Random pictures :)

Amy, here are what 'uli 'uli are... my new birthday present :) The bottom of the gourds have seeds in them and so they rattle when you dance. Roy and my hula sisters called me Julie-'uli-'uli, and that is where I got the blog's name.


Here is a picture of our condo's great room, taken from the dining room - I also got the picture frames on the wall for my birthday too. I put pictures I took of Hawai'i Island in the frames.


This is the rug we (aka DH) got in Turkey. It looks really good and he loves it a lot!
Edge of the rug

Other part of the living room/great room. Yes, the fireplace wall is blue! Our rug looks fantastic by the wall! I was watching Jeopardy with DH.


Here are the pictures in the 8"x10" frames...

Looking at Mauna Kea across Hilo Bay
One of my favorite Big Island beaches

The last one I am really attached to - it was the first silversword in bloom I had ever seen! Plus, it was so cool to be on top of Mauna Kea, looking over at Mauna Loa! We got to see some awesome stars that night!

Hula!

Well, I missed one of my most favorite days in Hawaii - the Queen Lili'uokalani Festival. It's really cool because the whole town of Hilo gathers in the Queen Lili'uokalani Park (right on Hilo Bay) and the various hula halau all dance two songs together - and they drop orchids from a helicopter. Plus, add in shave ice and spam musubi... it's basically my version of heaven. It is what inspired me to join a halau back a year ago. My kumu hula posted a video of this year's event on his website... check it out! (Plus that's him chanting - he really needs to record a cd!!)

In my hula school here, we used both 'uli'uli (feathered gourds) and pu'ili (split bamboo sticks). I'm starting to get used to the 'uli'uli (go figure I'd pick that one up first :) ) but the pu'ili is coming a bit slower! Kumu Em can testify that sometimes I can take a little bit longer to teach ;) Someday, I hope to be like the dancers I saw at Kumu Em's uniki...





But I still think I love this song from the uniki more :)

'Uli 'uli??

For those of you wondering what an 'uli 'uli is, here you go...

It's a hula implement made from a gourd with seeds on one end and then a cap decorated with feathers on the other end. It's often used in songs dealing with rain. It is very appropriately used when dancing to songs about Hilo, the rainiest city in the US. My halau, Halau Na Pua 'O Uluhaimalama uses 'uli 'uli with the song Nani O Hilo (Beauty of Hilo, basically), among others.

Here is a picture of some girls from my halau holding 'uli 'uli...