Thankful, Jobfull and Solefull

Having a job is great. I am currently full of job however as my schedule had me working Sunday & Monday then Thursday, Friday, Saturday. The new week commenced with my schedule reading Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. Yikes. that’s 6 days in a row. I like to stay busy and it’s smart to keep some consecutive days rolling so as not to forget cash register routines and such at a new job, but I am quite enjoying this day off. My next work day is the Friday after Thanksgiving. Gulp.

One of the 1st things I did upon being hired was go shoe shopping-yay! for comfortable business type shoes. For the past 4 years at Po’ohala I was lucky enough to wear running shoes at work but my wardrobe was sorely lacking in closed toe comfort footwear. We in Hawaii wear open toed sandals or slippahs. So off to Nordstrom Rack I go. Lucky me, I was able to find 3 pair that I thought fit the criteria of comfortable, able to pound that red tile floor and not look too dorky. So there goes my first paycheck before I even get my first paycheck. Two shoes are the same style in different subdued colors. Cute with a little heel. The third pair are red ballerina type flats with an athletic look and cool dragons swirling all around. Something else to be thankful for as I wear a sample size and can find shoes in my size every time.

Here’s the update… blisters and hot spots. Lots and lots of walking. Back and forth, up and down, here and there, to and fro, hither and yon. Next week I go back to the frumpy aunty-kine shoe store and get me a pair of REAL comfort cafeteria lady shoes…dorky or not. I plan to run not walk.

Apres the Lei(shop)

We closed the lei shop on Monday. With the help of our reliable friends and family, we had the shop thoroughly cleared and cleaned by Thursday. That is a story of course in itself  of which in due time I shall retell. What I will say now however, is that our landlord LR is an AWFUL person.

Baby Sister Dear meanwhile was experiencing the complete and total transition point; finalizing the closure of the business one day then celebrating a milestone birthday the next day. And C.E.L.E.B.R.A.T.E!!! she did! Talk about embracing change…!

Hauoli la Hanau Baby Sister Dear. You Rock.

Meanwhile, I started looking for a job the next day, Friday. A week later I had submitted an application and got a call back a couple of days later. OK let me horn-toot here—the call back was the next day. A formal interview was scheduled a few days subsequent and yeow, I’m hired and my 1st day was this past Sunday. Granted it’s a seasonal hire sales position(with a discount-yay), but I want a job not a career. I am just tickled.

I already have a trade remember. I am a seamstress.

Think 15,000

15,000 is the magic number that I want you all to think. Collectively. Positively. Staunchly.

You can think more, bigger, grander, higher.

This 15,000 is a numerical thought experiment that I am putting out to the universe and I would like your assistance.

If we all want to put a dollar sign $ in front of that 15,000-all the better. It would look like this…$15,000.00

If this is successful, I’ll let you folks know.

Think…15,000

Mahalo~

Po’ohala Lei & Flowers is Closing

Our Lei Shop is closing today…sob.

Po’ohala Lei and Flowers, the last of the Hawaiian owned lei shops in Chinatown Hawaii is shuttering the business. It has been a family owned business for 27 years. It has been a tough couple of weeks as our customers have been stopping in to say their farewells. Emotional for all.

These are photos of our windows displaying our stunning fresh Hawaiian sewn lei.

There are still a few left this morning. We invite you in to share our little bit of Aloha.

 Aloha… happy to report, we still have a lot of

 

A Lei for Every Occasion

No such thing as Monday Blues when you work in a lei shop. How could that ever be possible when surrounded by these beautiful and fragrant lei. At Po’ohala Lei and Flowers on Beretania St. in Downtown Honolulu Chinatown, today’s offerings will chase away any blahs or blues you may have. How fortunate to have another fresh ilima to twine with the heady pikake bud. If your sweetie prefers a non scented but stunning lei, adorn your special someone with this scarlet double or rope rose. This red rose bud beauty will last for days. Among the many lei shops in Hawaii, Po’ohala is the only one offering these  strands of rose, pikake and pakalana artfully twined and heavenly scented. Today we sewed them in both pink and red roses. After I have worn a lei with roses in it for a couple of days, I cut the string then remove and float the roses in pretty bowls of water and place them in different parts of my house for an extra pick-me-up of loveliness. All these lei are appropriate for both men and women…and no, in Hawaii giving and wearing  of lei are not hobbled by gender boundaries…and YES, another reason “lucky we live Hawaii”. Ahh, too many choices. Which lei will you choose?

Saturday Selection

If the Scent-a-rama (although shouldn’t it be scent-a-roma?) ever becomes an app, today’s download would send you to teen heaven. Today’s Saturday selection at Po’ohala Lei & Flowers is a lei lovers delight. This photo does not do justice to these superb lei. Made today is the rare ilima twined with a single strand of pikake. We (remember I help out here at the lei shop) also made pikake strands, pakalana whose season is winding to a close, and awapuhi ke’oke’o in the Micronesian style. Can you imagine the delighted look on the face of your special someone when you present this skillfully crafted rope pikake? Just peeking below the rope pikake is the awapuhi in our inimitable feather style and right below the feather ginger is the purple crown flower a favorite of Queen Liliu’okalani. We give this lei a spicy hint of scent by twining it with a single strand of pakalana. Oh so sweet these lei. Come by the shop on Beretania St. between Smith and Maunakea in lovely downtown Honolulu right in Chinatown, our Hawaii. Or ring up. 537-3011. Served with Aloha.

It’s Called Playing a Game

On the bright side–I scored a goal. On the dark side–we got beat by a team that showed little sportmanship in seemingly boorish behavior by racking up the score. Our regular goalie was at a tournament in Australia so 3 fairly inexperienced volunteers (thank you, thank you) took their  respective turns in the goal box. We were also missing 6 regular team players. For future reference  ladies, let me tell you how it is done. After it becomes apparent that scoring in a situation like this is as easy as say, brushing your teeth, you then should start rotating players into different positions. For instance; move your forwards into the fullback line, let your fullbacks have a run at being a forward, bring your goalie out to play on the field, put people that usually don’t play the keeper position in to experience the goal box. Mix it up.  Start passing to those gals that usually don’t get a chance at a lot of ball handling. Really! It is disconcerting and should be totally unnecessary to tell folks that. But there you go. Sportsmanship is not dead. It just needs to be taught. Remember, it’s called Playing a Game.

10-10

10-10. ten-ten. I’o I’o. Those that know me get my little play on words…Hawaiian style with just a wee bit of warp.

A Gorgeous Birthday Lei

This is possibly one of the most beautiful and unique lei that I have created. I made it for my husband’s birthday this past week. As you can see, it is so knock-down-over-the-top-show-stopping-breathtakingly-darn-frickin’-jaw-dropping-GORGEOUS!!!!! And its fragrances are divine!

 

 

 

This special lei is hala ula. pikake and pakalana gently twined together to create this memorable birthday gift. Of course it came from Po’ohala Lei and Flowers, the best of the lei shops in all of Honolulu, Hawaii. The scents of these three strands was intriguing. The sweet and musky of the hala ula twined with the spicy pakalana and the intoxicating pikake combine to create a lei with its own unique fragrance not overpowered but delightfully enhanced by each strand.

 

                                                                                                                          

And long lasting too…this is the same lei that my husband wore the next night to a fabulous dinner at Alan Wong’s. Mahalo Annie!

Looking Good Honey!

Lei at Po’ohala

Take a look at today’s featured lei at Po’ohala Lei & Flowers. Wow! such unique and lovely offerings. The red rose and tuberose crafted in the rope style pictured on the top has both the long lasting beauty of the rose coupled with the sweet scent of the tuberose. This lei is candy to the eyes and senses. More selections for today include the rare and valued hala ula and a tightly woven Micronesian style ginger in yellow-I beleive that we are the only lei shop of the many lei shops in Hawaii to make this style lei in awapuhi melemele. Look! Po’ohala Lei has created the much desired rope pikake and a rope pink rose. Come buy, you know they won’t last long.

Po’ohala Lei & Flowers located in the ever interesting Downtown Chinatown, Honolulu, Hawaii. 69 N Beretania St. Phone 537-3011