Glow

Greetings from the 29th floor, downtown Honolulu!  For sky images from around the world, please visit Skywatch Friday.

Reflecting in Reflections

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me),
It's always our self we find in the sea.

~e.e. cummings

Just To Be Fair..

I had to post a pic of my little boy today, since I showed off my daughter yesterday.  This was him opening his first gift, a size 1 soccer ball - he was SO happy with it that as far as he was concerned the gift-opening portion of Christmas was over!  He walked over and got his shoes and kept saying "Outside, outside!".  Don't worry, his sister made sure the rest of his presents were opened :)

Merry Christmas To All, and To All a Good Night

It has been a good weekend:  Christmas Eve hula performance by my daughter's halau, both kids getting hopped up on sugar cookies and dancing to Christmas music, cheese fondue with my Santa after the stockings were stuffed, pre-dawn awakening for presents, church service this morning to celebrate Christ's birth, delicious dinner with friends, and an evening visit with more friends.  I am worn out, but in a good way.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Mele Kalikimaka

is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day
That's the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you!

For other sky images from around the world, please visit Skywatch Friday.

Tis The Season...

for family photos sessions!  Many people in Hawaii love to have their Christmas card photos taken on the beach.  This was one of my favorites from a session I did last weekend.  I like it more for what it's not - instead of being the obvious posed oceanfront shot (of course I love those too) this candid capture only subtly hints at its location.  Bicycles propped against the wall, canoes jutting out, and beyond them the texture of the sea - no blue hues, no foaming white waves, just the change in texture as sand meets water.

Brody

This is Brody, a beautiful dog I saw playing frisbee today at Lanikai Beach.  He was fast and quite a high jumper...and it was really comical to watch the way he lunged into the water to snatch up the frisbee one time, only to step into the waves with trepidation and wait for just the right moment to reach out for it the next time!

p.s. If Brody's owners see this and would like the other photos I took of him, please email me lisamlim03@gmail.com  :)

Kayak at Dusk

I was envious of this couple gliding across the water as the sun set at Duke Kahanamoku beach!  Doesn't that look like the perfect place to be (or maybe out on one of the sailboats in the distance)?  For other sky images from around the world, please visit Skywatch Friday.

V: Valley of the Temples

Valley of the Temples is actually a large cemetery containing not only thousands of grave sites, but also various temples.  The grandest one, and the main attraction, is the Byodo-In, an exact replica of a 950 year old Buddhist temple in Uji, Japan.  The grounds are a very lovely, serene place to visit for a half-hour or so.  For more 'V' photos please visit ABC Wednesday.

Rooms With a Crater View

The curved facade of one of the oceanfront hotels in Waikiki.  I imagine the view of Diamond Head from the balconies is unsurpassed :)

Where the Sidewalk Ends

If I'd happened upon this little girl at Kailua Beach Park, I would have thought to myself "Wow, her brightly-colored bike and brightly colored-outfit almost look like they were coordinated".  But I have to confess, this is MY little girl, and because practically everything she owns/wears is pink or purple, her things always appear to be coordinated!  It was too blustery and cool to play on the beach today, so we decided to enjoy the outdoors with a bike ride.

Fireball

I love it when the sun does this - passes through the clouds on its descent, turning them to a bright orange before it emerges below them in a perfect circle and sinks into the sea.  For more sky photos please click HERE.

Sand-ta

This is a giant sand sculpture at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.  Santa and his elves, ready to hit the water with floats, sunglasses, and snowflake-motif surfboards :)

U: USS Arizona, 70th Anniversary

How fitting that this week's letter in the ABC Wednesday meme is 'U' and that this Wednesday also falls on December 7th, the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  I took the above photo right after touring the USS Arizona Memorial, built directly over the sunken remains which still entomb 1177 service members who went down with the ship on that fateful day.  It is hard for me to imagine that on a sunny weekend morning right here on this beautiful island, 180 planes tore the harbor apart, bringing the United States into World War II.  I hope we never see the UGLINESS of war here again. 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

at my house!  Tree is up and ornaments are hung thanks to my little elf helper (aka my daughter Lily Grace).  The Nativity has taken its place of honor on the dining room buffet - my mom gave it to me 15 years ago and I still love it.  Opening the box and carefully unwrapping each piece is the highlight of decorating for me. 

Liberty High

This is something you don't see every day in Hawaii:  a traditional high-stepping marching band, complete with bagpipes!  They are Liberty High School Marching Band, and they traveled all the way to Honolulu from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to participate in the annual Holiday Parade.  There were over 30 bands there, quite a few of them from the mainland. 

Sails

On most evenings there is a parade of sailboats making their way back to the marina near Ala Moana as the sun sets.  Their translucent sails always look so pretty  with the light shining through them.   For more sky photos from around the globe, please go take a look at  Skywatch Friday.