Riding along in the passenger seat when heading North on Kamehameha Highway from Kahaluʻu to Swanzy Beach Park affords good views of the ocean, once past Ka’aʻawa Valley. Roll the window down for a clear camera shot and tradewinds that allow you to sniff the salty air.
Have a great day and be well!
~ Rebekah
After a congratulatory Distinguished Service Awards Dinner meeting of the Honolulu Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League last night, an occasion of many speeches, a full moon lighted the way home. I awoke in the middle of the night remembering that my friend and table mates Becky and Susan asked me for a Hawaiian poem to read at a wedding. They wanted something that celebrates the love between two people.
My thinking box came up with “Lei Aloha, Lei Makamae” composed by Chas. E. King. It is not the over-sung Hawaiian Wedding Song duet, so we thought it would be perfect.
Stay in love!
~ Rebekah
The Hawaii State Farm Fair down the highway at Kualoa Ranch goes on for one more day on Sunday. We ran out of energy earlier than in previous years, but not before scouring the plant booth for herbs, and the produce booth for bananas, tomatoes, and a pineapple.
We stood in a long line for fresh lemonade in a quart size Mason jar. We made the rounds in the agriculture exhibit tent. And we admired the 4-H farm animals.
Our grandkids are off island this summer, so we skipped the kiddie rides and the ponies. Finally, we headed home before any appetite lured us to the plate lunch line; tacos seemed popular.
If you are on Oahu, you might consider taking in this rural experience.
Be well.
~Rebekah
I can’t help it. Every morning for years I have gathered kou flowers, and when the calamansi is bearing I pick those, too. I string the flowers into lei, and I make marmalade from the citrus. Today’s lei is for a friend who is leaving the Islands to work in Arizona. His last concert for a while that he will conduct here—the University of Hawaii Nā Wai Chamber Choir—is tonight. I will put up a couple jars of marmalade for later gift giving.
Be well. Your friend,
Rebekah
I am lucky. Brilliant orange and purple blossoms from our kou tree and passion fruit lilikoʻi vine greet me every morning with the promise of flower lei for dearest friends, and fruit to eat and juice. The lei will dry nicely to a burnt orange and resemble paper, lasting a while. I will use the lilikoʻi juice in dessert and beverage recipes.
Gratefully yours,
Rebekah
As our island state opens up, the last one from COVID, I sense, a feeling of craziness out there on the roads away from our familiar bubble of home. We have forgotten how to act. For example, yesterday morning I attended the memorial service for my friend Piʻikea. We had waited two years to celebrate her life.
It did not occur to me to mingle as Pete and I looked about and then went to our car in the shade to partake of the lunch.
I am sure Piʻikea would forgive us, while saying, ”Dummy!”
The painting pictured is of Piʻikea’s taro garden. She was a high school special education teacher and used the loʻi as her outdoor classroom to help her students learn about life, the land, and growing their own food. Eia ka maia a ke kalo mai Luluku mai no Lono.
Rebekah
With pandemic numbers decreasing, I ventured out of my bubble yesterday to socialize by attending two in-person gatherings —a belated birthday lunch with my friends Lori and Yo, and a meeting of the Koʻolauloa Hawaiian Civic Club.
Lori, a foodie and of a former restaurant conglomerate, knows the chef at Artizen and treated Yo and me with gift cards she wanted to use. I first met Lori at a Reiki workshop long ago where, I think, she took on the role of sous chef for the meals. I honestly don’t recall how I met Yo, perhaps through Lori, but we both spent our childhood in Wahiawa.
Me, Lori, and Yo
In the evening I attended the Koʻolauloa Hawaiian Civic Club dinner meeting. It was very interesting with several guest speakers informing via Zoom on a large video screen.
Guest speaker on Zoom
Approximately a dozen club members were very polite, donning face masks except when eating and sitting five- or six-feet apart, although I am pretty sure we were all vaccinated. For a special treat, Jolene and Haleaha taught us how to fashion roses out of ti leaves.
Ti leaf rose
Some members of the Koʻolauloa Hawaiian Civic Club who braved an in-person meeting and removed their face masks only for this image. I am not in the picture because I’m the photographer.
Someone doled out thoughtful parting gifts of COVID-19 Antigen Home Tests and hand sanitizer. I love my Hawaiian civic club.
Be well. Love,
Rebekah
Rebekah’s Studio 
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