So what’s new in Hawaiian music? Kalani Pe’a, is what’s new. This Grammy winning artist takes Hawaiian music and some pop covers, adds some unusual chords and progressions and creates something beautiful and different.
Usually when going to listen to Hawaiian artists perform, I expect great musicians, maybe sitting, playing and talking story. Kalani, however, adds a touch of Broadway to his performance. His stage presence is amazing, and the Hawaiian language just flows effortlessly made more beautiful by his powerful voice. The backup musicians, vocalists and hula dancers that perform on stage with him just make his performance that much better. Each of them an outstanding talent in their own right.
One of the things we were looking forward to when we moved back to Maui was the wealth of great talent. Little did we know that we would be living next door to this amazing Grammy winning artist.
As we began to explore our new Maui neighborhoods, one of our most pleasant surprises was the Maui Ocean Center. Located in Ma`alaea Harbor, the Aquarium and Oceanography Center is the largest tropical reef aquarium in the Western Hemisphere. Opened in 1998, the 3-acre center includes exhibits of coral reef habitats, sea turtles, sharks, and humpback whales. They even have a 360-degree tank with glowing jellyfish.
The Center’s mission is to “foster understanding, wonder, and respect for Hawaii’s marine life.”
You will experience this wonder as you travel through the 750,000-gallon Open Ocean Exhibit that features a 54-ft walk-through tunnel where you can watch the huge sting rays, beautiful tropical fish, and graceful sharks swim overhead. Imagine experiencing Hawaii’s underwater world without even getting wet!
With spectacular views from Ma’alaea harbor to the outstanding exhibits, your journey includes a magical walk from the seashore to the bottom of the reef.
It has been quite a while since I posted to this blog. It was no accident. We have been waiting for this special day so that we could share it with our readers.
I usually include other topics, recipes, reviews and such in our blog magazine. But this post is about saying goodbye to the mainland and setting off to pursue our new life in our old home of Hawaii, specifically Maui.
Since moving to the mainland from Oahu, we have gone back and forth to Hawaii for both business and to visit so many times that I’ve lost count. But this morning is different from all others. Our plane tickets are one way, many of our possessions have been sold or given away and there is no turning back. If ever there was an act of faith, this is it.
It is the morning of June 27th. We chose this time of year because it was this month 30 years ago that we met in Hana and 23 years since we were married in that same place.
July 9, 1994-Hana, Hawaii
The time is 7:30AM in Los Angeles. Our cars are in the loading lot at Matson Navigation. Our dog Teddi is in the holding area of Hawaiian Airlines and we are at gate 57 in Terminal 5 of LAX. The adrenaline is high and our hearts are racing. In a little while Hawaiian Flight #33 will be coming to take us home. At 11:30AM HST it will be wheels down at Kahului Airport and the end of a long journey that was set in motion 3yrs, 3 months and 17 days ago. After our dog Teddi clears quarantine at Kahului Airport and is released to us we will go and get our rental truck and head off to our new home to pick up our lives where we left off so many years ago.
Maui, HIOur haleThe view from our lanaiOur neighborhood
An important lesson has been learned, at least for us. What we have come to realize is that it is so much easier to leave Hawaii than it is to find your way back. Has the mainland been good to us? From a material standpoint life on the mainland has been kind. We accomplished everything we set out to accomplish and more. Was it worth it? Speaking only for myself I would have to say no. Moving to the mainland from Hawaii was an adventure and a great ride, but we won’t be coming back.
If you ever lived in Hawaii for a very long time and had to leave for whatever reason and after many years returned home, then you know what we are feeling on this exciting day. I can’t really explain it. All I can say is aloha to what was and aloha to what is yet to be.
I usually publish this blog at the beginning of the month. However, this month is special and I wanted to hold off on this post until we closed on the sale of our Scottsdale condo. That closing took place on January 9th. We are now on the entrance ramp to the road (or should I say the ocean) ahead to Maui, Hawaii.
We have been working on our dream of returning home to Hawaii for the last three years. It has been a long haul and a heavy lift but all of the planning is now bringing things together. I will post more on this journey as the months and years unfold.
One of the things we acquired to help get us going when we get settled is a 2017 Ford Edge Titaniumwhich I will review on a separate page. There is also a section for some favorite inspirational quotes and sayings that helped keep morale up while setting this plan in motion. And once again we included a favorite recipe that we hope you will enjoy.
Whatever awaits you and yours on the road ahead you choose to take, may the journey be safe and fruitful.
With a little bit of trepidation we traded in our F-150 pickup for a 2017 Ford Edge Titanium SUV. Our needs changed and so it goes.
We had an Edge back in 2011 but this year’s model is a whole different animal. It has more technology than I usually like but after living with this SUV for a few weeks I have come to appreciate some of the cool features.
One of the features that I initially liked the least was the “Intelligent Key Access System and Push Button Start.” I now like this feature the best. Your digital key can be in your pocket. But if you are within 2 feet of the door you can open it and once you enter the driver’s cabin you can start up with the push of a button and go.
Ceramic Leather Interior
Our Edge also has a towing package with the extra heavy duty stuff that comes along with that option and 20″ wheels for extra height.
The 3.5 liter V6 produces about 280hp which is plenty for this type of SUV.
3.5L V6
The handling is firm but not harsh and the new “Synch3” touchscreen is a big improvement over previous versions.
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Maya Angelou
I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. Michael Jordan
The mind is everything. What you think you become. Buddha
Your time is limited; so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Steve Jobs
You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. Christopher Columbus
Whatever you think you can or you think you can’t do, you’re right. Henry Ford
People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily. Zig Ziglar
There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing. Aristotle
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Martin Luther King Jr.
If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else. Booker T. Washington
This delicious Brooklyn dish is easy to prepare and very satisfying. It is not necessarily a side dish but a meal in and of itself. Makes a great brown bag lunch!
What you need
4-6 Italian sausages. Hot or sweet, you decide. If you live near a Costco, they have some of the best Italian sausage anywhere. Johnsonville is also very good. If you live in an Italian neighborhood then you’ll want to go to a local pork store.
A large frying pan
Grill
Olive oil
2 Green or red bell peppers
1 Medium sweet onion
2 Garlic cloves chopped medium fine
1/2 Tsp salt
1 Tsp black pepper
1/2 Tsp oregano
1/2 Tsp basil
1 Long loaf of Italian bread or crusty French baguette
First
Core and clean the peppers so that there are no seeds and no white rind. Cut them lengthwise into 1/4″ strips.
Second
Cut the ends off the onion and then cut it in half lengthwise and slice so that you have half rings.
Third
Heat the frying pan over medium heat until you can pop a drop of water then add about 1/8″ of olive oil. When you can pop a drop of water in the oil you are ready to fry up the peppers and onions.
Fourth
Saute the garlic on medium heat for about 30 seconds and then add the peppers and onions. Add the salt, black pepper, oregano and basil. Stir everything around often until the peppers and onions are tender. This will take a bit of time.
Fifth
While the peppers and onions are cooking , throw the sausage on the grill and cook them until they are done and have uniform black grill marks all around. Some people like to fry the sausage, I don’t. Frying them is O.K. but it does change the character of the recipe.
Sixth
Take the sausages off the grill and let them cool for a few minutes. Cut them lengthwise and add them to the peppers and onions for about 1 minute. Place the contents of the frying pan into a bowl lined with paper towels to absorb the excess olive oil. You are now ready to serve it up.
This makes a great sandwich and can be served with a side salad and a nice bottle of Chianti.
So, you’ve accumulated thousands of photos over the years and some of them are starting to deteriorate. What are you gonna do? Well one thing you can do is digitize your precious memories with this Epson FastFoto scanner. It can scan up to 60 photos per minute front and back. If you have writing on the back it will copy that text and automatically name the photo accordingly. You can also scan panoramics.
It comes with a software suite that allows for automatic color correction for photos that have been diminished over time. This device is so much better than a flatbed scanner. It ain’t cheap, $550-650 is the going price. But, it is so fast that I think it is well worth the money.
First of all, I’m not gonna use home made shells for this recipe. They are a royal pain in the ass to make and take the fun out of the whole deal. So, you food purests can start sending me hate mail and death threats if you’re so inclined. One more thing, after making the filling, licking the spoon is mandatory!
What you need
12 pre-baked, large cannoli shells. You can get these at an Italian bakery or a good gourmet supermarket. Yeah, I know. You can buy the cannoli at the bakery, but what fun is that. And besides, you wouldn’t have any bragging rights if you did.
Colander
Large bowl
An aluminum pan with a cover to store your little works of art in the fridge after completion
2-1 gal freezer bags
A nice big piece of cheesecloth
4 cups of whole milk ricotta, not skim (a little extra couldn’t hurt). I like Polly-O brand but any good quality brand will do just fine.
1 and1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of finely chopped Maraschino cherries
First
Empty the ricotta onto the cheesecloth and let it drain in a colander for a few minutes so that it is not watery.
Second
In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, powdered sugar and vanilla until well mixed.
Third
Finely chop the Maraschino cherries and squeeze them into a ball in a paper towel until they are almost dry. If you don’t do this you will have a pink filling.
Mix the Maraschino cherries into the filling.
Fourth
Equally fill each 1 gal freezer bag with filling. After filling the bags, cut about 1/4 inch off each corner.
From this opening, squeeze the filling into each shell. It is very important to make sure that the filling penetrates the shell completely so that there is no air in the center. Fill the shell from both sides and then flatten the end of the filled shell with a butter knife.
Fifth
Place the filled shells in the aluminum pan and sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar. If you’re not gonna serve them immediately, place them in the fridge, but not for too long or they will get soggy.
Wow! It’s already September and the year is almost gone. Is time flying or what? Here in Arizona the heat is finally starting to break. We hope all of our readers had a fantastic summer.
We are now in the final phase of selling our condo and expect to be back home in Hawaii by May 2017 no matter what. This process has been a long haul but we never took our eye off the prize. When all is said and done and we are re-settled, I plan on writing a special post on what it took to achieve our goal of returning to Hawaii. If you already live in Hawaii, don’t leave! Going home is harder than you think.
We are subscribed to the group“Hawaiian History and Culture” and some inspiration for this month’s posts is from the group.
