Dove Story

Art has been trying to keep this dove off our electrical box for the longest time because it keeps pooping and leaving a big mess on our electrical box. He’s even put stones on top to make it more uncomfortable for birds to perch there.

Well... that did not stop this persistent mother dove. She just brought more twigs over. 

The other day Art brought the ladder to clean up her mess. And guess what he found! 

A newborn baby chick and a big egg. (March 17th) How does that egg fit in that little mother dove?

After a few more days (March 25th) he decided to check on the nest to see what was going on. It appears the older chick  had flown away and the egg had hatched to show this little squeaker. Would you believe a baby dove is also called a squeaker, a chick or a squab?

When Art got too close, the squeaker lifted his wing to try to fend Art off.

OK... so now we're waiting for this one to leave so we can clean up the rocks and put up a better deterrent for nest building.

This is from March 28th. 

April 1st! Yay! The baby bird has flown off. He was there in the morning, but by the afternoon he was gone.

At last, Art was able to clean off the area as much as he was able to. He said there were lots of ants under the nest when he lifted it off our electrical box. He then put up some deterrents so birds could be more inclined to using the trees around us to build her nests instead. 

Fingers crossed.

Project Hail Mary

Margaret of Stargazer: A View Into My Universe commented that she would like my opinion of Project Hail Mary. I'd told her we were planning to see the movie since our good friends had told us how much they enjoyed it. She wrote in her post that she loved it but her significant other was so-so with the movie adaption and preferred the book.

We haven't seen a movie since.... wow! I can't remember. OK, I looked it up on my blog and apparently it was in January, 2025. We'd gone to see Wicked and enjoyed it. 

Our friends, Cal and Myra told us they'd gone to see Project Hail Mary and liked it so much that they brought their son to see it a few days later. They totally loved it and recommended our going to see it also. Cal had even listened to the audiobook three times. I tried to borrow the Kindle copy of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir from our library and was astonished to see that they had 49 copies, BUT I was #641 on the list. It would take 6 months for me to get the download for my Kindle.

That was amazing! I've never seen the library having that many copies of any book I've tried to borrow.

OK, I was a little nervous about going to see the movie since I'm assuming there might be lots of flashing lights and movement in a dark theater.

We had some time after my physical therapy for vertigo so once I was done, we went to Consolidated Theaters where our son had given us a gift certificate a while ago. I took a meclizine for insurance.... just in case.

We decided to share the giant cup of soda which we ended up not finishing and a large popcorn as well. The movie is 2 hours and 36 minutes so I didn't want to drink much and have to use the bathroom in the middle of it.

Would you believe we ran into Cal and Myra at the theater and could sit with them next to us!!!

And yes the movie was fun. Ryan Gosling did a great job. The alien did a great job too. I loved hearing the Maori song of farewell, Po Atarau towards the end of the movie.

However, I think with everything we've read about what an amazing movie it is, I guess our expectation was too high.

I liked the relationship between Ryan Gosling's astronaut character and the alien he becomes friends with.

But yes, there were lots of movement and blinking lights, etc. which had me worried and having to turn away from the screen.

Art is a huge science fiction fan and has read tons and tons of science fiction books. So this was just OK for him. 

Another couple told me she thought the movie was fine, BUT the husband fell asleep. 

As for us... well, I'm on the list to borrow the Kindle book in 6 months so I'll see how I feel then.

How to Comment on Blog Posts

Something amazing and fun happened about a month or so ago.

My Hokkaido tour friend, Kay said her neighbor had been following my blog for many years and was surprised to see her on it with me. I told her that's incredible since I've taken my blog off from the web crawler. People can't find me unless they have my web address. My kids had been nervous saying I was disclosing too much on my blog into cyberspace. 

My son-in-law even did a check on my name a couple years ago to make sure the web was not tying my blog with me. 😄 He said I was OK... for now.

Anyway, Kay told me that her neighbor had been following me since before I was taken off the web crawler. Wow! I'm really touched. 💗

I do have several friends who read my blog but don't leave comments. So anyway, just in case... they'd like to comment 😁 but don't know how... because you know we bloggers love comments, here's a little tutorial. 

To be honest, I get nervous figuring things out on the computer too.

OK... here goes.

First you have to scroll to the bottom of the post’s comments.

Then click on the word comments.

That will bring up this 2nd box.

Choose Anonymous if you like.

Now you can just write your comment, but don't forget to put your name first so I know who you are. Orrr... just make up a name to use all the time.

And then, don't forget to PUBLISH. That's very important.

But... if you prefer to just text me, that's OK too. 😄

POSTSCRIPT: Sigh… Nope. I’ve been told I can now be found even though I chose to be taken off the web crawler in the Blogspot settings. 

When Things Go Nuts!

This was a day about 3 weeks ago when one crisis after another just happened at once and drove us nuts!

(To be honest I'm writing this on April 8th and scheduling it for April 22nd because I've got too many posts already scheduled.)

The personal effects of Art's old friend, Jeff who he hadn't seen in a decade or more was given to him by the hospital. Because Art was listed as the emergency contact and the hospital couldn't locate anyone else who knew him they called us 5 different times hoping for more information. Jeff had alienated his family and we knew nothing of his life since then. Jeff's brother did not want to be contacted about him. Sigh...

Then our tax accountant said there was a problem with information that needed to be turned into her which we hadn't received in the mail. Art hunted everywhere not knowing what to look for exactly. Luckily, our daughter is better at financial matters and was trying to help us.

And then suddenly our Prius alarm started honking. LOUD! REALLY LOUD! 😨 So Art with his sore knee goes running down to try to turn it off, but it won't turn off.

This kept happening over and over. He'd come up and continue trying to work on the computer with my daughter long distance and then the car alarm would go off again and he'd have to run down and try to stop it somehow. A neighbor who is good with car problems came over and they thought they stopped it. But nope, it started up again.

Our nerves were really getting rattled. So Art called the Servco Toyota dealership. The person answering the phone asked what the problem was. I heard everything because Art put it on the speaker. She sympathized with the problem and said she understood the frustration and need for immediate help. 

Then she excused herself to find the time to bring the car in. She came back and said Art could bring the car in the following Tuesday a week away. "WHAT?!?" we said. "We can't get the car to stop honking. We need to bring the car in NOW." 

She repeated that it was the only time available. So Art asked to speak to her supervisor.

That's when the car alarm went off AGAIN! He went running down to try to turn it off.

The supervisor came on and I'm sorry. I'm usually quite patient. And I'm usually kind... usually. BUT good grief! My nerves were really rattled by then. I let the supervisor have it! I told her about the terrible person she had answering the phone, etc. etc. And you know what she said? Are you ready? 😦

She said we were talking to an AI generated person. Arrrghhh.... I could NOT believe it! I told her this was definitely ridiculous and bloggable.

Anyway, Art came back and told them he was bringing the car in now so it could go off at the dealership, and not at our house which must be driving the neighbors crazy.

And would you believe the car stopped honking on the way to the dealership?

Everyone at the dealership were very nice and understanding.

The following day, they called us saying they installed a new battery and tried to do a diagnostic on the car, but couldn't get any results since it wasn't honking now.

But yes, we had to pay $535.42 for both battery and the diagnostic that couldn't show what the problem was. Sigh...

As for Jeff's personal effects. It's awesome that I have an amazing cousin who just happens to be a lawyer. She said Art has no responsibility and that it should go to the brother even thought he's said he wants nothing to do with it. Art mailed the items to Jeff's brother saying that's what his lawyer advised him to do.

OK... the tax stuff: 

Our daughter helped us find what we needed and we sent the information to the accountant. 

After all that Art was outside trying to patch up window leaks before the expected rainfall. And nope, we don't have any roofers in the family.

I'd like to say this was it for things to deal with but no... there was more to do in the days ahead.

Sometimes, when life rains, it pours.

BTS Fans

I have some friends who are super into the South Korean K-Pop group called the BTS. 

 I got this from Wikipedia:

BTS (Korean: 방탄소년단; RR: Bangtan sonyeondan; lit. 'Bulletproof Boy Scouts'), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean hip hop boy group formed in 2010.

They are doing a tour of the US and my friends will be going to Vegas to see them. There is a certain BTS light stick (Version 4) that fans are trying to buy in preparation for the concert.

The BTS fans are called their ARMY. 

I got this from AI: 

ARMY (or A.R.M.Y) is the official global fandom name for the K-pop group BTS, standing for Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth. Established on July 9, 2013, the fandom is known for its intense dedication, massive organized support, and a $5.3 billion estimated spending power to support the band.

Anyway, Targets were selling these light sticks for $69. However, they quickly sold out here in Hawaii so my friends were disappointed.

I thought Chicago being a bigger city and maybe, just maybe not having as much of a craze than here would have some.

So I texted my daughter. Nope. All sold out in her area and there are two Targets in easy distance to their house!

Wow!

Well, Tiffany was going to lunch with her friend who lived rather far away so she asked her to check the Targets in areas on the way to the restaurant. But all the Targets on the way to the restaurant were also sold out except for one place that had one... just one. 

Gosh! This is like the Beatles so many decades ago. And yes, I was one of their fans for quite a while. I had several of their record albums. I think I still have them somewhere.

If you've never heard of BTS, here's one of their biggest hits.

https://youtu.be/gdZLi9oWNZg?si=ZpGYfDxcO8ULQkxv

I've liked Josh Groban, Jason Mraz, Celine Dione, Michael Buble, Neil Diamond, Hugh Jackman, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Iz Kamakawiwo'ole, Adele, Peter, Paul and Mary, Ed Sheeran ....Hmmm... Am I showing my age? 

What about you? 

Now that I think about it... isn't this like being a sports fan wearing sport team clothing and buying sport team paraphernalia and attending all their games? 😀 My kids are laughing, I'm sure, since I'm not into sports either unlike my whole family. 

They bought me this t-shirt when the Cubs won the World Series.

Wow! That was 10 years ago!

Have You Heard of Affogato?

I mentioned earlier how my Hokkaido tour friend, Kay would often splash coffee over vanilla ice cream for dessert after dinner or whenever she had a chance. This is the first time I'd ever seen anybody do this. 

When we got home, I sent this photo to Kay as a little joke.

However, I then learned that our friend Dave does the opposite. He puts a scoop of ice cream into his coffee. 

I've found that when I put the ice cream in the coffee instead like Dave and then place my mug in the freezer for a bit, I really like the little icy crunch.

I've also added a few drops of peppermint mix that my wonderful cousin gave us which was fun.

When we were having our walk at the mall, I mentioned all this to Dave and he said it's called affogato.

I'd never heard of affogato so I looked it up.

I found this photo on New York Times Cooking website: 

And this was from AI:

Affogato is a simple Italian dessert where a scoop of vanilla gelato or ice cream is "drowned" (the meaning of affogato) with a shot of hot espresso, creating a contrast of hot and cold, bitter and sweet flavors. It's served immediately and can be enhanced with optional additions like a splash of liqueur (amaretto, Frangelico) or toppings like shaved chocolate. 

But no. I think I'll stick to just adding that little scoop of vanilla ice cream to my coffee instead. 

Uuummm...

I do also add a little chocolate milk to the coffee first before that little scoop of vanilla ice cream and it's perfect. And well... my cousin gave me these bottles of Skinny Mix so I add a little of this for fun.

So now I guess my mocha has turned into an affogato!

POSTSCRIPT: Art did look at my mocha affogato and said, "That's a bit more ice cream than you usually add to your coffee."

I told him it was just for my photo. 😄

Making a Protest Sign

With all the horrors happening now, I felt we just had to go out and join the protests happening across the country. We marched for Science in 2017.  I think my cousins on Kauai have gone to every one.

When I was at my physical therapy session for vertigo, my therapist whose mother was also a teacher had already made a couple of signs and were going to protest along with his dad. My therapist's brother was in the Navy who had been deployed to the middle east.

Anyway... I won't go into all the junk that's been happening. You already know. 

But I needed a sign. And my mind was a blank.

I looked online and there were so many wonderful, clever, ingenious ideas.

I liked the IMPEACH TRUMP sign.

But the more I thought about it, he's already been impeached and it didn't work.

Then I saw that DUMP TRUMP sign and I loved it. 

As far as I'm concerned, he is a piece of heartless garbage that thinks only of himself and putting his name everywhere.

We were worried about our fighter pilot who'd gone into Iran to drop bombs.

Are we just ignoring the report that at least 168 to 175 people, predominantly school children aged 7 to 12, were killed in a U.S. strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school in Minab, Iran, on February 28, 2026. 

They're thinking it was a mistake due to old information.

Uh oh... I'm getting distracted again. Arrgh...

OK, I'm liking the DUMP TRUMP so I asked my brother with the fine arts degree for help. He came up with this and he said that for $20.86 I could have a 20" x 30" sign printed.

But where's the fun in that?

He warned me that it would cost more in supplies to make a "clean" poster by hand. 😕

OK, he did help me anyway. He made the words, stars and Trump caricature with his computer.

And this is why I wanted to do it by hand... sort of.

I'd already bought stencils a while back when I first thought about making a sign.

I spaced things out to make sure they would fit.

I only had a tube of orangey red so I added some blue to it to make it the MAGA red.

Then I glued on the stars, Trump caricature and MAGA words.

OK, I got the border done. I wanted a blue border, but my fine arts brother said it needed to be red. Ah well... 

So now... what if it rains? 😲 

Sigh... I ordered a roll of laminating plastic. I'm sure my brother is about to say I'm going to end up paying about $20 for the sign now anyway. 

Now then... what if it's windy? My sign will be flapping too much. 😕 

I got some cardboard and glued the poster onto it.

The laminate arrived and we applied it to the poster. 

I used a kitchen scraper tool to flatten out any bubbles.

And here it is! My wonderful, artistic brother will come and watch over mom while we attend the next protest rally. We already have good friends who will come along to join the cause.

Art was watching a video about Henry David Thoreau and was reminded about Civil Disobedience. 

I got this from Wikipedia:

"Resistance to Civil Government", also called "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" or "Civil Disobedience", is an essay by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, first published in 1849. In it, Thoreau argues that individuals should prioritize their conscience over compliance with unjust laws, asserting that passive submission to government authority enables injustice. Thoreau was motivated by his opposition to  slavery and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848), which he viewed as morally and politically objectionable.

And then I saw this photo online. So yup. We'll go to the next protest and join the resistance. I already know our grandchildren would be proud of us.

POSTSCRIPT: Oh gosh! And I know the whole world has now seen this AI generated image that Trump posted on his Truth Social website.... along with his rants against Pope Leo. 

Incredible....

He did take it down later when some of his supporters were angered by it.

A Final Goodbye

This is a rather tragic post about a rather tragic life and I debated writing about it. But I am, as a record for us. It's been about 3 weeks now since this happened.

I actually wrote in 2009 about Jeff's part in how Art and I met in 1971.  Here's a part of it:

"I was finishing up my degree in education at the University of Hawaii and had two summer roommates from Wisconsin staying with my buddy, Gail and me in our apartment. Suzie was a stunning young woman shorter than all of us but with bosoms that were probably larger than all of ours combined. Suzie got a part time job at a Waikiki bar and was constantly bringing home guys she'd met. 

Some time in late July, Suzie was at Waikiki beach swimming when her bikini top got loose. Well, there was a lot to hold up so I imagine her bikini top was not quite up to the job. Art happened to be at the beach with two of his buddies just taking in the rays. He says he NEVER saw a thing, but suddenly, his ever gallant friend, Jeff was sprinting toward the water to give Suzie a helping hand. I mean...to locate that missing garment piece.

Jeff fell in love with Suzie but she eventually wanted to break it off because she fully intended to return to Madison where she happened to have a boyfriend. Of course...

I'm thinking Jeff was quite clever in bringing Art to our apartment to meet me hoping that Art would possibly like to go out with me so that he could tag along and perhaps see Suzie also. Suzie eventually returned to Wisconsin at summer's end.

Meanwhile Art and I went out a few times. He was a captain in the Air Force working on a Top Secret spy satellite thing that he couldn't tell me about. And he never did until a book came out revealing the entire thing. Anyway, this was the Vietnam era when my dating an officer with a SHORT haircut wasn't exactly the most fashionable thing to do.

Jeff told me that Art had said he wasn't really interested in any sort of commitment at the time. Jeff reassured him that he had nothing to worry about since I was seeing somebody else also. Which I was. Later, a worried Jeff warned me that Art was seeing a couple of other women so I shouldn't get too serious about him either. Poor guy... I think he felt responsible.

OK. So that's how it began.

Jeff was Art's best man about a year later. The photo above is a hike we all took together after Art and I were engaged. Art is the one with the green shirt.

However, after we moved back from Chicago in 2008 we saw that Jeff's life had taken a sad turn for the worse. He was diagnosed with having emotional/bi-polar issues. He joined a New Hope Church and we don't know how that went exactly. Art kept trying to help him even as Jeff caused so much emotional stress for him with delusional sort of accusations. Eventually, we did see a social worker at Tripler Army Hospital who told Art he needed to step back so Jeff would get help. So Art did, although he still helped when he could.

Eventually we didn't hear at all from Jeff so hoped that the church was helping him.

And then we got a call from a doctor at Queen's Medical Center last month saying Jeff was hospitalized in ICU with some lung ailment. He'd been found unconscious at his apartment and brought to Queen's. They said Art was listed as his emergency contact which was a shock since we hadn't seen him in about 10 years.

Art called Jeff's brother in California but the brothers had been estranged for some time and wanted nothing to do with him. 

Nobody from the church had shown up. Art told the doctor all he knew but explained the family background and everything he knew. He also said he really couldn't provide more than that and was surprised that he had been listed as the emergency contact.

But then a social worker called from Queen's and went through the same information. We thought that would be the end of it.

Then another very kind doctor named Dr. Ando from Queen's called saying Art was the only contact they had and wanted to know more. She said he probably would not survive.

After talking to that doctor, the next morning Art felt he wanted to go and see Jeff one last time and bring some flowers. I knew you shouldn't being fresh flowers or potted plants to an ICU unit so we went out and bought some silk flowers which I put in a small vase with ribbons. We didn't want to clutter his area either.

This wasn't a big deal so I was surprised when people in the elevator and doctors all commented about the "pretty flowers."

Once we found Jeff's room, we saw a cluster of doctors and nurses surrounding him. They said he told them he was happy we'd been contacted.

It was a shock to see Jeff. We wouldn't have recognized him on the street. He was intubated and his hands were in mitts so he couldn't pull out anything.

But he was lucid. He couldn't hear well at all so I wrote answers and questions on a white board while Art talked to him. 

Art asked if there was somebody to call at New Hope Church since Jeff had told the doctors that he was going to leave his estate to them, not that there could be much there since the hospital bill must be horrendous. But Jeff didn't know who. Art asked if there was anybody he should contact for him and he said no. 

Still... he seemed to have enough energy and was quite lucid so that we told the doctors we thought he was much better than we expected and maybe he could pull through. 

The following afternoon, we got a call from Dr. Ando saying he was not doing well. There was fluid in his lungs and Jeff had indicated that he didn't want unnecessary measures to prolong his suffering.

That night we got another call from yet another doctor who said Jeff had passed away 20 minutes before. He even asked if they should do an autopsy. Goodness! I was surprised they asked us that.

And then... an hour later another call from a nurse about his personal effects. How can we be the only people the hospital can contact? How can we be the only people to visit him? 

We are profoundly sad for a person who had so much going for him with income, artistic talent, looks and intelligence when he was younger, but somehow it wasn't enough and the choices he made brought him to such a sad ending.

Shoe Goo to the Rescue

Just a few days after our return from our frozen trip to Hokkaido, we had to attend the sad funeral for a relative. 

However, when we prepared to leave for the funeral, I discovered that the sandals I usually wear with my black dress had come apart.

So I got the other pair I have and wouldn't you know that had come apart too?

Sooo aggravating. It's one of the things you have to get accustomed to when living in the humid and salt air of Hawaii.

I ended up having to wear an uncomfortable pair of black shoes that were only meant to be worn for short distances.  

Anyway, on the way to the funeral, would you believe I got another text that a relative had passed away. It's so sad. I guess I'm at the age when more of these sad events happen.

Sooo... after looking at stores, I ordered something from Amazon instead. I hope it's OK.

But then... I'm thinking... Maybe I can fix these sandals. Afterall, they were not cheap. And now they are EVEN MORE NOT cheap. Prices are going up everywhere. Sheesh!

So I got our trusty Shoe Goo that we'd packed in our suitcase for our trip to Hokkaido and never used, thank goodness.

I glued the thick straps back on and securely tied them with ribbon.

So I think they should be fine.

..... Unless the black soles of the sandals crack and fall apart which is another thing that happens in Hawaii.

POSTSCRIPT:

I just looked up why all this happens and got this from AI:

Black rubber and polyurethane (PU) shoe soles crack in Hawaii primarily due to hydrolysis, a chemical breakdown caused by the state's high humidity and warm, tropical climate. This moisture weakens the polymer chains in the soles, causing them to become brittle, crumble, and fail, particularly if the shoes are rarely worn. 

 

Here are the specific reasons for this, according to the search results:

Hydrolysis (Moisture Breakdown): The high humidity in Hawaii causes water molecules to break down the polyurethane (PU) polymer chains in the soles, a process that leads to, cracking, and eventual, total disintegration.

UV Radiation & Heat: Intense, direct sunlight (UV rays) and high temperatures cause the rubber to harden, lose its elasticity, and oxidize, making it brittle.

Lack of Use: Ironically, not wearing shoes regularly speeds up this process. Regularly bending and flexing the shoes prevents the polymer chains from becoming brittle and failing.

OK... So there are some drawbacks to living in Hawaii.

POSTSCRIPT: We bought some air tight storage boxes to store our shoes in along with a desiccant. Fingers crossed that it will work and our shoes won't come apart again.

Keeping In Touch Long Distance

When we moved to Chicago in 1974, I wrote letters to my parents and rarely called them because it was just too expensive. Friends from Hawaii and I also kept in touch through hard copy letters. I kept a lot of them. 

You never get letters now. 😂 We're also constantly in touch with friends right here in Hawaii and the mainland and definitely our kids daily by text messages. The world has really changed.

On Easter Sunday our daughter scheduled a Google Video meeting for us all.

Our granddaughter, KC is now at the University of Illinois in Champaign. Our daughter and husband live in Chicagoland and our son and his family live and work in Africa now.

It's mind boggling when you think about it. Here we all are in Chicagoland, Champaign, Africa and Hawaii seeing and talking to each other.

Since Tiffany, our son-in-law and Keola all went to the University of Illinois, they were all watching the NCAA semi-final basketball game pitting Illinois vs. University of Connecticut with bated, hopeful breath.

Tiffany said she'd heard someone had put up a sign on the Alma Mater and wanted to see it so KC actually walked there, taking us with her.

She texted this photo during our video call.

I remember that statue from when we took photos in front of it when Keola graduated from the U of I in 2000. Tiffany had graduated 3 years before.

Sadly...

The whole family is quite disappointed that Illinois lost that game 62/71 this past Saturday. 😩

However, the University of Michigan won their game in the Final Four against the University of Arizona 91/73.

If Illinois had won their game, it would have been difficult for my grandsons to know who to root for since our daughter-in-law, Sarah is a University of Michigan alumni.

And as you can see, our grandsons are quite aware of it.

We're going to visit our granddaughter at the U of I campus this fall. I can see we're going to have to look for University of Illinois t-shirts for the grandsons so they can know where their father's loyalty lies.

POSTSCRIPT: 

Oh wow.... I just heard that Michigan has won the final game against UConn and are now the NCAA National Champions for 2026.

I know Sarah is overjoyed. I know my son, daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter are happy for her. I think.

Sapporo to Chitose to Haneda to Honolulu

It was Wednesday, February 18th and time to go home.

We had our last breakfast with Kay and Dareld at 6:30.

9:00 AM Our two suitcases and box were lined up outside our room to be taken to the bus. We cleaned up our room and made sure we weren't forgetting anything.

11:00 We said goodbye to Kay and Dareld. They were staying a few extra days before heading home to California. In such a short time, it felt like we'd known each other for years. It was really sad to say goodbye. 

But the roads were cleared. Yay! And we were on our way to Chitose Airport.

While our guides watched over our suitcases and boxes, we all went off to find a place to have lunch.

We left Chitose Airport in Hokkaido for Haneda Airport in Tokyo. There was a bit of a delay with the weather but we were able to take off for Honolulu.

It was rather a long flight from Haneda back to Honolulu.

Kay texted me the bottom photo from their hotel saying it was a good thing they were staying the extra days because their flights could have been impacted.

We got home on Wednesday morning and we got to repeat Wednesday all over again. 

Once I got my sleep schedule acclimated to our local time, I texted this photo back to Kay.

Throughout Hokkaido I watched her spooning coffee over her vanilla ice cream. You know what? I was intrigued. But I did one better. I spooned the cold coffee over my vanilla ice cream and then put it in the freezer for about an hour. It now had a yummy and lovely crunchy coffee texture.

When I mentioned this to my friend, Diane she told me her husband, Dave prefers spooning a bit of vanilla ice cream into his coffee instead.

Hmmm... interesting. 😀

And speaking of Dave.

We were out walking and he wanted to show us another AI trick. He took a photo of us and asked what we'd like the background to be. We told him a wintry scene in Hokkaido.

Pretty cool. However, AI put us in the middle of a frozen river which was pretty hilarious. Still amazing though.

And now I've got a gazillion Hokkaido photos to arrange for our travel photobook. 

P.S. I'm now following Dave's morning coffee ritual. For the first time, I actually bought vanilla ice cream to add a spoonful in my coffee every the morning. 😄

Day 10: Chocolates, Chocolates and More Chocolates

It was Tuesday, February 17th and the last day of the tour. We would be returning home the following day if the flights were not impacted by winter weather.

We enjoyed our wonderful breakfast with more ikura (red salmon caviar).  When we looked outside our window, we could see everything blanketed by thick snow.

I don't recall any of our streets in Chicago looking like this when we lived there. It was pretty darn amazing.

Our first stop of the day was this seafood store. And yes we bought more dried cuttlefish and scallops which we all love. It was fun to see that sign posted on the doorway that said, "We 💖 Hawaiians, Have a nice trip!" I'm sure they loved us all even more with our many purchases.

Can you believe the size of this snow drift? And does anybody use phone booths anymore?

As we drove to our next stop, we could see trucks lined up to drop off snow farther out of the city. There were also empty trucks returning to the city on the other side of the street.

There was a shopping stop at Ario Mall where we grabbed lunch. Yup, we got McDonalds again. The funny thing is we rarely go to McDonalds while at home. We did like the ebi (shrimp) fillet burger though. 

We also went to a pharmacy where there was a certain sore throat drop that my daughter had wanted after trying it when a friend shared some with her. My son-in-law liked that special toothpaste that's supposed to build up your enamel. Art wanted some shorts from Uniqlo. 

And then we were at Royce Cacao & Chocolate Town. 

Unfortunately, Art is not into chocolate and since I've lost a lot of my sense of taste, that wonderful and special Royce chocolate taste is lost to me. We've bought Royce chocolate every time we've gone to Japan in the past. 

The funny thing is Tiffany and family visited from Chicago the month before with Trader Joes Cocoa Truffles and for me, it was the same as Royce. So no.... we didn't get any chocolate truffles. We just got white chocolate for Tiffany. Can you believe she doesn't like regular chocolate? 

Chocolate Town was very interesting. There were informative displays showing how chocolate is made from cacao pods to candy pieces. 

According to the sign: The activity of microbes that live in the air and in the wooden boxes encourages fermentation. At ROYCE' Cacao Farm, from the third day after adding beans, the fermenters are stirred once every 24 hours to incorporate air and promote microbial activity.

I had to leave the theater room because the flashing lights and movement were bound to give me a vertigo attack. The bottom left photo has me holding the white chocolate candy box for Tiffany. And my favorite part? 😂 Yup! The Royce chocolate soft serve.

We discovered that this was our driver's last trip with a tour group around Hokkaido. He was always such a kind and good natured gentleman. He received a number of gifts to commemorate his retirement.

Once back at the hotel, we dropped off our purchases and took the underground subway to a Don Quijote store where we purchased a few things and then returned to the hotel. 

Hmmm... dinner? We were rather tired and just wanted something quick.

We were at the Solaria Hotel in Sapporo.

Across the street was Lawson which is what the Japanese call a konbini (convenience store). Lawson, FamilyMart, and 7-Eleven are well known konbinis.

We decided to just grab a quick bento plate there.

There wasn't much of a selection so late in the day, but the sushi was good enough. I'd really gotten to love the melon drinks we'd been having at the hotels, so I chose these canned melon drinks. I could read the Japanese characters for melon so we bought 3 of those cans. We were rather thirsty. 

After drinking it all, we wondered why we were suddenly very tired and sleepy. We decided to Google Translate the words on the can. Oops! It said Liqueur Sparkling Alcohol. Granted it's just 3%. But it was enough. We had a good night's sleep.

Meanwhile, outside our door, Tiger and his helper were taping our boxes of purchases securely for the plane ride home.

And outside the window... LOTS of snow! 

Would it impact our flight?