Back from Hawaii...

Spent the last week visiting our son and his wife on Oahu.

This was the first day on the beach in Kailua:

Last night in Hawaii at a Luau:

DH and I at Luau (night pics)

In between we had a fabulous time visiting all the lava beaches and little coves around the east coast where they live. 

We also visited the north shore, Pearl Harbor, and saw where Jurassic Park, Gilligan's Island, and Lost were filmed. Visited a macadamia farm...

at Macadamia Nut Farm

and a Chocolate Factory. Did you know that Hawaii is the only place in the US that can grow cocao beans? They only grow within 10-20 degrees from the equator - so it's South America, Africa, and Hawaii. Isn't that interesting? They explained everything on the tour from the growing of the trees, harvesting and roasting the beans, to making the chocolate. And they had a tasting bar!!

 Loved the lava beaches and tide pools...

daughter-in-law and I

son and I

Especially loved having coffee on the beach in the morning...

DH of course loved visiting Pearl Harbor and seeing the battleships and submarines...  He was fascinated with the ship itself and the history - while I was most moved at the pictures on the wall of all those young men who died. They were so young.

The Kiss

And lastly...

This is me thinking about using the scooter to explore the island... of course I didn't do it.  Didn't need to... my son and his wife took us everywhere. We could have stayed longer and spread it out, but to be honest, I don't think we missed anything. We weren't interested in seeing Waikiki - too crowded. Enjoyed Kailua where they live. It's separated from Honolulu by the Koolau mountain range.

If you know Oahu, Hawaii... you may recognize some of these places. We visited:

Kailua beach
Bellows beach
Waimanalo Bay
Hawaii Kai-mal
Sandy beach
Makapuu beach
Blowholes lookout
Pearl Harbor
Heeia Park
Macadamia Nut Farm
The Ranch (Jurassic Park)
Turtle Bay Resort
Polynesian cultural center
Tide pools
Ka Moana Luau
Chocolate Factory

... all in one week (minus 2 days of flying)! I had my daughter-in-law write them down for me as I would never remember or know how to pronounce them.

It was the trip of a lifetime for us... and what happened at the Luau is a whole nother' story (which I may tell at another time). 

(I hope the pictures are not too large - but the scenery is just too gorgeous to see small and didn't know if everyone could enlarge them.)

Have a great weekend... and as always thanks for reading. If I could, I would share some of these wonderful macadamia nut products we brought home with us. And I learned that although I don't care for canned pineapple - I loved the fresh Hawaiian pineapple served everywhere!

Hugs,
Rian

Now I have to spend the weekend catching up on all the blog reading I missed...

Poem posted by my computer...

Around the Corner

by Henson Towne

Around the corner I have 

a friend,

In this great city that has

 no end.

Yet days go by and weeks 

rush on,

And before I know it,

 a year is gone.

And I never see my 

old friend's face, 

For life is a swift and 

terrible race.

He knows I like him 

just as well, 

As in the days when 

I rang his bell.

And he rang mine. We were 

younger then -

And now we are busy, 

tired men-

Tired with playing a 

foolish game,

Tired with trying to 

make a name.

"Tomorrow" I say "I will 

call on Jim,

Just to show that I'm 

thinking of him."

But tomorrow comes, 

and tomorrow goes,

And the distance between us 

grows and grows.

Around the corner! 

Yet miles away...

"Here's a telegram, sir"

"Jim died today."

And that's what we get - 

and deserve in the end -

Around the corner,

 a vanished friend.

This poem never fails to move me.  So sad, but so true for so many.  Thank goodness at least for email and texting these days. Although not the same as face to face, it does make it easier to stay in touch.

Have a wonderful Sunday! If possible - get in touch with someone you miss today or just make someone smile...

Hugs,

Rian

ice-cream anyone?

Tom at Sightings over Sixty was talking about the love of ice-cream not long ago. From his post as well as the comments, it made me realize (not for the first time) how much alike we all are . Very few people (but of course there must be some) either don't like ice-cream or possibly can't eat it for various reasons. Such a shame.

Even though it is not my very favorite dessert in the world, I do enjoy it on occasion. As I mentioned in my comment on Tom's blog - fresh home-made peach is my all time favorite. But DJan of  Eye on the Edge mentioned that hers was Cappuccino chocolate chip.  This brought back memories - as DH and I discovered Cappuccino Chocolate Chip while on vacation in Maine quite a few years ago. It was delicious!

But last summer Blue Bell came out with "Happy Tracks" - an ice-cream that had both peanut butter and dark chocolate chunks in it. We were in heaven... and with our grandson living here with us (and also a chocolate and peanut butter lover), we couldn't keep it in the freezer for long.  It would disappear pretty quickly. For whatever reason, it has not come back on the shelf at our grocery stores this year. Yes, we have looked.

And one other ice-cream product that does 'call' to me... are Dove Bars! I love the dark chocolate coating and the creamy vanilla inside. I only let myself buy these in August when the weather is so hot here in Texas that any indulgent is OK to cool off (at least that is what I tell myself). And DH has been known to surprise me and stock the refrigerator with them when or if I need a boost... (like after having a bad day or week - which happens to the best of us on occasion).

So... with the dog days of summer here at last (we're at triple digits these days), ice-cream sounds like a good idea. 

Now growing up in New Orleans where the summers are very hot and humid, we had snow ball stands everywhere! I do miss those. And for those who might think these are the same as snow cones, they're not! Snow balls are a cone full of wonderfully soft crushed ice filled with whatever delectable syrup you asked to be put on top. My favorites as a child were always nectar and cream or chocolate and cream. Is anybody out there familiar with snowballs?

I still try to get a snowball in New Orleans whenever I'm home visiting family.

Well, I hope you had a wonderful week-end... and again... as always, thanks for visiting.  Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a Dove Bar today!

Hugs,
Rian

the sweetest thing...

Gizmo

Oldest grand daughter (17)  found this little kitten at a gas station last week.  My daughter sent me this pic of them both napping. 

More pics...

the sweetest thing

I think he's found a home... what do you think?

Other news on the horizon:

First - Thanks to all of you who shared my joy with the publishing of my book, "Time After Time"!  It's a good feeling to scratch something off my very small bucket list. But at the ripe old age of 74, time was running short. 

On that same 'time was/is running short' theme... I will mention here also that I've been very concerned that my 'radiation' cough has gotten worse lately. Now I cough so much in the morning and sometimes after I eat or drink - that I choke and my eyes water and nose runs. Also I cough up very thick mucus. And when this happens, my nasal airway closes up and I have to breathe through my mouth. The episode doesn't last too long, but it's worrisome (and I hope I didn't gross you out too much). 

I know some of the reasons this could be happening. And of course one of them is that my Breast Cancer could have metastasized to my lungs.  This was my worst fear.  However, this worry was put aside yesterday when I went for my annual Oncololgist's appointment. He both listened to my lungs and x-rayed them. Said that they were clear - no problem there. Thank goodness! What a relief!

However, he mentioned that other things that could cause these symptoms were reflux, asthma, and aspiration... and wants me to have a breathing/swallowing test run in the near future. I will do this, but probably not until September. We hope to visit our son in Hawaii in a few weeks... and that's the priority on my agenda now. 

If anyone out there is even halfway familiar with these symptoms (which I have put off as due to 'old age' for a long time), I would appreciate your input. 

But now I have another reason to celebrate besides the book being published! My worst fear hasn't come to pass.

Hugs,

Rian

Share the joy?

Just click on the picture and it will take you to the book !

Hi, this is an exciting day for me as I'm ordering my first batch of  'author copies' of my book from Amazon.  I imagine you didn't even know that I had a book published... and why would you? I've used a Penn name (D'Arcy Regan Hart) and have avoided self-publishing for a long time. But a dear friend enjoyed my story and encouraged me to publish it. So I thought... OK, why not?  

It's called "Time After Time" and is a story told in 3 parts... about a woman in her 60's who has recently became widowed. I myself am not widowed, but have enough friends and relatives these days that are... that somehow this story unfolded in my head. It is not the great American novel, nor was it intended to be.

It is simply a story about Annie Smith who having spent the last 42 years of her life lost in the lives of her husband and children, now comes to realize that without her family to care for, she has no focus. Annie, the wife and mother, was no more. Realizing that she must come to terms with this, she embarks on a journey to re-find her former self. 

This journey takes her to the little town of Carrick Cove, Maine (fictional) - a place where a few years back, she spent an unexpected and unbelievable week. Here on a cold rainy morning, she steps out of a coffee shop into the path of an oncoming truck - and encounters a friendship that will not only change her life, but give it new direction.

This is almost word for word the description of Part One, "A Time for Kindness"... which is how the story begins. It continues in Part Two, "A Time for Herself" and then Part Three, "A Time for the Past".  It is not action-packed, but has warmth, kindness, and yes, a bit of sadness too. My hope is that the story will make you smile.

Now I'm not posting this because I expect people to run to Amazon and order it. Seriously. But I just wanted to share this moment with you - for as as much as I put this off, I do find it exciting to see my book in print.


Hugs,
Rian 

a little late... but hey

Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit!

I'm writing this Thursday night... at 11:35 PM... so it's a bit late. I think you're supposed to say "Rabbit! Rabbit! White Rabbit!"  first thing in the morning when you wake up on the first day of the month. But hey, it's still August 1st for another 25 minutes... might count for something.

                                      ________________________


Next are 2 pics taken outside of various critters that we see out front. My youngest granddaughter is fascinated with them and actually has a snail and doodlebug farm in a shoebox at her house. 

snail

toad cooling off in water dish

This little toad seemed very comfortable sitting in one of the cats' water dishes out front.

finding critters on beach

And this is a picture from my cell that son sent while granddaughter was exploring a beach for more little critters...

Tomorrow is the last day for pottery classes at the college. We will have a critique, but basically its a clean up day where we need to take everything from our lockers and shelves and bring home until classes start again in a few weeks. 

I missed last week due to family in town for a few days. But we had a wonderful visit where we ate way too much (crepes, whiskey cake, fresh peach pulled pork sandwiches, etc.), and talked ourselves blue in the face into the wee hours of the morning. Needless to say, I'm knackered.... from both the getting ready (cleaning, cooking, etc.) as well as the actual running around... and staying up late (age is taking it's toll here?). But all in all, it was fun! 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. It is TGIF! 
Thanks for dropping by. BTW, the fig tree is finally slowing down production... it sure had a great season.


Hugs, 
Rian