Happy New Year..2013!!

I have no idea where this is, and I don't think it's Hawaii, but, Happy New Year from Hawaii, anyway!! :D

Credit: Villa Altea (Oh, hey..looking up the credit, apparently the pic is somewhere called Costa Blanca in the Mediterranean..Not really so close to Hawaii, huh? :p )

Day 2: Paris Fleas..

The second day in Paris, it was a weekend, so we headed to the Paris Flea Markets..

There were old things..

And as expected, beautiful things..

Things you just wanted to buy the whole collection of and stuff in your suitcase...

Decidedly weird and even downright creepy things..

But I have to say..the steampunk R2D2 was pretty much my favorite thing I saw there. I mean, come on...how awesome would that be to greet guests at the front door???

Day 1..

I went on a trip a couple of months ago. My Awesome In-Laws were going, and decided to take me along. How could I refuse...

Straight off the plane, a quick shower (cause SERIOUS grime after 20 hours of travel!), and we were out on the streets...

Just strolling past the River Seine..I mean, COME ON..this was the stuff of poetry and song..and there I was..

And of course, right on the river, Notre Dame. This was about 1-2 blocks from where we were staying. It felt surreal just saying that. We walked past it ALL the time, cause it was on the way to almost everywhere we went. Did I mention surreal??

My mom's first comment when she heard I was in Paris was TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES OF THE ARCHITECTURE!! So I did. (If you are wondering why that was her first comment about it, it would be because I basically told NO ONE I was going, and just..left. I was NOT going to jinx myself!! As it was, it got pretty close!)

The cafe nightlife was big...seemed half the city ate out every night..

Yes, this is a pic of me, looking slightly shellshocked, partly from a 20 hour trip over from Hawaii; and partly cause I was standing in the courtyard of Notre Dame, a place I had til that point pretty much only heard about in relation to hunchbacks. Insane. 

I found this in my folder of pics from the first night...I cracked up when I saw it, and then refused to have anything to do with it...I had not flown halfway around the world, to the City of Lights, to drink Florida OJ. No matter how fancy it looked written in French.

I stayed in Paris for 7 days, and then went on to the next destination...give me a chance and I'll get all the days up! lol

One to one hundred..

'100' (from 0 to 100 years in 150 seconds) from Filmersblog on Vimeo.

Miriam..

Lantern Floating Festival..

We went to the Shinnyo-en Lantern Floating Festival memorial ceremony last night..

The lights were beautiful..

Each lantern carries with it prayers, remembrances and wishes to beloved family and friends..

Some people brought their own to release, and some people wrote their prayers on the lanterns provided by the members of Shinnyo-en, who make the lanterns, care for them, and rescue for re-use, year after year..

The canoes released the lanterns of people who were unable to attend..

By the end, Ala Moana Beach was filled with stars..

Reading..

I am really craving some good reading lately...

Credit: chintzlovingbookworm 

Surreal..

Pencil. On paper. IN. SANE.


Credit:
All images from Paul Cadden 

Audra Mae..

Audra Mae is slowing swimming into my consciousness..

Sand Dancing..

Dh hauled me to the computer one day, and told me I had to see something...

This guy in New Zealand, who makes sand art..

Using a rake and a stick, and no other tools..

And comes out with this incredible art, in perfect scale and proportion..

He creates them at low tide, every week..

And watches them disappear again as the tide rolls in..

His nickname is the Sand Dancer, and honestly, seeing the graceful swirls, loops, and curves, I think it is extremely fitting..

Seriously, how the heck do you do THAT with a stick and a rake????

Or THAT without a giant calibrating tool of some sort??

He's been doing it 13 years or so, and has created over a thousand works of art. I hope he continues making many more.

You can see an awesome vid about him, by filmmaker Valerie Reid, here:

And read a cool interview with Valerie herself here. 

Credits:

1. Stan4dSteph 

2. {Amy_Jane} 

3. adiemus 

4, 9. My Healing Kitchen 

5. KobreGuide 

6. Impact Lab 

7, 8. curiousphotos

10.  Harriet and Spare Cat 

Hail, hail, all hail the rain..

This here? This is ice. From the sky. In Hawaii. In March, which is practically summer. In marble to golf ball sizes. I currently have frozen feet from walking in it trying to lay yoga mats and blankets over the windshields and the paint on the cars. At 6am. After waking from a dead sleep. You know, I live in Hawaii so I *don't* get frozen feet. Ever.

It was supposed to be a bumper crop of mangoes this year, too. The flowers and fruit were holding out against the winds for weeks. I guess they were actually supposed to DIE, so the hail came down and cleaned off the trees. Wah.

Make a much prettier magnetic pincushion..

I love the concept of magnetic pincushions...using them while sewing on the machine, I pull the pins out and throw them in the general direction of that ubiquitous blue donut thing without slowing down, and it grabs them from almost midair and keeps them safe from landing under my feet. I love it. Not so much, the blob of blue plastic in my sewing room.

So, I decided to make my own, using a little porcelain dish I loved. And cause I could, I took pictures while doing it, and you can make your own, too. I promise you, you'll love it SO much more! :D

Needed:

Dish you like, not too thick, otherwise the magnets can't hold well through it

Strong magnets..I got mine from eBay, but you can find similar at any decent craft supply store

Strong glue that will hold both surfaces..I used Gorilla Glue

First, spread your glue on the spot you want the magnet (or on the magnet itself...I had a slight curve to my surface, so I wanted to make sure it was well filled with the glue so it would hold)..

Decide how many magnets you need for your particular dish (I needed three stacked together to be strong enough...other dishes might need more or less...test your one out), gluing together layers if need be..

Attach to the dish (like I said, I needed to stack mine up...if you have a wider, flatter dish, you might need to spread them around a little, to cover the surface to make it workable)..

And if you have a glue like mine that needs to be held firmly together while drying, put a weight on the magnets to keep it together.

And that's it. You now have your gorgeous little magnetic pincushion, ready to hold those pins in place without having to stop and stab them in, or leaving piles next to the machine while you work, and then the next time you rotate the garment to sew another seam, you sweep the whole mess onto the floor. Gah. It's like having a superhero working next to you. Seriously. I am in love. Hope you love yours just as much. :D