Alice Brown, our beautiful little dog, went to the rainbow bridge tonight. It was her time. We are grieving. She gave us and all who met her so very much joy. Everyone will miss her. Thank you, Alice Brown, for being a part of our hearts and lives.
Alice Brown 2003-2014
8 04 2014Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: Alice Brown
Categories : Friends & Family
A nostalgic banana pie
6 04 2014Yesterday I went to visit Kay, my first cousin Roger’s recent widow, to see if she was okay and to offer help. I rang the doorbell and knocked on the front door. No answer. So I sat down on the porch and dialed her number. “I’m here.” She asked me to go around the left side of the house and up the steps to the back entrance.
Those red concrete steps. A sudden flash of memory. A two-year-old’s memory. I lived there until I was two! I remember going up and down those steps with my mother. This was Uncle Kiu’s house on 6th avenue, that backed up to the house my parents and I lived in on 7th avenue.
My mother didn’t drive, so she either walked or took the bus with me in tow, several blocks down the hill to Kapahulu avenue where all the shops were. She also carried me back up that steep hill, I remember. I also remember the butcher reserving the end piece of char siu for me.
So from our house, we took a short cut through the back yards and past Uncle Kiu’s on our walk. Somewhere I have a photo of me on those steps, and perhaps that is how I am able to remember those occasions.
Then we moved to Wahiawa next door to Uncle Harry and Aunty Edna on Kilani avenue for a change in climate and lived there until I was 12. Today I got to thinking about my childhood and my relatives and Uncle Harry’s wonderful two-crusted banana pie that he often baked.
Hey, are there any bananas in the kitchen this afternoon? Yes! I decided to make Uncle Harry’s pie.
Warm, fragrant banana pie with flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, lime, and butter. Mmmm…
Copyright 2014 Rebekah Luke
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Tags: banana pie, childhood memory
Categories : About me, Food, Friends & Family, Memoir
Grandparents’ delight times two
29 03 2014It’s been six months since we saw our granddaughters in Italy where they live. The sisters have grown up so much since then.
They go to Italian school during the week and holiday throughout Italy with their parents on weekends.
These updating photos were made by their father who posts them to a blog for us to see. When we’re half a world away in Hawaii, we also video chat via FaceTime on our iPhones. It makes up for the distance.
Who knows when DH and I will see these beautiful children to love them in person next?
Perrin, 2, and Ayla, 4
We introduced her to you as Miss Marvelous. Her name is Ayla. She’s a princess.
Perrin. She loves going to school.
All photos by Travis Hylton
Copyright 2014 Rebekah Luke
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Tags: Miss Marvelous
Categories : Friends & Family
Uncle Pete the storyteller
10 03 2014Today I want to applaud and give a shout out to DH, or my Darling Husband as he is known here, Papa to his granddaughters in Italy, and Uncle Pete to others. Something very special occurred on Friday during his day at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu where he has been a volunteer docent for about eight years.
Just when he wondered how effective he was with school children, an age group he has only recently addressed in his role as a docent, the Museum’s education staff passed him some mail. “Here.”
He phoned me at the studio at the end of the day with excitement in his voice, “What do you want for dinner? I want to celebrate! Check out my Facebook page.” I read:
A couple weeks ago we gave an hour docent tour to a group of 4th graders from Iolani School. Today I share this book of letters addressed to Uncle Pete, not only giving thanks but validating that these folks listened and reflect. A very humbling and wonderful gift. Mahalo kids from Iolani.
You may click on the photo to enlarge the letter from Josh.
Uncle Pete in front of Hawaiian Hall at the Bishop Museum with the book of thank you notes from Iolani School fourth graders (Photo by Taueva Fa’otusia)
Of course he was tickled. I’ve always thought being a docent is perfect for Pete. He likes to talk a lot, and he likes history, particularly Hawaiian history. At home, his family just rolls their eyes. In fact, the baby would move her lips with her fingers for that rude sound when she was tired of her Papa talking so much!
But at the Museum, Uncle Pete has a new audience every time. The average length of a docent tour is 25 minutes. He really has to convey the facts and hit his marks. No editorializing! Do you really want to know the history of Hawai‘i in just ten minutes? Uncle Pete can tell you. A whole hour with the fourth graders? He must really have been in his element and enjoyed every minute.
After reading the congratulatory comments from friends on the Facebook post, I have to agree Pete is a gifted storyteller, and the thanks is well deserved. I am so glad his talent and generosity were recognized in this way.
Copyright 2014 Rebekah Luke
Uncle Pete Krape’s regular docent tours at the Bishop Museum are on Friday afternoon in Hawaiian Hall.Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Bishop Museum, docent, fourth grade, Iolani School, Peter Krape
Categories : Friends & Family, Hawaiian
Feel lighter, spring forward
5 03 2014Mercury is out of retrograde, I can tell. My spirit is better. I started to Spring-clean the studio today, de-cluttering and rearranging the furniture, props, and inventory to make room for something new, although I don’t know yet exactly what. It feels good. This happens every once in a while, usually after the Winter holiday, when my surroundings are such that I can barely move. It’s a good time to get rid of what no longer serves me, so I can turn the page, so to speak. I challenge you to take similar steps forward.
I created a new desk area against this window for the first time! Studio props for my still life classes are out in the open for easy access. The desk is a six-foot folding plastic table dressed up with a soft, textured blanket. From here I enjoy cooling trade winds and a small view of the ocean.
“My Corniglia,” an image I made of the Ligurian coastline, hangs above a new print rack that displays my art reproductions professionally. DH built the tasteful picture frame that happens to be a design repeat of the hardwood chairs.
Copyright 2014 Rebekah Luke
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Tags: Fine Art, health, office desk, print rack, spring cleaning, work space
Categories : About me, Fine Art
Honors for Ivalee Sinclair
22 02 2014The Learning Disabilities Association of Hawaii honored my hanai mother Ivalee Sinclair tonight at a dinner at the Pacific Beach Hotel.
Mom was the founder of Hawaii’s advocate groups for learning disabled people and their families in Hawaii more than 40 years ago, obtaining Federal funding and legislation for support in subsequent years, and making sure services were consistent with the law.
Tonight she was honored for “her vision, her guts, and her drive for the organization,” working tirelessly for many years, and she was recognized as “a legend, historian, and feared advocate.”
The Learning Disabilities Association of Hawaii named a new library center of resources for parents after her. Ivalee’s family was there to help celebrate.
Pictured below are, from left, me, Julie (Mrs. Karl) Sinclair, Ivalee Sinclair, Cherie (Mrs. David) Sinclair, and Dawn Yoshimura (Mrs. Brian Sinclair).
The Sinclair men are David, from left, Karl, James, and Brian.
Copyright 2014 Rebekah Luke
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Tags: Ivalee Sinclair, learning disabilities
Categories : Friends & Family
Understanding Georgia O’Keeffe
19 02 2014
Hey, studio fans! Tomorrow is my usual painting day with my group out in the landscape. Since being sidelined with a temporary medical issue in December that forced me to cancel many activities and plans, I haven’t painted a stroke. DH brought a pot of tulips for St. Valentine’s Day, and Tamsen softly suggested I paint a still life. Curiously, I have never seen a tulip blossom like the one I photographed above. So I’ve been thinking about picking up my brush. If not tomorrow, then soon. What do you think?
Copyright 2014 Rebekah Luke
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Tags: flower, Georgia O'Keeffe, healing, tulip
Categories : About me, Fine Art
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