Pashy, BBQ, Sassy and new friend..hehe 

Sassy and BBQ 

A sad goodbye to Sasssygirl....

This blog is dedicated to Sasssy, one of the group in Canadas40+ on IRC and a friend I have communicated with for years. I am terribly saddened by the loss of this lovely, very funny, warm and caring friend.

I had the pleasure of meeting her and her hubby, BBQbadboy, two years ago in Downtown Disney while they were vacationing in California. She was in person the same as online, maybe even more so. There was absolutely no uncomfortableness even though we had never met before. We had a great evening of laughter and sharing and picture taking.

Her husband, kids, and grandkids were the light of her life and she would stop at nothing to make sure they were all okay.

We will miss you much, girlfriend... we know you'll be watching over everyone!

As always... big hugggggggggggggz to you...

O:-)

blogs on hold...

Due to Santa not taking care of my shopping and wrapping while I was away, my vacation blog is on hold for a few days. Any questions or complaints should be directed to the North Pole. Thanks for your understanding *grin* or not..lol.

I will add this wee bit... the beginning, well late morning into early afternoon of Day 3 was most women's heaven.. SHOPPING in paradise.. lol Of course we also enjoyed lunch at a fabulous restaurant started by two women from Orange County, CA ...we liked it so much we ate there twice during our stay. Following is a link so you can read about how these women created their dream. :-) http://www.cheeseburgerinparadise.com/

Til the next segment .. stay safe and well and have a blessed Christmas with those you love!

love and hugz to all O:-)

sunset over Lanai taken from condo's lanai  

trunk of Banyan tree that was an offshoot (long ago) and new offshoots... 

windsurfer heaven! 

blog "b"...the continued story of my trip...

Day two ... after waking up to the peaceful sound of the waves hitting the shore..we got our coffee and sat outside on the patio, still trying to grasp the reality of where we were. While we chatted over coffee about what was in front of us we heard louder voices down on the sand.. we looked over and saw 3 young men throw out a net and within seconds they had caught 3 rather large fish that they brought in and put in their cooler. WOW... way to start the day! A while later we got ourselves together and started out on our first sightseeing trip.

First stop..Alamo car rental at the airport ..lol.. the Impala we got had the funkiest smell in it ..like rotting fruit..couldn't even run the air conditioner. After getting a newer and sportier car..we headed out into a lovely, slighty breezy day. Second first stop...lol..found us at Kula Lodge on the south side of the island about 1/2 way up a 10,000 ft volcano. (dormant ..whew!) The Lodge had outdoor gardens, an Art Gallery, gift shop and great restaurant that faced out to the center of the "butterfly" of Maui..the valley between the two volcano's. We ordered a pizza we picked the toppings for.. artichokes, chicken, sundried pesto sauce which they cooked in an outdoor brick oven...ohhhhhh yummmmmmmmm! After enjoying an absolutely delicious lunch we headed up to the lavender fields. Only some were in bloom, but there were many other flowers to enjoy and a great gift shop with wonderful lavender products made from their fields. Items were flying off the shelf, so if you saw something you wanted..you had to grab it quick..lol.

While at lunch we could see the whitecaps on the east side of the bay so we decided to see if we could find them on the road back to take us home. After a couple of wrong turns we came upon the perfect place,
Kanaha (prounounced Ka na ha) Beach Park, known worldwide for windsurfing. I'm posting my favorite picture .. they color of the water was incredible .. different shades of turqoise ... the waves were big, powerful..you could feel them from the shore...and the winds...well, let's say it was a total waste to do anything with my hair...lol. We found it hard to leave..the windsurfers and parasail (?) surfers had their work cut out for them and were amazing to watch!

As we headed out to begin the trip back (about an hour away) we could see the top of a cruise ship somewhere in the vicinty, so off we went again. We had better luck finding it the first time..lol..and got a couple of shots of the beautiful cruise liner awaiting her passengers after a day trip off the ship.

We enjoyed the trip home...watching the sun slip behind Lanai, which is where it sets each evening. After a lovely but long day out we got home and both took naps..lol...that is what you do in Hawaii, right? *grin* At about 8pm we found ourselves heading to Lahaina, famous, local coast town with all the shopping and restaurants you could want!! We enjoyed dinner at a restaurant at the south end of town that was on the 2nd floor and overlooked the water and the unbelievable Banyan tree.

That ends day 2.. hopefully enough details to make you think you were there but not too many to bore you!

stay safe and well...and enjoy this Christmas week!

hugz O:-)

handmade card from my grandkids..sigh.. gotta love em! :-) 

handpainted ornament from recent trip 

our BIG tree! :-) 

blog "a" 12/18/05

By request (order/whine) laughing from the most high blog goddess ... here are tree photo's.. if you've been in my living room, you'll know this tree takes up a LOT of room..lol. But, am thankful.. was lovingly picked out and paid for by Chelsea. Love ya, sweetie!

Enjoy!

O:-)

the rainforest 

north east coast of maui.. 

wild poinsettia's (huge bush of them) taken on Day 2 trip 

low tide.... 

mom's and baby dolphins playing :-)

a bit of the story to go with the pictures..

For those of you that want details, I will do my best to make you feel like you were there.. would have been wonderful if you had been. For those of you who don't like to read, will add a few more pictures .. let me know at what point you're tired of seeing them..lol.

Day 1 included a nice flight with only a bit of turbulence as we descended into Maui, which is known for its winds. The temperature was around 80 and remained close to that the whole time we were there. Trip to condo took about an hour, so it was dark when we got there. It's always a challenge to get to your destination in the dark when you've never been there..lol..but my gf and co-pilot for the trip, Kim, was fabulous and is an excellent map reader! We stopped for a few groceries on the way, and typical of me, I had to get an owie the first day..lol...GEEZ!! The store had put up a display and the bolts were not capped..lucky me...I turned right around into one and took a chunk outta my arm. After checking in and finding our home for the next few days, we unpacked and oohed and aww'd over our temporary digs. Unpacked and feeling the effects of a long day, we turned off all the lights and sat on the lanai where we oohh'd and aww'd some more...the evening sky was lit up with stars, the waves were gently lapping at the shore, the warm breeze caressed us and the moon left a glittering path across the water. What a wonderful way to end the evening. The evening air was warm enough for us to leave only the screen doors open so the waves were the last thing we heard at night, and the first thing in the morning. Hmmmm, could you live like that?

The picture of the palm trees was a very from our condo and also the one with the dolpins, which by the way were verrrrrryyyyyyy cool to see. Was 2 different pods of mom's and babies! The yellow hibiscus were out in front of the resort...the rainbow in the clouds is looking out the front door facing the mountains.

Day 2 will come this weekend and will try and keep pictures to go with the days. lol...key word...TRY...
have a wonderful weekend as we prepare to celebrate CHRISTmas.

Stay safe and well.. hugz O:-)

View from the condo on the first morning.. how come you didn't come over for coffee? *wink* 

bold and beautiful hibiscus... 

Hybrid poinsettia...aren't they fabulous? 

short blog #2...

Starting these blogs late at night is not a good thing..lol...I want to go to BED! Getting a little more caught up each day ..should be done by Christmas! haha I did however do some scanning tonight and will share a few more photo's...with as many as I took...I might almost be able to drag this out until next Christmas! *grin*

Good day today... chilly here in So. California.. high 30's at night, low 60's during day. Before you snow bunnies starting whining at me.. I KNOW it's not as cold as where YOU live...but it IS cold for us that live in warmer climates!

Okay... enough for tonite...lol...enjoy the new photo's! stay safe and well

hugz O:-)

Big water!!  

One of many rainbows ...God's promise :) 

December in .... PARADISE

I must admit, it was difficult to come back to Los Angeles, the concrete jungle, filled with with people and automobiles rushing to get nowhere fast! I'm sure in a few days I'll have settled back into the hustle and bustle..lol.

I hope to maintain the calm and peace I brought back with me from Maui, a piece of paradise! Over the next few days I hope to share with you pictures and descriptions of my trip.

Til then...stay safe and well and enjoy the first few pictures...

hugz O:-)

alohaaaaaaaaaaaa....

Checking in one more time before I head to the islands of warm breezes, turquoise waters, waterfalls and whatever else we'll be blessed with over the next 6 days! This week has been crazy busy and I almost went over the edge...but I've started backing away from the edge..lol.

How's everyone coming along with their Christmas shopping, wrapping, baking, etc? I'd say I'm about 3/4's of the way there..maybe even a bit more. Thank heavens for teenage daughters that want to earn a few extra dollars by packing! Why didn't I start this years ago???? hehe Hoping to come back refreshed and renewed to complete my shopping!

Will enjoy a mai tai or some such sweet drink for you... til then

stay safe and well... hugzzzz O:-)

you're a mean one, mr grinch! 

21 days ... are you ready?

As promised... a blog, most likely a short one, but one nonetheless! I really do have all the best intentions of blogging...but when I have the opportunity to chat and catch up with friend, I would much rather do that!!
On one hand, I could tell you lots, on the other, probably not much you haven't already heard so I don't want to bore either of us..lol. Most of it has to do with busyness, whether it be work related or christmas shopping!

Speaking of Christmas, I'm not done in any way, shape or form. Still trying to finish the work cards etc I need to do and then all my own stuff. Probably 85% of the shopping is done and I've hired Chelsea to do the wrapping, at a cost of course. haha It is definitely worth every penny! Today day was the annual caroling event I attend and as always, it is a day of giving from the heart and receiving the knowledge that you may have lightened someone's heart, if only for a moment. We caroled on 3 floors of a hospital and then in the hospice we always go to. On our way out we were asked to come sing in one of the rooms. The woman there didn't have much time left and you could see the appreciation in her eyes and that of her family. Her dtr-in-law thanked each one of us and gave us hugz individually .. I left with tears in my eyes. A reminder of how very much we have and how often we take it for granted....like life.

Thank you Dini for you well spoken commentary on the use and reasoning behind the greeting of "happy holidays". I'm behind you 100% and have made the committment to not wish one person Happy Holidays but to wish every person, Merry Christmas.

Time to sleep...big week ahead. Stay safe and well and enjoy the Christmas spirit, a time of celebrating the birth of the Christ Child, forgiving, loving and living. Til then...

Merry Christmas!! hugz O:-)