Island News

A winter holiday on Oahu could not come any quicker with our brutal rainy Seattle. I have arrived and am happy to be on island time. Since I lived on the island in the early 70’s, I find it comforting being on this tropical paradise.

I can tell you my time in Hawaii is always a favorite and try to visit annually. This year I toured the Iolani Palace for the first time. It was everything I thought it would be and highly recommend it with a tour guide.

In a majority of the 1900’s, the palace was utilized by state government for office space. It was practically ruined. Also, the original Hawaii 5-0 show shot scenes inside. Police Chief Steve McGarret’s office was the King’s bedroom.

In 1978 the palace was dedicated and opened for tourism. Here are a few shots to entice you to come see it. It was like walking through Europe’s fine castles. Much influence can be seen from the Victorian Era.

Read where this chair was found!

Whose Approval Do You Desire?

A kiss from my autistic son

 
Do not ask my son for approval. People stare at him sniffing my hair and he could care less.  The acceptance of God in our lives is not dependent on humans.   

Sitting at church today,  it struck me how critical humanity can be towards each other. I watched an elderly man act out.  He disgreed about some dialogue. I sat quiet. How many times had I opened my mouth? How about thinking it, but not speaking it?  Words spoken or not can divide. 

I travel a lot.  Getting out of my comfort zone brings me to different cultures and diversity. I enjoy meeting new people. Communication is key.  I find a smile is most inviting.  It is the best kind of approval. Maybe. I am happy.

I think upon myself and wonder how hedonistic I may be. That deep seeded place thinking only about being happy as my greatest approval factor.   Can you relate?

Hiking the Issaquah Alps!

Do I need to look to the skys for my answer? Yes, and I also know my approval rating needs to be more like how my son looks at being accepted. It is with no thought of what others might think. 

Let it go.  Close my eyes and sniff away like my Luke!  There will I find peace in God. 
  

Outsmarting Getting Old

Lately I have been experiencing a bad round of chronic pain that is not well controlled with my regular medications. It is frustrating to live with this. I have been to more doctors lately, but I leave their offices more depressed. Doctors give too many pills as the answer.

I have a goal with all my physical issues and it is to maintain my happiness despite my pain.  One other important aspect for me is to continually look  for current modalities in overcoming my discomfort.  The other option is finding a distraction  to get through the ongoing pain. Perhaps a distraction is being with your partner enjoying each other. This distraction can come from friends too.

The development in some circles in medicine is to ID more precise medicine treatments. This can be done by studying one’s individual genetics. This tool is the future. What do some of you think? I believe potential breakthroughs are around the corner.   Now that puts a smile on my face.

Smelling The Roses For Her

“This is heavy…” He was right.  

“Yeah.”  The flowers helped me concentrate on something else. Her death was heavy.  His perspective was ..”death is final. That’s it.”  I didn’t see it that way.   

The curtains to the “other” side was torn down for her.  Windows were opened when she took her last breath. My view is my friend’s death was a setting free. Not an end, but a new beginning. 

There is no forgetting her. Family will not. Nor will friends. Nature will keep her alive in my mind.  My concentration is on God’s natural beauty while I remember. Released from the earthly pain, I catch my breath.

Today is all I have and will make it count.  Ready for a day for God to show me the sun as I walk and smell the roses for her. 
 

Traveling and Blogging

Parked outside of the Casa Monica was a beautiful car of yesteryear.

Travel blogging can be full of surprises.  Readers, my recent trip to St. Augustine, Florida was a vacation spot you do not want to miss.  It was quite a special experience seeing the oldest European city in the United States.  I thought it would be fun to begin a blogging series of random photos and share of few interesting facts along the way.

Captured By Your Presence

Dedicated To My Sons:

In a yearning desire to bring my happy and sentimental past to life again, my family traveled with me to my childhood world of Hawaii for my 50th birthday. Such nostalgia is easily brought back to my inner being as my sons experienced my old life. They too were “plunged” into instant gratification of a world they may have never known if not for my insistence to vacation there.

It is with wonder bringing dreams come true for me to be with my kids in Hawaii. Living in Hawaii for four years as a young person with my own parents was the epitome of pure joy. How can you describe something to someone else unless they experienced it themselves?

Immersing my life’s past to my children’s’ present time in Hawaii makes for a true experience now merged forever.

Showing a whole new world to them is like painting on canvas. The artist’s strokes begin with a lone girl enjoying the sand on the beach. As the artist’s rendition begins to evolve, two other figures are captured in the drawing. They are my own boys on each side of me laughing with love that comes through with each stroke of the artist’s handiwork.

This life can only get better as merging a past with its present brings on amazing memories into the future.

Bloggers And Their Words

Writing Tip: Be comfortable blogger while you writing.

The blogging world is like going to the movies. Some blogs are masterpieces. Others are full of such intelligent writing they bring pure joy. Occasionally there may be the dud. However my heart can be so glad for the reading experience dud or not because I am alive and learning.
Bloggers and their words can be absorbing. What does it take to be such a great blogger? Blogger if you are serious the first step is to stay in the game. Allow yourself to be taken away in your writing to make your dreams of authorship become reality. Make your writing a part of you so it becomes a memory forever that you have.
Bloggers and their words are important. The audience should not be taken for granted. Never is it good for writing to be like nails on a chalkboard. Perhaps that means in the seclusion of your home while you are writing, a newness and a freshness must be envisioned. Do not be afraid to share your heart. Opening yourself and telling your experiences is cathartic and possibly may be exactly what your reader needs. Bloggers and their words are powerful.

Men Part II

My youngest son having fun with my post op ace wrap after surgery.

My youngest son sharing the love!

Elijah and Linus!

Your blogger and her family thinking in the rain about my next blog post!

It is once again time to bring up some “men” issues. It was not so long ago, men were my topic as duly noted here https://alesiablogs.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/men/ and believe me this woman made note of her men problems. Today is yet another time to bring the subject up. Here are my 5 tips to living with men:
1. Just let them have the damn remote control.
2. Make a specialty wall just for their baseball caps.
3. Let farting techniques become a contest in the home.
4. Give everyone their space ( this comes in handy during farting contests).
5. Let them know they are loved all the time.
Today was a “softie” list as I look at my family and can not believe the miracle I see in my home. My house would just be empty without the sound of my men.

Death Becomes You

Photo I took from one of the oldest cemeterys in America in NYC’s St. Paul’s Churchyard.

Today I went to a cemetery to photograph some stones for family members that did not live in Washington State. It is a volunteer program I became involved with to assist those that can not take the photography themselves. On this particular day, I was having trouble finding a plot. There was a woman alone near me and as we began to talk, she started helping me search for the grave site.
After a few minutes I found who I was looking for and took the pictures I needed to take. After I was done, I began to talk with this woman. I realized a sadness in her face as I asked her if she was there visiting with someone. She said, “Yes, my husband. He committed suicide.” I said, “I am so sorry to hear this. When did he do that?” She replied, “In 2010.” It was at this point we began sharing back and forward about life and death situations. It was as if she was saying death was the best choice he saw for himself.
It was interesting having this chance meeting with her. I do not even know her name, but she did take me to her husband’s burial site. I paid my respects with her. This nicely dressed lady was from Korea and shared with me that he was depressed before he killed himself and had lost much of his business. He was a highly respected businessman and it sounded from her he had lost everything. She had begun to go to work at a department store to bring in some money.
As I took my time with her, we spoke of Korean traditions and how the husband’s role is so important in that culture. She spoke of going to work and what this might have felt like for her husband. You could see the sadness in her eyes as she discussed this with me and the clash of current culture with the culture and traditions of her home country. She shared that her home may be lost soon to foreclosure and she wondered about moving back to Korea. She now has grandchildren here that make her so happy. I offered her the only advice I knew when she told me she is now an American citizen, “Stay in America and be with your grandchildren no matter if you lose your house. They sound so lovely for you.” We smiled and said our goodbyes. I offered to take a photo of her husband’s grave site and email it to her. She was so happy for me to do that. I hope in some way it helps her.

MEN!

A photo I took a few years back of my husband and son number 2 which proves my unspoken theory MEN never grow up.

After a serious blog post yesterday, it is back to my usual rantings and this one is about MEN:
I live with my husband, two sons, and a boy dog. My sons and dog are teenagers. Seriously they are 19, 15, and 13 years old. I have not lived with a woman in almost 30 years. Therefore, my childhood did not prepare me for the onslaught of manliness. I grew up with only a sister. Now she was a force to be reckoned with, but she pales in consideration of the enormous amount of testosterone that has invaded every room in my home. For example, there seems to be an aversion to bathroom and kitchen etiquette. So simple a task is all I ask of them. My female mind can not wrap itself around the fact that anyone would not think about the other person coming after them:
Should I go on? The other amazing thing about my husband and sons are that they are all 5 foot 7 inches! However, their asses are of all variety of sizes. Hence , my dilemma in sorting out their underwear. Putting the appropriate ones with the assigned dresser drawer can be daunting! How dare they even bug me when they do not have the right ones and have to look in another’s drawers? Well I guess you can call that the punishment I have rendered upon them for the naked toilet and paper towel holders!
The latest craze that I am getting miffed about is that no male species in our home wants to flush the toilet. I just have one question for you guys out there? Is there some kind of water shortage that I am not privy too? In all honesty, I love them all with every ounce of energy I have left in me that is after cleaning up after them!