Where did February go and where is March going?

Hello from paradise...

View from lanai, Garden Villa, house on the hill

Outdoor, brick patio overlooking garden yard

Alot of pictures this time from Ellen and her new Nikon point and shoot camera with a powerful zooooom! We liked the camera so much, we bought one! It will be great for our coastal California vacation on our way east and for what is left to our Hawaiian adventure! Only a couple more weeks!!!

View from Tantalas Drive, Honolulu & Diamond Head

Royal Hawaiian, pink hotel, Waikiki from top Diamond Head

Jim and I were happy to share and visit with our friend Ellen from Venice, Florida who recently relocated back to New Hampshire. She was ready for some sunshine and TLC! We had a blast...she left after ten days feeling happy and rejuvenated! Great to have you Ellen!!!

Winding road along the south shore of O'ahu

North Shore wild waves, Waimea Beach Park

Only experienced surfers & swmmers with fins allowed in water this day

Same day with wild surf...lifeguards had to rescue s few people as surf pulled them out to sea

At the end of February, Jim and I visited two local painters in Kaneohe, near Kailua on the west side of the island at Tagami and Powell Gallery and Gardens...check them out online! Awesome people with a beautiful gallery displaying their many impressive oil paintings, photographs and jewelry arts from other local artists. The elder Hiroshi Tagami taught the younger Michael Powell to paint years ago. We purchased an oil painting by Ed Furuike, another local artist who was also Tagami's student...they paint with a palette knife. While we were in the gallery, Tagami sang us a Scottish melody that his mother sand to him when he was a boy. And then before we departed he chanted an old Hawaiian blessing for Jim and I as we stood in the middle of the lush garden space. Tagami's voice and sound carried a strength and power...it was enchanting and surreal, like we were brought back in time for just those few minutes of his song. Jim and I felt like we had just experienced a spiritual encounter...a grounding feeling that stayed with us for some time...you had to be there!!!

Jim & Robin with artist, Hiroshi Tagami

Tagami, Robin, Michael Powell

The weather has been miserable the last couple weeks with rain like monsoon, winds, thunder, lightening, power outages and flooding in low lying areas. March has seen more rain than usual with hail in Kailua and Kaneohe a couple days ago! People were collecting the hail and saving to their freezers as proof, as most have never seen this icy critter on this island. Usually it is warming up by now as the beginning of the warmer season approaches. Fortunately we are high on hill so had no problems with flooding just wild winds, rain and cold temperatures and only one day without partial power...had alot of layers on plenty of mornings recently as there is no heat or AC in most homes here. Other than that things are good, just hoping for some sunshine over the next couple weeks before we leave the island!

I took a couple watercolor classes from a Lanikai artist...quite a challenging endeavor, I might add, but I am learning and hope to continue working at it when I return home to New Hampshire...gonna try oils at some point but I wanna give watercolor a good go as I like the lightness of the images on paper. I found a watercolor artist near Portsmouth and have confirmed a 4day workshop with her in July! Looking forward to making art!

Next weekend we will be staying at Turtle Bay Resort for a couple days in North Shore. John Cruz, an island favorite musician will be playing on Friday night at the new Surfer Bar in the hotel. I first got introduced to one of his songs at a street fair in Kaimuki, called "Island Style." He has two CDs out and a third one expected out this summer 2012. Check him out online if you feel inclined. We are gonna go horseback riding the next day, either a morning ride or a sunset ride...we will let you know how that works out! Trying to fit it all in...ETA April 12...flights have been made!!!

"Slainte!" and "Akale ma'luna" (Okole maluna) Cheers in Hawaiian

Robin and Jim