But there's no reason why I can't continue to learn the Hawaiian language as I study Turkish, or to play the 'ukulele while I learn about the saz, a traditional stringed instrument played in Turkey.
But today my message is not a Turkish/Hawaiian mix, rather an Oregonian/Hawaiian mix. Pictured here are the Christmas shortbread cookies that I baked, frosted -- and ate. Yum!
As you can see, I had two themes in mind. There's the Christmas tree, looking very much like a Douglas fir. And there's an Oregon state map, complete with a heart. My daughter bought me this cookie cutter last summer at the gift shop in Oregon's Capitol in Salem.
But when I was last in Hawaii, in early October, I visited the Christmas shop at the Outrigger Reef in Waikiki. I bought four Hawaiian-themed cookie cutters: a honu, a mano, a palm tree and a pineapple. I chose just to use the two animals for my cookies. It's one way to bring 'aumakua, spirit animals, to life.
