Blog Lesson: Spam

I really hate spam.  Blogger actually catches most of them, but there were still some that came through to my e-mail even though you can't usually see them on my blog.

And then I saw somewhere (which I'm embarrassed to say I can't remember where because I forgot to write it down) that I could change some of my settings to help control that.

I went to my Settings.

Then I clicked on Posts and comments and changed my Comment Moderation to Sometimes for posts older than 14 days.  I guess I could have chosen a week or whatever, but I settled on 14 days.

And it has made a difference.  I don't get the annoying spam announcements on my e-mail anymore.  I do have to check my comment moderation inbox every so often, but that doesn't irritate me as much.

Yes, I know Wordpress has less problems with spam, but my cyber family is on Blogger so this is my home base with Wordpress as my back-up.

Do you have any good blog tips?

Helpful Tips

My friend, Jean has sent me more helpful tips.  This time it's about food and I just had to share it with you.

This sounds like fun.  It looks pretty and gosh... does this make your wine even healthier?

OK, you didn't know there was a use for your old CD spindles, right?  Here it is!

I don't make balogna sandwiches much anymore, but here's a way to solve your empty corner problem.

I've never tried this, but I will... if I remember.  Have you done this?

POSTSCRIPT:
I just looked this up on Internet and found that the wooden spoon will stop it from boiling over as quickly, but it can still boil over.  Also, it can warp your spoon so you should use one that you don't much care for.

I really like this idea.  This would be great for outdoor parties, don't you think?

If you have a small cookbook to hold up or a recipe on a sheet, this would be wonderful!

I'm almost tempted to buy a roll or cake to try using some floss to cut it.

Now this is sure a fun way to make some cute little hors d'oeuvres. 

I like this idea, but does this mean I can keep some batter in the fridge to use later?

That would be nice.

And who would have thought to do this?

Granted I don't drink soft drinks with a straw that often anymore, but I know some people who do.

What fun!

And that's it for now... until Jean sends me something else to share.

Squeaky Wheel

Remember my aggravation with our 25" Hewlett-Packard computer monitors?  The first one lasted about 6 months and died.  They sent me a refurbished replacement and that just died this month after about a year and a half.

Art called the company and they checked our records which showed that the warranty had now expired so we were out of luck.

I was so irritated by this whole episode that I wrote an online complaint letter to Hewlett-Packard and yes, I told them I'd be blogging about it.  I didn't think anybody would actually read it.  Their website showed countries around the world where their products are sold.  Anyway, it felt good to just let off some steam and move on.

Art ordered another monitor on Cyber Monday from Costco... a Dell 27".  Woo hoo!  A bigger monitor!  I was feeling pretty excited.  We were planning to go and dispose of the dead hp monitor.

And then...

Would you believe?

Hewlett-Packard called yesterday.  They'd read my letter and kindly apologized.  My case manager, Robin said she understood my frustration and wanted to send me another monitor and have me send them back the broken one.

"Is it another refurbished unit again?" I asked.

"Uh... yes," said Robin.  "Would you like to think it over?  I can call back."

I turned to Art and asked him.  He quickly said, "Yes!"

So Hewlett-Packard is sending me another monitor to try out.  Art is cancelling the TWO INCHES bigger Dell monitor from Costco.  Sigh...

After I thanked Robin and hung up, Art hugged me and admonished, "You shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.  Free vs. $300, think about it."

Robin says she'll call me back to make sure everything is all right when the monitor arrives.  She's awfully nice.

"Besides," laughed Art.  "If this monitor lasts even just another year maybe the technology will be better by then and you'll be able to get an even fancier monitor."

And who knows?  Maybe it will be bigger.

Saying Grace

Dina of Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo asked yesterday if there was a Buddhist invocation.  Yes.  Like other religions, there are blessings, prayers and such for many occasions.

Then it got me thinking about something that happened this Thanksgiving that I totally LOVED.  On many occasions in the past here and on the mainland, if there was a Christian who liked to say grace before a meal, we were most certainly happy to allow them to lead us all in a prayer (even if the person was the only Christian at the table). 

This year, before eating I insisted that someone say grace since that's what you do on Thanksgiving.  My sister-in-law is Catholic and my nephews were raised Catholic, sort of.  Well, this year neither nephew wanted to do it and my sister-in-law had to work so couldn't join us.

So I asked mom if she knew a Buddhist grace.  She said, "Of course there is.  My father had us all say a prayer before each meal." 

Anyway, she explained to us what the words meant and then recited the long passage by heart.  I was shocked that she could remember it.

"We said it every day before every meal so of course I remember it,"  she laughed.

Saying grace at Eiheiji Temple

Then I remembered how she and Auntie Grace recited the sutra when we were at Eiheiji (one of the two main zen Buddhist temples in Japan) a couple of years ago.  Art and I had sat there with our mouths open to hear them say the sutra from the memory of their hearts.

Mom said that the first part of the sutra is too difficult to explain, but contain some of the tenets of Buddhism.  She was able to translate the second part as:  "The first bite is to ward away bad things.  The second bite is for doing good deeds.  The third bite is for everybody's happiness.  And every meal is for everyone to find their satori (sort of an awakening of understanding).

And so mom said the first Buddhist grace we've ever heard at our Thanksgiving table.

I can't begin to explain how it felt.  It was beautiful.  It was perfect.  It was full of love.

It was like coming home.

Assumptions

Assumptions are made everyday.  For some reason, religious assumptions seem to be even more prevalent in Hawaii than in Illinois which is a surprise.  Hawaii is such a melting pot that I would have assumed there would be more sensitivity.

Not from what I've seen.  It seems everybody is assumed to be Christian here.  At our high school reunion, there was a Christian invocation to begin the celebration. That was fine, but it made me wonder if I was the only Buddhist there.

I guess coming from Illinois where I had friends who were Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhists, Agnostics, Atheists, etc. the effort was made to be sensitive and inclusive.

I remember a Catholic neighbor 30 years ago encouraging us to send our children to his Catholic private pre-school.  He informed us happily with a broad smile, "We accept Muslims too."  I don't think he ever figured out that we weren't Muslim, but that was OK.  He didn't know the difference anyway.

Here in Hawaii, I get quite a few forwarded mail from friends assuming that I am Christian.  Art gets some pretty radical forwarded mail assuming that he is as conservative as his classmate's wife is.  I've told Art that he should just tell his classmate, but he says it's good to keep an open mind and hear out what people say who don't believe as you do.

I try my best to just go with the flow because that's really all part of being Buddhist.  But sometimes... it's a little hard when the flow is too strong.

On the bright side, Hawaii has sent the first Buddhist and Hindu to Congress. 

I like that.

Hewlett-Packard Lemons

In December of 2010, our son-in-law helped us buy a 25" monitor from Best Buy.  I was replacing our smaller Dell monitor because frankly my eye sight is getting weaker and I wanted a bigger screen.

In June of 2011 the monitor just died.  Kaput.  Dead in the water. It was barely 6 months old.  We called Hewlett-Packard and they sent us another monitor.  We noticed quickly that it wasn't a new one.  It was refurbished, but we decided to just accept it.

We've had it for a little over a year now.  Then for about a week it began to flicker. I thought it was my computer that was having trouble.  Nope.  Suddenly on Friday the monitor went black.  More black Friday stuff.

Art called Hewlett-Packard and Dave looked up our records and said the warranty was up.  So too bad.

Aggravation!  Hewlett-Packard sends us two lemons for monitors and it's too bad?  It's too bad for them because I'm writing about it and the service you get.  I will NEVER buy a Hewlett-Packard monitor or computer ever again.  On the other hand, their printer hasn't been half bad.

So now we're looking for another monitor.  Meanwhile I'm using the trusty smaller Dell monitor that's continuing to work just fine.

In fact, Art says he just saw a nice deal at Costco for another Dell monitor that's even bigger.  It's 27"!  And it comes with a two year warranty.  Sounds good to me.

Hewlett-Packard, shame on you.

Black Black Friday

For about 10 minutes I thought about waking up before the sun was up to go out to the malls for Black Friday.  Art was not excited.  We don't even know what we need to buy.

Instead, I decided (with Art's encouragement) that I needed to go to Zumba first and get some exercise after all the calories I ate on Thanksgiving. 

After Zumba, we were able to get ourselves to Office Depot to buy these 16 GB flash drives for $7.99.  It was actually Sandisk that was on sale, but they were all out.  The Lexars were still there and I liked the look of it so we bought it.

We then tried to get to the mall, but would you believe the traffic jam to get into the parking lot at 10:00 AM was so bad we went right home and had a turkey left-over lunch?

Then we headed out again to Home Depot and bought some lumber we needed for another home project and...

new toilet seats since the plastic screw things on the ones we have are already breaking after 5 years.  We found the Bemis brand at Home Depot, but decided to check out toilet seats at Lowes also and found something that would work well.  This brand was called Church.  We bought one of each so we could compare them.

After installing the two toilet seats in our master bedroom and the guest bedroom, Art checked where they were made.  Sheboygan, Wisconsin!  It was our neighbor to the north when we lived in Illinois.  Then he checked the addresses.  What the heck!  They were the same. Both toilet seats were made by the same company. 

Well, they are both great!  Sturdy and secure with the promise that they won't come loose.  Since the hinges are metal, I hope they won't snap off like the other one with plastic bolts we had.  As for rust... we'll see.

As a reward for all our hard work, we shared some shave ice from our favorite Mountain Magic Shave Ice Stand outside of Sports Authority in Waikele.

It started to rain... HARD!  This is very unusual for this part of the island.

Then there was lightning!

Seriously? 

And thunder?

Come on....

As we headed home, we saw sheets of rain, flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder around us.  Incredible!  It was almost like being back in the Midwest.  Sort of...

There was a long wait in traffic.  When we got home mom said she'd heard that there was hail reported also and that the highway was flooded.  That's what caused the traffic snarl.  In the evening news they talked about funnel clouds!  Are you kidding? 

Our Black Friday turned out darker than we anticipated but we managed to get a few buys that we needed.  I think we'll wait a while to go shopping again. 

Did you buy anything? 

Thanksgiving With the Guys

We had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner although we missed our nephew's wife as well as my sister-in-law who had to work.

Art had gotten up early to make his once a year pumpkin pie.  I made a flan.

My brother, Dennis is a fabulous cook so I put him in charge of making the gravy.  I'm horrible at gravy.  He went out into the garden and collected some sage, rosemary and thyme and showed his sons how to make great gravy.

Dennis also brought a wonderful green bean casserole, mashed Okinawan sweet potato and Irish potato.  I loved seeing the guys take over the kitchen.

Here it is!  Giant green salad, bread stuffing, mochi rice with bacon, lup chong, etc. stuffing, kinpira gobo, green bean casserole, mashed purple Okinawan potatoes, mashed Irish potatoes, brined turkey with gravy.

Dennis was really surprised at how moist and tasty the turkey was.  I'm a real fan of brining.

Mom enjoyed all the food as well as having the family together.

Everything was really tasty!

The best part of it all was the guys did the clean up!  Woo hoo!

I'll be off to Black Friday...after zumba, that is.  I need to work off the calories!

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!

Ahhhh.... it's turkey day.  I made some mochi rice/lup chong (Chinese sausage)/bacon/cilantro/onion stuffing and a flan yesterday.  I also brined the turkey. Mom made her special kinpira gobo (teriyaki burdock root).  Art will make his special pumpkin pie and we'll have another more traditional bread stuffing.  I'll also be putting together a healthy green salad.  My brother will be making a bean casserole along with potatoes (if he remembers).  I'm also assigning him to make the gravy.  He's good with gravy.  Actually, he's an amazing cook.

Sadly my sister-in-law and nephew's wife have to work.  It's so unfair.  The guys will have to bring food home for them.

I guess Thanksgiving is a time for traditional foods.  Every family has something that they have to have.  We always had to have broccoli casserole for our daughter, Tiffany because she wasn't a fan of turkey.  We also had to have cranberries from a can because that's what the kids were used to.

I wanted to try something different this year in Hawaii.  One of my friends swore by the mochi rice/lup chong/bacon/cilantro/round onion/green onion stuffing so I had to try it.  And yes, it is yummy!  I poked out the fat from the lup chong though.

What does your family have to have on Thanksgiving besides the turkey?  Did you brine your turkey?  Do you have a good brining recipe?

Funny Thing About Flatulence

Ummmm....

I've been having this uncomfortable problem for a few years.  I figured it was the result of aging.  I've talked to doctors about it and my current nurse practitioner.  They've told me to just take some simethicone.

Yes... the problem is flatulence, otherwise known as gas.  It's sometimes painful, sometimes embarrassing.  Nobody likes to talk about it except as a joke.

Since moving to Hawaii, however, it's gotten worse.

I was worried about our visit to Illinois and staying with my daughter's family because...  well... you know.

Surprisingly, I was fine.  No gas.  We were so busy that I didn't think about it until we got home to Hawaii and it started up again.  In fact, I've been alright on trips.  It was only when we were home that I had this problem.

It occurred to us then that it could be diet related.  We weren't eating quite as healthily in Illinois as we do in Hawaii... true.  (I gained 6 pounds!)  And then we realized that one thing that was missing from our diet in Illinois was prunes.  I eat about 5-6 prunes with my breakfast every morning  in Hawaii.  We just never got around to buying it in Illinois. 

Art researched prunes on livestrong.com and discovered this:

The University of Michigan states that prunes can cause large amounts of gas buildup, resulting in flatulence. The culprit in this case is another sugar by the name of sorbital. The body is unable to digest the sorbital. This sugar will go to the large intestine to be broken down and will produce large amounts of gas. The prune is a dried plum, and the drying process allows the amount of fiber in the fruit to become much more concentrated. Prunes have been used as a natural remedy for constipation for centuries.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/326170-worst-foods-that-cause-flatulence/#ixzz2Bt4ioVtV

No kidding?  How do you like that?  I had no idea that prunes would cause gas.  The website also mentioned that beans and whole grains cause gas build up.  I'll just take Beano with those.

It's so wonderful when we can find the source of our discomfort.  I'm glad I can laugh about it now.

Kalaupapa Memories

When I told mom that I had written about her father on my blog she was very happy because she said he was not given the credit he truly deserved.  Apparently a later priest recorded that the Americans of Japanese Ancestry Hall in Kalaupapa had been built by the Buddhist headquarters.  He neglected to mention who spearheaded the project.  As for my grandfather, he didn't care.  It wasn't important.  But it was important to my grandmother who dearly loved her husband.

Grandmother told mom that she needed to correct this in Hawaii.  Well...Mom really didn't want to make a fuss.  She was embarrassed and told her mother that it wasn't necessary.  My grandmother, however, was not at all pleased.

Mom says that my putting the truth out on record into cyberspace must be making my grandmother smile.

I'm recording the following from my mother's memories and the memoir her mother wrote.

My grandparents arrived in Kaunakakai, Molokai in 1928.  

They began a Japanese language school along with his duties as the new Zen Buddhist priest at the Rokuonzan Guzeiji Temple in Kaunakakai which is the largest town on Molokai.

Soon after, he went to visit the Hansen's Disease (leprosy) colony in Kalaupapa where there were 47 Japanese victims.

When he arrived there, grandfather was startled to be met by patients so grateful to have a priest of their own religion that they burst into tears.

He quickly learned that the patients were missing the foods they were familiar with so grandfather went back to Kaunakakai and got his congregation to put together food donations of things like mochi and tofu to bring down every month.  Three men went down into the Kalaupapa peninsula with him to help carry the food.

They also wanted to see Japanese movies so grandfather went to Honolulu to pick up silent films to bring back to Kalaupapa.  Since they were silent movies, grandfather apparently did the speaking parts. 

The patients then told grandfather that they would dearly love a Clubhouse of their own.  It would have been nice if they could have joined the other patients helped by Christian priests but this was 1928.  They probably couldn't speak much English and their culture/religion were very different.

Grandfather went to Honolulu and advertised at the Hawaii Hochi and Hawaii Times, Ltd. Japanese language newspapers.  Many years later when mom went to work at the Hawaii Times, Ltd., the reporters told her that they had a lot of respect for her father.  He had taken the reporter/s down to Kalaupapa to show them what was needed.  Mom said she was always treated kindly because she was her father's daughter.

At the main Zen Soto Mission temple at Nuuanu on Oahu, grandfather met Principal Misawa of the Tsurumi Girls High School from Japan and told him of this project.  Mr. Misawa went back to his high school and his students collected enough money for a famous sculptor named Koun Takamura to carve a beautiful Kannon Buddhist statue for the new building.

One of the 47 Japanese patients at Kalaupapa was a carpenter by trade and soon organized the building of the new Clubhouse. 

It is now called the AJA Hall (Americans of Japanese Ancestry) and is being preserved and used as a bookstore.

The meeting hall/clubhouse served as a movie theater, meeting place, sewing group area, temple, etc.  The Kannon statue and other Buddhist artifacts would bring comfort to the patients.  There grandfather gave sermons and prayed with his Kalaupapa congregation.

It was quite an amazing feeling to imagine my grandfather as a young priest walking about this room. 

This lady manning the bookstore told us that she may know more of the history of the AJA hall.  She has my e-mail.  I hope that some day she'll find something she can share with me.

It's hard to know how accurate history can be.  So much depends on the perspective of the researcher/writer.  I'm recording what my grandmother and mother know as the truth. 

I'm picturing my grandmother's happy smile.  And my grandfather?  I still don't think the recognition for his efforts mattered much to him.  What gave him satisfaction was in helping those who needed it.  In that, I believe he was satisfied.  For me... I'm just content that this legacy can be passed down to my cousins and our children.

Molokai: Day #2 (Part 2)

When we first told mom about doing this trip, she wasn't excited about doing it.  She felt that nothing would be the same or preserved after 75 years.

To our delight, she was able to journey back into the past and see the place that the father she admired and loved worked and did so much good.

We had a bagged lunch at Kalawao which is on the northeast side of the peninsula.  Kalaupapa is on the northwest side.

The views there were absolutely beautiful.  Right below was where patients were initially dropped off.  Sometimes, they had to be forcibly dropped off which was very sad.

We visited Father Damien's St. Philomena Catholic church and found Brother Joseph Dutton's grave site next to it.  He had asked to be buried close by Father Damien.

Our tour guide, Norman told us that only 4-5% of the population is susceptible to Hansen's Disease.  Unfortunately, Father Damien was part of that small minority, and died in 1889 after 16 years at Kalaupapa.  Brother Dutton was able to serve the patients for 44 years without contracting the disease.  My grandfather was there for 8 years and also did not contract Hansen's Disease.  Sadly, the group most susceptible were the Hawaiian people who did not have many of the immunities against diseases foreigners brought in.

Here is my grandfather crouching down next to the man he admired and regarded highly for the work he'd done for the patients for 44 years.

Mom says there was a photo of her father with Brother Dutton that was cherished by the family, but it was lost in their escape during the war.

Brother Dutton died during my grandfather's 2nd or 3rd year at Kalaupapa.

This is the grave yard next to the church.  Father Damien's grave is at the front.

St. Philomena Catholic Church

OK, it's not that I didn't like Lahi Lahi. However, my behind was really protesting getting back in the saddle.  Lahi Lahi on the other hand could not wait to get started.  He was pushing at the ropes to get to the front again... until he remembered that it was going to be UPhill this time.

I almost know the exact moment when he remembered.  Suddenly his steps slowed and he had to be prodded by the mule leaders.  I hated to kick him like they told me to.

 I really sympathized with his plight.  I REALLY don't like climbing UPhill either.  Whereas he pushed to the front of the line when we were going down, he now stopped at almost every switch back.  

When I tried to urge him on, he'd look back at me as if to say, "Are you kidding me?  Couldn't you have lost those 6 pounds before you decided to get on my back?"

Three miles UPhill all the way and Art was still raring to go.  His butt was just fine!

We read that you could mail a coconut anywhere in the U.S. for between $10.00 to $15.00 (postage) so we decided to send one to KC in Chicago.  

The coconut was free.

Can you believe the gas prices on Molokai?

We also found that Molokai has the plastic bag law.  If you plan to go there, bring your own bag.  It was not a problem for us.

And this is where our luck ran out.  Our Island Air flight was 2 hours late!!!  Worse... I had to sit on hard metal seats for 3 hours while we waited.  After a stop on Lanai we finally got to bed around midnight.  

And yes!  Here is Art's trophy t-shirt.  In retrospect, Art says I should have gotten one too.  We also brought back Molokai sweet potato chips and a whole lot of wonderful memories.

And mom?  She's thrilled and could hardly wait to get home and start writing all about it.

Molokai: Day #2 (Part 1)

It was Wednesday and time for our trip down into Kalaupapa and Kalawao.  I decided to try the mule ride although I did have my misgivings.  Art was determined to hike the 3 mile pali trail.   There are 26 switchbacks on the trail and it has a 1,600 foot elevation.  When I spoke to the Mule Ride company, they said it would be a bit rough for an 83 year old woman.  Therefore Dennis took mom on a very small airplane down to the peninsula.

Buzzy gave us a lesson on how to ride a mule.

Did you know a mule is a cross between a horse and a donkey?  They are supposed to be sure footed.

I think I was one of the few people who had never ridden a mule or a horse.  I've ridden a donkey, but it's much smaller than a mule.

That fellow in the back with the cowboy hat is from Wyoming.  He and his ranching family were here on vacation.  I did notice that I was the only local person in this group.

Buzzy joked that they would match the mules to our faces and we had to remember their names.

My mule's name was Lahi Lahi.  Buzzy said it meant Slim.

The beginning of the trail is easier.

Art had to dodge mule urine and poop.  Eventually the trail got rockier and bumpier... very very bumpy.  I wore my bike pants, but it wasn't padded enough.  I would have preferred a pillow.

All the mules were well trained and Lahi Lahi seemed quite competent.

He had a lot of energy and soon pushed himself to the front just behind this very experienced Wyoming rancher.

The only problem with Lahi Lahi is that...

...he liked to snack!


I hated to keep pulling on the reins to nudge his head away from many of the bushes and clumps of delicious looking grass.

I'm afraid I must not have enough padding on my back side.  I seriously wished I could move my tummy fat to my backside.
Sigh....

All the mules are very well fed and cared for.  I was never afraid during the ride down the cliff.

When we got to the bottom, Art was waiting for me with another hiker who happened to be a doctor who'd studied in Chicago.  What a coincidence!

Dennis and mom had been picked up at the airport so we came together into an old school bus and our tour director, Norman took us around while giving us a history of Kalaupapa.

We told him about mom's dad, and Norman said the community house was still standing and was now a bookstore.  Norman called it a temple, but it was actually a meeting hall that grandfather had fund-raised to build.  My grandfather had also brought special food from Kaunakakai and Japanese language movies that he showed patients using a movie projector.

This is Norman and mom in front of the Americans of Japanese Ancestry Hall. Norman is Roman Catholic but was kind enough to show a lot of enthusiasm for our excitement in finding where the Buddhists were being supported.

This is just a fun, amazing coincidence.  I took this photo from the distant overlook the day before as we were looking down at the peninsula. I blew up the photo today and could see that the Tour Bus had been stopped right in front of the AJA Hall where we would be the following day.

Back on the bus, mom was all smiles.  She couldn't wait to show all the photos to her siblings in Hawaii and in Japan.

Tomorrow's post will be the second half of the day... and back on top of Lahi Lahi.