It's been a gorgeous day on the Big Island.  Dan and I actually slept in for a bit.  Then I creaked my way downstairs and started coffee and working on the novel.  I put in the 1128 words referenced above before breakfast.

We had everything we needed from our shopping adventure yesterday except for something to put on our (100% Whole Wheat) Muffins.  So that made as good an excuse as any to go out to breakfast.  We went to the Aloha Angel Cafe and enjoyed an omelette (me) and a breakfast burrito (Dan).  We also enjoyed the antics of two little boys who'd just met in the restaurant and had already become fast friends.  They were about 3 1/2 and 4 years old, I'd say.  Perfect spirit of aloha between the parents (one couple, one dad on his own for the day) who decided to take the boys to a park so they could play. 

After a stroll through town, we headed over to the Farmer's Market in Kona Village.  We browsed for requested coffees without success but I did find a cute necklace (naturally) at the stand I'm known to frequent.  We scored some delicious rambutan and some delicious-smelling pineapple and starfruit before heading off to the local market.  They were out of fresh ahi so we were forced to buy steaks that will go on the bbq in a half hour or so from now.

We moseyed on back to the house and have been sitting on the lanai, or in the hot tub, reading and relaxing ever since.  I'm currently in the courtyard, the fountain is going, awaiting the sunset and blogging with my man in the spa and a nice crisp glass of chardonnay beside each of us.  Thanking God for the many blessings he's sent our way.  Friends.  Family.  Each other.  Cool breezes and enough clouds to make the sunset a preview of heaven's door.

At long last, our patio furniture has arrived.  I wish I could show you a photo of the five counter stools and three loungers in our yard, but it was raining when the furniture was delivered.  (Just two weeks too late for Thanksgiving.)  We didn't even unwrap the cushions yet.  For now, the above stock photo will have to do.

Still, the furniture looks pretty nice sitting out there and I'm eager to inaugurate it with a festive gathering in January (on an unseasonably warm day).  One thing I've noticed about south Orange County is that the winters are warmer than Santa Clarita, but the dampness makes them feel colder outdoors.

As to the widget, cast your eyes to the right of this page and scroll down between archives and categories.  You'll see a new link to the "Ideal Bite," an eco-conscious web space that puts out daily tips on small steps to help the environment (and yourself) by living more thoughtfully on the earth and in our consumer culture.

I'm excited about the widget because I enjoy the Daily Bite (introduced by Cindy--my eco-evolved sister-in-law) and because the previous widgets didn't fit in the sidebar and, after a conversation via email with a lovely "biter" named Hannah, I have a widget that fits.

This one's super cool because it gives you a preview of the day's hint and you can decide whether to click on over or not, based on the tidbit.

Dan and I are off to Hawaii tomorrow for a stolen week at our house there.  My daily posts might be longer or shorter...depends on how much golf we play.  The good news about this trip is it forced me to get the Christmas minutae out of the way.

There is no bad news. 

Aloha!

 

We just finished wrapping the last of our Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers.  My eyes are pretty much crossed and I'm headed off to bed after a brief blog.  I love Christmas, but I can do without the wrapping for another 12 months!

This Christmas we're looking forward (in order of occurence) to time with the Baldridges at the annual Baldridge family party; time in North Carolina with Dan's family; and then time here in Orange County with my Mom, brother Charles and his wife, Anya.  It's going to be a bit travel intensive...so that's why I'm done wrapping on 12/6/07.

In terms of Green Pledges, check out the icon to the right.  I got started on the C3 website pledges a few months back thanks to sister-in-law Cindy.  So far I've pledged to:

-Wash most of our clothes in cold water (that was easy...already do that);

-Junk my junk mail (which entailed sending letters to folks opting out of lists;

-Break the bottled water habit (by buying and using reusable water containers...this has been quite easy)

I'd already jumped on the bandwagon with eliminating as many paper and plastic bags as possible.  I've purchased reusable bags and have them in both our cars.  Lately, I've been forgetting to take them into the store (any store...not just the grocery store) when shopping.  So it was nice to have the reminder of the pledge to encourage me to remember more often this month.

Dan's a frequent doubter about the need for some of these changes.  I ran across a great graphic today about the energy demanded for (and waste impact of) plastic and paper bags.  Check it out here and consider taking the pledge.

The trees and landfills will thank you.

 Now, my well-deserved rest awaits!

I've made a few changes to the site.  Renamed a few pages to make navigation a bit easier.  Of more impact, I've removed the "Life Tools" page and set up a fairly ugly, ad-hoc word counter page.  That way I can document my progress on the novel for those who are interested.  And this blog can go back to being a potpourri of politics, life lessons and diary.  Let me know what you think of the changes.

Two questions arose during today's linger in the nooks and crannies of the internet.  The first is courtesy of my brother-in-law Ken, who kindly posted a link to slactivist.com along with a mini-rant about yesterday's political blog sacrifice--Mike Huckabee.  Click here to view the video and read the blog.

At the end of his own mini-rant, Fred Clark poses the question, "If you had God on the phone, what would you ask him?"

Some of the answers to his post range from poignant ("How long, O Lord") to snarky (look for Tim Lehnerer) to hysterically funny ("Did you make the platypus when you were drunk one night?").  So I posed the question to myself.  And now I pose it to you.  If God gave you a jingle this season, what would you ask him (or her)?  Show me yours and I'll show you mine!

The second question comes from an article in the LA Times.  Dan and I went to Antarctica this year and so we watched with bemused horror as a ship recently sank after an iceberg collision.  The gentleman in the article survived (as did the rest of passengers and crew) the experience.  In leaving his cabin, which already had a foot and a half of COLD water in it, he grabbed the following (in addition to his clothes, I suspect):

A parka
Ski pants
Computer Hard Drive containing his photos (professional photog, this fella)

That's it.

So...it's two in the morning.  You've got one hundred and twenty panicked seconds to exit your rapidly filling stateroom. My list?  In no particular order after the first, Dan. Hat. Gloves. Warm jacket. Scarf. Book. Ipod. Journal. Small backpack to stuff it all in.

What would you take?
 

Strange day.  I overslept (meaning that I didn't arise when I normally do these days--sometime around 7 a.m.) and didn't get up until 8:30 a.m.  Then Dan and I braved the Target crowds in order to buy stocking stuffers for our various Christmas celebrations this year.  After a few more errands, I settled into writing and got 1,200 words done in about an hour and a half.  It would have been more, but I ran into some technical details and had to do a bit o' research.

It's amazing how much easier it is than when I first began the novel.  I've read 24 books on the topic of Japan, Japanese Americans, the Internment of Japanese Americans and the general time period.  But now, when I get stuck I tend to hop on the internet instead of going to my copious stack of index cards.

Nanowrimo put me behind in terms of political blog content, so it's time to turn to a brief snippet on one of the Republican Presidential Candidates.  First up is Mike Huckabee.  Mike caught my attention because of the hoopla surrounding his recent ad in Iowa.  Entitled "Believe" the ad defines Huckabee, using voice overs, sound bites and headlines, as a "CHRISTIAN LEADER" and an "Authentic Conservative."  (All caps in the first one is his emphasis, not mine.)

You can click on the clip below to play it, rather than having me describe it blow by blow. 

I appreciate Huckabee's being forthright about what he believes (this straight from the hip style continues on his website).  With that said, the ad bothers me to a significant degree.  The two things that stand out (among too many for a blog) are:

1.  The implications of his saying "I don't have to wake up everyday wondering 'what do I need to believe?' "  There's an underlying assumption that people who don't share his faith are in a constant state of quandry about their beliefs.  I've not found that to be true in my experience of people of varying faiths and no faith.  There's also an assumption (on my part) that the very fact that Huckabee doesn't wake up wondering about his response to our pluralistic society signals a tenedency toward an inflexible, dogmatic approach.  That's the last thing I'd want in a president.

2.  Over a video clip of his appearance at the "Values Voter Summit," Huckabee talks about not sacrificing principals for "anybody's politics."  Then the screen flashes to him with kids and headlines reveal that he supports the "Federal Life Amendment" and, as governor, "passed the Marriage Amendment."

Code, in my book, for anti-gay.  Interestingly, there is no "Federal Life Amendment" on the internet, so I assume he's talking about the Human Life Amendment.  Also, to quibble, Governor's don't pass any laws.  They may support them, but they don't write them and vote for them.

A brief review of his website reveals what one would expect in terms of positions from a former Baptist Minister who wears his Christianity like a suit of armor.  He's against abortion, embryonic stem cell research, taxes outside of sales tax, any kind of working solution for illegal immigrants in the country and any kind of gun control.  He's for the Iraq war, covenant marriage (scary that) and farm subsidies.

He has some interesting ideas on taxes and health care, certainly worth a look for folks from both political persuasions.  He won't get my vote but if you're an ultra-conservative voter feeling at a loss with Bush exiting the White House, Huckabee's probably your man.

I'm feeling pretty sassy for my first day vertical in three days!  I got up this morning without much room spinning and decided I was good enough to pursue life beyond the couch.

After a quick trip to Starbucks, I cleaned out my email inbox and settled into my first post Nano writing session.  I did 1,500 words in about an hour and have targeted a modest 23,000 words for December.  I've put together a LoloWrimo* spreadsheet for tracking, since I won't have a website to log onto for my daily dose of instant feedback and will be diligently updating the spreadsheet (as well as keeping folks in the loop on this site as to my progress).

Other than that, just a bit of shopping and office work and them I'd headed for the horizontal again.  Shopping was great (weekday, not too crowded) and office work should go easily.

In terms of jots and tittles, just a brief mention of two items.  First, the play Dan and I took in the other day, courtesy of Shari and Chad Riter.  The work is called The History Boys (written by Alan Bennett) and is set in 80's England.  The story concerns a group of young men applying for admission to Oxford and Cambridge from their less-than-first-rate school in Sheffield, a depressed area of Northern England.  The boys are taught in three distinct styles by their teachers and there are lots of issues regarding education, sexual development, sexual orientation and learning that are addressed, if not answered.  It was a fine production with noteworthy performances by Dakin Matthews, Peter Paige and Charlotte Cornwell as the teachers, and by Alex Brightman as Posner.

Peter Paige you may remember as Emmet in Queer as Folk.  He was quite different in this role and did especially well as the embittered, older Irwin.

We were also delighted to see one of Chad's friends from Boston (and roommate from Boston Conservatory) Adam Armstrong, in the role of Lockwood.  Adam did a great job with his character and it was fun watching the young man we'd supped with a mere hour earlier disappear into the much younger boy he was playing.

Second on the jots and tittles list, my friend and former co-worker, Kelly Bozza has published her first book (available tomorrow through Amazon and booksellers everywhere) called Every Monday Matters.  She co-authored the book with close friend Matthew Emerzian.  Check it out below.

She and I discussed the book earlier this year over a lovely breakfast at the Beachcomber Cafe in lovely Crystal Cove.  It's geared toward people who want to use their lives to make a positive difference in the world (which is most of us, I think) and it has practical suggestions for doing so each week during the year.  Yaay, Kelly!

Well, off to do that office work and then to a well-earned rest!

*Lolowrimo because my great nephew David calls me "Aunt Lolo" and every month is now writing month!

 

Sorry to be offline for a few days (and it will continue at least for today after this brief post) but I finished Nano and promptly came down with a severe attack of Meniere's Disease.  It's the worst I've had in several years...so I'm taking antivert and keeping horizontal as much as possible.  Even as I write this the room starts to spin!

Thanks for the support and the cheers of celebration.