Stuff is moving along with our house purchase and getting my mom's ready to put up for sale. We had a wonderful visit in Georgia with my great aunt, but I really have to stop buying vintage lamps!

Change of subject but what I really wanted to tell you about. One of my all time favorite albums is "Ho'oluana" by the Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau - mom and I were listening to it on the way home from Georgia this past weekend. It's one of those albums that makes you weep with the sheer beauty of some of the songs.

What I didn't realize for many years was that the (former) lead singer Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole (Bruddah Iz) released several solo albums after leaving the group. At the beginning of this year he was topping the European charts with his version of "Over the rainbow/What a Wonderful World", which has been used in many movies and tv shows and commericials. There is a very funny clip on his web site that shows several Belgian djs trying to pronounce his name which segues into a video of the song: https://www.izhawaii.com/belgium-radio-djs-make-attempt-at-saying-izs-name/#

It's a truly amazing song, but if I had to pick one favorite song from his solo career it would be "Hawai'i 78" from the album "Facing Future" - get over to grooveshark or youtube and listen to it sometime. It's not nearly as upbeat - it's beautiful, but it's really (IMO) a lament for the erosion of the Hawaiian culture and loss of country.

Anyway, I realize this isn't everyone's cup of musical tea, but his voice is just so amazing that I wanted to share it with you.