So There's a Name for My Three Dots?

 Alexa's recent Question of the Day was, "What do you call a combination question mark/exclamation point? 

The answer was  interrobang (‽). Seriously‽

Well, one of the choices was an ellipsis. That sounded good to me so I chose that answer. And I was wrong. I'd never even heard of interrobang as a punctuation mark much less ellipsis.

I can't believe it!  Alexa informed me that an ellipsis is three dots to be used for these four things. I use it primarily for the "pause for effect" thing. I didn't even know I was using it correctly... at least I think I was using it correctly. 

I love the ellipsis and now I know it's a real thing.

Doug of ApacheDug's Teepee mentions at the end of his October 31st post that I also like "Sigh." 

I don't know why... sigh... I just do.

Thanksgiving Recap

We have kept mom safe from COVID now for three years. However, with her worsening memory problems and her feeling forgotten by family, we decided that we needed to get back to hosting a Thanksgiving family get-together so she could see everybody again.

Art and I along with mom always wear our masks when we are out or with anybody other than the three of us. We're all vaccinated and boosted. At 93, we just didn't feel we wanted to take a chance with mom getting sick. Our neighbor (same age as mom) was vaccinated also and managed to catch it when her sister visited from out of state. It took a long time for her to recover and she still doesn't look like she did before.

So we were nervous. But, of course... we also wanted to see everybody again.

We therefore asked everyone to test themselves before coming.

Art had to do his test twice because it was taking a long time to get his result the first time.

Although I trusted everyone to test themselves, they must have known I was nervous and texted me their results without my asking for it. 

I made the lup chong stuffing and Venezuelan flan (with the help of text messages from my friend in Illinois). It's been years and years since I made the flan and definitely three years since I made that stuffing. I forgot how much time (chopping and dicing and chopping and dicing) the stuffing required. My knees were aching on Thanksgiving Day from standing with locked knees over the sink on Wednesday.

Thanksgiving day was mom's turn to make her specialty macaroni salad. She has always been proud of that salad and everyone always tells her how much they love it.

I was figuring on doing just a little bit more of chopping, but mom (recipe in hand) struggled to put it together. Luckily, I'd written down her recipe and modifications in English years ago since I know how much family liked it.

I therefore was back to chopping and dicing, chopping and dicing.

I'm surprised at how she used to do it all by herself without any shortcuts like I would have done.

Once all the ingredients were ready, Art helped her mix it together.

I then helped her with the seasoning. Since I can barely taste anything, it was a matter of adding salt, pepper, soy sauce and having her taste it.

She pronounced it very good and even asked me to save some for us so we could have it the following day. 😄 She loves macaroni salad too.

And then suddenly everyone was arriving. 

Windows and doors were all open to allow a breeze to go through. 

Art and I decided a half hour before the party started to forgo the masks. Loved ones came wearing them anyway knowing how paranoid we were and were happy when we told them what we decided.

This little 2 year old munchkin was already comfortable enough with mom a few minutes after coming to sit next to her for photos. I was so touched to see this and mom, of course absolutely loved it.

Everyone brought a lot of food...a lot of food. My brother and sister-in-law roasted the turkey and brought over stuffing, devilled eggs, sweet and mashed potatoes and gravy.

We added Zippy's fried chicken, edamame (boiled soybeans) and a cauliflower-green bean-cranberry veggie dish to our lup chong stuffing, macaroni salad, quesillo, pumpkin pie and assortment of drinks.

But yikes! We forgot to take out the cranberry sauce. 🙄 (It was our special, deluxe, from the can cranberry sauce. 😂)

A dear friend stopped by with spinach rolls and the rest of the family brought over green salad, baguette and dip, grilled asparagus, homemade ice cream, cookies and special beer (I think) that mom rather enjoyed.

It was amazing to be together again after three COVIDful years.

Mom was smiling ear to ear.

There were 2 two year olds and a 5 year old who ran around the house in cheerful abandon. The entire house was filled with joyful talk and a cacophony of love and happiness.

I didn't hug anyone when they came. I was still in COVID mode. As everyone left we ALL hugged each other. It felt normal. It really felt normal again.

One loved one stopped, smiled and asked if we'd be getting together for New Year also.

Why not? 🤞

Fading Memory

Sadly, mom's short term memory is fading. In the past year, we're seeing dementia taking hold and it's spooky for us and very spooky for her. Her geriatric doctor suggested that the falls she's had or perhaps the shock of my aunt's sudden passing 5 years ago may have started this sad progression.

Now comes the problem of remembering what medication/supplements she should be taking each morning and evening.

At first I gave her a pill case so she could remember what pills to take which she filled herself. 

Then I had to fill the cases for her. 

Then I was noticing that she was taking the pills out of order or taking two days worth. I had to take away the pill case and give her medication to her each day at the correct time.

You have to understand that I have on occasion forgotten to take my own medication. It's difficult for me and a little difficult for her to have to rely on me to do this. 

(I'm actually using Alexa to remind me to give her the medication.)

Then I had to sort of hide the pills where she couldn't reach them.

That looks like a lot of medication, but most of those are her back-ups or supplements like vitamins, calcium, B12, mom's garlic pills, etc. (My name is in front of her medication in case she ever sees it and... heaven forbid... tries to climb on a chair and get it.) My (and Art's) medication is way too high for her to reach.

And yet, we're grateful that she's physically able to walk independently and take care of her other needs and functions. She's still walking on the treadmill and doing her gardening everyday and loving her time at the Adult Day Care once a week. She's also able to write amazingly elegantly Japanese characters for letters to her sister in Japan. Her fine motor skills are pretty darn incredible.

So there's a lot to be thankful for, but it's still a worry for us as we watch all that's happening to her and what could eventually happen to us.

Thankfulness, Even for Nothing

I remember Sunday school Buddhist teachings when I was growing up to always be grateful. And I am or try to be even when I'm down. 

I'm grateful for my family and my friends. I'm grateful for my home and food that is available to us when we want it. 

Tomorrow, I'll be thankful for our family who will be gathering at our home for the first time since COVID began. We are vaccinated and boosted, but we'll be careful to open all the windows and keep our masks on anyway as we gather.

I saw this article on the Spirituality and Health website and it struct a cord. The first lesson they mention is to be grateful for Nothing. No, it's not how you think it sounds. They recommend being grateful for things like not being sick, not losing your job, not living in a war zone. Be grateful that the air you breathe and the water you drink are not contaminated. Be grateful for any kindness shown to you. 

So yes... it's a good reminder to just appreciate what you have and not focus on the negative. It's not always easy and requires practice, but I shall do my best. 

And now I need to get going on the lup chong stuffing and quesillo (Venezuelan flan) I'm preparing to serve tomorrow. I'm very grateful to my friend, Daisy who taught me how to make it so very many years ago in Illinois. And I'm grateful to Carol who gave me the recipe for the lup chong stuffing with careful instructions before she passed away much too soon. And yes, I'm grateful to Art for always making the traditional pumpkin pie. 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I'm very grateful for every one of you. 

Biting the Bullet to Upgrade My iPhone

I have the iPhone XR that's 4 years old. It's working fine. I take good care of my phones.

Hooowever... I thought this was a good time to upgrade because I'd read that there was a big improvement in the photo quality of the iPhone14 Pro and I'm really liking the idea of getting better photos for my blog and photobooks. Granted, since I reduce the size of my photos before posting them, you would probably not notice.

Still, I figured it was time for an upgrade when the rubber sides on my not cheap Otterbox Commuter cover started crumbling off.

That's my excuse anyway.

It was a very difficult decision because you get a personal connection with your cellphone. I know it's silly, but it's always with me. I feel like it knows me. It has my pictures on it. It's got all my family and friends on it. 

It always scares me to change technology. I never know what's going to change. I never know for sure if all my information will move over to the new phone correctly.

I know. I know. It's silly.

But then my son-in-law texted me that T-Mobile had a $400 replacement deal for me if my cellphone was in good working order.

So I bit the bullet and did it.

I've read that I could do the iCloud transfer on my own, BUT I just didn't trust myself. 

So we went to the T-Mobile store and had them do it for me. Everyone there was very nice and it got done in about an hour.

And then came the hard part.

I hate this part.

I had to apply the Ailun glass screen protector. Arrrghhh... It's on, but not perfect, a little off center. Dang it! 😑

I bought a different Otterbox cover this time. It's thinner, but is supposed to protect your phone from 3X as many drops as military standard (whatever that means). And the rubber is different.

I also bought the Ailun screen/camera lens protector. 

But doggone it! When I put the Otterbox cover on after applying the Ailun camera lens protector (which was slightly too big), the Otterbox cover bowed and I couldn't easily press the buttons on the side of the phone because now they were misaligned.

I tried putting the camera lens protector on the outside of the Otterbox cover, but it just fell off.... of course.

Sigh...

And this is why I hate changing cellphones.

I also discovered that my photo sizes were suddenly much smaller than with my XR.

It took a lot of research before I corrected that feature on my iPhone settings.

I've just ordered a separate HLija camera lens cover and 🤞 that it will work.

Stilllll... I'm getting to slowly become friends with this new phone and hope all goes well.

POSTSCRIPT:

I received the new camera lens protector last week and waited a day before I got the courage to try again.

Thank goodness! It fit!!! 😁 Phew!

I think I'll wait 10 years before I upgrade again. 

Pigeon Wars IV (Are You Smarter Than a Pigeon?)

Art may have won some battles, BUT he is unable to win the war against his feathered foes. 

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, pigeons began nesting under our solar panels and using it for a toilet for several years. We started getting bird mite bites which drove us crazy.

So now it's war. We got the solar panel company to put critter (bird) guards around our panels after cleaning out all the nesting and debris.

Art has become adept at using a sling shot and small ice pellets to try to scare them off our roof. And yet, they kept coming back regardless of the fact they could no longer build nests under the panels.

So why is our roof so darn desirable for them? We don't feed them. We even asked neighbors not to feed them.

Whatever the case, Art has been documenting their habits, learning their battle schedules.

Art learned that they like to sleep on our roof at night so at sundown, he started shooting ice pellets at them so they'd go away. For the first few days, we were shocked to see over 30 birds fly off our roof.

However, eventually they merely flew over to our neighbor's house across the street so they'd still have a bird's eye view of our house. Arrrghhh....😡 They liked to group together for warmth (?), comfort (?), protection? We kept a wary eye on them.

At sunrise, they would ruffle their feathers, spread out and start their planning. They checked to make sure Art wasn't around with his sling shot and then would swoop toward our roof.

Throughout the morning, they would keep attacking in little skirmishes constantly coming back to see if Art was going to do something.

I've seen where Art will scare off a couple of the feathered fighters and have them fly off. Several other birds heading toward our house would see their retreating comrades, turn around and land on the street light in order to wait to fight another time.

Yes, the pigeons seemed to be winning, but then we counted how many birds were still coming to our house. 

There used to be over 30 flying fighters, but now there's about 15-16. 

I can tell you one thing.

Art does not give up.

The question is will the persistent pigeons?

POSTSCRIPT:

We went to the market in the early morning and was returning home when we saw several pigeons swooping toward our roof. 

Incredibly, when they saw our car, they turned around and flew away. 

So now you know. I can never tell cars apart and my brain can't remember car makes or colors that I see on the road. These pigeons know! These pigeons remember.

Now you know who's smarter. 🥴

Finding Money

Art goes for a long jog one morning a week while I'm sleeping and walks whenever he can. During those walks/jogs he's always on the look-out for lost change which he then puts in a donation jar. It takes him a long while to build up enough to donate.

Whenever he finds money, he initially puts it on the kitchen counter for fun to show mom. She always gets excited when he finds something a little more substantial.... like a nickel. I think he's found a quarter only a handful of times in the years he's been on the hunt.

Mom likes to sweep the street outside our home and the neighbor's in the morning. She says she likes the exercise.

One morning, she couldn't wait to show us that she had found a coin too. 

"I found a penny!" she proclaimed excitedly.

It was in very bad condition.

Art decided to use a magnifying glass to see if he could figure out what this coin really was.

Would you believe it's a one cent coin from the Commonwealth of  the Bahamas?

What amazes me is that it looks like it's been sitting on the road for a long time, a really long time. Mom has been sweeping this street for maybe 20 years and it's only popped up now?  

Gosh! I wonder which neighbor went to the Bahamas.

Early Christmas Present?

I've always wanted a mini-refrigerator upstairs so I wouldn't have to go downstairs for uuummm... some snacks or cold water or whatever.

Actually I have snacks I keep upstairs and have worried about the Hawaiian heat and humidity spoiling them. I don't eat snacks that often so some things like Art's favorite mints we bought in Japan have been on the book shelf for 2-3 years. 

Many people in Hawaii have two refrigerators. We have two also. One is in the kitchen, of course and the other is in the back room. (We have a certain relative who has three refrigerators, but we won't mention who. 😁)

When we lived in Illinois, we put an upright freezer in the basement. Our kids thought we were eccentric that we put flour, bread, etc. in there along with lots of other things. It's hard to break a habit.

We've been back in Hawaii since 2008. I've always wanted another teeny tiny refrigerator upstairs. There are 21 steps from the ground floor to the 2nd floor where we stay. I'm not loving going up and down the stairs.

I decided to take the plunge and look into getting a mini-fridge. Art felt it was unnecessary, but agreed to it if it would make me happy.

I'm happy. 

I found the one I wanted at Home Depot and we installed it upstairs. We even got 10% off with Art's military discount. So it was about $143 + tax. Not bad.

It was tricky finding the perfect temperature setting so things wouldn't freeze or be in the hot danger zone. (It has to be between 32 to 40 degrees.)

Then it occurred to me that it can be a little over 40 because I'm not putting actual perishables in there.

I also learned that it's good to put spf or anti-itch lotions in the fridge too. 

The spf sunblock lotions will preserve better in the fridge between seasons. In Hawaii, it's always hot so the fridge is a good place to put it if you're not using it. 

Apparently, your nerve endings can't be itchy and cold at the same time so putting anti-itch things in the fridge can also be helpful.

Aaaand... my ophthalmologist said putting the Refresh eye drops in the fridge for dry eyes is also a good thing. 😁

OK...yes... you can tell I'm justifying my purchase. 

And I've stored my Peppermint Patties in the fridge too. (The package of Kit Kats you see there are actually for mom. Not me. Honest.)

Yup. I'm happy.

Art just said, "Merry Christmas!"

I said, "Same to you." 😂

Remembering Earl Finch

There are good people in this world who are not filled with prejudice. Earl Finch is certainly proof of this. We received this recently from our tai chi group. I'd heard about Earl Finch before but it is a wonderful reminder at a time when racial prejudice is rearing its ugly head again.

This is a link to the 100th Infantry Battalion Veterans Education Center about Earl Finch.

The story of Earl Finch begins:

"Earl Finch met his first Japanese American G.I. in the summer of 1943. He had closed his Hattiesburg, Mississippi store at the end of the day and was walking to his car, when he noticed several small men wearing ill-fitting American uniforms. He approached one of the men, Richard Chinen, who was peering through a store window. “Welcome, soldier,” said Finch, whose greeting soon included an invitation for dinner."

Finch had tried to volunteer in the army but was rejected because of a heart ailment. He therefore wanted to show his appreciation and patriotism to other soldiers who would be fighting in WWII.

The story continues:

"In the past, Finch had invited soldiers to his home, but never saw them again. Therefore, he was pleasantly surprised to return the next afternoon and discover the Hawaii boys on his porch talking and laughing with his mother. In addition, the men had purchased roses for her in appreciation for the previous night’s hospitality. The small token of gratitude impressed Finch immensely. Finch soon recognized that more than any other group of soldiers he had encountered, these Nisei (“second generation” in Japanese), children of Japanese immigrants, appreciated the democratic values they were fighting for. Finch committed himself to helping the young Nisei gain acceptance in his hometown."

Eventually, he would take it upon himself to entertain and support the 100th Battalion and then the 442nd. 

When I read through all he did for the soldiers. I got pretty teary. 

He does come to Hawaii as the story continues:

"On March 5, 1946, Finch visited Honolulu and was greeted with the largest and warmest reception ever given to a private citizen in the history of Hawaii. For 25 days, island families toasted their friend from Hattiesburg. In the three months following his Hawaii visit, Finch visited an additional 3,000 hospitalized Nisei soldiers in Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago. Despite his busy schedule, Finch was in the nation’s capitol on July 15, 1946, when the 100th/442nd received the Presidential Unit Citation from President Harry S. Truman."

I had two uncles in the 442nd and another who was in the Military Intelligence Service (MIS) and know several others who also served valiantly. Art and I also met a friend of Art's cousin when we lived in Chicago who was one of those men in the 442nd who rescued the Lost Battalion from Texas in WWII. He recounted to us the horror of that time and how many of the 442nd were lost to save the soldiers from Texas.

So on this Veterans Day I want to thank all veterans who served 

...and to the memory of Earl Finch a truly grateful MAHALO!

Identifying Places With Google Lens

I wrote earlier about blogger Christine posting how to identify a flower using Google Lens. 

I've also told you all how I've been working on my epic magnum opus for the last year and a half. It's detailing our scanned family photos for the last 52 years from 1972 to 2021 in a five volume photobook set. (This shows 12 pages.)

It's a good thing I wrote so much in my journals (which I no longer do since I have my blog now).

The only problem is that when the kids grew up and went their separate ways and sent us photos during their trips, I can't remember or wasn't told exactly where they were.

Our son and daughter-in-law have traveled to almost every corner of the globe. So here I am with these photos but I don't know where they are. 

That's when Art suggested I use Google Lens. Hmmm... Really?

This is daughter-in-law somewhere in South America.

But where?

So I clicked on that Google Lens icon.

Would you believe?

Wow!

So I guess you could use Google Lens to find out almost anything you want information on that you've taken a photo of.

And yes, they were in Venezuela also.

Wow!

POSTSCRIPT: 

And you know what else?

It's not just places you can find. I  shared this photo of my grandsons with my buddies at tai chi and was asked what that Pokemon costume was. I had no idea. I remember my grandson telling me there were 750 Pokemons a couple of years ago. Would you believe there are 920 of them now? I'm lucky I know Pikachu. 

So I tried Google Lens and by golly! It's Bulbasaur! 

Technology these days is just amazing!

Just a Happy Post

This is just a happy post.

My brother had spent some time with mom transplanting her overgrown orchid plants in June last year.

At first, two of the plants had produced blooms a few weeks ago (which we took photos of) and mom was thrilled. Then a third one was blooming. I see mom from the kitchen window always stopping to look at them and smiling. 

She smiles every time she sees them. It was her 93rd birthday recently and this was a happy surprise for her. I don't think she's ever had three plants blooming at once.

And yes, we've done as she asked and bought more orchid fertilizer for her. 😄

Weird Evil Alexa Dream

OK... It's true. I talk in my sleep sometimes. I don't snore, but yes, I do at times (but rarely although Art might dispute that) talk. Of course, it makes Art curious because he can't quite make out what I'm saying. 

And the other night, he woke me (he says because I seemed agitated) to ask what I was dreaming about.

I can't give you all the specifics because it was a pretty long, involved dream from what I can recall. I did write down what it was about before going back to sleep. (Yes, it occurred to me that I could blog about this.)

The dream was about how Alexa (Amazon's Echo) had turned evil.

Alexa already knows when all our appointments are, what I buy, from which store I buy them, where I live, when I sleep, who I live with, etc. She knows a lot.

My Dream:

Alexa was now starting to recognize people's voices everywhere and telling them lies about people they knew.

I had apparently heard about this but didn't believe it.

Then I was having a get-together with friends at my house. We were seated at a table playing some kind of game with Alexa nearby.

Suddenly Alexa started telling lies that almost sounded like the truth about each friend. I was appalled.

That's when I told Alexa that she really had turned evil and needed to be turned off everywhere...destroyed... eradicated.... Arrghhh....😱

 I guess that's what Art heard me saying when he woke me up.

Muffin Tops for Art

I actually don't eat a lot of baked goods. It's not good for me since I am diabetic. However, Art  loves having a blueberry muffin with his breakfast and mom has one as a morning snack after working in her garden. We do also occasionally share some with a friend, neighbor or relative. I always double the recipe. I figure if I'm going to go through the trouble of making it, I might as well make it worth my while. The recipe I use is King Arthur's Famous Department Store Blueberry Muffins. 

I can't say it's necessarily healthy. I've read that muffins are not a healthy option for breakfast, but at least I know what's going into it. The problem with store bought muffins are that they are huge and full of fat, etc. etc.

My muffins are smaller (probably half the size of most store bought).

Now comes the tricky part. Art decided he liked a crispy muffin top so he toasts his muffins in the toaster oven. He'd then eat the bottom and save the top to eat like a cookie. 😄

He asked me to try and keep the blueberries off the top of the muffin batter. He would always select the muffins that had the least amount of blueberries at the top when I made them.

Well, blueberries have a tendency to keep poking through the top. 

So then it occurred to me that I should just keep a bit of the batter on the side before I mixed in the blueberries. 

Then I would put the blueberry batter into the muffin cups and add the NON-blueberry batter over the ones that Art would keep for himself.

OK... Some blueberries still managed to poke through, but it was good enough.

I did have these three rejects.

I think they were sugar chips that didn't dissolve (I think). 

Whatever the case, Art says he will sacrifice himself and eat those anyway.