March 30, 2007

My neglected yard

I still haven’t gotten around to the yard work I said I was going to do the day I told you about my herbs. We’ve had a few rainy days, but mostly I’ve just been putting it off. I enjoy working out there and should make it a regularly scheduled habit as it used to be. Yesterday I took my new camera out to the front yard to see if there was anything worth sharing going on. The jade plant seems to thrive on my neglect, offering up its waxy, succulent version of shamrocks in plentitude.

The pikake outside the front gate has been barren for a few months, but I found several sevreal almost-ready buds and a few clusters of tight green buds still biding their time. The fragrance when they bloom will be overwhelming. One small blossom, which will be about as big around as a quarter, will sweeten an entire room for several days before turning into a dry brown ball of confetti.

The plumeria are equally fragrant, and between those and the pikake I’ll be living on benedryl again soon. I should chop down the plumeria, I know, and root out the pikake bush, but they bring me much joy despite my itchy eyes and sniffles. They also both make lovely leis, of course, though I don’t usually buy that sort, worrying that the person I’m gifting might suffer similarly.

The hard green nuts of the palm trees will open up into fluffy white clouds of tiny flowers. Their fragrance is strong also, but musky smelling rather than flowery. The bees love these, so I’ll be whacking off this stalk before it has a chance to realize its full beauty. Yep, I’m allergic to bees, too, and benedryl won’t help what they do to me.

Almost as soon as I noticed the moon in that last photo, the sun dropped down behind the roof of the house and the front yard began to dim and cool. The palms and plumeria keep it pretty cool in this corner for most of each day, but I was suddeny wishing for more clothing than my shorts and tee shirt about the time I took this picture. If you look closely at the palm frond arch at top center (click the picture to enlarge,) you’ll see some debris peeking through. A pair of doves nest here. Their eggs will hatch shortly before that frond drops off of the tree, and they’ll select one a little higher up for their next batch of young. I’ve been watching this happen for the last ten years and am still amazed by the accuracy of their natural timing.

A single plaintive bark called me back from my reverie. To the beagle, those lengthening shadows mean just one thing. It was time for me to put the camera away and scoop out some kibbles for my hungry boys.

Technorati Tags: life in Hawaii, gardening, plumeria, pikake, outdoors

Gather round the table!

Dad deals to me, my home, circa 1973

Some of my happiest memories of gowing up center around a game table. A couple of times a month we’d all gather round and spend an evening playing cards or board games. I was pretty good at most of the card games back then, though I’m a little rusty now. We played hearts and spades and gin, but poker games were everyone’s favorites. I remember how proud I was the first time I played for a whole session without having to look up what constitued the various hands. Mom was a pretty good teacher, but we always kept Hoyle’s nearby to settle disputes. There was an occasional sore loser (older bother Eddie!) but it was mostly just a fun and relaxing way to spend an evening as a family. My parents and their friends gathered for regular game nights, too, at our own home or someone else’s. We kids would play outside until we were exhausted, then come inside to play our own games.

Mom and my friend Anne at one of my game nights

I’ve hosted a few such nights in my own time, bringing several generations together for a fun and sociable evening. My son rarely joined us because he wasn’t into card games as a child. The only game I remember him playing with any regularity is Skip-Bo. That’s why it was so surprising when he not only went to work for a casino, but also started playing in Texas Hold ‘Em tournaments and got pretty good at it. I never would have predicted a career in gaming for him! Now he and his girlfriend have a circle of friends with whom they get together for games on a regular basis.

I mentioned a few days ago that my family is into gag gifts for Christmas and birthdays. That’s why I almost always try to remember to slip a deck or two of cards into my son’s Christmas package, for the girlfriend to put into his stocking. I mean, for pity’s sake, he works in a casino and can get all the cards he wants from the discards, but that’s my little poke at him and always makes him grin. I looked at gaming tables for him last Christmas, but had to pass on them at that time. He would love such a gift, but would never buy one for himself. So maybe, just maybe, the next time gift-giving rolls around, I’ll take a look at some home game packages for him. He’s a one-game man when it comes to poker, and this Texas Hold ‘Em Package would fill the empty space in his bachelor-ish living room nicely, and it would certainly get a lot of use. Have I mentioned lately that he’s due for a visit soon? Having a game set-up in my own home would be worth it just for the look on his face when he walks in! He has promised he’ll teach me Texas Hold ‘Em this trip, but wouldn’t he be surprised to see how seriously I took him? Executive Gaming Monthly sponsored this post with perfect timing!

Technorati Tags: games, poker, Texas Hold ‘Em, friends, family

March 29, 2007

Another little peek

I showed you a peek of something special a while back. It’s getting closer, so I thought today would be a good time to show a little more. Any guesses out there? Anyone have a clue what you’re peeking at?

Technorati Tags: art, puzzle

March 28, 2007

Christmas in March

My sister and I don’t have a whole lot in common. Our lives have followed very different paths and our characters reflect that. She has chosen to live in an area where we have a lot of family and finds it completely incomprehensible that I am happy living on an island many thousands of miles from “home.” She needs that support system while I value my independence. She’s had an internet connection since years before I owned my first computer, yet has no cyberfriends or even websites that she visits regularly. She’s perfectly content to turn her computer off at the end of each work day. We both enjoy working on our homes, but she limits her hands-on participation to fabric and paint, while I have been known to tear out leaking showers, install new fixtures and work shoulder-to-shoulder with the crew that built my addition. Our values and morals are parallel, though I’ve strayed off the path more than a few times in my life and I suspect she never has. She’s light and I’m dark. She has always been “the pretty one,” while I’m the one folks turn to in a crisis. The list of our differences is long, but there’s one trait that has dogged us both throughout our lives. We procrastinate. That was what got me into such trecherous financial waters a while back - I kept “meaning to” organize my documents, balance my checkbook and find out exactly how much money I actually had. She’s also been in various difficlties bacause of the same bad habit. We’ve come to accept this in each other, especially at gift-giving time. She still hasn’t got last year’s Christmas gifts from me. I had a valid reason in December, but my refinace went through over a month ago and I still haven’t finished shopping and sent her gifts. She’s one up on me, because her Chtistmas gift box to me arrived today.

We’re both pretty big on humorous gifts and things that make you go “huh?” but I was unprepared for a package that began to talk to me when I lifted it out of the box. It said “Did you have a hard day, darling? Why don’t you sit down and let me rub your feet” in a gravel-y, masculine voice. My new fella didn’t come with a name attached, though I think “Mr. Perfect” was probably what his creator had in mind. He doesn’t mind missing the ballgame and hands over the remote voluntarily. He wants to go shopping with me so he can carry the bags. I think I’ll call him Pat - for patronizing, stereotypical “dream man.” What every woman thinks she wants. Not exactly reality, of course, but I’ll keep him around for amusement, I think.

Pat is surrounded in the photo above by Sis’s other gifts. From left rear they are: a 16-month “Islands” calendar, a Christmas rubber duckie (for my collection,) a kaleidoscope (another collection) and a punched-tin shopping bag/candle holder. She also included some photos of me in years past , apparently ripped out of a scrapbook. I don’t remember ever seeing these particular photos before, so she probably took them herself and never though to share them until now. I think they’re about twenty-five years old. They were obviously taken before time, smoking and the tropical sun turned my face to leather. Not sure why she chose to take them out of her scrapbook and send them to me. I guess I don’t want to think too deeply about whether this represents removing me from her life or sharing something she thought I might enjoy. I think I’ll just accept that it’s the latter.

Technorati Tags: siblings, family, chiristmas, gag gifts, humor

Woe is me!

Two of my new blogs are up. Kinda, sorta up. I’m having a terrible time uploading templates to WP. The default template for my photo blog is corrupted. I’m not sure if it was a bad download or if I did something to it myself. I haven’t edited it at all, so I don’t think it’s even possible that it’s something I did. The editing tabs are messed up and it won’t let me upload pictures. Actually, it uploads fine. Lots of boxes with little red X’s in them. Not so cool for a photo blog. I’ve got some help lined up from some experienced bloggers, but it’s almost one in the morning in Hawaii, which means it’s very late where most of them live. They’re pretty cool folks though, so I’m sure they’ll help me fix things tomorrow. That’s assuming, of course, that I haven’t created some horrendous, uncurable technical glitch that will keep both blogs forever captive. Does anyone know if that’s possibe, because, well, if it is I would be the one who could do it.

Maybe things will look better after a good night’s rest.

Technorati Tags: blogs, blogging, software

March 27, 2007

Pretty bells and whistles!

I spent much of the weekend working on getting my new niche blogs in shape so I can introduce them to the world. Each has a specific focus, unlike Skeet’s Stuff where I blog about anything and everything. They won’t be lovely to look at when I first bring them out. I’ve selected a very simple template that I think I will use for all of them. I had certain criteria that I wanted to meet: left and right sidebars so I can list lots of goodies without making the page too long or cluttered, broad center panel that keeps the focus on content, unobtrusive banner. My designer ran into some problems and hasn’t done my cutom template yet, but laying out the new places this way should make it pretty easy to switch over when she’s ready.

Something else I want is ease of navigation. I’ve been visiting a lot of blogs lately, looking at design concepts and features. Some work well for me, some don’t. One thing that I don’t ever want on my blog is confusion from my readers when they are trying to find something. I was really happy this morning to find Vista Icons, who have a whole slew of brilliant, high quality icons that can make my new sites more attractive and serve as nav buttons. As a for instance, I’m thinking about installing a chef’s icon on the sidebar here at my home place to make it easier for you to find the recipes and food products I’ve talked about. Maybe I could install a camera icon that will link you to all of the posts with photos. Much more attractive and appealing than going through a list of catagories, don’t you think?

Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much!) to Vista Icons for sponsoring this post and showing me an affordable way to add function and class to my blogs!

Technorati Tags: blogging, blogs, icons, payperpost

March 26, 2007

Not quite Gilligan’s Isle

My friend Ami has paid me a compliment - I think. She has informed the world that if she were ever stranded on a deserted island for a year, she’d want me with her. The poor woman is a little off in her reasoning:

“3. Skeet already lives on an island so surely she’d know what sort of things to do. Plus the whole resourceful and wise bit.”

Okay, first of all, Oahu is not exactly deserted or without resources, luxuries even. My island experience has certainly equipped me for survival - in malls and traffic and the hustle and bustle of Waikiki tourist-madness. I suppose those survival skills count for something, hm? But the “whole resourceful and wise bit?” Well, see, Ami and I are new friends and the poor deluded thing doesn’t know me all that well just yet, bless her heart. I hope she picked her other island companions better, because we’re going to need them.

That being said, it’s now my turn to find five resourceful survivalists to give me a hand if I ever get stranded on a deserted island for a year and get to choose companions before the plane crashes or the ship sinks. What five bloggers would I want on my little island?

1. Cass - If anyone knows how to function in a crisis, it’s our Cass. The woman has eight kids and a dozen or so blogs, yet still finds time to have a life. Whatever arises, Cass has handled it before and can handle it again.

2. Tricia - Yet another friend who juggles multiple blogs. She gardens. She can grow the veggies and I’ll tend the herbs! She loves House and can recite each episode for me in our year of solitude so I won’t fall out of love with Hugh Laurie.

3. Ann - The woman rasies all kinds of growing things, including vegetables and goats, grinds her own grains and knows everything about preserving food. Oh, and in keeping with today’s theme, she’s got - how many, Ann? - six or eight blogs? Yep, gotta have her!

4. Karen - I don’t know Karen as well as I do the gals above, but she’s so nice I thought we could let her be our social director. How many blogs do you have Karen?

5 Cara - I think she has seven blogs. She can correct me if I’m wrong there. She’s a very classy girl, heavy on the pop culture please, and knows everything there is to know about books, poetry, music, film, philosophy, genealogy, games, writing, theoretical physics, the meaning of life and Battlestar Galactica. She’ll be the one who helps us keep our brains from turning into jelly.

So, there’s my little band of castaways. Wonder who they’d choose - besides me, of course, since I’m so resourceful and wise. And, just so everyone understands, we’ll all have solar-powered laptops with coconut-wireless connections so that we can maintain our blogs. We can’t be expected to completely give up our lives, can we?

Is Google updating?

We (all of the posties) think so, because established page rank numbers are bouncing up and down the scale. Very nerve-racking when one needs a certain PR in order to monetize a blog. So we’re all scrambling around to get new links in and out, installing search tools that tell Alexa we’re alive and pretty much standing on our heads to do whatever is necessary to get that all-important PR. I’ve decided today that my PR will be whatever my blog is worth. Yes, I’ll keep doing the right things, but I’m going to quit stressing and worrying. If Google is unkind this time around, so be it. My domain is, after all, brand new. I’ll continue to blog, hopefully with quality content that some folks want to read from time to time and, if Google finds me unworthy this time, well, that won’t be the end of the world, will it?

But, just in case … here’s the number that Bloglines says I should put into post so that they can track my blog and perhaps someday, someway, contribute to my worthiness. Are you happy, Bloglines? Do I exist to you now? We’ll see.

Technorati Tags: blogs, blogging, page rank, Alexa, Bloglines, Google

Showing our support

Military presence is very strong on the island of Oahu, so I’m reminded daily that it’s my neighbors and their sons and daughters who are serving for us today in Iraq and other hotspots. One neighbor told me last week that he expects his reserve unit to be sent over again. It’ll be hard on his two boys and his wife, but they’re a military family and proud of his service. The boys are industrious, always looking for odd jobs and I’ve hired them in the past for yardwork and to wash my car. Most of us here, whatever our feeling about the war, do our best to let the troops know that we care and we support them. I see a lot of flags on homes that didn’t fly them in the past. Most of the homes I inspect have some symbol of support, whether a flag out front or psoters onthe walls. I’ve lost one of my car magnets and need to replace it soon. Patriotic Posters.US carrries those, and I think I might order some from them, along with some posters for my friend/s sons. There are also fridge magnets art prints and posters of national monuments and landmarks. Pretty cool place tha tyou should check out, and not just because they sponsored this post. I really like the variety of items they carry.

For those with a … um … lustier sense of patriotism, they also carry some pretty sexy posters of hot chicks in star-spangled swimwear. I’m pretty sure I can guess which of my readers would like those!

Technorati Tags: patriotism, posters, swimsuit models, payperpost

March 24, 2007

Kamau

kamau. 1.vt. To keep on, continue, persevere, last, add a little more. Hawaiian Dictionary, Revised and Enlarged Edition. Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel H. Elbert.

I’ve been going to Kumu Kahua Theatre for four or five years now. I try not to miss any of their productions. Past experience has taught me that I should stuff my purse with tissue before going. The current production, Kamau, is a real tearjerker. It focuses on Alika, a Hawaiian man who works on tour buses. The show opens with him giving his spiel as if the theatre audience were beginning a tour. “Aaaaalooooooooooooohaaaaaaaaaaa” he shouts, oozing commercial enthusiasm from his voice and his face-stretching smile. That’s guaranteed to grate on anyone who lives here. We hear it every time we take visitors to any tourist-oriented show or event. The audience is expected to respond in kind, and, as happened Sunday, is bombarded with the tacky greeting again and again until the instigator feels that it has been returned with enough gusto. For those who don’t understand, aloha as a greeting is full of warmth and genuine welcome. Like the much-repeated advisement that Eskimos have a zillion words for snow, Hawaiians have many meanings for the word aloha, but this is the one that is most abused. Thus the audience is set up to recognize that this proud and handsome Hawaiian man is sacrificing a bit of his spirit each time he greets a busload of tourists.

Alika lives in a shabby house that has been home to several generations of his family. His job with the tour company helps support his extended family, his ohana, consisting of his cousin Michael, his cousin George’s daughter, Stevie, and Stevie’s mother Lisa. His cousin George, feeling overwhelmed by his impending fatherhood, had committed suicide before his daughter Stevie was born, prior to the time when the play is taking place. In the Hawaiian tradition, Alika feels great responsibility for his ohana. He drinks, too much and too often. During his drunken reveries, he speaks with his departed mother, who offers him great wisdom which he is not always willing to hear.

As the story beings, Alika is advised by his supervisor that the tour company has been sold, but that his job is secure. He’ll have a higher-paying job in the new hotel that his new bosses are building, and he’ll be given a rent subsidy for an apartment. This is necessary because the hotel is to be built where Alika’s home now stands. The unspoiled beachfront that his family has always called home is being taken away because they have never owned title to the land itself. This is a common dilemma in Hawaii, where many homes are built on land that the homeowners can never hope to buy. The news devastates Alika and is equally unsettling to Michael, who fishes with traditional, handmade Hawaiian nets in the waters near their front door. Michael’s reaction is violent and self-destructive, while Alika feels the entire burden falling on his own shoulders.

There are no easy answers to the problems highlighted in Kamau. The play makes no attempt to put a bandaid on the sore spot or brush it away as the inevitable price of progress. What is does do, and do very well, is to illustrate the magnitude of the problem, not just the loss of place, but the destruction of traditional lifestyle and the forced abandoment of culture. I’m not sure I ever fully understood the term “white man’s burden” when I lived in the South. I’m better acquainted with it now, as I am confronted daily with the price that the Kanaka, the Hawaiian people, have paid and continue to pay, for the arrogant actions of the missionaries and businessmen who gave them destruction and prosperitity in one untidy package. Funny, isn’t it, how the prosperity part of that gift has yet to trickle down to the rightful possessors of this land of aloha.

I want to see this play again. It only ran for ninety minutes, with no intermission, but the story was so intense that I feel that I missed some of it. I’m sure that I missed a few lines when my crying suddenly accelerated into sobs. I’ll need to remember to bring tissue next time. Enough for myself and those near me, because there just weren’t enough in the entire audience last time.

Kumu Kahua Theatre receives grants and contributions from numerous sources, but, like most community theatres, could always use more support. They put on plays and workshops, subsidize playwrights and support the theatre community.There is so much more that they could do, had they the money available. I’ve never known of them asking for contributions outside of Hawaii, though I suppose it’s possible they do. I don’t know if they’ve ever sold their tee shirts online, but I bet they could. They come in a multitude of colors and the usual sizes. You’ll find contact information on the Kumu Kahua site. Why don’t you ask them? Or you could just put a check in the mail. I’m pretty sure they’d appreciate that.

Technorati Tags: ”Kumu Kahua Theatre”, Hawaii, “life in Hawaii”, theater, charity