Aloha...It's Friday!

Alooooooha! Welcome to Aloha Friday!

Today, I made a stop at Goodwill. It's Gracey's favorite store, and she begs to go there. So today we went to see what we could find.

Alas, I found a treasure. A beautiful red, white and green hibiscus print pareo (wrap) that was brand new. The price? A bargain at $3.50!

It will make a beautiful covering for the pupus (appetizers) table when we have our annual Christmas Eve Luau this year.

Our luau begins with a traditional lei greeting with leis the kids and I make together out of ribbon or candy. Then everyone is served maitais and pupus which include macadamia nuts, Maui onion potato chips, egg rolls and spam. Yes, we serve spam.  We talk story (visit) for awhile and last year the four of us entertained our guests by singing Silent Night. Scott played ukelele, Adam played the ipu (hollow gourd used as a rhythm instrument), I played piano and Gracey played a 1950s Hawai'i souvenir tambourine.

Then it's time to blow the conch shell and call everyone in to supper. Supper consists of  kalua pork, fried rice, mac salad (macaroni salad - island style please), gingered carrots and King's Hawaiian bread. Every year I order in treats from Hawai'i (thank you ABC Store!) such as guava jam and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts to use as favors on the table. I'm telling you right now, there is nothing more comforting than the smell of guava jam and chocolate covered mac nuts. Takes me right back to the islands....

Finding Hawaiian anything in North Dakota is darn near impossible. Things like mai tai mix and guava jam have to be ordered in from the islands or California. Banana and ti leaves are nowhere to be found and they can't be shipped in, well not for a decent price anyway. So when I found my beautiful pareo today, it was an extra blessing on this Aloha Friday.