Our Memory Tree

Although Art was insisting on waiting to put up the tree until December 1st, he's caved in to the old adage, "Happy wife, happy life."

Opening the boxes of ornaments always brings back memories.  Here's a few.

A:  Homemade ornaments made by our children when they were little and our granddaughter.

B:  Tiffany bought this bulb from Home Depot to represent all our visits there for our ever continuing home renovation.

C:  A teeny hand knitted stocking from my elementary school friend, Mavis.

D:  Dated and engraved silver photo ornament of our daughter Tiffany and her family to remind us of their visit last year at Christmas.

E:  A handmade ornament from our son, Jon when he was in 1st grade.

F:  Art's Finisher Honolulu Marathon key rings from 2009 and 2010

G:  I was so proud of myself when I finally finished this ornament making sewing kit.

H:  My friend Joan went to Prague and brought these ornaments for everyone in our teachers group.

I:  The Colonel and his wife, Elizabeth were the neighbors across the street when we moved into the neighborhood in Illinois 36 years ago.  They welcomed us with open arms and watched over us like surrogate grandparents.  When Elizabeth died they left us some special memorabilia.  These little angels were one of them.  I think of this special couple whenever I see these angels.

J:  Dina from Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo gave this Israeli sandal to us about 30 years ago and I think of her whenever I see it.  I think of how we celebrated Hanukkah together whenever I see it.

K:  Like most teachers I have a lot of ornaments I received from children throughout the years.  I have their names on them to remind me of the special times we spent together.

Jon used to aggravate us every year by hanging those little angels around the house so that we'd find one after all the decorations had been put away.  Sometimes it'd be as late as summer when we'd spot one.  Now we put one up in an odd place just to remind us of his antics since he's in New Mexico and can't do it himself.

The tree is up!


We're ready... sort of... for the holidays!

Memories of a Home Long Gone

The first home we lived in was deep in the cane fields of Kunia.

Camp 56 or 57, someplace between Waipahu and Kunia

Then we moved to what was called Camp 56 (I think) or maybe 57.  It was along one side of a big road.  The other side was all cane fields.  We moved there so I could catch a bus to go to a school about five miles away.

I don't remember much.  I have such a poor memory.  I think I lived there from the time I was about 5 to perhaps 7 or 8.

I remember a stray black cat with mangled ears.  The kitchen in back was a separate structure away from the bedroom and living room connected by a small walkway.

There was a terrible accident one night.  A motorcyclist collided with a car.  The woman in the car saw it about to happen and dropped her baby out of the car window thinking she was saving it.  The baby died.  Until the police and ambulance came, the injured were helped into our houses.

Another time, I was chasing my younger brother, Dennis with a wooden stick pretending it was a sword.  I managed to fall and poke my side with the stick.  That was a long trip to the emergency room.  I still have the scar.

I remember playing with my mother's sewing machine.  Dennis must have been about 3 or 4 years old and came over to see what I was doing.  He stuck his finger under the needle and got punctured before I could stop the wheel. 

Actually... being the big sister, I did try to take care of him as best as I could but in these early days, I guess I was still coming up short.

Dennis was my best friend, my best companion and best playmate.  We could talk long into the night and we knew everything about each other.  His memories of those early days are sharper than mine. 

Camp 56 is gone.  The previous home in Kunia is also gone.  In fact all the houses we grew up in are completely gone.  The places have been bulldozed, leveled and become shopping areas or housing tracks.  I have only a few pictures to prove it ever existed.  I guess someday we'll be gone and pictures will be all that will be left of us.

 Perhaps that's why I'm so busy scanning photos right now.  I want to remember.

POSTSCRIPT:  My brother, Dennis just came up with a google map photo of the area where Camp 56 or 57 once stood.

Myth About Sit-Ups

I saw something in the Chicago Tribune last month that really caught my eye.  It was an article called Muscling Past Fitness Myths.

This is the part that interested me:

"Some fitness myths are harmless half-truths. Others, however, scare people away from working out or lead to injury. The spot-reduction myth -- which holds that you can, for example, flatten your stomach by doing crunches -- wastes time, effort and can even add size to your middle. Ab exercises can strengthen muscles. But they don't remove fat because from a metabolic standpoint, fat isn't connected to the muscle it covers."

So there you go.  I don't have to do sit ups.  Granted, I haven't done sit-ups since college so no harm done.

So how do you get rid of that tummy?

Another myth about sitting for long periods being OK if you exercise also got my attention.  It said:

"Myth: You can sit for long periods if you exercise.

Truth: Unfortunately, you can't exercise away the effects of sitting for 10 hours at your desk, said Alex Hutchinson, author of "Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?" Long stretches of sitting are associated with cardiovascular disease, independent of how much exercise you get.
Try it: Get up at least once every hour; pace around your desk or do five jumping jacks to remind your muscles that you're not dead."

Yes, I've read and heard that you shouldn't sit at your desk, computer, whatever for long periods.  I have to be careful because I have been doing a lot of work on the computer.  I'm making more of an effort now to get up and move around.

I went to Zumba last Friday despite the fact that I was really tired.  However, Art is right.  It was a good tired.

I'm imagining my son reading this and I can see him smiling.  He's been on my case to  get more exercise for a long time. You see, Jon?  I'm trying.  I'm trying.

Poop on Your Toothbrush?

Photo from Serendip

A long time ago I remember seeing an episode on the TV show, Bones about fecal matter being sprayed onto your toothbrush when you flushed your toilet.  It was called the Aerosol Effect.  This is a link to a site that explains it. And here's another link from a site called Serendip.

You know, there are so many things we do that they keep finding out is not good.  Wine was first good and then bad.  Drinking bottled water was once good, but now the plastic leaching toxins in the water is bad.  I thought shampooing my hair everyday was good, but now I find out the chemicals in the shampoo are not great.  Mammograms are up for question.  Antibiotics were once good, but..... well you get the idea. 

We always want our husbands to put the toilet seat down after they use it.  Now we want them to put the cover down also before they flush.  Art says he ALWAYS does.  I'm glad because it's MY bath towel that hangs right next to it. 

Then again, if we protect ourselves from every germ floating around everywhere, could we be causing more of a problem in the long run?  Maybe a little dirt or fecal matter isn't entirely bad.

Heck if I know.

POSTSCRIPT:  (November 29th, Tuesday)  How funny that the Star Advertiser morning paper would have a big article about just this topic!

French Footstools

I mentioned to Louann Chatani at Ashley Furniture that mom was still getting used to the new sofa.  Mom is only 4'10" tall so it was taking some getting used to sitting on the new sofa.

Louann is so wonderful about following up to make sure we were enjoying what we bought from her store.

She sent me this e-mail:

"Hi Kay,

Thank you so much for sharing your very cheerful sofa story.  I just wanted to make a suggestion -- maybe this will help Mom to keep from sliding off the leather furniture.  Last year, I had purchased from Ross (Dress for Less), a couple of small footstools. They were very inexpensive (less than $10 each ) and are very small and lightweight. They are about 12 inches square and about 4-5 inches high. I like to use it under my desk because our laminate floor is very cold and hard.  My youngest son likes it because he is still too short to reach the floor with the big giant desk chair he likes to use.  A similar footstool might be helpful for your Mom, raising her knees a slight bit might help her to keep from sliding.  If you can't find it at Ross, I had seen something similar in a mail order catalog (unfortunately don't remember which one ), I think they might be called a French footstool and supposedly is helpful for back posture.  But don't forget to push it out of the way when not in use, I would hate for anyone to trip.  I will send you a photo separately so you will know what to look for.  Hope it helps !!!

Happy Holidays to all !

Louann"

Well we went out to Ross and found the French footstool.  It cost just $6.99!  Yahoo!  We also bought it on Tuesday and got the Senior discount.  Mom is using it now.  She says she likes it and I see her using it all the time.

Hmmm... I'm tempted to get one for myself now.

Don't you think Louann deserves the Customer Service award?

A Happy Thanksgiving Feast

This year my brother, Dennis and sister-in-law, Nancy were in charge of the turkey and all the fixings.  We did side dishes and dessert.

Art got up early and started the pumpkin pie.  It's his specialty.

When we were married, EVERYBODY told me that his mother made the best pies on the Big Island and was the best cook as well.  I could barely boil water so it was rather intimidating.

Needless to say, Art makes the pies in the family.

Mom was right on his heels making her special macaroni salad on the other side of the kitchen.  After that, we all worked on slicing gobo (burdock) for mom to stir fry.  She also insisted on cooking white rice despite the fact that there would be sweet potatoes and white mashed potatoes.

Although they made their dishes from scratch, I cheated and used the Trader Joes pumpkin bread mix that our granddaughter loves so much.

Then I worked on washing and cutting veggies to grill with olive oil, lemon juice and Italian spices.

We had our Thanksgiving dinner early this year because Nancy has to work during the Black Friday sales.  She and Dennis roasted the turkey to perfection and brought it over at 3:00 along with stuffing, amazingly wonderful, scrumptious gravy (I hate making gravy), sweet potatoes, and mashed potatoes. 

It was great being together.  I hope that more of us will be able to get together for the next holiday.

There was so much to eat that I forgot to put out the cranberries.  I'm great at preparing cranberries.  I remember a year when our kids got to try fresh cranberries and said they were more used to my cranberries with the can lines around the cylinder.

You know... it was really great to have the early feast.  Everything was cleaned up by 5:00 and Art and I were able to get in an evening walk.

I'll be going to a Black Friday sale because Art has a ladder that he wants to get.  Then I'll be off to zumba class to try to work off some of the calories.

Then.... full steam ahead toward Christmas!

Thankful for Family Whether Related or Not

Living on the mainland for 35 years, we were too far away from our immediate family to celebrate holidays with them.

Auntie Vera, Auntie Ann and families

However, we still managed to celebrate holidays with other families who adopted us.  While they lived near us, we celebrated Christmases with "Auntie Peggy" and her extended family.  We celebrated Hanukkah with "Auntie Dina" and her family.

Uncle Jimmy and Jonathan

We also had Christmases with "Uncle Jimmy" and his family.  In the true Hawaiian sense, everyone adopted our children as their own.

 And we took turns hosting Thanksgiving with our neighbors, Bill and Caroline.

Both Bill and Caroline are professors of anthropology and served as Peace Corps volunteers in Mali.  Is it just a coincidence that Jon also went to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali?

Living here in Hawaii, we now have my mother, brother and his family to celebrate the holidays with.  I guess that's what makes the holidays so very meaningful... family, whether they're related by blood or friendship.

And so to my blogging family here in the States and around the world, I just want you to know how thankful I am to have you in my ohana (Hawaiian for family).


Happy Thanksgiving, one and all!

Up to Our Ears in Paper

I was rummaging through my desk and found this little clipping I kept.  I don't know where I got it from, but it must have been in the Chicago Tribune or the Star Advertiser.

I thought it was rather interesting.  We tend to keep all kinds of papers forever.

Art keeps our receipts until his desk storage is so full he can't fit another thing.  Then he culls what we don't need.

When we were moving to Hawaii three years ago, we threw out a lot of papers and documents we no longer needed not to mention selling or donating other treasures we stored in the attic and crawl space.  There was a lot of stuff.  Art is a pack rat.

Now that we're in Hawaii, we're trying not to accumulate stuff again.  Gee, it's hard.

Now that I've posted this article on this blog, I guess I can throw it away.

Mom Jeans are Back!

Bloggers who have followed me for a long time know what a pain buying pants have been for me.  From quite a while ago my children kept telling me that my pants were not up to the current fashion standard.  My daughter said I needed to stop wearing "mom jeans."  Even my son-in-law agreed that my jeans needed to be updated.

I finally gave in and let my daughter buy me a new pair of more fashionable jeans to wear to Egypt several years ago from Old Navy.  I bought what I thought was comfortable.  However, there was some stretch to it and after wearing them for a couple of days, they almost fell off of my hips when I was running across the street in Cairo.  Just imagine what a scene that might have caused.

 

For one thing, at my age I don't have much of a hip anymore to hold those low waistbands up.  On top of that there's been a redistribution of my body fat.  It's now located in front of my hips.  When I wear those "fashionable" jeans I get this horrendous, bulbous, blobby love handles.  And on top of that... my blouses were too short for the lower waisted pants.  Therefore, when I put my hands up, what did you see?  Yup!   Not pretty!  So I had to update my blouses too.

I finally found some Docker capris that I live in now and Style & Co. jeans for when I travel (with a little higher waistlines).

Imagine my surprise when I opened the L.L. Bean catalog last week.

MOM Jeans!!!

They certainly don't call it that, but that's what it is alright.  The waist is higher and what do you know?  They even added elastic!  I couldn't believe it.

What was that saying?

What goes around, comes around.

Sure enough!

iPhone... Duuuh!

We've never owned an iPad or iTab or i anything before but decided to jump in when we changed cellphone plans recently.  Ed, our Supertechie son-in-law said it would be fun and ordered one for us. 

Well... it arrived and last night, tired as he was, Ed spent a couple of hours (on Skype) with us registering the phone and walking us through some things on it.  This was the first time we tried the touch pad thing.  There's also this Siri that allows you to talk to it.  We don't get along with Siri yet.

Everything is supposed to be intuitive, buuut... my intuition is sadly lacking so I'm still rather dumb founded.

We finally managed to get everything set up with Ed's help. The speaker worked, the earbuds worked... buuuut when we tried to just use it normally with our ear to the phone, we could barely hear Ed when he called us on it.

We were not happy.  It appears our new iPhone was already defective.  Ed suggested we go to the Apple store in Ala Moana and have the phone looked at.  However, my brother said they might not help us unless we bought the phone from them.

We went to bed rather perturbed.

I'm not sure when Art thought of it, but he did.  It occurred to him that he hadn't taken that clear plastic covering off the phone.  We always have a hard time doing this because we're afraid of scratching anything new.

He removed it this morning and voila!  It worked!  We could hear clearly.  The plastic protection cover is what was preventing us from hearing properly.

We sheepishly called Tiffany this morning on Skype and told her.

She called across to Ed who was working in his office, "Ed! My parents just found out that they couldn't hear you last night because they hadn't removed the plastic covering off the iPhone."

There was loud, prolonged laughter.

I have a feeling Ed is going to have a  good story to tell about his in-laws when he goes into work tomorrow.

Would You Get Naked?

We're planning to go to Japan in spring of next year.  Art is busily making reservations for the trip.  We've already bought the plane tickets and my brother has put in for leave from his job at the Police Department.

We went to Japan together with him in 2008.  In fact, the only way we could get my mother to travel again was to tell her we were thinking of inviting Dennis to come along but he couldn't come unless she did because we needed an even number.  It was my brother's first trip to Japan and we had a great time.  We went from Hokkaido in the north to as far south as Kyoto, Nara and Hiroshima.

This time we're planning to go even farther south to Kyushu and Shikoku where there are a number of famous onsens (mineral hot springs).  Now here's where we're going to run into some tricky situations.

When I was in high school, we all hated taking our clothes off to shower together after gym class.  I would still find it very difficult to take my clothes off and jump into the hot mineral springs with other ladies.  My mother is even shyer about it than me.  If my aunt were coming along, she'd be the first one to jump in.  Unfortunately, she won't be with us to provide that courage.

As it is, I had to coerce/cajole/bully my mother into the mineral springs in Hokkaido in 2008.... and it was only a FOOT bath.  She was hard enough.  But my brother?  It took both my mother and me to get him to stick his feet in.

They loved it!  As Dennis said with a broad smile, "Tingly." 

It really did feel wonderful.  I'm wondering what it'll be like to be totally submerged in the hot springs.  I know it's going to take some doing to overcome my acute modesty, but how am I ever going to convince them to do it.  Art is always game for anything.  He keeps telling me they must provide towels for strategic places to cover.  It better be a big towel for my mother and me.  Can I have one for the front and one for the back?

I can assure you of one thing.  There won't be any pictures of that experience on this blog.

Farewell to Family Furniture

The springs had given up on the koa (acacia) furniture that my parents bought nearly 50 years ago.  My mother says my brother, Dennis and I jumped on the previous old sofa so much that we broke it.

She remembers then going to the furniture store and deciding to splurge on new, good quality koa furniture and selecting this one hoping it would last.  It did.  This is the only living room furniture I can remember as a child.

Mom was a little wistful about replacing the koa furniture, but wanted something that didn't sag and was easier to keep clean.  Art put a temporary board under the cushions, but it wasn't ideal.  Dennis had also replaced the springs once before many years ago when he used to work at a cabinet shop.

I looked online and found a dealer named Jerry Domingo who refinishes koa furniture.  He said it would cost $850 to refinish the wood and then $15 for each spring.  Then we'd have to get new cushions and cushion covers ourselves.

I asked Jerry if he would like to purchase our koa set instead and he said he would be interested. This is the first time I've ever done business with someone I hadn't met face to face at a store.

Mom and Jerry Domingo

Jerry came over yesterday.  We were really relieved.  We liked and trusted him right away.  Art said his first impression of Jerry is that he is a sweet, honest, nice guy.

Jerry was happy with the condition of the furniture.  He says he's seen koa furniture that was left outside which is a shame.  We were pleased with the price he paid us.  I hope he can finish and resell it for a whole lot.  If you have koa furniture to sell or would like to buy some, give Jerry Domingo a call at 286-9597.

Funny how sometimes furniture can almost become a part of your family.  We've been thinking about doing this for a long time but as we saw the koa pieces leaving, we couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness and nostalgia. The only thing that made it OK for all of us was knowing that Jerry would give it new life and send it to an owner who would love it as we did for so many years.

Do you have any furniture piece that you would have a hard time parting with?

Not Too Hard, Not Too Soft, But Just Right!

Mom has mentioned a few times that her koa sofa and chairs were very old and that the springs that my brother put in were once again sagging.  We knew it was time to get her some new furniture.

We checked out Homeworld and then Ashley Furniture where we met Louann Chatani.  She was wonderful and helped us find a leather sofa and love seat that met our requirements.  She spent a lot of time with us trying to make sure we got the best deal possible and we appreciated that.

Mom sat on a lot of sofas there and decided a brown leather one would be best because then she wouldn't have to worry about keeping the fabric clean. 

What we liked best about the one she chose was that the bottom cushions could come off.  If one gets flat, you can move it.  If the back stuffing should get flat, you can open the zipper and put more in.  Mom is very picky about her chairs, beds, etc.  She doesn't want it to be too hard or too soft, especially not too soft.  She sat on this sofa and deemed it just right.

The sofa and loveseat have arrived and mom is quite pleased.  We've told her that this is her birthday, Christmas, New Years, Easter, Mother's Day gift for the next year. 

She stood grinning at her new furniture and then said, "I think I'll put some doilies on top so the dust doesn't dirty it."

Arrrrghhhhhh.....

POSTSCRIPT:
I was just talking to Art about getting some nice, big stylish pillows for the sofa for her so she'd leave off putting a whole bunch of lacy things on it.

Too late!

Art went down to take a peek and came up laughing!  "Go down and check out the sofa now."

Ah well... whatever makes her happy...

A Murmuring Heart

I told Kathy, my nurse practitioner that it was a functional heart murmur she was hearing from her stethoscope.  My doctor in Illinois didn't like the sound of my heart several years ago either and had me take a test.  I think that was also an echo cardiogram.  They concluded that it was a benign functional murmur.

Still, one Illinois dentist forced me to take antibiotics before every cleaning and dental work for several years no matter what I tried to tell her.  Art refused to go to her because ... alas... he's got a functional murmur too and didn't want to take antibiotics unnecessarily. 

When I retired and switched dentists, my new dentist said I shouldn't have been told to take the antibiotics.

I went to get my echo cardiogram today.  The technician explained everything to us and then attached probes to my chest.

He had someone training under him and they both put me at ease.

I thought it was pretty neat to see that they had this large photo of a ginger flower on the ceiling for patients to look at.

The technician asked me a bunch of questions while he moved the probe around my chest while asking me to breathe, hold my breath and slowly exhale.

He then asked if I was getting a lot of exercise.  Before I could answer (I WAS going to be honest), Art started laughing.  I confessed to the technician that I was at the computer a lot lately, but I was truly going to do better.

 
He looked at my heart and said this isn't a sedentary heart. 

So I told him I am doing zumba and we do try to walk for exercise and we do have 21 steps to the 2nd floor that I go up and down daily.

He said that would explain it.  Phew!

He didn't have the prognosis for the test, but said Kathy would tell me how it looked after a  cardiologist looked at it.

It was all an interesting experience.  The technician even printed a photo of my heart for me to use on my blog, but these photos that Art took turned out better so I decided to post these instead.

It's too bad that Art and I both have noisy hearts.  We've passed these raucous hearts on to Tif and Jon and now our granddaughter has it too.  Perhaps we should have married partners with quieter hearts.

Oh well...  I guess it's not the noise it makes, but what it feels that's important.

Much Ado About APEC

We figured Tuesday would be a good day to take mom to get her blood test at Kaiser.  We figured that since we don't live in Waikiki, we'd be safe.  Besides APEC is over, right?

We headed out at 7:45 in the morning.  We skipped breakfast since mom needed to fast before her test.  We were planning to all have breakfast together after her blood drawing.

We were shocked to encounter traffic before we got near the on ramp to Interstate H1.  I know.  I know.  It's funny to think we have an Interstate Highway in Hawaii. 

Art decided to take an alternate route by going on Kamehameha Highway.  It was OK for a while, but then that came to a complete halt too.  When we looked into the distance we saw that the highway going toward town was empty.


Uh oh... Was today the day that President Obama was leaving?  Was he in Ko'Olina on the other side of the island and not in Waikiki?  Yikes! 

Sure enough!  The highway was closed off for the presidential motorcade to make its way to Hickam Air Force Base.  We were stuck in traffic for an hour.

On the plus side, the hospital lab was empty when we got there.  We got done in a jiffy and didn't have to pay a parking fee.  When we got to the restaurant there was an empty table waiting for us.  It filled up quickly right after that when motorcycle police officers came in for their breakfast.  I imagine they were probably part of the security contingent.

We stayed away from Waikiki and Honolulu this past week to avoid the congestion and headache.  We almost did, but we didn't mind.  Everybody we ran into just laughed it all off.  There was a feeling of camaraderie knowing we'd all been part of something big together.

APEC was big and grand.  However, I'm glad we're back to normal again.

Chicago Botanic Garden

I've been meaning to post some photos Art and I took last month at the Chicago Botanic Garden. 

Here's Art at the entrance.

This is an Autumn Crocus, also known as Colchicum 'Waterlily.'

This is the first time we saw a blue heron there.

I do love morning glories and these were gorgeous in the English Garden.

I'm always drawn to waterlilies.  I wonder if it's because I loved the paintings Monet did.

The Sensory Garden is always fun to visit.  I love the leaves that smell like chocolate.

And yes, we did have to visit the Japanese Garden.  I remember when it was dedicated a couple of decades ago.  It was Dina of  Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo who invited us to go along with her family to see it.

This is the zigzag bridge to the Japanese Gardens.  It's supposed to keep out evil spirits.

I always feel like I have to watch my step or I'll fall off.

And like the heron taking off, I'll say good night for now.

POSTSCRIPT:
This is for Dina of Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo who remembered that our children were very small when the Japanese garden was dedicated.  I have only one picture from that time.

This is Art and our son, Jon.  The gardens are in the background.  All the plants and trees were very small and it would be quite a few years before it bloomed into what it is now.

Reception Agony

We've been getting marginal television reception for the past year.  However, since we did get Channel 20 (Kiku) which is Mom's Japanese station, Brian Williams and Diane Sawyer, we were content enough.  We couldn't get Fox most of the time so I wasn't able to watch House, but that was OK.

And then it occurred to Art that when Sunetrics was putting on the solar panels last year, they may have accidentally moved the antennae that we have pointing as perfectly as possible in the right direction up in the attic crawl space.

Now here's the problem.

Art can move the antennae, but he can't know how well the TV reception is around the house.

While Art was moving the antennae in the hot attic, I was in my room (sitting on my Stressless chair with my feet up) checking out which channels were coming in clearly or not at all.

Then we discovered that what might be coming in upstairs was NOT coming in downstairs in the kitchen.  Sheesh!

So I asked mom to watch TV downstairs and yell up numbers 1-5 for the quality she was getting.  5 for crystal clear, 3 for breaking up, 1 for nothing/blank screen.  I hope the neighbors didn't think we were nuts as Mom on the 1st floor called out "Channel 4 is 3."  Then I'd relay the message from the 2nd floor landing to Art in the attic yelling, "Mom says 4 is 3!"

This went on for a couple of hours because if Brian Williams came in, Diane Sawyer was gone.  And at one point we almost lost Mom's Japanese channel.  Yikes!  The problem here on Oahu is that the broadcasting towers are located in two different directions and we live in the middle.

Then I remembered once when we used to have rabbit ear antennae that didn't work a long time ago, I would sometimes attach a wire to the ears and then drape it up to a metal shelving unit or some other crazy thing.  Sometimes it worked.

I suggested Art do this.

"It won't work," the engineer said.  The length of the antennae rods determine which channel comes in.  You can't just stick something metal on it and think it'll work."  (I think that's what he said.  I can't remember.  I'm sure he'll say I misquoted him.)

After my 4th or 5th time of saying, "Try attaching a piece of foil to it.  How about my metal crutch?  (Remember when I broke my foot?) Can't we stick some metal pole to it?  How about a hanger?"

Finally, just to quiet me down he found a piece of scrap aluminum folding door guide and stuck it to the antennae.  He thought he could then pull it through to shorten or lengthen it.

And guess what?  It worked!  Now we get all the channels and more!  And it's FREE TV.  Don't we make a great team?  Eventually?

Senryu Lost in Translation?

Please enlarge if you're able to read Japanese.

Our good friend, Osamu in Tokyo sent us a senryu that he was given.  He said I should share it with my mother.  He did not explain what it was.  When I handed it to Mom and told her it was from "Sam" she accepted it seriously, figuring it was something that would need her careful consideration.  I left.

A few seconds later, I heard chuckles coming from her room.  Then there was uncontrolled laughter and hilarity.

I thanked Sam later on Skype and told him that apparently Mom loved it.  Since Sam works as a Japanese/English translator for foreign businesses, we asked him what it was about.  He started to laugh saying, "I can't.  Ask your mother, please."

Art and I looked at each other quizzically which probably only made Sam laugh louder.

We asked Mom about the senryu and she explained that a senryu is like a haiku.

I got this from Wikipedia:
Senryū (川柳, literally 'river willow') is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 or fewer total morae (or "on", often translated as syllables, but see the article on onji for distinctions). Senryū tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and senryū are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are more serious. Unlike haiku, senryū do not include a kireji (cutting word), and do not generally include a kigo, or season word.

I still don't get it, but we asked Mom what the meaning of all the pieces of senryu were about.
Apparently the senryus were about Seniors:

 *  You're over 90 and still worried about food grown in China.
*  If a doctor or your wife become quiet, it's time to be frightened.
*  You spend time polishing your pre-bought tombstone.
*  Patients are more worried about their elderly doctor.
*  If you're healthy, you have nothing to talk about at the Senior Club.
*  You hope for a quick passing, but take pills to stay alive.
*  You write a memo to remember something, but forget where the memo is so you have to write a memo to remember where the memo is.
*  You're more afraid if your spouse is sleeping quietly than if they're snoring.
*  You're too scared to tell your wife that ... ummm... the make-up no longer helps.
*  You're looking forward to seeing your dog in the next world, rather than your spouse.
*  Desserts are pills rather than cakes.
*  The same kanji (Chinese character) means either lovestruck or senility.

These are just a few of them.  Many of these were truisms, but didn't explain Mom's uproarious laughter.  She tried to explain how they were incredibly funny sort of poems.  It is the structure of the poems along with the humor and truths of being older.  She tried desperately to explain WHY it was so amazingly funny.  We were perplexed.  This must be sort of like the difference between British and American humor, but more so.

Art says he was just surprised to see her laughing that hard.

Sigh... I guess it was lost in translation.