Mele Kalikimaka to all of our friends!
More about us, but first...
One of the favorite songs we've been hearing on the island is the Hawaiian version of 12 Days of Christmas. I've copied the lyrics below. For your enjoyment, try going to YouTube to hear the song being sung. Here are a couple of versions that are fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GoMmIEKgks
or, a cute hip-hoppy version :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0n9SnuvX28&feature=related
(Hang in there for the dance. It's worth it.)
(The 12 Days of Christmas local style)
- by Eaton B. Magoon Jr., Edward Kenny, Gordon N. Phelps
Numbah One day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
One mynah bird in one papaya tree.
Numbah Two day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Two coconut, an' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.
Numbah Tree day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.
Numbah Foah day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.
Numbah Five day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Five beeg fat peeg... foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.
Numbah Seex day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Seex hula lesson, five beeg fat peeg (that make TEN!),
Foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.
Numbah Seven day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Seven shrimp a-swimmin', seex hula lesson,
Five beeg fat peeg, foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.
Numbah Eight day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Eight ukulele, seven shrimp a-swimmin', seex hula lesson,
Five beeg fat peeg (that make TWENNY!), foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.
Numbah Nine day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Nine pound of poi, eight ukulele, seven shrimp a-swimmin',
Seex hula lesson, five beeg fat peeg, foah flowah let, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.
Numbah Ten day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Ten can of beer, nine pound of poi, eight ukuklele, seven shrimp a-swimmin'
Seex hula lesson, five beeg fat peeg,
Foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.
Numbah Eleven day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Eleven missionary, ten can of beer, nine pound of poi,
Eight ukulele, seven shrimp a-swimmin', seex hula lesson,
Five beeg fat peeg, foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree.
(Numbah Twelve day of Christmas the bes', and the bes' stuff always come las'...)
Numbah Twelve day of Christmas, my tutu give to me
Twelve TELEVISION, eleven missionary, ten can of beer,
Nine pound of poi, eight ukulele, seven shrimp a-swimmin',
Seex hula lesson, FORTY steenkin' peeg,
Foah flowah lei, tree dry squid, two coconut,
An' one mynah bird in one papaya tree!
Music and lyrics published by Hawaiian Recording and Publishing Company, Inc., and copyrighted in 1959.
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| Sam and I taking a walk on Hanalei Bay Beach at sunset |
Regarding us: THE Latest Blog...or somewhat of a Christmas Letter
We are alive, well, and very moist here on Kauai. For those of you wondering what happened to us, my husband said that the dogs and I were getting very boring and very Christmas letter like in our writing. So, I stopped writing. Well, now you get the news since Thanksgiving:
•We've been Tebowed. The Broncos are one of the most popular teams here. They are 3rd behind San Fran and Oakland. We're watching the Buffalo game right now. (4th quarter - ugh!) It's nice to get Bronco games and it's been fun watching Tebow grow as a quarterback. What an outstanding young man on and off the field! It's a nice change in the midst of the not-so-nice news one usually hears about pro athletes.
•Rain. There has been a lot of rain here. We Coloradans aren't familiar with dampness and gray skies. But the good news is that when it seems like it's been gloomy for awhile, the sun does finally appear and Kauai is its gorgeous self. So, those of you with snowy days, know that winter does exist in Hawaii. The tropics do have bad weather.
•In regards to weather, we do feel like locals. People told us that 65º feels cold here. It does! It must be the humidity factor. It's a good thing that 65º is a night time temperature.
•We are finally exploring the island. Last week, we went on a Sierra Club hike to an archeological site. We visited and learned the history of the Makauwahi Cave (basically a sinkhole). Creepy stuff, like old Hawaiian royals buried behind rocks... We ventured on to learn about some beaches we had visited before. Fun, beautiful, and good exercise. We are looking forward to doing a lot more exploring.
•Sam was neutered. He woke up during the surgery and howled the most horrific screams I've ever heard from an animal... It continued for quite awhile. People waiting with their dogs looked horrified. I was ready to leave the island when he came out of the surgery. I immediately called one of our Colorado vets and asked if she had ever experienced a situation like that. The answer was that some types of anesthesia will cause an animal to be vocal. I'm not quite sure that was what happened, but I've calmed down over the past two weeks. Sam is fine now. (For those of you who don't know, we couldn't neuter Sam until we arrived here. We were advised that any physical changes to an animal after the application was received by the state could cause him to be refused admittance upon arrival.
We've been learning more about our boy. He is very adorable, sweet, and charming on one hand. On the other hand, he is not dependable. Sam is what I'd call an ADHD doggie. He is easily distracted by anything that moves. (Kind of like the dogs in Up) Yesterday, he took off when he saw a dog about an 1/8 of a mile down the beach. He ran so fast away from us, he could have won the Kentucky Derby. I jogged down the beach to get him and there he was crying and sniveling. I couldn't determine if the dog bit him, or, he hurt himself running like that after the surgery. We don't think he learned his lesson. He's a lab. We're sure that something similar will occur again in the future.
•Sea-Sea hasn't been feeling too well. She got a centipede sting and that has been an issue. The sting area has been swollen for awhile. We were told by the vet it takes a long time to heal. Poor thing! She's been on antibiotics and had the area lanced. On a positive note, Sea-Sea loves standing in the shallow water at the beach. There is a nice quiet beach about 5 minutes from here and she will just stand in the water forever. (She's also senile. We think that is part of it).
•We like going to the beach with the dogs. From tourists to locals, we've met some nice people that are drawn to our guys.
•Both Steve and I are taking painting lessons. We both really like the artist. Fred is a kind person who truly embodies the Aloha spirit. Though painting is something Steve has never done, he's hoping to learn from the perspective of a painter to see if it helps him with his photography. Speaking of Steve's photography, you might want to visit his blog: stevegandyphotography.blogspot.com
I, on the other hand, am learning to paint without drawing first. I haven't painted in 20+ years so I am excited to give this a try. Fred has an interesting technique. He teaches one thing that you work on during the lesson. Then he fixes your painting, so you can move on to the next lesson without worrying about what wasn't done correctly. He says that after completing a few paintings, you really see how important each step is to complete a painting and get the necessary practice with each of the skills he teaches. It's nice to have the time to learn from an artist like him.
•On the horizon: Paddle board lessons! The weather wasn't cooperating these past weeks on the days we were free to try it. January is now our time to get the lessons. The influx of Christmas tourists has occurred, so we'll just wait. Also, we need calm water. Some of the days this past month had 15+ foot waves. The surfers were happy. (We can boogie board on the not so big wave days.)
•Whenever possible, I swim. The waters have been rough and I heed the caution of the lifeguards here. I can't read a rip current for the life of me. I can only tell if there's a really obvious one. There are a few beaches where I can swim safely on most days. To swim in open water feels good. It's been a long time since I've been able to do that.
•Forced retirement, not working in science education, was really hard for me. After being away from work for two months, I can now say it's easier for me to read and truly internalize what's going on in science and science education. That has been a good thing for me. My mind feels more refreshed and creative at the present time. Hope it lasts and my brain doesn't become waterlogged.
•We've been seeing humpback whales breach, tail slap, and blow from the shore. We've also seen turtles and spinner dolphins. We plan a February trip to Maui to whale watch with Lesley and Terry Thompson. We're very excited about that!
•May your holidays truly be bright! We miss our friends and family on the mainland.
Aloha,
Linda
