Pencil cases - prizes for reunion

I made some pencil cases as prizes for the Noel Family Reunion this summer.  I bought a small remnant at the second hand store the other day and when I unrolled it at home I discovered these beautiful butterflies!!  I really wanted to use it to make a few prizes.  In the end, the fabric was quite thin and would not support making pencil cases all on its own so I dug into my stash of fabric and came up with coordinating fabrics that were heavier. Luckily, I found some zippers that worked with the colours I had so I just went ahead and made up four of them.  The pink is from a skirt I made myself in high school!!  I cannot believe I have been carrying around these scraps for such a long time!!  The green is from baby blankets for the grandchildren somewhere along the way!!  We always made ours for school out of denim and with the zipper on the top but an internet search revealed this design which I thought worked quite well and was easier to execute.

Therese

Maui - Haleakala Crater and Big Beach

 It is COLD at 10,000 feet in Maui!!!!!!   I am so glad that I had all of my layers on - shell, fleece, jacket, shirt, tank top, jeans, socks and shoes!!  That is a lot of clothes at sea level but at the top of Haleakala crater it was a God send!!  So many others were robed in only capris, sandals and hoodies!!   We could have used a flash light because it was also very dark when we arrived. We were fortunate to be able to benefit from those ahead of us that had been prudent and brought one along.
A stiff wind was blowing into our faces as we stood at the railing the hour it took for the sun to rise!!
As you can see, though, it was definitely worth the wait!!   We saw the sun rise over the edge of Haleakala Crater with the clouds below us on the horizon.  The colours were awesome and it started warming up as soon as the sun showed its full face over the edge.

 We were up at 3am, on the road by 4am and at the top of the mountain by 6am and the sun came up at just before 7am.  The sky was clear as a bell!!!
We had breakfast before we left but ate again in Paia once we were down the mountain.

 I was very happy that Brian took great care driving down the mountain. In so many places there are no guard rails and all you can see is a few clouds in a vast expanse of blue sky!!  I could easily have been scared witless though I had been forewarned by a few glimpses of lights FAR below as we were ascending and had steeled myself into being brave knowing that all would be well.

Haleakala is the remnant of an old dormant volcano and you can see here the inside of the crater.  It is huge with eleven miles of trails that slowly descend into the erosion crater.  It is called Sliding Sands Trails and there are warnings to keep on the trails to protect the habitat of the few living things that survive there.  There were plenty of shiny surfaces on the rocks as the sun thawed the frost that was there earlier.  We did not walk down too far - it is always a longer walk back because it is all uphill.

It looks like the moon!!

We finished our day with a visit to Big Beach which is on the south end of the island and watched the sun set over Molokini 

Therese

Maui - luau

We attended the Old Lahaina Luau while we were there. It was fabulous!!!  We booked on line to make sure we could get tickets even though they have a show every night except Christmas Day. These lovely women greeted us with Hawaiin balads as we entered the open air complex. We were given a beautiful lei and a mai tai as we entered.  The evening begins with demonstrations of local dance, instruments along with cultural displays. Lots of photographers were on hand to capture your special moments on film and you could pick up your photos on the way out.

While the pig is roasting, the evening continues with every one being seated, servers (in traditional dress) fetching you drinks from the open bar and the band playing while you meet and socialize with the people at your table (rain forest hardwood).  They are located right on the beach so we watched the sun set as we ate.   The meal is buffet style and tables  are called one at a time to help themselves.  We had fresh fruit as we waited our turn.  The food was fabulous!!  Every dish was labeled in Hawaiin and English so you could make your choices.  We filled our plates!! Desserts were served along with coffee and tea at our table just before the show started. Their specialty is a coconut pudding called Coconut Haupai  (blancmange).  The show told the history of Hawaii through story and dance.  Very well done with beautiful costumes and enthusiastic dancers.  The luau was a communal spiritual celebration and the story and the dances reflect that.  Once the show was over we were bid Aloha and Mahalo for spending time with them.  Everyone received a little box of banana bread as we left and had an opportunity to meet and thank the dancer-servers on the way out.  All is all, a most wonderful evening!!!
Therese

Maui - scenery and hotel

We took our selfie by the old Indian banyan tree in Lahaina!!! This tree is almost 150 years old, has a huge canopy and aerial roots!!  It was wonderfully cool under there and it had so many carvings on its trunk and roots.  I took pictures of a few hearts. Makes you wonder who these people were and what's become of them.

 In the middle of the photo you can see the main trunk of the tree and to the left and just above Brian's head you can see the aerial roots that support the very long branches of the tree.  There are benches located in several places and it appeared to be a local hangout for musicians and interesting local characters.
We stayed at the Days Inn - Maui Oceanfront.  We had a smallish room with a fridge, coffee maker and microwave but it served our needs very well.  The floors were tiled (better for the sand) and we had only a shower but that worked well for us.  

The bed was very comfortable and we were not disturbed by the comings and goings of other guests. The hotel is right on the beach in Kihei so we went for a walk on the beach every day.  We fortunately did not have any rain while we were there though our first few days were cloudy.  The hotel provided beach towels which was great!!  There were beach chairs available as well but we did not avail ourselves of them - we preferred to walk.  We were careful to not burn - used sunscreen, our hats and covered up when necessary.

 This was our beach!!  I know, we shared it with lots of people - every shape, size and configuration.  There were families with children, older couples, young couples and lots of people with dogs.  The beaches were always clean and everyone was very respectful of each other and other people`s belongings.  Many times we saw personal items wrapped in towels or bags left on the beach while the owners walked, snorkeled, paddled or swam.  It ranged from 78F to 87F - pretty much paradise.  You can see the black volcanic rock everywhere on the beaches.  Just part of the terrain.

This is the beach on the other side of the island at Mama`s Fish house.  They have a very beautiful building and site right on the beach. The food was very good, not generous, at bit pricey but the ambiance was great and the staff was excellent.  Not sure we will go again because of the value but worth doing at least once!!
We ate at Cafe O`lei several times and it was excellent food for a decent price.  We walked to supper several times and returned to the hotel after nightfall and were not afraid or concerned at all about our safety.  We ate our breakfast in our room at a wonderful little glass table near the windows in the corner of our room.  Perfect!! We shopped at Safeway, Foodland and ABC stores.  All had food to go like main dishes, sandwiches, salads and so on which was really convenient for us for lunch and having the fridge made it easier to plan for a few days.  They all sell Killer Beers (single large cans) which meant that Brian could have a beer in the evening if he wanted.  We rented a Ford Focus and got a really good deal online before we left.  We picked it up at the airport and returned it there.  We will be going back to the islands but will be renting a vacation condo next time.  The prices are much better - for the price we paid for the hotel room for a week we probably could have stayed in a condo for 2-3 weeks. We came across Canadians in many places while we were there!!!  We would certainly recommend the Swap Meet at the University in Kahului for a great place to buys just about anything you want - souvenirs, art, jewelry, produce and a few things in between.  There were food vendors as well.  We bought two art prints there from the local artist!!  It was great to be able to talk to him about the batik process and how he sells his art.
We would highly recommend Kihei to anyone wanting to go the Maui.

Therese

Maui - flowers

 Truly, one of the highlights of our trip to Maui was seeing all the wonderful vegetation that grows there!!  Lots of flowering bushes grow wild and there are also lots of beautiful gardens and flower beds everywhere!  The resorts are lush with beautiful flowers and plantings of every kind.

Here you can see an agave of some sort - at least 3 feet in diameter.  Once our trip back down from seeing the sunrise we saw some that were more like 7 feet in diameter!!  Awesome!

 Here a bird of paradise growing in the flower beds of the resort next door to the Days Inn where we were staying.  I later found one in the front flower bed of the Days Inn as well.

Bougainvillea grows everywhere and comes in so many beautiful colours - pink, red, orange, peach, etc.  

Here a fern.  There were so many varieties and they grew in so many places including along the road ways and paths.

 Hibiscus grows everywhere as well and some are literally trees covered in beautiful flowers!!  We saw every colour of these as well - yellow, peach, red, pink, white, oranges, etc.  All sort of sizes and some double petal varieties as well.

 Not sure what the last two of these are  and I have forgotten to include a picture of the plumeria which is a beautiful sturdy flower that has been copied and made into barrettes and is sold everywhere we went.

Therese

Apron for Brian

Brian had hoped to buy himself an apron in Maui as a souvenir of our trip but unfortunately there were none that really appealed to him - on average much too bold or commercial for his liking.  We shopped a few second hand stores while we were there and I found this dress that had really nice colours and was made from Hawaiin fabric and I proposed making him an apron from the fabric. He was good with that so I made it a priority when we got home to make him his apron.  I had to add a piece to each side to make it wide enough so I did my best to match the pattern so it would not be too obvious. I used some green cotton fabric I had on hand to back the top section and to make the ties and used a current apron as a guide.  It worked out really well!!
So now when he cooks at home he can use his apron and be reminded of all the good food we ate on our trip.

Therese

Photos in my room divider

I started putting photos into the room divider Brian made me years ago!!  I have made a title page using Corel Draw!!  It is a bit of a funky "We are family" page!!  It is great because I am able to use 12x12 decorative paper and I found a pad of paper that was perfect for the colours that I needed.  I added Katherine and Gil and the three kids, Suzanne and Sal the kids, Brian's Mom and Dad and Mom and Dad.  I will keep adding photos as I go.  I am really happy with the way it has turned out.

Therese