My Backyard

I haven't posted in awhile because life's been busy, and I've been following the adage, "If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all."

But today I made an effort to find the nice things to say, and I took some photos of the beauty around me.

These are photos from around my garden.  These beautiful things just grow with no effort or thought on my part.  They exist with no thought on my part.  It's about time I gave these lovely things more thought.

Red ginger is called teuila.  I think that's a beautiful name.  I try to keep a bouquet of these in my house regularly.

The shadows made the leaves look like they had bubbles and bulges, but it's just light.

We actually have a lot more papaya trees than I knew about.  We'll have to be sure to harvest them before the bats do.

This massive leaf is about 4 feet long and 3 feet wide.  I'd never noticed the patterns of the veins.

A tropical conifer.

 This coconut tree is choked with vines.  It reminds me of the obesity problem on the island.  Those poor skeletons have to support so much extra weight.

 Narelle planted these a few years ago.  Wish she were here to see them!

 Isn't this one cute!?

This is white ginger.  Its smell is what made me want to live in this house.

One kind of Heliconia (Heliconia griggsiana)

Another kind of heliconia  (Heliconia psittacorum)

Looking toward our house from the bottom of the yard.

 TA-DA!

So this is our home.  It's what we know and we're used to.  It is very tricky living on a tropical island for a thousand reasons.  But at this point, if I moved back to "normal" life, I think I would feel more unfamiliar and uncomfortable than relieved.  And we might not have all these lovely blessings right in our backyard, so I have to be grateful and content.

P. S. You may notice the veiny lines spreading across this picture.  We believe it's mold growing in our camera.  there's no way to clean it off, but we're trying to dry out the camera (rice in socks, sit it in the warm oven, etc.)   Just another joy of living in the tropics!

Ella's Poems

My Sister’s Top Bunk

By Ella Temple

Nov. 2012

My bed is filled with junk.

My sister has the top bunk.

Her bunk is clean and neat.

It always smells so sweet.

We just came back from the store.

Then we hear the thunder roar.

She says, “It’s time for bed!”

She climbs up the ladder and rests her head.

If I were her,

I’d have the myrrh.

Then I’d drift off to sleep.

And dream of sheep.

But when I see the sun’s ray,

I know I will have a good day.

Heavenly Father’s Creations

By Ella Temple

Dec. 2012

Heavenly Father created trees,

Beaches, cats, dogs, and bees.

He created family and friends,

Cars, houses, and glasses with lens'.

He created food, water, and games.

Hea also created lots and lots of names.

He created electronics and flowers,

Sinks, a fridge, a freezer, and showers.

He created necklaces and rings.
He also created lots and lots more things.

Random Fun with Grandpa & Grandpa

Mom and I have been doing a lot together:  grocery shopping, running errands, etc.  I had an appointment at the medical center (a.k.a. hospital) so I wanted to show mom around our facilities.  We stopped and had lunch at the cafeteria.  (Mom's chili had pineapples in it.  That was a first for me.)

We took mom and dad on the hike to the cannons at Blunt's Point.

 Looking east

 Looking west

A quick dip at Fatumafuti helped cool us down from our hike.

Some local kids were there, and they brought us this cute, squishy sea creature.

Mom and Dad babysat so Ephraim and I could go out for our 11th anniversary.  The kids enjoyed playing Doodle Dice (thanks Marcie!)

Happy 11th anniversary!

My Parents in Samoa

We're so happy to have grandma and grandpa here.  They're the best, aren't they?

I wanted to share some photos of our fun here.

iPad fun!!  Mom brought 2 iPads for the kids to play with.  She's a hero around here.
Day 1- Gear Up

Ouch, mom and dad got scratched on the coral.

Home Improvement with Grandma and Grandpa

Mr. and Mrs. Fix-It

My parents always leave a place better than they found it.  We've been so excited as they've done many projects to make life better for us.  

Dad brought down some tools for us and helped Ephraim replace the starter on the car.

Mom was amazed at how our stove pans had rusted so badly. And honestly, they're not that old either.  So we replaced those.

Ella and Grandma cleaned out the fridge as a Christmas present for me.

Notice how rusty the refrigerator is.

Mom and Dad decided to take care of that rust on the fridge and our deep freezer.

They also switched the handle and hinges so it opens on a logical side.

They've also fixed a table, my dresser drawers, and Dad even had a go at the dirt mounds on our road.

Pastries

The Christmas tradition from the Temple Family that sticks with me (Ephraim) the most is making a load of pastries on Christmas morning. I'm sure the memory is exaggerated, but I've got this picture of our dining table loaded with a mount of bear claws, donuts, various shapes of Christmas bread, sugar cookies, walnut twists, and that Christmas bread with marascino cherries on top. I got the itch to recreate this a few years ago but didn't get past the bear claws. I figured I should start with the best first and because Pa always raved about bear claws the most, they are the best to me as well. They turned out divine and I shared them with neighbors. However, they took me three days to make and the motivation to make them didn't return until this year. I made my own almond paste and the various glazes, made a special trip at 9pm to the last open store that had plain almonds, and folded butter to make my own pastry crust. I took it a step further and made a walnut twist. I wanted to go further as I looked at Ma's recipes for potato donuts and breadfruit something or other yummy, but I didn't have enough energy for that. So on Christmas day I rolled and shaped and baked, with Ella's help, while Melinda and her parents skyped with Fillmore family members. It felt a lot more like Christmas to me with this service to others.

 Making pastry dough. Butter melts too fast in our tropical air, so it takes a while to get a bunch of fold and rolls done.

 Bear claws rising

The final haul. It's not a table full, but it did the trick.