Third time's the charm...

I spent a whole lot of Valentine-less Valentine's days. And yet somehow managed to find the love of my life anyway. And the really intriguing part is that finding him was a by-product of discovering myself.

Not that I went on any Big Deal walkabout of self discovery or anything. I just shook myself loose of some long held notions, and there I was. And soon after, there HE was. Some luck, huh?

We are probably not going to make 57+ years together like my Mom & Dad -- got too late a start. But I look forward to seeing how many we do manage to chalk up...and making each one count.

Here's my favorite picture of M&D:



I hope that you love this Valentine's Day -- and that you remember that romantic love is just a tiny part of the love that is out there -- there's all kinds of love to embrace, if you just open yourself up to it. And the more receptive you are to that greater love, the more love will find you.

Love you! <3

To boldly go...no more???

I grew up on the space coast -- just an hour or so north of Cape Canaveral. When NASA launched a rocket, we knew it. We stood outside in the schoolyard in May of 1961 and watched the contrail when Freedom 7 took the first American into space.

We were glued to the television 8 years later, watching a clearly gobsmacked Walter Cronkite commenting on the first moonwalk.

Then it all became quite ordinary, as more and more missions were carried out. Until we all watched in horror in 1986 as Challenger, on the 56th manned mission, exploded in a heart stopping moment.

The question is often asked, especially in financial times like these, "Why spend all this money on space exploration when there are so many more pressing causes here on earth?"

I would offer that these efforts are no less important, in the grand scheme of things, than the money we spend on the arts. And I believe that the arts are absolutely essential.

The advances in technology and medicine that have been made as offshoots of the space program are many, and there are thousands of jobs at stake.

I'm so proud of my brother the rocket scientist (who took us touring around the Space Center over the holidays.)

I just wish I could once again see kids with the passion about science that drove so many of my generation into math, physics and engineering. To dream of life beyond the bounds of our earth.

Write your Congressman. Write the president. How can a man who supposedly is interested in creating jobs be taken seriously when he is seeking to shut down what amounts to an industry? How can the same administration that has sought to take over banks and auto companies and healthcare on the one hand, be driven to privatize the space program?

Stop this nonsense about pulling NASA funding for manned exploration.

Sunrise/Sunset

I shot this rather random photo sitting in rush hour evening traffic in LA. Finding peace amidst chaos is a talent I wish to nurture.

Reflecting on a decade past (and stealing a FB meme to do it)...in the first 10 years of the new millenium, I

> Turned 50 and had 3 birthday parties to celebrate -- my husband threw me a surprise party with 80 of my closest friends, my work buddies surprised me again in Florida a couple of weeks later and the party with my sister (in Vegas) basically lasted 3 days.

> Became a "grandmother" 3 times -- not genetically, but certainly from the heart. And twice more by proxy!

> Went on a family reunion cruise to Alaska -- the coolest reunion ever.

> Visited 25 countries around the world, on 5 continents.

> Lost my father and my sister, both to cancer.

> Discovered new friends through the internet, many of whom I have yet to meet in real life.

> Expanded my duties (and responsibilities) at work.

> Spent 10 more years with my best husband ever!

So what's in store for the next ten years? Who knows, but I hope it includes

> Turning 60 (I know that's not something most people -- mostly women -- look forward to, but since the odds of my making 50 were in question at one point, 60 looks damn fine to me.)

> Spending as much time as possible with family -- hopefully here in Hawaii one of these days.

> Logging time on two more continents: South America and Antarctica.

> Meeting more of my on-line friends face to face.

> Enjoying my job til it's time to pack it in.

> Packing it in.

> Having 10 more wonderful years with the love of my life.

The original Guitar Hero

My first guitar. I was almost 2 years old. I don't know what happened to that one (it had strings AND a little crank-driven music box inside), but I do still have a Yamaha 12-string that hasn't been out of its case in a couple of years and is probably hopelessly out of tune. Maybe one day I'll take it in to be restrung and start playing again.

And maybe I'll turn into a unicorn instead.

Equally likely, at this point.

Merry Christmas, y'all!!

Oh... and just out of curiosity, I dug out a photo of my last "real" Christmas tree -- in my little apartment downtown in 1994. Note the lone Nutcracker in the background - my first. Soooo -- First Nutcracker, Last Live Tree.

More Christmas

More photos from Christmas. Still not happy with the night shots, but too lazy to dig out the good camera. This little Nikon serves a purpose (I keep it in my briefcase, and it runs on regular AA batteries) but my Sonys take much better photos. Maybe I'll get inspired and take some artyfarty ones before everything goes back into crates in the garage.

The first thing that I set up each year is, of course, the Advent Wreath. When I was younger, it served as a neat countdown to Christmas day (and goodies.) Now it's more a call to focus and reset myself amidst the tumult.

Then comes the tree, which I posted earlier. Here it is all lit up and magical and stuff.

This year, since the big tree is in the living room, and our living is mostly accomplished in the family room, I incorporated a small tree-let in my Santa display back there.

I have 3 seperate collections -- Santas, Nutcrackers and Snowmen. The first two come out every year no matter what, and are ever expanding. The Snowmen often fall victim to my desire to not put more out than I'm willing to put up.

I still go to the Hawaii Ballet production of the Nutcracker -- a scrumptious one at that -- at least every third year. Not annually, though. Seems to lose it's magic if I see it too often. One of these years I'm going to see the Sendak production of it in Seattle.

Wish you could come see this stuff in person...I just baked spiced fruit drops, and made Black Forest bites too. And Kona coffee. Or eggnog, with a little Cap'n Morgan if you like.



Oh -- and this one's for Deb.

Oh Tannenbaum, my tannenbaum

Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!

And it was ever thus...

My first Christmas: December, 1951. Dad and some of his friends would go out in the woods and cut down trees for us. Didn't buy a tree from a tree lot until I was older and we moved to Florida. Few ornaments, lots of tinsel.

The checkered doll was named "Dot". I carried her around for a couple of years. I still remember the piggy bank, too. And this is about as close as I ever got to horseback riding (except for one forgettable experience on my Aunt's farm).

I love to decorate for Christmas. I start with my Advent wreath and the creche, then the house virtually explodes with holiday accumulata. Unfortunately, I don't like UNdecorating, so I rarely put everything out. This year, I've limited it to my Santa collection and my Nutcrackers (which are always part of the decor no matter what). And, of course, the tree.

This is my 2009 Christmas tree.

It looks very like the 2008, 2007...and back to around 1999 trees, since we have a silk one. We get the pine scent in the house with a real wreath.

I love our tree...it takes about 3 days to get it fully decorated. I use the Martha Stewart method (don't judge me!). It's a 4 step process.

1. Place the lights from the trunk outward, winding each branch seperately. It's a pain, but I only have to re-do them about every three or four years so it's worth it.

2. Hang the shiny glass balls deep toward the trunk. They reflect the lights and it gives it a lot of depth.

3. Hang the special ornaments all round the tree. I've reached the point where I could decorate 2 trees quite easily. We get an ornament from each place we visit, and for many years I made a new ornament each year - mostly angel variations. I haven't done that in about 3 years. Just run out of time/energy.

4. Drape the tinsel garland. I don't miss those individual strands of tinsel at all. I could drape a strand at a time for about 15 minutes, then it was just fling gobs at the tree til I ran out. Garland is easier.

I even have a wee tree on my desk at work, with tiny ornaments I've accumulated from here and there. My Aunt Mary crocheted the doily under it many many years ago.

Maybe I'll get around to taking a couple of pictures of my Santas and Nutcrackers while they are out...until then, enjoy the holidays!

Thanksgiving memories

That's me -- MSHS Buccaneer band geek extraordinare. Fall of my senior year we marched in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. (That would be November 1967...42 years ago!..if you're counting).

It marked several turning points in my life -- first big trip without my family, first trip to NYC, falling in love with NYC, falling out of love with my steady beau (temporarily, but portent-iously) and being on TV for the first time. Of course, I was in uniform with 125 identically dressed others, marching down the street, but STILL!

We were the band that leads in the Santa float -- that guaranteed us pretty good screen time. And we were behind the float that carried Dionne Warwick. Took me years to get "Say a Little Prayer for You" out of my head. Damn. It's back.

It poured down rain for almost the entire duration of the event. We queued up in the Central Park staging area and someone issued us throwaway clear plastic raincoats. We had to stuff our bright gold plumes inside our shakos (the West Point style hats that went with our cadet clone uniforms) to keep the dye from running down onto our faces.

When we got to the marker that cued us to the main viewing stand in front of Macys, we doffed the raincoats, stuck the plumes back in our caps and performed our brains out. (Almost all of us ended up with strep throat by the time we got home!)

When we went to NYC in 2007, we stayed in a hotel near that Macy's -- THE Macy's -- and I was tickled to death to see that the painted street markers are permanent. Of course they need to be touched up each year before the big event, but I can honestly say that a full 40 years after my turn on that tarmac, it still made my heart leap just a little to see it.



I have a recording of the medley we performed - if I knew how to post an MP3 here I would. We were pretty good.

A photo of me walking in Times Square with my soon-to-be-temporarily-ex boyfriend and two of our friends was in our home town paper, along with interviews. The clippings are in a scrapbook at Mom's or I'd scan them in here. It was a pretty big deal back then. Hope it still is.

I still watch the Parade every year -- growing up we called it the Macy's Day Parade and I thought that Macy was the reason for the holiday. I'm still thankful for Macy's. I first read the book "Miracle on 34th Street" when I was a very young child, and the original movie version (1947 B&W with Natalie Wood as Susan Walker and Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle) is still one of my very favorite holiday films. So to have actually perfomed in that parade was huge for me.

And my favorite part ever year is each and every one of the bands. Because I know how hard they worked to get there -- the fundraising (humiliating door to door sales of everything you can think of), the endless practice sessions (marching in the parking lot after dark to get the feel of miles of asphalt.) It was all so very worth it.

So if you watch the Parade this year, think of me and all of those sweet band geeks getting their moment. And enjoy!

When you live in Paradise, why travel?

I'm frequently asked where people who live in Hawaii go for vacation. These days, frankly most don't. And a stay-cation here is pretty awesome, all things considered.

But I do love to travel -- even though my job has me on the road (in the air) about 20% of my time. I love to explore new places, to see places I've only read about or seen in movies/TV. And I find that now, having been to a lot of places, seeing them or reading about them is even more fun than before. I will even admit to buying the book '1000 Places to See Before You Die' and flagging them as I go. Doin pretty good so far.

Travel is our big splurge. We don't live in a fancy house, and while our cars are nice, we also tend to keep them for 10 years at a stretch. I don't do designer clothes. But we try to take a major trip a year. We started doing that right after we married, and I finished chemo. I think it was the latter that motivated us -- appreciation for every minute we are given in this life, and refusing to put off enjoyment of that life until some vague tomorrow. Even during stretches where the means were thinner, we've found a way.

I like approaching the world like a buffet - so many different tastes to sample, so little time. That's why we tend to prefer cruises...unpack once and have the hotel follow us around. We've covered an awful lot of ground that way. And there are places that we have merely touched that we would like to return to for more exploration. Some day. After more tours to the unknown.

My friend eque does the more in-depth travel, taking wonderful trips on horseback in exotic locales. I love reading about her trips and seeing her pictures, because I know that it would not be for me personally, but I enjoy the vicarious experience.

It's a little like food -- some are grazers, always looking for the next dish. Others enjoy the lavish meal, savoring each morsel. But in either case, it's nourishing.

My favorite trip of all that we have taken to date is still our Vietnam tour in 2004 (pictures posted elsewhere on this blog). I arranged, over the internet, a private tour, with a driver and guide. We rode around that beautiful country from the Mekong Delta in the far south to Hanoi and Halong Bay in the north. To see the peaceful countrysides and industrious cities that I had previously associated with (needless) war and destruction was a revelation. It left me changed forever. In a good way.

I'm really blessed to have had the confluence of desire, means and ability to have had these experiences. And I eagerly look forward to the next trip.

Look out! It's BEHIND you!!

Nothing to say -- just clearing off the holiday post. I can't stand to leave decorations up past the holiday in question. Just looks pathetic.

This was taken a couple of years ago, on a tour round the leeward coast up past Makaha with some friends from Australia. The big white golf ball is a radar outpost. I just liked the contrast.

Halloween is NOT lame...

Been reading 'round the blog-sphere (my little corner of it, anyway) that Halloween is lame. That's lame.

There are some things about Halloween that have deteriorated over the years that may be behind that notion, though.

Like when the scariest monsters turned out to be the strangers with candy.

Or when our collective imaginations became so jaded and atrophied by endless exposure to bad movies that we forgot the fun of designing and making our own costumes. Those were always the best.

And when the calculated horror in those movies that drew entirely upon those imaginations was replaced by mere gore -- which to me is much more nauseating than frightening. Not what I'm going for.

It takes a lot more time (and, frankly, intelligence) to draw us in, disarm us, then scare us to death with the bump in the night. Not seeing what's out there is far more scary than seeing. At least for those of us blessed with a vivid imagination.

I always enjoy Jorge Garcia's blog (Dispatches from the Island). He is a true Halloween afficionado, and for all the right reasons. He decorates, dresses up and carves the coolest pumpkins ever...and shares it all with his readers. I love his character (Hurley) on Lost -- one of the more complex characters in the plot IMHO, but I love reading the real guy's posts even more -- especially 'round Halloween.

So I will follow Jorge's blog, enjoy the Travel channel's tours of scary places, watch a well-crafted horror movie or two (Silence of the Lambs scared me a heckuva lot more than any Saw movie ever could -- The Shining is another), wish I had a costume party to go to (or a kid to dress up), and enjoy my candy corn for one more week.

What do you think of Halloween, dear reader? (And I know that there's just the one of you -- maybe two on a good day).

Day is done

There's something poetic about a sunset. May be something poetic about sunrise, too. I don't see enough of them to know. But everyone...and I mean everyone...stopped their activity to watch. I like the pause reflected in this picture. Seems as though they realize it's time to pack up and go for the day, but don't really want to leave.

I took this on our way from Saturday evening mass at St Augustines on Waikiki to dinner at Seafood Village (opakapa in black bean/ginger sauce and sizzling shrimp satay), the night before my 15th Komen Race for the Cure.

We have started using the race as an excuse to play tourist for a weekend on Waikiki. We do this largely for the same reason that I do the race each year -- because we CAN. For me, it is a celebration of life. For us, it's a celebration of our life in paradise.

Our Scotland branch has gotten into the house-swapping thing for vacations. This is the pool for the house that they had for 2 weeks this summer, just north of LA.

The house itself is lovely, but the backyard was exceptional. On the side of a hill, they managed to capitolize on the slopes and view beautifully.

There's more to Disney than the mouse house...

The swoops and swags of the Disney Concert Hall's exterior -- iconic. I didn't grab an exterior shot because we were kind of pressed for time both pre and post concert (Cal Phil doing "Swords and Chivalry" -- excellent! And this place has unbelievable acoustics.).

You can see it here: http://www.laphil.com/about/wdch_overview.cfm

And if you ever get the chance to hear a concert there -- don't miss it!

I did pull off a couple of interior shots during intermission...like this Escher-esque stairwell:

And these beautiful supports:

A friend of ours worked on the design team for this project. I have so many questions I wish that I could ask him, now that I've seen (and heard) it for myself. But he's gone now. Damn cancer.

Ya done good, Scott.

Tranquility

Cruising through the Lesser Gorges off the Yangtze was a breathtaking way to spend a leisurely morning.

God Bless America!

Land that I love.....

Want to Feel Really Small?

Stand on something really really BIG!

Like the Great Wall of China. This photo was taken on the Wall at Badaling. One more for the bucket!

Because it has to be said....

One inescapable fact of foreign travel, especially in Asia for some reason (but not exclusively there), is the scarcity of what is delicately described as "Western facilities".

Now, in my own defense, my need for the Western-style 'throne' is purely physiological...I simply cannot easily arise from a squatting position. Simply stated: weak knees + fat ass. And since the women in my travels are for the most part strangers, and would frown on my husband coming in to help me up....there you have it.

Fortunately, our guides have always been most helpful in identifying 'acceptible' facilities. In China, we had a rating system:
5-Star: clean, Western 'throne', toilet paper, seat covers
4-Star: clean, Western 'throne', toilet paper
3-Star: clean, Western 'throne'

I never went below 3-Stars. I do carry my own travel kit of seat covers and travel TP (after a particularly traumatic experience in Moscow years ago).

I asked our guide if they (the guides) all thought that all of we female Western tourists (a) had extraordinarily weak bladders because we were always taking advantage of stops and (b) were incredibly picky. He politely dodged the question.

Here's a shot taken in a 4-Star. It isn't particularly well composed, because when you are taking a photograph inside a ladies restroom it's best to start with a vacant one and take the shot really fast, lest someone come in and think you a pervert.

The sign on the right means 'for mom's - has changing table'. The next is, of course, the 'Western throne' and rest are all the more traditional 'squat' toilets.

To be fair, they were all quite clean...everywhere we went. And I really think that we're being the picky ones. And I totally appreciate the fact that other societies are indulging us our weakness.

And I'm still peeved that men don't even have to think about this stuff!!!!!

Just a couple of days in Beijing...

Here is one of the buildings in the Lama Temple. It's actually a series of buildings containing many variants on the Buddah, including an amazing 26 meter statue of Maitreya (the future Buddah) that is impossible to photograph.


My niece recommended that we visit Lama, and it wasn't on our tour itinerary, so we made sure to include it on our first self-tour day. It was a spiritual way to launch our exploration -- a really peaceful place within a bustling Beijing.

This is the detail on one of the archways to the Lama Temple. The detail was very impressive.


Our next day of self-touring started off with the daunting Temple of Heaven complex. Not just a single building, but two main structures and several adjunct buildings for each, plus a prayer mound...none of which are actually called the Temple of Heaven. The iconic focal point is the Temple of Prayer for Good Harvest:

Each of the points of interest in the complex had it's own entry arches.

And the interiors of the two central structures are as fascinating and intricately done as the exteriors.


We then went for a walk along the Ming city wall in Beijing...enjoying the (somewhat rare) blue sky.


More to follow...

Best. Feetshot. Ever.

Just got back from 2 weeks touring China and haven't had time yet to sort the 1200+ photos I took, but had to get this one up as soon as I could...it's just so cool!

This was taken while I was standing on a glass platform in the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower...I was about 800 feet above the traffic. Very weird feeling!

Here's the Tower from the ground up -- the platform I was standing out on is at the base of the second "pearl" (this also shows that it was raining that day -- the only real rain we experienced over the whole 2 weeks.)

We were very busy the entire time seeing things like the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Lama Temple (Yonghegong) in Beijing, the Xian terracotta warriors, Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai, and the beautiful gorges along the Yangtze River, to mention a few.

More photos to come (after I get caught up at work and get some laundry done)!

On the road agaiiiinnnn...

You know that vacation I need? Getting there...see you later. Film at 11!