Kadomatsu for Mom

We broke down and bought a kadomatsu for mom.  I don't recall seeing this in my childhood, but then I was and still am pretty oblivious to things.  Apparently putting out a kadomatsu during the new years is a long honored tradition in the islands.

Kadomatsu with photo of Tiffany and Jonathan

I put it in mom's room to surprise her.  After her initial, "You shouldn't have.  It's too expensive!" she happily relocated it to our living room entrance.

I then looked up what the whole thing was about and got this from the Hawaii Midweek newspaper.

Kadomatsu translates literally to gate pine, implying a guard for the house. In the Edo Period of the 1400s in Japan, giant pieces of bamboo were filled with water and sand, and placed at doorways in case of fire emergency. The first generation of immigrants to Hawaii made these symbols of the new year using ironwood branches and local bamboo.
 Bamboo symbolizes growth and strength, fresh pine represents long life and endurance.

 I found this article in the old Star Bulletin about the kadomatsu.

"The bamboo signifies flexibility and the pine with its pointy needles represents power to protect the family," said Asakura. "It is bound with rice straw cording, representing the union of man with heaven and earth. There's a reason we do these rituals, it's strongly linked in the animism of the old Shintoism."

According to Wikipedia, we're supposed to then burn it.

 After January 15 (or in many instances the 19th) the kadomatsu is burned to appease the kami or toshigami and release them.

Also from Wikipedia:

Toshigami (年神) is a Kami of the Shinto religion in Japan. The term consists of two Chinese characters, toshi (年 year) and kami (神), meaning a deity or spirit. Toshigami are thought to be deities of the year believed to bring with each New Year. Toshigami are also thought to be the spirits of ancestors.

Oh dear!  How do we burn green bamboo?  I guess we've got until the 15th to figure that out.  Then again, people in Hawaii are saying we need to burn it on the 8th!

What to do... what to do?

Remembering the Past in Preparing for the Future

Mom asked us to please take her to the cemetery to place flowers at the grave of my grandmother (her mother-in-law) and the columbarium of my father.

Then we went to the market to get some things in preparation for the new year which is probably more important to my mother than any other holiday at this time.

Mom wanted to pick up some hasu (lotus roots) so she could prepare it for my brother who loves it.

Hey!  We love it too.  But Dennis is her baby.

We looked at the kadomatsu and was tempted to get one.  But darn, they're expensive and mom insists they have to be burned at the end of New Years.  I told her we should keep it to reuse the next year, but she's adamant that they must be burned a certain amount of days later.  I'll have to research this.

Since the kadomatsu is rather pricey, she said some people put these bamboo and pine branches up instead.

And I'm thinking... I wonder if I could grow some.

Mom also picked up more flowers at the market so we could bring them to the temple  where she visits her friend and sadly tells her that she still misses talking to her.



Maybe we'll get the kadomatsu after all.

Getting Ready for the New Year

OK... We put the Christmas tree away, cleaned the bathrooms and I cut our hair.

AND we finished two more things in preparation for the New Year.

I finished caulking and painting all the moulding and baseboards in the three closets that Art finished a month ago. Not my favorite job, but it's done and everything is neatly stored in the closets again!  It's a nice feeling.

Then Art decided to finally take all my hints about wanting to add three more shelves in our kitchen cabinets.  I think he wanted to reward me for my hard work.

We went to Home Depot and picked up the laminated shelving boards.  Then Art cut them to size.

See how the top part of the cabinet has only three shelves.  I wanted another shelf on the bottom for my growing mug collection.  I promised Art I'd stop buying them on our travels once those shelves are filled.

Actually, he said he's fine with my buying a mug, since he loves to buy his souvenir t-shirts.

This is another cabinet that I felt could use another shelf.

I love it!

I now actually have some cabinet shelves that are empty even though I can't reach them easily.

It's such a nice feeling to go into the new year with things better organized, compartmentalized. and oh yes... clean.

I have two more days to go.  I wonder what I've forgotten to do.

Putting Away the Tree

We all have our quirks.

My mother likes to do some kind of laundry everyday, either by machine or hand.  Somehow she's got to wash something.  I don't remember this trait when we were growing up, but she does now.

Art feels he's got to run.  His dad had his 1st heart attack in his 40's and then died of one at 69.  Art therefore watches what he eats, exercises regularly and works hard to coax me to do it also.  Oh yes... and let's not forget collecting t-shirts!  Tons of t-shirts!

And me?  OK, the kids and Art will tell you I have a ton of them.  One of those quirks is that I like to put the holiday tree away as soon as Christmas is over.  Art would like to leave it for a while.  Mom doesn't care.  The kids just didn't particularly like helping to clean everything up.

Why am I quirky this way?  I guess I'm focused toward the new year.  It's a Hawaii tradition that you clean everything for the new year.  My mother will be cleaning and preparing to enter the new year with all debts paid, dust shaken out of the house, cupboards cleaned, food ready... and oh yes, everything laundered.

I like to finish projects so I can enter the new year... new.

I've got the closet caulking staring at me.

And oh... yes... back to the tree.  Christmas is over and my brain is focused toward preparing for the new year.

Art rolls his eyes and helps me since he can't stand to see me agitated until everything is done.  Besides, it will insure him having a happy new year.

Fun and Useful Tips #2

I knew about this tip before, but forgot about it.    It sure does make your linen closet look neater.

I might just do this in the summer, especially when we have guests visiting us who go to the beach.  My son-in-law has been known to get a sunburn or two.

This might work for some closets.  Unfortunately, it won't work in mine.

Aha!  I've now got a use for these hotel shower caps that I have in my drawer.

My daughter could do this for my granddaughter.  I like the idea of putting the magnets in the cups to hold it down.  I guess you can't do this with aluminum type muffin tins.

I wasn't going to post this egg idea, but then I remembered a certain wonderful blogger named Cheryl who finds hearts everywhere in nature.  She might like to make her own.

I can't have too many sweets, but this sure looks like a fun thing to make for a party.

Here's the link for the recipe since it won't work on the picture.
http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Sugar-Cookie-Bowls

Isn't this fabulous for this time of year?  I do happen to have some egg cartons that I was saving to do something with.  Now I know what that is.

And that's it for now.


POSTSCRIPT:  A big thank you to my friend, Jean for passing on all these tips to me so I could share them with all of you.

Fun and Useful Tips #1

I was at a Christmas party where friends were talking about a forwarded e-mail they'd gotten which was really helpful.  I asked my friend, Jean if she would share those ideas with me and she kindly sent them.  I liked many of them so much I thought I'd share them with all of you.

It never occurred to me that you could hull strawberries with a straw! 

Ummm...we tried this but still haven't been able to do it.  We finally gave up.  Sigh...

I always use colored duct tape to do this, but this looks easier.

I had a whole bunch of these tension rods that I threw away.  I wish I had them now.  I want to try this.

Just a word or two of caution:  Blogger Mage says that the tops often come off of those bottles so this idea might not be the best.   Mage also shared another hint about using baby oil to take paint off your hands.  I'm going to try this! 

Isn't this perfect for Hawaii?  This would be a great way to get beach sand off our feet before we get in the car.  Then again... is it OK to drop talcum powder around the beach?  Is this  OK for the environment?  I don't know.

Isn't this fun?  I'll share more tomorrow.

Christmas Fruitcake

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Eve was celebrated with my brother, Dennis, sister-in-law, Nancy and nephew, Cody.  Unfortunately, the rest of the family had to work or live too far.  As sad as we were not to have them with us, we're glad they had jobs to go to.  We're hoping the New Year will enable them to spend time with us again.  We had a holiday luncheon together.

Dennis and Nancy brought a huge honey glazed ham.  I tried a recipe for an Asian salad that cousin, Renee gave us.  It was scrumptious! And mom made her special macaroni salad and kinpira gobo (burdock root) dish.

In the afternoon, friends stopped by with presents and were kind enough to stay and chat for awhile.  It was really so very wonderful to have this time together.

Then to cap it all, our neighbor brought over fruitcake!  Art was thrilled.  He happens to LOVE fruitcake.

 All in all, it was a lovely day!

And now there are presents to open.

I hope you all got just what you were hoping for.  If we could have our health and happiness for our family and friends, I think that would be the greatest gift of all.

Green Holiday Newsletter

Last year, I started doing New Years newsletters.  That way I would send newsletters to only those people who I knew still wanted to exchange them.

I also sent our holiday greetings by e-mail to a third of our recipients who were technologically savvy.  I found that I could write longer personal notes to each person and even include photos by attaching them along with the newsletter to the e-mail.

Our thinking was that this might be another way to reduce paper waste. 

I don't know for sure if people are unhappy about getting the newsletters by e-mail instead of a hard copy, but so far the response has been positive. 

The only problem I see with all this is if people don't send me holiday cards, I won't be able to cut them up to make those gift tags.    Ah well...

The most important thing about the holidays is that it's a time for family and friends to reconnect and share their lives.  I've gotten some pretty cards with only the sender's name on it.   I prefer newsletters if they're not going to write anything because at least that lets us know what's going on in their lives. 

There's so much to celebrate right now.  I'd like to wish you all a wonderful, warm (if possible), happy Christmas Eve!

Holiday Reuse Idea

I love gift bags!  I love them because it's easier to wrap gifts in them.   They look festive and ... ummmm... frankly, I like to reuse them as well.  I think it's so much better for the environment rather than creating more paper waste.

The only problem I had was finding new tie on tags for the bags.  I looked all over and finally did find a pack of them, but they were pretty pricey.  Most gift tags now are the stick on type and I don't want to damage the bags because I'd like the recipient to be able to reuse them also.

That's when I remembered reading somewhere how you can cut up old holiday cards and use them as gift tags.  Since I still had my cards from last year and they have all been scanned and stored in my computer I cut up the ones that were appropriate and added ribbons to them.  I really like them.  Usually tags don't have enough room to write all the recipients names on them or even our own.  This way I can not only write the names, but a message as well.

Now, I just have to remember to do this next year too. 

Marvelous Mysterious Meyer

Most of our Meyer lemons are quite pleasingly ordinary and round in shape.  However, we've been watching this one lemon mature into this very unusual shape.

I think it's quite beautiful in its own way.  We picked a bunch of lemons today and let my brother, Dennis come and choose which ones he wanted.  We also set aside some for my two aunts.  The lemons were all ripening at the same time.

Smiling broadly, Dennis picked this one up right away and marveled at its original look. 

"Can I have this one?" he asked.  "I'd like to take a photo of it."

It's wonderful how nature will create these mysterious shapes or colors every so often.   It adds a certain wonder to our day as we ponder why and how it happened.

I like to think of us always cherishing these different creations and just marvel at their distinctive beauty.

And then along those same lines... respect and enjoy all the differences we have in our world.


Helpful Lemonade Hint:

My brother, Dennis just told me he adds a teeny bit (maybe a 1/4 of a teaspoon) of baking soda into his pitcher of lemonade.  It takes some of the acid sharpness out of the lemons.  Sounded pretty interesting to me.

Happy Solstice, everyone!

A Less Gracious Society

Have we become a less gracious society?  Lin wrote a blog post called Manners and Courtesy  on this topic and it got me thinking... again.  As I write this Art said,  "You do realize you're preaching to the choir?"  And yes, I know I've written about this topic before, but heck!  It bears repeating.

When I mentioned to my daughter about people who don't write thank you notes for gifts she said, "Mom, I'm sorry to tell you but many in my generation don't send thank you notes."  She went on to say she's been rather not so thrilled about spending a lot of time, effort and expense to get a gift and not receive any sort of acknowledgement.  These days, even an e-mail would be nice.

I went to extreme effort to make sure my kids wrote thank you notes.  There were times in one of my children's life where I even got the cards, made the thank you list with addresses and provided the stamps to make sure gift givers were sent appropriate letters of appreciation.

Photo from Wikipedia

 Simple courtesies once ordinary and appreciated seem to be dwindling in many aspects of society.  When you let someone into traffic in Hawaii you'll often get the shaka sign or a wave.  Sometimes, you get nothing... especially if they're on their cellphone.

I've held the door open for people going into stores and not even gotten a look.  On some occasions they will smile appreciatively and say, "Thank you."  Obliviousness to a helpful stranger isn't just in the U.S.  My daughter and son-in-law were in Singapore on business and they said they were shocked at how rude many people were in public.

KC at the desk

Lin closed her post saying we can turn this around by setting an example.  Perhaps this is true.  If we all started making a determined effort to demonstrate politeness, maybe... maybe things can change.

I think a lot hinges on what parents are teaching their children these days.  My granddaughter, KC has been writing thank notes when she could hardly hold a pencil. 

If you held the door open for her she might say, "Thank you."

And if she doesn't, don't worry.  We're working on it.

Happy Hanukkah!

Hanukkah begins at sundown tonight.

This is from Wikipedia:

Photo from Wikipedia

Hanukkah (Hebrew: חֲנֻכָּה‎, Tiberian: Ḥănukkāh, usually spelled חנוכה pronounced [χanuˈka] in Modern Hebrew, also romanized as Chanukah, Chanukkah, or Chanuka), also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.

Photo from Wikipedia

I remember seeing the lights on the synagogues light up one each night where we lived in Illinois.  We enjoyed celebrating this special holiday with our Jewish friends.  Latkes were serious yum with apple sauce.

Photo from Wikipedia

I was happy to see that my granddaughter who attends a pre-school that is housed in a Christian church was taught about this wonderful Jewish holiday.  KC proudly showed me her bag of golden foiled chocolate coins and said she loves playing with her dreidel.  She told me how she wants to get the gimel. 

This is such a happy time of year!

Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish friends in Illinois, in Israel (that means you, Dina) and around the world.

Weight Gain Check

I checked my weight a few nights ago and discovered I'd gained six pounds!  SIX pounds!  On me, it's always around the middle, NEVER on top.  That middle pot, I mean part is a fat magnet. 

Because I'm not tall and the rest of me... wrists, neck, ankles are thin people think I don't have to watch my weight.  I do.  I am pre-diabetic and my cholesterol and triglyceride levels have to be carefully watched.  When my weight goes up, so do those levels.

At my last check up Kathy, my nurse practitioner/primary care manager was not pleased at the results of my blood tests after all our rather decadent food type travel this year.  She gave me three months to fix myself.

Art and I usually check our weight almost daily. He checks to make sure he's not losing too much from his running and I check ... well... you know why.   I'd stopped checking and this is what happens!  Granted, I checked my weight at night which is when its heaviest.  They say it's better to check in the morning.  It's actually good for me to check more often because it warns me that I need to change what I'm doing.  This link at MedicineNet.com is a great site.

I found that standing in front of the computer for too long caused my back to ache a little.  However, when I added movement using the Pandora music, it's made it far better on my joints.

AND... I've already lost a couple of pounds in the last few days.  Four more to go.

It's Christmas Once Again in Hawaii

I'm reposting a cute  Hawaiian Christmas song, It's Christmas Once Again in Honolulu that we get a kick out of.  (Please click on these purple links to hear the songs.)

Interestingly, I found the same song with slightly different lyrics called It's Christmas Once Again in Santa Barbara.  And then there's It's Christmas Once Again in San Francisco.

I wonder how many cities Barry Devorzon sang this song for.

This is our third Christmas back in Hawaii and we're used to Christmas without snow now.  Art and I grew up in the islands, but lived for 35 years in Illinois where things are a bit different in December.  We lived where we could tell it was the holiday season by all the giant menorah lights in front of synagogues  counting down the days before Chanukah and houses everywhere decorated in Christmas lights.  We lived in a close neighborhood so there were a lot of back and forth walking in the snow to get to holiday parties.  There is a certain wonder to walking in lacy falling snow at night with lights twinkling on so many of the houses.

Here in Hawaii, there is another kind of wonder.  For one thing, December is the rainy season as many tourists probably know, and with it are the gorgeous rainbows following you everywhere.  I see this outside my window all the time.

Granted Art is not happy about the clouds preventing energy from getting to his solar panels.

As the song says, we've got a lot of Christmas in our hearts.  Tonight, we're attending a Christmas party where they'll be having lau laus, poke or kalua pork and probably a Hawaiian type dessert.  It will be fabulous fun to spend loving time with these wonderful friends and their family.

We're definitely feeling the holiday spirit!

Pandora Radio

Have you heard of Pandora?  It's a free Internet radio where you can select the sort of music you prefer.  I saw a post about it on someone's blog a long time ago and enjoyed using it.  Then I forgot about it and rediscovered it a couple of days ago.  I play it in the background on my computer while I work.  It's great!

The music makes me move while I stand in front of my computer.  Granted, sometimes it distracts me, but it makes me happy.  You might like it too.

I think Art is wondering why there's so much Josh Groban suddenly coming from my room.

I Like Fizz!

I have a feeling it's because of his days working at his parents' restaurant/soda fountain on the Big Island, but every time I buy my Perrier or San Pellegrino sparkling water at Costco, Art's eyebrows shoot up.  He just can't understand why I can't drink plain water all the time and why I would spend extra money to buy water with co2 in it for my mother and me to have with our dinner every other night.  

"We used to make our own sodas at The Sweet Shoppe all the time and it was cheap," he kept insisting.  "This is a waste of money."


So I found this in wikipedia for him.

"Carbonated water is a negligible cause of dental erosion; also known as acid erosion. While the dissolution potential of sparkling water is greater than that of still water, it is quite low. In comparison, carbonated soft drinks cause tooth decay at a rate several hundred times that of sparkling water.

Intake of carbonated beverages has not been associated with increased bone fracture risk in observational studies, and the net effect of carbonated beverage constituents on the amount of calcium in the body is negligible.   

Carbonated water eases the symptoms of indigestion (dyspepsia) and constipation, according to a study in the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

A 2004 article in the Journal of Nutrition found that fizzy waters with higher sodium levels reduced cholesterol levels and the risk of cardiovascular problems in postmenopausal women."

Then, while we were walking around Bed, Bath and Beyond recently Art saw this SodaStream Soda Maker and figured he'd found the answer he was looking for.

Here's what I found at their website:

SodaStream Genesis Soda Maker turns water into soda in seconds. Just fizz, flavor and enjoy. It is quick and easy. With SodaStream you'll save on lugging, storing and disposing of bottles and cans of store-bought soda. You can fizz and flavor to your taste, without high fructose corn syrup or aspartame. Sweetened with Splenda®. Enjoy regular, diet soda and energy drinks, or create your own seltzer or flavored sparkling water. The slim design of the unit, measuring only 5" W x 8" D x 17" H, will fit easily on any counter and is perfect for even the smallest kitchens. It features an automatic access gas release mechanism, customized carbonation level and an easy to clean drip tray. It needs no batteries, electricity or plumbing. Starter kit includes home soda maker, one reusable 60-liter co2 carbonator, two reusable, BPA-free carbonating bottles plus a flavor sampler pack. Two-year warranty.

Art researched this and said it had gotten good reviews.  You have to buy those reusable carbonators (about $22.00 a canister) that are supposed to make up to 60 liters of carbonated water.  Then again, what if this is just a fad and they end up no longer selling those co2 canisters?

Whatever the case, we were able to get it at Bed, Bath and Beyond with our 20% off coupon plus an in store manufacturer's rebate.  The box is sitting under our tree.

OK... first the walking poles, now this sparkling water maker.  Looks like these are our holiday gifts to ourselves for the year... But wait,  we did also buy a couple of really discounted noise cancelling headphones for airplane travel at Costco that Art also wanted.

OK... that should be it. 

What has come over us? 

Nordic Walking Poles for a Non-Skier

Renee is Art's cousin and therefore happily mine too.  She encouraged me to try Zumba Gold just down the street.  She comes to our house every Monday and Friday and walks with me to class.  I've met so many nice women at this class that I'm truly grateful.

A week ago, Renee showed me her nordic walking poles that she'd gotten a couple of years ago.  I noticed that it really helped her walk faster, have better posture and seemed to make it easier for her to walk.

Art bought me a pair online and I tried it for the first time a few days ago.  It's quite fun to use.  I get the sensation of pushing myself along.
 
However, I do have a tendency to get adhesive capsilitis or tendinitis on my shoulder. I'm hoping the poles won't aggravate them.

Art will get anything to push me out there to exercise. 

Uh... oh... raining again.  I don't want to get my new poles wet.

Out of My Chair

I did a post a while ago about recent studies showing that sitting for long periods in a chair is bad for you.  It can create obesity, cause diabetes, heart disease and heaven knows what else.  Whatever the case, sitting in a chair is supposed to be bad for you.

I've been working on our scanning project which forces me to sit for a long time.

Therefore I decided to try elevating my keyboard a little and stand while I scan.  It wasn't comfortable and the keyboard was in a precarious position.

Then I had this great idea.  My folding table has legs that elongate.  The legs can telescope high enough enabling me to stand comfortably and still use the keyboard properly.

While the scanner is scanning, I can even do a few zumba moves.  Not bad.

I do get tired faster.  I know I'm losing more calories.

Let's see how long I can stand this.

Lemon Tree

Meyer Lemon #1

 We've not been super successful with our plantings, but the one thing that's been really bearing is the Meyer Lemon tree.

We were told to plant the Meyer lemon at the nursery because they said it bore the sweetest, juiciest fruit.  It does.

We planted one first in the back but it doesn't produce a whole lot since it doesn't get as much direct sun.

Meyer Lemon #2

Then my brother, Dennis planted one for mom in the front when we were still on the mainland since she said she needed more lemons to make her much requested Lemon Chicken.  This tree produces a bumper crop.

Dennis comes over weekly to pick up his bag of lemons that mom picks for him.  He likes lemonade.  The tree seems to bear fruit all year long with brief rests in between.  It really amazes me.

Art is dying to plant a miniature mango tree somewhere, but everyone shudders and advises him not to because they produce so much yard waste and grow too quickly.   Then he thought he'd try avocado and again everybody told him not to.  We have a very small property.  He's not thrilled with having two lemon trees.  What do you do with lemons besides sticking slices in water?  We don't make desserts because we avoid sweets.  So what else can you do with them?

It's My Fault

People have been wishing Art luck on doing the Honolulu Marathon which was held yesterday.

Art did not run, and yes it's my fault.  I told him I didn't want him to do it.  It scares me to see him out there in the hot sun running for 26+ miles.

Didn't the Marathon start in Greece when that fellow ran that far to bring a message and then dropped dead?  I got this from MarathonGuide.com. 

So I invoke the spirit of the soldier/messenger Phidippides who, according to Greek legend, ran from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens after a heavily outnumbered Greek force defeated invading Persians in a historic battle for democracy. Unfortunately, as the story goes, Phidippides dropped dead after proclaiming, "Nike!" (victory) over the Persians.

 Well, I couldn't stand the worry.  I'm sure my brother was happy to get that extra sleep yesterday morning, not having to wake up at 3:30 AM (the Marathon starts at 5 AM) to bring us to Honolulu and follow the marathon route to check on Art.

A compromise was reached.  I agreed that the 1/2 Marathon might be OK so he signed up for that right away.


We went to the Honolulu Marathon Expo at the Convention Center to pick up Art's early sign-up t-shirt and buy some energy gels. 

 The 1/2 Marathon Hapalua will be on March 11, 2012.

 Art is already training for it.  Hopefully Dennis is getting some extra rest until then because that's going to be another early wake-up.

The Angel Tree - 2nd Year

We enjoyed doing the Angel Tree so much last year that we decided to do it again.  The Angel Tree Program is organized by the Salvation Army in Hawaii.

Each angel holds the name, age and their wish of a child 12 years or younger or a senior 55 and older.

Last year, we had a difficult time finding a particular piggy bank that a little child wanted.  We went to every store we could think of, but nobody had it.

This time, we got on the cellphone with our daughter, Tiffany in Chicago and asked her which toy would be easier to find.

Art and mom at Toys R Us

We each chose a child and went off to Toys R Us.  We found the garbage truck, a Dora doll set and stainless steel kitchen supplies that our three children wished for.

It was such a wonderful feeling knowing that we were able to help three little ones who were having a difficult holiday season.

 I'm looking forward to showing our little granddaughter what toys we got those children because I know she's going to feel good about it too.

Once our shopping spree was done we went to mom's favorite Gyotaku restaurant for lunch.  Just before our food arrived, our son, Jon called and we had a lovely chat.  He's been so busy we hadn't heard from him in a long time.  Everything we ordered was extra delicious today.

Then we went home and took a nap.  It was a good day... a great day!