Life is Sailing

A place of life exploration, sailing journeys, and piece of thought

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I am a woman who loves beauty and fun. I sail, read, play games, learn instruments (piano, flute, ukulele, tin whistle, Scottish drums, harmonica), hike, sing, Pickleball, explore, and write. My greatest joy is playing or exploring with my five children and husband. My greatest peace is at the piano or sailing. At the center and surrounding it all is my Savior Jesus Christ.
  • Today I challenged myself to 365 days of writing for no less than ten minutes a day and to take a picture of the location.

    Picture a Rainbow

    A picture worth a thousand words. What picture springs to mind? For me it is a mental picture of a storm rolling through. We experienced an incredible range of weather yesterday for our load day during our move. Muggy in the morning (so much that you could practically swim in the humidity) to hot and sunny to sudden downpours preceded by dozens of lightning strikes and rounds of rolling thunder. It all concluded magnificently with a breathtaking double rainbow. That whole day took my breath away, like the roller coaster ride that defines our past year. Uncomfortable, gorgeous, warm, violent, intense (oh, yes, the garage flooded with our stuff in it right before it was going to be loaded onto the van), working together, dealing with tensions, culminating in God’s perfect rainbow… He has not and will never forsake us. His plan is perfect.

    The rainbow we witnessed today was a half rainbow, the kind most of us see in the sky stretching from one side of the horizon to the other. Interestingly, it is truly only half of a rainbow. A complete rainbow is an entire circle. To see one, we must look up toward the sun when we stand on the earth. Full circle rainbows. The brilliance of light and prisms complete in a circle.

  • Today I challenged myself to 365 days of writing for no less than ten minutes a day and to take a picture of the location.

    Stressed?

    Stress takes on many forms – physical, emotional, mental – strains on our body and psyche. We may break out in hives or small red itchy spots.

    I remember when I was a high school freshman stressed about an exam. My hands broke out into tiny, itchy skin-colored bumps, from my finger tips all the way to my wrists completely covered. It was awful! My skin felt stretched and constantly itched with the slightest feel of dust in the air. I thought they would never return to normal, but following a week of itchy “torture” my hands returned to their normal size and texture. Since then I have learned to monitor my stress levels. Every few years, my body screams at me in obvious physical ways reminding me that life is not meant to be lived in stress. I try to listen, but most of all I try not to get to that point of stressed out.

    So here are a few things I have learned in order to avoid deep stress:

    • Identify when a stressful event is coming your way (change of situation/job conflict, move, new family member, hosting…)
    • Notice how your body changes… squinting eyes furrowed brow, clenched teeth tight fists, hunched shoulders, rapid speech… Pick the most prominent and intentionally do the opposite. For me, I just remembered that mine is squinting my eyes (yes, I was doing that as I was typing). This leads to headaches which make me feel irritable. So I am telling my facial muscles to relax, open up even smile. Smiling by itself can help us reduce stress!
    • Slow down and smell the roses, i.e. observe the details of your surrounds the sights and smells and little sounds. Take it down to a tiny level and notice the minuscule insect crawling on the ground or gaze into the sky and ponder how vast is the universe. Take three deep breaths right here.

    (written June 18, 2025)

  • Today I challenged myself to 365 days of writing for no less than ten minutes a day and to take a picture of the location.

    Community

    Community:
    Two people or twenty
    The number matters not
    Souls connect
    Dreams align
    Words flow with understanding
    Of goals, desires
    Traversing the same direction
    Freedom
    Of thought and action
    Eyes see
    The same lines
    Hearts trod
    The same track
    Lifting each the other
    Up to loftier heights
    When bumps crash hard
    Support resounds
    Shoulders to cry on
    Backs to bear weights
    Smiles bring softness
    Into our spirits
    Warmth, care, belonging
    Community


    (written on June 17, 2025)
  • Today I challenged myself to 365 days of writing for no less than ten minutes a day and to take a picture of the location.

    A bit of joy

    I was in the throws of packing today, serious minded and trying to be focused on the multiple tasks at hand. My husband even commented that I looked angry. I guess I was taking the job too seriously. Something about being surrounded by cardboard boxes and the sound of tape constantly ripping just doesn’t soothe my soul. It also makes for quite the tedious day when my job is really just to make sure everything is getting packed.

    My dulled mind was suddenly awakened when my young son yelled, “Deer!” My head whipped up to catch a glimpse of the beautiful forest creature in our backyard. We both exclaimed together, “And two baby deer!” The graceful doe gently led her two speckled fawns across our backyard, gingerly picking their way through the lush green, weedy lawn. We gleefully followed them around to the front of our house to watch them continue on down the bend behind a neighbor’s yard. Sigh. What a breath of fresh air. Yanked out of the packing doldrums to partake in the joy of nature, a mama doe and her little ones.

    “Your are not a machine.
    You’re a soul who needs music, connection, sunsets, laughter, and small pockets of joy.
    Prioritize them, like your life depends on it,
    because it does.”
    ~ thesmrevolution on Instagram

  • Today I challenged myself to 365 days of writing for no less than ten minutes a day and to take a picture of the location.

    Pumpkin, Banana, Tomato

    We all know you can make bread from bananas, and who doesn’t like a succulent pumpkin pie? But how many people know you can make cake with tomato sauce?!

    When moving season comes, somehow I always end up with a lot of cans of tomato sauce (and diced tomatoes), pumpkin, and of course tons of frozen over-ripe bananas. I do believe this time of year is my children’s favorite because it means mom is going to back some yummy treats. Among their favorite are what you see featured here. Banana bread, pumpkin oatmeal bars, pumpkin pie, and tomato cake.

    Tomato cake, friends… give it a try. I am a bit surprised, but my kids actually love it even without the icing. Throw some ultra-sweet cream cheese icing on the top and the cake almost tastes like a kind of salty carrot cake! Here is the recipe I used: https://www.stetted.com/tomato-cake/

    Also not featured is easy tomato soup… just two cans of tomato sauce, one can of diced tomatoes, a little garlic powder, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes. I like to add 1/4 cup of half and half. And, voila! Better than Campbell’s tomato soup =)

    Eating is an adventure when you move a lot! Perhaps it inspires someone else to enjoy some pumpkin, banana, and tomato!

  • Today I challenged myself to 365 days of writing for no less than ten minutes a day and to take a picture of the location.

    Lasts…

    Lasts… It is time for a major tack.  Things are a bit topsy turvy, the waves feel large but the wind has lulled some.  Momentum is difficult to find yet we must perform this tack.  We know the steps.  We call out the commands.  Our crew is ready and available to help.  We must move decisively.  It’s best if we move slowly and smoothly.  I’m nervous about stalling out.  But there appear to be more ripples on the water on the other side of the no sail zone.  Our boat may have more movement once we make it through the tack, and we can sail along to our destination. 

    So we will observe our lasts.  Our last good-byes with friends. Our last pipe and drum practice. Our last swim. Our last sail. Our last dinner.  Our last goodnights.  Our last cleanings.  Our last waking in a familiar direction.  There have been many blessings and things to see and enjoy on this tack.  A few interestingly difficult challenges as well. 

    Looking back I find myself looking forward.  God taught lessons and grew us all.  He has other plans for us now.  We are going to embrace the new direction.  We will make it through this tack, one way or another.  The boat will continue moving and we will discover new adventures… together.

    This is the view from one of my lasts. I walked past this area with my son once every couple of weeks as we shared in an unexpected unique experience of playing with a Scottish pipe and drum band. I never would’ve anticipated having so much fun learning to drum with a bunch of kids from a couple of experienced drummers. Perhaps there will be more for us in the future, but it sure was a fun experience here!
  • Today I challenged myself to 365 days of writing for no less than ten minutes a day and to take a picture of the location.

    Tacking in life and on the water (a raw write-up)

    I have learned I need to be decisive but smooth. Watch for signs that indicate it’s time to prepare to center the tiller, like when the jib comes to center. “Break!” The jib action is a telltale sign when you’re in a bigger boat, like the Rainbow I sailed today with my husband and two of our kids. When I learned to sail a Topper, there was no jib. “Push the tiller toward the sail. The boom switches sides. Center the tiller. Move/jump to the other side.” These were the commands that I repeated over and over in my head as I learned how to tack.

    The way we tack (switch sides of the wind direction) as we head toward our destination (or life goal) depends on what type of boat we sail. Are we a one-person boat, sailing solo going through life without a lot of extra responsibility? Are we two? What about when a baby comes along? Maybe a boat that fits five or more? How big our boat is (how large our ohana is) affects how we go about changing directions.

    We always need to maintain speed through a tack or change in direction. We should move decisively and smoothly. However the size of the boat and the number of crew affect how the tack will be performed. Communication becomes critical, as does following the directions of the one in charge.

  • Today I challenged myself to 365 days of writing for no less than ten minutes a day and to take a picture of the location.

    A Tack , a Turn of Life

    “Keep your speed up. Don’t stall. Push all the way through. Not too fast, not too slow. Mind the boom.”

    In a boat, learning to tack well is crucial to sailing well. To tack is to make the boat turn from one side of the wind to the other.

    (More to come tomorrow. Late nights here. Busy with life tacking).

  • Today I challenged myself to 365 days of writing for no less than ten minutes a day and to take a picture of the location.

    Swept away

    Warm, loose, cozy.
    The basketball game finished.
    TV turned off,
    Eyes became heavy...
    Swept away by the sandman.

  • Today I challenged myself to 365 days of writing for no less than ten minutes a day and to take a picture of the location.

    Hibiscus

    I have fallen for this flower, the stately hibiscus. Its five grandiose petals attract the eye of any observer of plants. It symbolizes beauty and joy, happiness and sunshine, friendship and love, mystery and knowledge. The hibiscus is also Hawaii’s state flower, fitting since Hawaii is the Aloha state, known for its welcome of visitors.

    When we left Hawaii the first time, I found this necklace above and treasured it as a reminder of the island that stirred my soul alive.

    A few years later after being blessed to return to paradise, we were facing another departure from the Aloha state, and I needed a replacement phone case. My favorite place to find phone covers was on the North Shore in Haleiwa at a stand across from Matsumoto’s Shave Ice. Previously I had discovered an octopus case, beautifully etched in painted wood. The octopus holds a story for another time. This day, as I searched through images of honu (Hawaiin word for turtle), waves, plumeria, the case that stood out to me was the hibiscus. It was bold but beautiful, delicate but strong.

    As is evident in the photo above, this case has suffered through much turmoil in the past year since I bought it. Yet it continues to symbolize joy and beauty. When I see the flowers on the back of my phone it reminds me of the Aloha carried around the world because we were blessed to call a small island in the Pacific Ocean our home. 

Leader
Will you lead through the fire?
What when the fire dies?
Who are you leading and do you know your why?
Do you promote yourself above others?
Or do you look and see others, weaving talents together to yield a cloth of multiplied strength?
Deceptive is the idea that the best leader is one most skilled in his craft (be it flying a plane, designing technology, etc).
Perhaps leading others is a skill in itself.  
Look just below the highest performing worker… for the one who watches, observes, encourages, challenges the team to grow.
Can an intrinsically skilled leader of people lead in multiple contexts, regardless of his/her specific job training?
Leader, lead people and know why you lead.