Happy Tuesday

We had a very full and happy Tuesday.


It started with this fun license plate we saw in front of us. If you enlarge the photo you'll be able to see that it says, MY BICHON FRISE IS SMARTER THAN YOUR HONOR STUDENT.


Tif wanted to take KC to the Dole Plantation to see the different pineapples growing there. We were hesitant because it's really a tourist trap with rather overpriced souvenirs and food.


We brought KC there last year when she was a one year old and she was unimpressed. This time she was running from pineapple to pineapple shouting excitedly, "See the red pineapple." "See the green pineapple?" "See the pink pineapple."








At the fish pond, she had a ton of fun dropping fish pellets into the koi pond and watching the fish gobble up the food.


A few months ago, Tif had KC try a train ride and she was not happy with it. This time KC could hardly wait to go on the Pineapple Express train ride.


If you asked KC what her favorite part of the expedition was, she might say the pineapple soft serve.

I still think this place is rather a touristy thing. But what the heck! To a two year old, it's probably a little Hawaiian Disneyland.


To cap off a terrific day, my brother, Dennis, nephew,Barry and his wife, Miho came for dinner. KC could hardly get enough of them. We heard squeals of delight throughout the evening. Could it have been Barry's funny faces that had KC clinging to him all evening?

We have only a few more days with Tif and KC. It's going to be really, really hard to say goodbye to them. However, I won't think about that now.

Neighborly Bounty

Our neighbor just had a friend come to visit from the outer islands who brought with him lots of veggies and fruits. He shared some of the bounty with us.

We could figure out the limes, lichees and eggplants but the bitter melon is something we don't usually cook. We finally figured out the last veggie (round, brown root) which must be jicamas. (Our neighbor called it Chinese taro.) I remember my Venezuelan friend, Daisy making us a salad with jicama. It had a sort of water chestnut consistency and flavor. I'm going to use it tonight in a salad to serve my brother, nephews and niece-in-law. This will be interesting.

Now... those bitter melons.... hmmmmm.....

Car Buying Aggravation

When we met with the Toyota salesman at Servco he was quite eager to have us try out the Prius and to sell it to us. We did and we liked it. Our salesman said it was in the computer to have the car built in July and delivered to us in August. If another car came up sooner we might get the car in July. We put down our $500.00 deposit and were happily on our way.

THEN we got this letter saying not only that it would probably get to us in October but that it wasn't a promise either since we don't have a "vehicle identification number" yet. What the heck?

Art called our salesman and he said he was sorry we misunderstood him... that he really was saying it MIGHT come in August. Excuuuuse me? WE misunderstood him? Arrrghhh! Why do you suppose then that he felt it necessary to underline the possible October delivery date in RED?

Servco has a monopoly on Toyota cars in Hawaii so we have no choice. It's just so aggravating.

Tif told me how when they were buying their Mazda in Illinois, they negotiated a certain finance interest rate but when the paperwork was shown to them there was a different rate. When Tif's husband pointed it out to the Finance manager they said it was a mistake and corrected it.

Beds! Cars! Argghhhhh! I'll bet that's why we buy our cars only after we've had it more a decade and doesn't run anymore. This bed we're buying better last the 30 years it's advertised to do because I want it to be the LAST one we buy!

Bon Dance and Wedding Memories

We went to the Obon Dance Festival last night at the main Soto Mission temple in Nuuanu. Tif loves the excitement,color and food of the Obon Festivals. This is the 3rd one we've been to in the last few weeks.

I found this explanation in Wikipedia:

Obon (お盆) or just Bon (盆), also referred to as "Day of the Dead," is a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the departed (deceased) spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. Also called the Feast of Lanterns, it has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon-Odori.


Art and I were married in this temple 36 years ago. This is the first time we've been back to the temple since our wedding day.


I could remember walking down this aisle.


I remembered saying our vows here. KC was curious about everything but she really was just waiting for one of her favorite treats that she knew was served at Obon Festivals.


The reception hall was in the basement of the temple. And yes, it was still there looking just as it did so long ago. We'd hired a band to play on that stage and a buffet table was set up to feed our 225 guests. Would you believe our entire wedding cost us about $1,200?


At last... Tif found the food stand where sushi was being sold. KC could hardly wait.


Tif said it was awesome to be at the temple in the place where her parents were wed and the saga of our lives together began.

"I'm Busy"

I asked KC to come to the changing pad this morning so I could change her diaper. She answered, "No, grandma. I'm busy."


She'd gotten hold of my Swifter and was cleaning the floors with it. Tif says she might just give her one at home to use when they return to Illinois. Why waste all that available energy?


Granted, once she knows we want her to do it, she may stop. She can be awfully TWO.

A Beach of Quick Sand for KC

We went to Ko'Olina Beach this afternoon. We were happy to see that the beach was not very crowded.


It was fun to watch a wedding couple having their photos taken while we sat on our beach mat.


KC refused to walk or sit on the sand. We had to bring the towel up to the sand so she could sit and play with her sand toys.


Both of my children were champion swimmers in high school. I made sure they could swim since I can't. Yes, it's true. Please don't scold me. I took golf in college instead of swimming. Can I play golf? I did get an A but no, I haven't a clue how to play golf.


We tried to encourage KC to get in the water but she was having none of it.


When Tif tried to lower her into the water KC would wrap her legs around her mom or curl them away from the water.


Finally, KC agreed to go in her little "floatie" and had a wonderful time.


We had a lovely time at the beach. I know some day she will be swimming like a fish, or at least like her mommy, daddy, Uncle Jonny and Auntie Sarah... that is, if she can find a way to get from the beach towel to the water without touching sand.

Bed Update 2

We went in this morning to America's Mattress and met with the other owner and Brian, the Serta Sales Manager who explained even more about mattresses. They helped us select the Felicity latex mattress (the firmest of the latex mattresses) that has less foam and padding which are likely to have depressions after a while. Our new mattress, Felicity will be delivered next week.


Here's what we've learned about mattress buying:

1. Start with a company you can trust. We were lucky to meet the actual owner, Chris who really tried his best to insure our comfort.

2. Lay on the mattress in the position you sleep in for 15 minutes if you can. We found that hard to do with salespeople around but you really should. Try closing your eyes and tuning things out.

3. Make sure the store has a good return policy or "comfort" guarantee. Otherwise, you're stuck like we were with our first mattresses. I would really emphasize getting that comfort guarantee.

4. If you like firm mattresses, stay away from the plush, pillow top and extra padding. I was told they will gradually compress to your body impression.

5. Side sleepers tend to need a bit softer mattress while back and stomach sleepers need a firmer mattress.

I'm sure there's a lot more to learn but that's enough for me. We'll see how the Felicity stacks up when we get it next week. I'm ready for this to be over. I don't want to lose any more sleep over it!

Bed Update...continued!

A year ago we bought 3 beds for our master bedroom, a guest room and my mom. They felt firm enough at the military BX furniture store but once they were delivered, they didn't feel the same. There was no "comfort guarantee" so we were stuck with the beds. We ended up giving one away because it was just too soft for me since I'm a stomach sleeper. My mom didn't like hers either so we switched her bed with an older but firmer mattress that she preferred.

Since that time I feel like we've tried dozens of mattresses at different stores afraid to make the final decision. After much thought we finally settled on a latex bed which is supposed to spring back much more quickly than memory foam... or so we thought.

At America's Mattress, Chris, one of the owners happened to be on hand to help us at his store. He said he had the Serta Vera Wang Tranquility mattress at his home and he thought it was great. It did seem firm at the store although it had some softness which Chris said we would like.

It was delivered in a week. After the first couple of nights, I was noticing a depression in the mattress and couldn't understand why since the latex was supposed to spring back! Art said he thought it was fine.

I e-mailed Chris and he talked to the Serta people who said there would be a tiny depression which is normal because: "the latex will not get body impressions, however, the Tranquility has convuluted foam and Body Loft foam in the quilt which give it some softness. Slight body impressions are normal and supposed to occur as the material mold to your body's impressions."


Later I was noticing more of a depression which gave me the feeling that I was rolling off the peak in the middle of the bed.

I e-mailed Chris and he said I should try rotating the bed. That's when I noticed that the side Art had been sleeping on did not have as big a depression as my side. He is heavier than I am so how could that be?

I e-mailed Chris yet again and he came to our home with the Serta sales manager. I'm just thrilled that he stands behind the products that he sells.

They confirmed the depression in the bed. Chris actually got on the bed and said he definitely could feel what we were talking about. I'm just relieved I wasn't crazy after all about having that sinking feeling at night.

They told us to come back to the store and decide which firmer mattress we would like. Then they would swap out our defective mattress. They also said they would keep trying until I was satisfied.

I really think that's great.

This is certainly a decision we'll keep sleeping on.

Breaking a Waterford

A long time ago, we used to exchange Christmas presents with some very generous friends who would give us a pair of Waterford glasses every year. The problem was that they were so expensive I never wanted to use them. They've sat proudly in my china cabinet for a good 20 years sparkling away. We even hand carried them to Hawaii when we made the decision to move here. It set off the security scanners because of the leaded glass.


My son, Jon used to tease me about my not using the glasses. He said they should be enjoyed, not just sit on display gathering dust. I told him he could drink out of them as much as he liked once I was gone. He didn't quite see the humor in that.

Well, before he left for California, I decided to surprise him. I took two of the glasses out of the case quickly and rinsed them so I could let him and Sarah drink some iced water out of them before they left for the airport.

When I set it on the table, I'm really not sure how it happened but I may have knocked it against a trivet that was on the table or maybe set it down too hard. Whatever the case, the base cracked. I couldn't believe it!

Jon felt terrible about it but the strange thing is, it didn't matter. I thought I'd be upset, but I wasn't. I'm glad he and Sarah got to use the other one. I'm glad I took it out for them. Strangely, I felt as though the glass breaking for Jon was a gift in itself.

Art said I should end this post saying, "I'm glad I was able to break it in."

Uuuummm..... no.... I don't think so.

Felicia Update:

We bought lots of bottled water. We bought new rain tarps and batteries. We cancelled dinner plans with my nephew and his wife for last night. Then we waited... and waited...and waited. Hurricane Felicia was downgraded to a Tropical Storm and then to a Depression (whatever that is) and then a shower. I think we've dodged a bullet. Thank you for keeping your fingers crossed for us!

A Kitchen Mat for Great Grandma and a Smoothie for KC

The tile floor is hard on my mother's feet and knees so we got her a Gelpro mat from Costco. It cost about $75.00 ($124.95 online.) We thought this was a pretty good deal. It's awfully costly for a floor mat but it sure does feel good!



KC refuses to eat any fruits or veggies. Tonight, I made her my SPECIAL smoothie in my blender with pineapples, apples, frozen blueberries, frozen strawberries, a banana, 2 Tbsp of ice cream, some yogurt and soy milk. She took a sip. We held our breath and then...

"KC like smoothie. KC want more."

Woohoo! Success!

Bishop Museum with KC

Tiffany wanted to take KC to the Bishop Museum yesterday. It was a bright sunny day so we decided to take advantage of the good weather. We're still waiting for Tropical Storm Felicia.

One of the first things KC saw was a little cape made of beautiful feathers.

She especially enjoyed the children's area where she played musical sticks with the video of a man doing a Hawaiian chant.


KC learned how ancient Hawaiians pounded the bark of the paper mulberry tree to make tapa cloth.


Outside the museum, a tent was set up where children learned how bowls and musical instruments could be made from gourds.


KC began fidgeting, then saying, "KC want eat." She enjoyed shrimp scampi over fetucci noodles. Not exactly Hawaiian... but noodles are her favorite! It was a little messy but she managed to eat enough that it put her into a food coma and she fell fast asleep for 2 hours. I wanted to join her.



Hula dancers performed to Hawaiian music while we ate and enjoyed a lovely day.

We've just heard that Felicia should hit the islands on Tuesday and Wednesday. There's high surf warnings and we're being told to be careful of loose objects outside the house. Art has been nailing some loose things down. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the storm will veer away at the last minute.

Out Dancing!

The other night I went to a restaurant called Ige's with my high school friend, Joanne. She was invited to join a group of friends for a night of line dancing. I agreed to go thinking it would be a quick practice.

It was a very different sort of experience for me. The group consisted of people my age but full of energy and dancing zest. Line dancing was only one of the dances they did. A band called Wasabis played music from the 60's. I felt about as out of place as I've ever felt. And yet, this group of people who meet twice a week or more to dance and be together was as kind, friendly and welcoming as could be. Everyone tried their best to make us feel part of their group.

A fellow named Richard insisted I needed to get out there and dance. Doing his Fred Astaire moves he had me doing twists and turns. I can't believe I did this. Joanne says I didn't look as inept as I was sure I looked. Then again, Joanne is my friend and could just be saying that to be nice.

Would I do this again?......

Probably not. However, I'm glad I did it this time. Joanne is the sort of friend I do need to coax me to try new things.

This was new. Then again, dancing to 60's music is old, too.

The Calm Before the Hurricane?

We've been warned that Hurricane Felicia might be getting close to the islands. I've noticed people at stores stocking up on water and canned goods. Ever since Hurricane Iniki hit in 1992 people are wary of storms. Weather forecasters say that Felicia appears to be veering away so we're hopeful. Still... I can't help noticing the strong winds that are starting up this afternoon. We're hoping that by the time Felicia comes our way it will be a tropical storm tomorrow or Monday.

A Day With KC

We really are having such a good time with our granddaughter, KC. She is about 2 and a half years old.


She quickly discovered why her mother loves shave ice as it's known on Oahu. It's called ice shave on the Big Island and snow cones in parts of the U.S. Melon and Lychee are her favorite flavors.


KC has a special stuffed dog that is referred to as her "Nene Doggie." Nene is Japanese for sleep. Nene Doggie is her special stuffed animal that comforts her when she's in a different place and helps to put her to sleep.

When we were at the Waikele Outlet Mall's Osh Kosh store, KC spotted a stuffed kitty. She called it a Kitty Kat and fell instantly in love with it. Grandpa just couldn't refuse her pleas for Kitty Kat and bought it for her. Now Kitty Kat is with her constantly everywhere she goes. Poor Nene Doggie is now relegated to being the 2nd banana. Tif went back to the store later to get a back-up Kitty Kat for her since this one is getting rather well loved and raggedy. It's all a big change since KC has always been partial to stuffed doggies of all kinds. Ah well...


Jon had a stuffed dog called Long John when he was a child and Tif loved frogs. Did you have a favorite?

Missing Jon and Sarah

I was getting very used to having all my children and their families around me under one roof. Now Jon and Sarah have left us to go to California to visit Art's sister and then back to New Mexico to start their lives anew. Jon is giving up his firefighting career to return to college and choose another field of study. Sarah will be giving up her career as a journalist to begin another challenge in government work.

They met in the Peace Corps and are unafraid to make changes in their lives. They travel around the world with little fear or money and create incredible memories. I'm in awe of them both. They are both also really fast at crossword puzzles and put me to shame.

I've treasured every minute we were able to spend together and now I'm feeling a little sad. First Tif's husband, Ed left and now Jon and Sarah. We still have Tif and KC for another two weeks.

I will be using every minute of precious time to enjoy those two weeks. Please forgive me for not being able to visit a little longer. I'll be looking forward to seeing what you've all been up to once everyone has left.

Two Weeks in a Flash

We've had two weeks of parties, surfing, trip to the outer island and intense family time. Here's what it looked like.

Sunday, July 19th: 2:02 PM: Tif, KC and Ed arrived.
6:00 PM: 60th Birthday Pot Luck with about a dozen childhood friends and spouses.

Monday, July 20th: Tif and Ed leave KC with us and stay in a Waikiki resort for some "alone time."

Tuesday, July 21st: 1:10 Jon and Sarah arrive, Art's cousin brings us kahlua pork, 16 sweet pineapples, avocados, lichees, lettuce, mangoes, kahlua pork.


Photo: (Left to Right) Miho, Tiffany, Jon, Sarah, Barry, Ed
Wednesday, July 22nd: Jon and Sarah meet Tif and Ed and go surfing and nightclubbing with their cousins, Bear and Miho.

Thursday, July 23rd: Jon and Sarah go surfing with Tif and Ed, then return in the afternoon for a pot luck party with my college friend, Gail and her family.


Friday, July 24th: More fun in the sun and then we get our family photo taken at Ko'Olina Beach by our good friend and professional photographer, Dave Au.

Saturday, July 25th: 9:00 AM Obon Service at the Waipahu Soto Mission Temple

6:00 PM Gigantic Cousin's Party with my mother's side of the family.

Sunday, July 26th: 6:00 Pot Luck Party with childhood friends, Diane and Joanne and their families.

Monday, July 27th: My birthday! We get up at dawn and take a flight to the Big Island where we have a memorial service for Art's parents in Honokaa.

Tuesday, July 28th: Toured the Big Island and returned very late to Oahu. Jon and Sarah stayed on the Big Island for camping and sight seeing until Friday.

Wednesday, July 29th: Ed returned to work on the mainland.


Friday, July 30th: Waipahu Obon Dance with nephew, Barry and his wife, Miho.


Saturday, August 1st: Huge 25 people pot luck with Art's mother's side of the family.


Sunday, August 2nd: Jon, Sarah and Tif go surfing in the AM. Visited Art's relatives and drove around the island. We tried the fresh shrimp stand that we'd seen before but never tasted. It was OK... but at least we tried it.

Monday, August 3rd: Tif, Jon and Sarah tried kayaking and came back severely sunburned. They tried the aloe and tea bag treatment which helped but didn't completely cure.


Tuesday, August 4th: Went to the farmer's market, lots of last minute shopping. Birthday party for Jon and Miho in the evening with my brother and two of my nephews.

Wednesday, August: A flurry of activity to get ready for Jon and Sarah's evening departure for California.

There was so much we wanted to cram into the two weeks that Jon and Sarah were here and we were a complete family, all in one place on this earth. The activities made our heads spin. We can now take it a little slower although I feel like everything is in disarray. The house is fine... it's my brain.

I'll get myself in order in a few days... I think...