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| Sunset from the summit of Haleakala, taken by Marisa. |
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| "God is great, God is good, And we thank him For this food." Grandma's Grace. |
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| We brought Toshikoshi Soba to Grandma's. It was Somen but any long noodle should do, as it signifies long life from one year to another. |
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| The traditional mochi and orange decoration under a winter scene painted by Roy's Grandfather. The red lobster has been a part of every New Years decortion since I was little. |
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| See you again in 12 years |
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| We headed over to Nico's to have a Day After Christmas dinner with Denise and Jay. The restaurant was crowded from Happy Hour at 4 but we got in and enjoyed pupus before dinner. |
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| The deep fried Moi was a special |
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| Baby Back Pork Ribs. |
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| On Sunday we took Penny for a walk around Manoa Park but it was windy and she headed back to the car after half an hour. |
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| Panya is nice because it's open all day and is dog friendly. We enjoy the Summer Rolls. I remember going to Panya when it first opened where Hokua is now and enjoying their specialty teas. One day, my friend and I had finished lunch and were walking back to the car when we saw a baby bird on the sidewalk. It couldn't fly so we went after it to bring it to safety but it hopped out into the street instead to avoid us, and a car coming around the corner ran over it. |
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| The steak covered with ginger was simple and tasty. |
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| There were thyme and mint in some of the planters next to us so the air smelled nice. |
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| Merry Christmas from Penelope and.. |
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| Pudgie, too. |
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| From Raymond Briggs' Father Christmas, my favorite Santa Claus book. |
 An Oscar for the most piteous eyeballs. 'Miss Merry Christmas' Penny isn't! So much for this necklace. |
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| Took a light supper to grandma's place on Christmas Eve. She gave the same Grace that she had learned from her mother as a child, "God is great, God is good, And we Thank Him for this food". |
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| We were relieved that Penny behaved, sitting on my lap while we ate, and not bothering us a bit. |
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| Christmas cake from Palm d'Or. More like a raspberry mousse. We would've preferred a chocolate cake, but it was good. |
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| The Candlelight Service at Central Union Church after supper. A beautiful and peaceful pause in the mad rush of the year ending, that I look forward to every year. |
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| On a cold, blustery Monday we found that Cafe Laufer was open at 4:00. |
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| BYOB |
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| Luckily their soup of the day was Mulligatawny. Nice and hot on a cold day. |
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| The salmon burger. Their rolls always have a wonderful crunch on the outside. ……... |
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| Back to Little Sheep Mongolian Hotpot! |
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| It was fun sitting around a steaming pot with Audrey trying to decide what to choose. Black fungus? Sweet bean leaves? Beef tendon? goose intestine? (um no) |
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| Sparse at 5:30 when it opened, the restaurant was full by the time we ordered. |
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| This time we tried the sauce bar. So many choices to mix and match, like Sacha, Chinese chili, sesame, garlic, cilantro, green onions red pepper. |
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| The wonderful gingerbread world by Chef Ralf Bauer at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel |
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| A photo of the Schloss Neuschwanstein. |
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| The gingerbread creation of the Schloss, which is over 6 ft. high. |
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| The train track that encircles the display starts from Honolulu Station |
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| The train passes Aloha Tower (over 6 ft. tall) and Kawaiahao Church. |
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| It passes through Austria and by the Eifel Tower (5.5 ft tall).. |
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| ..and by the London Tower Bridge (8 ft. in length). |
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| All made of gingerbread and sugar and glitter. |
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| A display of lighted trees in one corner of the lobby. We had lunch in the patio cafe. |
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| Their Japanese choose your own ingredients bento. R chose salmon and katsu curry. He said it was okay except the rice was a bit dry and hard. |
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| My little taro bun burgers were good - one pulled pork, the other hamburger with cheese. |
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| See Penny, last year's costume still fits. |
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| X!##^^#!!! |
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| Oh no, will this never end. |
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| Hope no one's watching. {Pudgie: I can't watch this} |
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| !!Last straw!!! |
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| O penny, please speak to me. So that's why there is no photo Christmas card of Penny this year. |
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| After a busy morning doing last minute mailing and getting stuck in traffic, we had a late lunch at Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot in Ward's Center. This restaurant has many branches in California also. |
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| Lunch is served until 3 pm and it was still busy. |
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| Everything looked clean and our server was great, anticipating our questions and guiding us through the menu. |
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| Everything you put into the 2 basic soups is ordered a la carte. The delicious and healthy broth is made from chicken and various herbs and berries like goji, jujube, garlic, and other dried roots and seeds. |
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| The other soup is a hotter version and contains Chinese pepper. |
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| Most of the vegetables were in the $5 -$6 range for a half order, which was ample for two people. We had spinach, Black Fungus, knotted tofu, pumpkin and bok choi, as well as pork shabu meat. |
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| We also ordered sides of Mongolian Kim Chee, which was hot and a bit sweet and vinegary, but so good! |
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| And Bitter Melon salad. Slightly sauted and easy to eat.
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