Prepared

There is a tsunami warning in effect for Hawaii due to a major earthquake in Chili. The state will not sound the warning sirens for another hour so the only way people know now is if they were up in the middle of the night watching t.v. or if someone who was called them and told them. I was one who received the news via the latter method.

Gene just went down to the bank machine to grab cash. He said the lines are nuts and the parking lot at Safeway is packed. It seems alot of people are up in the middle of the night watching t.v.

We are ready - thanks mostly to a church that teaches us to be prepared - we have everything we might need.

But I've often thought that its what you know in your head that is probably more critical than what you can carry in your arms and on your back.

Thankfully, again, the church programs have taught us much of what we need to know in emergency situations.

We should be fine - our home is in a safe zone - we're stocked and ready - we are healthy.

And, of course, no matter what happens we are being watched over constantly. What a peaceful feeling!

Busy Weekend

It starts tonight!

Gene's taking Gabe and some of his friends for an overnighter to Hilton Hawaiian Village for Gabe's 16th birthday (which is Monday). I'm staying home with the 2 girls and making cupcakes with sprinkles!

Tomorrow Gabe's got rehearsal and then tomorrow night we are going to a big 50th birthday party in Wahiawa (my friend's husband's bash). We're making homemade root beer (note to self - buy the dry ice!!)

Sunday is church then we are having a family dinner for Gabe's birthday and Carly and Lehua are coming over for dinner!!! YAY!!!

Then we move on to Monday and a new week - which looks busy as well...oh, and did I mention we are going off island on Friday? Going to Phoenix. Back Monday the 8th.

Farmer's Market

There is an outdoor Farmer's Market at the District Park near our home. Its every Thursday from 10:45 - 11:45.

You can get some good deals on veggies and fruits - not a lot of vendors - maybe half a dozen.

When I went today I realized something - when you look around the market all you see is gray and white hair...and mine is among them.

Same thing during my morning mall walk.

Funny how the top of my head looks old but my mind and spirit feel young.

Lost then FOUND!

Jesus Sanchez - he was lost...to me at least.

Who is he? A 3rd generation Vatican bookbinder and, according to some, the foremost bookbinder in the world today. I had read about him and had heard that he lived in Hilo.

Over the last 2 years I became almost obsessed with finding him and, eventually learning from him.

It was our daughter, Susan, who sparked my interest. You see, 2 years ago she gave us handmade books for Christmas. She had taken a book arts class in college and made these gorgeous hard cover beauties! I was intrigued!

I began searching for bookbinding workshops and classes online. I was willing to go anywhere to learn. That's how I first heard of Jesus Sanchez.

You might remember that I learned - quite by accident - that my neice Allie was into Book Arts. So last June I flew to Portland to take a 3 day workshop from her. I LOVED IT!

I loved the process - which requires you to take it slow. I loved the exactness required to do it right.

Allie taught me more (how to make a box) when she was here in November.

And through it all I kept thinking about Jesus Sanchez...

Every now and then I would google him to see if he was offering a class...once I saw that he was and signed up for the class...but it got cancelled.

In January of this year I decided to google him again. There was a link about him going to Cuba (he has a massive historical books project that he is doing for the Cuban gov't).

I clicked on the link and saw not a picture of Jesus Sanchez but a picture of...Tomas Belsky - husband of my cousin Moanikeala Akaka!!! Tomas had gone to Cuba last year with Jesus!

I got on the phone right away and called Moani. "Yes," she said "Jesus is a good friend of ours! he's in Cuba right now but should be back soon"

The connection was made - and yesterday Moani called to give me Jesus' cell number!

Haven't called him yet but I did call Allie and Susan to see if they'd be interested in maybe going over to Hilo and meeting Jesus and perhaps learning from him. They were both enthusiastic and ecstatic about such an opportunity. So am I...Can you imagine all the things we can learn from this master??

What a small world! And how blessed am I??? The person I had been trying to find for 2 years happened to be a friend of my own cousin. How great is that! Am I Heavenly Father's favorite or what????

Jesus Sanchez..FOUND!

Breakfast - Maybe

So its 4:40 a.m. and I am contemplating the new day - Sunday.

Traditionally its a day when Gene cooks breakfast - Michelle wakes up and asks for bacon, eggs and rice lately - but I don't think that request will be fulfilled today (we've cut back on meats of all kinds - not counting IN-N-OUT Burger).

So this popped up online and I've been thinking...

Should I?

Jacob

I haven't posted Jacob's letters or email lately 'cause although there have been quite a few, they are incredibly short as he is very, very busy. This week's email was 2 lines.

BUT -

• He is doing well!
• His address in the side bar is still good.
• He's gotten all of your letters, cards, boxes, etc. and says THANKS!
• He is still thoughtful and kind - he sent Gabe a new video game!
• He gained 15 lbs. then lost 5 (due to lots of bike riding and walking)
• He is, in his words, "working hard, playing hard"
• He said his favorite pudding is tapioca and his favorite jam is raspberry.
• He has had a steady stream of baptisms.

AND...(drum roll)...as of today...

He has been out for 6 months already!!!!!!!!

Time does fly!

Disaster Diverted

Thanks to Susan a terrible disaster was diverted.

Before leaving on our trip we had noticed that one of the chickens had laid 13 eggs right by our doorstep. Something needed to be done but Gene thought it could probably wait until we returned.

Fortunately, Susan took matters into her own hands and took all 13 eggs to her home in North Shore.

Not sure if she did it because she recognized the seriousness of the situation or she was just plain hungry...but whatever the reason I applaud her initiative!

And, let's be honest about it - it was the thought of free food that motivated her.

Thanks Susan!

Final Surprise!

So this whole trip was a series of surprises for Gene.

Surprise 1 - Destination! I only told him 2 days before.
Surprise 2 - Winchester House. We had heard about it but never gone to it!
Surprise 3 - Cottage - I knew he'd love our own little place!
Surprise 4 - Safari - He knows how I feel about animals so was totally surprised I booked this!
Surprise 5 - Redwoods - This was on his bucket list!
Surprise 6 - Hot Air Balloon - Knowing my fear of heights, he was in awe that I planned this!
Surprise 7 - Point Bonita - I know these ocean, cliff, fog things are among his faves!

The final surprise - Surprise 8 - was extra special and I didn't tell him about it until a few hours before.


While we were at Point Bonita I hired a personal chef to go to the cabin and prepare and serve our anniversary dinner.

The menu - I selected Gene's favorites:

Appetizers:
Mushrooms stuffed with spinach, bacon & goat cheese
Caprese Skewers

Soup:
Warm Tomato Soup with Basil Coulis

Entree:
Breast of chicken with Apricot/Cherry Sauce

Vegetables:
Stuffed Baked Potato
Glazed Baby Carrots

Dessert:
Apple Crumb with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

When we returned from Point Bonita our cottage had been transformed into a romantic restaurant complete with flowers and candles.

I forgot to take pictures of all of the food but here's the mushrooms (or 1/2 of them at least)

And here's the chef, Elyse Bolton of the Brass Spatula, and her assistant Kathleen. Can't believe they prepared such an extraordinary meal in such a short time in our cottage!

And not only do they prep, cook and serve, but they also clean up too!!!

Gene thought the dinner was fabulous - and I was thrilled that I was able to pull off all 7 surprises and that he loved them all. I am so happy I made the WRIGHT choice 34 years ago!

THE END of the 34th Anniversary Tale
but NOT the end of our Story!

Stay Tuned..for Time and All Eternity

Point Bonita!

I had heard about this lighthouse that is only accessible via a rickety wooden bridge that only allows 2 people to cross at a time. I knew I would be soooooooooooo afraid and I knew Gene would love it - so it definitely was a MUST on this trip.

Point Bonita Lighthouse is located in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The hike to the lighthouse is steep in some spots but flat in others. And every great hike needs a tunnel!



It was a very foggy day when we went - which made the trek more exciting! The power of the ocean below the trail is unbelievable!

The bridge to the lighthouse is indeed wooden, rickety and scaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrry! (That's it in the background!)

I am so brave! The bridge sways with the wind!
And as you can see from my hair it was WINDY!

Love shot at Point Bonita!

Gene loved this place - and because he loved it - SO DID I!!!

More Balloon Pictures!

While hot air ballooning is quite expensive it is totally worth it. Because of fog in Napa Valley on our flight morning we were bussed to Winters for our flight.

Inflating the balloons

Preflight photo

Up, up and AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!


Instead of vineyards we saw orchards. Very beautiful.

During the flight the guy does a touchdown on water which is very exciting!
Beginning the deflation

Wow! Never thought I would have enjoyed it so much! Check another one off the bucket list!

Cottage

This is the adorable cottage we stayed in on our trip. It is called the Oaks at Olivet (it is located on Olivet Road in Santa Rosa and is within walking distance of 7 vineyards which we never walked to).

Here's the cute fireplace.

Kitchen/dining area.

Living room.

Bedroom.

Moon over the barn

Us at our little love nest in Sonoma.


The cottage was perfect! And only $100 per night!

Safari!

We signed up for a tour at Safari West is Santa Rosa. The place is an animal preserve. They take you on these big bus/trucks out into the fields where the animals are - you go right in the same field - no fences.

It was quite exciting - the truck ride on hills, up and down ruts and mud was an adventure in and of itself!

Those of you who know me know I do not like animals. Those of you who know Gene know he LOVES animals.

So going on this adventure really showed how much I'm willing to do for that luck guy!

The tour lasts 3 hours - which we were a little leery about at first - but it ended up being so FUN!

Our tour guide was a guy named Danny whose favorite word was "adaptation".

Gene was shocked that I would sit way up on the top bench - anything for you, babe! Of course, this is not a pic of our bus - we couldn't take a pic of ourselves! But on ours, I was seated right where the tall guy is.

While we saw many animals (cheetahs, rhino, etc.) Danny seemed most concerned about this male ostrich

This is the ostrich right next to Gene's shoe -
that's how close we got!
A big buffalo

This place has cabins that you can stay in overnight.
I had originally thought it would be fun to stay overnight - with the animal sounds going it would be like being in the jungle...
but then we saw that they had one species of animal that we could do without...

Its one of the reasons we came on this vacation - to get away from this!

I highly recommend this Safari West. Its pricey - and you must reserve weeks ahead - no walk ups. But totally a great experience ...even if you don't like animals.

BIG

Another place we visited on our 34th Anniversary Trip was Armstrong Woods State Preserve. It was located about 25 minutes from where we were staying.

Gene had always wanted to see some big redwood trees so this was it. Granted they weren't "drive-your-car-through" big - but they were plenty big for us!

We arrived shortly before 8 a.m. and followed the directions we'd seen in various guidebooks - park in the lot outside the park and walk in to avoid the park fee. The park was empty of people and full of fog ... ooooh - kinda spooky but really pretty! We hiked/walked maybe about 1 1/2 miles on various trails.

Gene lay on the ground to take this photo. The fog covered the top of the tree.

Weird stump with moss
and my eyes look crazy-person weird in this pic.


I have no idea who Parson Jones is but he sure has a BIG tree!

Finally, Gene let me take a picture of him - and as you can see
I am a sucky photographer - BLURRY!


Love Shot
What a GREAT morning!

That Woman Was CRAZY!

Our first stop on our 34th Anniversary Trip was Winchester Mansion in San Jose, California. The place was built by a woman named Mrs. Winchester. She married an heir to the winchester filfe family. She was told by some shaman that in order to make up for the lives taken by the rifle she would need to construct a home. She sure did! She had carpenters working 24/7 for 38 years. The "end" result was a home with 160 rooms (we saw 110 on the tour).

The house has staircases that lead to nowhere, doors that open to brick walls, windows in the floor and numerous other oddities.

It was an interesting tour.

After the tour we went to the place that was the REAL reason we wanted to come to California.

Gene and I LOVE IN-N-OUT Burger!
Need one in Hawaii - STAT!!!!

An Amazing Weekend

We had an AMAZING weekend on our AMAZING 34th wedding anniversary trip to AMAZING Sonoma, California.

The trip started out great as our upgrades cleared before the flight. We left on Friday Feb. 12 at 10:25 and arrived in San Francisco on Saturday. Even in a 757, first class beats coach.

San Francisco was gorgeous!

Our destination was Sonoma County.

Even though we are not wine aficianados, I had heard Sonoma was beautiful and that there were lots of things to do there.

Sonoma did not disappoint!

Our three-day stay was full of fun, excitement, relaxation and peace! We had a wonderful time!

This was one of the BEST trips we have ever been on...can't wait til the next one!

When Michelle turned 12 (last May) she was eligible to start attending our church's Young Women's Program (YW for short) which is for girls 12-18.

We were so excited for her - especially because YW is run by our good friends Vivian Adams, her sister Sherry, and our friend Nadine Frost.

Michelle loves YW. Vivian and Sherry are so good to her. She loves Sherry so much - she wants to sit with her at church every Sunday.

She goes to YW activity on Tuesday nights and gets upset if its cancelled for any reason.

Last night I guess they must have done a Chinese New Year's cooking activity - at least that's what it looks like from the photo Vivian sent via email.

Michelle's looks so happy and loved - she looks just like "one of the girls"! The lady she's hugging is Sis. Makua who is not even a YW leader but I guess she was invited to teach the class.

What's funny about this photo is that Michelle looks so happy and she doesn't even like any of the food pictured!

34

The year 1976 was known as the country's bicentennial year. It was also special for another reason.

On February 12, 1976 I married Gene Austin Wright for time and all eternity in the Ogden LDS Temple. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

34 things you may not know about him -

1. He is a scriptorian and has entire books of scripture memorized.
2. He plays a banjo that he made himself.
3. He used to be a deer hunter and was better at hunting with a bow than with a gun.
4. He still runs 3 times a week.
5. He lettered in sports (wrestling) in his freshman year of high school.
6. He was the first son in his family to serve a full time mission (to Hawaii)
7. He enlisted in the Marine Corps while a senior in high school.
8. His specialty in the Marine Corps was Sniper!
9. He has published one book and has been working on 2 others.
10. He used to work at a meat packing company.
11. He saved most of his money in the Marine Corps to help pay for his mission.
12. As a teen, he spent his summers working on a farm in Grace, Idaho.
13. He has never, ever raised his voice/yelled at me - probably because I am near perfect ;).
14. He used to love riding motorcycles but gave it up more than 30 years ago.
15. He's not into team sports - as a participant or observer.
16. He does not watch t.v. - prefers reading.
17. He doesn't believe in letting people borrow money - he believes in giving money if its needed.
18. He majored in Math in college.
19. He has more books than anyone I know.
20. He is an excellent craftsman - he made our kitchen cabinets from scratch.
21. He hates snow and winter weather.
22. He considers Hawaii home.
23. If he had to declare political allegiance it would be to the Libertarian Party.
24. He thinks Ronald Reagan was one of the great heroes of our time (and he's right)
25. Raising Arizona is one of his favorite movies.
26. He loves to travel.
27. He dreams of a two week hike along the Great Wall of China.
28. If someone says something negative about haoles he always says "those buggas".
29. He used to wear aloha shirts everyday when we lived in Utah.
30. He once hit himself in the head with a hammer so badly he had to have stitches.
31. Just hearing the words "kidney stones" makes him wince.
32. He has learned to say Ginny instead of Jenny.
33. If you are a regular reader of this blog then you know he is a t.v. star!
34. He was once nicknamed "Waikiki" because of the waves in his hair.

I could go on and on and list many interesting things about him. He is a very interesting person.

I could brag about his wonderful traits as a husband and father. He is exemplary in both of those roles.

I could tell you about what a loyal and humble friend and relative he is. He has always been busy helping people.

But if you know him - then you've probably seen for yourself the kind of man he is.

I am so looking forward to eternity with him.

He's proof positive that I must be Heavenly Father's favorite.

Happy 34th!
(I was a child bride)

Dr. Kim

The kids have a dentist named Dr. Kim. He is a very good dentist.

He is not into anesthesia or coddling - he just gets in there and gets out.

This past weekend Hannah slugged Michelle in the mouth and chipped Michelle's front tooth. Michelle was not in pain but wanted to go to Dr. Kim's as soon as possible.

She was upset that Dad didn't make the appointment on Monday.

She was excited to know she'd be going on Tuesday.

Now I know not all kids are excited about going to the dentist.
And in the past Michelle has never been thrilled about seeing Dr. Kim.

But this time she was SUPER excited.

Why you ask?
Simple...

She was hoping he would change her chipped tooth into a gold tooth!

She thinks gold teeth are beautiful.Fortunately, Dr. Kim doesn't.
(This is NOT Michelle's mouth!)

Uncle

Well my Uncle has been in the hospital for 2 weeks now with various conditions related to diabetes. My uncle is a celebrity.

Lots of people know him from his television and radio career which has stretched over 5 decades. He has been in almost every television series that has ever filmed in Hawaii.

When I was a kid it seemed surreal to watch him on Hawaiian Eye and, in awe, say "That's my Uncle!"

When I lived in Utah it was fun to watch Hawaii Five-O and Magnum and say "That's my Uncle!"

When I moved back to Hawaii I was always excited to hear him on his radio show and say, with great pride, "That's my Uncle!"

But he is so much more than the man people know from their television screen and radio speaker.

He is generous - I cannot tell you how many times and how many relatives have attended his old luau shows for free.

He is thoughtful - When my mother died he took me aside to express the kindest words and feelings.

He is kind - I was 6 years old when he took me for a ride - and while on the ride telling me in such a loving and gentle way that I would have to go back into the hospital (a place I was well acquainted with due to serious childhood illness which lasted for years)

He is loving - When one of my brothers' and myself got into a conflict he was the facilitator who helped mediate our differences in a respectful, honorable and loving way.

He is supportive - I so appreciate his attendance at all of Gabe's performances - always giving him good feedback, helpful suggestions, and inspiration to be a great performer.

Douglas Kinilau Mossman.

That's my Uncle.

Our Maui Overnighter

I've got a few minutes to post! Last Saturday Gene and I went to Maui. It had poured hard and steady the night before in kaneohe and when we got to Maui we found it to be the same there.

We went to Makawao and Komoda Bakery was open (first time!). It was still raining pretty hard so Gene ran in himself while I stayed dry in the car. We had heard about their great doughnuts and cream puffs so he bought 2 of each. The doughnuts are on a stick and are nothing more than fat fried, sugary doughnuts. I had one bite. The cream puff are so-so. Gene enjoyed all of them.

We then headed to Kula to the Lavendar Farm. The rain had stopped but the mist was everywhere. It reminded us both of walks we had taken through the English countryside with our cousin Keith Mossman and his 5 dogs.

We met our friends Dan and Chris and had the cart tour with Alii Chang, the owner. If you are going to go up to the farm you gotta reserve a tour with Alii. He is a fascinating person who has such passion for what he does - farming lavender. He has over 40 varieties on the farm but only 9 were in bloom at this time. It is protea season and the proteas were everywhere.

Alii took us up to one of his gazebos where 2 artists-in-residence were - Hiroshi Tagami & Michael Powell. Their work is beautiful and they are really interesting artists - they just moved to Kula from Kahalu'u! We stayed and chatted with them for quite awhile -Hiroshi did a chant that gave us chicken skin - the mist began moving in - and it was soon time to go.

It was a wonderful day at the farm...and I was able to stock up on my lavender products!

We checked into our room at Wailea Marriott - fantastic room!

At 6:30 we met Dan and Chris at Nick's Fishmarket for dinner where my cousin Trey treated us like royalty and comped more than $200 off our bill. he is the best!

Me and Trey

Me and Jackie (Trey's girlfriend)

Our favorite flaming dessert

We left early the next morning. 22 hours on Maui was just what we needed!