Lani nui loa!

Halau Hula O Aulani  keiki (children)

Halau Hula O Aulani dancing Maori. This one's for you Siany!

Me, Amy Hanaiali'i (one of my favorite Hawaiian music artists!), John

I couldn't go to Hawaii this year, so guess what, Hawaii came to me! I just happened to see a commercial on TV last week telling about the First Annual Umpqua Hula & the Arts Multicultural Festival. Let me tell you, my jaw dropped and my heart raced! The next day I went out and bought our tickets for both days. What a weekend it was! I didn't even know we had the renowned Kumu (hula teacher), Pekelo Day, living near our little town! Students from his halau (hula school) here in town and all over southern Oregon came to participate. He even pulled some friendship strings and brought in award winning Hawaiian music artists to perform as well! Combined with our local Kuma Sharon Smith and her halau, Halau Hula O Aulani, the dancing and music was literally non-stop for two days. Oh yeah, it was lani nui loa (very much heavenly)!

Multitude Monday

The 37th anniversary of this day is August 18th, just two days away. So today for Multitude Monday, and in celebration of that long ago day, I'm going to share 37 ways my husband has blessed my life so far and one to grow on.  (The numbers start where I left off in my gratitude list.)

11 ~ Faithful to me

12 ~ Gentle

13 ~ Patient

14 ~ Makes me laugh

15 ~ Fun to be with

16 ~ Quick to say he is sorry

17 ~ Quick to forgive me

18 ~ Supports my dreams

19 ~ Always tells me to spend lots of money and have a good time when I go shopping

20 ~ Shops with me

21 ~ Loves our daughters

22 ~ Prays for our daughters

23 ~ Would give you his last dime

24 ~ Has given me his last piece of chocolate many times

25 ~ Longs to grow in faith

26 ~ Prays that others will do the same

27 ~ Cries with me

28 ~ Cries without me

29 ~ Always sees the good in others

30 ~ Has a servants heart

31 ~ Will drop what he's doing to help others

32 ~ Loves his dog and spoils her

33 ~ Spoils me

34 ~ Thinks I'm beautiful

35 ~ Laughs with and at me

36 ~ Works hard to maintain our yard and make it beautiful

37 ~ Pretends to put up with my cats but secretly loves them

38 ~ Pretends to listen country music 'for me' but secretly likes it

39 ~ Brings me flowers just because he loves me

40 ~ Feeds all the birds in our neighborhood

41 ~ Worked 30 long years to provide for his family without ever complaining (well, maybe a few times right before he retired!)

42 ~ Still works two days a week to provide for a few of our wants

43 ~ Offers to help around the house whenever he sees me working

44 ~ Took over dish washing duty when he retired

45 ~ Makes dinner one night a week, most of the time!

46 ~ Tries to listen to me even when I interrupt a program he's watching

47 ~ Buys me two candy bars when I ask for only one

48 ~ Tells me he loves me EVERYDAY!

Wanderlust

These are the places I've been to so far this summer...

~ All over Australia

~ The Appalachian Trail

~ The Alpujarras foothills in Spain

~ Haines, Alaska (pictured)

And these were my tour guides:

Bill Bryson ~ In a Sunburned Country

Bill Bryson ~ A Walk in the Woods

Chris Stewart ~ Driving Over Lemons

Heather Lende ~ If You Lived Here,I'd Know Your Name

One Thousand Gifts

I've been thinking about miracles and blessings and serving a lot lately. I serve a big God and I want to do big things, great things for him. I think it will take a miracle for me to do great things. But I think he has been trying to show me that little things can be big things too. And sometimes the little things are miracles. I just need to keep my heart and eyes open to see them. In serving him, in serving others, the most important thing is the attitude of my heart and the amount of love that goes into it.

With those thoughts in mind I have decided to join the Gratitude Community over at Holy Experience to help keep me focused on the many blessing in my life, big & small, and just as importantly, the ways I can be a blessing to others.

1 ~ phone calls from my daughters

2~ remembering I don't need to fix dinner tonight because there are leftovers in the fridge

3 ~ a husband who is content to eat leftovers

4 ~ a husband who loves to garden and provide fresh produce for family and friends

5 ~ quiet times spent talking to God in prayer

6 ~ quiet times spent listening to God in prayer

7 ~ the assurance that God loves me just the way I am, but isn't finished with me yet

8 ~ two stacks of lovemade pillowcases, ready to be delivered. One for Conkerr Cancer, one for my grandsons

9 ~ traveling vicariously through books all summer long

10 ~ the sound of the breeze blowing through our maple tree on a cool summer afternoon

Well, that's ten down! Only 990 more to go, lol...

Ready, Set, SEW!

This is the fabric I chose to make pillow cases for the Craft Hope project #9 :: ConKerr Cancer. I've never made them before, but figured they couldn't be too hard. Then I found this easy-peasy-quick-as-a-wink tutorial on YouTube. Since I don't have a serger I finished them using french seams.

Seriously, these only take about 15 minutes to make so I'm going for more fabric today! Check out the tutorials below and let me know if you decide to make some.



French Seams (There are no raw edges to unravel with this method!)

1 ~Fold the pillowcase with the wrong sides together. Stitch 1/4" seams. Trim the seam allowances to 1/8".
2 ~Turn the pillowcase wrong side out and press. Stitch 1/4". That's it!
3 ~Turn so the right sides are out, press, and your pillowcase if finished :)

Fabric Requirements for the Easy Tube Pillowcase:

3/4 yard of bright 100% cotton print (if you are making these for Craft Hope/ConKerr Cancer)
1/3 yard of bright 100% cotton print (if you are making these for Craft Hope/ConKerr Cancer)
3" of bright 100% cotton print (if you are making these for Craft Hope/ConKerr Cancer) This is totally optional. I didn't use any for the two in the pictures.

I've read that the greatest need is for pillowcases that would appeal to boys and teenagers. You may want to keep that in mind when selecting your fabrics.

One finally note. After making mine I prewashed and ironed them so they will be ready for the Oregon area coordinator to deliver. You can find out your area's coordinator by checking here.