Embrace The Suck

Honolulu Johnson called last night. He is AOK. Tired. Sunburned. Thanking God and all of you for your prayers.

A mom's worse nightmare ... 5:49am: Oh great! All i need is a big wave............... john hawaii 5:49 am news says we could get a wave from each direction. LOL the surfers are all gearing up! im ready to go mountain hiking! john............. 8:32 am: Ok, this is no joke!!!!!!!! We are due to be hit by a real frickin tidal wave! The sirens have been going off and there is no sleep to be had! im right on the coast, literally the closet building to the beach. i cant beleave my luck while here in hawaii. The last time chile was hit with a quake it was a 9 pointer, and it sent a huge 50 footer onto ewa beach that killed alot of people here in the late 60's. i beleave ill be fine but these buildings are not in great shape, and i mean it im right on the coast! Im not going to take their word for it but it is supposed to hit at 11:10 am my time. the siren is going to be going off at 6 am permanently until it hits. it could be a puddle wave or a massive bruiser, we wont know until it ...

"To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life." Robert Louis Stevenson Yesterday my friend, Dani, asked me to do a quick little exercise ... just for fun, she said. Dani, if you haven't figured it out by now, is someone whose wisdom and insight I value immensely even though we haven't officially met. So even though I wasn't sure of its purpose when she asked me to do three simple tasks, I gave it my best shot. I found out later the exercise was one she often uses when she facilitates women's retreats. So as not to step on her toes, I'm not going to give away the questions. Like being on Jeopardy, I'll just share my answers. To say I was surprised, pleasantly surprised but surprised nonetheless, would be an understatement. The final part of the exercise (which I'm doing here) is for me to write three sentences about myself (which comes directly from the questions.) Taken out of context, it may sound a li...

Today is Dani's (of Three Sister's Spirit ) birthday. I've been wondering what to say that hasn't been said before. When it comes to birthdays the flowery, Hallmark greetings often seem overused. Yet in reality, "Woohoo! It's Your Birthday" is a pretty good summation of the this sentiment: The world became a better, happier, prettier place the day you were born, so as we mark the anniversary of that day, we celebrate and give thanks for you. Over at her blog , Terri gave Dani, and independent retailers everywhere, a pretty good shout out! When I opened up my email this morning I was treated to a poetry reading that I decided would hit the mark for Dani's birthday. Here's what the note said (since it was forwarded to me, I don't know who the original sender was): Dear Friends, Greg's aunt Lilly is one of my favorite people. I knew I loved her the night we met after drinking vodka from water glasses on the front porch swing and later dancing...

My sister who lives in a room above our garage has been on a quest for companionship and love. She's filled out on-line dating questionnaires and gone to dinner with a few guys who proved to be less than promising. Recently she raised (or lowered, depending on how you look at it!) her sights. She opted for a dog. Before choosing the perfect pet she did lots of homework. She checked on the Internet and pet rescue societies for the best breed to suit her needs. She studied up on the best way to introduce a new dog to an old dog, 2 cats and the rest of the family members. She printed out information sheets on crate training and obedience training expecting each of us to be on the same page. As it turned out finding the perfect dog was as easy as spending one hour at the local humane society. She quickly determined Laci, half Rottweiller and half dachshund, was the dog for her. In other words a short, squat solid mutt with a big smile and one floppy ear. Before Laci could actually be ...

"I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior." Tiger Woods "Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." AA Step 5 Because Tiger made his statement near where I live this morning, the local news people have been swarming like a school of piranhas, wanting blood and pictures. One of the more profound said something along the lines of "we love to watch heroes do good and we love to watch them fail." I guess I fall into that category. Even though I think Wood's transgressions were of a personal nature, between he and his family and possibly the people that pay him to do what he does, I was curious about what Tiger could possibly say that would even begin to get him out of the doghouse. Yeh, maybe I wanted some blood too. Yet as he read the prepared statement I realized it took on a much deeper meaning than just saying I'm sorry. I've seen that humiliated look before, I've heard the ...

"Came to believe that a power greater than myself could restore me to sanity." AA Step 2 Sweetie and I actually got to spend some together time alone on Valentine's Day. First things first, I took my new computer to the Apple store for a "well-baby" check. The sight of a "Security Warning" error message spelled out in big red letters upset me so badly the night before that I almost took myself to the emergency room. Saner minds prevailed, however, mostly because the tech support was shut down and I was able to soothe both my worry and the computer's warning by simply turning the machine off for the night. After a short, but direct, lecture from Akman, the Apple tech who knows more about computers than I will ever hope to know in my lifetime, I promised to 1) never download anything I don't ask for without first getting permission from someone with MAC after his name, 2) back up my hard drive on a regular basis so as not to lose precious informa...

"There can be no situation in life in which the conversation of my dear sister will not administer some comfort to me. " Mary Montagu My mom used to fuss at me that I'd be late for my own funeral. How did she get to be so punctual? Was she was genetically programmed to be on time, or was it that she spent her life living with military men who ran their lives (like their ships) by the clock? If Dad had a plan to get up at say 0800 hours, then you could be pretty much assured that Mom would be up and in the kitchen by 0700. Sadly this was not a trait I inherited. When my husband wanted to be awake before the sun arose that was fine by me as long as he didn't make much noise. My Sweetie, whom you might recall has a slight case of OCD into which category the desire to be ready to go somewhere at least 30 minutes before the announced ETD falls, has adjusted to fairly well to my slower than a snail's pace. Personally, I think it gives him time to line things up in the...

“The Afghans want their children to go to school because literacy represents what neither we nor anyone else has so far managed to offer them: hope, progress and the possibility of controlling their own destiny.” Greg Mortenson, Stones into Schools, pg. 318 Last night I finished reading Greg Mortenson's sequel to Three Cups of Tea. I say sequel, but even though it is a stand alone book the author's powerful message is the same ... building relationships and schools - schools for girls - is where the future lies for Afghanistan. And dare I say, the rest of the illiterate world. I am not ashamed to say that I am a big Greg Mortenson fan. His first book opened my eyes and touched my heart. If it is possible I am now an even bigger fan. He may have had some help writing this book, I don't know, but it was a great piece of writing as well as story telling. There are several maps in the front of the book I had to keep referring to so I could keep my bearings about what was going ...

"Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity." Henry Van Dyke Here we are on the eve of another Valentine's Day. A day for lovers everywhere to scramble to embody the Hallmark concept of love. Chocolate manufacturers and florist shops do a booming business. Men who might not otherwise step foot in a card shop stand next to each other silently reading sappy poetry trying to figure out what it is that their girlfriend/wife/SO/Domestic Partner sees in the glittery cards. Then, to add insult to injury they have to stand in a line with other uncomfortable looking guys, shuffling from one foot to the other trying to act macho while holding an oversized stuffed animal, that really has nothing to do with love but blasts out Celine Dion's theme from Titanic when you press it's foot, under one arm and a heart-shaped box of cherry-filled dark choc...

"If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing bird will come." Chinese Proverb Or in the case of Molly: "If I keep the feeder full of seed and my camera focused, the red bird will sit still and say, "Cheese!" Molly has a set up that captures all her bird friends who come to the Pinecone Cafe for a little snack. Even though she explained it in a previous comment, I'm still not sure how she does it. Needless to say I am totally envious of her talents, but truly grateful that she shares her photos. Go check it out and enjoy. Wishing for you a day filled with happy bird songs, Merry ME

"The only true way to prove that you have lost your inner child is if you don't laugh when you hear the word poop." Amanda Dad had an appointment with his GP this week. One of those F/U things that takes more time to prepare for and get to than the actual appointment. We were there to get the results of his swallowing test from a few weeks ago. The speech therapist that conducted the test had already informed us that Dad has a slight problem swallowing liquids. Slight as in he has to really concentrate on making stuff go down - from a kind of disconnect between the brain and the swallowing muscle - and so far nothing is going into his lungs which could cause pneumonia. Good news! However, since we were there, Dad decided to throw out a few different complaints. Nothing new, just something to talk about. I guess when you are old the conversation can easily turn to a discussion of your ability, or lack of, to pee and poop. Remember how exciting it was when your brand new b...

.... does it take to change a power pole? One to dig the hole (while 3 others look on) One to lift the pole One to guide the pole. 2 to change out the wires and one to supervise! Interesting fact for those who might be considering becoming an electric company lineman: Out of 500 applicants only about 12 actually make the final cut. And then it there is a 4 year apprenticeship. I guess when you are working with thousands of volts of electricity they have to be a little choosy about who they get to do the job. Just another exciting day in the neighborhood! Merry ME

Blessed are the Piecemakers The Peace Quilt by Margaret Rolfe (Designed and Published in Australia) I don't think you can get a really good look at this picture because I haven't quite figured out how to cut and paste with my new computer. I don't think it is all that difficult but I am still behind the learning curve. So let me tell you about it. The colored blobs in the center of each diamond are origami peace doves pieced together out of fabric. I admit it does look a little intricate, not to mention daunting. But as soon as I saw it, I knew it was the starting point for the quilt I want to make - with your help - to raise some money for a few charities that are near and dear to my heart. The connection between origami (folded paper) cranes and the hope for peace came about because of a young Japanese girl. Sadako Sasaki was only two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped near her home in Hiroshima. Sadako and her family, except for her grandmother, survived the bl...