Ahhh .. back to normal!

Aloha, everyone!

The winds are calm and the skies are clear … finally!  It started raining again yesterday and I thought we were in for another wet week … but lo and behold, today is turning out to be gorgeous!  And for the first time in over a week, I can  hear the birds singing in the trees!  Speaking of birds, I saw another strange sight last week during the storm – remember I told you guys that I saw two bright red cardinals on our porch earlier?  Well, as I was walking the puppies along O’ahu Ave. last week I happened to look up and saw four bright green cockatiels sitting on a branch right above us!  What the?!!  First of all, cockatiels are not indigenous; they’re kinda like a cross between a parakeet and parrot, are imported, and are supposed to be kept as pets – not let loose in the wild.  To see four of them sitting in that tree and staring down at us really blew my mind … damn, I wish I had my camera!  But then again, this is the Year of the Dragon … expect the unexpected!

I had the best hamburger last night right here at our house!  Nick brought over a meat grinder to make homemade sausages and decided to grind up some steak meat for burgers.  OMG .. they were awesome!  The taste and texture was so good … way better than the so-called “ground sirloin” (fancy name for hamburger) that fine restaurants often serve.  I just had it plain grilled with a little salt and pepper … mmmmm!

Having lunch today with my pal, Reiko, and later plan to meet Roy Sakuma and Cal Lui at Side Street Inn.  Roy was ManoaDNA’s first manager and the producer of our first two CDs.  He’s always been a great mentor and friend to me and the boys, and I always try to get together with him from time to time.  His 42nd Annual Ukulele Festival is coming up on July 22nd at Kapiolani Park and he invited MDNA to perform at it this year since we’ll be in town.  It’s one of the great entertainment events of the year featuring many of the top ukulele virtuosos and entertainers from around the world.  A definite must see!

Aloha, “D”