October 16, 2016

This is the day I turned sixty.  

It was a beautiful day. Perfect!

Birthday card from my companion. Perfect.

Ayesha, our YSA Relief Society President. Her betrothed and I share a birthday. She is as kind as she is pretty!

Our family branch had a "Hugs for Heidi" birthday party for me. There was leftover cake from a reception the night before, The bride and groom ate one slice. It was donated to the party. Perfect! 

Noah, on the left, is playing happy birthday, on his ukulele, as our friends sing and my candles burn. Perfect!

David, world renowned surfer, wanderlust and Branch Mission leader. What a kind man. 

I just love how everyone leaves their shoes right in the doorway.

Miya and Belle. There were kids everywhere. Perfect!

        

My companion, with frosting on his nose. He was a good sport. Perfect!

Summer of 2006. Ten years have gone by.

                     October 2016. Perfect!              

Aloha

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

Watching conference with Elder Egbert (Utah). I can't believe he was cold. I don't get it!

Elder Beal (Utah). No blanket. Normal!

Conference is broadcast at 6 a.m. on the Islands. Saturday morning, we cooked breakfast for our YSA kids and watched it together, at the theater on BYUH campus. Sunday morning, we slept right through it and watched it when we were really awake. Yay for technology! Yay for Conference!


Sanding many pineapples for upcoming wedding reception. 


Leeward side of Oahu. Beautiful.

We "caught' some bug and have been less than perky the past month. Many people have had it, so everyone's been dragging. Hopefully, the trade winds will blow it out to sea.

Aloha

President Pitt asked the priesthood brethren to help with a project he wanted to complete before his daughters wedding receptions happened.  Each of the log poles needed sanded and finished/oiled.

Elder Cameron is on the top level, sitting down on the job, sanding the bottom of the second pole from the right.  You can make out his white dust mask.  Each of the men had an electric hand sander and it sounded like a beehive of activity.

Completed job.

It was getting to be a few days before the reception.  Elder Cameron went to see if there was anything he could help with.  Sure enough, there was.

Staining the lantern holders.

Fortunately, there were only 12.

The canopy for the food was a haven from the rains that always come.

Sister Cameron painted the white hearts which hung on each lantern holder.  With the lanterns lining the driveway and the additional lights that were hung, it was a wonderful evening reception. Stay tuned for reception, number two, in October.

Aloha

More randomness, but, kind of fun.

This is what happens if you hold still for about a week.

We "found" Secret Turtle Beach. The island nor islanders 

gives up any secrets until you've paid the required price.

This four foot turtle moves at my two speeds - slow and stop.

It is sooooo tired.

This podium from our YSA Branch, has a harsh existence. Perhaps, you recall, it lives in a rubber tote during the week. Sometimes, dogs and kids chew on it. Last week, it collapsed. Elder Cameron took some serious pity on it. He brought it home and literally rebuilt and varnished it. I wasn't sure it would survive so didn't get a before picture. He did a great job!

"Queen of the Night"

This orchid cactus blooms only between dusk and dawn, one time a year. This one lives next door to us. Beautiful.

This is at dusk, every day. Beautiful.

"Most people live on a lonely island, lost in the middle of a foggy sea....."     

from "South Pacific"

Beautiful, Aloha 

Random Signs and Pictures

This sign is wholly, unabridged, comprehensively, from beginning to end, completely explanatory of the Hawaiian lifestyle.

This sign was recently added to the kitchen of our Kahuku Ward building. Be sure and read the smaller print right above my trigger finger.  (I don't know who the P.B.O. is.)

Where we live. It is beautiful.

These mountains are on the drive to Honolulu from the North Shore. This outline looks like a woman, expecting a baby.

There is a farmers market in Kaneohe, about thirty miles away from Sunset Beach. It happens every Wednesday, and surrounds  the open center of a shopping mall. Beautiful flowers, for sale.

Who knew, I would get giddy about fresh vegetables and fruit! The produce is fresh and very clean. The garlic cloves are even peeled. There are many products that are foreign to me. I see darling, little Asian women, buying mystery vegetables and I want to follow them home and see what they do with it.

I escaped Young Women's for a few minutes and got caught taking a walk on their shameless venue at Turtle Bay.

Aloha

"Mighty Mo"

Descending into the "bowels" of the Mighty Missouri. We went down two, very steep, sets of stairs to get to the laundry room.

The machines are enormous.

The pressing room was as hot as it looks. And the irons weren't even on.

There wasn't enough air, for me, down there, so when I found this sign, I got in line.

Resting in the Brig. 

The Library, would be my favorite room on the ship.

Sitting on one chair.

Our international crew!

Aloha

Service project, gone bad, for some.

Elder Graham, spraying some kind of acid, on the graffiti at the local skateboard park. The park organizers said it was made from organic soybean. Hmmmm.

It seems to be working quite well. The paint is disappearing. 

Elder Egbert, the day after. He had chemical burns on every toe pad. Lucky for you, the worst ones were bandaged before we got the picture. This Elder is NOT a whiner!

Doc Cameron caring for the wounded. It took four days of treatment.

The locals wore plastic slippers or went barefoot and sprayed their feet off, a lot, during the cleaning. The Elders wore shoes and their socks soaked up the acid and pooled under their toes. I'm not convinced the cleaning agent was "organic". They all survived and the skate-park looks great.

Aloha