Fall in the Midwest

It's cloudy, cold and rainy today and it's been that way since we arrived.  One thing about weather forecasts on the mainland, they tend to be accurate.  I like watching the weather news in Hawaii, but mostly to laugh because it's rarely correct.  It really depends on which street you live on.  It might be rainy a mile away, but it'll be sunny over your house in Hawaii.  The sun is always shining some place in Hawaii.

So it's rainy here.  It was a rather surreal feeling to be back in the Midwest.  For one thing, there's so many more tall trees, so many more bushes, lots of grass.  It's also fall so trees are changing their colors.  It's glorious, and will be even more so when we're scheduled to have some sun.

I love this flower garden that Tif has created under the weeping cherry tree.

We also noticed this chipmunk tunnel in front of the house.   Chipmunks are cute but the MANY tunnels they've dug are problematic.  They've managed to undermine the concrete walkway and some of the house foundations in the area.

Tif put this plastic snake next to the house to scare them.  It hasn't worked.  I saw one chipmunk stop and laugh at it.

The chipmunks here are just as smart as the mynahs in Hawaii.

KC's 2nd Day of Pre-School

KC saw my blog this morning and found the photos of herself.  "That's me!" she laughed.

I told her that I wrote about her first day of school and how I was impressed that she had three nice teachers in her class.  She was lucky to have so many friends who were happy to see her.  I also told her that I was sad to see how she'd tearfully clung to her mommy's legs and that it wasn't really a nice way to behave at school.  I said I'd be watching how she behaved at school this morning. 

She went into class beautifully and pretty much ignored us as we left, already looking to see what new activity was being set up for the new day.  Tif had several errands to run so Art and I picked her up a couple of hours later. 

KC said she had a great day and played with her good friend, Henry.  His mom told me outside while we were waiting that Henry had sung a song he'd thought up about KC. 

As we were driving home, I told KC that I was really surprised at how she always knew where she was going since I tend to get lost.

"I just look and see what looks familiar," she explained.  "If lots of things look familiar, I know I'm going in the right direction.  I just have to find things to recognize."

Did I tell you that my granddaughter is four years old?  Since when did she start using such big words?  Wasn't it yesterday that we were trying to get her to say, "Mommy?"

I think my mouth dropped open.  Out of the mouth of babes...
"I'm just going to have to pay more attention," I told her.   She nodded knowingly.

Tif says in Singapore, KC even surprised her father with how quickly she managed to navigate her way around their hotel.

I still think a sense of direction is somewhat genetically imprinted.  KC's parents both have an excellent sense of direction. Art does.  Tif knows I can't find my way out of a paper bag.

Well, KC had a great day at school and couldn't wait to show her mom her new artistic creation.  Since KC is happy, we're all happy.

KC's First Day of Pre-School

KC actually missed the first week of pre-school because she and her parents were in Singapore.  They were there to keep her daddy company doing computer techie work.  Tif tells me they had a wonderful time despite the HEAT and humidity in that immaculate city.  Is that the place you get flogged if you drop gum on the street?  Tif says there are cameras everywhere.

Oh oh... I'm getting distracted.

It made me smile to see my little girl dressed to take her daughter to school.  There's a term for women who live north of Chicago.  It's called "Northshore Moms."   Tif says she thinks it's more an insult.  It's to describe women who live in the more affluent areas north of Chicago.  No, they don't live in the affluent area, but seeing her dressed up made me think of it.  Actually, I just thought she looked mighty nice and elegant.  I was proud of how nicely she grew up.  I went to my room and put on make-up.  Funny thing.  I usually go without make-up in Hawaii.  In Chicago, I tend to put it on.  It's a lot more casual in Hawaii.

Oh oh.... I'm getting distracted again.

Today was KC's first day of pre-school.  Because she is home with her mom all the time, KC has a difficult time separating from her.  She's also been with both parents for several weeks so that makes the transition more difficult.

I told her before we dropped her off how excited I was about going with her to her school.  I gave her an assignment to tell us what the happiest, most fun thing was when she came home.  She replied, "Well... Grandma, I'd better tell my teacher to write it down because I might forget."

I told her, "No, you have to make sure you remember all the details so you can tell us.  However, I just know you'll be able to do this."

She went in happily and showed us where her coat went and I got to meet her three teachers. 

Parting was still difficult and they had to peel KC off from her mom's legs, but it was quick, painless and we were out the door in a flash.  Did it bother me?  Not one iota.  I was a teacher and I've seen enough of this to know her tears would stop by the time we got to the parking lot. 

When we picked KC up, she'd remembered to tell us what she enjoyed and who she played with.  She said her teachers showed everybody where KC had been on the map.  Singapore is very far away.

Although KC loves ballet class, Tif encouraged her to skip it today in favor of a nap.  We all took a nap this afternoon!

Back "Home" Again!

I guess we're always going to feel like we've got two homes, Illinois and Hawaii.  We lived in Illinois for 35 years before returning "home" three years ago to Hawaii where we were born and grew up.

We left last night on the 5 hour red-eye 10:15 US Airways flight to Phoenix, Arizona. My brother, Dennis drove us to the Honolulu International Airport.  It went smoothly until we got to Phoenix.  We had 30 minutes to transfer planes.  The flight attendant made the announcement that there were passengers who had a short turn-around time and asked everyone else to remain seated.  Tsk!  Some people were considerate, but on the most part... no.  Too many people jumped up and started trying to get their big carry-ons from the overhead compartments, blocking the aisle. 

Once out of the airplane, we looked at the monitor for our next gate and started running. My backpack was not light and Art's was 20 pounds, but we ran!  I was out of breath by the time we were half way there.  We had to go from the end of terminal B to the end of terminal A!  Arrrgh!

Just when I thought I'd collapse, an airport staff person on one of those transport cars stopped and asked where we were going.  What an angel!  He said we'd never make it on foot and gave us a ride to the gate.  THANK GOODNESS! The gate was deserted by the time we got there.  I thought we'd be the last ones, but no... there were a number of others who came on after us.  I don't think they got a ride like we did. 

Tif and KC had returned from Singapore yesterday and were exhausted as well, but when we appeared at the baggage area of O'Hare Airport in Chicago KC jumped up and down shouting, "Grandma!  Grandpa!"  Tif said KC loved Singapore and wouldn't have wanted to leave until she was reminded that we would be coming from Hawaii. 

I have to get to bed now.  It will be KC's first day at pre-school and I've told her that I can hardly wait to see her new classroom.  She is smiling at me and nodding her head, but has told her mommy that she doesn't want to go. 

We'll see.

It's nice to be back!  Gee, it's a trifle chilly here.  Definitely not tank top weather.

In the Air Again!

We'll be taking the red-eye to Chicago tonight and I'm not looking forward to it.  We've been running around to the last day getting things packed, organized, bought, mailed, cleaned, cut, prepared, planned, scheduled, ETC. 

Singapore

We talked to our daughter, Tiffany and know she is equally stressed.  She just returned from Singapore a few hours ago where she and KC were keeping our son-in-law company since he had a computer techie type job there to do.  I wish he could have come home together with Tif, but he's got a week more of work to do.  We told Tif she should stay with him and we could take care of ourselves... but no, she's come home and is running around filling the fridge and getting ready for our arrival.  It's a 24 hour travel epic from Singapore to Chicago!  Poor Tiffy.

I imagine we'll all crash (I meant go to sleep.) once we get there.

Saturday Sights: Senior Fair and Wine for Kids?

The bathroom is clean.  Our hair is cut.  Our one suitcase is packed with Kona coffee and macadamia nut candy.  So we had a little time...sort of.

We got up early to fight the crowds and traffic again and headed out to Honolulu for the Senior Fair.  My sister-in-law had to work, but my brother, Dennis was able to accompany us into Honolulu.  It's great having him with us since he knows Honolulu like the back of his hand.  He works for the Honolulu Police Department crime lab.
 
He was able to guide us to avoid traffic to get to Honolulu.  We laughed when we saw the crowds at the Blaisdell Center.  Wouldn't you know it seniors would be the ones to usually get up early to go anywhere?

Mom got her blood pressure checked.

Then came Dennis' turn.  He and mom also got their flu shots from the Kaiser Permanente booth.  (Art and I got ours at Tripler yesterday.)  

We then walked around the center visiting a lot of the displays.  Sigh... no, we didn't buy the Butter cookies. However, we collected a lot of freebies.  Art signed up for his Zippy's Senior Card (must be 65) so he can always get 10% off his check from any Zippy's location.  It costs $.99 for 2 years.  It'll cost you $2.00 if you go to Zippy's to do it.  I did the prize wheel at the Walgreens booth and got a $5.00 gift card to use at any Walgreens in the country.  Whoopie!

We sure did have fun.  Well, I did anyway.

After dropping off the Travel album with Auntie Grace we went to lunch and then to Marukai which is a membership store that sells a lot of Japanese groceries.  I went to the Hello Kitty kids section since we wanted to see if there was anything KC might like.  Everything was over priced.  Dennis pointed out this sparkling wine warning (in small print) that it does contain alcohol.

I saw this little girl pick it up and bring it to her mom.  There is something so not right about this!

Blogging, Timing and Luck!

I had a few brief moments available on Thursday (Sept. 22nd) night so I had a quick look at a couple of blogs on my side bar.  Hattie's Web had something about getting a flu shot before going to the mainland which reminded me that it would have been a good idea for us to get a flu shot before we left for Illinois on Sunday.  We had only one day to find out if we could somehow get a flu shot.

Photo from Wikipedia

 All this made me remember to check on the date for Mom's flu shot.  I'd reminded my brother on Wednesday that he should take mom while we were gone.  However, when we checked online, we found that the Senior Fair is this weekend!  Good gosh!  We hadn't heard anything about it.  So we're planning to take her there along with my brother on Saturday.  Nothing like squeezing everything in at the last minute!

 Now I'm off to clean the bathroom and cut our hair.  

Art checked online and was astonished to learn that Tripler Army Hospital was having a Flu Shot for Everybody (military eligible) Day on Friday (Sept. 23rd).  We couldn't believe the timing.  We got up early (of course)  and beat the mad rush hour as well as the crowd for the shot.  We breezed right into the hospital and out.  My arm aches a bit, but I'm so glad we were able to manage this!  Wow! Thank you for the reminder, Hattie! 

Papaya Tree Update

One of our papaya trees is no longer producing.  Someone told Art that they really produce well for only two years.  Seems to me that other tree took two years to produce.  It wasn't until I threatened it that it started working up any fruit.

However... going back to that other papaya tree.  A friend advised us to cut the tree and put a can on it.  Now that sounded really weird.  A can?  Then I discovered why.  The center of the papaya tree is hollow.

The bird prevention covering we put up is continuing to work and we're still getting fruit to eat.  Thank goodness!

 Here's the center of the trunk.  Without a can on it, it would collect rain water and rot.

I guess we'll see if any shoots will grow from the sides and if they'll provide any fruit.  Time will tell.

We can check this off our list of things to do now before we leave for Chicago.  We've already made provisions to have my nephew and his wife keep Mom company while we're gone.  My brother will also be here to make sure everything is going well.  The neighbors are also all vigilant and watch over her like a hawk.  I love it.  That's what makes living here in Hawaii so wonderful!

Happy Birthday to My Favorite (and only) Brother!

We had a belated birthday celebration for Dennis tonight.  It was belated because we've been up to our ears in just everything for the past few weeks.

We prepared barbecued teriyaki chicken and beef sticks, cucumber namasu (pickles), rice and a giant salad.  My sister-in-law, Nancy brought over wonderful deviled eggs and my nephew's wife brought a scrumptious potato salad.  Everything was wonderful!

 

What REALLY tickled Art and me tonight was when Mom brought out the Alaska album from her room that we'd prepared for her and excitedly began regaling her grandsons and granddaughter-in-law with stories of everything about her trip that she could now recall clearly.  Art and I kept secretly smiling at each other to see Mom happily laughing and talking a mile a minute about every detail of the trip.

What did she find most amazing and wonderful, you ask?  Would you believe the salmon at the end of their lives in the Skagway river?  She also loved the giant scallops she had in McKinley Lodge and tasting escargot for the first time on board the Diamond Princess.  And of course, she loved seeing Mt. McKinley without cloud cover!

Art and I are just so pleased that she's loving her album so much!  After everybody left, she carried the album back to her room as though it was a precious object.

We bought Dennis a Dream Cake.  Our parents used to buy it for us for every one of our birthdays.  The birthday person always got to take the first, biggest, best chocolate swirl off the cake before it was cut.  Dennis upheld the tradition.

One of the highlights of the evening was when Dennis and Nancy's son, Shawn called from the mainland to wish his dad a happy birthday!  I know he wished he could have been with us tonight.

OK... now to get ready for our trip to Chicago. 

Alaskan Trip Photo Album

If it were just for Art and me, we'd keep our album digital, save it to a DVD and that would be enough.

However, it's really for my mother and aunt.  If there were no photos for Mom to see, she would forget most of it.  No, she doesn't have Alzheimers, but she doesn't have a great memory either.  Sigh... neither do I!

Therefore, we take a lot of photos of details from our trips.  Tons of photos of flowers, food, plants, people, animals, landscape, and buildings are taken so that looking at them again can bring back that memory.

We've been talking to Mom about the trip and she says she can't remember what we're talking about.  A lot has to do with language perhaps in that she doesn't quite understand what we're referring to.

Our Alaskan album that Art and I rushed to put together in a week was 94 pages (500-600 photos!).  It's a step by step itinerary of everything we did, saw, heard, tasted and learned.  We also added tons of information that we picked up from Internet to explain the history of each location...not to mention speech bubbles to enhance the humor of the moment.

When we showed it to mom today, she was thrilled and excited.  Looking at the photos seemed to open a window to her memories of the trip.  She recalled again the excitement of seeing Mt. McKinley unveiled, the salmon in the last throws of their lives, the incredible food, the kindness of everybody around us.


Our tour group was mainland based so there was only one other island couple that we spent time with.  However, Mom loved the fact that "Auntie" Deb, our land tour leader was so wonderfully kind and accommodating.  All the other non-island people also treated Mom and Auntie with kindness and warmth.  This was truly such a happy thing for them to experience.

Seeing the photos of the people we enjoyed spending time with brought back those moments of happiness.

It cost us nearly $50.00 a piece to put the two albums together.  (Actually my cousin pays for everything we spend on his mom.  He's always told us to spare no expense.  I love it!)  It was worth every penny to see the smiles the album pages brought forth on Mom's face.  We're looking forward to delivering Auntie Grace's to her on Sunday.  Mom will now work on writing her memories in Japanese on the blank album pages I set aside for her for each day of the trip.

It was a tremendous amount of work this week to put this together.  But, you know what?  It was worth it!

Meeting DrumMajor

On Sunday, we went to lunch at Longhi's in Ala Moana to meet DrumMajor who is a fabulous commenter on my blog and gigi-hawaii's.  When we learned that DrumMajor was coming to Oahu, gigi invited us to join her and her husband, David for the happy meeting.

What a happy break it was from running around, trying to get our trip album done before we leave for Chicago, publishing and assembling all the genealogy books for Art's relatives, preparing for my brother's birthday party, doctor's appointments, caring for my mother who is battling a cold, getting the car registration done... ARRRGGHH!

Anyway, back to DrumMajor.  She is the one I always count on for medical advice.  She is a very experienced nurse who really cares about making a difference in patient care.  I wish she lived in Hawaii!

When we met her, I was struck first by her sweet, loving and cheerful smile.  Her eyes were always dancing and focused on who you were.  I was also astonished when she took out fresh flower leis for all of us.  Oh my gosh!!!   Yellow and white ginger, pikake, rose leis!  She also brought other gifts for us.  Wow!  On top of all this, she brought a pikake and pink rose lei for us to bring home for Mom.

Let me tell you, Mom was startled and overjoyed to receive the beautiful lei.  We put the lei in her room and its fragrance soothed the spirit and warmed Mom's heart who is still trying to recuperate from a nagging sinus infection.

I wish we could have done something for DrumMajor, but our lives are nuts right now.  I told her she needs to come back again.  We should be back to normal by then.  Gigi, thanks for treating and hosting all of us!  You and DrumMajor are what aloha is all about!

Stress

After taking the Alaskan trip and having guests for a week two days after returning, Art and I found ourselves having to deal with the stress.  Keeping cheerful through any problem that arose and trying to make the trip happy for everyone and then coming home and needing to be on call 24/7 to help our guests added stress for Art and me.

We kept smiling (even if our teeth were gritted) through every hurdle no matter how tired we were.  It wasn't easy.  It did stress our marriage.

And yes, marriages can be stressed no matter how long you've been married.  We found ourselves sniping at each other which we normally don't  do.  We know each other so well that every lift of the eye brow, every tight inflection in a remark had us building strained feelings toward each other.

I had to keep analyzing what we were going through.  We reminded ourselves that we just needed to ease up and smile...smile...smile. 

Once our guests left, everything did ease.  We could smile more easily at each other.  We could laugh more honestly and then we could talk about what we went through.

Art and I talked about how we just went through 20 days of high responsibility and not a whole lot of sleep.  Can you imagine what people go through when there's so MANY more bad things going on?  It could be poverty, problems with children, illness.  Anything could happen.

This made me realize that we have to be more ready in the future to figure out how to deal with these difficult times in life.  We can't just let a river of rushing waters tumble us along.  We've got to find a way to get to a shore.

It was something for us to  think about.  I'm just grateful that we're able to talk these things through. 

We're also getting a lot more sleep.  And this is good.

Day #13 Vancouver to Hawaii

We discovered that the pink tag on our suitcase meant we'd be one of the earlier groups to disembark.  We were up at 5:15 and had a nice, last buffet breakfast.  I had three pieces of bacon.  Yup, I did.

Our suitcases had already been picked up the night before.

Our group met in the "Fusion" lounge at 7:15 AM and we boarded a bus for Vancouver airport.

That was where we found the only Princess glitch.  The staff people just didn't have their act together and there was an interminable wait for our luggage.  People who came after us got their suitcases first and it was hard to hear which group's luggage was being delivered. 

Eventually... everybody got their things and we said good-bye to many of the people we were on the Land tour with who happened to be waiting with us. 

Our flight from Vancouver to San Francisco was about 2 hours and it was another 5 + hours to Hawaii. 

My brother, Dennis was waiting for us at Honolulu International Airport.  My cousin, Arnold came to pick his mom up at our house.   Arnold says his mother bent his ear the entire way home regaling him with tales of her adventures.  Mom went to sleep.  So did we.

The next morning we got up and checked our answering machine.  There was a surprise message from Art's cousin's husband saying they (he, Art's cousin, his daughter and son-in-law) were coming to Hawaii on Tuesday and wanted to see us.  We offered them a place to stay since they'd taken such good care of us when we lived in Chicago, 35 years ago. 

And then it was a mad dash to unpack, do laundry, clean up the house, prepare the guest bedrooms, get groceries and supplies, and prepare for their arrival in less than 2 days.  They stayed with us for a week.

The house is quiet now...

POSTSCRIPT #1:  Many of you asked if we gained weight on this trip. Incredibly, Art and I both lost two pounds.  Mom said she gained two and Auntie won't get on the scale.  Mom says she thinks Art and I were under too much stress looking after the two of them.  I think it's because we were really always on the move doing things and just not realizing how much exercise we were getting.

Day #12: Cruising to Vancouver

Day #12 was a Cruise Day.  We were sailing to Vancouver where we would be catching a flight back to the U.S.

Art got up early and took Mom and Auntie Grace for a walk on the deck at 4:45!  The sisters get up at 3:30!!! No kidding!  Not me.  When Art returned, I just rolled over and said, "Have a nice walk." 

I heard a chuckle.

Breakfast was at 6:00.  Before going to the buffet, EVERYBODY was required to use the hand sanitizer.  I heard one lady complain that she had already sanitized her hand earlier and was just coming back for more food.  No, the rule is once you leave the buffet area, you have to sanitize your hands again to enter.  I was GLAD of it!

At 10:00 we went to a Culinary Program where the head chef and the pastry chef did a cooking demonstration.  They showed us how to do a fancy salmon dish and a Black Forest cake.  Wow!  There's a lot of alcohol that goes into that cake.

We then went on a tour of the galleys.  It was nice to see everything so immaculate.  It was huge with different areas for soups, desserts, poultry, seafood, etc.

We had a quick buffet luncheon and then found an EXTRAVAGANZA DESSERT BUFFET set up out on the deck.  It was huuuuge!  I haven't seen so many desserts in one place since.....  I can't remember.  Someone told me that they were on a cruise where they had a huge chocolate dessert buffet.  Since Art is so-so about chocolate, I'm glad there was a variety. 

Guess what Mom and Auntie Grace wanted to try?  Yup!  Black Forest cake.  They were a little disappointed that it didn't have much of a kick to it.  However, they sure WEREN'T disappointed with all the dessert choices.  It was a good thing they had gone on that early morning walk.

Art and I went for a walk in the afternoon while Mom and Auntie Grace took a nap.

Dinner!   MORE amazing food!

Poached Seafood and Avocado

Grilled Vegetables with chives and Hearts of Romaine

Broiled Freshwater Perch

Mariner Style Black Mussels in White Wine Sauce

Cream Bombe Diplomate

The final show highlighted almost all of the performers we'd seen during the cruise.  Our absolute favorite was Darren Romeo.  He was totally TOTALLY fabulous!   We were very impressed with his musical and magical talent.

We would be returning home the following day and wondered how that would be handled.  There were 2,900 passengers to disembark.  Boarding had been a breeze. Disembarking would be a whole 'nother experience.

Day #11: Ketchikan

We got up a little later and had breakfast because our Lighthouse, Totems and Eagles Excursion was at 11:15 to 2:15.  Unfortunately, a late start meant all the tables were occupied.  We ended up eating at the outdoor bar which was just fine.

After all the wonderful weather we had at other times during the trip, Ketchikan was cloudy and rainy!  The boat was comfortable enough and they had binoculars for everyone to use.  They also provided some light snacks and hot chocolate or tea which was nice on a drippy day.

We still managed to see some eagles from very far away... very, very far away.  My 35X optical zoom lens came in mighty handy or you'd only see a blurry speck.

It was fun to see these harbor seals sunning themselves on this cold day.

Yes, we did see some totems in the distance.

You can see here how far it was.   You'd be better off on a land tour to truly see the beauty of the totems more clearly.  Sunny weather would have helped too.  Ketchikan is known for being rainy.

Mom and Auntie Grace were quite happy enough to stay inside and not brave the rain outside on deck.

Yae!!!  A whale sighting!  Again... thank goodness for my 35X optical zoom.

Art had fun trying out the Captain's chair.

After the tour, we dropped off mom and Auntie Grace at the ship and went off to explore Ketchikan.

Remember those charms we were collecting and the coins?  This was our last stop and this sales associate was super nice!  She knew we didn't want to buy anything and said, "Oh go ahead and just try one thing on so I can hand over the stuff." 

Art pointed to a ring and said, "I'll try this ring since it's my birthstone." 

She laughed and said her birthday was also in the same month and told us her birth date.  We were shocked!  It was the same birthday as Art!!!  She laughed again told us her sister's birthday.  Good grief!  It was the same birthday as Art's sister.  It was just the weirdest thing.  We can still hardly believe it!!!

Back at the ship we were in for another gourmet feast.  This is Viktoria from Hungary who is serving Art some French Onion Soup.

Auntie Grace couldn't make up her mind which dish she would like to try.  Our main server, Chris said, "No problem."  Would you believe he brought her BOTH dishes?  She was shocked and said she couldn't possibly eat all that food so.... ummmm... we all helped her.

Doesn't this dessert look amazing?  It's called Menage a Trois (chilled mini raspberry panna cotta, tiny gateau opera, honey-hazelnut sermi freddo with nutella twist).

After that incredible meal, we were off to see another musical number that we enjoyed throughout the trip.  With our regular 5:30 table by the window always waiting for us at the Pacific Moon we were always able to finish in time to see the shows. 

It was perfect!