Pill Too Big to Swallow

I've always had the worst, absolute worst time swallowing pills. I remember in college when a nurse tried to teach me how to swallow pills. Nothing worked and I think I ended up with a shot.

Several years later, I did manage to learn a trick to get me to swallow pills. I have to fool myself into thinking I'm swallowing food. I'll eat something and in the middle of my meal, I stick the pill in my mouth and swallow. Somehow my throat thinks I'm eating food and will allow the food to go down.

This has worked so well that I've been able to swallow a multivitamin without a problem. When I saw this Ultra Women's Silver vitamin I figured I could do it since I've been taking the Centrum Silver just fine.

Wrong.

The pill is HUGE! They should put a real life size picture on the bottle so you know what you're buying. I've tried and tried, but my throat is absolutely rebelling.

I also tried a pill cutter, but the pill is so fat that cutting it in half doesn't make it small enough.


Art, on the other hand can swallow horse pills just fine. He doesn't even have to trick himself. He just sticks it in his mouth, tilts his head back, takes a swig of water and down it slides! He has decided that rather than waste the rather expensive pills, he would take them.

If people start noticing his voice sounding an octave higher, you'll know why.

Dessert for Mom

I read Mare's blog, Zoaring With Glinda yesterday. She wrote about getting her 98 year old mom mini ice cream cones in the middle of the night. It got me thinking after dinner that my mom would love to have some ice cream, too.

We went to Costco this evening to do a little shopping and picked up their frozen yogurt. Mom loved it! As a matter of fact, I loved it. Maybe it wasn't the healthiest thing, but hey! It was calcium.

And it was fun!

Techie Brothers: Worth Their Weight in Gold and Bytes

We actually bought a Blu-ray player yesterday! We were looking for a tape cassette-radio for my mother because her old one broke and she's got a shoebox full of tapes that she loves to listen to.

Anyway, there we were at Best Buy and saw that the Blu-ray was on sale. The sales associate was such a nice fellow and he told us how this Sony Blu-ray would stream Netflix movies wirelessly to the player. No kidding? We wouldn't have to wait at the mailbox for the movies to come? Nope, it would just stream in. How amazing is that?

Last night we opened the box and started the set-up. Art carefully read all the directions. I checked on Netflix to see how we were supposed to tie the two systems together. We needed to get the Blu-ray to connect to our wireless router which is connected to our computer which is connected to our Internet modem.

We tried and tried for over an hour getting the Connection FAILURE message, and finally gave up and went to bed contemplating our options. Option #1: Return the Blu-ray to Best Buy and forget it. Option #2: Return the player and wait for our son-in-law to arrive in December. He was our computer doctor on the mainland. Option #3: Take a hammer to the Blu-ray and scream.

I called my brother, Dennis this morning. I'm glad he was awake, and told him our problem. He came over, checked the Internet for instructions, did a computer hocus pocus and incredibly, magically, fantastically got it to work! How the heck did he do this?

"It wasn't bad," he said. "Think like a computer. You just have to get the Blu-ray player to hand-shake with the router so that they can recognize one another. Then you get the code for Netflix so that they can all work together...."

"Stop!" I said. "You're making my head hurt!"

Then he tells me, "I like to just watch Netflix movies instantly on my computer because the rest of the family don't appreciate the movies I like to watch sometimes."

"What?!?" I was incredulous. "You can watch Netflix instantly on your computer?"

"Didn't you know?" he laughed. "No... You're not telling me you didn't know? Everybody knows that."

Sigh... Nope, not everybody.

So now everything is connected and humming! We can watch some movies instantly on TV or on the computer anywhere in the house and we don't have to wait for movies to come in the mail. (Granted there aren't a whole lot of great instant streaming movies available.)

I'm still in awe of the technology today... if you can just manage to find a relative who has that gift to commmunicate with computers. I'm counting my blessings.

And to be perfectly honest, Dennis was actually Option #1!

Hawaii Wins the (U.S.) Little League World Series!

Is this incredible or what? Not only did the Waipio team win the U.S. championships this year, but they won two years ago in 2008 as well. Is it the coaching? Is it the year round practice time that they can have here in the islands? Maybe it's all the good island food.

Wow!

I am not a real sports fan. It's true. I admit it. I'm a fair weather fan. I was all for the Bulls, the Bears and the Cubs when they were winning. Otherwise, I don't know what's going on.

Art, on the other hand loves it ALL. And our kids must have gotten that sports gene from him because they love it, too.

I did however, love baseball when my son, Jon was playing Little League. I have one fun memory of him during one of his games. He was stealing home from 3rd base when the pitcher threw the ball to the catcher to tag Jon. The catcher was crouched down preparing to tag Jon as he slid to home plate. Jon, however actually jumped over the catcher to make it home safely. There was a frantic check of the rule books by all the coaches, and Jon was declared safe. I remember how happy we all were.

I'm just imagining how euphoric all those Hawaii Little League parents out there in Pennsylvania are.

Wow!

I wish I were there, too.

And here's one of my favorite songs by Peter, Paul and Mary. It's called Right Field. I know I've posted this before, but I love hearing it again. It brings back such happy Little League memories.

POSTSCRIPT: U.S. (Waipio) lost to Japan 4-1 on Sunday. It was disappointing. They may not be the World Champs, but these champions will always be #1 to us!

Tour Guides for a Day

In order to avoid the traffic, we left home at 9:00 this morning and headed toward Waikiki to pick up Art's friend from his E.P.A. days, Ray and his wife, Rose. Did we avoid the bumper to bumper chaos? Nope! The traffic was still awful! We found out later in the evening that it was because the University of Hawaii has begun the school year.

Once into Waikiki we got caught up in the one-way streets and took a little more time driving around in circles until we could pick Ray and Rose up near their hotel.


We made our way to the Iolani Palace. The guided tour costs $20.00 a person, $15.00 for Kamaainas (locals). We had to put cloth booties over our shoes and put away our cameras, gum, candy, etc. once we entered this door. We also had to turn off our cellphones.


Our docent was wonderful and made history come alive for us. We enjoyed the tour very much. The Iolani Palace was built in 1882 by King Kalaukaua and is the only royal palace in the United States.


We saw the Royal Hawaiian Band practicing outside the palace.


Across the street at Ali'iolani Hale (Hawaii State Supreme Court) we could see the gold leafed statue of King Kamehameha I.

On the other side of the Iolani Palace is the State Capital.

We drove to our home and grabbed a quick lunch. Time was limited because they needed to be back at their hotel by 3:00.



After lunch, Ray was able to see Art's renovation progress at our home. We hurried as much as we could, and headed out to Waipahu for Plantation Village. We began to see that there wasn't enough time so we stopped at the Filipino Community Center instead since both Ray and Rose were born in the Philippines.

Back on the road we headed back to Waikiki and got there in time for Ray and Rose to freshen up for their evening engagement.

We got back on the highway and came to a traffic standstill. It was like a giant, endless parking lot. Holey Moley! We inched our way through town and made it home exhausted.

It's going to be an early evening for us. As tiring as it was, we sure did have a lovely time with Ray and Rose. I can't believe we only managed to tour the Iolani Palace. I guess we won't go into the tour guiding business any time soon.

Places to See on Oahu?

One of Art's also-retired co-workers from the U.S.E.P.A. in Chicago is here on Oahu. We'll be taking them around tomorrow. They've been here before, but haven't seen the Iolani Palace so that's where we'll take them. We're considering the Plantation Village in Waipahu as well. That's where they have all the different types of sugar plantation houses that were built for the different cultures that arrived in Hawaii to work the fields.

So what else is there on Oahu?

Here's my list for anybody coming to Oahu (Grouped by location, but you know what I said about my sense of direction):

Waikiki:
Diamond Head (You can walk up, if you like hiking in the hot sun.)
Waikiki (International Marketplace, the beach, Duke Kahanamoku statue)
Honolulu Zoo (can't compare with the mainland zoos, but they have a, as in one lion now)
Waikiki Aquarium (I've not been here since I was little, and that's a long time ago.)
Ala Moana Shopping Center (You can walk there, if you like walking in the hot sun.)

Honolulu:
Doris Duke's Shangrila home (Discover how the richest of the rich used to live. They probably still do, but I don't know where they are.)
Honolulu Academy of Arts
Punchbowl Cemetery
Tantalus Look-Out (You can see a whole lot of the leeward side of the island from up there.)
Iolani Palace (It's been renovated beautifully and is the only royal palace in the U.S. last time I checked.)
State Capital (It's sort of shaped like a volcano.)
King Kamehameha statue
Mission Houses Museum
Chinatown (I haven't been there in ages.)
Bishop Museum (It's been recently renovated.)

Foster Gardens (It's compact, but I really like that place. It's shaded.)
Discovery Center in Kakaako (We're taking our granddaughter there next time they come. Everybody tells me it's great for kids. Not cheap, but fun they say. Hey, this is Hawaii. Not a lot of cheap stuff here. OK... there is the beach... That's cheap, but how long can you sit there?)

The Windward Side (I call it the Other Side):
Sea Life Park (can't compare with the mainland aquariums)
Pali Look-Out (You go there for the WIND and imagining how awful it must have been when so many people died being pushed over the cliff by the conquering warriors of King Kamehameha who unified the islands.)
Hanauma Bay (Be mindful of the hours and limited parking. I remember when Tif was little and freaked out by all the big fishes swarming around her.)
Byodo-In Temple (They filmed part of Lost there.)
Polynesian Cultural Center (This place could take up your whole day. It's not cheap, but gives you a wonderful overview of the Polynesian cultures.)
Blow Hole
Endless beaches

North Shore:
Haleiwa (Matsumoto's does NOT have the best shave ice on the island.)
Endless beaches

Pearl Harbor:
Arizona Memorial
Battleship Missouri Memorial
Bowfin Submarine Museum (never been there, but I have a discount coupon)

Aloha Stadium Swap Meet (Wed, Sat, Sun: Tif's favorite place and the most reasonable place to buy tourist souvenirs--Oh, and you have to like walking in the hot sun.)

Middle of the Island:
Dole Plantation (check out different kinds of pineapples and ride the little train, maybe walk the maze if you like walking in hot sun)
Wahiawa Botanical Gardens (need bug spray)

Leeward:
Plantation Village

For tourists from Japan:
Waikele Discount Mall (especially the Coach outlet and the best shave ice on the island..so far)

Hitachi Tree (Moanalua Gardens)

Did I miss something important?

Don't forget to always pack your sun screen because there's a lot of sun here. I write this as I listen to the pouring rain outside my window.

A Charmed Life?

A blogger friend wrote that I have a "charmed life." My eyebrows went up. I certainly don't think so.

On the other hand, Art thinks he's been awfully lucky. He had an idyllic childhood growing up in a small town where he was much loved by everybody although he does say he had dishwater hands from working at the family restaurant.

My life wasn't so perfect, but I prefer not to think about the unhappiness and try to focus on the positive. Also it's good to keep some things to myself. My son keeps warning me not to expose so much on the Internet.

Whatever the case, my life improved 100% when I met Art. It's true. I'll give the man that much credit. He helped me grow, understand and forgive.

I am grateful for what I have. I keep remembering the quote that's been attributed to Gandhi but nobody seems to know who said it for sure.

"I was sad because I had no shoes. Then I saw a man who had no feet."

Movie and a Dinner

I saw Gigi-Hawaii's movie review for Mao's Last Dancer. It is the story of a Chinese ballet dancer, Li Cunxin who defects to the west. We'd also seen an interview in the Star Advertiser of the dancer from Hawaii who plays Li Cunxin's first wife. However, a movie review in the Sunday paper gave the movie only 2.5 stars. It had nothing really bad to say about it, but gave it low marks anyway.

Art and I decided to make a day of it. We stopped by the police station and dropped off some cucumber pickles that my mom wanted to make for her favorite son. Then we drove to Kahala Mall to see the movie. There were quite a few people for the 2:15 matinee. I wanted to make sure we were getting the senior discount as Art was paying. Ummm... she'd already given it to us. What? Didn't she want to check my ID?

I see why the movie got a 2.5 rating. There are no real antagonists. The movie is adapted from Li Cunxin's book and he doesn't relate anything really bad about anybody. There's no tension in the movie, just a lot of good feelings about overcoming adversities to become one of the world's best dancers. I'd love to meet him. He sounds like a great guy. I can see why he is a motivational speaker. I loved seeing the beautiful ballet sequences. My mother was sobbing at the end and pronounced the movie absolutely, totally wonderful!

Since we wanted to avoid the rush hour traffic on the way home, we stopped in Kaimuki and went to the Maguro (Japanese) restaurant again for dinner. My mother hadn't been there in a long while since it's so far from where we live. (We're used to Hawaii distances now.) We all had the teishoku butterfish and loved it.


Then we headed home and my mother pronounced it an excellent day! This rainbow followed us home. I love happy endings.

Some days are like this.

Separation Anxiety

I just read an article in the Honolulu Star Advertiser that some colleges are now staging "parting ceremonies." "Some undergraduate officials see in parents' separation anxieties evidence of the excesses of modern child-rearing. Dougharty and other student-life officials encourage parents to detach--not just drop-off, throughout the freshman year, including limiting phone calls and text messages."

I take it some parents are being overbearing and not allowing their children to become self-sufficient.

I found this quite interesting. I do remember how hard it was to drop my first born off at the University of Illinois. I do believe I went in with a pail and cleaning supplies and cleaned Tif's dorm room so she'd be germ free (just the first day!). I like to think I let her go without making it a big deal. She'd remember better than me. She's always been so independent that I imagine she would have chafed if we tried to do too much anyway.

Jon leaving was a little easier because we'd been through it once before. However, he went farther to Delaware. I remember Jon calling to say he'd like to come back for Thanksgiving and Art asked me why. He was surprised that Jon would want to come back. And yet, in the end, Jon was the one to cut apron strings faster and with more resolve traveling much farther, striking out on his own path.

Art left home after high school for Bradley University in Illinois. He never went home to the Big Island. There just wasn't enough money. He worked at the university in the summer and picked up more courses.

I went to the University of Hawaii, but I don't remember going home much. I stayed at the dorm and eventually, an apartment close by. There were no computers back then for e-mails. It was either a phone call or letter. In Art's case, a phone call would have been very expensive. In my case, my parents expected me to be grown up by the time I graduated from high school. It was a whole different mind set.

I suppose technology must make it even more difficult to separate from your children. It's something to think about.

Hmmm... I haven't heard from Tif in a couple of days. I need to send her an e-mail... or maybe Skype.

Hawaiian Politics

Hawaii is in the heat of the gubernatorial race right now. Neil Abercrombie or Mufi Hannemann. A flyer was circulated by the Hannemann camp showing the fact that Hannemann is married to a Japanese-American while Abercrombie has a Haole (Caucasian) wife. Hanneman was the Mayor of Honolulu and Neil Abercrombie was a representative in the U.S. House. One of the big things that the Hannemann videos tout is that he is local, born and raised.

Hannemann has pushed rail and I'm all for rail. Traffic is a nightmare here. However, he is going to veto Civil Unions while Abercrombie is for it.


Here's a photo of mom with Mufi Hannemann when he was first running for mayor. I really liked meeting him. He's a very nice fellow and I think he tries to get along with all sides. (Mom laughs every time she sees this photo because Mufi makes her look even shorter.)


And here's Neil. I've never met him.

I don't know who I'm going to vote for yet (another decision!) but I am for Civil Unions. I am for rail.

I don't care who they're married to.

Ever since we moved back to Hawaii I noticed a LOT of the haole politicians have Asian-American wives. It kind of, sort of made me wonder if when they were deciding to have a political career, thought to themselves...Hmmmm.... I'd better find me a local looking wife.

But, then again... that's being sort of cynical, hunh?

Art just said, "Shame on you. That IS being cynical."

One Decision: Done!

Believe it or not, we have made a decision on one thing. After two years, we've decided on a bedroom furniture set! I can hardly believe it! Our children will probably fall off their chairs. They are very familiar with how long it takes us to make a decision. You should watch us at a Burger King counter. It used to drive the kids nuts.

The problem we had was in buying an Eastern King mattress. Hawaii has mostly California Kings. However, because Art goes to bed a lot earlier than me, I thought we should get the wider Eastern mattress that would have enough room so that I wouldn't disturb him.

There are very few Eastern King bedroom sets and even fewer that we like. Then I had an idea. Why not see if we can buy a bed frame at Slumber World and then try going next door to Home World and see if we can find a bedroom set to match?

Incredibly, we have come pretty close, I think. Irene, our sales associate at Home World took a drawer from the cherry wood set and we walked over together to Slumber World and checked on the color match with their Eastern King platform frame. It was Slumber World's Karene who suggested we do this. Woo hoo! It worked. Well, it worked with the floor model. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the furniture delivered will also match as nicely. (And yes, the bedroom set was on sale. Were you wondering?)

We'll be getting the night stands next week, but the rest of the furniture won't get here until November-January. That's the price we pay for living in Hawaii.

It's taken us two years to make this decision and I sure am glad it's over!

Now... for the other stuff. Sigh. I wonder how long it will take us to get this move to Hawaii completed.

Religious Freedom and Prejudice

I just heard in the news that 18% of Americans think President Obama is of the Muslim faith, never mind the flack he had with Reverend Jeremiah Wright (his Chicago minister). Today, only 34% think he is Christian. Good grief!

Good grief! Good grief! I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised that our country is falling behind in education. I used to be surprised when Jay Leno would interview people on the streets who thought Abraham Lincoln was the president during the American Revolution. We are becoming a nation getting our information from talk radio or Christian Tea Party type leaders who are giving out a lot of misinformation.

It's scary, very scary. Sarah Palin scares me.

You've got people who are condemning President Obama for correctly stating that our Constitution protects our religious freedom.... not the Christian religion, not the Muslim religion, not the Buddhist religion, but ALL religion. Our country is great because we are free to worship as we feel is right for us.

And yet 33% of Americans do not think Muslims have a Constitutional right to build a mosque near the World Trade Center site.


There was a time, not so long ago that Japanese Americans were all rounded up and put into Interment camps. Most of them lost their livelihood and their properties during their internment. All this because once Japan invaded, no one of Japanese ancestry could be trusted. Unfortunately, it wasn't just the Japanese Americans that suffered, but many Asian Americans because well... what can I say? Many Caucasians think we all look alike.

America needs to really improve our educational system and stress tolerance and understanding or we will end up very much possessing the traits of the people we've come to hate and fear. Many of those people who we call our enemy look at us with that same hate and fear.

Sorry for the sad Friday post.
I'm really worried.

Solar Photovoltaic Systems

When we went to the Home Builders Show this past Sunday Art made appointments with several Solar Photovoltaic companies. I am not good at understanding the minutiae of different electrical systems. My brain just short circuits.

Hawaii seems to be a great place to put up solar cells that would collect solar energy and convert it to electricity. The problem in all this is the initial outlay of cash. However, I've learned that you can get a 35% tax credit with the state of Hawaii and a 30% tax credit from your Federal (up to a certain amount).

Your savings each year in energy consumption would pay for the remainder of your outlay in about 5-7 years depending on what you currently use.

OK... so far, so good. I got that much.

The first consultant we heard from on Tuesday from Company #1 was Brian. (There's a whole lot of companies out here.) I really liked Brian. He really helped us understand the tax benefits and the configuration of the system. However, there was a problem with the angle of the back roof where we wanted to put it, and it would cost 30% more to put it on braces to tilt toward the sun. He felt it should go on the higher part of the roof and we could get a maintenance contract to clean the panels and maintain the wires for $600-$1,000 a year. Ummmm... We have a lot of pigeon poop around us because our neighbor feeds the pigeons every morning and the birds love to use our roof as a resting area and a convenient toilet. AND if you pay that much in maintenance of the system, where's the cost savings?

Today we heard from Company #2. I liked Shane and Julian, too. They had a lot more advanced technology where they were able to input the angle of the sun, tilt of the roof, angle of the rest of the house shading it, etc. to determine whether our back roof was viable or not. They said we didn't even need braces. It was sounding better and better. Their solar cells were also supposed to be a lot more efficient. However... of course there's a however. HOWEVER, they cost about $7,000.00 more. So it would take a couple more years for payback of the initial outlay. He says it should last 40 years and I'll want the money then in energy savings.

I told him in 40 years I highly doubt I'll be worrying about my electrical needs.

Tomorrow, we've got Company #3 coming and Art is even thinking of calling another company he read about. Aaack! This is making buying a bedroom set sound easy. Sheesh!

Wild and Wonderful Wednesday!

It's been an insane day!
Got up early for a mammogram at Tripler Army Hospital. No problem.
Went to the Base Exchange pharmacy to pick up my meds.
Went shopping for food at the commissary.
Back home to drop off groceries.
Went out again to my aunt and uncle's house to pick up a book. She had mangoes for us which we couldn't take because it would cook in our car.


Next stop was Slumber World. We decided to look for our bed frame there since very few stores carry an Eastern King frame.

Then we went to Home World to see what kind of bedroom furniture they had. We have to find furniture that would match the frame we saw at Slumber World. We did see a possibility.


Back on the road and across the highway to Sears. Looked at treadmills. Got more confused.
Got a new watch battery for Art's jogging watch. That was easier.
Back to my aunt and uncle's house for the yummy mangoes they saved for us.

Crashed... I mean I took a nap... a little one.

Got dressed and went to Don Quixote Supermarket to look for flowers with Art and Mom.


Got hit by traffic going into Honolulu. This is why people prefer the outer islands.
Visited the Nuuanu Memorial Park to bring flowers for my grandmother and father's graves for the Obon season.


Met my nephew, Barry and his wife Miho and my brother Dennis and my sister-in-law, Nancy at the Himalayan Kitchen in Kaimuki.


They were all treating Art and me to a belated birthday dinner celebration. This has been the best birthday. We've been celebrating our birthdays for the past month. Yae!

The curry samosa and garlic nan were fabulous! However, my mother and I got full from eating these delectable appetizers.


It was great being together again. The Himalayan Kitchen was quite packed despite the fact that it was a weekday.


I fully intended to take photos of the food when it first arrived so you could see how it looked, but everybody was so hungry, I totally forgot and we dove into the food.

What a terrific day!

People ask us what we do since we're retired. I'm never quite sure what to answer except that somehow we've managed to keep busy.

A Very Veggie Birthday!

One of my wonderful high school friends (and college roommate), Jo just stopped by with a belated birthday veggie tray. What a surprise! She'd been on an Alaskan cruise and had me transfixed with stories of their fun adventure. Crab, bacon, waffles, fabulous desserts, chocolate bar, lobster...

Oh, and then there were the scenery and glaciers, too. I've told Art we have got to go. I wonder if I can convince my mom to go. Maybe if I mention the chocolate table?

Everybody seems to be doing the cruise. My cousin just came back from the Alaskan cruise and then sent his mother and sister because he enjoyed it so much. I know there was somebody else who also went. Are we the only people who've never been on a cruise?

What's even more amazing is that Jo lost a bit of weight; so did her husband, and he ate the bacon, the lobster, the desserts... sigh...

It was extra sweet of Jo to bring a veggie tray gift instead of a sweet thing since we've been rather inundated with sweets which has caused the triglyceride problem for me.

OK... now then... that cruise... Jo says it wasn't very, very expensive....

And there was that chocolate table...
Jo says there were lots of ways to exercise the calories away on the ship. Hmmmm...

Guy Stuff

Sunday was actually not too hectic. We met my brother, Dennis in Honolulu and went to the Building Industry Association Home Show. Art wanted to check out the latest in energy saving home improvements. He especially wanted to learn about solar panels that use solar energy and reduce your energy consumption considerably... at least that's what they say. It's important because you get a big tax break this year on energy saving installations.


Dennis might be my brother, but he's got more in common with Art when it comes to building stuff and interest in technology. The two of them were visiting all the booths almost as if they were chocolate stands.


I was getting hungry and Art managed to sign up for about 6 home visits to give us estimates. Yikes! Why do I think this is going to put my (I mean OUR) bedroom set on the back burner?


After I finally managed to pull them along to the Exit, we went to the Ala Moana Shopping Center Food Court to pick up lunch. We ended up at Panda Express.


The two of them got the small bowl. For a dollar extra I got the plate. Yes, I know I look like a hog, but I really didn't eat all of it. Honest. Art ate some of it and I brought the rest home for dinner.

Funerals Here and There

We attended the funeral of his classmate yesterday afternoon. This is the long ago friend who passed away suddenly while Art and his classmates all gathered around him.

I was one of the few spouses who attended with the group of Honokaa classmates. I had several observations.

They were a truly warm and friendly group. Art thought maybe it's because they all grew up in a small town where everybody tended to know each other. I was surprised to learn that one of Art's classmates taught at my high school around my younger brother's time. It's even more surprising that so many of them now live in our neighborhood, considering they're from the Big Island.

Their late friend's widow stopped by and let them know how much she appreciated their coming and how special it was for her husband to pass away while he was in the warm and loving company of his childhood friends. She was grateful that they were there to help and support her at the time also.

I loved meeting all of Art's childhood friends. They told me he was a "good boy" growing up. How bad could he be since they trusted him to be the class treasurer? What I loved most was their inviting me into their happy group and letting me know that they expected me to join their next regular get-together.

Another observation I made was the big difference in Hawaii versus Mainland funerals. On the mainland, when someone passes away everybody brings flowers and food to the house. Cards are sent. There is a visitation and funeral where people pay their respects and do their best to bring solace to the family.

In Hawaii, there is the same visitation and funeral. However, after the funeral there is a huge, incredible buffet. Huge. Last nights' dinner buffet was amazing! There were so much leftovers that their friend's widow insisted we all bring food home. Another Hawaii difference is we all enclose money with our sympathy cards. It stems from the Japanese custom of giving "koden" which is money given at funerals. It's supposed to help with funeral expenses. (Have you seen how much those wreaths cost?) The funerals are also times for family and friends who haven't seen each other in a long time to get together.

Maybe that isn't so different from the Mainland.

The pastor said that funerals are for the living, not really for the person who is no longer there.

I think it's true.

Diddle Diddle Dumpling My Son Jon

Diddle diddle dumpling my son Jon,
Went to bed with his stockings on,
One shoe on and one shoe off,
Diddle diddle dumpling my son Jon.

My son, Jon was a dumpling. He's not a dumpling anymore. It wasn't easy raising him. He tested our patience in so many ways and went through a million different phases in his young life, not to mention cuts, broken bones, bumps and bruises.

My mother-in-law called him Gentle Jon and he was. He still is. Unlike our daughter who tried to be responsible and a young lady we'd always be proud of (let's forget that little phase in middle school), Jon had to chart new boundaries. However, at his core was this soft and gentle little boy who stared out at us at unguarded moments.

The first question people would ask us was, "What's Jon up to these days?"

Through all the adventures of his youth he's come through as a young man we are proud of. He's traveled the world, worked in different countries, been a Peace Corps Volunteer, a fire fighter, and constantly questioned and argued about the status quo, testing the borders of his abilities. Yes, he lived up to his namesake, Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

When these photos were taken we were still trying to wean him away from chewing on diapers. It was such a long time ago... but it seems like yesterday.

I wish I knew then that I didn't have to worry about the diaper, and that he'd turn out just fine.

Granted, he is presently on some wild five day hike in a forest in Wyoming and probably planning to climb some mountain. Art and I bought him a GPS unit so he wouldn't get lost this time.

What? Me worry?
Photo by Dave Au, Photographer Extraordinaire

Getting Off My Butt

I went to my nurse practitioner yesterday. Kathy is fabulous! I was sure my glucose and A1c were going to be horrible. You could have knocked me over with a feather when she said it was stable. No change.

However, my cholesterol had jumped up along with my triglycerides. What the heck! OK, the triglycerides are affected by sugar and carbs, but why didn't my glucose go up also? I don't get it.

She wanted me to go on a higher dose of Lipitor to get my cholesterol and triglycerides down, but I promised to get back to my walking. Therefore she's giving me a reprieve until November. I've got three months to walk.

She says it will help the back butt pain, too. That was a surprise. I was trying not to move it too much. She says I need to get out there and move.

The problem is I've been totally consumed with the scanning, organizing and formatting of my mother's genealogy (over 200 new photos from Japan that my grandmother had)as well as Art's mother's and father's photos and genealogy. It's been an obsession since the start of the year. I was also working on scanning our own family photos. This means I've been on my butt a whole lot and not doing much of anything else. I can't even get to my regular blogging visits lately... mostly in spurts.

So...OK then... At least I don't have to do the needle pricks again. I just need to move... sigh...

By the way... Did anybody see the Perseid Meteor Shower? Art and I actually went out to a park tonight to get away from street lamp lights and stare at the sky. Nothing.

Sushi and Sashimi

I saw a panel in the comic strip section today, again confusing sashimi for sushi. This is far from the first time and I wince everytime I see it.

Thus, for everyone's edification I would like to clarify the meaning.

Sashimi is the raw fish delicacy that to be honest, I'm not entirely fond of. I might be the only one in the family who doesn't absolutely love it.

Sushi is vinegared and sugared rice, rolled or molded with vegetables and/or some kind of seafood (hmmm... I think they might also use Spam in Hawaii). I happen to love sushi, but am not supposed to eat more than a couple at a time or my blood glucose goes through the roof.


There's a difference between Korean sushi and Japanese sushi as well. The Korean sushi is not flavored with sugar and vinegar like the Japanese sushi. Therefore Korean sushi would probably be healthier for me. Maybe then I could eat 3 pieces?

Self Control

Our sweet neighbor's daughter came to visit from the mainland and brought over a HUGE guava chiffon cake for us. I cut the cake into halves tonight and then served each of us a sixth of a slice for dessert. It was still a huge slice. We'll have the other half of the cake tomorrow because... after all... you can't waste food.

What is the matter with me? I shouldn't be eating this! I shouldn't have eaten all the noodles I ate on Maui either. I shouldn't have eaten the mochi (glutinous rice dessert) or the other cakes, pies, candies, etc. that have been given to me.

I shouldn't, but I did.

I had a blood test yesterday. I'll be seeing my nurse practitioner on Thursday. It won't be good. I haven't been able to exercise for all kinds of reasons. I am pre-diabetic and I was warned that if I didn't turn myself around again, she would have to make me start the blood check everyday.

Sigh...

Not good.

I wonder if she'll give me another chance.

State of Apathy

I just received a questionnaire that Hawaiian Electric wants me to fill out. It is 12 pages long, 11 if you take away the cover page. Are they crazy? Hawaii is notorious for having low voter turn-out. The state has been called apathetic. They didn't even go out in droves to vote for President Obama despite the fact that he is Hawaii's own.

And yet... and yet Hawaiian Electric Company thinks everyone will eagerly take out this 11 page pamphlet and answer questions like: How many cfls do you have in every room of the house? How many tubular fluorescents do you have in each room of the house? What is the size of your water heater? How old is your refrigerator? What is the income level of your household? What is the square footage of your house?

I repeat, are they crazy?

Art just smiled and said, "Well, you just completed it."

I replied, "I also voted."

Do you know that in Hilo, the police actually arrested a census taker?

Good grief!

So I'm wondering how many of these surveys were sent out, how much it cost, how many they get back, what the information was worth and how many trees were destroyed to do this in a supposedly apathetic state.

Are they crazy?

POSTSCRIPT: Oops! I just read the part in the cover letter that said we were randomly chosen, so not everybody will get it. Gosh! I won something else! How do you like that?

Are Wordpress and Blogspot Incompatible?

I've been so up to my ears these past few days and will be for several more, but I wanted to catch up with all my blogging friends tonight. Unfortunately, I'm finding that my computer is having a hard time loading the Wordpress blogs. It's taking forever to show and then when I try to post a comment, it doesn't seem to want to let me.

Gigi uses Wordpress and she says she was having a problem commenting on my Blogspot blog for a while. She said, "I found I cannot comment using OPEN ID, but I can using NAME/URL or ANONYMOUS."

I wonder what's going on... or is it my computer that's being particular?

Injured AGAIN! Arrrghhhh! (or Pain in the Butt!)

Oh for goodness sake! I can't believe it! I am my mother's daughter. Remember when she got her knee injured coming down the stairs and we had to take her to Japan in a wheelchair. She insisted she didn't fall or bang her knee. It just happened.

I believe her.

Yesterday, I was helping Art move a large dresser onto the flooring he had partially laid down. As I lifted one of the drawers from the floor and turned my body at the waist to stand, I felt a shock from below my waist to my left butt. Holey Moley! The pain!

Now I can't bend down without a lot of pain. How in the world can you injure yourself doing almost nothing? Do you realize how many times a day you have to bend? Even going to the bathroom is not fun...well... not that it was fun before, but you know what I mean.

If I need to pick up something from the floor, it's agony. My mother is now having to help me reach for things that are low to the ground. She's finding that a teeny bit humorous. I have to hide my condition from her because she gets so upset if she sees me in any pain.

I have so much to do right now. Doggone it!

POSTSCRIPT: I know it sounds dumb, but it didn't occur to me to take pain killers since I try to stay away from more drugs than I need to take. After reading all your comments I took some Motrin. Wow! It does take the edge off the pain. Thank you, everybody!

Tool Shed Project: Completed!

I can't stand a messy closet. I like my surroundings organized.


BEFORE (Right side): For three years, our tool shed has been a horrible mess after the initial house renovation. We had tools and materials in 4 different places around the house hidden in our bedroom, two closets and in the tool shed. It really bothered me, but there were too many other things to finish first.


AFTER (Right side): Lots of paint, caulk, sanding and shelving really improved the shed.


BEFORE (Left side): We had partially used paint cans all over the place. Once I got it all organized I discovered we had THREE full cans of white gloss trim paint! Sheesh!

How many screw drivers and hammers do you need anyway?


Like any good first grade classroom, I labeled where everything is. Art should have no trouble finding where all his big nails, small nails, big screws, small screws, nuts and bolts, wrenches, pliers, painting equipment, tiling equipment, car wash things, etc. are.


It was such a huge job, but what a great feeling to now KNOW exactly what we have and where it's located in one place.


I don't think it was a huge priority for Art to get this tool shed done, but he does admit it's great to know where all his (and my brother's) tools are. I guess this must be a teacher type idiosyncrasy that I have to know where everything is stored and labeled.