Watching the game with the gang

The Warriors at Nevada Game was fun to watching with Gary and Kymry and friends!

A Pain in the...

Rotator cuffs.
When they don't want to rotate no more.
Plantar fasciitis of the shoulders. Owwww!

Xray was ??? So I went to Honolulu for an MRI (small tear on the right and calcium deposits on the left). And tried noni leaf.

But the best re-leaf so far came from #1 son Aaron who said I spent too much time on the computer. Of course he's right. And the worst part is Photoshopping for this blog and other pleasures.
His hypothesis: lactic acid buildup from the tight muscles. A few minutes of stretches and massage- ahhh. much better!

 

Then afterwords, we had to take the mandatory family measurements.

Steven is still the tallest, Aaron, Byron and grandson Jamison are close behind!

Chris Cooley, Get Well, Soon!

Well, my favorite active roster Washington Redskin was sidelined tonight with a broken ankle during the game with the Eagles.

Chris was playing really well, too.

Mahalo to Brian Murphy, Redskins.com and Tanner Cooley for the images.

RADIO INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS "I want to play with the guys and be out there with my team."
ANOTHER RADIO INTERVIEW WITH CHRIS AFTER SURGERY

Tanner tweeted with the pic of the digital image above:
Tanner Cooley: All done. Everything went well.

Now both "my guys" are down with injuries - and hopefully out of harms way for awhile.
Hail and Heal, guys!

Latest from Lilu

Days are filled with family, friends, drawing and TRAINS!

Lilu loves her trains, is learning how to stack with dad, and has a play date with Margot.

She is learning how to draw in patterns and likes to jump on the exercise ball with dad!

Haka!

Supporting the Warriors!

Kymry, Brenda and I got together to send a message to the UH WARRIORS Football Team:

 

 

WE WILL ALWAYS BELIEVE!

GO WARRIORS!

Fish

Friday I go in to Honolulu for my MRI. Finally. I have been "enjoying" a constant level 8 pain in both shoulders for several months and have NOT been able to even THINK of going fishing.

So I shall take satisfaction in enjoying my sister's success at their new dock by the bayou on Blackwater Bay:

She caught this beautiful speckled trout at about 6:30. AND THEN Caught this black drum! Trout almondine tonight!

Speaking of fish, before there were blogs, there were websites. One of them was an extensive site that I used to chronicle my successful breeding and showing of Betta splendens. That site is sitting on a hard drive somewhere on an old 286 that is probably somewhere in my house. I was very lucky with the fish and successfully bred and showed them on the mainland - and ended up in the top 10 breeders in the International Betta Congress a couple years! I had to snitch a pic off the web to give you an idea of what the fish looked like.

Well, I have been wanting a pet fish for awhile and the once thriving society of Betta breeders in Hawaii is no more so I am looking forward to getting some from the latest California Betta Society show. Stay tuned!

Serious Silliness

As you have probably figured out by now, I am a football fan.
Here's my favorite active roster Washington Redskins player, Chris Cooley.



And here is one of my favorite comedy groups- with a reference to football at the end. Seriously silly. I hope both of my favorite teams- who have lost a few games recently- will find a way to have fun and bring new life to their play. The Pythons had their plays down to a tee!

Birth of the Bab- A Holy Day

Celebrating the birth of the Bab, Baha’u’llah’s forerunner

On Oct. 20, Baha’is around the world celebrate the Birth of the Bab, one of 11 Holy Days in the Baha'i calendar. (Baha'i days begin at sunset so celebrations may begin the evening of Oct 19.)
The Bab is often referred to as the Herald of the Baha'i Faith, because it was His mission to prepare the way for Baha’u’llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith. Like John the Baptist some 2,000 years before, the Bab called on the people to purify themselves for the coming of the day of God. Unlike John the Baptist, however, He founded an independent religion and claimed equal station with Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. Baha’is view the Bab and Baha’u’llah as Manifestations of God.


Shrine of the Bab, Haifa, Israel
The similarities between the missions of Jesus and the Bab are often noted with awe. In Thief in the Night, William Sears lists a number of them. Both were known for their meekness. Both condemned the corruption present in religious and secular society. Their chief enemies were the religious authorities. Both were taken before the authorities and publicly interrogated, after which both were scourged. Both went first in triumph and then in suffering through the streets of the cities where they were to be killed. Both were suspended before a multitude as they were put to death. Both spoke words of comfort to one who was to die with them.
Yet in spite of the many similarities, there is one major difference: Almost nothing, it seems, is known about the circumstances attending the Bab’s birth.
We do know that He was born on Oct. 20, 1819, in Shiraz, Persia (now Iran). The Bab, whose name was Siyyid Ali-Muhammad, was the son of a merchant of Shiraz. Both parents were descendants of the Prophet Muhammad. When the Bab was young, his father died. Care of the child fell to a maternal uncle and the only relative of the Bab to openly espouse the Bab’s Cause during His lifetime.
When the Bab was sent to school, the schoolmaster was so astonished at His wisdom and intelligence that he sent the child back to His uncle, saying he had nothing to teach such a gifted student. The Bab’s uncle commanded Him to be attentive to His teacher, but as time progressed, the schoolmaster began to feel more like the student than the teacher.
Other accounts speak of the young Bab’s radiant character and the considerable time He spent in prayer. There can be little doubt He was an extraordinary child. Some who had known Him in those early years later became His followers. It seems many of them were hardly surprised by the way events played out.
Baha’is celebrate the birth of the Bab in a variety of simple and joyous ways.
This day is one of the nine Holy Days on which work is to be suspended. Baha’i communities gather for prayers and devotional readings followed by fellowship and celebration. However they are celebrated, these activities are open to all who would like to attend.

Good Morning!

Sunday, Redskins Football Sunday

 

One Snap and Clear!

This is a much nicer event to dwell on.
Oahu Tsai-kos took a break from the UH game yesterday to help "Stretch" fulfill his promise to shave his head if we raised over $2K.


Mahalo chawan_cut for the video.
Proud to be a Tsai-ko!

Friendships Born of Passions

A year and a half ago I started this blog in anticipation of the arrival of my granddaughter Lilu. Kids are special- especially the ones you don't get to see very often.

In the old days, people used to share their inner thoughts and life observations with future generations in diaries and "personal papers". This, I guess, has become my diary.

Whether or not anyone but myself will read it and find it interesting, I noticed that there is a common thread running through these virtual pages- I have turned a corner and become focused on positive passions.

I am a twice-divorced single mom getting over old physical ills that are being replaced by new ones (hat tip to both rotator cuffs and diabetes) while the economy is tanking, my favorite football teams are losing and my fellow Baha'is are being persecuted literally to death because they believe God said the world is a neighborhood and we are all neighbors... these are positive?

Oh yeah.

Every one of these things- plus my passionate love - for family, friends, fish, cats, technology, dogs, sports, service, community, world peace, good food, travel, music, art, photography... the list is endless... has brought me together with a world full of wonderful people.

Every interest brings an "ohana" of other interested (and interesting) people. People  striving for excellence and people willing to acknowledge and reciprocate kindness.

I think this is my childhood dream of "belonging" finally fulfilled.

It happened when I realized all the people of the world are my ohana.

GO WARRIORS!  HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!  (I couldn't resist).

HAVE A GREAT LIFE, EVERYONE!

End of an Era

Even though I hate waking up to smoke and black rain, I have to feel a twinge of regret to see the sugar industry come to an end on Kauai.

Gay and Robinson will harvest the last fields next week and the Waimea community will be memorializing that with a convoy following the last truck to the mill and a potluck.

Last night, the clear skies of autumn made for a beautiful Niihau sunset.

Eo e Emalani i Alaka'i

While I was in Honolulu cheering for the University of Hawaii Warriors, my youngest son, aka Byron/Ukuleleboi/Kupa'a was in Kokee to dance to honor Queen Emma.

Mahalo to Laura Nishek for this image.

Here are more highlights from the festival:

These videos reflect the beautiful faces of diversity that now honor and perpetuate the continuously evolving culture of Hawaii.

"Let your vision be world-embracing" - Baha'u'llah

"The administration of the great system of the universe, however, the care of the universal happiness of all rational and sensible beings, is the business of God and not of man."
Adam Smith
The Theory of the Moral Sentiments
1759


Throughout history, God has revealed Himself to humanity through a series of divine Messengers, whose teachings guide and educate us and provide the basis for the advancement of human society. These Messengers have included Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad. Their religions come from the same Source and are in essence successive chapters of one religion from God.

Bahá’u’lláh, the latest of these Messengers, brought new spiritual and social teachings for our time. His essential message is of unity. He taught the oneness of God, the oneness of the human family, and the oneness of religion.

Bahá'u'lláh said, “The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens,” and that, as foretold in all the sacred scriptures of the past, now is the time for humanity to live in unity.

Founded more than a century and a half ago, the Bahá'í Faith has spread around the globe. Members of the Bahá'í Faith live in more than 100,000 localities and come from nearly every nation, ethnic group, culture, profession, and social or economic background.

Bahá'ís believe the crucial need facing humanity is to find a unifying vision of the nature and purpose of life and of the future of society. Such a vision unfolds in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh.  • 

First Takes

My new moopuna:

And Hawaii's "Warrior of the Century".

Serving Literacy

Every year the Rotary Club of West Kauai provides dictionaries for the third graders in public and private schools in our area.
Tonight my new friend Linda attended her first Rotary meeting- a very DIFFERENT kind of meeting!

First we personalized labels that offered the Rotary 4 Way Test and the student's name.

The labels were applied to the back of each book so the owner could find his book easily.

Then the books were packed away for presentation and distribution to the schools. We all enjoyed pizza and Rotary fellowship. Mahalo, all!