A Hot Outing

One of the many highlights of returning to Chicago is getting together again with our group of teacher friends. My dearest friend, Gerri emails me months in advance to lock in a date for our outing.

I believe we've had lunches or dinners together at least once a month for over two decades. It's one of the things I miss now that I've moved to Hawaii.

Gerri selected this restaurant for our special day because one of our group is still a youngster and not retired. The restaurant was located near her school. It was an Asian fusion restaurant.

I ordered the pad thai which I really loved. The triangle pieces are fried tofu which I brought home for my granddaughter who loves tofu.

We did have one funny incident. Ummm... well... it wasn't funny for Fran... but... this is what happened.

Several teachers were not familiar with Asian food so she (who will remain nameless) offered what she thought was a lump of guacamole (sitting next to her California roll which she'd never tried before) to Fran. Poor Fran stuck the entire lump into her mouth and nearly spit it across the table. I didn't know what was going on, but was aghast when I learned what had happened.

For those of you who don't know, wasabi is like horseradish, a very STRONG horseradish. You are supposed to dilute a little bit with soy sauce and then dip your sushi or sashimi into it.

Poor Fran... I hope she could taste the rest of her food after that.

I have a feeling we'll be going back to Ruby Tuesdays next time.

A Family and Friends Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving that took two days of food preparation.

On Wednesday, Mom made her kinpira gobo (burdock root) and I made a mochi/lup chong stuffing. It's a very unhealthy sweet rice stuffing full of Chinese sausage, bacon, cilantro, round onion, green onion, etc.  It may be unhealthy, but it's delicious.

On Thanksgiving, Mom made her cucumber namasu, macaroni salad, and fish tempura/konyaku dish. I put together broccoli casserole, soba salad, cranberry (from the can) and mashed potatoes. Art baked his traditional pumpkin pie.

My sister-in-law, Nancy did a fabulous job with the turkey, gravy, stuffing and yam. Our guests brought homemade ice cream, coco puffs, pickled veggie salads, wine and champagne.

We also enjoyed bringing over plates of food for our neighbors who have been so kind to Mom whenever we go to the mainland to visit the kids.

We took a photo to record the happy day. We cherish every occasion when we're able to be together. I'm hoping your day was also precious and fun.

I'm now gearing up for the hectic holiday season ahead. I'm so far behind in finishing all our different projects that I'm feeling overwhelmed.

I'm looking forward to when my life can calm down a bit and I can be 100% healthy again.

Have a great weekend!

Chicago Marathon

One of the things we've tried to do whenever we're in Chicago is to show our support to Tiffany and KC's friend, Jane.

Seeing the Chicago skyline again was a welcoming feeling.

We smiled as we passed Wrigley Field because we were still hopeful that they had a chance of winning the World Series.

Sigh....

When we saw the El tracks again, we knew we were back in Chicago for sure.

KC rang her cow bell and we cheered the runners on. When Jane came into view, we held up our sign for her.

Jane stopped, caught her breath, gave KC a hug and continued on her way to finish the race. We were so proud of her.

After the Marathon, we headed back out to the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Alice the corpse flower was long gone, but I always love taking photos of the water lilies.

Fall colors were everywhere and the day could not be nicer.

We hoped that our daughter and son-in-law were having as nice a day as we were.

Technology Closing the Distance

Technology is amazing.

While we were in Illinois, our son-in-law, Ed helped us upgrade my iPhone 4s to the 6s. He and Tiffany then showed us how to use the new phone and worked out any bugs we needed to fix.

One of the apps we loved on the new cellphone was Find Friends. With this app, we were able to follow Tif and Ed on a map wherever they went in Paris. We knew where they were sightseeing and when they returned to their hotel room. KC thought it was hilarious to "stalk" her parents.

KC was also reassured and happy when her parents would call or Skype showing her their Paris hotel room and letting her know they were safe and enjoying themselves.

Text pictures arrived daily letting us know what they'd seen.

Tiffany said she actually teared up when she saw the famous IM Pei pyramid at the Louvre. She could hardly believe she was in Paris.

This was a time of happiness and excitement. Walking along the Seine was magical for them.

It's sad to know what has happened since.

We are truly thankful they were able to have this time before violence and evil rocked the City of Lights.

As we enjoy this day of Thanksgiving, I'd like to wish you all a day to love each other and to be glad for moments of peace when we can have it.

Technology brings loved ones closer together, but it seems to bring the terror of the world closer. And that's important too for we need to love everyone and help each other.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Sick!!!

During that week between Tif's birthday and their trip to Paris, I got sick... very sick. It was worrying all of us because I needed to be in tip top shape to enjoy our special week with KC.

I had to postpone outings with friends and spent 4 days in bed exhausted and feverish. Tiffany insisted I stay in bed and provided me with this cool pack.

It's what she uses for KC when she's ill and it's terrific!

It sticks to your head and stays cool for hours. I loved it!

Thank goodness! I did recover in time and we were able to send Tif and Ed off, confident that we would be having a good time too.

Tiffany's Birthday Surprise

My son-in-law, Ed wanted to make Tiffany's 40th birthday extra special. He ran an idea past us early in the year, but I wasn't sure how she would react to it.

When her birthday finally arrived, I was a little nervous in anticipation of the moment she would learn what he'd planned.

Ed treated us all to an elegant lunch at a French bistro called Mon Ami Gabi.

In the evening Ed surprised Tif with a red velvet bundt cake and balloons.

Among the many gifts that Keola showered his sister with, this framed black and white photo really touched Tiffany. This photo was from the collection I'd scanned a couple of years ago for both of them. The photo (right) was taken during a visit to Hawaii some 35 years ago.

We gave Tif a Fit Bit which she immediately put on.

Then came that moment we were waiting for.... the moment the secret would be unveiled.

I was a little nervous knowing that if Art surprised me this way, I would not necessarily be thrilled. I pack at least two weeks in advance and need to psych up for a trip.

This is when I discovered that Ed knew his wife better than I did my daughter.

She was absolutely thrilled. I watched tears stream down her cheeks. I don't recall her being this happy since we surprised her with a Cabbage Patch doll when she was about KC's age.

KC had kept this secret for two weeks and wasn't exactly happy since she wouldn't be going, but was glad that we'd be devoting all our time to her for a week.

Tif and Ed left for Paris the following week and had an absolutely glorious time seeing all the places Tiffany had dreamed of seeing for so many years.

When I think of the terror and horror that has gripped that beautiful city today, I shudder to think what could have been. For Tif and Ed, the tragedy is even more real since they'd walked those streets just a short time ago.

But on Tif's birthday, all was wonder and full of love and happiness. I loved my son-in-law even more that day.

Keola and KC

We were so happy that Keola flew in to help us celebrate our daughter's 40th birthday. He was only able to stay with us for a weekend, but he made it count.

One of the happiest things for us and especially Tiffany was to see how special he made KC feel.

Keola spent a lot of time watching her practice her piano, play with Legos, ice skating and doing something called Mine Craft on her tablet.

KC was so attached to her favorite uncle that she was glued to his side. I was happy to see his patience and loving attention.

Every child should have an uncle like Uncle Keola.

Corner Bakery Mug Morning

I don't know where my daughter, Tiffany finds all these "good deals" but this was a fun one.

Corner Bakery was offering the first 100 customers a free smiley mug on World Smile Day.

We got up early anticipating long lines, but were surprised to find only about 30 people waiting for the cute yellow mugs.

The fun part is bringing the mug in to fill with coffee throughout the year for just 25 cents.

Unfortunately, we don't have a Corner Bakery in Hawaii so I'm just keeping my mug for my collection.

Don't you think they're rather cute?

Swimming, Piano, Skating, Dance, ETC.

One of the things we enjoyed doing while in Chicago was taking 8 year old KC to all her different extra curricular activities.

Tiffany has KC enrolled in myriad classes that I thought at first might be over scheduling.

However, then I saw how much KC enjoyed them all and was unwilling to give up any of them.

Actually, I did also have our kids in Spanish, swimming, piano, and ice skating. I'm glad they were introduced to those skills. I am completely unable to balance on ice skates or swim but my kids can.

I'm wondering how long KC will keep taking these classes.

I have a feeling Tiffany wouldn't mind having a break from driving her everywhere.

What kind of classes did your kids go to?

The Daughter Exceeds the Mother

I consider myself organized, but I was surprised during our stay in Illinois to find that my daughter had labeled all the shelves in the kitchen. This was to insure that people would not misplace things in her small storage area.

I laughed when I saw what she had done but in the days ahead, I would be really grateful for those labels so I could find things easily and put things back where they belong.

Hmmm... maybe I'll have her do it for my kitchen when they come to visit.

A Korean Supermarket in Chicagoland

One of Tiffany's favorite places to shop for groceries and other items is H-Mart which is a Korean supermarket.

It's a HUGE store and the prices are quite reasonable.

We even saw jack fruits there. We have jack fruits in Hawaii but have never eaten it and have no idea how it tastes.

Even at 88 cents a pound, can you imagine how much one of those fruits would cost?

Fish balls? I thought that was rather interesting.

Then there were cheesecake flavored Kit Kats. I took a pass. I really need my Kit Kats to have some kind of chocolate to make it worth my while.

I have no idea how you cook one of those squids. I only eat the sort that have been dried.

I do like these gloves which are super long and strong. Tiffany has kept me supplied with them in Hawaii.

I did buy this little wire basket to bring home to Hawaii to dry my thermos rubber parts by the window.

We have an Asian grocery store called Don Quijote in Hawaii, but H-Mart is larger and everything somehow seemed more foreign. I guess because I just wasn't familiar with a lot of the things that were being sold there.

One thing I was familiar with within the store were little restaurants selling bi bim bop and other Asian food. I really enjoyed that! (This bi bim bop photo was not taken at H-Mart but a different restaurant that Tiffany and my son-in-law took us to.)

I think it's rather funny that we enjoy coming to Chicago so we can go to a Korean grocery store.

Granted, we did go to Trader Joes later.

I'm Baaack...

After being away from writing a blog post for so long is it possible that my brain has atrophied? I've stood here a while just staring at the screen and didn't know how to start.

Ah well... here goes.

We've just returned from a five week stay in Chicago, Hershey and Maryland visiting our children and their families.

After a LONG flight with a stopover in Phoenix we finally touched down at Chicago's O'Hare Airport.

Our daughter, Tiffany was waiting for us and it was more than wonderful to see her again.

She told us that our granddaughter, KC had been counting the days until our arrival.

We arrived at KC's school within minutes of the dismissal bell. It was a wonderful reunion.

Tiffany asked if we were game to see the corpse flower (titan arum) at the Chicago Botanic Garden which was about to bloom. It's supposed to give off a rather noxious odor during it's 24-48 hour blooming time, in order to attract pollinators. They bloom only every 7-10 years so despite the jet lag, it behooved us to go and see it.

The line was long, but not as long as it would get in the evening that we read there was a one and a half hour wait to see the flower.

Another corpse flower at the Chicago Botanic Garden had fizzled out a month or so earlier. That corpse flower was named Spike. This corpse flower was named Alice. They were even selling t-shirts with a picture of "Alice." I hate to think how much money must have been lost on "Spike" t-shirts.

Art loved seeing the bonsai plants with KC.

And then there it was! It was fun to see, but we really couldn't smell anything at all. I learned later that it starts to smell in the evening. I wonder if it did.

After visiting Alice for a while and taking a lot of photos, we headed home where this happy sign was waiting for us.

It was good to be back.

SCAM Warning!

Hello again, everybody!

We returned a few days ago from a five week trip to visit our children and their families in Chicago and Hershey with a side trip into Maryland. It was wonderful to see all of our dear family and much missed friends. However, I caught a nasty cold in the second week and was bedridden for several days. Then I caught another cold just before leaving to return to Hawaii and was bedridden again. It's not often I'm actually bedridden so this was pretty aggravating.

However, things are on the mend and I'm finally feeling better. I'm not ready to start posting yet, but I  felt I needed to do this one WARNING post again.

We got another call from a man with an Indian accent telling us they were from Microsoft because our computer was sending out error messages to their tech department and they needed to correct the problem. They wanted Art to go to the computer and have him punch in some keys so they could help us. Feigning ignorance, Art kept the fellow on the line for quite a while just so he could prevent him from calling somebody else.

This is a terrible SCAM! Apparently these bogus sites are popping up all over and Microsoft cannot stop them all. They sometimes ask for private information or will have you type in codes that will infect your computer so they can sell you something to fix the problem they gave you. An even worse thing they can do is to have you allow them to take over your computer so they can take control of all the information you have stored there.

Anyone in a weak moment could be taken in. I once got a call at 5:00 AM and almost fell for it since I was in a daze.

What I don't understand is why we've gotten over a half dozen of these scam calls in the last year. Wouldn't you think they'd give up and cross our number off their list, especially after I asked one fellow if his mother would be proud of what he was doing. I told him he should get a better job.

I guess he didn't.