Observatory's 100th Anniversary. I spent the morning of the Luau making my leis from freshly picked ti leaves . Beth went with me in the morning to pick plumeria blossoms . We picked a small bucket full of plumeria blossoms. The plumeria blossoms were to be put into clusters for the dancers to wear on our hair when we do the auana . ( modern hula dances ) They were also for making leis for the men .
The luau was manic and fun. There were a few tense moments as we were getting dressed to do the kahiko ( ancient hula ) portion of the performance . When we did the second part of the performance and the ladies all changed into sarongs , we were all more relaxed . I wasn't that hungry so I did not end up eating much of the luau food . So, now, I have a Luau performance in Hawaii under my belt ! :)
The day before the Luau , I went on a staff trip to Volcanoes National Park We hiked the Kilauea Iki trail . It was a beautitful hike . There is a lovely Gallery next to the Visitor's Centre . We also went to Jaggar Museum and at the Kilauea Caldera Overlook , we could see the smoke coming out of Halema' uma' u crater. I was told that when we perform at the Volcano on Sept, 15th, ( my last dance performance in Hawaii ) the stage is facing Halema' uma'u . Halema' uma'u is believed to be Pele's home. There is definitely great energy that emanates from the Land ...............all surrounding .
On this trip , we also went to see Thurston Lava Tube and the petroglyphs When we arrives at a beautiful spot to see a sea arch , I said to Michael " Do I have to walk down with you guys ? Can I just stay here and wait for you? This place is so beautiful . I just want to stand here and watch the ocean. " I though the group was heading for the washrooms and I didn't want to walk with them and wait .
" Molly , this is Holei . " Michael said smiling. " you know, the song " O Kalapana....." " Really ? I love that song ! I am doing a hula at a Luau to that song tomorrow ! Wow ! This gives it even more meaning when I dance tomorrow ! " Oh, Holei is so beautiful . Holei , the place, is so beautiful , and Holei , the song and hula, is also so beautiful. On an earlier blog , I attached a link to the song ' Holei ."
Here it is , " Holei. " This one is different from the one previous. It is a beautiful hula. The ukelele and guitar paying is awesome .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn5h7vgSilU
Here is another two versions to the same song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmVGxgMPk9Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_vQX7pX7Dg
And, last but not least, this is the best one of all ! I can't believe I just found this !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Literally just found it right this moment . This is the one I am dancing to !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6JhWFDIv4o
" Holei is my favourite hula. The connection of being right there in Holei and also dancing to the song makes it so very special and meaningful to me.
We saw the Sea Arch in Holei and walked down further and saw where the lava covered the road in Kalapana .........
Tomorrow, I am gathering brown fallen hala leaves to make my lahala hula skirt. It will be a lot of work and I have 3 weeks before the dance performance. I have also braided the waistband that the hala leaves will be attached to . Fun. While I am not trying to manifest injury by speaking of its possibility , I can foresee that there will be a few . The hala leaves have sharp spikes along the edges I just discovered that there are also tiny sharp spikes along the spine of the long leaves. Oh fun. I have to strip it all . Oh fun . On Saturday, I will be given a lesson on making the lahala hula skirt. I have to make it as that will be what I am wearing for the performance on Sept, 15th !
O.k. I am caught up for now ! Kind of ! Little Ariya brought me a beautiful shell from the beach yesterday.
He gives my great joy.
With much Aloha,
x0x0x0x0x0
Molly
.
The last few days have been really hot here on the Big Island of Hawaii . The heat just zaps the energy out of me and all I want to do is take a nap in a hammock. " The dog days of summer " someone said to me today .
Joel left for Burning Man this morning . I took his picture before he left. I told him that I wanted to take a before and after picture . He is going to have a complete makeover when he is at Burning Man .Burning Man takes place in Black Rock Desert, Nevada every year. Joel said ," I 'm gonna tell them ' today I woke uip, looked in the mirror , and I saw a hippie ! I need a makeover please, do as you please ! ' " Joel ' s hair is long, well past his shoulders . And then, there's also a long scruffy beard . It makes him look much older than his 41 years. I told him if he wants to be radical , get a wall street look . He laughed. " What if they give you a spiky mohawk ? " " I'm o.k. with that " he replied. " But that's high maintenance . You will have to gel it to get it to stay stiff. That would be way too fussy for you . "
It was really funny as I did bring my camera to breakfast . While waiting to get served in line , I turned around and there was Joel standing behind me, wearing a one piece skin tight silver suit that completely covers him from head to toe . It is so tight that you can see his glasses poking out , creating an interesting frame for his face. And, as Malcolm said, " Its so tight that you can see all his junk. " It true. We all wondered if Joel could see this , that his genitals were clearly defined fully in this suit. No subject to interpretation there. Joel is going as a ' hugbot '. In fact, he has written hugbot in small letters on the top right side of his suit. He plans to go around Burning Man giving hugs. Someone said " I mean, would you let you kid get hugged by a man in a skin tight suit that shows all his junk ? " But , apparently, anything goes at Burning Man .
Now, I back track and write down the things that has transpired in the last week . Last Saturday ( August 18th ) I performed at a Luau to celebrate Volcanoes National Park Observatory's 100th Anniversary. I spent the morning of the Luau making my leis from freshly picked ti leaves . Beth went with me in the morning to pick plumeria blossoms . We picked a small bucket full of plumeria blossoms. The plumeria blossoms were to be put into clusters for the dancers to wear on our hair when we do the auana . ( modern hula dances ) They were also for making leis for the men .
The luau was manic and fun. There were a few tense moments as we were getting dressed to do the kahiko ( ancient hula ) portion of the performance . When we did the second part of the performance and the ladies all changed into sarongs , we were all more relaxed . I wasn't that hungry so I did not end up eating much of the luau food . So, now, I have a Luau performance in Hawaii under my belt ! :)
The day before the Luau , I went on a staff trip to Volcanoes National Park We hiked the Kilauea Iki trail . It was a beautitful hike . There is a lovely Gallery next to the Visitor's Centre . We also went to Jaggar Museum and at the Kilauea Caldera Overlook , we could see the smoke coming out of Halema' uma' u crater. I was told that when we perform at the Volcano on Sept, 15th, ( my last dance performance in Hawaii ) the stage is facing Halema' uma'u . Halema' uma'u is believed to be Pele's home. There is definitely great energy that emanates from the Land ...............all surrounding .
On this trip , we also went to see Thurston Lava Tube and the petroglyphs When we arrives at a beautiful spot to see a sea arch , I said to Michael " Do I have to walk down with you guys ? Can I just stay here and wait for you? This place is so beautiful . I just want to stand here and watch the ocean. " I though the group was heading for the washrooms and I didn't want to walk with them and wait .
" Molly , this is Holei . " Michael said smiling. " you know, the song " O Kalapana....." " Really ? I love that song ! I am doing a hula at a Luau to that song tomorrow ! Wow ! This gives it even more meaning when I dance tomorrow ! " Oh, Holei is so beautiful . Holei , the place, is so beautiful , and Holei , the song and hula, is also so beautiful. On an earlier blog , I attached a link to the song ' Holei ."
Here it is , " Holei. " This one is different from the one previous. It is a beautiful hula. The ukelele and guitar paying is awesome .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn5h7vgSilU
Here is another two versions to the same song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmVGxgMPk9Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_vQX7pX7Dg
And, last but not least, this is the best one of all ! I can't believe I just found this !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Literally just found it right this moment . This is the one I am dancing to !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6JhWFDIv4o
" Holei is my favourite hula. The connection of being right there in Holei and also dancing to the song makes it so very special and meaningful to me.
We saw the Sea Arch in Holei and walked down further and saw where the lava covered the road in Kalapana .........
Tomorrow, I am gathering brown fallen hala leaves to make my lahala hula skirt. It will be a lot of work and I have 3 weeks before the dance performance. I have also braided the waistband that the hala leaves will be attached to . Fun. While I am not trying to manifest injury by speaking of its possibility , I can foresee that there will be a few . The hala leaves have sharp spikes along the edges I just discovered that there are also tiny sharp spikes along the spine of the long leaves. Oh fun. I have to strip it all . Oh fun . On Saturday, I will be given a lesson on making the lahala hula skirt. I have to make it as that will be what I am wearing for the performance on Sept, 15th !
O.k. I am caught up for now ! Kind of ! Little Ariya brought me a beautiful shell from the beach yesterday.
He gives my great joy.
With much Aloha,
x0x0x0x0x0
Molly
.
Thursday 23 August 2012
Today's Talk Story : Painting An Outdoor Wall Mural
Aloha !
The days are going by faster and faster. I haven't been sleeping well the last few days and today , I slept in. I didn't show up for breakfast until almost 9:00 . Breakfast ends at 8:30 , although because there is a Yoga Teacher Training going on all month , the breakfast bar is left out for them to have their breakfast at 9:15. I had only wanted toast . I went into the kitchen area anyways , through the breakfast bar and asked Mark if it was o.k. for me to get some fruit as technically, the regular breakfast was over. I told him I wasn't feeling very well and I had slept in. Good thing I wasn't working today. Mark Ceranski is such a sweetheart . He told me that I was V.I.P. and that I am always welcomed before hours or after hours. I adore him. He is my favourite chef . He offered to make me anything I wanted to eat for breakfast. I didn't want to trouble him . I had only wanted some pineapple and watermelon to eat with my toast. I also took a very tiny piece of spinach and cheese frittata that was in the hot breakfast bar area. . It was more than enough , along with my cup of Kona coffee and orange juice.
When I sat down , Liz, the resident artist came towards me, with a frown on her face. " I though you were coming to paint at 8:30. " She was looking at her watch and we both knew full well what time it was. We had made tentative plans the day before to meet to paint on a wall mural that she is overseeing . She had wanted to go to a early morning yoga class and said to meet at 10:15 . At the same time she had said that, she wanted to go to another class also that started from 10:30 to 12:00 . So, it was a mix up of times as she didn't not relay to me that she had changed her mind and wanted to go to a later class. I was taken off guard by her annoyance . 10:15 a.m. means 10:15 a.m. . I was actually early , by the way I see it. Nonetheless, after her wanting to go to the 10:30 class and some frustrated decisions , I quickly ate my breakfast and started to paint . I had no plans. I was in no hurry to get anywhere. I was ready to paint at the appointed time: 10:15 .
Liz is here at Kalani to do an outdoor wall mural along the outside kitchen wall where the dishes get bused . It is great as that wall space really needs to be beautified . My portion was finished today. I painted a hula girl by the volcano and also an i' iwi bird in flight , with its beak in a lehua blossom . I had wanted to paint an ocean scene of the Point but there is not enough time . I am happy that I was able to paint what I did . This was my way of giving back to Kalani .
Another one of my dreams was fulfilled today. Before I came to Hawaii , I wanted to paint outdoors in Hawaii . Well, while I have not painted pleine air technically , I would say that painting a wall mural outside is painting outdoors, wouldn't you ? I was using outdoor paint. I was not fond of the limited colour choices , and there was no black , nor white, but I made do with the colours that we had. The blue colour was not a true blue but a gray blue , the red colour was not a true red but an orange red , the yellow was o.k. but on the light side , and the green was a flat pale olive green , and last but not least, a flat dull Barney purple. And thems all the colours, folks ! If at least the colours were true, mixing new colours would have been alright, but as it is, the colour tones were not very good to begin with so the mixing of colours were not so appealing either. Working on a nubbly wall was interesting also. I was happy to participate. Liz said " Well , if I get commissioned again to do a big wall mural, I know who to call . Molly in Vancouver and Hanna in Hamburg . " Hanna joined us in painting also. Hanna is a really good painter and has sold a lot of her work.
The second attempt to Mauna Kea several weeks ago was unsuccessful as Ventia's car broke down again . I performed at a Luau last week . It was manic and it was fun . More about the Luau performance in another later blog. I am going on a road trip this next week and will be going to Hawi . I am working on my lahala skirt for hula , for the Sept 15 performance on the volcano. More about the lahala skirt in a later blog. As you see, much has happened .
Today, for Hawaiian Cultural Studies , Uncle Fai O came to talk to us. He came to ' talk story ' to us. He talked about his childhood in Kalapana . It was really interesting . He showed us a slide show of old pictures of his grandfather and grandmother and family.........I love those old black and white photos. In the background of the slide show , the song " Holei " was playing . It is a beautiful song. I learned a hula to Holei and performed it at the Luau last week. It is my favourite hula.
Here's a version of the song. Uncle Robert's Awa Bar is not far from Kalani . The hula performed here is not the same as the one I was taught. The guy's pretty good !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lavq_DtQOL8
I visited Holei last week, just one day before I performed at the Luau........more about that too on another blog at a later time . Holei is a real place, very beautiful.
Maggie, the intern chef here at Kalani is leaving tomorrow at 4:00 a.m. She is an amazing chef . I am so very proud of her . Maggie is in her early 20's . " I love you " she said to me when we were hugging our goodbyes. Those three little words brought tears to my eyes . They were spoken to me so sweetly and sincerely. I sat at the dinner table crying after my goodbye hug with Maggie. I was deeply touched by her saying that. I felt loved. There was so much dinner chatter all around me , and Joel was sitting across from me. He was looking at me with great concern . " I'm o.k. " I said to him. He saw me and Maggie hugging. I just sat there and cry . I will dearly miss Maggie very much. She was like a daughter to me. Through my tears, I saw Joel's fork heading towards my plate from across the table . I laughed. " Go ahead, I was going to offer it to you anyways. " I had left some purple sweet potatoes on my plate. I love purple sweet potatoes but I wasn't fond of the coconut milk and the ginger the chef had mashed it with . I like my purple sweet potato plain , especially baked . When it is baked , it retains its deep amethyst purple colour. I pushed my plate towards Joel and he quickly ate my purple sweet potatoes.
There had been many leaving Kalani to go back to the real world , and new people coming weekly .
Soon, it will be Autumn........and another Season . My time too is numbered here in Hawaii.........for now.
With much Aloha,
x0x0x0x0x0
Molly
The days are going by faster and faster. I haven't been sleeping well the last few days and today , I slept in. I didn't show up for breakfast until almost 9:00 . Breakfast ends at 8:30 , although because there is a Yoga Teacher Training going on all month , the breakfast bar is left out for them to have their breakfast at 9:15. I had only wanted toast . I went into the kitchen area anyways , through the breakfast bar and asked Mark if it was o.k. for me to get some fruit as technically, the regular breakfast was over. I told him I wasn't feeling very well and I had slept in. Good thing I wasn't working today. Mark Ceranski is such a sweetheart . He told me that I was V.I.P. and that I am always welcomed before hours or after hours. I adore him. He is my favourite chef . He offered to make me anything I wanted to eat for breakfast. I didn't want to trouble him . I had only wanted some pineapple and watermelon to eat with my toast. I also took a very tiny piece of spinach and cheese frittata that was in the hot breakfast bar area. . It was more than enough , along with my cup of Kona coffee and orange juice.
When I sat down , Liz, the resident artist came towards me, with a frown on her face. " I though you were coming to paint at 8:30. " She was looking at her watch and we both knew full well what time it was. We had made tentative plans the day before to meet to paint on a wall mural that she is overseeing . She had wanted to go to a early morning yoga class and said to meet at 10:15 . At the same time she had said that, she wanted to go to another class also that started from 10:30 to 12:00 . So, it was a mix up of times as she didn't not relay to me that she had changed her mind and wanted to go to a later class. I was taken off guard by her annoyance . 10:15 a.m. means 10:15 a.m. . I was actually early , by the way I see it. Nonetheless, after her wanting to go to the 10:30 class and some frustrated decisions , I quickly ate my breakfast and started to paint . I had no plans. I was in no hurry to get anywhere. I was ready to paint at the appointed time: 10:15 .
Liz is here at Kalani to do an outdoor wall mural along the outside kitchen wall where the dishes get bused . It is great as that wall space really needs to be beautified . My portion was finished today. I painted a hula girl by the volcano and also an i' iwi bird in flight , with its beak in a lehua blossom . I had wanted to paint an ocean scene of the Point but there is not enough time . I am happy that I was able to paint what I did . This was my way of giving back to Kalani .
Another one of my dreams was fulfilled today. Before I came to Hawaii , I wanted to paint outdoors in Hawaii . Well, while I have not painted pleine air technically , I would say that painting a wall mural outside is painting outdoors, wouldn't you ? I was using outdoor paint. I was not fond of the limited colour choices , and there was no black , nor white, but I made do with the colours that we had. The blue colour was not a true blue but a gray blue , the red colour was not a true red but an orange red , the yellow was o.k. but on the light side , and the green was a flat pale olive green , and last but not least, a flat dull Barney purple. And thems all the colours, folks ! If at least the colours were true, mixing new colours would have been alright, but as it is, the colour tones were not very good to begin with so the mixing of colours were not so appealing either. Working on a nubbly wall was interesting also. I was happy to participate. Liz said " Well , if I get commissioned again to do a big wall mural, I know who to call . Molly in Vancouver and Hanna in Hamburg . " Hanna joined us in painting also. Hanna is a really good painter and has sold a lot of her work.
The second attempt to Mauna Kea several weeks ago was unsuccessful as Ventia's car broke down again . I performed at a Luau last week . It was manic and it was fun . More about the Luau performance in another later blog. I am going on a road trip this next week and will be going to Hawi . I am working on my lahala skirt for hula , for the Sept 15 performance on the volcano. More about the lahala skirt in a later blog. As you see, much has happened .
Today, for Hawaiian Cultural Studies , Uncle Fai O came to talk to us. He came to ' talk story ' to us. He talked about his childhood in Kalapana . It was really interesting . He showed us a slide show of old pictures of his grandfather and grandmother and family.........I love those old black and white photos. In the background of the slide show , the song " Holei " was playing . It is a beautiful song. I learned a hula to Holei and performed it at the Luau last week. It is my favourite hula.
Here's a version of the song. Uncle Robert's Awa Bar is not far from Kalani . The hula performed here is not the same as the one I was taught. The guy's pretty good !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lavq_DtQOL8
I visited Holei last week, just one day before I performed at the Luau........more about that too on another blog at a later time . Holei is a real place, very beautiful.
Maggie, the intern chef here at Kalani is leaving tomorrow at 4:00 a.m. She is an amazing chef . I am so very proud of her . Maggie is in her early 20's . " I love you " she said to me when we were hugging our goodbyes. Those three little words brought tears to my eyes . They were spoken to me so sweetly and sincerely. I sat at the dinner table crying after my goodbye hug with Maggie. I was deeply touched by her saying that. I felt loved. There was so much dinner chatter all around me , and Joel was sitting across from me. He was looking at me with great concern . " I'm o.k. " I said to him. He saw me and Maggie hugging. I just sat there and cry . I will dearly miss Maggie very much. She was like a daughter to me. Through my tears, I saw Joel's fork heading towards my plate from across the table . I laughed. " Go ahead, I was going to offer it to you anyways. " I had left some purple sweet potatoes on my plate. I love purple sweet potatoes but I wasn't fond of the coconut milk and the ginger the chef had mashed it with . I like my purple sweet potato plain , especially baked . When it is baked , it retains its deep amethyst purple colour. I pushed my plate towards Joel and he quickly ate my purple sweet potatoes.
There had been many leaving Kalani to go back to the real world , and new people coming weekly .
Soon, it will be Autumn........and another Season . My time too is numbered here in Hawaii.........for now.
With much Aloha,
x0x0x0x0x0
Molly
Thursday 16 August 2012
Pu' ukohola Heiau Cultural Festival / Black Sand Beach/ Hapuna Beach
Aug, 12th , 2012
Aloha !
Wow ! I had such a great weekend already and Sunday is not even over yet ! I am on my Morning Kitchen break so I will write as much as I can as I will be heading off to Mauna Kea this afternoon to watch the sunset and also watch the Perseid Meteor Shower . There really is no other better place to see this than way up on Mauna Kea !!!!! Shooting stars ! Wow ! Awesome ! I can hardly wait. Parkas have been reserved from Guest Services and camera battery getting charged as we speak . Got to find me some socks , throw a hoodie in a backpack with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, some trail mix and water, and I good for the rest of the night up at Mauna Kea !
I slept well last night . Thank goodness for that as I didn't sleep at all the night before , but I will get to that.
Venetia , Beth, Karen, Michael and I left right after breakfast on Friday, Aug, 10th and it was our weekend on Kona side. We left Friday , spent the night in the A-frames ( aka huts . ) at Kapuna Beach and then spent the whole day at Pu'ukohola Heiau where there was a weekend long Cultural Festival happening .
We were all so happy heading out of Kalani Friday morning ! Our first stop was Punaluu Black Sand Beach . Oh, there were so many honu(s) on the beach !!!!!! They were all sun bathing either on the rocks or the beach . This was the first time I have ever been really close to one. I was mere inches away and took some great photos. These big beautiful turtles ( honu ) have such a gentle aura around them ,,,,beautiful old wise souls. Some were swimming out in the ocean , some were trying to get onto the black sand beach but getting swept back into the ocean from the strong returning tides. Palm trees swaying , jagged lava rock , black sand beach with white frothy ocean lapping the shoreline , soft grey and brown honu ( s) and the many colours of the blue ocean surf and waves .... Oh , it was simply beautiful . Picture perfect , freeze framed in my mind forever.
We spent about an hour at Black Sand Beach . Our next stop was Punaluu Bake Shop where we enjoyed their famous malasadas . It was so nice to sit outside in the gazebo, surrounded by beautiful gardens.
Then, off to check in at our hut and to Hapuna Beach ! Hapuna Beach is close to Mauna Kea Beach where I went a few weeks ago. Sorry, but you will see the word beautiful a lot in this blog post ( aka my open diary .) Hapuna Beach is so very beautiful !!!!! We spent the entire afternoon there . Our ' hut ' was lovely. Very simple but clean. We were expecting bunk beds but it was actually two very long wide benchs alongside of the A-frame . You can sleep two people on each bench , lengthwise . Michael slept on the floor as there was five of us. In the middle of the room was a picnic table. It was more than adequate for sleeping . Just outside our A-frame was a tap where we could get water for washing and there was also a washroom nearby that had a shower . A big garbage can was just outside the A-frame so that garbage could easily be disposed of. Hmmm....but, the word but , there were lots of ants inside. little tiny ants, crawling all over our sleeping area . Venetia was beside herself. " They love me ! They are going to bite me all night. I can't sleep ehre. I might be sleeping in the car ! " She sprayed the area with her own aromatherapy blend of lavender oil and peppermint oil . The room smelled great but alas , the ants were everywhere , even on the cement floor ! " She went to the check-in office and came back with a huge container with an attached spray hose . She had brought back a container of industrial strength ant terminator. She was so happy spraying the entire outside area of the A-frame. Karen was not too happy about it as that stuff is toxic and poisonous . Ants were not the only thing it kills. Oh well.
The gorgeous sunny day at Kapuna Beach help lift Venetia's mood. We went back to our A-frame to get cleaned up for dinner. " Don't go in the shower, Molly ! There are two huge cockroaches there. There was a bee in there too and it stung me. Look, I am swelling up really bad !" Venetia shows me her foot. Karen gave her some benadryl . " I swear, I hate bugs but they love me. Mosquitoes hide in the toilet bowl and they bite my bum ! " Venetia was going on and on. Everyone was laughing , envisioning mosquitoes hiding for the sole sake of biting someone's behind. Its like a cartoon. Funny !
Dinner was at the Blue Dragon Restaurant in Kawaihae . It was dark already . When we walked into the restaurant , there was a live band playing .I looked up and saw the dark sky and twinkling stars. Hey, every room you look up , you see the dark sky and twinkling stars ! The entire restaurant had walls but no ceilings , with the exception of the kitchen and bathroom area. What a cool concept . What if it rains ? Well, it seldom rains on Kona side. Seldom. It is almost always hot and sunny or overcast . As it was , it was still very warm , a perfect night to be dining outside . The whole restaurant is one big ' patio ' with different rooms and candle light for ambience .
Sleeping that night in the A-frame ( hut ) was challenging. The bed consisted of one long raised bench . I did not have an air mattress so I used a yoga mat . Well, that did not help at all. I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer sleep on a flat hard surface . The wind howled all night and whipped through the screen windows of the A'frame. As I lay on the hard bench , the wind was blowing my hair all around my face. I pulled my hair back but the wind was still blowing so hard that the small stray hairs were tickling my face. The powerful wind even raised my blanket off me. We may as well be sleeping outside. The wind howled loudly all night . As I laid there , the crescent moon came out and shone brightly on me, moonbeams on my restless body. I watched the moon playing hide and seek with night clouds , the huge stars glittering above. I did not sleep a wink .
I got up at 5:30 a.m. and we all left around 6:15 a.m. to go to Pu'ukohala Heiau for theCultural Festival happening there. The Festival started at 6:30 a.m. There was to be a reenactment of a battle scene , along with chanting and all the different tribes making offerings . We were there for an hour and a half , watching all the procession of the different tribes . After an hour and a half , it suddenly ended . All of us were waiting for the final battle. Nothing happened. We were then advised that due to some injuries from rehearsal the previous day , they have decided not to do the mock battle. By then , it was after 8:00 a.m. so we all headed out for breakfast . After breakfast , we went back to Pu'ukohola Heiau . I spent an hour and a half making my own ipu ( gourd ) . I took the ipu to the ocean and filled it with sand and water . I shook it all around to loosen the interior of the gourd . I would sit on the beach with my ipu filled with sand and water , and swirled it around on the beach sand. I also scrubbed and sanded it with the coconut husk . Then I would go into the ocean and empty the sand and any gourd interior that loosen and start the whole process again. This went on for an hour and a half . It was a form of meditation for me : going into the ocean , filling the ipu with ocean water , back to the beach , pouring and packing sand into the ipu , shaking and swirling the ipu to loosen the inside stuff up , sanding and polishing the exterior with coconut husks .
We spent all day there. I did a lot of crafts . I also made a wood block print .out of bamboo. Now, I can print my own design on fabrics !
It was a very full two days. For the first time ever since I arrived in Hawaii three months ago , I felt like I was on vacation. The A frame costed me $5.00 for my share and the gas money ( my share ) was $10.00 , totaling $15.00 . Pretty sweet for a weekend getaway full of sun , sand , beautiful beaches and culture !!!!!!!
With much Aloha,
Molly
Aloha !
Wow ! I had such a great weekend already and Sunday is not even over yet ! I am on my Morning Kitchen break so I will write as much as I can as I will be heading off to Mauna Kea this afternoon to watch the sunset and also watch the Perseid Meteor Shower . There really is no other better place to see this than way up on Mauna Kea !!!!! Shooting stars ! Wow ! Awesome ! I can hardly wait. Parkas have been reserved from Guest Services and camera battery getting charged as we speak . Got to find me some socks , throw a hoodie in a backpack with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, some trail mix and water, and I good for the rest of the night up at Mauna Kea !
I slept well last night . Thank goodness for that as I didn't sleep at all the night before , but I will get to that.
Venetia , Beth, Karen, Michael and I left right after breakfast on Friday, Aug, 10th and it was our weekend on Kona side. We left Friday , spent the night in the A-frames ( aka huts . ) at Kapuna Beach and then spent the whole day at Pu'ukohola Heiau where there was a weekend long Cultural Festival happening .
We were all so happy heading out of Kalani Friday morning ! Our first stop was Punaluu Black Sand Beach . Oh, there were so many honu(s) on the beach !!!!!! They were all sun bathing either on the rocks or the beach . This was the first time I have ever been really close to one. I was mere inches away and took some great photos. These big beautiful turtles ( honu ) have such a gentle aura around them ,,,,beautiful old wise souls. Some were swimming out in the ocean , some were trying to get onto the black sand beach but getting swept back into the ocean from the strong returning tides. Palm trees swaying , jagged lava rock , black sand beach with white frothy ocean lapping the shoreline , soft grey and brown honu ( s) and the many colours of the blue ocean surf and waves .... Oh , it was simply beautiful . Picture perfect , freeze framed in my mind forever.
We spent about an hour at Black Sand Beach . Our next stop was Punaluu Bake Shop where we enjoyed their famous malasadas . It was so nice to sit outside in the gazebo, surrounded by beautiful gardens.
Then, off to check in at our hut and to Hapuna Beach ! Hapuna Beach is close to Mauna Kea Beach where I went a few weeks ago. Sorry, but you will see the word beautiful a lot in this blog post ( aka my open diary .) Hapuna Beach is so very beautiful !!!!! We spent the entire afternoon there . Our ' hut ' was lovely. Very simple but clean. We were expecting bunk beds but it was actually two very long wide benchs alongside of the A-frame . You can sleep two people on each bench , lengthwise . Michael slept on the floor as there was five of us. In the middle of the room was a picnic table. It was more than adequate for sleeping . Just outside our A-frame was a tap where we could get water for washing and there was also a washroom nearby that had a shower . A big garbage can was just outside the A-frame so that garbage could easily be disposed of. Hmmm....but, the word but , there were lots of ants inside. little tiny ants, crawling all over our sleeping area . Venetia was beside herself. " They love me ! They are going to bite me all night. I can't sleep ehre. I might be sleeping in the car ! " She sprayed the area with her own aromatherapy blend of lavender oil and peppermint oil . The room smelled great but alas , the ants were everywhere , even on the cement floor ! " She went to the check-in office and came back with a huge container with an attached spray hose . She had brought back a container of industrial strength ant terminator. She was so happy spraying the entire outside area of the A-frame. Karen was not too happy about it as that stuff is toxic and poisonous . Ants were not the only thing it kills. Oh well.
The gorgeous sunny day at Kapuna Beach help lift Venetia's mood. We went back to our A-frame to get cleaned up for dinner. " Don't go in the shower, Molly ! There are two huge cockroaches there. There was a bee in there too and it stung me. Look, I am swelling up really bad !" Venetia shows me her foot. Karen gave her some benadryl . " I swear, I hate bugs but they love me. Mosquitoes hide in the toilet bowl and they bite my bum ! " Venetia was going on and on. Everyone was laughing , envisioning mosquitoes hiding for the sole sake of biting someone's behind. Its like a cartoon. Funny !
Dinner was at the Blue Dragon Restaurant in Kawaihae . It was dark already . When we walked into the restaurant , there was a live band playing .I looked up and saw the dark sky and twinkling stars. Hey, every room you look up , you see the dark sky and twinkling stars ! The entire restaurant had walls but no ceilings , with the exception of the kitchen and bathroom area. What a cool concept . What if it rains ? Well, it seldom rains on Kona side. Seldom. It is almost always hot and sunny or overcast . As it was , it was still very warm , a perfect night to be dining outside . The whole restaurant is one big ' patio ' with different rooms and candle light for ambience .
Sleeping that night in the A-frame ( hut ) was challenging. The bed consisted of one long raised bench . I did not have an air mattress so I used a yoga mat . Well, that did not help at all. I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer sleep on a flat hard surface . The wind howled all night and whipped through the screen windows of the A'frame. As I lay on the hard bench , the wind was blowing my hair all around my face. I pulled my hair back but the wind was still blowing so hard that the small stray hairs were tickling my face. The powerful wind even raised my blanket off me. We may as well be sleeping outside. The wind howled loudly all night . As I laid there , the crescent moon came out and shone brightly on me, moonbeams on my restless body. I watched the moon playing hide and seek with night clouds , the huge stars glittering above. I did not sleep a wink .
I got up at 5:30 a.m. and we all left around 6:15 a.m. to go to Pu'ukohala Heiau for theCultural Festival happening there. The Festival started at 6:30 a.m. There was to be a reenactment of a battle scene , along with chanting and all the different tribes making offerings . We were there for an hour and a half , watching all the procession of the different tribes . After an hour and a half , it suddenly ended . All of us were waiting for the final battle. Nothing happened. We were then advised that due to some injuries from rehearsal the previous day , they have decided not to do the mock battle. By then , it was after 8:00 a.m. so we all headed out for breakfast . After breakfast , we went back to Pu'ukohola Heiau . I spent an hour and a half making my own ipu ( gourd ) . I took the ipu to the ocean and filled it with sand and water . I shook it all around to loosen the interior of the gourd . I would sit on the beach with my ipu filled with sand and water , and swirled it around on the beach sand. I also scrubbed and sanded it with the coconut husk . Then I would go into the ocean and empty the sand and any gourd interior that loosen and start the whole process again. This went on for an hour and a half . It was a form of meditation for me : going into the ocean , filling the ipu with ocean water , back to the beach , pouring and packing sand into the ipu , shaking and swirling the ipu to loosen the inside stuff up , sanding and polishing the exterior with coconut husks .
We spent all day there. I did a lot of crafts . I also made a wood block print .out of bamboo. Now, I can print my own design on fabrics !
It was a very full two days. For the first time ever since I arrived in Hawaii three months ago , I felt like I was on vacation. The A frame costed me $5.00 for my share and the gas money ( my share ) was $10.00 , totaling $15.00 . Pretty sweet for a weekend getaway full of sun , sand , beautiful beaches and culture !!!!!!!
With much Aloha,
Molly
Friday 10 August 2012
Ariya , A Beautiful Boy with a Pure, Kind and Loving Heart
August 7th, 2012
Aloha !
It was such a busy day today. Kalani is at full capacity and those of us who are working in the kitchen are working really hard to feed so many. There is a Yoga Teacher Training happening at Kalani that is a month long course ( entire month of August ) and these yogis have a later breakfast due to their schedule so it makes it challenging for the Kitchen to be serving 2 breakfasts at 2 different times and also trying to prep and do lunch in a matter of hours . After my morning shift ( 6:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ) , I showered and then took a nap. It was so hot and the heat just zaps any residual energy I had out of me. I did a bit of painting and then headed off for dinner . As I was walking to the Lanai , I saw Ariya and his Mom . Ariya had a homemade bow and arrow and was shooting at some trees.
The sweetheart had been sick with the flu. I looked after Ariya the Sunday afternoon previous , and we had played games in the Lounge ( we played Othello ) read a few books , and then I took him to the Art Shed and we painted. I was going to take him to lunch when Ariya started holding his tummy , " Molly, my stomach hurts " , and he laid down on the grass. He got up and said, " I got to pooh pooh . " So, we went to the washroom, I disinfected the toilet seat and down he sat , for quite a while . The darling was sitting in a lotus pose , on the toilet. Well, he did some major business in that toilet bowl and he was rather pleased with
himself. I didn't know that much could come out of a five year old boy.
We went back to the Art Shed to get the lovely painting he painted and also some stickers ,. all ready for lunch , when he had another sudden spell of stomach pain and laid down on the grass again . I got Clint to give us a ride back to the Loft and I had him laying down on my bed . The little darling was drifting off into sleep and he felt warm to me so I started fanning him with a beautiful fan that I had bought last year when I was in Beijing.. He smiled drowsily at me when I started fanning him . He looked so beautiful sleeping . Ariya is a very beautiful child , half Japanese and half Caucasian . He has long blond hair. Very long blond hair ,about three inches past his shoulders. He is often mistaken for a girl.
When his parents Max and Ayako came , he was half asleep . This was the beginning of his flu that lasted a whole week.
Ariya showed me his homemade bow . It was made from a curved branch , with a thin bungee cord tied at both ends. His arrow was a small branch that had been frayed at one end to look like the back end of an arrow. He handed me the bow and arrow to let me try . He was impressed when I hit the tree . This is a homemade bow afterall and has no where near the velocity that a regular bow and arrow would have when it is shot with. Still, it was perfect for a five year old boy , and it did not cost a penny . These are the best kind of toys .
" Molly, I have something for you ! " Ariya said excitedly , remembering all of a sudden. " Ariya, we left it in the car. I will go get it ," Max added. " I want to go with you ! " Ariya runs beside his Dad.
" Ariya made something for you, Molly ! " Ayako smiled.
When Ariya ran back, he had a present for me. It was wrapped with a lei gift wrap paper. " Ariya insisted that we went to the store to buy the gift wrap. He wanted your present to be wrapped. " Oh, this just melted my heart !.........On the present, on the wrapping paper was a huge pink paper heart , glued to the gift wrap . On it said " To Molly , From Ariya. "
I carefully opened the present. My heart flooded with Love and amazement when I saw what had Ariya made for me. The sweetheart had made me a book . Each page was numbered.
On the First Page, the cover of the book , It has a beautiful face and the word Molly on top of the page, and the words Love written twice on the bottom , once as L O V E and the second was written as E V O L , with the E and the L facing the opposite way. On the first page too was a heart and a happy face flower. On the second page, there was a picture of a little boy, with the words " I Love you " coming out of his mouth. There was a sun and a house with a happy face on it and trees in the shape of the letter Y . On the third page was the number 3 written backwards and the picture was a sun , a heart in the sky, and a boy sailing in a sailboat, with his arms stretched out , the blue ocean filling the bottom of the page. The sail had a little fish on it . The arms stretched out was to signify a big hug. On the fourth page were two big flowers ,and a boy with a heart circling around his body, his arms now even bigger and more outstretched. This was for an even bigger hug. On the fifth page was a really big heart centering the page, with a medium size heart and a smaller heart inside the medium size heart. There was a flower in the centre of the heart , and within the heart was a smiling boy, with his arms almost the width of the page , signifying even a bigger hug.On the sixth page, was a house, with a big smile on it, and a smiling boy . Beside the house were 3 quick vertical lines to suggest either trees or grass, on both sides of the house. On top of the page, it said " I Love YOU."
On page 7 , he wrote the number 7 facing the opposite way , and a big heart with the words " The End " in the middle , a flower on each side of the heart .............
My heart truly melted . I have so much Love for little Ariya. I was deeply touched that he made this beautiful book for me. I will always treasure this book. It is one of the best gifts I have ever received . I feel so loved and so special that a little boy would make me such a beautiful book. The pictures are so endearing .
I said to Beth , " Everything I have asked for has come true in Hawaii . Even though I don't want to be in a relationship right now, I thought, hey, I will ask God and the Universe to send me a Beautiful Man with a pure , kind and loving heart. God has a sense of humour . He gave me a five year old boy ! "
We both laughed. " Well, Molly, you are going to have to be more age specific. Ask for a certain age between whatever it is you want ! "
I am very happy that my wish turned out to be a five year old boy named Ariya.
Ariya, a beautiful boy with a pure, kind and loving heart. A true Love and Joy in my Life.
With much aloha,
x0x0x0x0x0
Molly
Aloha !
It was such a busy day today. Kalani is at full capacity and those of us who are working in the kitchen are working really hard to feed so many. There is a Yoga Teacher Training happening at Kalani that is a month long course ( entire month of August ) and these yogis have a later breakfast due to their schedule so it makes it challenging for the Kitchen to be serving 2 breakfasts at 2 different times and also trying to prep and do lunch in a matter of hours . After my morning shift ( 6:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ) , I showered and then took a nap. It was so hot and the heat just zaps any residual energy I had out of me. I did a bit of painting and then headed off for dinner . As I was walking to the Lanai , I saw Ariya and his Mom . Ariya had a homemade bow and arrow and was shooting at some trees.
The sweetheart had been sick with the flu. I looked after Ariya the Sunday afternoon previous , and we had played games in the Lounge ( we played Othello ) read a few books , and then I took him to the Art Shed and we painted. I was going to take him to lunch when Ariya started holding his tummy , " Molly, my stomach hurts " , and he laid down on the grass. He got up and said, " I got to pooh pooh . " So, we went to the washroom, I disinfected the toilet seat and down he sat , for quite a while . The darling was sitting in a lotus pose , on the toilet. Well, he did some major business in that toilet bowl and he was rather pleased with
himself. I didn't know that much could come out of a five year old boy.
We went back to the Art Shed to get the lovely painting he painted and also some stickers ,. all ready for lunch , when he had another sudden spell of stomach pain and laid down on the grass again . I got Clint to give us a ride back to the Loft and I had him laying down on my bed . The little darling was drifting off into sleep and he felt warm to me so I started fanning him with a beautiful fan that I had bought last year when I was in Beijing.. He smiled drowsily at me when I started fanning him . He looked so beautiful sleeping . Ariya is a very beautiful child , half Japanese and half Caucasian . He has long blond hair. Very long blond hair ,about three inches past his shoulders. He is often mistaken for a girl.
When his parents Max and Ayako came , he was half asleep . This was the beginning of his flu that lasted a whole week.
Ariya showed me his homemade bow . It was made from a curved branch , with a thin bungee cord tied at both ends. His arrow was a small branch that had been frayed at one end to look like the back end of an arrow. He handed me the bow and arrow to let me try . He was impressed when I hit the tree . This is a homemade bow afterall and has no where near the velocity that a regular bow and arrow would have when it is shot with. Still, it was perfect for a five year old boy , and it did not cost a penny . These are the best kind of toys .
" Molly, I have something for you ! " Ariya said excitedly , remembering all of a sudden. " Ariya, we left it in the car. I will go get it ," Max added. " I want to go with you ! " Ariya runs beside his Dad.
" Ariya made something for you, Molly ! " Ayako smiled.
When Ariya ran back, he had a present for me. It was wrapped with a lei gift wrap paper. " Ariya insisted that we went to the store to buy the gift wrap. He wanted your present to be wrapped. " Oh, this just melted my heart !.........On the present, on the wrapping paper was a huge pink paper heart , glued to the gift wrap . On it said " To Molly , From Ariya. "
I carefully opened the present. My heart flooded with Love and amazement when I saw what had Ariya made for me. The sweetheart had made me a book . Each page was numbered.
On the First Page, the cover of the book , It has a beautiful face and the word Molly on top of the page, and the words Love written twice on the bottom , once as L O V E and the second was written as E V O L , with the E and the L facing the opposite way. On the first page too was a heart and a happy face flower. On the second page, there was a picture of a little boy, with the words " I Love you " coming out of his mouth. There was a sun and a house with a happy face on it and trees in the shape of the letter Y . On the third page was the number 3 written backwards and the picture was a sun , a heart in the sky, and a boy sailing in a sailboat, with his arms stretched out , the blue ocean filling the bottom of the page. The sail had a little fish on it . The arms stretched out was to signify a big hug. On the fourth page were two big flowers ,and a boy with a heart circling around his body, his arms now even bigger and more outstretched. This was for an even bigger hug. On the fifth page was a really big heart centering the page, with a medium size heart and a smaller heart inside the medium size heart. There was a flower in the centre of the heart , and within the heart was a smiling boy, with his arms almost the width of the page , signifying even a bigger hug.On the sixth page, was a house, with a big smile on it, and a smiling boy . Beside the house were 3 quick vertical lines to suggest either trees or grass, on both sides of the house. On top of the page, it said " I Love YOU."
On page 7 , he wrote the number 7 facing the opposite way , and a big heart with the words " The End " in the middle , a flower on each side of the heart .............
My heart truly melted . I have so much Love for little Ariya. I was deeply touched that he made this beautiful book for me. I will always treasure this book. It is one of the best gifts I have ever received . I feel so loved and so special that a little boy would make me such a beautiful book. The pictures are so endearing .
I said to Beth , " Everything I have asked for has come true in Hawaii . Even though I don't want to be in a relationship right now, I thought, hey, I will ask God and the Universe to send me a Beautiful Man with a pure , kind and loving heart. God has a sense of humour . He gave me a five year old boy ! "
We both laughed. " Well, Molly, you are going to have to be more age specific. Ask for a certain age between whatever it is you want ! "
I am very happy that my wish turned out to be a five year old boy named Ariya.
Ariya, a beautiful boy with a pure, kind and loving heart. A true Love and Joy in my Life.
With much aloha,
x0x0x0x0x0
Molly
Sunday 5 August 2012
Literacy , Bouillabaisse and Options
Aloha !
Its been a while since I wrote on my blog . Its not that things have not been happening , its just that surprisingly, I didn't feel the urge to write down my thoughts lately, as I usually do .
Last week, while I was working at Hale Aloha , one of the guests came in. She was from Switzerland. She asked what those little creatures were called, the ones that are running around all over the place.
" Oh, its a mango ! " the reception person who was working with me said . Now you have to understand that English is her first language and her only language. She turned and looked at me for confirmation and I really had to bite my lip to keep from bursting out into laughter. She took a look at my face and retracted her statement . " Oh, I mean it sounds like a mango. Mango's a fruit ! tee hee ! I love mangoes What is that animal's name, Molly ? " DUH !
" It called a mongoose, " I told them both. So, it went on for a while, with me helping the Swiss Lady pronouncing mongoose . " MONgose ! ." " No , its mon - goose . You don't need to put a strong emphasis on the ' mon ' part. " " MonGOSS ! " " No, you you have to stretch out the O sound , as in oo " . " MANgos. " " No, not man , its mon . Mon - gooooooose . She left finally saying man-GOES , with a Swiss accented stress on ' GOES ' . She just wasn't able to get rid of the first word that she was told. It was the brilliant receptionist that has cemented mangoes in the Swiss lady's head. Let me know if you see mangoes running around in Hawaii. Little furry ' mangoes ' , running around, scurrying under the jungle bushes and around the palm trees. . They are a beige brown and not a mixture of green , red or orange. I catch the Swiss by surprise all the time when they hear that one of my favourite places in the World is Lauterbrunnen. Many years ago, I stayed there and also hiked in the Swiss Alps.
Today at lunch , I was having a conversation with Steve. Steve is not his real name , and I am using Steve to respect his privacy . Ultimately, someone at Kalani will stumble upon my blog and if I use his real name , well, all of Kalani will know who it is. Somehow, the conversation ended up with Steve telling me that he didn't learn to read until he was in his mid-40's. That didn't surprise me. There are many people out there like Steve. Somehow , they got lost through Society's cracks and School systems. Unfortunately, the signs were all there, but no one took the time to pay attention and follow through with care , to teach a young child how to read.
" You must have a photographic memory " I said to Steve. He nodded with pride. " You know, I have always felt that people who cannot read often have amazing photographic memories . They are extremely intelligent and resourceful too. They have to be, to hide their illiteracy from their family, friends and co-workers. You become extremely resourceful in adapting to the fact that you cannot read labels , directions, job applications or books . "
Steve could see paragraphs , and be able to re-write the same words from memory , not having any idea what he was writing . I told him that I was a volunteer Literacy Tutor for children Grade Three and Grade Four. The look of gratitude in his eyes when I told him this melted my heart. " You ' git ' them before they get lost in the system , Molly ! " " Yes, that is my goal , Steve. I have 7 kids that I tutor and they are all very bright . "
Malcolm sits down across from me with her lunch. " You have 7 kids, Molly ????????? !!!!!!!! " She had only heard part of the sentence. Steve and I laughed . " I tutor 7 kids. I personally do not have 7
children . "
Malcolm laughed with relief . " I mean, you're too young to have seven kids. I guess its possible but there would have to be at least 2 sets of triplets . " I just shook my head and laughed . Yes, it would be nice to get it all over with , but the thought of breast feeding triplets will be a full time job in itself. Time and time again , Kalani folks think I am in my early 30's . I am a female version of Benjamin Button.
And, while Marilyn was sitting down beside me for lunch, she offered me some dry looking puffed wheat cylindrical 3 inch diameter crackers. You know the ones I mean . The ones that will fill you up and taste like sawdust , not that I have ever eaten sawdust. " They're really good, Molly ! They're made with corn and flavoured with sesame. " " Well, if its flavoured with sesame, I will try a tiny piece . " Now, sesame oil is very strong and can overpower most things. Sure enough, I tasted sesame oil and not sawdust. it made the cracker palatable. " That's not bad . Not as bad as I thought it would be. All I can taste is sesame , " I told Marilyn. Marilyn carefully removed 2 crackers from the bag . They are somewhat fragile , in a styrofoam kinda way. Oh, they can taste like styrofoam too , not that I have ever tasted styrofoam either. I laughed at what Marilyn did next. She took 2 crackers , spread some Reuben Sandwich sauce on each side of the cracker , and then put a thick layer of BBQ potato chips in between the crackers . She made a BBQ potato chip sandwich . " That looks really healthy !!!! " I laughed, with an amused look on my face. Marilyn is not a youngster . She is probably in her late 60's , perhaps even somewhere in the 70's. She is, to my knowledge, a vegetarian also.
And Chef Mark made a most delicious dinner last night . He made bouillabaisse full of scallops, shrimp and fish . Oh, it was so YUMMMMMM!!!!!! I was in food comatose heaven ! He is my favorite chef and I love working with him. I was plating the dessert yesterday . George, Kalani's pastry chef made some rich chocolate brownies. He left specific instructions as to how to cut the brownies that were baked in large hotel pans. He wrote " Two of the hotel pans, cut 8 x 5 and the third hotel pan , cut 12 x 5 . Plate on large platters. On the 12 x 5 plated pieces , write on food description " 50% less fat and sugar . " I laughed when I read that . Kalani has small signs on all the food served , whether it is gluten free, vegetarian , vegan, has nuts, onions, garlic , dairy, etc. mark laughed too and shook his head.
' No one's eating the brownies that are marked ' 50% less fat and sugar ! " I told Mark . These weren't even half the size of the 8 x 5 ( 40 pieces cut .) They were the same brownies, only cut slightly smaller. Too funny ! " Take the sign down ! George's plan didn't work ! People are still taking the larger pieces ! " Mark responded. We all had a good chuckle about that.
Kalani caters to so much restricted diets that it makes for cooking food a challenge in the kitchen. During a Kitchen Appreciation Party , we were going to make s'mores over a campfire. " Can we have gluten free , sugar free graham crackers ? I want sugar free marshmallows ! Non-dairy chocolate too ! I want animal cruelty free marshmallows ! " We all put in our too bits. It gets to be a bit much. No, none of the stuff we jokingly verbally tossed out exists, to my knowledge. If people are vegan or vegetarian , why don't they create something new, instead of making a regular great food ' vegan ' or ' vegetarian. ' Reuben sandwiches were served for lunch today . When I went through the line to get my food , I said " I want the real Reuben ! " the guy beside me laughed. There was a vegan option for Reuben sandwiches and also gluten free option too. mark also made a bouillabaisse with tofu and he refused to call it tofu bouillabaisse . The sign said " tofu option. " I am in TOTAL agreeance with him. It is time that vegetarians and vegans create their own foods and not change some great old time honoured favourites into bland tasting saw dust rubbery textured poor facsimiles of the real thing. There really is nothing like the real thing , in anything .
Yes, if you eat only half the portion , you have saved yourself 50% less fat and 50% less sugar. Rocket science.
With much aloha,
x0x0x0x0x0
Molly
Its been a while since I wrote on my blog . Its not that things have not been happening , its just that surprisingly, I didn't feel the urge to write down my thoughts lately, as I usually do .
Last week, while I was working at Hale Aloha , one of the guests came in. She was from Switzerland. She asked what those little creatures were called, the ones that are running around all over the place.
" Oh, its a mango ! " the reception person who was working with me said . Now you have to understand that English is her first language and her only language. She turned and looked at me for confirmation and I really had to bite my lip to keep from bursting out into laughter. She took a look at my face and retracted her statement . " Oh, I mean it sounds like a mango. Mango's a fruit ! tee hee ! I love mangoes What is that animal's name, Molly ? " DUH !
" It called a mongoose, " I told them both. So, it went on for a while, with me helping the Swiss Lady pronouncing mongoose . " MONgose ! ." " No , its mon - goose . You don't need to put a strong emphasis on the ' mon ' part. " " MonGOSS ! " " No, you you have to stretch out the O sound , as in oo " . " MANgos. " " No, not man , its mon . Mon - gooooooose . She left finally saying man-GOES , with a Swiss accented stress on ' GOES ' . She just wasn't able to get rid of the first word that she was told. It was the brilliant receptionist that has cemented mangoes in the Swiss lady's head. Let me know if you see mangoes running around in Hawaii. Little furry ' mangoes ' , running around, scurrying under the jungle bushes and around the palm trees. . They are a beige brown and not a mixture of green , red or orange. I catch the Swiss by surprise all the time when they hear that one of my favourite places in the World is Lauterbrunnen. Many years ago, I stayed there and also hiked in the Swiss Alps.
Today at lunch , I was having a conversation with Steve. Steve is not his real name , and I am using Steve to respect his privacy . Ultimately, someone at Kalani will stumble upon my blog and if I use his real name , well, all of Kalani will know who it is. Somehow, the conversation ended up with Steve telling me that he didn't learn to read until he was in his mid-40's. That didn't surprise me. There are many people out there like Steve. Somehow , they got lost through Society's cracks and School systems. Unfortunately, the signs were all there, but no one took the time to pay attention and follow through with care , to teach a young child how to read.
" You must have a photographic memory " I said to Steve. He nodded with pride. " You know, I have always felt that people who cannot read often have amazing photographic memories . They are extremely intelligent and resourceful too. They have to be, to hide their illiteracy from their family, friends and co-workers. You become extremely resourceful in adapting to the fact that you cannot read labels , directions, job applications or books . "
Steve could see paragraphs , and be able to re-write the same words from memory , not having any idea what he was writing . I told him that I was a volunteer Literacy Tutor for children Grade Three and Grade Four. The look of gratitude in his eyes when I told him this melted my heart. " You ' git ' them before they get lost in the system , Molly ! " " Yes, that is my goal , Steve. I have 7 kids that I tutor and they are all very bright . "
Malcolm sits down across from me with her lunch. " You have 7 kids, Molly ????????? !!!!!!!! " She had only heard part of the sentence. Steve and I laughed . " I tutor 7 kids. I personally do not have 7
children . "
Malcolm laughed with relief . " I mean, you're too young to have seven kids. I guess its possible but there would have to be at least 2 sets of triplets . " I just shook my head and laughed . Yes, it would be nice to get it all over with , but the thought of breast feeding triplets will be a full time job in itself. Time and time again , Kalani folks think I am in my early 30's . I am a female version of Benjamin Button.
And, while Marilyn was sitting down beside me for lunch, she offered me some dry looking puffed wheat cylindrical 3 inch diameter crackers. You know the ones I mean . The ones that will fill you up and taste like sawdust , not that I have ever eaten sawdust. " They're really good, Molly ! They're made with corn and flavoured with sesame. " " Well, if its flavoured with sesame, I will try a tiny piece . " Now, sesame oil is very strong and can overpower most things. Sure enough, I tasted sesame oil and not sawdust. it made the cracker palatable. " That's not bad . Not as bad as I thought it would be. All I can taste is sesame , " I told Marilyn. Marilyn carefully removed 2 crackers from the bag . They are somewhat fragile , in a styrofoam kinda way. Oh, they can taste like styrofoam too , not that I have ever tasted styrofoam either. I laughed at what Marilyn did next. She took 2 crackers , spread some Reuben Sandwich sauce on each side of the cracker , and then put a thick layer of BBQ potato chips in between the crackers . She made a BBQ potato chip sandwich . " That looks really healthy !!!! " I laughed, with an amused look on my face. Marilyn is not a youngster . She is probably in her late 60's , perhaps even somewhere in the 70's. She is, to my knowledge, a vegetarian also.
And Chef Mark made a most delicious dinner last night . He made bouillabaisse full of scallops, shrimp and fish . Oh, it was so YUMMMMMM!!!!!! I was in food comatose heaven ! He is my favorite chef and I love working with him. I was plating the dessert yesterday . George, Kalani's pastry chef made some rich chocolate brownies. He left specific instructions as to how to cut the brownies that were baked in large hotel pans. He wrote " Two of the hotel pans, cut 8 x 5 and the third hotel pan , cut 12 x 5 . Plate on large platters. On the 12 x 5 plated pieces , write on food description " 50% less fat and sugar . " I laughed when I read that . Kalani has small signs on all the food served , whether it is gluten free, vegetarian , vegan, has nuts, onions, garlic , dairy, etc. mark laughed too and shook his head.
' No one's eating the brownies that are marked ' 50% less fat and sugar ! " I told Mark . These weren't even half the size of the 8 x 5 ( 40 pieces cut .) They were the same brownies, only cut slightly smaller. Too funny ! " Take the sign down ! George's plan didn't work ! People are still taking the larger pieces ! " Mark responded. We all had a good chuckle about that.
Kalani caters to so much restricted diets that it makes for cooking food a challenge in the kitchen. During a Kitchen Appreciation Party , we were going to make s'mores over a campfire. " Can we have gluten free , sugar free graham crackers ? I want sugar free marshmallows ! Non-dairy chocolate too ! I want animal cruelty free marshmallows ! " We all put in our too bits. It gets to be a bit much. No, none of the stuff we jokingly verbally tossed out exists, to my knowledge. If people are vegan or vegetarian , why don't they create something new, instead of making a regular great food ' vegan ' or ' vegetarian. ' Reuben sandwiches were served for lunch today . When I went through the line to get my food , I said " I want the real Reuben ! " the guy beside me laughed. There was a vegan option for Reuben sandwiches and also gluten free option too. mark also made a bouillabaisse with tofu and he refused to call it tofu bouillabaisse . The sign said " tofu option. " I am in TOTAL agreeance with him. It is time that vegetarians and vegans create their own foods and not change some great old time honoured favourites into bland tasting saw dust rubbery textured poor facsimiles of the real thing. There really is nothing like the real thing , in anything .
Yes, if you eat only half the portion , you have saved yourself 50% less fat and 50% less sugar. Rocket science.
With much aloha,
x0x0x0x0x0
Molly
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