Understanding that COVID Home Test Kit

We were able to get the negative results of the PCR/COVID test from Longs/CVS. We took that test about 26 hours after our exposure to the bank employee who had tested positive after attending a large wedding.

We took an antigen test at the Honolulu Airport 7 days after exposure. However on the 6th day after exposure, it suddenly occurred to Art that he had to deliver Meals on Wheels to 9 of his clients and he wouldn't have had that 2nd result from the antigen testing.

He decided to use the Home Test Kits that we got from the federal government. 

It's the first time that it was necessary for us to use it.

We'll have our daughter and family use them after they fly over from Illinois in June.

Art read over the directions carefully, used the swab to collect a sample from each nostril, put the sample in the solution and dropped the solution onto the test strip.

It showed one line on C. At first I thought it meant COVID.

But no... It actually meant he was Negative.

Why don't they use P for positive and N for negative?

I got the answer from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) website.

A positive result: Two lines on control (C) and test (T).

Negative: One line on control (C).

Invalid: No lines or only a test line mean the results are invalid and it needs to be taken again.

I still think P and N would have been better but the main thing is he is negative. And we took the antigen test the following day.

Mom's Deteriorating Altar Cloth

Art had gone down earlier to make our oatmeal in the morning. When I went downstairs he greeted me with, "Mom's upset about the butsudan cloth. It might have to be replaced."

The butsudan is a Buddhist family altar. It generally gets passed down through the family line. It's a place to honor your ancestors and express gratitude for what they contributed to the family. Mom's father was a zen priest in Sendai so it's especially important to her and she does a little prayer each morning in front of it.

Mom says she bought the altar cloth in Japan. I looked online to see if I could find it on Amazon. They sell everything, right? Nope. Ebay had used altar cloths for about $30 + $22 shipping. Seriously? Used?

"Don't worry," says Art to mom. "Kay can fix it." 😲

"Are you kidding?" I tell him. 

"Check it out," he says. "You just have to resew that edging.

Sigh...

Mom had washed the brocade cloth and I could see a LOT of sun and salt air damage on the edges of both sides. The material was just crumbling apart.

Soooo... I had to make a pattern. I found some scrap material that would do.

But then worried that I didn't have the right color thread.

Well, it turned out that my daughter, Tiffany had sent me 100% cotton thread to make masks over a year ago. It was this weird olive color that made me wonder why she selected it. It was perfect!

It worked!

Art called Mom over and she was amazed, thrilled and relieved.

I'm glad it's one crisis averted.

"You see?" said Art. "I knew you could do it."

Wait till she says her TV is broken again and I say, "Art can fix it."

Do You Drink Enough Water?

We recently got a notice from one of our tai chi friends about seniors not getting enough water to drink and the harm it can do if you don't.

I looked on WebMD just to verify why it's extra important for people over 60 to get the liquids their bodies need. 

Apparently, not getting enough water can cause these difficulties:

Memory Problems

Poor concentration

Slow reaction times

Feeling extra tired

Weakness

Pressure sores

Skin conditions

Urinary tract infections

Kidney Problems

Constipation

It's true that at times I avoid drinking water if I know there isn't going to be a bathroom close by. I also often just forget to rehydrate because I'm preoccupied. 

WebMD also recommends older people to drink between 6-8 glasses of fluids a day.

I looked online and they said 1 cup is about 8 ozs. Therefore it's between 48 to 64 ozs. 

My brother recommended using this juice container so I've added water to it, put it on her table and told mom (who is even more forgetful than me) to try to drink as much of this throughout the day as she can.

She says she'll try to remember.

POSTSCRIPT:  

Would you believe Mom has been religiously drinking most of that water? She’s drinking more water than we do. And she does seem to have more energy than I do. As for memory...Hmmm...

Squeaking Toilet

A few weeks ago mom's toilet (you know I'm reaching deep when I start writing about toilets) started emitting a high pitched squeeeeeeaaak. 

Art called it to my attention and it was really loud and annoying. It must have just started since I hadn't heard it before. We wondered if it had something to do with the fact that it was the same electrical line as the washer outside on the patio. 

Then we thought it could be something that was short circuiting in the Brondell bidet washlet we'd bought mom a long while ago from Costco. 

When the washing machine stopped, the toilet squeak was still there.

We unplugged the seat from the wall and it STILL squealed. It almost sounded louder now.

Art went to the fuse box and turned it off and on.

Nope.

No luck. I could now hear the squeal from the kitchen which was a distance away.

Art figured he might have to ask his electrician friend what to do.

While Art was hanging the wash, I went into the bathroom and stared at the toilet. I listened and listened, trying to figure out where exactly that awful sound was coming from.

I lifted the tank cover. The sound seemed louder. I pressed that up and down thing just to see what it would do.

The sound STOPPED!!! Can you believe it?

Art came in and was totally flabbergasted. 

"I fixed it." I said.

"How?" he asked disbelievingly.

I showed him. 

He was totally gobsmacked. (British translation for astonished)

I love it!

Oh Nuts! We've Been Exposed!

We had such a busy day yesterday. We made our stop at the Farmers Market, the grocery store, the bank where we met with a bank associate to sign some papers about our little Roth IRAs, Chun Wah Kam to pick up char siu bau for ourselves and a friend, and Sam's Club. 

Then we had to deal with Viking Cruise because United had changed our flight times for a planned trip so that we would miss our connecting flights. It was a mess. Viking was shocked! They had no idea United had done this and now there were no good seats available on the flight from which we had somehow been moved. 

And in all this aggravation... as we sat there quite tired of the stress, we got a call from the bank. She told us that we had been exposed to COVID but couldn't tell us who. The bank person we met with had been to a large wedding over the weekend. We suspect it had to be him.

We'd been sitting in front of him with the papers for us to sign and he asked if he could remove the plexiglass barrier. Since we were all masked, we said OK. We were there in front of him for about 30 minutes. 

The bank person told us that we needed to inform our doctor. Hmmmm.... why? 

We made an appointment to have a PCR test done at CVS this afternoon. And we'll test again in a week. 

I had only 2 KN95s left in the box our son sent us. We have N95s, but these KN95s are more comfortable so I looked on Amazon and saw that it was 63% off! It used to be $42.95 and was now $15.95!

I added a box into our checkout. 

"Add another box." said Art.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes," he said.

Are we paranoid now? Oh yes. Definitely. I figure we're not done with this virus yet. I hate to be a pessimist, but I suspect we'll be needing these masks longer than you think, no matter what any Trump appointed Florida judge says.

POSTSCRIPT: 

We had a dentist appointment today. I called the office and told them about the exposure. They said we have to cancel our appointment until we get another negative reading 7 days from now. Sigh… 

Going Bananas

We have a banana with our oatmeal or cereal every morning. Apparently the common banana you get at the market these days is the Cavendish.

Those big long bananas you see at the market everywhere ripen too quickly for us. We prefer the apple bananas which are more of a serving size and ripen at a slower pace.

We've had some pretty interesting bananas pop up that we get from the farmer's market.

These two conjoined bananas were fun to see. We wondered what it would look like on the inside. They were perfectly fine. It's just the skin that was joined together. 

And here's another banana with a mind of its own. 😄

Have you seen any interesting produce lately?

Sprouting Potatoes are Toxic? Really?

I read somewhere that eating sprouting potatoes was not safe. Apparently there are toxins produced at the sprouts. I've never thrown away sprouting potatoes. I just snapped off the sprouts.

Sheesh!

I looked up this problem online and there's a lot about how they can be poisonous. Who knew? Not me.

I got this from the Eating Well website:

Why Is It Not Safe to Eat Sprouted Potatoes?

Sprouting means that the toxin levels are too high and the potato is no longer safe for consumption. According to Diana M. Pei, Pharm. D., a certified specialist in poison information, on Poison.org, solanine and chaconine can cause symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain, irregular bowel movements, diarrhea, headache, brain fog, redness or a flushed complexion, confusion or fever.

There have been a few cases of death after eating toxic potatoes, but generally you can treat symptoms at home. The onset of symptoms is typically within a few hours, but it can take up to a day, in some cases.

Death? Seriously? But then it also said:

"Unfortunately, cooking does not destroy these compounds, so it's not advisable to prepare or eat potatoes with the sprouts or green parts," says Harris-Pincus. "However, it is probably OK to eat potatoes that have sprouted if you can cut away the entire sprout and any green-tinged parts of the potato, and if they are not wrinkly and shriveled," she adds.

You definitely want to be more careful if you plan on eating potatoes with the skin on in general, as that's where toxins reside. Harris-Pincus says, "I use a paring knife to dig out the eyes once I have snapped off the sprout and if there is more than a small area that looks green, I throw away the potato."

OK... Yay! I do remove the skins of potatoes! However, I guess I'll also dig out a bit more of the sprouted areas... just to be safe. 

Reducing Anxiety on a Trip

I saw something somewhere about a way to reduce one thing that might cause you a moment (or a lot) of anxiety as you start on a trip.

Take a photo of your stove or anything else you think you'll possibly forget to turn off before leaving your home.

You might think that’s funny, BUT there was one (I think it was just one time) where we drove off on a trip and I wondered if we’d turned off the stove. We were living in Illinois at the time. I kept worrying about it, so we actually drove all the way home just to be absolutely sure.

Soooo…. I’m thinking, yes. Next time we go on a trip, I’m going to take a photo of the stove and the ceiling fans. I’m notorious for forgetting to turn off the ceiling fan when I leave the room for a length of time. Hmmm… What about windows? I would want to make sure I closed them all. If you lived on the mainland, you’d want to make sure you lowered the temperature on your thermostat in winter.

What photos would you take before leaving the house on a trip?

Art just said, "Wouldn't it be just as helpful to have a checklist instead?"

NOTE:

Something screwy is going on with Blogger. I haven't touched the setting, but comments are defaulting to Anonymous for many people. I tested it on my iPad and iPhone and it defaulted to Anonymous too. When I changed it to my Google account, it wouldn't allow my comment to post at all. On the other hand, it worked OK on my desktop computer and laptop. I don't know what's going on. Therefore, unfortunately.... until this is cleared up...when you comment under Anonymous would you just write your name in the comment box? 

Library Fun!

We've been going to the library every week since I started FaceTime sessions with my six and four year old grandsons in Maryland. I'm getting lots of book suggestions from other teacher friends here in Hawaii and Illinois. 

I would look up the library website, put in my library card # and then proceed to put books on Hold, Renew or whatever. 

I had forgotten that a long while ago I'd downloaded the Hawaii Library app on my iPhone. 

When I clicked on the app the other day, I saw I was already signed in and could go to the HOLDS and see what books were already waiting for me at the library and what books were in transit. 

Gosh! It made my life so much easier.

When I went to pick up books the last time I was there and happened to have 17 childrens books in my arms, I asked what the limit was. The librarian smiled and said there is no limit on books. He also suggested other sources. Since I read 8 books to the boys in one FaceTime session the last time I met with them, the books are returned to the library quite quickly.

I love it! If you know any books you think I should read to them, please let me know. Just know that I must have read all the Mercer Mayer and Leo Lionni books that I knew they would like. JD has also read all the Dragon Masters and Hilo books. But then there's Julia Donaldson, Stuart Murphy, Chris Gall, Ryan T. Higgins, etc. 😄

Fighting Mynahs

One morning, we were settling down to breakfast when very LOUD squabbling bird squawks and shrieks came from our yard. I looked outside our door to see two pairs of mynahs rolling around and fighting. 

I tried to take a photo but I knew that if I went outside they would fly away. Art rushed upstairs to take a photo from the 2nd floor, but when he opened the window, they flew away. 

I looked online to research what the mynahs were up to and found this YouTube video of exactly what we saw.

We have seen other occasions where a pair might be fighting and other surrounding mynahs would be squawking boisterously egging them on and hurling insults or encouragement. I've read that they could be fighting over a mango, a female bird, food or territory.

I guess I didn't realize how much like humans mynahs were. And that's not a great thing.

Popolo Berries/Bittersweet Nightshade

We were at our friend, Myra's house here in Hawaii recently to borrow a book and I noticed a large familiar looking bush on the side of the house. It brought back memories. 

Our daughter, Tiffany was about 5 years old (back in Illinois many moons ago) and was playing with her little friend, Kevin outside. I was in the garage. They found me there and said our neighbor, "Uncle" Leonard had told them to try some berries that were in the garden which he said were currants. I knew we didn't have any berries in the garden so I asked them to show me the plant. I suspected this was not good, but Tif said she'd only had one berry.

I called the poison control center and described the plant. They told me to quickly give the kids Syrup of Ipecac. I took the kids over to Kevin's house and his mom and I took them outside into the backyard and gave them Syrup of Ipecac which caused Kevin to vomit, but took Tif over an hour to get rid of the contents of her tummy onto our carpet instead.

I told Myra about this incident and expressed my concern about her large plant. She said her friend had told her it was actually medicinal and a Hawaiian variety called Popolo which means black. Myra said she'd been eating the berries for quite a while with no ill effects.

I looked up the Popolo berries and found this article from the Bishop Museum. 

The Popolo berries are black but I think the Bittersweet Nightshade in our garden which grew like weeds were red. 

Myra sent me an article from Ke Ola Magazine and it's true. It is supposed to have medicinal qualities for a number of ailments. 

There is a caution however:

According to Dr. Roger Baldwin, author of the book, Hawai‘i’s Poisonous Plants, “This plant is highly toxic on the mainland, but Polynesians have used a variety that is both nontoxic and delicious. Until about 40 years ago it was safe to eat wild pōpolos. Then the toxic mainland variety was introduced to Hawai‘i, so now it is not safe to eat wild pōpolos. If you grow the nontoxic Polynesian variety it should be safe to eat. The rule now is: don’t eat pōpolos unless you know they are nontoxic, and don’t ever eat pōpolos from the mainland.”

When I'd told "Uncle" Leonard about the berries he apologized profusely and said he'd seen birds eat them and thought they were perfectly safe.

I found this explanation on the Brooklyn Botanic Garden website:

Though toxic to people, bittersweet nightshade berries provide an important fall and winter food source for birds, who happily eat the fruit and spread the seeds. With this dissemination help, along with creeping, rooting stems, the plant has become a stubbornly noxious weed in much of the United States.

The caution in all this I guess is to make sure you're getting the correct variety from the nursery center or a friend who knows what they're doing.

 

Which Booster? Pfizer or Moderna???

Mom, Art and I all got Pfizer for our first two shots. Mom got the 1st Pfizer booster shot from Kaiser and her 2nd booster will probably be Pfizer as well.  Art and I decided to be more adventurous and got Moderna for the 1st booster.

Art and I are scheduled to go on a Viking cruise of Scandinavian countries that has been postponed twice since 2020. We are nervous. First, there's the LOOOONG plane rides. Then the actual cruise. 

Up to now we'd been hoping and hoping for a 2nd booster of any type before our cruise. Incredibly, it's now available and just in time for our trip in a couple of months.

We would have been thrilled to get ANY booster before, BUT now that we have a choice of Moderna or Pfizer, we're thinking and thinking which we should get. 

Should we stick to the Moderna half dose or go back to the Pfizer full dose? 😖 I looked and looked online and there doesn't seem to be any really clear, definitive answer.

I found this information on the cnet website:

During a mix-and-match COVID-19 vaccine trial funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (before omicron was the dominant variant), boosters from all three vaccine companies induced good immune responses in roughly 450 people who got different vaccines. In the study, Moderna's booster gave the most robust response. However, that study examined a full dose of Moderna, rather than the authorized half-dose of the company's booster, which could minimize Moderna's edge over Pfizer, as The Atlantic reported. 

If you're looking to switch from Pfizer to Moderna, or vice versa, the answer on a benefit may be a little less clear than the data or recommendations for Johnson & Johnson. But Pfizer's and Moderna's vaccines are "not interchangeable," Dr. Eric Topol, a professor of molecular research at Scripps Research said on Twitter while suggesting the differences between the vaccines may give enough of a benefit for someone to consider a switch.

Are you getting the 2nd booster? Which one do you plan to get? 

Washing Your Lettuce

A long while ago I washed my lettuce and then soaked it in a water-vinegar solution ahead of time before a party and put it in our fridge. When I took it out a couple of hours later, the lettuce had all wilted so I didn't do that again.

I checked the Food and Drug Administration website and found this:

1. Wash your hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap before and after preparing fresh produce.
2. If damage or bruising occurs before eating or handling, cut away the damaged or bruised areas before preparing or eating.
3. Rinse produce BEFORE you peel it, so dirt and bacteria aren’t transferred from the knife onto the fruit or vegetable.
4. Gently rub produce while holding under plain running water. There’s no need to use soap or a produce wash.
5. Use a clean vegetable brush to scrub firm produce, such as melons and cucumbers.
6. Dry produce with a clean cloth or paper towel to further reduce bacteria that may be present.
7. Remove the outermost leaves of a head of lettuce or cabbage.

So how to clean your lettuce.

Hmmmmm...

Here's what I do. 

We like the green or red leaf lettuce though the green leaf lettuce seems to hardier. 

I snap the lettuce leaves apart toward the stem and quickly rinse off any dirt before placing them in a bowl of water.

I soak the leaves in water for about half an hour to allow additional debris to fall off. It's amazing how even wilted looking leaves will perk up beautifully.

I then lightly spray the leaves with water before placing them in the salad spinner to get as much of the water off the lettuce.

Once dry, I put the lettuce in a plastic container after placing a dry paper towel at the bottom to soak up any left over moisture.

It has worked out quite well for us. I've had lettuce last 3 days with this method. 

I don't know if it's correct, but it's the best I can do.

I was talking to my grandson about vegetables and he told me he HATES lettuce. 🙄  Ahhh well...

(I did try to come up with an April Fool's post but came out empty. Sorry about that.)