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An Autumn Day at the Beach

 

Our Spanish Group is spending the day with Javier and Claudia who are moving back to the mainland in a few weeks, and what an absolutely beautiful day it is!  After a cold, windy night, the sky breaks clear and crisp this November morning.  The nearly 2 hour drive to Kohala's MaunaKea Beach is rewarded with cool breezes, and an almost empty stretch of sand.  From us, the turquiose waters stretch into the distance with the top of Haleakala visible on the horizon.

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A Cool Shirt!!

Those of you who know me well, know that I am partial to boldly patterned shirts and ties.  Now here's a shirt I really like...it's not really loud or bright at all, but has an interesting black on black design!  Found it on a KMart rack a few weeks ago and have been getting mixed responses.  The majority like it while a few think it's a bit girly with the velvet flowers and all.  What says you? 

A Night in Marrakesh

 

Okay,  not really only Marrakesh but Beirut, Cairo, Istanbul, Kuwait...etc.  Sort of a Middle Eastern-Arabia theme for a get together with the servant body, their families and the C.O. and wife who are visiting us this week.  Put in some pink light bulbs, lit some incense, cranked up my Now Dance Arabia CDs, plunked on a Pakastani Tufi and there!  Chicken Shawarma was the main course along with tabbouli salad and falafel, mezzes of almonds, dolmeh, pita chips and hummus and mint tea along with dessert.  More pictures soon! 

PHOTO SET

"Tengo 35 años, hermano"- versus.- "Ad da'an nak iti 35 ata wenen kabsat"

Both English Circuits and the Spanish congregation and group on Hawaii Island are meeting this weekend for our Special Assembly Day.  I have an interview and a few lines for a demo for the English program and have been asked to help with simultaneous translation into Spanish which is cool.  On Saturday, I'm supposed to be doing the same English interview for the Iloko Assembly which was cool too...until I was told last night at rehearsal that they wanted me to attempt at least some of it in Ilocano.  Now, contrary to popular local belief, and as you can see from the title of this post (and this is a big pet-peeve of mine...I almost get violent over this one, people!) : Ilocano is NOT "the same" as Spanish  (although there are some loan words like the days of the week and numerals). 

Iloko/Ilocano (which I don't speak at all) is an Austronesian language related to Indonesian and Malay, while Spanish (which I do alright in) is a Latin language related to French, Portuguese and Italian.   In other words, the interview on Saturday will not be as easy for me as some people might think.  I'm basically going to have someone (Thanks, Gemma and Rina!) translate my answers orally, write down what I hear phonetically and read it straight off the paper.  I'm still looking forward to it, though.  Hope I can fake it.  PS: Seeing the audience's initial reaction to hearing me in Ilocano when they were expecting English, was priceless.  What a great group!

Over the Saddle to Kona

I head over to Kona today to give the public talk.  Kona's Spanish meeting begins at 9am which means we leave Hilo a little after six am.  We take the cross-island Saddle Road (which is nearly paved all the way).  It is rainy and foggy but as soon as we clear the summit, the sun bursts through and rewards us with a spendid view of the island's interior.

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Birds and Blooms

Meet the inhabitants of the Casita

AMIC

 OMELETTE

BOOMERANG

 

 

Aristolochia gigantea in bloom this weekend. 

Dinner at Miyos

Tonight is Robin's last night in Hawaii and so what better way to celebrate a month in Hawaii than to eat at a Japanese restaurant.  Huh?  Ahhh, but MIYOs is a favorite with the locals and overlooks the beautiful Wailoa River. 

Akira decides to serenade us first down by the duck pond:

 

Gladis, Willy and Robin look like they are headed to a luau and Akira is showing off some nicely tanned legs....so what in the world am I doing in a black sweater and jeans?  Don't know.  You tell me.

 

Robin gets the hang of chopsticks

 

Akira is skinny...where does he put it?  Yes, he finished his plate AND graciously finishd Robin's too!

   

After taking a swig of water, I felt something in my mouth.......guess what it was?!

 

Akira, me, Robin, Willy and Gladis

 

I'm soooo stoked!!

Dude! Have you seen my undatus? I, the plant freak, got home around 10pm this evening to find my night-blooming cactus in bloom.  It's the first time I've been outside at night at the right place at the right time.  Happy dance!

Hylocereus undatus  

(Haworth) Britton & Rose

 

 

2009 Pioneer Service School Lunch

This year's Pioneer Service School is held at our Kingdom Hall and our congregation has the privelege to provide the class with lunch on the final day.  We decide on something special and put together an Italian-themed lunchon in the lobby.  Thanks to all the hard working brothers and sisters who decorated the tables, put together the gift baskets and prepared the food.  And thank you to Abby for these photos. 

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Lose a Tree, Gain a Rash

Thanks to Catanny and Justin who helped us cut down a large Norfolk Pine tree near the Casita.  Falling branches and pinecones had been crashing down on the roof and threatening to demolish the entire structure (or worse yet, someone's car or head!).  Getting the rented boom from Home Depot up and down the narrow driveway was adventure enough, as was the 20 foot piece of tree that came down through the roof! Well, here we are a week later and there are still 3 things that remind us of the tree:

1) the stump: soon to be buried under the newly planned vegetable garden

2) the missing roof panels and disorder in the Casita: soon to be repaired

and most painful of all:

3) an allergic rash from the sap of the monstera/philodendron plants which were entwined in the pine.  Oh yes, I had forgotten that the sap is toxic and causes severe contact dermatitis, ie chemical burns to the skin which blister and bubble and itch so bad you scratch until you bleed. I know, yum.  For those of you who want more than a mental image of Justin's and my rashes, here you go:

For those of you who didn't want more than a mental image......oops, too late.