Big Send off For Barack

The Secret Service may not know it yet, but New Year's Eve is one of the noisest,smelliest events any where here on Oahu. They may have already read in the papers of the complaints against illegal fireworks, or have been briefed by the police on the two guys who were arrested for a warehouse full of fireworks, but they haven't ever seen anything like it -- except maybe in a chinese nation on Chinese New Year's.

Whatever. I am sure the President Elect remembers and his kids will no doubt enjoy
the show.

Maybe they are sneaking him out of the island tonight ... but if not, this is a big send off for our wonderful local boy, on his way to what the Onion called the "worst job in America." No doubt it is.

Good luck to the Obamas, their entourage, Hawai'i and the world, and from Lanikai Bath and Body to all a good night. May we wake up on a planet that has had a major paradigm shift that will consider Peace as the only alternative. God Bless and. depending on your vantage point, good riddance to to 2008.

Company Party with Red Eyes

This is the only picture of our company Christmas party, taken by the waiter at
Baci Bistro -- his name, by the way, is Gabriel and he was great.

Missing are employees Lauren, Kaitlan, Natalie -- but present and accounted for:
Your right front to back: Sam, Kristina, Gloria. Head of table: Alana. Your
left front to back are Emily, Margaret, Steph and Brook.

We have camera red eyes. Great food and fun, exchanged Christmas gifts (secret Santa) and had a wonderful time.

Baci Bistro is excellent Kailua place to go.

Thanks from all of us at LBB for a great 2008. See you in 2009.

Waiting for Ian on December 23rd

Fours hours and five food stores later (and Whole Foods isn't even opened yet), this is a picture of my feet waiting for Ian outside of Long's on the night before the night before Christmas.

We were putting together the makings of an Indian feast for our 20 some guests on Christmas Eve -- It was nice enough to eat outdoors and everybody enjoyed something
different for a change.

It's December 26 and we still haven't finished decorating our tree -- tried to hoodwink Christmas eve guests into doing it by putting ornaments in paper bags --- only one or two got into the spirit so now we have a well-lit, well-tinseled tree with a few ornaments and lots of brown paper bags.

I suppose lots of people had a Christmas a bit like this this year.

Lanikai Bath and Body sends many many many Mahalos for a great Christmas at the store and online! God Bless all of our customers -- and everyone else, too.

Ian's Loco Moco

Here is Ian's version of Loco Moco -- not the the sloppiest, gooiest dish most favored by local people -- at "restaurants" it comes slathered in gravy, and is
comprised of: rice (probably two scoops), hamburger and egg (usually sunnyside up). One of our friends recently ordered with an extra scoop rice (white) and an extra egg.

Ian will serve you Loco Moco, but with the gravy on the side, and properly chopped green onions for presentation. And his hamburger is a secret recipe too. Two eggs because it looks better.

When you come to Hawaii, be sure to eat Loco Moco.

Lanikai Bath and Body sends its Aloha to everyone, this day after Christmas!

Doug Gramann Works Out with Obama

Both Doug Gramann and Soliah Parker, cousins, have worked out with the Obamas at Kaneohe Marina Corps base -- which is practically next door to where the Obamas are
staying.

In an early morning fog, Doug was wondering why there were all these guys in flak jackets on the perimeter of the gym -- then he looked up and saw the Prez-Elect about 20 feet away.

Doug's brother Adam is serving in Iraq, as you may remember. Everyone at Lanikai Bath and Body is sending our prayers to him and everyone else in harm's way -- so that makes the whole world.

(photo is from Advertiser showing Obama greeting single soldiers having Christmas Day dinner/lunch. Doug and Soliah were at Brook's house, chowing down on homemade sausage and a great brunch. Lucky everyone!)

The President Elect is Staying in Kailua!

A recent article in the New York Times attributed Mr. Obama's cool to his having grown up in Hawaii, and being influenced by the Aloha spirit. If you didn't see the article it is worth searching for on the NYTimes' site because it explains alot about why we all live here, and why people of so many races live peace-ably side-by-side.

The Times quotes someone who says its because the place is too small to be loud and obnoxious, but there is more to it than that. The land, the place and the environment are incomparable. Mother Earth and Father Sky have been thoroughly accommodating to the terrible onsalught of human beings and their concrete. The population has no majority; the three "primary minorities" are relatively equal in size.

People are kind here for lots of reasons, and when you are kind you get kindness back, and so it goes ... As more mainlanders move here, traffic gets a little rougher, but eventually they begin to understand: there is nowhere to go: settle down and enjoy yourself.

The President-elect is an incredible representative of his home state Hawaii, and also a remarkable citizen of the world. We are all so lucky to have him at this terrible time.

The picture shown here is from this morning's Advertiser blog. Taking the kids for a shave ice in Hawaii Kai. The paper reports they also went to Sea Life Park. Everybody here loves him.

Lanikai Bath and Body is hoping the Obamas will stop by over one of the next several days ...if you know him well, please tell him about us!

Home From College

Welcome home to Lauren and Emi, who are back for the holidays from college on the mainland,and back working at the store to earn some Christmas cash.

Welcome, too, to Kaitlin and Christina, our newest employees.

We hope you'll visit us at the store and share in the holiday spirit!

A Great Place for Lunch

We just had to sneak this picture of the menu when we were having lunch this week with our friends Jay and Malia. It was one of those lunches where everything you say and see is the funniest thing you've ever seen or said (or heard).

Anyway, Like Like Drivein is an icon in our lives because that is where our beloved Mrs. Helen Morita had her early morning (4 am) hamburger before going to see that her taxi drivers did their job.

You can order breakfast all day long, and "hamburger" is among the breakfast listings. They should rename it in her honor.

The food is delicious. But we thought the picture we took (badly) was the funniest.
Almost all of Hawaii's Driveins are gone, but not Like Like even though you can't drive in.

Rain Rain Go Away!

Lots of rain on O`ahu, today, and also on Kaua`i. The big storm that has been hanging over the islands dumped as much as a foot of rain on some parts of O`ahu.

It is still raining, but more lightly -- and expected to rain on and off on through the weekend. We need the rain (all of our beautiful flowers and greenery depend on it) but not all at once.

The Richard Ambo photo from the Advertiser (above) was taken in Haleiwa, on the North Shore of O`ahu. So far, we are okay here in Kailua, except for the collapsed fence (in the bottom picture).

This is about as close as we get to winter in Hawaii, so while there is evidently snow in the "Big Easy" -- and there may be some on Haleakala or Mauna Kea before long -- there is holiday rain here in Kailua and Lanikai.

The View From Turtle Bay Resort

Thanks to the termites that have been chomping on our house for the last twenty years, we had to tent the house which means leaving for a night while the gas does its work.

Mark and I went to Turtle Bay -- this is the view from our window -- and Ian set up camp in the yard -- with tent, cable tv, cooler full of food, and Vinne by his side, setting the alarm on this phone to make sure that he walked around the perimeter every 45 minutes.

I don't recall having a house tented on the mainland, but here, at least, it's an excuse to be a tourist.

Our Gift to You!

For orders of $30 or more -- in store or online (excluding shipping charges), we will
give you an all natural vine loofah soap. For those of you who are already fans of this beautiful soap, you may already know what scent you'd like.

For those of you who have not had this soapilicous experience, choose from any of these super-luscious scents:
Pineapple
Gardenia
Pikake
Mango
Plumeria
Coco Lime Verbena

They are great for exfoliating and an olfactory delight. (they're pretty, too!)

MeBath is Back!

Just wanted to let you know that MeBath is back in the store. We have the bombilicious bath bombs, and the small ones, too.

In your favorite scents. It takes three days of careful adding layers upon layers to be at their handmade best!

(the picture of mini mebaths looks like they are ice cream but they are not.)

Christmas (Music) in Hawai'i

If you're looking for Christmas music to put you in an island-frame of mind, may we recommend:
- Ki Ho`alu Christmas -- a slack key Christmas collection (album pictured here)
- Christmas Gift -- a collection by Na Leo Pilimehana
- Maluhia -- by Keali'i Reichel
- Willie Kalikimaka by Willie K
- The Cazimero's Christmas Favorites

Mele Kalikimaka is the island way ~ to say Merry Christmas to You!

Here's to a year's end full of Aloha for all!

Having A Ball

There are three Hawaii-related inaugural balls going on in Washington D.C. and one here in Hawaii. None of them has been officially "sanctioned",. which means that there is no guarantee that newly-minted President and Mrs. Obama will grace their dance floors. Certainly not the one in Hawaii.

The first, and "hottest ticket," is the ball presented by the Hawaii State Society of Washington, D.C. whose Sarah Ulls is shown here by a painting at the Mandarin Oriental where the ball for 1000 will be held.

Interesting picture.

We hear that the best way to get a ticket to one of these balls is to send a gift
from Lanikai Bath and Body to Barack and Michelle Obama.

Elitist President-elect's Elitist School Wins Populist State Championship

Kidding. Punahou, Barack's alma mater, and so much more, won its first high school State Championship in more than a century. Actually, it is their first.

They had a wonderful team this year, the kind of cosmic-propinquity team that makes you shiver and sparkle all over. Manti Te'o, a multi-purpose player who does everything but is assigned the position linebacker was honored with the Dick Butkus award... the first high scool student ever to win it.

Many of these kids are in Mark's math classes, so we have been hearing stories of schools recruiting them all year long. So congratulations to Kale Ane and his coaches, and to the wonderful Punahou Football team that won the 2008 State Championship.

Dalton Hillyard, who is pictured in the Advertiser's Rebecca Breyer photo above, has the cutest Daddy who jumps in the stands when his kid is on point. Which is almost all the time.


To borrow a phrase, Imua!

Give Her a Bunch

Give her a bunch of butters. Winter is here, and it won't be long before women everywhere are bemoaning their calves, which looks like mud dried up in springtime.

The body butters of Lanikai Bath and Body are lovingly handmade in Kula on Maui and rich in healing oils like Kukui, Macadamia and aloe. They make dry skin -- they make any skin -- feel wonderful.

So stop winter in its tracks and make her happy! Give her a bunch of body butters from Lanikai Bath and Body this year.

Lanikai Mortgage Players

A long time rotating group of fun loving would-be actors form the Lanikai Mortgage Players.

Next year you might want to plan a trip to Kailua/Lanikai to see the fall or Spring plays.

This year's fall play, according to their write up:
The Lanikai Mortgage Players' Fall Production, "Speak for Yourself, John or... Dirty Work at Plymouth Rock", will open on Friday, November 7th.

Playdates WERE: November 7, 8, 9, and 14, 15 & 16. , curtain is at 8:00 p.m.

Performances of the Play and Olio WERE held at the Lanikai Community Center, corner of Aalapapa and Kaiolena Drives in Lanikai.

The kookie group has a loyal following and this year's troupe are featured above. Like Lanikai Bath and Body, they are made in Hawaii. Naturally

Your Obama holiday fleece

This was the subject in one of the ubiquitous emails from Hawaii's Barack Obama.

We thought it was open to serious misinterpretation, so we thought we'd share it with you.

He is evidently selling jackets and mugs these days. The Franklin Mint and www.victoryplates.com have nothing on him.

Better to spend your schkels at Lanikai Bath and Body this year. At least there is something in it for you!

P.S. We love Barack. We just object to the potential of a national uniform.

Gigantor Waves

On the North Shore mean that the Eddie Aikau might happen this year after all. A newscaster said that waves have to have faces of 30-40 feet, so tomorrow's predicted waves of 15-25 may be too small for anything other than the opening ceremony.

That being said, the opening ceremony is always a good thing -- and the opportunity to stage "The Eddie" runs through February 2009.

This picture is another Advertiser photo of Marcus Hickman taken by Bernie Baker.
A huge wave!

Coming to Hawaii to see the Eddie is the treat of a lifetime. Then you can stop by
Lanikai Bath and Body on your way back to Waikiki. Both made in Hawaii. Naturally.

We Put the Lime in the Coconut

And your skin drinks it all up! Our wonderful Naupaka, made of coconut lime verbena, is loved by women and men alike. We developed it that way on purpose -- and it has turned out to be true.

If you know a couple who would appreciate a little bit of Lanikai in their bathroom,
send them a Naupaka set. A great holiday gift that will keep them smooth and smelling great for a while to come!

Makahiki

With minor editing, this is picked up from the Hawaii magazine site. It is from a posting by Chris Bailey, about Hawaii's ancient thanks-giving festival, the Makahiki.

"Long before the Puritans were sailing to Plymouth Rock, the native Hawaiians already had a festival of thanks... They celebrated a successful harvest for an entire season

Makahiki ran four lunar months, from November through February, in ceremonies meant to honor the god Lono. (A modern day Makahiki ceremony is pictured here.) During this time rival tribes were prohibited from fighting, and the rainy weather prevented much work from getting done. Instead, there were surfing competitions, boxing matches and, of course, eating.

Makaainana (commoners) and alii (chiefs) in each district would offer pigs, fish and vegetables at an altar, which sat on the boundary of each ahupuaa (land-division). The warlord of each district would pass through, collect the goods, and sponsor a huge feast."

High Winter Surf Is Here

Huge waves are breaking on the north facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Lanai, Molokai and Maui. Maybe "winter" is officially here!

The picture above is by Advertiser photographer Bruce Asato. It shows locals and a few visitors agape at the waves crashing onto Ehukai Beach.

Now, the wait for the Eddie Aikau begins. The Eddie Aikau is THE Big Wave surfing contest, held in honor of Eddie Aikau who lost his life attempting to swim for help when Hawai'i's sailing canoe Hoku'lea overturned on one of its earliest voyages. Aikau was the first lifeguard ever hired by the City and County of Honolulu, and not one life was lost at Waimea Bay (where the Eddie is held) when Eddie was its guard. he braved waves with faces as high as 30 feet to save lives. Eddie would go.

A Blessing For You

Aloha everyone:
This blessing from Fra Giovanni was sent to us by one of our vendors, b.happy bags. It's so lovely, we wanted to share it with you:

No heaven can come to us
unless our hearts find rest in it today.
Take Rest.
No peace lies in the future which
is not hidden in this present instant.
Take Peace.
The gloom of the world is but a shadow;
behind it, yet within our reach, is joy.
Take Joy.
And so, at this Holiday time,
we greet you with the prayer that for you,
now and forever,
the day breaks and the shadows flee away.
~Fra Giovanni~