Art's Almost Angiogram

Art has an arrhythmia.  His cardiologist put him through a battery of tests.  None of the tests were conclusive.

Art has always known that his father had a heart condition and indeed passed away from a heart attack.  His dad worked very difficult hours, didn't get enough real exercise, didn't always eat what he should, and smoked during his young years.  He died too early at 70.  For this reason Art has tried very hard to stay healthy.

Art's angiogram was supposed to be on Wednesday.

We'd gotten lots of fabulous advice from my Kansas go-to-friend, DrumMajor.  We were ready.

Since I can't drive (far), my brother, Dennis took the day off to take us to Tripler at 7:15 AM.  He rode his motorcycle in the rain to get to our house.

At 9:00 we learned that there wasn't a recovery bed available.  Even if he probably didn't need a bed, they had to make sure a bed was available just in case something should go wrong.  And they weren't sure WHEN a bed would open up.

The waiting room was so crowded that Dennis and I went home to await the call to pick Art up after the surgery.  We weren't even sure what time he'd be having the surgery.

Back at home, Dennis and I took a nap, read and waited.  I called the hospital around noon to ask if Art had come out of surgery yet.  It took four phone transfers to finally get to the right people.

"I'm afraid he's still waiting in the waiting room, mam," said the nurse.

"What?  It's been 4.5 hours!"

Sigh...  The nurse transferred me again and Art came on the phone.  "Would you pick me up?" asked Art.

We rushed over to Tripler where Art stood waiting for us.

We grabbed lunch at Champa Thai restaurant.  Art was starving since he hadn't eaten or drunk anything since the previous night's dinner.

The angiogram is rescheduled for next Tuesday.  I hope it isn't raining again and I hope they have a bed.

POSTSCRIPT:

Oh my gosh!

I forgot to wish all our dear Chinese friends a Happy New Year!

Gong Hei Fat Choy!

or

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Umbrellas on a Sunny Day?

I've seen older ladies walking around town holding umbrellas on a sunny day.  I know it makes sense because the sun can be very harsh in Hawaii.

Despite the fact that I am a senior citizen, I just couldn't see myself walking around holding an umbrella.  It looks a little funny on a sunny day.  I walk to my zumba classes in the sun trying to find as many sheltering trees as I can.  However, I always carry an umbrella in my zumba bag in case of rain.

Today, the sun was blazing without a cloud in the sky and I was blazing from a vigorous workout.

When I reached into my bag to find my hat, I saw the umbrella and decided to use it. Who cares how I look?

And you know what?

It was great!  Really great!  No wonder those ladies long ago used parasols on sunny days.  It didn't just protect their complexion, it must have protected their eyes from UVs too.

I think I'll go look for a nicer umbrella to use now.  It might make me look older to use the umbrella, but perhaps I'll look more stylish old. 

The Joys of Home Ownership

The morning of the Bonsai Party, Art went downstairs ahead of time to put the laundry into the washer.

When he went outside, he found the side of the house flooded.  Water, water everywhere!    He looked for the source and found it was coming from the water heater shed.  He could hear some sort of ominous hissing sound.

The stainless steel braided flexible hose had sprung a leak.  We've never seen that happen before.  Water was spraying all over the shed.

Art turned the water off and came upstairs to tell me.

"What???"  I wasn't hysterical; just losing my cool.   "Can we find a plumber on a Saturday?  How much will this cost?  Are you sure you won't get electrocuted walking around there?  Do we have any water?  Can I use the bathroom.  Arrrgh!!!"

Did I mention I'm not all that calm under pressure?

"Don't worry," said Art.  "I think I can fix it."

"Think?  You're not sure?  How?"  I have lots of faith in him... most of the time.

"We'll just run down to Home Depot after the party and replace the hose," he reassured me.

And by golly!  That's what he did! Home Depot had just what he needed and it's all fixed.

Today, mom called Art to tell him the window couldn't close properly.

"It's under warranty," he said.  "I'll call and have them come and fix it."

Phew!

Bonsai Club New Year Party

Art joined the Bonsai Club in November and asked me to join in January.  They are a group of very nice people.  I imagine it would be hard to find mean, nasty people in a club devoted to the creation and nurturing of teeny tiny trees.

I joined the club just in time because their holiday/New Year party was in mid-January.  Our new 90 + year old friends, Mr. and Mrs. K told us we really needed to go because the grab bag/door prizes were really fabulous.

"Besides," said Mr. K.  "I'm bringing the watercolor of the bonsai that's on the greeting card I gave you."

I was really looking forward to seeing the painting because I loved what I saw on the greeting card copy he'd made of the original.

The party was wonderful, the food fabulous at the Pearl Country Club!  We met many friendly bonsai enthusiasts.  We also won a whole lot of fabulous things!  There was a bonsai equipment bag, 2 different sizes of bonsai pots and a really neat bucket tool holder.  One of the people gave us the small juniper they won and told Art to put it in the pot he'd won.  We gave them the dish towel/Hawaiian spice/fudge prize we'd also won.  They then laughed and handed us the bonsai calendar they won.

We've never seen anything like this.  It's really fabulous!  Now we can stick all our tools in it and carry them around the house.  Art is still finishing the renovation of our house so this is perfect.

We learned that the painting Mr. K modestly said he was bringing as his grab bag was actually the Mega Grand Prize.  It was a beautifully framed, magnificent work of art.  I was startled when we saw the incredible full size painting.  Apparently he donates one of his masterpieces every year.

Sigh.

No, we didn't win it.

But there's always next year.

Living Strong

Recently Art and I joined a Bonsai Club.  Art has always wanted to plant a large tree here in Hawaii.  He'd planted a whole lot of trees on our property in Illinois and was unhappy that he couldn't do that in Hawaii.  People don't much care for large trees here in Hawaii because of the cost of upkeep.

After unsuccessfully trying to find a place to plant a tree in our small yard, he gave up and decided to learn how to create the illusion of a big tree on a small scale.

We'll be attending meetings once a month and will take a workshop sometime in May.

Art began talking to Mr. and Mrs. K during the first meeting that we both attended.

They are both in their 90s and we were impressed with how vital and outgoing they were.

They invited Art to stop over during one of his Meals on Wheels scheduled runs in their neighborhood and offered to show him all the bonsai they had created.

They gave us a lot of mizuna (leafy lettuce like vegetable) they grew in their garden. 

My childhood friend, Yvonne called later to invite us to hear a Lion's Club presentation about the  Honouliuli Internment Camp here on Oahu.  We asked Mr. and Mrs. K if they might  be interested.  They happily accepted.  We learned that Mr. K had been interned at Sand Island on Oahu and then sent off to Tule Lake Internment Camp in Northern California soon after Pearl Harbor.

This was a terrible time of shame, confusion and betrayal for Japanese Americans by their own government.  Mrs. K said her husband had not really talked to her about it so the Lion's Club presentation was very interesting.

Mr. K told us about his life of being moved from Internment Camp to a Labor camp type of situation.  What struck me was that although it had to be a time of bitterness for him; so much so that it wasn't something he wanted to discuss with his wife, he tried to tell us only the positive side.  Yes, he found some positive sides.

While imprisoned at the Internment Camp, he met and studied under a master watercolor artist named Hiroshi Honda whose work is displayed at the Honolulu Museum of Art.  He also learned judo from another master.  He spent those four or five years learning and making friends.  Art and I saw many of the paintings Mr. K had done.  Many have been displayed in exhibits and absolutely take your breath away.

What struck me when we got to the Lion's Club event was the energetic way they walked and the interest they showed in everything around them.  They were showered with attention which they accepted happily and gratefully.  They are open to any invitation and friendship that comes their way and make the most of every minute of their lives.

I'm in awe. And perhaps that is the secret to a long and happy life.

It's Cold Over Here Too...Sort Of

Mom came out of her room yesterday morning wearing a heavy sweatshirt and socks.  "It's too cold!" she said.

Art confirmed it saying the thermometer read 58 degrees Fahrenheit this morning. That's 15 degrees Celsius (for the rest of the world). It had risen to 60 degrees when I got up and took this photo.

Thursday is our day for Tai Chi and I knew it would be even cooler on that side of the island.  As we drove there we saw everybody on the street bundled up in long pants and sweaters.

When our Tai Chi friends saw me in jeans and a cardigan they laughed.  They all knew we spent 35 years in Chicago.  "Now we know it must be cold," they said.

I talked to our daughter in Chicago and told her how chilly it was in Hawaii.  "Mom," she said dryly.  "No one here would feel sorry for you.  I think it's 0 degrees right now.  All anybody talks about right now is the cold."

OK... since everybody is talking about the cold anyway, how cold is it where you are?

Blogging Routine

People have asked me how I'm able to keep up my blogging.  I admit it is a rather haphazard schedule.  I write most of my posts a week at a time so I'm not under too much pressure.

Sometimes I'll make an error on setting the day and the post might pop up on your sidebar with nothing on it because I would be quickly correcting and resetting the date.  I would like to apologize for those goof-ups. 

The weekends are when I like to devote my time to visiting blogger friends.  Granted, there are weekend occasions that get overcrowded and I have to wait a while to see what you're all up to.

As for comments on my blog, I try to reply to people who don't have their own blogs first because that's usually my only real means of communication with them.  I also answer questions that are posed by anybody... and reply to other comments if something pops into my brain at random.

I hope you all feel free to reply to any comment posted on my blog because it's lovely to have that feeling of a group communication.  I feel like I've really been blessed with a caring, free thinking, loving, highly intelligent, courteous cyber family who are always respectful of each other and add valuable insight to any topic.

I guess this is the framework of my weekly blogging schedule that I usually, sort of, maybe, most of the time, perhaps follow.  What is your schedule like?

Pruning the Lemon Tree

"I just heard on the radio that I should cut the leaves near the lemons so that more will be produced," said mom happily determined.

Art looked at me over the breakfast and sighed.  He's been trying to tell her she shouldn't be pruning the tree so haphazardly just because she thinks it doesn't get enough wind to blow off the black flies or because it will poke her.

I took this photo later through our screened window showing mom pruning as she sees fit.  Art, who became a Tree Keeper in Chicago after taking a bunch of workshops on how to care for trees tries not to look because it just aggravates him.

As unattractive and ungainly as the tree looks, it must love mom because it is constantly producing huge, juicy lemons throughout the year.

So what to do?

Remember that serenity prayer?

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference.

I guess Art has accepted that he can't change how mom does her tree keeping and he's wise enough to know he can't.

Crazy ReUsing

I know.  I know.  Art thought I might have been overdoing it.  However, with gift bags more the fashion these days, a lot of tissue is used to make the present pretty and ends up going to waste.

Art caught me ironing out some of the tissues we'd received over the holidays.

But you know what?

They do flatten out nicely and reusing the tissue puts a little less paper into the garbage.

I'll be able to reuse it as stuffing and fluff to add to any gift bags I give out next time.

What do you reuse to lessen the load on our landfills?

Moanalua Trail Hike

I've always bemoaned the thought that there weren't many areas to hike on Oahu unlike the neighboring islands that haven't been as heavily developed as ours.  When you think about Oahu, you think of crowded Honolulu and touristy Waikiki.

However, our dear friend Dave has somehow managed to find great places to hike.

This time it was the Moanalua Trail hike.  The trail head is at Moanalua Community Neighborhood Park.

Since rain had been forecast, we were thrilled that clear skies promised sunshine.

When I checked online, it said to beware of mosquitoes so we were careful to apply insect repellent.    However, it wasn't very bad at all.

The area was relatively dry so we were feeling quite relaxed about starting our hike.

There were many bridges along the way which were fun to see.

The trail was apparently once used by horse drawn carriages leading to the S.M. Damon estate.

The Moanalua Trail is not a loop trail.  I've read that you could have a 6-7 hour hike.  We were planning to just do 2.5 miles and then back. 

I thought I'd try using my hiking/walking poles.  I eventually discovered that it was too difficult to use the poles and take photos so I asked Dave to do the photography for me.

I shared one pole with Diane who is Dave's wife and my buddy since kindergarten.

The road split here, but no matter which one you chose, you ended up at the same place.  It was hard to get lost.

Dave chose the high road on the bridge and took this photo of us.

It was wonderful to be out in nature with the birds calling to us.  We couldn't see them, but we knew they were there.  Mongoose constantly ran across the road.

We made it easily to the Kulana'ahane trail head and then turned around and headed back.

You needed to be careful of the rocky road at times.  If you're not careful, you could fall and hurt yourself.


You really meet the nicest people while hiking. 

One group of ladies told us about a hiking group called the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club who had been hiking weekly since 1910 and encouraged us to join.

This Hawaiian petroglyph, Pohakukaluahine is on the trail but easily missed.  Even when we went back to look at it and read the sign, it was hard to make out the carving on the rock. 

Isn't it funny how heading back always seems faster?












I saw this hibiscus like flower that my brother, Dennis and I used to pick to suck the nectar when we were kids.  We used to eat a lot of things hanging from trees and bushes.  It's amazing we survived our childhood.

When we got back to the car, Dave and Diane surprised us with a fabulous, delicious box lunch from Kabuki restaurant. 

There was so much to eat, but we managed to consume most of it.  I knew we'd be going home to take a nap!

When we woke up, my sister-in-law sent me a text photo of the downpour that drenched Moanalua Valley a couple of hours after we left.

All in all, a perfectly wonderful day for us!

We were feeling mighty happy with ourselves that we'd gotten our exercise for the day.  Dave says he's got another hike in mind for another sunny day.  We'll be looking forward to it.

New Fangled Gadget?

I recently bought a lemon zester that I love.  I soon realized that I don't zest lemons often.

However, I do grate ginger root all the time as does mom.

It occurred to me that the zester might grate ginger nicely.

It did!  It really did!

The nice thing is it doesn't waste as much of the ginger as mom's old ginger-garlic-whatever grater does. 

I proudly showed mom what the NEW zester could do and recommended that she try using it.

The next day we came home and found that mom forgot I said to use it with ginger.

"It works good", she said proudly.  "I used it for the garlic".

"No, not garlic." I remonstrated.  "This is what you use for garlic.  The tube is for peeling the garlic.  The garlic press is for mashing the garlic."

"OK", said mom, mumbling something I couldn't catch in Japanese.

I think it had to do with new fangled gadgets making her crazy, but I'm not sure.  However, if my lemon zest starts emitting some garlicky flavoring, I'll know why.

Last Days of the International Marketplace

Our dear California friend, Mike had a longer layover in Hawaii last month.  He's a pilot with Continental Airlines.  We were so happy that we'd be able to see him this time.

We went first to the Waikiki Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin for some pork tonkatsu.  It's always been fabulous before, but I have to tell you it was so so this time.  We were a little disappointed, but that was OK.  We had fun catching up with each other's family doings.

We rarely go down into the city, much less Waikiki where Mike was staying so this was a good excuse to see the International Marketplace one last time before they closed it down for good on New Year's Eve.  It opened in 1957 and was filled with a lot of cheap less expensive knick knacks.

This will all be replaced with high end stores like Saks Fifth Avenue.

It felt sad and nostalgic to walk around the shops under the old banyan trees.

I was happy to be able to capture a flavor of the area one last time.

The banyan trees are tall and beautiful.

Mike, Art and I watched a Hawaiian music show for a while.

All the vendors were trying to sell off their merchandise.  We didn't see a lot of prices listed so you couldn't be absolutely sure you were going to really get a good price.

In the end we didn't buy anything.  We actually prefer buying Hawaiian touristy items at the Aloha Stadium at their swap meets on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Although Aloha Stadium is where we take friends who want to buy Hawaiian gifts to bring home, it's still sad to see the International Marketplace closing down.  It feels like more of older Hawaii giving way to high end, modern, mainland type, rich people stores.

I wonder if they'll keep the trees.

Chicken Fajita Flop

We hadn't gone to Jack in the Box in a very long time and decided to try it.  Art got the salad which he said was quite good.  I opted for the Chicken Fajita after asking if the chicken was deep friend or grilled.

It was grilled and looked good on the menu photo.

It didn't quite look like this when I got it, of course.  It was actually quite small considering the fact that it was over $4.00.

The pita was extremely soggy and you really couldn't hold it to eat.  Everything fell apart.  I finally had to get a fork after setting the sandwich on the cover of Art's salad dish.

Taste wise it was OK.  Next time, I'll probably choose a salad instead.  Besides we were able to take home the salad dish to wash and reuse.

I haven't usually had reason to complain about fast food dishes.  They are just fast food.  However, this was irritating.  Have you had any places that you were unhappy with?

My Favorite Christmas Card

To be perfectly honest, I've been a little frustrated with a few people who have used religion to look down on others and have constantly needed to push their beliefs onto other hearts who were already content with their own.

Why is it so hard to understand that there are other beliefs and that people might be right in thinking it works for them?

Then I received this card from a friend who happens to be Catholic and has always accepted others for the goodness of their hearts rather than any belief system.

I met fellow teacher, Lisa in 1984 and she has been an honest and loving friend ever since.

Her special card made me very happy and filled me with hope for the new year.  Actually, I am blessed with a number of friends just like Lisa and wish the world were populated with even more people like them.

The wonderful thing about blogging is that I've come across many more people like Lisa who accept others for the goodness inside and try to break down walls with understanding.  I'm so grateful that we are able to reach out to each other anytime we want to and find someone there ready to listen.

Thank you for being my friend.

Farmer's Painting

When we went to China in May we selected a painting from a  collection done by farmers in Xi'an.  We were at the Buddhist Temple Park and the painting cost 200 yuan which is about $32.

When we brought it home we realized again that it would cost us a whole LOT more to have it framed because it was a non-standard size.  The painting lay on our guestroom bed for the rest of the year.

Finally a coupon arrived in December for 10% off at Picture's Plus.  We decided to just go ahead and do it while resolving never to buy artwork in a foreign country again.

The sales associate helped us with the matting and framing choices.

A week later, the painting was ready for pick up.




We were very pleased and hung it up in our bedroom.  I smile whenever I see it.  I remember all the fun we had.  I remember the wonderful people we became friends with on the tour.  I remember the beautiful places we visited in China.

You know what?  I don't think I can keep the promise to not buy another piece of artwork from a non-standard country again.

A Year At a Time

I received an e-mail from a friend informing me that we had lost three more classmates this winter.  We had a rather large student body that was well over 300 students.

The names were foggy so I looked up Allyson, Charlene and Herbert in our Senior yearbook.  There were their young faces and I remembered them.

Even though I'm now moving toward 70, I still have that same sort of invincible feeling many teenagers have.  You just don't want to believe you can be gone tomorrow.  I'm working to control my pre-diabetes, my osteoporosis, my cholesterol, etc.  And still I think I'll live to be a 100.  Well, probably not, but you get the idea.

Hearing that classmates have passed away brings home the realization that we are not immune to mortality.  It's sobering.  I want to see my granddaughter go to college.  I want to see her get married.  I want to see my son's children (hint).  I want ...

Ah well... I guess I'll take it a year at a time and try to enjoy all that 2014 gives us.

White Poinsettias in Hawaii

Our neighbor had been methodically covering her large bush with a light tarp for over a month.  It seemed rather an original thing to do so I asked her why.  Apparently the bright street lights were preventing her bush from blooming because it needed darkness at night to produce flowers.

Sometime in December the bush rewarded her with a blanket of tiny white flowers.  It was so beautiful that I asked her what it was called.  She said it was a White Poinsettia bush.  I must have appeared skeptical that it was a poinsettia so she showed me how it had a milky sap and then had me look at the tiny flowers up close.  Sure enough!  (You can click on this photo to enlarge it.)

Mom calls it a White Christmas flower and said that they had a bush in the back of their previous home.  I never noticed it because we tended to visit in summers when the bush was not in bloom.  You can see hints of pink in some of the flowers.

My neighbor had said that this would be the last year she'd cover the bush, but we've complimented her so much on it that I have a feeling she might be tempted to do it one more time. 

How to Cut a Six Pointed Snowflake

I mentioned yesterday that all snowflakes have 6 points and that the snowflakes that are often cut out by children are not exactly accurate because it has 8 points.

If you count the points on this close-up I took of actual snowflakes, you can see that there really are 6 points.

My wonderful DrumMajor who is shivering in Kansas wrote a comment:  "So, dear teacher, is there a way to fold the paper to make the snowflake correct and true? I never knew that about the 6 points."

I'd never cut a 6 pointed snowflake and it presented a challenge, but I DID IT!  Woo hoo!  This is for you, DrumMajor!

 Step 1:  Fold the paper diagonally and cut off the excess to form a square.






Step 2:  Fold one point across because you have to form thirds.

Step 3:  Bring the other side over.

Step 4:  Now fold that in half.

Step 5:  Cut out your design just as you did when you used to make the 8 pointed snowflake.

Step 6:  Unfold and you have your 6 pointed accurate snowflake.

Olga commented that she lives in "Snowflake Bentley's" hometown.  I googled him and discovered that he began taking individual snowflake snapshots in 1885.  It's really amazing! 

OK... I want everybody to go out there and teach their grandchildren and children how to cut a 6 pointed snowflake.  Snowflake Bentley will be very proud of you.

Is it starting to warm up for you?  I sure hope so!

Snowflakes for Myra

My dear friend, Myra asked, "Are those individual snowflakes I see in the snow (or maybe it's just my wishful thinking that I can actually see them)?  It's quite beautiful and fascinating."

I remember being startled the first time I was able to see the exquisite little snowflakes when they settled on my winter coat or on the car windshield.

With the winter cold strangling many parts of the country I wanted to share my beautiful snowflake photos with you again.

You can click on the photos to get a closer view.

Snowflakes always have six points, not eight which is what you usually get when you fold a piece of paper to cut them out.

Isn't it amazing?

Snowflakes are usually all broken up by the time you see them, but in 2008 somehow many of the flakes stayed whole for me to take a bunch of photos I still look at and marvel over from time to time. Thank you for asking, Myra.

Stay warm everybody and be careful please.