We were listening to the audiobook Girl in Hyacinth Blue and came to the last few stories where there was a hanging, a flood, a baby and this painting that wove it's way through the whole book. The imagery was expansive, taking the listener through emotions of love, longing and questions of life's purpose. Imagine had me pause the story and said he ( Read more... )

We don't kill the flies or any other bugs in the house for that matter. The ants we sweep up and redeposit outside. The flying cockroaches we capture in cups and set free in the yard. The huge, stinging centipedes we kind of guide with a broom out the doorway and hope they don't crawl up the broom handle--they are lighting fast ( Read more... )

...in Hawaii when it's been raining for nearly two weeks? Well, the local boys didn't let it get them down when raw sewage had to be diverted from burst pipes in Honolulu into the Ala Wai Canal and thus ended up flowing out into a popular surf spot. They just turned to other water sports. We spotted some yesterday in the park across the street on ( Read more... )

The entire Hawaiian island chain is stuck under this wide belt of rain and more rain. It just opens buckets for five minutes and sounds like large, ripe fruit hitting the roof and then nearly stops to a small drizzle long enough that you think it is done. Then open again and more squashed, ripe fruit. The moss and mold on the trees and palms has ( Read more... )

Sunday we drove to the north shore early in the morning to hike the Ka'ena Point Trail that takes you to the northwestern most part of the island where there are no roads, only albatross nesting and humpback whales breeding offshore. Imagine and I have been listening to the audiobook To See Every Bird On Earth lately and have been taken in by the ( Read more... )

Took Imagine out for Indian at Zaffron's in Chinatown for their dinner buffet and he filled his plate with saffron rice, curries, bean dishes, spicy potato, naan and rolled his eyes back up into his head as he ate, just totally enjoying it. I've never known a kid to enjoy food so much. They had fresh chai and halwa for dessert-- more eye rolling ( Read more... )

....what the guy was thinking when he decided to put his deck chair on the top of his house and climb up with his laptop to type away as the sun was setting. I was riding my bike after dinner and saw his silouette and the glow of the screen in the distance and as I got closer, I could not stop smiling and wanted to applaud. He was on the peak of ( Read more... )

It is still raining on the islands and the news reports all the beach closings because of overflowing sewage treatment plants running into the ocean. The soil slides off all the mountains and floats out to sea, coloring the tides red for days. The whales move farther out to avoid what must be an awful mix of sewage, chemicals, oil, garbage. But it ( Read more... )

As Imagine helps me gather the produce at Down to Earth, our local health food store, I give him simple hints on how to select. He's interested today and listens without me having to repeat. "Here, get some garlic. Squeeze it to make sure it's not dried out and check the skin on the outside to be sure it looks fresh and not dull." He picks the ( Read more... )

Our family will be traveling to Phuket in the coming year and staying at an ayurvedic center that is nearing its completion this month. Although my son is 10 and quite healthy, I'm wondering if anyone who's been to Thailand has anything to share about traveling there with a child, or even general advice. Thanks so much in advance to those helpful ( Read more... )