A Mānoa Girl's Bloggie

Today as I got back into my car after I was pau with my workout at the gym, I decided that the dashboard of my car would be the photo of the day. From left to right: A sand dollar that I’m bleaching, a dancing hula girl and dancing snowman, and Musubi. The rain on the windshield kind of added to the photo. I love the contradiction of the hula girl and the snowman. Continue reading →

My favorite bead store, “Beads Down Under” in Sandy, is closing soon. Kathy, the owner, invited those of us who’ve been friends for years, to stop by today for the beginning of her closeout sale, so I stopped by.

The bead store is located in the basement of this picturesque church, which has been a Sandy landmark for years. I was here today, so it’s my photo of the day.

The other day we bought a small cat bed for under my computer desk where the kitties love to lie. It’s their favorite place to be when I’m in here; they can watch birds outside, or nap, or just keep me company. We only got one because I had no idea whether or not they’d even like it.

Kalakoa was the first one to venture inside it, and mostly she just liked to knead it to bits instead of lying in it. But today Noelani discovered it, and poor Kalakoa’s place was usurped by her very large sister. I did detect a bit of hissing over it. We’ll need a bigger one for Noelani, however; as you can see, she overflows the small one.

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Today I needed to drive out to Sandy, Oregon…it’s only about ten miles from our house, but with gas prices so high, I always try to combine errands when I go there.

My first stop was at the dentist’s office. Nothing too exciting there.

My next stop was at the Sandy City Hall; this is the mural that is on the exterior wall. Very definitely photo-worthy, don’t you think? It depicts all the logging that has gone on in the area, with the Sandy River in the background.

I stopped by Designer Yarn to pick up some yarn for a hat for a friend. Sherri was having a yarn-tasting sale! The special yarns were on plates on the table, each one supplied with needles so that people could see how they liked the different ones by knitting with them. Pretty clever, yes? And no calories! I sat down with several of them and had fun seeing which ones I liked the best.

The yarn “bowls” were so neat; each ball of yarn was inside a teapot, with the working end of the yarn coming out the spout. What a great way to keep the balls of yarn from leaping all over the table!

Right now, I know, AFK, you’re studying your monitor, saying to yourself, “Is that what I think it is?” and hoping for a closer look. Yep. It is what you think it is. I knew you’d love this teapot, so I took a photo of it just for you!

I wondered if I could kakaroach it and send it to you, but in the long run decided that Sherri might notice, so I left it there. But inside I was smiling, knowing that you’d love even the photo. Hugs, tita!

I woke up tired today. I did.not.want.to.go.to.the.gym. I could think of all kinds of reasons why I could just stay home. I could update my Montana Road Trip posts. I could answer a bunch of emails. I could knit on the second chemo cap for my friend.

But in the end, I did vacuum therapy. Sucked it up and went. I did my full workout; 35 mins cardio here:

…and then two sets of upper body training here:

When I was pau I was really glad that I went. I felt better, I had more energy, and I burned a bunch of calories. Felt dem endorphins rolling around inside me.

I could’ve stayed home. But I didn’t. Yay me.

This is a bittersweet photo day; a friend of mine is starting chemo next week; she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last month. I am praying diligently for her, but I wanted to do more. So I got some really soft yarn and knit her a chemo hat.

I didn’t want it to be plain, so I used a pattern that I’d used for a chemo hat for another friend of mine over five years ago that has a little bit of pizzazz to it.

I love knitting and I love creating. I love being able to do this for a friend in need. But I do not love that she has to go through what she’s going through.

I pray that this hat will help my friend feel a little more feminine during chemo and while her hair is growing back. Most of all, I pray for her complete recovery.

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I love my kitties. Just in case you hadn’t guessed. I especially love it when I wake up in the morning and find myself in the middle of a three-kitty pileup. Good thing I had my tablet right there so I could take a photo of them all curled up with me.

I love three-kitty pile-ups! They don’t happen every morning, but when they do, I wake up happy! Even though I’m mostly unable to move.

Kalakoa in front, Noelani on the left on one leg, and Keola on the other one.

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Today when I was coming home from the gym I decided to take a photo of the signs at the bottom of our driveway, with the heather just starting to bloom. The “E Komo Mai” sign was custom made for me by a woodworker friend of mine, and I just love it. I gave him the design and he handcrafted the rest of it.

The smaller sign is from the National Wildlife Federation. In order for our place to be a certified Wildlife Habitat, I had to fill out a number of pages to make sure we qualified for a registry number.

I had to document what plants, shrubs, and trees were available for food and shelter, the kinds and number of feeders we have (think LOTS!), whether or not we provided water, and what our land was made up of (forest, pasture, etc.).

I’ve done this for every place we’ve lived during the past twenty+ years, and to me it’s pretty exciting to get the document officially recognizing our place on the National Registry, which I put in a frame. They also send me the outdoor sign you see in the photo.

Most of all, I love providing food, water, and shelter for my feathered friends. In return, they come visit my garden and allow me to take some pretty wonderful photos of them.

First, let me say that I’m not a football fan. I had absolutely no interest in watching the Super Bowl today. What I was really looking forward to was some spinning time, so while Nolemana watched the game in another room (I did not banish him; it was his choice… just wanna make that clear!), I spun some lovely fiber from Lisa Souza Dyeworks called “Sky Drama” while watching several chapters of Downton Abbey on DVD. My friend Jenny got me hooked. It’s her fault!

Anyway, Kalakoa decided to supervise me while I spun, and the two of us had a grand time together.

Earlier in the day I’d gone out to run an errand, and when I got home I saw Ricky standing by the gate and decided to take his photo for the photo of the day. So I snapped the picture, planning to crop it to just show his cute face, so focused on Ricky that I was completely unaware till I downloaded the photo that Puakea, Titus, and Paul were also in the photo! I was pretty pleased about that.

Can you see everyone? I love the way that Titus is framed in the gate!