Thankful for... a new tooth!

When Marilyn asked me what I was thankful for this year I said:"For my new tooth." You see I broke a molar in Hawaii and Dr. J. fixed it yesterday before we came to Iowa to brother Norm and Sister-in-law Jan's for Thanksgiving. (Cousin Pat, Jani, and Eldon joined us)Well, come on... I surely was thankful for a good tooth when we had turkey...
and all the fixin's...

and pumpkin-pecan and buttermilk pies.

I have so much for which to be thankful... not the least was for my new tooth. Thanks Doc!

Fond Farewell to the Beautiful Islands of Hawaii

Soon we will be leaving the beautiful islands of Hawaii. Here are a few pictures I took below Diamond Head Crater today so you see why it is hard to leave and go back to cold ND.This cruise ship was passing through the arch at the right time.
Surf was up on the east side of Oahu today.
This fisherman was getting wet when the waves came crashing in at her feet. Rabbit Island is in the distance.

A lonely little sailboat on the big Pacific Ocean.

A surfer heads down the beach in pursuit of the big wave.

Flowers and the ocean... what more could a photographer want?

I never get tired of the color of the Pacific as it nears the shore.

Diamond Head lighthouse sits just below the crater.

It wasn't easy to get close to the lighthouse as the gate was locked.

I would love to have a home with a view like this.

Two of my favorite Hawaiians below Diamond Head after our picnic lunch.

A little surfer invited us to return... and Lord willing we shall! Aloha!!

A Walk to Lanikai Beach

Sunday after church I walked to Lanikai Beach...In the background is the peninsula where the Marine Base is located and where Carrie grocery shops.This is Kailua Beach in the late afternoon.
Lanikai Beach always has something interesting... like this pooch pillow.
This beach is so beautiful with the islands off shore and the colorful watercraft.

Coming home I spotted this bee making a stop on a bougainvillea.

A little shower generated a little rainbow.

The skies over the mountains looked worse than they were though I got caught in the rain.

I stopped for awhile to watch this determined net fisherman.

His technique looked good to me... though I didn't see any fish.

A hearty crop of bananas is on its way... look how they grow upward.

This family has quite a collection of glass floats from Japanese fishermen's nets that wash up on shore.

Doxology - Hawaiian Style

Six weeks old and going to church

Mack is six weeks old as of yesterday and has been in church four of those Sundays... good boy, Mack. (OK, so he has slept through the messages but who of us hasn't?)

Birds, Christmas, and Sushi

Rob got home from his trip and Mack is filling him in on everything that has been going on.There are some berry trees right behind the Slangers place so the birds literally sing us awake each morning (well, they would if we weren't already awake which we are with a four hour time difference still stuck in our brains). Some of these birds are not like the ones at home. Like this pair of Lace-necked or Chinese Doves sitting in an umbrella tree (also known as an octopus tree), known locally as Mountain Doves (You'll have to click on the picture to see the lace).
One noisy and very common bird in the berry trees is the Red-vented Bulbul. You can see a bit of the red under the tail feathers. It was released in the fifties and is notorious for eating orchid buds so isn't a favorite with the local agricultural community. It's cousin is the...
Red-whiskered Bulbul which like its cousin had an unauthorized cage-release around 1965. It is native to Asia and is harder to see and catch on film (I mean on a digital card...sorry). But as you see, I caught this one with full whiskers showing sneaking a berry and also...

this one, which is my favorite. As I mentioned in an earlier blog so many birds were released from other places and are not native to the islands. One of the things the Hawaiians fear is that the tree snake will come to the islands as it has to Guam where it wiped out the the bird population.

Lest you think it was a slow day in Hawaii, we went to the Slangers' Church for their annual country fair and on the way spotted these Christmas decorations being put up in "an evergreen tree????"

Something other than certain kinds of birds you won't see in North Dakota would be a Hawaiian Santa.

The Country Fair is similar to our area's Bazaars. One of the "bazaar" things for sale was...

Spam Musubi... spam sushi which my dear Son-in-law tried to pass off to me as a "bar" of some kind. Spam is a favorite over here, but let's just say that I really couldn't taste it because the seaweed wrap was over powering. What did I think of Spam Musubi? Mack's facial expression...

says it all!!!

Kick up your heels.....

Kick up your heels cuz my Daddy is coming home....I can hardly wait... I wonder if he will think that I have changed since a week ago.
Last night we walked over to the Kailua open market that they have on Thursdays. Some of the stuff is from grocery stores and some is home grown.

Orchids anyone?

Here's Tutu driving a hard bargain on some soft buns... or was it a soft bargain on hard buns?

Grandpa wanted to check out the Starpoint Cafe menu... but Gram said we would eat at home.

I would have liked some cookies if I were older but for now I have to say "O NO."

It started to rain so we headed home and I fell asleep in Grandpa's arms. He says he has put a lot of people to sleep over the years.

So what do I do all day?

Some of you may be asking: "Mack, what do you do all day?" Well, let me tell you. I start by spending some time with Mom but I have a hard time keeping my eyes open.Then after my diaper gets changed, Grandpa gets his turn with me. He likes it when I sleep in his arms.
And of course next comes Tutu's turn... sheesh...
Then yesterday we packed a lunch and went up on Round Top Drive. It is way up the mountains overlooking Honolulu and has virgin forests and Grandma said it was scary up there.
We sure could see a long way.

Grandpa spotted this poinsettia...

Look how big it is... it is way taller than Grandpa. Not much else looks like Christmas over here though Mom keeps playing Christmas carols.

When we get home Mom sometimes reads to me. Being a Slanger I like books. Do you like Green Eggs and Ham?

Then yesterday Mom got out the big boy stroller called a Bob. That is a neat name cuz that is what Mom calls my Dad sometimes, though others know him as Rob. He is Dad to me.

Grandpa took this picture and said it scared him a bit since the driver seems to be asleep and there is a back seat driver looking over Mom's shoulder. But I made it home safely. That is what a day is like in Hawaii.