What a gorgeous day at Hamoa Beach yesterday

Ten Things I Love About Maui

Ten Things I Love About Maui:

• Tradewinds: They blow the air so clean! This is always soothing and refreshing to my spirit.

• Clouds: Maui has the most amazing clouds.

They move quickly taking on magnificent shapes in the sky and by mid afternoon daily there are always clouds heading up Haleakala! (Our mountain)

• The Lifestyle: Maui is rural, it's country it's about the ocean and fishing and all the activities of the sea.

• The food: Surrounded by the sea in the most isolated group of islands in the world is special enough but Maui feels like a hot spot in the universe for gourmet Pacific Rim Cuisine. Chefs abound. We have the freshest fish and fresh vegetables and herbs are grown year round in the rich volcanic soil and cool air of the mountain.

• The People are so kind!

Wherever I go from the Post Office to the grocery store people take the time to be genuinely kind. It is very comforting to be treated this way wherever I go on Maui.

• Hana is a touch of old Hawaii. I worked as a nurse for two and a half years in Hana by the sea. I felt a true sense of belonging here because of the friendliness of the people. Within two weeks people were calling me by my first name at Hasegawa's store.

• The Beauty is found wherever you go on Maui!

Just look up into the sky or out to sea or into a deep valley at Iao in the West Maui Mountains. Long stretches of land with no houses calm the nerves and green sugar cane goes on for miles and miles.

• Tropical plants and flowers are amazing. I love growing my own bananas, papayas and lilikoi (passion-fruit) vines. Everything is so available at The Maui Swap Meet and open markets on Maui.

• Maui is small but yet it feels spacious. There is room to breathe. The small town feeling makes it comfortable and the proximity of everything makes life simple.

• Maui has some of the most beautiful beaches. There is so much variety from white sand to black sand and the red sand beach.

 • Elegant Resorts: One can visit the most elegant resorts minutes away then return to the down to earth lifestyle of Maui having experienced the best of both worlds in Hawaii.

Just some of the things I love about Maui

Everyday I love it more, the relaxed feeling I remember when I first fell in love with Maui back in 1973 is still here with me. Though life speeded up and the island has changed, when I sit still and feel the breeze, let my cares go, and take in the amazing energy that is Maui I thank God for allowing me to live in such a beautiful place!

Aloha friends,

~ Marilyn

The Artful Hawaiigirl

If you haven't visited lately make a plan to come to Maui.

Those of you who live here, Aloha fellow islanders.

http://www.amaryllisofhawaii.com/

Inspiring You To Make Dreams Come True...

How will you inspire others during this economy? PRIZES!!!

One More day to post a comment to win all the prizes from Amaryllis of Hawaii.

Your choice of a hand-painted design just for you!

Scoop neck Bella Tee by Marilyn Jansen Design

Cotton Lycra Corset Tops

Beautiful Hepburn tops

Your choice of designs

Taro Leaves

Maui Kitty

Maui Kitty on denim  (only available in small at this time)

Sleeveless Cotton-lycra corset top

(I'm painting 25 of these over the next 2 weeks)

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Hawaiian Ingenuity

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How will You inspire others during this economy? Make your comment here and on your own blog if you have one with a mention and link back to http://artfulhawaiigirl.blogspot.com/  or just comment here!

Winner also gets a lilikoi jelly, and a set of Amaryllis of Hawaii Books see http://www.amaryllisofhawaii.com/

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Aloha is a gift that must be shared! I look forward to sharing my love of Hawaii with you.

-Marilyn (The Artful Hawaiigirl)

Brave, yes!

Up-Country Maui Day!

Tall grasses swaying in the wind.

Breezes that blow softly on my skin.

Quietness that calms me

Birds to cheer me

Words that soothe

Thoughts to uplift when friends are feeling down

I pray for their happiness

when I am unable to console

God is the one

Who brings me joy!

I discovered gardening when I was 25 years old. I was taking care of my sister Pamela Jansen who had been in a major car accident in 1978. We lived at our parents small home in the San Fernando Valley of California. Pamela had been in a coma for over 5 1/2 weeks and when she awoke there were years of recovery. Life became very precious to me when I nearly lost my sister. I was still searching for my happiness at that time, but found great joy in planting and designing my first garden.

Now, over thirty years later, I am still planting and discovering something new all the time. I wrote a book about my love for planting organically called Amaryllis, Amaryllis How Does Your Garden Grow? "Organically, Of Course!"

I write about all my favorite plants, how to compost, how to plant bulbs, native plants, roses, and designing your first garden.

Up-Country Maui is an amazing place to garden. Cool nights and sunny days nearly year round are perfect for planting. The famous sweet Maui Onions are grown Up-Country Maui on the slopes of Haleakala. Many flowers flourish on the mountain. The Giant Proteas originally from Africa are right at home on Maui. Even many of my favorite plants from the mainland love it up here, like my heavenly blue morning glories above and my favorite dahlias below.

My lilikoi vines are full of passionfruit!

I love to plant Basil and all kinds of herbs to use in my cooking. I have Thai Basil, Italian Basil, cinnamon basil sometimes, sage, rosemary, oregano, dill, varieties of thyme, and Hawaiian hot chile peppers that have re-seeded themselves.

This was taken before the lilikoi had ripened, but now they are falling off the vine daily. So I'm making lots of lilikoi "passion-fruit" jelly!

Beautiful Native ferns.

Just a short post today, but a reminder to do something that you love. This will help you find your passion in life and bring great joy to yourself and others.

- Marilyn

The Artful Hawaiigirl

Aloha!

 www.amaryllisofhawaii.com