Sending aloha in a shoe box

Calden Kaeo and Kea Aiona from Kamahameha School's Keaau Campus do some back to school shopping.


Kids on the Big Island are learning something surprising about back-to-school shopping—it is not just a time to fill their book bags and closets, it is also a great opportunity to fill shoe boxes to help children in need around the world.

It may seem like an unusual addition to the annual back-to-school shopping spree, but through Operation Christmas Child families can make a real difference to a child in need by simply keeping the box from their new school shoes and filling it with small gifts. Operation Christmas Child plans to hand-deliver shoe box gifts to more than 8 million struggling children in 100 countries this year. An effort that massive means the project needs the help of Big Island families, not only during the holidays, but also right now.When Back-to-School shopping remember that just a pencil, and a notebook could mean a child in need can attend school this year. Such a small gift can make a big difference!.

Operation Christmas Child, a project of international relief and evangelism organization Samaritan's Purse, headed by Franklin Graham, encourages volunteers to fill simple shoe boxes with toys, necessity items, school supplies, candy and hand-written notes of encouragement. The gifts are then shared with children worldwide who are suffering because of natural disaster, disease, war, terrorism, famine and poverty. For many of these children, the shoe box gift will be the first gift they have ever received, letting them know they are loved and not forgotten.Why now—months before the holiday season?Operation Christmas Child is not limited to just a few weeks a year. It is a year-round project, requiring months of organization and preparation to reach millions of kids around the world.

Here on the Big Island keiki and adults have been working with our local team to send aloha to hurting children all over the world!

How can I help? It's Simple!

PREPARE—Help enlist families, churches, scout troops, community groups and businesses to take advantage of back-to-school sales by collecting discounted school supplies for shoe box gifts.

PACK—Fill shoe boxes with school supplies, toys, necessity items, hard candy and a letter of encouragement.

Step-by-step shoe box packing instructions are available at www.samaritanspurse.org.For more information on how to participate in Operation Christmas Child, call Nell Quay (808)987-7373 or visit www.samaritanspurse.org. National Collection Week for gift-filled shoe boxes is Nov. 15-22; however, shoe box gifts are collected all year at the Samaritan's Purse headquarters in Boone, N.C.

Eat, Pray, Love

I have been reading "Eat,Pray,Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I think I need an agent.Are there any publishers out there who want me to write my memoirs? I might call it, "Eat, Pray, Aloha". First you may pay my way to Paris, Jerusalem, then back to Hawaii. My book will be truly tragic, less narcissistic, very dramatic, a tear jerker, filled with hope, good food, and enlightenment... I hear a croissant calling me...

Infinity

Infinity is written in the heavens, in the ocean, in a sea shell, a grain of sand, a single cell, in our hearts, yet we can get so trapped in the immediate gratification of the now, and miss what is true.

Ode to New York City

I just read an amazing article in National Geographic with the most amazing photos and artist renderings of New York before and after.

I have not been to New York since 1991. I still have photos of myself and classmates on the top floor of the Twin Towers, and in my scrapbook I kept my ticket stubs for my trip to the top of the building. New York City is an amazing city, with a fascinating history. Click on the link above to see the online version of the article complete with the computer generated artists rendering of what Manhattan looked like 200 and 400 years ago.

There hasn't been a beaver in New York for 200 years.
We hunted these buck toothed creatures for their soft fur. I wish I could have seen the towering Chestnuts,the mushroom cloud Oaks, and Hickory trees. The sandy beaches contained feasts of oysters and clams. The 17th century Dutch village had a lovely pond. Deer sipped the fresh water, and ducks played in the far edge while Sunfish swam and leaped. Now we have the Marriot Marquis Hotel on the corner of Broadway and West 46th St.
The streams, and hills, and swamps, the eels, and pickerel are gone. The pond is gone. It was polluted by a tannery, then was buried by a slum. Foley Square now lies there with it's grey cement, asphalt, silver towers, red brick, and "golden arches".
One tree remains there in Foley Square. It once was one of millions, and now exists as a remnant, a single specimen for a museum, for posterity, a single tree with roots far beneath the cement, down where there is still dirt, dirt that was there before trappers, before soldiers, and bankers, before hot dogs, bagels, and pasta, before Sicilian pizza, dollar bills, Gucci, and Times Square.

What I am hearing with my ears

i hear hysterical laughter
humming humming hum hum
Sufjan Stevens
singing singing singing
strum
i hear dancing feet,skipping,and running run
falling falling down
being too loud
wrestling, and jumping
making a sound
what was that sound?
redemption
violin
piano
the ground
hummmmming
tears,hysterical crying,sighing
i hear a joke
i hear smoke
i hear a frown
now a smile
i hear coldplay and a contradiction
a giggle
a trip
slam
7 pieces of beethoven
ingrid michaelson and a contraposition
i hear brother bob dylan
a son
a daughter
hummming
drumming
snapping
water

lists

photo by Sarah Ko

3 large pots
latch for gate
Blender
grain mill
pasta attachment
buckets
drum sticks
fencing
Island Rock Chickens
black paint
off white interior paint
bees wax
Fruit trees for every month of the year
avocado
black blouse
black jeans
black pants
black sandals
black shoes
red purse
sewing machine
masonry oven
aquaponic garden
honey house
goat shed
bees
goats
butterfly garden
camera

I like lists.
I have many lists.
So does she.

Flashback

1975 on the North Shore of Oahu.

That is me and my mom!

Happy New Year!

This single Gardenia bloomed out of season, so I had to take it's picture.Usually my Gardenia's bloom in Aug. and Sept.

Waipio Valley

The hike down the valley road on Tuesday was very hard on my legs, but the beautiful scenery made up for it. The kids had fun playing in the river,in the waves, and digging in the sand. The beach is a black sand beach. Because of the volcanic rock on our island we have quite a few of these. I sat in the sand next to one of the many streams that flow through the valley. The sand has green sparkling olivine in it that you might not notice unless you were as tired as I was. I sat staring at the green glittering sand, the silver stream, and a dark cherry colored wild horse eating water hyacinths on the edge of the water.His mane and tail were dark black, and he had a white star on his forehead. He slowly sauntered down the river until he was about 20 feet from me, and then he slipped into the water, and gracefully swam across to the other side. I guess the hyacinths were greener there? The boys carefully crossed the river, and ran down the deserted side of the beach to swim in the waves there. The hike back up was so easy for the kids. It was a little more difficult for me hmmm, and felt like I was hiking straight up a wall at times. I was glad we had a good breeze, and the clouds shading us overhead while we hiked. We had Kealani and Arah pushing us up the hills too:-)Thank you Sarah and Y.B. for the photos!

Another sunflower in my garden

This sunflower is bigger than my house.The bees are having fun today.Can you see them?

Did you?

The Carnival of Aloha!

Homespun Honolulu opens its 14th chapter of The Carnival of Aloha! Guess who is featured there?*Smile*

Homespun Honolulu is another blog about stuff, but specifically stuff(headline news,community events,politics,science and biology,arts and culture,food,etc) on the island of Oahu.

A blog about stuff....

Here is Kealani and yours truely at a lovely Purim party back in April.


I know there are about ten trillion blogs about stuff out there, and I know I don't have a chance in H E double hockey sticks of winning the BEST BLOG ABOUT STUFF award, but could you all vote for me anyway?? Thanks and mahalos.The end.

A Happy Feminist

I decided to write this because of a piece I read by Mom-101 about feminism. Her blog was very passionate, and well written. The term, “feminist” has become a dirty word that has us picturing a man hating, lesbian who has hairy legs and armpits. Mom-101 would like to take back the word feminist, and I would too.

Titus 2:4-5, says the women should be workers in the home. Titus is emphasizing how important the woman’s job in the home actually is.
I do not think this particular scripture isolates her to the home and to that one job only.
I believe that taking Titus 2:4-5 and isolating it apart from the rest of scripture is dangerous; just as dangerous as a woman who calls herself a “feminist” when she is actually a man-hater. One question I have; what do those who focus exclusively on Titus 2, do with the Proverbs 31 woman, Jael with her tent peg, and Deborah the prophet and judge? We should interpret scripture in the light of what the whole Bible says. Jesus even broke down cultural barriers that were anti-feminist. In John chapter 4 Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman at the well. At that time it was taboo for a man to speak to that kind of woman, much less a Jewish Rabbi. By speaking to her, Jesus tells the world that people are equal in Gods eyes.

Bible believing Christ followers should take into consideration ALL scripture when understanding the important truths of the Bible. The Proverbs 31 Woman is strong, and I believe she is the perfect picture of a true feminist. Her husband trusts her. She works with wool and flax, and leaves her home to find the best food for her family. She has servants, and she provides food for them too. I love this part the best: she goes out and purchases land, and she plants a vineyard. She wears fine clothing, and she is strong. She sells products and makes a good profit. She works late into the night: she reminds me of the title of a new book called “Sleep is for the Weak”.
Not only does she provide food for her family, and her servants, she also gives to the needy. She dresses her whole household in fine clothing of the best fabric. She sells clothing. Her house is decorated with the finest furnishings. She is strong and dignified, and she is so well prepared that she does not worry about tomorrow. Her family loves her.
The Proverbs 31Woman did not stay at home all day and moan because she was depressed, or because her husband was not providing for her; she was too busy providing for her whole household.

It is dangerous to make a woman believe the only thing she can do is stay at home and cook and clean. Here in the real world, we need to be ready for what could lie ahead. I know that it is better for the children if a parent is able to be home with them,but what does one of these women do when her husband starts beating her? I knew a woman who stayed with a man for 30 years who was beating her in the head and giving her black eyes because her church believed it is worse for her to divorce and become independent than for her to be injured. Don’t misunderstand me, I think divorce is terrible, and I hated it, but don’t misunderstand God. God loves us and does not want us to be harmed, and He gave us the job as moms to protect our children too. We should not do what the “church” or religion tells us, we should do what God tells us.

I am no Proverbs 31 Woman, but I find her chapter to be encouraging, not discouraging. I can work outside the home, inside the home, and don’t have to feel guilty. I can be a true feminist, and also be a Bible believing follower of Yeshua the Messiah. Are you a woman who likes to vote, own land, and have the choice to own a business or get a job? Would you like to be respected equally in the workplace, then you are a feminist. All men and women are created equal in Gods eyes.

I was raised, in a very subtle way, in a feminist (in the good sense of the word) home. I believe this is a large part of what saved me when I was in an abusive marriage. My family helped me escape the abuse, protect my kids, and get a job. My dad is the kindest, most hard working, wonderful dad, and always encourages me. My mom is Martha Stewart, what can I say?

I am now re-married to Andreas, a man from South Africa, and Cyprus.
I will tell the story of how we met here. When? I think soon. His mom is a feminist too. (In the good way) She irons underwear, creates lovely pottery, crochets afghans, cooks mean Greek food, Dutch apple pies, and can manage a Supermarket with both hands tied behind her back!

Petropoullakis

Here we are in Cyprus, in the Troodos Mountains.
I have known this man for more than 6 years. I have been married to him for more than 5.
I only found out 2 months ago that the last name that I have, because of him, actually has an extra L because he didn't want Arnold Schwarzenegger to have a longer last name.
Me: Are you kidding?
Andreas: No.
Me:YOU ACTUALLY MADE OUR NAME LONGER THAN IT ALREADY IS ON PURPOSE??!
Andreas:Yes.
Me:Tell me you are kidding.
Andreas: No, I am not joking.
Me: Who are you?
Andreas: *laughter*