After my huge weekend (three big services: a 90-minute double funeral on Saturday, a service at Nuuanu Congregational and a Solemn Mass at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church) I wanted to let you know that I was given a special “honoraria” from the parish of St. Mark’s—a five-strand pikake leí! (In addition to a check, of course!)

For all you non-Hawaiian residents, a pikake lei is extremely special, and five strands is especially luxurious! According to Aloha Island Leí:

This lovely flower is delicate and very small. It is renowned for its strong fragrance and its beautiful white color. Its traditional Hawaiian name is pī kake, and its scientific name is Jasminum sambac. Each tiny, bell-shaped blossom is soft white with a sweet scent. Some pikakes also have green accents. They are not dyed or tinted. A pikake lei is delicate, and it should not be handled any more than necessary. Keep this lei dry and cool by wrapping it in wax paper and keeping it in the refrigerator until it is worn.

The pikake flower is a symbol of romance and love. This flower was brought to the Hawaiian islands in the 1800s and soon became a favorite of the royals. Hawaii’s Princess Kaiulani loved the jasmine flower as well as peacocks, and she named this flower after the Hawaiian word for peacock- pikake. Pikake leis are made with the kui (piercing) lei-making style. The pikake can be paired with a number of Hawaiian leaves and flowers. Pikake flowers are sometimes added to an unscented lei to give it a scent. Brides often wear leis made from white pikake flowers, and they are popular for others to wear to weddings as well. They are also popular for birthdays and anniversaries and are usually worn by women. The pikake leis below offer the soft, white hue and sweet fragrance of this lovely flower.

What the good people of St. Mark’s probably didn’t realize was that yesterday marked the 8th anniversary of my husband Carl’s passing, August 28, 2014. If you remember, I had been subbing for Samuel Lam, their former organist, at the time. Carl died on a Thursday, and the following Sunday I was subbing at St. Mark’s. So, receiving the pikake lei, with its connections with love and marriage, was especially appreciated and appropriate!

Wouldn’t you know it — after that service eight years ago, we came out to the parking lot, and the car wouldn’t start! I took a picture of the tow truck which came to take my car away to the dealer!

That was the week that was … in addition to Carl’s passing, BOTH cars broke down and had to be towed, AND the refrigerator also stopped working! It surely was a week for the record books. Yet, we survived!

Yesterday was the first time I’ve been back to St. Mark’s in a few years, and the big change is that the historic Henry Willis tracker organ was removed and the Walker digital moved into the former organ chamber, allowing for a lot more room for the choristers (although they didn’t sing yesterday).

The gray cinderblock walls have been plastered over, and the church no longer looks dark inside, but is bright and cheerful.