Thursday, December 24, 2009

Not in Hawaii anymore...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am home for the holidays, staying at my parents' house (the house I grew up in, starting in 8th grade) in New England. I left Honolulu at 80 degrees F and touched down in 19 F weather. But home has my cute puppy Ele (short for Ele'ele, the Hawaiian word for "black", though we usually improperly pronounce her name "Ellie"). My brothers whom I adore are both home, and Mom has been cooking up a storm. With hot chocolate, a fireplace, and a brightly decorated Christmas tree, it's quite cozy here.

The first night I came back, we got a good bit of snow--maybe 10 or 12 inches. I woke up at a jet-lagged 11 am and was greeted by a white winter wonderland. Ele, I have a feeling I'm not in Hawaii anymore.

Here are a few photos from around the house that day.

Ele, who will always be a puppy to me but is actually 13 years old, knows how to fetch the newspaper. This is a particularly useful skill on cold, snowy mornings when the paper has been dumped in the snow next to the mailbox at the end of our long driveway. With the promise of a treat, she happily sifts through the snow to retrieve the paper.


Good dog.


The sky was very pretty as we tried to get the driveway cleared out before sundown. Here's my dad snow blowing in the sunset.


And my mom shoveling.


Unfortunately, I am a terrible photographer. Some of the blame can be placed on my sad camera which has a broken screen so I can't see what I'm shooting very well or change any of the settings, and on the fact that it was cold and the sun was setting fast and I was going to miss my chance for this shot. But this is just not a good photo. I am including it because the subject is so ideal: a holly bush with berries, snow, and a setting sun. Just look at the photo and think of what it should have looked like.


Season's greetings!

6 comments:

Unknown said...

your pics of the snow are very good. Love the ones of the doggie...

Your blog says RPG... My boyfriend is one of the biggest gamers I have ever met. You and him would get along great

Eleni said...

Thanks! I have the first dog photo as my desktop--makes me smile when I see it.

Ah, the gamer boyfriend. Hopefully he's not too distracted by games--I believe in a healthy balance of activities. Do you ever join him in his games?

Sebastian Anthony said...

I always think I take nice landscapes until I see what the rest of the world has to offer. Grrr.

OK, your sky is nicer than mine! And thicker snow!

Damn (Old) England and its temperateness!

Cute dog.

I hope you get a new camera for Christmas -- if I knew you in real life, that's what I'd get you.

Eleni said...

That would be very thoughtful of you. Unfortunately, I don't think a camera is within the budget of anyone buying me gifts this year. Bad economy and such.

Your pond and fields are nicer than my suburban front lawns. Beautiful English countryside. *Sigh*

Sebastian Anthony said...

This is just a standard case of wanting what you cannot have then, I guess :)

They're quite cheap nowadays! (Cameras)

Eleni said...

Really I should just buy myself a new camera. I'm stalling mainly because I'm not sure what kind to get. A waterproof one would be nice for snorkeling, but they tend not to have as good zoom/resolution. Or as good videos (I never post them here, but I like taking little video clips).

I'm also stalling because I'm cheap, and technically my camera still works.