First annual TIKI WEEK - 2015

There is no such thing as Tiki Week.  You won't find it in any search, there are no Tiki Weeks in Hawaii, or part of any Mid-Century Modern show or sale.  You see, Tiki Week is the offspring of my imagination - and to fill out a week that needs some pizazz.

What do you do during the end of June, early July before the 4th?  Nothing.  There's nothing going on.  My Dad's birthday was June 25.  I wanted to find a festive way to commemorate it, but also to fill that void of time between Summer Solstice and "Yankee Doodle Dandy".  Hence, Tiki Week was born.

What did I do to celebrate it?  Oh, lots of things.  Did it last exactly one calendar week?  Hell, no!  Do I suggest finding ways to personalize if for yourself?  Indubitably.

MY TIKITIVITIES:

DRESS: I have a vintage barkcloth Hawaiian dress that is frighteningly similar to this one. So I wore that:


DECOR: Here is my fireplace mantle, tikified (Dollar Tree had the really cool fish netting for a buck!  Bless you all over the place, Dollar Tree!:

SCENTS AND FOODSTUFFS: You want to create ambience.  And you want to consume pineappley-coconutty things.  I burned Paradise Punch-scented Scentsy wax in my burner.  I burned mango incense (you can purchase some here: http://www.koamaster.com/product/TW51294/MANGO-INCENSE-W-CERAMIC-HOLDER---HAWAIIAN-GIFT-BOX-SET.html).  I ate a Mounds bar.  I consumed Dole Whip, home-made by my friend, Michelle.  You can find the mix here: http://www.amazon.com/Dole-Pineapple-Serve-Pound-case/dp/B00CCTE5WQ (I highly recommend this as an alternative to flying out to Disney just for the Dole Whip.  Which, at times, I've really wanted to do)

MUSIC: Then there was the music.  Enter, vintage Hawaiian LPs:

I also played my little ukulele.  I don't play well, but I'm learning.  You can purchase a similar ukulele here: http://www.kalabrand.com/KalaUke.html

THE SHENANIGANS: Next, the hubby and I visited our beloved local tiki bar, the great Hala Kahiki, celebrating 50 years this year! http://www.halakahikilounge.com/

I watched "Blue Hawaii" with a gaggle of girlfriends (it was part of a "Tiki Salsa Solstice Celebration" a few days after the solstice.  We did a fire ceremony.  We ate mango salsa and drank mai tais.  I filled a pinata shaped like a pink flamingo with airplane bottles of pink and blue Kinky and Rum Chata.  We cracked it open - the bottles popped out - except for those I had to pull out of its bottom like birthing a breach baby)  And then there was this:

We were enthralled with how men's swim trunks fit back in the 1960s.  It was a positive thing.  We all enjoyed the drape of the fabric (sure, we did). We were also enthralled with this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgDeVqn85GY

Oh, and the "houseboy" in the film is called Ping Pong.  Apparently this wasn't a problem back then. Angela Lansbury played Elvis's mother.  She was, in real life, only ten years older than he.

From cine-fille.com

What Tiki Week did was inevitably shine a light on the aloha spirit.  I found this beautiful summary of such on huna.org:

The spirit of Aloha was an important lesson taught to the children of the past because it was about the world of which they were a part. One early teaching goes like this:

Aloha is being a part of all, and all being a part of me. When there is pain - it is my pain. When there is joy - it is also mine. I respect all that is as part of the Creator and part of me. I will not willfully harm anyone or anything. When food is needed I will take only my need and explain why it is being taken. The earth, the sky, the sea are mine to care for, to cherish and to protect. This is Hawaiian - this is Aloha!"

 Tiki week was about the pineapple drinks, the grass skirts, and the campy 60s films.  Oh - and the "Brady Bunch" tiki episode (of course).  

But it was also about being in nature, about really taking in light and water and sun and breeze.  It was the warm evening air brushing against my skin. It was about the peace I needed, the tranquility of our backyard waterfall, the sweet little notes I strum on my ukulele ...

and tiki drinks. There are always the tiki drinks  http://www.jamieoliver.com/drinks-tube/recipe/blue-hawaiian/#5u1keS1VFuXWvH4V.97


And yes, there WILL be a Tiki Week 2016.  But it may last a month.

Awaiting the New Moon in Cancer

Sometimes it's hard to find parking near Lake Michigan in Chicago.  Today was no exception.  Actually, I kept getting thwarted from even getting close to the lake.  Pedestrian underpasses were closed, parking fees ridiculous, and parking spaces just too darned far from the water.

After exiting and entering and exiting and entering Lake Shore Drive numerous times, I finally exited at Recreation Drive and, lo! and behold, found free parking within quick walking distance from the lake.

Armed with a fresh cafe au lait, I sauntered over to the lakefront.  Seagulls skipped along the breeze.  Wave crashed - which kept me at a close-yet-far safe distance.  I sat down on a cement embankment - and began my ritual.

I breathed and centered and protected myself.  I invoked my personal angels. I summoned Archangels Gabriel and Camael, both connected with the element of water.  I prayed for the washing away of sorrow (as I'm still mourning my Dad - who incidentally was a Cancer, a Moon child, thus making today's ritual even more poignant and important)), and for a return to a balance of earth and water in my life.  I've felt a need to control and regiment which has put my creativity and sense of play on hold, and essentially eradicated my spiritual connection. I've been very left brain.  I've spent too much time on Facebook, wondering what others are doing rather than feeding my soul.  I've been putting others' agendas first. (And I'm just noticing now that I'm using the word "I" a lot here.  That's actually a good thing).

I asked for a sign from Camael to know when he/she is near and how he/she will communicated.  At that very moment, a rather playful wave crashed up on the walkway (see photo).  It was different from the other stronger, almost aggressive waves. Camael means "one who sees God".  It happened today.  It happened with the waves and the sun and the birds and the sense of peace and calm that washed over me. Camael will help me with my sense of inner peace and play and self-esteem.

And I asked for nurturing from the Universe and myself.  I gave thanks for the beautiful day.  And I did a simple 3-card tarot draw.  The first card was "what's hidden".  It was the 6 of Pentacles.  My interpretation was that benefic forces are at play to help me out of my depression (emotional, spiritual, and economic) - and that this energy will then be gratefully reciprocated by me.  Current situation - 2 of Swords. Blocked emotions, alright.  Been holding so much back, so much pain. And Future?  That would be the 3 of Cups - the card I felt I would pull as I walked to the lakefront minutes before. The beginning of love and peace and friendships - and the ending of a closed-off, sad energy.And when I say friendships, my gut is telling me it's about my friendship with myself.

Note: I'm reminded of the ritual I do every Summer Solstice - having to do with honoring my sense of play, promising the little kid inside me that I'll have a splendid summer.  I always place this little heart I made (with a baby picture of yours truly) on my bulletin board to remind me of how important this self-nurturance is.

I thanked God and the angels.  I soaked up the sun.  I returned to my car and asked my angels (who spoke to me and reminded me that they're always, ALWAYS near and ready to help) to direct me to a great place to have lunch.  It was a froyo place, and the tart yogurt topped with an abundance of berries and slivered almonds was perfect, creamy, juicy, and restorative..

This New Moon is about setting one's sights on new ventures, balancing out emotion, and restoration and renewal.  Today could not have provided a better launch for my Little Boat of Spirit That Could.