Mele Kalikimaka!

Mele Kalikimaka and Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!

 

 

Furry Friday

Merry Christmas from Conan!

Pipe Masters Surf Competition

Way back on December 9, Jarrod and I went to the famous Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore to watch the world's best surfers compete in the Pipe Masters, the final event of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing and the cap-off to the pro surfing year. We picked an awesome day to go -- the waves were 10 feet and higher -- and had an absolutely amazing time!

 

This is Kelly Slater, the best surfer in the world. He's 40 years old, but he's still right up there with the 18-year-olds. He's Jarrod's favorite surfer (partly because he's from Florida like Jarrod), so we were thrilled that we got to see him up close before he got into the water for his heat.

 

 

 

 

 

After the day we went, the surf quieted down and the event wasn't on again until last Friday. Jarrod and I thought of going to see the finals but he had to be at work at 1 and it takes an hour to drive to the beach where the competition was held, so we just watched it on TV.

And the winner is...

...Joel Parkinson! We were lucky to snap a picture of him getting out of the water the day we went!

What I Wore Wednesday

Aloha! I'm trying hard to take advantage of the few weeks I have left to dress for 80-degree weather, though I have to admit I'm a bit excited about dressing for an entirely new season. After over three years of constant summer, it'll be fun to mix my clothes in different ways and unpack my sweaters from their boxes. Still... I think I'd take the same ol' clothes every day over a cold, dreary Ohio winter!

As always, I'm linking up with The Pleated Poppy to share my outfits. Happy Wednesday!

 

I really love the combination of coral and turquoise, and I just bought a long-sleeve coral top so I'll still be able to make this pairing when I've got to bundle up! (And, yes, I know this shirt looks carrot-orange in the picture but it's really a nice coral.)

 

I crammed my feet into my new flats for a dinner out. They desperately need to be broken in before we move and I have to wear them non-stop. But an hour or so was about all I could handle of them for now! On the plus side, I love this shirt, which is covered in little stars and lightweight enough to wear in Hawaii.

 

(I'm only wearing a sweater because we were going out to eat, and all the restaurants here are so cold inside!)

 

My Week in Pictures

 

1. I love Netflix's newfound holiday spirit! They had fun envelopes for Halloween, and now they've got several different Christmas designs. Of course I'm partial to the one that looks like fair-isle knitting!

2. On Saturday we went to Waikiki so Jarrod could surf. That's Diamond Head in the background.

3. We stuck around for a lovely sunset.

4. Sunday we went snorkeling at Shark's Cove on the North Shore.

5. The weather wasn't very nice -- rainy off and on, and windy -- but it made for a cool photo-op. And we also saw several rainbows.

6. After snorkeling we stopped at Scoops of Paradise for waffle cones. I got maple-walnut ice cream and Jarrod got chocolate-mac nut. I will definitely miss Scoops of Paradise and all their delicious ice cream made in-house, not to mention their pefect waffle cones!

7. A friend gave me a gift certificate for a pedicure and I took advantage of it today. We're heading to the Big Island for a little getaway tomorrow and I wanted my toes to look nice for the black sand beach pictures they'll inevitably be in.

8. My last day of work at the base library was Wednesday and my co-workers bid me aloha with some delicious butterbeer cupcakes and a lei. Working at the library has been the most enjoyable job I've ever had. I had great co-workers to chat with and I got to be surrounded by books all day long -- it definitely suited me well!

Book Review: "Death in the Floating City"

"Death in the Floating City" by Tasha Alexander
First published in 2012
My rating 3.5 out of 5
(image source)

Tasha Alexander's Victorian-era crime solver Lady Emily is one of my favorite fictional heroines, and you can see from my review of Alexander's previous book that I'm a major fan of her work.

This installment of the "cozy" mystery series was set in Venice, and the atmosphere of the book -- gondola rides, maze-like alleyways, stunning architecture, delicious food -- was amazing. I also enjoyed the other story that played out in snippets between each chapter, which was a centuries-old romance between star-crossed lovers with historical significance to Lady Emily's Venice murder case.

Unfortunately, though I would hardly say it was a bad read, I didn't think "Death in the Floating City" was Alexander's strongest work. There were too many characters (or suspects) to keep straight and even after the final page I was still vaguely confused about some of the characters' roles.

Of the seven books in the Lady Emily series, I'd say this one was my least favorite. But the others are all excellent, and I'd definitely recommend them to any reader who's a fan of historical fiction and/or mysteries.

Happy reading!

O, Christmas Tree (Hawaiian Style)!

It cracks me up that Hawaii, which has no seasons to speak of, has both the best pumpkin patch I've ever visited as well as its very own unique Christmas tree farm. Helemano Farms is a little gem that grows Norfolk pine trees, and it's the only alternative to buying Christmas trees shipped in (literally, on boats) from the Mainland.
 

Norfolk pines have very soft needles and are characterized by layers of branches several inches (or more than a foot) apart.

 

Helemano Farms provides the true Christmas tree experience -- minus the frigid weather and snow. A friendly local walks around with you as long as you'd like, pointing our prospective trees, measuring them for you, taking your picture and ultimately chopping down the winner.

 

 

And here's the finished product. It's certainly not a traditional tree, but it's pretty darn cool anyway!