I’m just happy to be alive, and walking around, and still relatively sane!

On July 21, I received the following e-mail:

Hi Tonja,

I am writing to let you know that one of your photos has
been short-listed for inclusion in the fifth edition of our
Schmap Maui and Molokai Guide, to be published mid-August
2008.

What photo were they talking about? I love to take pictures and I would love to have the time to devote to learning more about photography. But, I certainly did not think any of my photos were worthy of publication. I was proud of how they turned out, but certainly no one else but my friends would. I mean, my son, Adam, is a professional photographer. And while I am positive he got his artistic talent from me…I have never thought of myself as a photographer of note. Anyway, I gave my permission for the photo to be considered. And… on August 13, this appeared in my e-mail…

Schmap Maui and Molokai Fifth Edition: Photo Inclusion

Hi Tonja,

I am delighted to let you know that your submitted photo
has been selected for inclusion in the newly released fifth
edition of our Schmap Maui and Molokai Guide.

Well, isn’t that a hoot? I’m a published photographer! Ha! Now before you get any grand ideas that they chose this great photo evoking a Hawaiian beach and swaying palm trees or a beautiful, balmy sunset… Let me explain…

My 2 BFF and I took a trip to Hawaii…Maui in particular…last June. I knew it was going to be a trip of a lifetime and I planned to document everything so I could scrapbook it later. Then on the cold, winter days, I could pull out the scrapbook and relive that warm Hawaiian sunshine and the great time I had with Tina and Shirl.
One of the places we planned to visit…and eat at…was Mama’s Fish House. It is a legend on Maui, and rightfully so. We got there early, and spent time walking around the lovely gardens, watched a wedding in progress, and soaked up the ambiance. As we were going in to wait for our reservation, I snapped a quick picture of the sign. And that is the photo they published!

Photo: Tonja Owens
Mama’s Fish House
799 Poho Place
Maui and Molokai, HI 96779

Oh, well, so my claim to fame and my taste of the big time is kind of a let down….but, hey, I’ll take it….at least I can say, “I’ve been published!” And, this is the biggest chuckle…it didn’t even make the cut for my scrapbook! 🙂

This is the link to see it actually in the book!
_______________________________________________________________________________
Here are those swaying palm trees (actually in front of Mama’s Fish House) and the balmy sunsets.

Beautiful, Busy, Buzzing, Bumble Bee…in Boston

Today, the girls at work gave Bonnie,our school director and the closest to me in age, and myself a birthday luncheon. She arrived on the planet the 14th and myself on the 18th…several years ago. And because I can’t leave well enough alone…I decided that Bonnie and I should provide some entertainment for the young ones. Julie Andrews had revised the song “My Favorite Things” to reflect her advanced years, and I thought it quite clever. However, she is in her 70’s now and Bonnie and I are just cruising into our 50’s…OK…so I’m gonna be smack dab in the middle of the 50’s if you have to get technical about it. Her words just didn’t capture our still young attitudes, so I rewrote it…again, for us. FYI: the above pic is not us…ours is below.

FAVORITE THINGS…revised for the 50-something crowd! Please…sing along…
***************************************************************************
Maalox and eye drops and clothes that aren’t fitting,
Holding the handrails and cushions for sitting,
Sweating profusely that hot flashes bring,
These are a few of our favorite things.

Gravity and cataracts and hearing aids and gasses,
Correctol and Prilosec and bifocal glasses,
Weddings and Grand kids and porches with swings,
These are a few of our favorite things.

When the ‘pipes’ leak,
When the bones creak,
When my knees go bad,
We simply remember our favorite things,
And then we don’t feel so bad.

Toast and hot coffee and soft shoes for bunions,
No spicy dishes or food cooked with onions,
Elastic waist pants and the old songs we sing,
These are a few of our favorite things.

Back pain, confused brains, and no time for sinnin’,
Old friends and new friends and lines made from grinnin’,
Being so careful while spreading our wings,
These are just some of our favorite things.

When the joints ache,
When the hips break,
When the eyes go dim,
We try to remember the great fun we’ve had,
So that we don’t feel so bad.
***********************************************************************
“…and then we don’t feel so bad…”
Look at all this wonderful food they prepared for us! It was delicious!
Yummy, yummy strawberry birthday cake.
These are the delightful ladies I work with.


How blessed I have been for the past 20 years to work in this place. It is a joy to daily work with godly Christian women. Women who love the Lord…who love children…and who believe that it is as important to teach love and respect for each other as it is to teach green from blue. These ladies lavish care and concern on the little ones in their care every day. And the children see the love of God reflected in their faces. Our director, Bonnie, sets the tone for the school with her calm and quiet persona. She is indeed a perfect fit for this position. She leads us as the perfect example. I thank God for the opportunity to work with these ladies, and learn from them, and be uplifted by them.

Oh, what a sad, sad mess. This is what happens when you try to reach the top of a shelf to get to an old, left over band uniform cap. Especially if an oversized picture destined to be hung in the foyer of your new house is blocking the way…because someone put it in front of the closet instead of next to the wall. And, if the closet door has been removed from the hinges because your sons who used to live in the house crammed the closet full of stuff and nonsense…like a band uniform which most certainly should NOT have been in their possession, and a full set of bowling pins from a bowling alley. Among the other treasures unearthed in the closet were 2 duffle bags…with broken zippers, 18 CD’s minus their cases, 2 Monopoly games still unopened, a guitar, a pair of leather pants, and a vacuum cleaner. Why, I ask you, would a plastic box full of delicate china angels be in the top of this closet? I just can’t even come close to thinking of a good answer. But, there it was. And, when I reached for the cap…which I was donating, along with the uniform, to a Christian school for their drama and music department, out of the goodness of my heart…the bowling pins began to fall. Being quick to size up the situation, I realized the bowling pin was in the direct path of my toes. Reaching quickly to steady myself so as to get my toes out of the way, I surprisingly misjudged the distance and fell onto the unhinged door. This caused the bare toes of my left foot to remain in the path of the falling pin. (Real bowling pins are extremely heavy…and if they fall onto your unprotected bare toes…chances are that the words that escape from your mouth are not words you would be proud of saying…out loud… Nor will you really do what you said you would do to your grown children…I’m just saying…) It also resulted in the fragile, china angels…which should never have been in this closet in the first place…to fall out of the top of the closet and land in a broken heap next to my twisted body. BUT…I got the hat…and the oversized art which was in danger of falling against the desk, pushed by my falling body…didn’t.


The ‘fallen angels’ are in the trash. The duffle bags with broken zippers are in the trash. The CDs are in the trash. The Monopoly games are in the garage sale pile. The guitar is in the garage sale pile. The vacuum cleaner is in the garage sale pile. The leather pants…I’m wearing to work tomorrow!!!!JUST KIDDING!!!..in the garage sale. The bowling pins…minus the 2 which fell…are still at the top of the closet and there they will stay. Forever and ever…unless the future owner of this house chooses to move them…since he could have been the one who put them there in the first place.

The cap…is in the car, to be delivered tomorrow. And, I am on the bed…with an iced, elevated foot. Bad afternoon.