Auld Lang Syne

The year 2009 is about over and some powerful memories have emerged.

Ranging from quirky and improbable to humbling and heart-warming.

I've been reminded of sorrow, humility, enthusiasm and understanding.

And they've all left an impression.

Mele Kalikimaka 2009

Even with teenagers who can sleep till noon on most days-
Christmas morning is still a 6AM affair!

Christmas dinner and games - isn't that the universal way to finish off the day?

Remember Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941: A date which will live in infamy
The events of that day are a stark contrast to the amazing evening sunsets we enjoy over the Pearl Harbor channel out our front door.
As I watch the sun disappear, I realize we've led a charmed life.

The opportunities, democracy, and even basic human rights I enjoy are possible because of the sacrifices these men made along with many others so long ago.Those freedoms still are being protected today by our men and women in uniform.
And I'm grateful we play a small partWe must never take peace and freedom for granted. We must honor our warriors.
We must always value their service and sacrifice.

We must Remember Pearl Harbor.

Thoughts

Even if you try not to turn into your mom, no matter how different you are or how much you rebel, there are parts of your mother that stick with you like dog hair.

And now, I embrace that fact because I can no longer embrace her. My mom died unexpectedly 14 days ago. She was sixty-nine. I am still in shock, of course, and can hardly believe I am writing these words. Part of me thinks she might call my cell phone any minute, to ask why I haven’t called her recently.

This post can’t begin to sum up my mother.
I haven’t mentioned her love of Nielsen’s caramel cashew frozen custard or her marathon baking escapades. I’m sure I’ll write more about her in the future.

For now, it helps to know that Dave, Garrett and Madison are reaping some of the priceless gifts she gave me.

I suppose that with any death there are questions. Some are easier to answer than others.
The hardest question I’m facing now is why she was taken with no time for me to say goodbye.
There’s no denying that my mom had her share of health trials. I know many times we were reminded Mom’s diabetes was a glaring reality – it was stressful and emotionally overwhelming.

Intellectually, I know that she departed this life in the way she wanted.
She never valued longevity over quality of life.

Our memories of her are good ones . . . . We’ll remember her hmmm-sniff, or playing Nertz in the kitchen, or sitting around the counter all watching the little tv.

In the last couple of weeks I’ve talked with many people who have lost close family members. Some had a sudden loss like ours. Others nursed a loved one for months, watching them slowly deteriorate.
These people understand the conundrum. They understand the value of getting to say goodbye, but don’t minimize the emotional toll of watching a parent suffer and die. They understand that labeling this particular manner of death “a blessing” is too easy.

You can’t have everything. I was spared the sight of watching her in pain.
In exchange, I have no choice but to hope that she knew what was in our hearts.
That she was a great mother.
That she taught us well.
That we’ll try to never forget to say I love you.
That we’ll travel and hang out with friends and family while we’re able to enjoy them.

The question of why she was taken so abruptly is one without an answer. As with anything, I suppose you must take what life gives you, and look for the good in your situation. So I choose to be thankful for the circumstances surrounding her death, and I have faith that the things that were left unsaid didn’t really need saying at all.

My Mother

Frances "Melodee" Hart
(May 26, 1940 - November 21, 2009)

Melodee Hart, 69, passed away Saturday November 21, 2009 at St Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake City as the result of an infection she had been battling for the past three months. Melodee was not new to medical challenges and has been courageous in dealing with affliction all her life. She has at last found her reward; she has endured in faith with an unwavering commitment to do good and to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She loved the Savior and her family above all else. She never knew an act of selfishness and easily found the good in everyone.

She was born to Mickey and Helen Hart, May 26, 1940, the oldest of four children. She was married March 18, 1960 in the Salt Lake Temple and began her career as mother to five fantastic children, 15 grandchildren and two great grandchildren plus three step grandchildren and four step great grandchildren. She is fondly remembered as Grandma Dodee coined by a grandson who could not say Melodee.

From all of us who know you, Melodee, so long until we meet again, we love you, we admire you, we honor you. In faith we hope to follow in your footsteps.

Funeral services will be held on Friday November 27, 2009 12:00 noon at the Kenwood 2nd LDS Ward Chapel, 3080 South 1765 East, where friends may visit with the family from 10:00am to 11:30am prior to the services. Interment: Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park. Online condolences to the family may be sent at: www.holbrookmortuary.com

Bah Hum-BUG!

I need a break from this parasite, I mean paradise!

I ventured to the storage shed to do a pre-inventory for Christmas decor.

You know, see how the tree survived the move - check on lights, that sort of thing.

I'm sure a few squeals (mixed in with a few slangs) caught the attention of our new neighbors when I realized these ants had decided to take their own type of inventory.

Crap - they'd set up an entire community - birthing center and nursery included!

. . . .My own ant farm!

Those little buggers even ate the nose off my Mickey Mouse ornament!

After 2 days of meticulously going through the ornaments - salvaging what memorable ones I could, we finally came to the bottom of what I thought was my airtight Rubbermaid.

Seriously - can I be done with these critter challenges?!?!?

Madi's latest

What in the world do you do with every single Hannah Montana fabric available at WalMart?

Produce the most comfy rag quilt for everyone to fight over.

Our Lanai DIY

One of the challenges of this transient lifestyle is coming up with creative solutions for each unique house we live in. Our current dilemma - how to cover the windows in the lanai.

I haven't had a problem leaving those lovely louvered windows bare until just recently. I love the greenery of the yard. But after a neighbor applauded our pajama karaoke session - I figured it was time to come up with a plan.

Only 7 months left with these windows - so I wanted to keep the budget . . . .well basically at $0.

Madi and I rummaged around Constance.

In keeping with the island feel, we came up with grass mats (like the kind from the ABC Store). We jimmied them up and and tried rolling them up each morning with ribbon I had sewn on - but that was getting old and the mats weren't holding together very well.

Enter Plan B . . . .

We succumbed to spending the $12 for mini blinds and $5 on new grass mats at the B/X.

Who knows - we may just splurge on a tiny bit of trim/bling. If not - I'll be o.k.

Not too shabby!

Friday Flashback

Let's face it. . . .

Trying to capture the Fall Feeling for the past 5 years has meant throwing in a splash of Halloween orange amongst all the tropical flora and fauna.

Or. . . .

Reminiscing from years past in cooler climates.

Dateline: October 2002

Grandma Dodee's, Utah

Friday Flashback

October 2000. This week, 9 years ago - was a turning point in our lives.

David graduated from OIS in Newport, Rhode Island.

The USS Cole had just been attacked in Yemen a day earlier.

We had been apart from David for 6 WHOLE WEEKS! I thought I would never survive.
When I think of that now - I giggle a bit. 6 weeks . . . .cakewalk!

I met my beloved Subaru for the first time.

We gave it a good introduction to our family by driving it from Newport down to Baltimore - with plenty of stops along the way. Including the unplanned night in Groton after Garrett launched his lunch in the backseat amongst all our Iceland bound luggage.

And who can think back to that time without remembering Madi's famous PURPLE CLOGS!

Doin' the Cockroach Dive

While awaiting one last glimpse of the USS Ronald Reagan leaving Pearl Harbor for the colder waters of San Diego, Molly helped pass time demonstrating her obsession with the ever present cockroaches.

As entertaining and/or disgusting as Molly's pre-show was, the Supercarrier was quite a show stopper.

Packed full of "Tigers" (they're all the family members not in uniform lining the flight deck) - you know this is bound to be a week of adventure for the ship and her crew.

I broke a promise

After my phone fell victim to the Pacific ocean last week I vowed never to take my phone to the beach again. I lied!

Being that today was Sunday - we figured we'd do what comes naturally. . . .Take a drive to the country.

Anyone who is familiar with Oahu knows that the "country" in these here parts is more commonly known as the North Shore.  We made the stop in Hale'iwa for the must have shave ice - and continued on thinking we'd make a stop at the temple grounds in La'ie to grab a sighting of Mark Eubank (sans the white jacket).  We stopped to oooh and aaahh at the beach where they film for the tv show Lost and nearly tripped over the huge rocks all over the place! Check out that big ol' one in the foreground. . . .

After we spotted these beautiful creatures basking in the warm afternoon sun - I sent Dave back to the car to grab whatever was available to record our findings. The phone to the rescue!
We spent quite a while just watching these gentle giants.

There were only 2 honu on the beach this afternoon, Brutus and Punahele.

But they were magnificent.

There is a local organization that keeps watch and tries to educate the public about this threatened species. The Honu Guardians were excellent at keeping us humans at a fair distance (being within 6 feet of these guys sends their anxiety levels sky high) and answering the many many questions.

In conclusion:

Mark Eubank lost out to the turtles.

I'm so glad I had my phone!

P.S. - we've signed up to be Honu Guardians 2 shifts a month!  I'm such a sucker for volunteering.

Here's hoping

That YOUR Saturday was just as swell!

Freecycle Friday Project

We found the cutest little project over on Not So Idle Hands blog.

Figuring "why not" . . . .

we made a jar for each member of the house.

Not too shabby for a free project on this rainy Friday.

Change of Command, Pacific Fleet.

I could have put COC PACFLT - but I didn't think too many of you would understand.

Dave's command, U.S. Pacific Fleet*, held a change command during a ceremony Sept. 25 on Naval Station Pearl Harbor in view of the historic memorials of USS Arizona and USS Missouri.

The Change of Command ceremony is among the oldest traditions in the Navy.
The change-of-command ceremony, which is rich in naval tradition, is quite formal. The turnover of a Navy command is the formal passing of responsibility, authority, and accountability of command from one officer to another.

United States Navy Regulations, 1990, Department of the Navy, Office of the Secretary, Washington, D.C., 1990. Few occasions stir the emotions of people more than a formal naval ceremony. Most of these ceremonies instill a great amount of pride in our naval service for all who attend.

In your naval career you will attend many formal ceremonies. No matter what role you fill, take a moment to look around you to reflect on the traditions and customs that have been carried on for many years. These traditions and customs will make you proud to be a part of the greatest Navy in the world.

Mack, W.P., and R.W. Connell, Naval Ceremonies, Customs, and Traditions, 5th ed., Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Md., 1980. Mack, W.P., and T.D. Paulsen, The Naval 0fficer’s Guide, 9th ed., Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Md., 1983

*The Navy's largest fleet command encompasses more than 100 million square miles. Nearly 200 ships and submarines and 125-thousand sailors

Satisfaction . . . .

. . . . . .In a job well done!

One of two 'paver patios' that we installed.

Go FETCH!

Fetch your own at http://www.bestinshowsf.com/index.html

A Tale of Thai Fabric

On our girls trip to Thailand Madi and I stayed in the most cozy, unique and beautiful place The PAK Chiang Mai Guesthouse.
Their website claims, "Come as guests, leave as family" . . . . which is exactly how we felt!
Noon has created such a peaceful oasis in Chiang Mai. Her attention to every detail was obvious during our stay.
Noon's mother had a wonderful talent with fabric and a simple sewing machine. We were lucky enough to have her make a few items for us and indulged in buying up almost every piece of fabric(sarong) she had left. (and then some!)

Noon and her family were so sweet and accommodating. It was a wonderful visit that I will treasure forever.

Fast forward a few months:

I gingerly packed that colorful fabric with me for our visit to Utah. I was so excited to show my sisters and mom, sharing with my family countless stories of our trip.

Madi used some of her choices of that fabric to make a quilt with her Aunt Sid.

Again it was packed up for the trek back across the ocean to our new island home of Oahu where we spent the next month or so in a hotel room - no where near the intimacy of the PAK.

Every so often, I would break out my fabric box and look at the bright colorful patterns - imagining how they were going to look in our new home. Obviously anticipating great things to come!

Our long anticipated home of choice in Hawaii didn't come to fruition.

I was bummed (to say the least).

Gone were the images of my colorful fabric splashes in that newly constructed 2200 s/f house on Ford Island. We settled instead on Constance - our "cute" pre-WWII era duplex.

It was tempting to leave that fabric packed away.

"Why bother?"
But I'm so glad I DID bother . . . .

Yes, it's makeshift.
But it makes me smile when I see it each morning.

And I'll gingerly pack it all up in a short 9 months when we move to that "Beautiful new house"

. . . .wherever that may be.

Do I have waaaay too much invested in just silly fabric?

Probably. But that's just how my life is.

Have a lovely week and don’t forget to stop and take in the small and beautiful every day moments.

Back To School

In the spirit of . . . .well . . . . .everybody else,
we wanted to post our "First day back to school photos".

Starting the day fresh and ready to go . . . .

Physical Education . . . . . .

Break between classes . . . . .

And just to reassure you that we haven't dropped the ball . . . .

The curriculum for the year arrived via snail mail.
Yes, all 40+ pounds of textbooks.
(I'm so glad they aren't wearing that on their backs each day!)

As hesitant as we were about this decision to home school while here in Hawaii, I can honestly say we haven't looked back.

I'm a FAN!

No - I (Chan) am not a fan of KISS by any stretch of the imagination. But we all know David is.

His fun crew in Guam sent him the most unique coconut postcard I could ever imagine.

Now THAT crew in Guam . . . . I'm their biggest fan!

My biggest challenge

You know how we're only given challenges that we can handle?

Yah, I'm about done with that concept.

I was proud of myself the way I came out of this challenge with my sense of humor still intact.

Never did I suspect it was just preparation for what lie ahead with this Pearl Harbor move.

Meet the latest:

Polynesian roof rat! And no - I'm not about to personalize this experience more by giving them a different name.

These pests make my termite problem in Guam seem like keiki play.

But with the help of Fred the exterminator/verminator - my new best friend - we're going to conquer! (Or at least displace them for the next 10 months!)

So far 10 of those pests have left our house for a better place - the plastic garbage bag!

*chal·lenge: to arouse or stimulate especially by presenting with difficulties

In the neighborhood

My high school reunion was held a few weeks ago and I missed it.
I wanted to attend - even if it was just to support all the hard work and planning that goes into an event like this. But with the move, a tropical storm (that fizzled out) and David having to leave town - it just wasn't in the cards.
It was a hoot hearing the stories from the event and checking out all the photos.
Trying to match up faces with memories from what seems like so long ago.
But my heart skipped a beat when I came across this one. . .

I had to stop and pause.
These are the kids from my neighborhood.
The Union 17th ward neighborhood.
I see those faces and I'm immediately flooded with years of memories. . . . . .Church, youth activities, toilet papering in the wee hours, etc.
It looks like home to me.
It's had me thinking . . . . . what will tug at my kids heartstrings in 20+ years? What will trigger their memories?

Madi's room

Don't you just love the couch cover? The colors match perfectly.

I must add - Madi did most of it by herself.

The color choices, painting, etc. I taped (where she would let me!) and finished painting where she couldn't reach.

The 'couch cover' - A beautiful quilt handmade by Aunt Sidney.

It's really on there just for display - no one's allowed to sit!

Which isn't too bad - since we're banned from her room anyway.

Chicken Skin

On our way home from a mediocre day at the beach*, Madi announced completely out of the blue, "I need April to come visit. I think the house is haunted and she's in to that kind of stuff."
Quit giggling - she's DEAD serious! (At least that's what I was told)

Apparently my sister is now dubbed the family exorcist.
*We need WAVES! Guam was beautiful - but wave less! Today's visit did not have the adequate amount of waves to constitute a good beach day.

I think it's about time. . . .

. . . . .You were officially introduced.

Meet Constance.  Otherwise known as 302B Julian Ave.

I don't normally make it a habit of naming inanimate objects, but my dear friend Misse does. She names everything down to her cell phone!  I figured I may as well give it a whirl - trying to form somewhat of an attachment that has so far eluded me.

So why Constance?

Because she is constant.

She's been housing military families just like us since 1938 or so. We as families move on - but she's here waiting for another family to move in and make their memories.

Can you just imagine all the birthdays that have been celebrated within these walls?

Deployments waiting for Dad to come home for what seems like forever.

The morning of December 7, 1941.

Definitely a work in progress, but she is starting to grow on me.

I've been holding out on you . . .

My days of mourning housing are nearing an end. The house is coming together (as it always does) The sense of humor is easing back and I'm starting to see it all in a better light.

But just to show that my complaining was not completely unwarranted, I give you . . . . .

The COMMODE!

Isn't she a beauty?!

Absolutely no discretion in this 1200 s/f cottage (including the lanai). We can hear you finishing up from the carport outside.

(Never mind that I had to climb into the tub to take the photo. It's all about being cozy here in paradise.)

Just look at all the multitasking that can be accomplished from one seat!