Homespun Honolulu

The 29th Carnival of Aloha is going to take flight this month.  It’s not only about the birds but they do have quite a large say in this one.  Our transportation has the first really BIG say!

Hey, I never said what kind of bird!  Besides, we always need a method of transportation to get around our Carnival so we’ll just borrow a Hawaiian Airlines “bird” for our cyber journey.  I don’t think they’ll mind.  Besides, we really need that big bird to get to our first ride and get home again!

San Diego Zoo put together quite an extensive series of articles about Hawaii’s endangered birds that can be seen by scrolling through  the voluminous articles in their Archive for the ‘Hawaii Bird Project’ Category.  I stumbled onto this treasure trove of articles by accident and it led to us taking the Carnival flying this month.

I have to admit that I do love my little airplane picture.  Sometimes the right thing just happens at the right time.  It did for our friend, Nathan!

Nathan caught a bird in action while looking to share a post all about Fireworks, Fishing and Freaking Rats! He shares this, and more, over at his Kam Family Blog.  Thanks, Nathan, nice catch!  The bird I mean, not the fish.

We all know how important it is for Hawai’i to protect and preserve its land and wildlife.  Sometimes we have to do whatever we can to make sure this happens!

Sheila reminds us to drive carefully and watch the Signs of Hawaii: Nene Crossing posted over at GoVisitHawaii.com.  It is a funny thing to see and so worthy of a photo — cute sign!  This Carnival has to send out big kudos to the zoos!  That is our State bird and the only place you will find a nene goose on O’ahu, it’s sad to say, is at the Honolulu Zoo.  We cannot emphasize enough, the importance of the ongoing preservation efforts.

We also have an overabundance of some birds!  On a slightly lighter note,

Elsie (my sister) was wondering just What is that SMELL?  She tells us all about it in her new blog, My Life as a Property Manager.  I couldn’t resist adding this one to the fun!  I had to giggle at my sister’s overactive imagination and paranoia.  I thought I had the market on that!  Be sure to read this comical story!

We don’t have to all go to the birds — we can stay grounded and head for the water like out next Carnival “rides.”

Cynthia Hoskins tells us all about Turtle Independence Day at Mauna Lani Bay posted over at asynchronicity.  She wishes us all, “Aloha from the Big Island, Cynthia”  This is the cutest thing!  I didn’t even know about this event.  Thank you, Cynthia, for catching it for us!

The turtles aren’t the only thing headed for the ocean.  Our friend, Mel, educates us with some fascinating information and some of those trademark-wonderful photos!

mel shares A Day Aboard the Supercarrier USS Ronald Reagan posted over at Mel’s Internet Universe Weblog, saying, “How about taking a trip to nowhere aboard a super sized aircraft carrier? That’s exactly what I did on July 6. Read my account on my blog.” That sounds like a great idea!

Evelyn (me) tells a story about a whirlwind trip to Maui and then shares What happens when kama’aina play tourist! While looking for the similarities and differences between islands, the discovery of a strange bird is just one of the peculiar things uncovered in this post.  Preservation and the overabundance of chickens (with their feathers on) both strike a very familiar chord with our Carnival topics.

Squidoo has an interesting “lens” called Birding in Hawaii with Grandma.  There’s a whole bunch of information to be found about Hawaii’s birds on this link. If you’re an Internet enthusiast and you’re not familiar with Squidoo, and all of the lenses it provides, you might want to check it out.  There are people writing about almost every topic — not just birds!

We’ve landed and gotten our feet wet at this Carnival but now we need to come in for a landing and get those feet on the ground.  We need something to help us relax — like lavender!

AKL Maui has a blog too!  Your host (me) went to Maui and was sure to see them and here they share how AKL Maui Travels to the KCC Farmers Market to bring their wares to O’ahu and share them with us!  Kapiolani Community College is a great place to be on Saturday mornings — especially when Ali’i Kula Lavender is in town!

This was fun — with or without the feathers!  Please remember to join us for the September Carnival (the 3rd anniversary of the Carnival of Aloha!) by submitting your blog article using our carnival submission form.  Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Share the Aloha at the July Carnival!

In the interest of sharing the holiday, I’ve extended the deadline for sending in your submissions until Sunday,  July 4th!

Send in the link to your favorite blog post and join in the fun on July 5th when we share your link along with the links of other Carnival participants.

In case you’re new to this site and wondering what a blog Carnival is, go check out this one about pet owners who are Pet Writers. I found them and shared a blog post with there!

As a special note, just in case you missed it, FOXNews.com named O’ahu as one of its 8 Best 4th of July Destinations! They used our friend Sheila’s blog, GoVisitHawaii.com, to put the icing on their story!  Sheila wrote about Oahu’s July 4th Fireworks and Events 2010 and FOX picked up on her link.  Outstanding!  That just goes to show you, if you really want to know about stuff, ask a blogger!

Send in your posts using the submission form found here.  Happy 4th of July! Have a wonderful holiday, stay safe, and don’t forget to submit your posts!

I can’t wait to see what you have to share with the rest of the blogosphere!  See you on the 5th!

Carnival Reminder!

This is a reminder that the Carnival of Aloha is, as always, looking for the submission of posts that are Hawai’i-specific.  You will find the guidelines here.  Exciting Carnival news follows below, so read on!

It’s fun and it is just a link to your blog that you are sharing.  Nobody is stealing your content or plagiarizing your carefully crafted work!  Trust me, we all hate that kind of stuff.

 Exciting Carnival News!

I received an email from The Blog Carnival Team of BlogCarnival.com, the creators of the wonderful venue of Blog Carnivals.  The message said, “Congrats on being the featured Blog Carnival on June 16.”  Wow!  The Carnival of Aloha was chosen to be the featured Blog Carnival on their Facebook page.  I didn’t even know they had one.  I do now!

Check it out!  Become a fan!  This is going to be great for all of us — we will get to learn all about more blog carnivals out there!  Thank you, Blog Carnival, for sharing!

Don’t forget to join us for the next Carnival of Aloha, scheduled to go live on July 5th.  Submit your link here!

• If you have traveled to the islands and posted about it on your blog, share it with us!
• If you live here and something made you happy, sad, or angry, share it with us!
• If you used to live here, miss home really badly, and talk about it all on your blog, share it with us!

Come join in the fun!

When looking at the beauty of the islands I have to admit that there are many things for which we need to be thankful.   Sure, we have a lot of issues to complain about, but, we also have reasons to celebrate.  For Chapter 27 of the Carnival of Aloha, we’re going to cruise around and find multiple reasons to celebrate!

Let’s begin with the above photo.  We can say, “Darn it, it’s always raining on the Windward side!”  Yes, but look at how beautiful and lush it is!  The beauty of our islands is always cause for celebration!  Trust me, there is quite enough sun on the Windward side to go around!

Moving right along, let’s share more about finding causes for celebration in spite of our annoyances.  We can’t help it if we’re all concerned citizens.  We just complain about it until (whatever it is) gets fixed!  So, let’s begin with the issue that has gotten a huge amount of press and created the most angst recently!

Georgette Deemer posted The end of furlough Fridays over on the State’s Hawaii House Blog.  Now there’s a reason for parents to celebrate!  Mahalo to all who took part in making this happen!  Yes, it’s true, $57.2 million may be coming from the hurricane relief fund.  Let’s just be happy that our youth will be back in school and pray that we don’t have another hurricane.  Perfect weather is, after all, cause for celebration!

Neenz joins us once again after being missing for what seems an eternity!  Neenz tell us that the City of Honolulu ranked top eco-city in the U.S., but… This is the perfect-timing post for this Chapter of the Carnival!  It talks about how happy we are for good news, “but…” we know we have issues.  Cabin fever and overcrowding are not helping the matter.  BUT, we still like that good news and we still love our home!  Thanks, Neenz, for agreeing to let me rope you in!

Misty at the Hawaii Book Blog shared this Book Review: Facing Future for our Carnival and, I have to admit, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I read this.  Please welcome Misty and Alex from Hawaii Book Blog to our little Carnival ohana!  Based on their review, I have to get this book, for several reasons! I met Misty and Alex at the recent Hawaii Book and Music Festival and I’m glad we were able to connect.  We can complain about how life takes people from us too soon but this book is another celebration of Hawaii’s own Makaha Son, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (Bruddah Iz).  Check  out the review and then think about getting a copy!

All of those events at Makua Ranch and I never knew the talent that was right there the whole time!  Sigh.  I was probably fourteen years old so give me a break!  Thinking about Makua Ranch makes me think about food.  We need some carbs!  Rice will do!

Ten Bruggencate shares (okay I swiped this link and hope he finds it ’cause I found no email address) a secret with us about sticky rice.  Sticky rice: an ancient Chinese construction secret posted over at Raising Islands — Hawai’i science and environment left me confused.  I wasn’t sure if I was stunned, hungry, or just irritated that someone didn’t “soak the pot” so it wouldn’t be all stuck with rice!  I’m going to go with stunned.  Great post!

Melanie agreed to join us once again with Maui: The Weekend Less Planned posted at Travels with Two. This article is actually Part 4 but the links to parts 1, 2, & 3 are at the bottom of this post so you can check those out as well.  Melanie is feeding us some healthy looking stuff to eat with our sticky rice! I think I just ruined Melanie’s menu but I’m sure she’ll forgive me.

Wendy Piersall presents Luau Coloring Pages | Fantasy Jr. posted at Fantasy Jr, saying, “These luau coloring pages get really popular at this time of year.”  We can complain about blatant advertising but look what we can get out of it!  I almost wish I had a kids party coming up!  Maybe we should get some for the 4th of July!  Of course then we would have to buy crayons.  I must admit, this is a post with Hawai’i in mind.

Okay now that we’re mad because we ate too much, we have a new friend, Dayle, who is going to help us work it off!

Dayle Turner tells about the Schofield Trail — 6/23/2002 posted at Hiking and Backpacking in Hawaii Blog.  Here is yet another one that I don’t know anything about and will have to check out!  Huge welcome to Dayle who will, hopefully, continue to keep us informed and share these wonderful finds.  We can complain about the work to get there but oh the beauty and sense of accomplishment!  The more mountain the better! Thanks Dayle!

That concludes this Chapter of the Carnival of Aloha.   I think we came out of this pretty well, in spite of all the complaining!  In the coming days I will be talking about things to complain about and the benefit that comes out of it all.

Submit your blog article for the next Chapter using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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I’m all for supporting a Motorcycle Awareness Month! I saw this announcement in an article about riding on the mainland so I had to find out, “Hey, what about us?”  This doesn’t mean that our local news channels haven’t said anything; it just means that I haven’t heard it.  Apparently, it is also bike (bicycle) month.  The news has spoken about that and a school’s poster contest called, “Make it Safe for Me.”  I like that!

If I wasn’t such a coward I would ride a motorcycle.  But, I also suffer from road rage and a need for anger management so it would be a very bad idea!  We had thirty (30) motorcycle fatalities last year and there were 5,290 fatalities Nationwide in 2008!

In 2007 and 2008 the numbers were horrid, probably because so many people have turned to this more gas-efficient mode of transportation.  More people riding motorcycles means that more motorcycle accidents are likely to happen.

Regular readers know how I whine about biker safety, all of the time.  We had another fatality earlier this week.  I don’t know what the accident total is so far this year but as this is being written, I kid you not; the morning traffic report is talking about a bike down on the windward side of O’ahu.  “Hello?!?  You’ve got to be kidding me!” It says they are clearing it up so I’m going to guess that it was not a fatality.  Thank goodness!

It’s important to make all two-wheelers safe — be they bicycles, mopeds, or motorcycles.  I’ve actually found myself positioning my car behind bikers on the freeway to protect them from oblivious drivers.  Obviously I’m not the only one.

That way they will have the distance they need, and a protective driver will be able to hit the brakes if the need should arise — a buffer of sorts.  “Rear end my car, not a biker.”  I may end up with a nice rear-end smash, but a biker would end up dead.  Simple.  “Look twice, save a life!”  Love those bumper stickers.  Click on the photos and check out these sites.  Pick up a couple for your car to remind your fellow drivers.  It’s Motorcycle Awareness Month!

Welcome to the latest chapter of the Carnival of Aloha!  Things are a week late but while pulling thing together we found some gems in the process.  We have some new friends joining us and I appreciate these new perspectives.  I don’t know how new the blogs are but they’re new to me!  Help me welcome them to our little Carnival ohana!

Noel shares The Nuances of Hula with us that is posted over at A Plant Fanatic In Hawaii.  Great post, Noel, thank you!  I was happy to see a cultural submission (I always am happy to see that) and I am also thrilled to welcome a plant aficionado into our midst!  Now I have someone who can tell me what peculiar thing it is that I’ve taken a picture of while wondering around.  Welcome, Noel!  Thank your for joining us!

This chapter of the Carnival is an active one and we need to be fed.  While Noel found us and is sharing the floral beauty of our culture and our gardens, I found someone to provide us with some cyber food from the garden to help us keep up our energy.

Sonia tells us what it’s like to be Cooking from the Garden that we can find over at Sonia Tastes Hawaii.  Yummy!  Relax, I know it says garden but I did see meat in some of the pictures on her blog.  But, I’m all for learning some good vegetarian dishes too.  Mahalo, Sonia, for agreeing to provide a “ride” for the Carnival!  I hope you will tell us more about garden edibles and your other food finds!

Sheila shares more cultural finds with us and suggests that we Visit Kauai’s Wailua River Valley.  We get to learn all about it on her blog at Hawaii Vacation Advice - GoVisitHawaii.com.  As always, the photos are beautiful and very enticing!  Waterfalls and heiau make a really great combination for a place of peaceful wonder.  It looked like a warm day, Sheila.  I’m glad you and Andy like to hike!

Sheila shared the Carnival of Aloha with one of her blogging friends and as a result, we get to welcome Melanie as she joins us for the first time!

Melanie Waldman presents some great Images of Maui posted at Travels With Two.  What beautiful pictures, Melanie!  You guys seriously need to check this out.  After one camera drama after another, these beautiful pictures were actually taken with the camera in her iPhone!  You have GOT to be kidding me?!?   Amazing!  I love the pictures of the cattle crossing the road.  Too cute!

I think Sonia fed us too well.  We need some exercise!  Ryan’s here to fix that!

Ryan Suenaga tells us about his Sixty Two Miles of Heck: the Haleiwa Metric Century posted at The Athletic Diabetic.  You know, Ryan, that’s a round trip from Nu’uanu to Makaha and back.  There are a lot of people who freak out over that distance by car!  I don’t, but I’m weird so that doesn’t count.  I’ve thought about getting a bike recently, but, I just don’t know.  Somehow being on foot still feels safer.  Ryan, is it safer?

Evelyn Hunter (me) wanted to share A Reprieve for the Dogs with the Bad Press posted here at Homespun Honolulu.  I actually tried to share this with the Carnival of Cities because there are so many cities across the country that are dealing with this very same issue.  Unfortunately, the host at the time chose to ignore it.  Perhaps they saw it as advertising or something.  Maybe they have decided that the Carnival of Cities is for Travel writers only — that was not its original intent.  I’m not sure since they have not responded to my inquiry.  If they do, maybe there will be a reprieve for them too.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Aloha using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page and the guidelines can be found here!

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If you have not submitted a story for the upcoming blog carnival, please do so by Saturday morning!

The next Carnival of Aloha is scheduled to go live on Monday, May 3rd!  Come and join in the fun!  Share the link to your favorite blog post about Hawaii using this form and you’re good to go!

Looking forward to reading what you’ve go to share!

Welcome to the April, 2010 chapter of the Carnival of Aloha!

I just love this picture and, since we’re “driving around” this time, I couldn’t resist using it.  This is a photo I took during a pro-rail rally by the State Capital.  I am not a supporter of rail but this was overwhelming to watch!  Trucks from every line of business made a convoy all the way around with horns blaring.

Rail may not be one of my favorite topics but Jobs for Local People most definitely is!  This display brought tears to my eyes but I have not blogged about it since I wasn’t sure exactly how to approach it.  I will talk about it, but I will just leave it at this for now.   Let’s check out the Carnival rides!

mel instigated this driving binge with his Pictures From the Auto Show that he posted over at Mel’s Internet Universe Weblog, saying, “Cool cars and vintage classics.”  I am always thrilled with Mel’s photography and welcome the opportunity to share his photos with everyone!  Thanks for kick-starting things, Mel.

We need these modes of transportation because the next ride has us driving all over the place!

Sheila takes us to see 8 Great Hawaii Waterfalls Worth Gushing Over posted at Hawaii Vacation Blog - GoVisitHawaii.com, saying, “These Hawaii waterfalls are wonderful to see and hear.”  And gush over them we should!  Love ‘em!

Everyone knows that we are not going to be without our sustenance for our island hopping journey!

Andy Hayes shares The ideal day in Kauai – Sand, Vistas, and Ice Cream that he posted over at Sharing Travel Experiences, saying, “Hawaii never looked so good…”  Um, I’m going to go with tasting so good!  Thanks for the ice cream, Andy!

Now that we’re having a sugar rush, we can use that extra energy to take in a little schooling.  We’re going to get a bit of history from Andrew.

Andrew Cooper tells us about the History Written in Lava Bombs and Cinder - A Darker View.  A history that is truly fascinating for all of us!  Between the lava and the night sky, there are so many things to be discovered at A Darker View.  Thanks, Andrew!

Then we’re going to get a lesson in proper English from our new friend, Wil.

Wil Procter says Aloha! Study English in Hawaii posted at Wil’s World of Words, saying, “For people living in Asia, Hawaii isn’t just a great holiday destination, it’s a very practical option for language education, too. Here are some reasons why Hawaii is such a great place to learn English.”  Sometimes I think we could all benefit with a little bit of language education.

Now I’m tired and a little dizzy.  We need a little peace and quiet.

Pua to the rescue!  Here is How to find Peace on Hawaii vacation? posted at Best Hawaii Vacation with Hawaii Vacation Blog.  Pua says, “Ever since Hawaii has become a #1 travel destination for Mainland travelers, a building boom happened in Hawaii. For better or worse, who can say. Read our thoughts about finding peace and tranquility on the Hawaii vacation.”

That wraps things up for the April chapter!  Submit your blog articles to the next chapter of the Carnival of Aloha using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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It’s that time again!  The deadline for submissions to the Carnival of Aloha has been extended to Saturday, April 3rd.  The Carnival is set to go live on Monday, April 5th.

If you are a Hawaii blogger or a blogger with a post about Hawaii, any island, feel free to join us and send us your story!  Submit the link to your post using this submission form.

Come join us for the fun and thank you, in advance, for sharing the Aloha!

To be specific, let’s talk about soup!

Our food-blogging friend, Valerie, does Four Foods On Friday as a blog meme over at Fun Crafts and Recipes.  Val usually throws four questions out there for us to think about and answer.  More recently, Val has done it a little backwards — she put one question out there, looking for four answers.

Last Friday, Val asked, “What are your four favorite soups?“  I thought about avoiding this one because I’m not much of a soup eater, or a soup maker.  After thinking about it for a while, I realized that there are some that I like.

I came up with these:

1. Cream of just about anything soup (zucchini and celery are good)
2. My own Corn Chowder (Val’s post reminded me about this one.)
3. Zippy’s Portuguese Bean soup (This one is very popular in our State.)
4. Pea soup was my favorite as a child (I think it was Campbell’s.  I don’t remember any ham but I could be wrong.)

There are others I like such as French Onion (if it has a lot of cheese) and Miso soup (when it’s cold outside).

I’m actually talking about this because the lenten season is upon us and I want to see what kind of soup you guys like! So, join in the meme in Val’s Kitchen!  Maybe even provide a soup recipe or two — for those of us with soup-deficient menus.