Sunday, August 31, 2025

Sweet Neat

 A L O H A  From

H O N O L U L U


This day unfolds

With gentle light,  

No rush to chase

No need to fight.  


Tasks like petals

Soft and sweet,  

Flow in peace

Calm and neat.  


No ticking clock 

No hurried beat,  

Just footsteps soft

In mindful street.  


Worries drift

Like clouds that roam,  

Here in this quiet

We find our home.  



Each moment blooms

A tender song,  

Where heart and soul

Both belong.  


Doing all with love

Not stress,  

A life in grace

Quietly blessed.  




So let the world

Spin wild and fast,  

We hold a calm

That’s made to last.  


A new way walks

Serene and true 

A sweet life’s dance

For me and you.  


This gentle path

No need to race,  

Is work and joy

In warm embrace.  



Breathe deep, be kind,

let laughter flow—  

In every task,

let kindness grow.  

Cloudia Charters

Linking To

Monday Murals


Saturday, August 30, 2025

The Crown Flower Queen

 A L O H A  From

H O N O L U L U

Painting is the 
silence of thought and 
the music of sight.
Orhan Pamuk


🐝


One word of encouragement 
can be enough 
to spark someone's 
motivation to continue 
with a difficult challenge.
   Roy T. Bennett



🐝


🐝



Na nā lani Δ“ mālama iā Κ»oe

“May the heavens
take care of you"
Aloha nui,
Pixie & Cloudia

🐝🐝 🐝🐝 🐝🐝

Linking To

Saturday Critters


The Crown-flower queen,

In robes of lilac blue With her stems of attendants, And Bees, around her head. The little bees are glad, For they know that she is good, And the Crown-flower is happy, In their neighborhood Together they endure In harmony and peace. The crown herself is crowned By her golden bees.
Cloudia Charters
🐝

Friday, August 29, 2025

Importance

 A L O H A  From

H O N O L U L U

 No matter how old you are, 
if you still enjoy it, do it! 
Rob Reiner





What you learn and who you become is more important than how you temporarily feel.
Brianna Wiest






Who feeds a hungry animal 
feeds their own soul. 
Charlie Chaplin






The loss of vanity 
means freedom. 
Jamie Lee Curtis





The most important thing 
is to find out
what is the most 
important thing.
Shunryu Suzuki

⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽⦽

Love You,
Pixie & Cloudia






My super smart and kind nephew just started college this week at the University of Hawaii!
What a pleasure to see him spreading his wings. I've been giving him small bites of advice and encouragement. Like the first week all you have to do is find your classes, familiarize with the campus. 
Today I texted him the message below that I've been wanting to share with him. What do YOU think?

Secondary School like high school is all about equipping you and building you up and giving you confidence.
Freshman year of college. They are doing something different. They are showing you the limits of your knowledge. They are introducing you to the universe of things you do not yet know. It is challenging because that is the intent. But you got this. There could be more work and you could feel way too busy. Especially you because you're still involved in your important activities. But just cruise and just know that it's almost like a well-intentioned hazing. Once the freshman eyes are open to the universe of things to be interested in, you start finding your way in one of those directions and it gets more familiar and your mastery comes out. <3

Here is a link to the non-profit he started at age 14! (Yes, still operating)

Thursday, August 28, 2025

And In Dreams You Remember

A L O H A  From
H O N O L U L U
You are born to fly,
and in dreams
you remember the soul has wings Robert Moss


Many eyes go
through the meadow, but
few see the flowers in it.
 Ralph Waldo Emerson










The mystery of a hidden face 
is a canvas for imagination.
Sometimes, the unseen 
speaks louder than the seen.
And an obscured face 
invites deeper contemplation.
Pixie





Only the weak are cruel.
Gentleness can only be
expected from the strong.
 Leo Buscaglia


α₯€α₯₯α₯¦α₯ͺα₯«α₯‘

Love You,
Cloudia & Pixie




It isn't the tunnel
we pass through 
that matters,
it's what emerges 
on the other side.
    Richelle E. Goodrich

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

A Few Moods of Diamond Head

 A L O H A  From
H O N O L U L U

British Sailors saw calcite crystals glinting on the volcanic slopes of Mount Leahi, and dubbed it Diamond Head. To the Hawaiians, it resembled the brow of the Tuna (Ahi). There was an important temple on her slopes.



 Locals don’t just SEE DH; we  smell the flowers, hear the surf and enjoy the birds. At the right time of year it’s the perfect place for spotting whales as they spout and splash out to sea.
A lookout on Leahi watched for Kamehameha's fleet of war canoes and lit the warning signal fire. Today Diamond Head Lighthouse maintains her own stoic vigilance; As do the F.A.A. folks guiding air traffic from within the crater.






True happiness is. . . 
to enjoy the present.
                                    Seneca





I love everything that's old, - 
old friends, old times, 
old manners, old books, 
old wine
   Oliver Goldsmith





 The less open-minded 
someone is, the 
more open-mouthed 
they tend to be.
Nicole Azavedo


α±Άα±Άα±Άα±Άα±Άα±Άα±Άα±Άα±Άα±Άα±Άα±Άα±Άα±Άα±Ά
Love You,
Pixie & Cloudia




And in fancy I am led
back to dear old Diamond Head.
Honolulu I am coming back again.
Song






Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Smiles And Salutes

A L O H A  From
H O N O L U L U
Life smiles at you when you are happy; But life salutes you when you make others happy. Charlie Chaplin




They say all marriages
are made in heaven, but
so are thunder and lightning. Clint Eastwood



If you hold your tongue,
really listen, look at the
person's face, and let them talk.
They will feel that you are the greatest conversationalist they ever met.



Sometimes adversity is
what you need to face
in order to become successful.
Zig Ziglar


ᰍᰍᰍᰍᰍᰍᰍᰍᰍᰍᰍᰍᰍᰍᰍᰍ

Love You,
Cloudia & Pixie



Be grateful for luck.
Pay the thunder no mind –
listen to the birds.
And don't hate nobody. Eubie Blake



Monday, August 25, 2025

Guide And Enthrall

A L O H A  From
H O N O L U L U

There is always a dawn arriving, and that means we’ll never be finished. Restoration is always possible, change is guaranteed, and a plot twist is never far away.




We fear the storms That never break, Imagined tides We’ll never take. But what if hope Not fear was fed What luminous fields
Could bloom instead? We search for troubles that never show, Yet gentle winds Continue to blow. Make hope the compass
That we trust, Doors can open, Gold for dust. We wonder what will go astray, Yet brilliance Might outshine the gray. Sunrise waits beyond the wall; Choose hope Not worry To guide And enthrall. Cloudia Charters 



Common waxbill
(Estrilda astrild) Native to Africa.
Seen in HawaiΚ»i since
late 1970s.


If you want others to be happy, practice compassion; and if you want yourself to be happy, practice compassion.
Dalai Lama

𐬴𐬴𐬴𐬴𐬴𐬴𐬴𐬴

Love You,
Pixie & Cloudia


Which bun will rise to the top!? 

A Hawaiian manapua is a local, larger, version of the Chinese bao (or char siu bao), named for the Hawaiian phrase for "tasty pork thing" (mea ono puaΚ»a). Key differences include the manapua's larger size, and variations in the dough (including not only char siu but also other meats and sweet options like black bean paste).