Category Archives: Christmas photos

Volcano, Beach and Hawaiian Daredevils

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I looked up at palm trees while on sandy beach near Hilo.

Here are a few photos and videos from our family vacation over Christmas week. We visited beaches, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and lastly, I posted a video of two daredevils on Rainbow Falls in our rental house’s backyard. All I can say is WOW!

Flying into Honolulu over Waikiki Beach. I can’t believe how much it’s grown. I was thankful we stayed on the Big Island in a rain forest!

Kīlauea before the rain started pouring. Our kids and DIL made a day hike out of view points and hiking down into and out of the caldera. My husband and I stuck to the crater rim trail to see views — until it was socked in and we couldn’t see a thing. Plus, it was wet and freezing cold. I wasn’t dressed for the weather. I was thinking Hawaii in my mind. Kudos for the kids hanging in there and seeing marvelous sites.

Looking down into the caldera.

This was a video I took of waves at a beach called Richardson Ocean Park. It was very busy on Christmas Day. My son and DIL traveled further away with our rental car and hiked to a Green Sand Beach (Papakōlea Beach). We took a Lyft to the beach and met the kindest man, Eddie Spaghetti, our driver who was in his 80s and has lived his life in Hawaii. Now that we’re home, Eddie calls and sends us videos and photos of his grandson and other family members. We made a friend!

Richardson Ocean Park was 20 minutes from our rental home.

Here’s the story of Aloha spirit and why the beach park was named after George Richardson.

A little critter hanging out inside a kitchen window.

AND NOW FOR SOME EXCITEMENT:

Was I surprised to see someone standing at the edge of the falls. I watched the guy walking back and forth, scoping it out. Then his friend in a pink boat showed up. They took a few practice runs before doing this! Watch it all.

FYI, I looked up Rainbow Falls and learned that swimming is not allowed because it’s extremely dangerous. Thanks for tagging along on our Hawaiian vacation!

I post Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you missed part one of our Hawaiian vacation with views of our unique rental home, designed by two architects from San Francisco for their own home, it’s posted HERE.

Would you attempt a daredevil move like the two guys above?

What’s one of the scariest things you’ve done?

Safe in My Garden

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Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Aloha to everyone! We spent the week under one roof with our grown kids and daughter in law. This was the backyard of where we stayed on the Big Island. It was a magical week together making memories and mostly enjoying the sights and sounds of staying in a rain forest with Rainbow Falls in the backyard. We were serenaded by the peaceful sound of the waterfall, birds and what I thought were the noisiest birds I’d ever heard — but they turned out to be an invasive species of frogs!

I kept thinking there was a sound machine on — the kind people use to fall asleep — with the waterfall and frog noises! Someone could make a fortune with those sounds.

This is the invasive species of frog I mentioned. It’s very tiny and we found a couple frogs inside the house. I found this photo from a website called Horizon Guest House:

About the coqui (frog)

Originally from Puerto Rico, the coqui arrived in nursery plants and quickly became established, in particular on the Big Island. The coqui makes a distinctive whistling sound at night that sounds almost identical to its name (‘ko-kee’). This sound can be quite loud, reaching up to 95 decibels.

I honestly didn’t need to leave the property, but we managed to explore beaches, the active volcano in Hawaii named Kīlauea, a farmer’s market and went out a few times out to eat.

Our daughter, DIL and my husband did a nighttime snorkel trip with manta rays. I should have gone but I was not excited about swimming in the ocean in the dark, so I missed what they called a most amazing experience. But I did get an evening one-on-one to hang out with our son. He’s the one who did the research and found this house to rent!

Our son and DIL viewing Rainbow Falls from the backyard.

Here are some photos of the unique house we stayed in:

A view of the house from halfway to the waterfall in the backyard. I love the lava stone walls used in landscaping the backyard and also lining the driveway. Below are a few interior shots.

Because the home is in a rain forest, the three main parts of the house (bedrooms, living room and kitchen) are connected with lanais.

The kitchen was gorgeous — as were the views from every single window.

Below is a waterfall video:

Here’s a video of Rainbow Falls with a person standing on the edge to give you perspective of size. Rainbow Falls State Park is above the falls, where this person must have come from. Turn on your volume to enjoy waterfall sounds. I’m posting a crazy video of the falls Wednesday with this guy and a friend!

My husband can be seen (photo below) going for a walk around the property. He’s a tiny dot in the background on the lawn.

Why did I call this post “Safe in My Garden?”

Because it’s one of my favorite songs from childhood. Also, I had several very stressful weeks before we went on vacation. I felt so safe and relaxed in our rain forest (and almost) treehouse with a waterfall!

What did you do this past week to celebrate holidays or spend time with family?

Mulies Munching

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My wild kingdom life continues. Two mule deers munched on jojoba plants in our backyard outside our fence last week for a few hours. There wasn’t much left of one jojoba when they were done.

I was fascinated and managed to stand a few yards away — on my side of the fence. At one point the buck jumped and it looked like he’d run away. But instead, he froze and the pair didn’t seem to think I was a threat. The buck had small antlers that were narrow. You can barely make them out in the photos.

I took the photo above with my Nikon. I had trouble with the camera, because the mulies would be partially behind shrubs and the with camera on auto, focused on the plant life, leaving the mule deers blurry. This was the only decent photo I got.

Here are a few more photos and a video from my iphone:

Here are the mulies munching on jojoba. There’s a good view of the buck’s antlers.

I sat myself down on a bench opposite the deer and watched feeling the peace of nature. What a blessing during Advent to experience this beauty.

The Gift of Christmas
Poet: Catherine Pulsifer

Family and friends gathered near,
Laughter and love so warm, sincere.
May the joy of Christmas Day,
Guide your heart in every way.

Remember those who face the cold,
Whose stories often go untold.
Extend a hand, share what you can,
For love unites the hearts of man.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Christmas Party Time

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Look at this charcuterie and appetizers!

Last week, after my encounter with a pack of coyotes, I had to get dressed up for a Christmas party. If you missed the coyote post, it’s HERE.

I was kind of worn out, stressed, and not feeling up to it. But we were driving another couple from our neighborhood, so there was no backing out.

It was a Christmas/Holiday party for my charitable group that raises funds for a residential facility that helps rescued sex-trafficked women return to a “normal” life. I’ve written about The Dream Center HERE.

One of our members opened her home for the party. It was catered and I have to share the beautiful display of hors d’oeuvres and her Christmas decorations.

Dessert.

This is the other side of the island with more delicious food and gorgeous decorations.

I wish I would have taken photos of her backyard. You can see the photo above, how the glass doors disappear into the wall. The hostess and her husband are Italian and their backyard looks like a Roman style garden. It was a beautiful evening with friends.

The hostess had a surprise for us:

Dickens Christmas Carolers!

The party put me in the holiday spirit. I’m so looking forward to Christmas this year with my children and daughter-in-law.

When have you not wanted to go somewhere and it turned out to be better than expected?

What puts you in a Christmas/Holiday spirit?

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

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This is a wreath I made years ago when we lived in Palm Springs. It’s on our front gate. This week, I’m decorating my tree, hanging wreaths and having fun getting ready for my kids and DIL’s visit.

The wreath was placed on our big wooden gates when we lived in Palm Springs.

I noticed a few decorations on my daily walk. Here they are:

I’m not sure if these are mice or polar bears. Any guesses?

I love saguaros with Santa hats.

They look good on Beavergtail cacti too.

I got this Rockin’ Santa from Target in 1999. He’s a joy to bring out each Christmas season. He dances to Brenda Lee’s “Rockin Around the Christmas Tree.”

Our first Christmas in Arizona was about a week after we moved. I didn’t decorate. The next year we rented a house in Santa Barbara for our family. The year after that, we stayed in our old Palm Springs neighborhood. Needless to say, I didn’t put up a tree at home. My Rockin’ Santa was the extent of my decorations, plus the wreath on the gate.

I decided to put up the tree this year because the kids are coming. But I couldn’t find my Christmas box containing our married life of ornaments. I looked high and low. I emptied out the guest room closet. I searched the garage which has nice storage cupboards. I looked everywhere.

It hurt my heart that I no longer had our eclectic collection of ornaments that included ones made by my kids in second, third and fourth grades. I had ornaments given as gifts through the decades from my mom and friends. Nothing matched but it all worked and was special to us.

I was relieved to find our Christmas stockings safely tucked away in my bin of gift wrap. My friend in Santa Barbara made them for us, plus I still have the stocking my grandmother knitted for my first Christmas!

Somehow our Christmas ornaments didn’t make the move from Palm Springs to Arizona. The wreaths were stored in the same spot as the Christmas box, which is odd.

A strange thing happened during our move. The movers’ truck wasn’t big enough. They had to rent a separate U-Haul and the nearest one available was in San Diego. That was due to everyone moving out of California during COVID. People were not moving into the state, so U-Hauls were in short supply.

We left for Arizona and the movers promised to catch up with us the next day. We left before the movers had everything packed. Good thing we bought all the furniture in the casita — so we didn’t have to sleep on the floor!

Do you decorate for holidays? Do you keep it to a minimum or do you go all out?

Merry Christmas!

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Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

Luke 2:11

Here are a few photos of Christmas Day beauty and cheer:

Merry Christmas everyone, have a peaceful and love-filled week!

It’s that time of year (or buried in Frangos)

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Every year, for as long as I can remember during my married life, I’ve helped my husband with Holiday cards and small gifts of appreciation for his clients. I add that to my personal cards and friends and family gifts.

I enjoyed when my daughter was in high school and helped me with this project because two hands are better than one!

I’ll never forget one year in the Palm Springs post office, when the postal worker asked me to re-label my stack of Frango Mints to save money on mailing. My daughter and I wrote new labels as fast as we could, and the postal worker was ringing them up and punching into her computer. We actually had teamwork going and it didn’t slow down the process at all for those waiting behind us. It looked like it did — because of us filling out new labels — but in reality it took no more time. The postal worker was moving as fast as she could and she hadn’t caught up to our new labeling.

But the comments and cursing I heard that day! My daughter had my back and defended us loudly to those behind us. I was afraid one impatient person was going to come to blows with us. Or my daughter would get into a fight defending me.

I’ve made friends with our postal workers in Carefree (like I did for 30 years in Palm Springs) and gave them their own box of Frangos. This will be my second year of overwhelming the small Carefree post office with packages. They’ve told me to never come in on Mondays and what hours are best. I’ve also learned to come in on multiple days with no more than ten to a dozen boxes. It may take a few more trips, but I understand how people in line get annoyed at having to wait.

I’ve never had a bad experience with a postal worker. Just the people waiting behind me.

I used to order gifts online with addresses and let the company do the labeling and mailing. I sent a delicious strudel from a Seattle bakery. But then my husband would get calls that the packaging came with the wrong names, etc. It’s easier to do it myself and get it right. Also, people all love Frangos, so I’ve given up on trying something new.

Thankfully, the gift giving in our family has gotten smaller. It’s been getting together that’s most important.

So what are Frangos?

My sweet memory of Frangos goes back to shopping with Mom in downtown Seattle. We’d go to the old-fashioned department store Frederick and Nelson, which had one floor dedicated to fabrics and notions, one for housewares, one for toys and children’s clothing, etc. At the end of our trip we’d have lunch at the counter and finish the day off with one Frango mint each.

What gift giving traditions do you continue during the holidays?

How often do you see impatient people at the Post Office in December? Would you groan standing behind me in line?