Crowning Glories.......

Have I told you that my class in creating head pieces is available now?  

It is offered, online, at That Creative Place

and is available as an instant downloadable class....so you can create in your own time.... 

but what's useful is that I am always available by email or on the forum at That Creative Place, 

if you have any questions or comments, so it's really like taking a private class from me.

I just LOVE head dresses!!  I call them "Crowning Glories".

A gesture of community....little awards....

Bonnie Jones has generously given me this award!
Thank you, Bonnie!

When all around us we read of stress and worry, of economic disaster and we see overwhelming evidence of greed, I find this world of blogging to be a sweet haven of support, generosity and community. These awards are really a lovely way to say...." take a look at this person's self expression!
They have charmed me and I think they will charm you too." These awards are a perfect example of the openheartedness that is the blogging community.

By giving this award to 8 other blogging sites, I am saying:

"These blogs invest and believe in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships.
These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers am to be and to find friends.
They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. The hope is that when the ribbons of this award are cut, even more friendships are propagated.
Please give attention to these writers!"

And now I pass this award on to 8 blogs that I feel you will love to visit....
When you accept this award, you must post the meaning of it on your blog and pass it on to 8 more.

And so I honor......

Tales from the Labyrinth
3rd Eye Muse
Angela Harris
Moa Romig Boyles
The Heart of Words
Tumblefish studio
Lisa Gatz
Pearl


And Patee has awarded me with the Kreativ Blogger Award. Mahalo, Pat!
I pass this award on to:

Just another day on earth
Gufobardo
Angel Feather Designs
Robins Egg Bleu
Romanti Cheemonzioni
Ilgirasogno
The Dark Raven's Nest

Seven Little Ladies.....

Our seven little ladies will be coming to enjoy Easter week here in Kawela Bay.

I can't wait until they arrive....8 more days.

Kenley  6 months

Presley  5 yrs.

Bella 7 yr.

Ava 5 yrs.

Kobain 8 yr.

Blaize 11 yr.

Aidan 14 yr.

All 7 of them!

A Great Mystery......

Now this has been going on for over a month.   

I am watching our butterfly bush daily....watching as the tiny caterpillars have grown fat and large.....I have watched the leaves on our butterfly bush disappear as they have munched their way to their largeness.

And I have watched monarch butterflies flitting and flying in twos and threes all around the bush........

   

But here is the mystery...... I can not find one chrysalis!  Not one!   Where are they????

The process is that the caterpillar eats the leaves and when large and fat, they attach themselves head down to a convenient twig ( convenient is a key word here ).  

They then shed their outer skin and begin the transformation into a pupa ( or chrysalis ), a process which is completed in a matter of hours. 

The pupa resembles a waxy, jade vase and becomes increasingly transparent as the process progresses.  The caterpillar completes the miraculous transformation into a beautiful butterfly in about two weeks.

It's just such a mystery to me as to where these pupas could be!  Remember the key word was 

"convenient".  They hang from a convenient twig.   

Okay...I'm heading out again to look.  They have to be there somewhere!!

Late Afternoon at the heiau....

Puu O Mahuka Heiau is the largest and oldest heiau (place of worship) on the island of Oahu, dating back to before the missionaries came in the 1700's.

When we have our art retreat, we bring everyone here to experience this ancient place, with lava rocks and boulders still placed around the perimeter.

The temple is poised on the 250 ft cliffs above Waimea Bay, offering sweeping vistas of the scalloped north shore and Waimea Valley.

E Komo Mai

A Sunday outing......

A flea market, here in Hawaii, is quite a bit different from a flea market in Provence, France.

But still a lot of fun.

Beautiful pieces of coral catch my eye....

and I have a nice conversation with this Hawaiian man who was weaving his own nets....a dying art for sure.

Would you like a sink...or some dinasours...?

Look at this guy's mode of transportation!  I love the American Flag touch.

How about a painting of a pug, on velvet.....!

Here's a old picture of Hilo, on the big island, in 1929.

Do you remember puka shells??   They were all the rage in the 70's and 80's.

And this lovely lady creates beautiful necklaces using the puka ( meaning hole ) shells.

Little girl's hawaiian dresses dance in the breezes.......

And then we're off to the Waikele Tea Room for a yummy lunch.

This property was originally a sanctuary for women and children in need, in the early 1900's and was run by the Salvation Army.  Robert Louis Stevenson stayed here and wrote much of his poetry.  It is a very peaceful place with great mana.  (mana is the Hawaiian word for power )