More sunny Hawaii for a Monday

Firstly, I want to thank everyone who helped me in my decision-making process for the stone that will go under our new woodstove. I've made my decision and it's a finished piece now sitting in our kitchen nook. I will be posting some pictures probably sometime next week after the installation is done. I'm getting very excited at the prospect of having a source of wonderful wintertime heat, even if we have a power outage. Our pellet stove which sits in the living room does a great job of heating that room, but the rest of the house is uncomfortably cold and I'm tired of hanging blankets over doorways to try and keep out the cold air. And, the prospect of being able to heat or even cook simple meals on the woodstove is very exciting! I know, it doesn't take a whole lot to excite me these days. Blame it on living in the country, I guess.

We had a very productive weekend. Besides finishing the work on the stone and getting it inside the house, I went out for breakfast with my hubby, did some shopping at the local farmer's market, got a ton of stove pellets unloaded and stacked in the woodshed, and did some cleaning and reorganizing in our house. I even baked homemade bread rolls last night...yum!! It always feels good to accomplish tasks, even if it's just little things. Makes me feel productive and useful. The whole weekend wasn't just work though, I enjoyed sleeping in and some quality leisure time as well. Now, here we are back to another Monday and I'm simply not ready for the reality just yet, so...

what better than to post some more beautiful Hawaii pictures and dream a little dream...


Looking oceanward from the grounds of the hotel.

There was a great walking path that went from our hotel along the ocean down past all four of the lagoons and eventually ending at the Ko'Olina Marina where we later took a cruise and went snorkeling and swimming with dolphins. A nice man we met along the way offered to take our picture.

These lagoons were ideal for swimming and lounging on the various floating devices that were available because you didn't have to worry about being carried out to sea if you fell asleep. So nice...

I thought these little girls were adorable the way they all lined up to watch the pretty Hawaiian dancers that performed poolside. The dances and the music were just beautiful, and very soothing.

The dances are very relaxing to watch and the girls are so very graceful in their fluid movements.

These pictures are not in any particular order because for some reason blogger won't allow me to move my pictures around anymore. *sigh* Anyway, this is our very first glimpse of the island as the plane was banking just before landing. I thought it was a beautiful site.

Anna and one of her bridesmaids at the reception. They had exceptionally good food, delicious desserts and an open bar for the party. We all danced, ate and drank ourselves positively silly. I just love weddings because they're such a happy event and everybody has a blast. No worries about driving either, we just had to find our way to the room afterwards.

The beautifully scented Plumeria was everywhere.

I have no idea what this flower is, but I thought it was lovely.

My hubby snorkeling in the ocean.

More merry-making at the reception. Mmmm Mai Tai's are yummy!

Anna and the proud papa, Steve. This is my hubby's baby brother.

A beautiful location for a wedding overlooking the Pacific Ocean in all its' splendor.

Anna and John.

The wedding party. It was a very large group.

Sorry honey, I just can't resist...the first words out of my hubby's mouth when his brother told him about going to Hawaii for the wedding were: "I'm not wearing a Hawaiian shirt!!!". Too funny!! He just had to have one, and so here he is in all his glory...I think he looks very handsome too.Back to the real world...tomorrow my girl kitties are going to the vets to be spayed. After they've recovered, we'll move on to the boys. Here kitty, kitty, kitty...

:) It sure is a good thing that cats can't read!