Birthday Celebration Week

Last week was a big week for us. Two dear friends celebrated big birthdays - one seventy-nine and one ninety - and we helped make both joyful and fun.



Our friend Kenn celebrated turning ninety. He tells wonderful stories of his life in Hollywood when was the glamour and glitz capital of the world. He tells stories of bits-part acting in early movies, palling around with Ray Milland, Humphry Bogart and Lauren Bacall and many other stars of that era.

The party theme was the 1930s and '40s and everyone dressed up for the occasion.

Caren has always been one of his favorites (can't imagine why, but I'd bet its because she would have fit right in with that era and crowd) and so he delighted in her period dress and red wig. Stunning!, he said.

Wayne wore hls white dinner jacket with flask and all to match the theme and the feeling of the evening. The party was held in the party room and swimming pool area of Kenn's daughter Mary's gated community in Wailea. (BTW Mary is an American Airlines pilot). It was decorated in the signs of the times and the guests were festooned in feather boas, plus 4 golfing knickers and everything in between. The catered sit-down dinner was excellent and everyone had a great time.......especially Kenn, Caren and Wayne.



The second was a special celebration because Dixie has had a struggle with her health for nearly a year and her many friends were concerned that the birthday celebration might not happen. But she surprised and delighted us all by improving so much that the celebration was not only for her birthday but for her wonderful recovery.





A gaggle of her many friends met in the private dining room of Kalama Heights retirement community where Dixie lives. She fought to get home to KH after several months in the hospital and a recovery care facility. She has made remarkable strides to renewed health since getting "home."The party was anything but subdued because of the great joy that Dixie's recovery progress has been so remarkable and satisfying to all her friends

We're all waiting for next year's celebration of the big 80.

'Cabaret' Night

Maui is blessed with wonderful theater events and last night was a night to really enjoy. We went to a production of 'Cabaret' staged by Professional Artists of the Pacific at the Steppingstone Playhouse in Kahului.

In a word, (well, three words, actually) IT WAS WONDERFUL!



Beginning in free-wheeling, pre-Nazi Berlin, the musical is jam-packed with fun music of the flapper era with a poignant tale to tell. Of course, we went in full period dress to add to the fun.
Not surprising, we and our guests Suzanne and Endre, were the only ones who took advantage of the opportunity to "dress up." We do it whenever possible and always lead a pack to join in the fun.












Both Caren and Suzanne worked the then-popular table telephones to make new contacts. But in the end it was Wayne who got the girl - well, girls.

A great night out followed by some jazz by some friends of ours and wine and cheese at Mark Aurel Cafe. It was one of those really fun Maui evenings to blog about.



Caren, Suzanne and Endre

Halloween 2009

Halloween is a major event on Maui and adults are full participants. Crowds gather in Lahaina and Paia for scary and risque promenades in the street to celebrate All Saints eve.

We again went to a private party in a lovely - except on Halloween - but remote - read dark and scary - home on the cliffs above Kahului Bay. we were greeted by Jeeves at the door and welcomed into the inner sanctum. As usual the host couple had decorated the home with an amazing array of ghosts, goblins, skeletons, devils, spiders and a host of other weird and wonderful creatures? From the long driveway to the front door we had to navigate through graves with protruding corpses, hanging apperitions, skeletons, and spiders swinging from every cornice. Everywhere you looked there was something scaryer to see. The lighting was perfect and created a true feeling of a dark and dreary haunted house deep in the woods and behind the cematary where unspeakable things happen.






We were greeted by Jeeves, the butler - we were convinced in advance that the butler probably did it, whatever it was.


In the house there was an explosion of darkness! Every nook and cranny was filled with eerie stuff. And then there was more stuff.And, again, ghosts and ghouls were everywhere. Wayne was 007 (retired) in his signature white dinner jacket and Caren was a Bond girl - one with out a name but a lot of "whimsey."Even the ghoul in charge of the eating utensils had something to add to the bedlam. Angels and demons hang from the ceiling. Other little devils cried to be held.










It was a great party with all the ghouls around and an creative display of wonderful food. And demons peering out from some of the darndest places.

Jazz Society Fundraiser

We are members of the Maui Jazz Society and Wayne is vice-president. The organization put on a fund raising event on Friday. It was staged to raise money to produce a PBS Ken Burns type documentary about the musical life and career of Gabe Baltazar. Gabe is considered one of the greatest jazz saxophone players ever and he hales from Hawaii. He is a long-time friend of Bill Burton, president of the MJS.

It was billed as an evening of great jazz - provided by a jazz quintet fronted by Gabe's nephew, David Choi - with great food, silent and live auctions, all held at a sumptuous estate on the slopes of Kahalewai with an awsome view of the ocean channel between Maui, Lana'i and Kaho'olawe. The party started early and the sunset was gorgeous from the heights.

Caren took the role of Vanna White as she passed the many live auction items amongst the bidders. She was terrific and probably increased the bidding as she urged the potential buyers on. She also did much of the calling to acquire items - mostly store and restaurant certificates - for the silent auction. About 150 people attended at $100 per pop, so, between the tickets sold and the proceeds from the auctions, it was a great success.

After the party - which went on for several hours with the hard-core partyers - we stayed the night at the lovely estate in the glorious setting after a very late-night visit to the hot tub and pool.

The next morning it was a bit of clean up before the cleaning staff came and more time in the pool and taking in the marvelous views from the lanai and yard.

Maui Ukulele Festival

Well, it was another busy weekend on Maui. After the Princess Ka'iulani Festival on Saturday, there was the annual Ukulele Festival on Sunday. It was a great festival with great performances of both traditional and modern music for the instrument that is a symbol of the islands.

Needless to say we went......we miss very few music, art, or drama events - except for Aerosmith last night.

The festival was a huge success with several hundred ukulele players - both large school groups and soloists - hula dancers, chanters and singers. A wonderful immersion in the special culture of these islands. One of our neighbors, Gerard, a very Bostonian Bostonian who loves all things Hawaiian, was part of Auntie Doll's South Maui Strummers, who opened the show.

It was well attended on the lawn at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center.Of course the opportunity to get some rays could not be missed so Caren took advantage of the occasion.



Then, to top it all off, Wayne was photographed by the roving photog of the Maui News and his picture appeared on the front page of Monday's paper,

Princess Ka'iulani Festival

Princess Ka'iulani was a tragic figure - one of many - in the history of Hawaii royalty. She was a beautiful young woman who was destined to become the queen of the islands after the reign of Queen Lili'uokalani, but who died while trying to restore the monarchy after the overthrow of the Queen in 1893. She is highly regarded as a great beauty as well as patriot by many in the islands.

Each year there is a festival on Maui in her honor, and one of the events in the celebration this year was a sweeping fashion show of the various eras beginning in the early 19th century and proceeding to the present.

Say fashion show and Caren is very interested. She had purchased a beautiful period dress from the racks at the Salvation Army store nearby, not really knowing what it was exactly. Turns out it was a replica of a dress worn by the Princess and produced by Princess Ka'iulani Fashions - the most prestigious line of women’s aloha apparel in the islands for years.

Well, needless to say, Caren determined that she would be welcome to model the beautiful dress in the fashion show along with the professional models at the Festival.

She was a highlight of the show and, because she wore the dress throughout the day, she attracted a lot of compliments and added greatly to the gaiety of the event.

Surprise Wine

Several years ago we purchased a collection on wines - some young, some old, and one or two very old - from a neighbors estate sale. In the group was a 1976 Caneros Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon. Some how we lost track of it in our "extensive wine rack" ha, ha.

We painted the wall where the wine rack stood and, in the process of moving it, we re-discovered the Caneros Canyon Cab. It had never been properly stored in a cool place - how do you find a cool place in Hawaii - although it had been on its side, at least for the time we owned it.

In the move Caren found evidence that the cork was leaking ever so slightly. With this, she determined that we should serve it soon.....if it was not vinegar or worse already.

Of course, there was a certain curiosity about what we had........what if we were about to drink a $1000 bottle of wine........but then, too, wouldn't it be great to drink a $1000 bottle of wine on our lanai, the best damn restaurant on Maui.

Caren, the Queen of Google, got on the net to pursue the question.......her answer from the winery was -

Aloha Caren,

I doubt that this wine would bring more than about $75 in today's depressed
auction market. But you might be pleasantly surprised when you pull the
cork for dinner tonight. '76 was a good year for Cabernet in northern
California. It was the first of the two drought years in that area and the
wines tended to be concentrated from the get-go. I would love to hear back
as to how the wine turned out.

Best regards,
Lonnie


Caren prepared two beautiful bacon-wrapped fillet mignon with a baked potato and white asparagus. Holding our breath we opened, decanted and, after a bit, poured the wine with great anticipation.

Welllll, put simply, it was great.. The suspense ended with a great meal and a to-die-for wine that may have cost us $4.00 when factored into the price of the collection......we felt we were winners on "Antiques Roadshow."

Guide dog and mistress on tour

Wayne had a very interesting tour this week. One of his guests was a blind woman from Toronto. She was a passenger on the Holland American cruise ship Island Princess when it moored in Lahaina.......a twice monthly event.

Temptation Tours is a regular provider of Maui tours for most of the cruise ships that come to Maui.

Ruth was traveling with her guide dog Velcro - named because she sticks so closely to her mistress.

Wayne picked up his group of six passengers, plus Velcro, at the Lahaina harbor for a tour of the island including the Ali'i Kula Lavender Garden and the winery - Tedesche Vineyards and Winery at Ulupalakua.

Of course there were great scents at the lavender garden and great tastes at the winery. But, Wayne made a very special effort to paint word pictures of the island - views, sites, weather, terrain, experiences, etc - as well as the usual history, geology and all that he normally includes in his tours.

At the end of the day all of his guests and Velcro had a great trip......Ruth said she "saw more of Maui than she ever expected to see." And that it was her "best tour anywhere, any time."

Velcro said "woof, woof," which Ruth assured me, meant that she, too, had a great time.

All in all it was a very rewarding day for Wayne, too. That's one of the things he loves about his job.

Granddaughter's Wedding

This was our event of our year!


Granddaughter Autam's wedding to Eamonn Urey in Sedona, Arizona was an absolute delight for Caren and Wayne. It was a fairytale wedding in so many ways - the storybook-beautiful bride and handsome groom, the outrageous setting in the red-rock mountains, the many supportive friends gathered to express their good wishes, and the loving and supportive families uniting - it was indeed perfect.

The wedding ceremony took place in Sedona, AZ, certainly one of the more beautiful places on the planet and a complete change from the tropical beauty of Maui we enjoy every day. The red mountains, rock formations, verdant forests, all were feasts for our eyes.

One of Caren's thrills was having three of her daughters together for the first time in three years.( L to R Debbie, Caren, the bride's mother Lorrie & Pamela)





The whole family, including new son-in-law Eammon after the ceremony.






The bride's sister, Kassie, and brother, Steve, were in the wedding party as attendants.Once again, a thrill for Caren to see these now-grown up" kids."


















Of course, the parents of the bride, Lorrie and Dave Arner, were radiantly happy seeing their oldest child move into a completely new phase of life with her new husband. We all clearly recognized the love and remarkable bond between the new Mr. and Mrs. Eamonn Urey.....and we were joyful.




>