Cloud Wandering

Aloha, Dear Friend!

Click on the canine and his friends

"I am always doing that which I can not do,

in order that I may learn how to do it."

Picasso

"True wisdom

is knowing what to

overlook."

William James

"How could I forget that day?

There was a light-blue morning wind blowing

and thistledown flying loose

along the tops of clouds

and larks going up and down,

up and down,

in the shining lift of the sky."

Janet Frame

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That last quote excited me.

Spring is a revelation

every time!

Even here in Waikiki

there is a sweet gentleness

in the breezes that blow.

It's easy for minds to wander

like the cloud galleons

sailing across

the mind's eye.

And somehow, the mind's wanderings

will take us where we need to be. . .

Thanks for YOUR visit, cloudia

Back! What Did I miss?!

Aloha!

SO Glad

to Be

B A C K!

click on the clouds to dance among them

"Study nature,

love nature,

stay close to nature.

It will never fail you."

Frank Lloyd Wright

"A positive attitude causes a chain reaction

of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes.

It is a catalyst and it sparks

extraordinary results."

Wade Boggs

"In the presence of eternity,

the mountains are as transient as the clouds."

Robert Green Ingersoll

"Inside my empty bottle

I was constructing a lighthouse

while all the others were making ships."

Charles Simic

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It's good to be back.

The silence is velvety.

(Husband has been ill & home this week :)

We made it a sort of getaway

he laid back healing

while I made sandwiches,

store runs,

and put new beers into

the freezer.

Yes,

it was good having the time

and today he's gone in

to run the world

for a few hours

again.

I can't wait to visit

YOUR blog

and see what's happening in

Your world.

Which brings us to a Zen koan:

What IS blogging?

Is it the post you put up?

The comments it garners?

Or is it

visiting all your friends?

Actually, I'm in too much of a hurry

to start my blogosphere tour. . .

You figure it out. . .

TAG!

You're "it!"

Warm Aloha, cloudia

Boy's Day

Aloha

& Welcome to

Boy's Day

in

Hawaii

Click on the carp (and other photos :)

"Children make you want to start life over."

Muhammad Ali

"Boy, n.: a noise with dirt on it."

Not Your Average Dictionary

These little Japanese tourist boys at Waikiki's Army Museum are looking at a tank

that their great grandfather might have used in WWII.

"Children enjoy the present

because they have neither a past

nor a future."

Jean De La Bruyere

Aloha & Welcome to May fifth,

Tango-no-sekku, the Japanese Boy's Day Festival

that is also celebrated here in Hawaii.

The 5th day of the 5th month has been the day to celebrate boys for centuries. Tango-no-sekku means: "First Day of the Horse" because the strength, stamina, and courage of horses symbolize masculine qualities that boys should emulate.

Another animal associated with boy's day is the carp.

This powerful and determined fish is also regarded as a fitting example for boys. Dr. Freud might point out that the carp itself, long, cylindrical, and bold is a fitting representation of the most fundamental badge of manhood.

Girl's Day is celebrated with the display of dolls.

Boy's day, too, has it's own characteristic dolls: armored samurai warriors; nonetheless, it is the colorful carp banners (koi-nobori) one for every boy in the family, flown from bamboo poles outside the home, that are the overriding visual characteristic of the holiday. The largest carp honors the oldest son, the smallest, the youngest.

Today, in Japan, May fifth is celebrated as Children's Day.

But here in Hawaii we keep many old customs that the plantation workers brought with them. They intended to maintain their ethnic identities, but the magic of Hawaii has painted most every imported custom with our own unique qualities.

So let's celebrate boys, carp, AND girls, as we continue to appreciate everything that makes our island home

unique.

A L O H A! Cloudia

Lei Day

Aloha!

May Day

is

LEI DAY

in

HAWAII

click on the photos to make them blossom

"Easy reading

is damn hard

writing."

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Mz. Rose Tam-Hong

"In the particular

lies the universal."

James Joyce

The little girl is looking right at the camera!

"Perseverance

is not a long race;

it is many

short ones."

Walter Elliot

The second (left) and first most beautiful woman

at Kapiolani Park's Lei Day Celebration

last Saturday, May First

"It is a mistake to regard age

as a downhill grade toward dissolution.

The reverse is true.

As one grows older, one climbs with surprising strides."

George Sand

"A leaf fluttered in through the window this morning,

as if supported by the rays of the sun,

a bird settled on the fire escape, joy in the task of coffee,

joy accompanied me as I walked."

Anais Nin

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It's been a lousy week-or-so.

No, it's been a GREAT time...

Er, that is:

First, my back went out.

But instead of getting upset

I made the most of lounging.

My back healed (as usual) and

I was ready to walk in the park on Saturday

(photos above).

I was so proud of myself:

that I kept my mood "even"

instead of suffering more than necessary.

In other words,

I practiced what I always preach

here at Comfort Spiral.

Then hubby developed

an acute health issue

and I became a nurse.

(And remember:

we live on a boat;

so it is like being stuck on a couch

in a small place

with an ill person)

"Can you move your laptop a little to the right?"

"Can you move your foot and let me sit down?"

But I'm still having a nice time.

As my sister in law always says:

"So what? Who cares?"

If I don't post EVERYDAY

the world won't end.

Though I HATE missing what

Y O U

are up to

at your blogs

and in your lives!

Soon,

I will let you in on a major

decision

I've made.

Our

blog community

will continue to be

an important part of my life.

As Arianna Huffington said:

"Those who still can't believe

'Why are people updating their Face Book profiles for free?

Why are they editing Wikipedia entries for free?

Why are they blogging on Huffington Post for free?'

- the truth is that many people want to do that

as part of their own self-expression. Nobody asks why are people watching bad TV for seven hours a day."

And YOUR blogs

are SO much more interesting

than bad TV!

ALOHA, cloudia