Honoka'a Boy, 2nd Screening

OK, we're back.

First of all, would cellphone users PLEASE turn off your phones in a theater! Good grief! And worse, would you please not answer and talk! Sheesh!

OK, now that I've got that off my chest...


When the movie started out and people were laughing at all the cute scenes I found I was actually enjoying the film and could go with the flow. Maybe I'd desensitized myself from feeling angry at the depiction of Bea. (Art has echoed my observations.) I was surprised that I picked up quite a few things that I missed at our first viewing on our home TV. Hmmm... maybe I need a bigger screen TV?


My mother says she thought the scenery in the film was very beautiful and fun to see. We could all see why there is a sudden influx of Japanese tourists to Honoka'a. There were also some gently humorous scenes that we could appreciate.

However, my mother says they certainly changed what was in the book when they put it on the screen. She also said Bea's character was definitely altered from the book. Another website said the movie was loosely based on the book. So there you have it. Loosely...

We spent the ride home critiquing the inadequate script writing, the bad editing, etc. but then again, a lot of people seemed to be enjoying the movie and there was applause at the end. And to cap it all, my mother says she enjoyed the movie. Now I know how Siskel and Ebert (Chicago movie critics) must have felt.

Honoka'a Boy, the Movie

We're going to see the movie, Honoka'a Boy today at the Hawaii Film Festival. We've actually already seen the video because our wonderful Tokyo friend mailed it to us knowing we were waiting to see it. Would you believe the day before the DVD arrived, we bought non refundable tickets on line to see the movie at the (HFF) Hawaii Film Festival?

My mother had already read and translated the Japanese language book for us chapter by chapter. She told us how the book emphasized the beauty and loving community of Honoka'a, Art's hometown.

The two central characters (based on real life experiences) are Leo, a Japanese student who goes to Honoka'a to recover from a bruised heart and Bea (a kind, older lady) who takes pity on him. The whole book focuses on the beauty of this small country town and is a journal of the epicurean delights Bea prepared for him.

Art and I couldn't wait to watch the film in the theater. We plunked ourselves down and watched the DVD figuring if we read the subtitles ahead of time we could just enjoy the beauty of the movie at the large screen theater.

What a surprise! A shock?

The movie moves very slowly. Perhaps the director wanted to show the slow moving pace of a Hawaiian country town. They infer that Honoka'a is known for moonbows. Hunh? Since when? An amazing array of characters speak fluent Japanese. OK... this is a Japanese movie, I understand that. But puhleeease.

But the worst insult for us is the way Bea is portrayed. They incorrectly spelled her name Bee in the subtitles. Bea is the mother of Art's childhood classmate and good friend. We felt she was pictured as a rather foolish, eccentric lady attracted to this young student. We sat through the movie upset at what the director had done and what Leo (the author) had allowed. Bea had been kind and generous to him during his stay in Honoka'a and this is how she has been repaid.

A few other people have seen the movie and felt it was touching and beautiful. Perhaps the problem in all this is that Art knew the real Bea and is extra sensitive to her legacy. Perhaps I am just reacting to his feeling of dismay. I don't know. I'll be interested to hear what my mother thinks when we take her to see the movie today.

hulu.com

Does everybody already know about hulu.com? My nephew and his wife recommended that website to me when I complained about missing some of my favorite shows. I love it! I know there's been ads for it on TV but until Barry told me about it I didn't try it out.

I don't mind not having cable anymore. If I miss House or Grey's Anatomy or Heroes I just catch up on hulu.com. And another thing, they don't have many commercials either. I can even see Jon Stewart's Daily Show. This is too, too wonderful! Oh... the best part... it's FREE! Woo hoo! I'm so into FREE!

Can You Really Cut 17 Days Out of a School Year?

Hawaii is presently suffering from recession woes and just not having enough money in the state budget to pay for everything it needs to. They are proposing cutting 17 days in the school year. Wow! That's a lot! We have 176 days in our Illinois school year. Hawaii plans to have 163. The school system here is already struggling with many schools not meeting the standards. What will this do?

I taught in a rather well funded school district in Illinois but we were having to cut many fine arts programs because of increasingly tight budget constraints. In the 19 years I taught there, the number of school days children were in session was never touched because of state law. Therefore it feels like the earth is shaking to think they are robbing not just a few days out of a child's school life but well over 2 weeks! The super bright kids will survive this but for those children who we even provided free after school tutoring, this is crushing.

You may think Hawaii is paradise but the weather is steamy right now and lots of people are hot under the collar.

P.S. I just noticed in the comments that you've mentioned cutting sports. Interestingly, Art who is a real sports nut said the same thing. He feels at times like these, sports should go before anything else. I'm not saying to cut the Physical Education program. That is important for every child's health. Just leave out sports for a while until we're back on our feet.

Techies: Nature or Nurture?

Tif posted this photo on Flickr for us to see. We thought it was interesting to see our son-in-law busy with his work and KC deciding she would copy what dad is always so busy doing.

I have no doubts that our little granddaughter will one day be quite comfortable with her computer... a real one that is.


Then again, she might be an architect... or carpenter.

Gigi's Blogger Bash

Gigi-Hawaii threw a glorious Blogger party for us today and we had a wonderful time. I knew from her blog what an amazing cook she is and she showed us again what a fabulous host and hostess she and David are.

Having been to Gigi and David's place before we knew what an interesting, gracious and beautiful couple they were. I loved meeting Cloudia for the first time. Gosh! She is just as spiritual, kind and warm a person as she is on-line. Oops! You can only see her back here.

It was an interesting experience because all I knew everybody had in common was that we all blogged. The only blogger I actually shared comment conversations with was Cloudia and of course, Gigi. Quilly and Amoeba had car trouble and and to our disappointment could not make it to the party. I'd met Quilly on-line also and was looking forward to meeting her.


As you can see, Gigi did it again! Gorgeous place settings with delicious epicurean delights. Every bite was ono! (Hawaiian for delicious)


I have no idea how Gigi knew that Ted's chocolate pie is my favorite Hawaiian pie. This is Art's plate. He also had the passion fruit chiffon cake which everybody loved. I always reserve whatever room I have in my tummy for chocolate.


Thank you for this wonderful get together, Gigi! This was certainly a party to remember with fondness and delight.



THE BLOGGERS:
GIGI: http://gigihawaii.wordpress.com/
IAN: http://ilind.net/
CLOUDIA: http://comfortspiral.blogspot.com/
BURL: http://www.honoluluagonizer.com/
KAY: Musings
ART: Art the Marathonmaniac
Our missing bloggers:
QUILLY: http://quilldancer.com/
AMOEBA: http://ocquill.wordpress.com/

Birthday Buffet for Mom!

Mom's 80th birthday is actually next week but we celebrated it today because my brother's family was all available at this one place for this one day. It made it all that much more special for my mother.


We didn't realize there was parking across the street from the Makino Chaya at Aloha Tower so we had a bit of walking to do in the hot sun.

It was quite pleasant as we looked over the barrier and saw a whole school of beautiful fishes. I think we saw a puffer fish, yellow tang, some striped fish and maybe a humuhumunukunukuapua'a. (I totally forgot that humuhumu was our state fish. Sheesh! I saw a couple of fishes that looked just like it but didn't get a good photo of it.)

The cool courtyard of the Aloha Tower had several statues of hula dancers which I liked.

Mom enjoyed the cool, Hawaiian ambiance of the restaurant. We thought their buffet offerings were even better than their other restaurant in Aiea.

I now know where I got my sweet tooth from. Mom loves their chocolate fountain and fruit-ice cream crepes. It was great to be together. I specifically asked that we all sit together. I guess they thought splitting us into two groups so long as we were next to each other meant the same thing. Ah well...


Since this was one of those rare times that my brother's family could all get together, we took a lot of photos. We did the same thing when my kids were able to come to Hawaii this summer to celebrate my birthday.

Do we all look rather bloated from the buffet? Art did his best to make up the 1,500 calories he burned this morning when he did his 15 miles run.

Mom was very happy to have this wonderful day together... along with the chocolate fountain!

Thoughts at Sunset

This was the view outside my window this evening. My hand was a little shaky so the photo is a little blurry. I got word today that my aerobics teacher who I loved after just my one lesson has pancreatic cancer. She's the same age as my mother and in top health. Lessons were cancelled after that one class until further notice. I'm hoping she'll beat this terrible disease.

Life is so uncertain.

I'm sitting here without pain, with my husband in the other room, with my mother downstairs, with my children happy in their own lives. In a wink, things can be taken away. I think I'll go be with my husband right now.

Good night, everybody.

Mom Meets Mayor Mufi

To be perfectly correct Mufi Hannemann was not mayor of Honolulu yet. This photo was taken at the Waipahu Open (Farmers) Market in 2004 when he was still campaigning for the mayoral office.

It was really rather funny because I happened to have my camera and I asked Mr. Hannemann if he wouldn't mind having his photo taken with my mom. He was really nice about it even though I couldn't vote in Hawaii in 2004 since we were not yet residents. And no I didn't vote for Rod Blagojevich in Illinois! Uh oh... I'm going off on a tangent here.

Anyway, it wasn't until I uploaded my photos onto my computer that I truly realized just how tall 6'7" Mr. Hannemann was compared to my 4'10" mom. My mom got quite a kick out of the photo. I wonder if she voted for him.

I Have a Grand-dog!

My son, Jon and his partner, Sarah have adopted a dog in New Mexico. My grand-dog does not have a name yet. Jon and Sarah say he must earn his name. I suggested Dubh after discovering it meant black in Gaelic. Sarah is of Irish descent so I thought that would be fun. Or it could be Kurochan. Kuro is black in Japanese. The "chan" ending is usually given to a child.

I forgot my grand-dog was a boy dog in my excitement and suggested Mollie to represent where Jon and Sarah met. They met in West Africa's Mali.

I have the hardest time naming things. We managed to name Jon after the seagull (Jonathan Livinston Seagull) and Tiffany after the lamp. Art and his family ended up naming their three dogs Finnegan #1, Finnegan #2 and Finnegan #3. Hmmmm... I guess I'd better leave the naming to Jon and Sarah.

Discoverers' Day in Hawaii

I just saw the following on Yahoo news:

..."Some states have long just "observed" the holiday, but leave local government offices open. Others use the date to revere the native population who existed long before the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria sailed in. According to a Wikipedia round-up, South Dakota declares October 12 as Indigenous People's Day. Hawaii celebrates the more general Discoverers' Day, which actually refers to the Aloha State's Polynesian founders (although the bureaucrats firmly emphasize "this day is not and shall not be construed to be a state holiday")...."


I've been watching the news televised from Honolulu and the anchors are still calling today Columbus Day. There are also Columbus Day sales all over the place. Although the article says 22 states don't celebrate the holiday, I wonder if it's really true. It's becoming more public knowledge about the horrible things that Columbus did but I guess it's hard to change the myth.

Somebody asked me if it was really so terrible for children in America to believe in these myths.

Is it?

Kitchen: Before and After

Changing that kitchen door yesterday reminded me of our 2006 house renovation. With construction costs so high, we did a lot of demolition ourselves and tried to help in any way we could to keep costs down. Steve was one of the carpenters who worked on this project with us. Here are some photos of the kitchen part of our renovation.


Those big square holes are where support beams would be anchored to hold up the 2nd floor.


Art and I took down that center island to the left to create a larger kitchen from the kitchen/dining room combination. We replaced the island with a smaller storage cabinet area.


We added a master sink by the windows. We also added a third window to what the architect suggested.


We kept that old sink (but moved it a little) to be a secondary sink for the sous chef (unh huh... That's me).


My cousin, Arnold and son, Jon helped Art install the cabinets. My brother, Dennis came to help with the tile work on the wall and floors.

Choosing the cabinets was one of the hardest choices we had to make but we settled on DeWils.


The only problem we had was with our supplier who just wouldn't get the incorrect pieces replaced. Our contractor finally jumped in and got everything delivered for us. Our contractor was Mike Chun of Aulii Construction.



As you can see, what used to be the dining room became the cooking area of the kitchen. Moving the stove was probably a little disorienting to my mom.


We did go through a lot of agony to change the kitchen but it was worth it and my mother loves it. There's still some detail work left to do but as I said before, it's all Art's retirement project.


I mean.... OUR retirement project.

Steve: Our Master Carpenter

We hired Steve to put in our new kitchen door today. He's been awfully busy so we were thrilled when he called a couple of days ago and said he could hang a door for us. Home Depot did not have the thinner 32" door we needed so we went to Lowes who had just what we required.

The screen was torn on this old door and it wasn't exactly burglar safe so we decided to get a solid door instead. This photo was taken before we remodeled our kitchen.


Steve did an excellent job as we knew he would. This was a much trickier door to put up than the interior doors that Art installed upstairs. While we served Steve lunch we picked his brains about other problems around the house. He looked at everything and stared at things from different angles and promptly told us what to do. It was fabulous! Many of the solutions were really simple.

Folding doors that would not close smoothly? (WD40 and trim the bottom.)
Door handles facing the wrong way? (Put a small paper clip in the handle and reset them. We didn't know you could do that.)
Lots of keys for different outside door locks? (Smart key! You can program the locks to take one key. Sheesh!)

And what did I get to teach Steve? Craigslist! No kidding! That was fun!

Our next project will be to replace the windows downstairs. Steve taught us how to measure the window openings for our window order and we'll hire him for a day to help get us started when they arrive.

It's really great having a carpenter who is willing to help you do your home projects by yourself.

I did make him my special smoothie, too which he liked and he gave me the helpful hint to keep the pineapple cores in the smoothie because of the good fiber. We were quite pleased to have such a productive Saturday although Steve is the one who did all the work. I sure wish I could adopt that guy!

More Topnotch Teenagers!

When we went to pick up Art's lost and found wallet at Kahala Mall, we asked the manager if the teenagers who returned it had left some kind of contact number so we could give them a reward. They didn't. They merely turned it in because it was the right thing to do.



A few weeks ago a couple of high school students came to interview and videotape my mother about her life experiences as part of an assignment for their Japanese language class. I don't think they expected to hear the Gone With the Wind like life history that my mother shared with them. I prepped my mother to speak only in Japanese and I was impressed that they seemed to follow most of what she told them.

Today, she got a letter with a name on the envelope that she didn't recognize right away. It was from one of the students. To say she was delighted and astonished is not exaggerating. She could not get over the beautiful Japanese words of appreciation this student had written in his elegant letter. He thanked her for helping them finish their assignment and even said he would like to see her again some time. Her final praises were, "I don't even think very many Japanese students could write a thank you note this beautiful. I would give him a 100% A+ for this letter."

We were just talking about how many people these days have forgotten how to write a nice handwritten thank you note. And now here is this young man painstakingly writing this heartfelt letter of appreciation and friendship in another language.

How neat is that? Wow!

Honesty Lives in Hawaii!

Unbelievable!

We got a call today from the Kahala Mall theater saying that a group of teenagers had turned in Art's missing wallet which was wedged in between his theater seat and did not leave their names for a reward.

I have to tell you that several of my relatives were really expecting us to get the wallet back because they had lost their wallets and it had been returned by kind, honest people. It was just an expectation in Hawaii that people are honest and would do the right thing.

Maybe I've lived away too long, not to say I would never expect to get it back in Chicago, mind you, but nah.... I didn't think so. (Update: My son just commented that we had a guest visit us a long time ago in Chicago who lost his wallet at Wrigley Field. Somebody found it in a trashcan where thieves had thrown it and called us so our guest did get his wallet back, minus the money.)

We've cancelled all Art's credit cards and have gotten new IDs.

But by golly! Here it is!

I promised in my heart that if we got it back we would donate all the money in the wallet to the Samoan, Philippine, Indonesian disaster fund. Art had just put in quite a bit of cash in his wallet so we'll have a happy donation to make.

It's a nice feeling to get the wallet back. It's an even nicer feeling to know the world will be in good hands when these young people become adults.

Teeny Tiny Jamba (Not Jumbo) Flatbreads

A few months ago, a wonderful classmate of mine sent me a gift certificate to Jamba Juice. Then my cousin, Larry e-mailed a $1.00 off coupon to me for Jamba Juice flatbreads.

Since we needed to go back in person to fill out the lost/stolen wallet form at Kahala Mall we decided it was a good excuse to try Jamba Juice at the mall.

I love how they ask you if you lost the wallet or if it's stolen.
Ummmmm?

When we told the security person right after it happened, he never mentioned that we should go to the security office. When we called from home later they said we needed to go back in person to fill the form out.

The form required a bunch of information not to mention a step by step portion to record exactly what happened. When we went to the police department yesterday, we merely needed to tell them what happened. They just record what is lost and they give you a record number which we've been informed could have been done by phone.

Ah well...

Once that was all done we went to Jamba Juice and tried their Mediterranean and Artichoke flat breads. I swear those flat breads were the size of a couple of canapes and at $3.95, terribly overpriced. The flavor was nothing special. We also tried their pomegranate smoothie ($3.95 for the 16 oz.) and it was OK. Tart and definitely big enough. The meal was sufficient for us but I imagine nowhere near enough if it were for my son or nephews.

Stolen Wallet! Rats!

The only horrible thing about yesterday's expedition to see the movie, Departures is that Art got his wallet lost and stolen.

Suddenly he had no identity. How weird is that?

We know it had to have happened between the time that he paid for the tickets in the theater lobby of the Kahala Mall and after the movie when we went to pick up lunch at the food court. None of the staff say they saw it even though we went right back.

We had to cancel all the credit cards right away and then get a new driver's license. There's still more cards to replace and it's a ton of trouble. It's a good thing we each carry different credit cards.

The only helpful thing we had was a photo copy of the contents of his wallet that we did several years ago. It was old but helpful because in order to get his driver's license replaced, you need a photo ID. All his photo IDs were in his wallet! AND we don't have our passports because we sent it in to be renewed. This was a wake up call for me too so I updated my wallet contents again just to be careful.

We just called the library and they said we should report it to the police station in order to get a free library card replacement.

This is just a little reminder for everybody. Art says he won't put so much into his wallet again. It's scary.

Departures (Okuribito-A Person Who Sends You On)

I don't go to many movies but this Japanese language film (with English subtitles) got such great recommendations from several people that we decided to go along with my aunt and uncle.

The movie is called Departures. It's the story of a young man who "becomes a "Nokanshi" or "encoffineer," a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life." (wikipedia) It was the 2009 Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film winner.

To be perfectly honest my mother had mentioned it to me before as a movie she'd like to see but I was rather squeamish thinking this was going to be a morbid, dismal...SAD movie and I just don't like sad movies.

However, I came out of this movie uplifted. The actor did an incredible job of making the task of "cleansing" a body for the coffin a beautiful ballet of emotional farewell that families are granted. After watching this movie I marveled at the beauty of how the departed could be sent away with such dignity and grace.

I wish everybody could see this movie. It's one of those movies that you don't get irritated at because the characters acted stupidly or nonsensically. It made sense. People were real. It was just so beautiful. The beauty of this film is still with me. When the movie ended and the credits started rolling, nobody left the theatre. We were transfixed by the elegance of what we were seeing.

If you get a chance, please go and see it.... not with kids because there are a few raw moments. Nothing is really shown, there's just a suggestion to let you know what happened but it's enough.

I don't make a whole lot of movie or book recommendations but I really wanted to share this one.

Wild Weather

It very rarely rains when we're at the Navy BX shopping. It's usually so blinding hot that I have to squint when I get close to the building. When we came out today we saw this coming and had to step lively.


We got some rainfall while driving but my mom says it was thundering and lightning at the house.



I did a little bit of driving today and Art was pleased that I stayed on my side of the road. I could do that since there weren't any cars parked on the roadside this time. Actually there were no other cars at all except for me. That's how I like it! I know I could do fine if everybody else would just stay off the roads. Or maybe I could just drive at those times that nobody else is around.... midnight? 4:00 in the morning? Too bad the stores aren't open then....

I'll bet my teenage nephew is finding this humorous.

Driving for the First Time in Four Years!

We got a Skype call from our son today scolding me for not getting behind the wheel and driving again. I told him it's scary for me. "Get out there, Mom" he insisted. "You can do it. You need to be independent. What if dad got hurt or sick?"

Art sat next to me saying very little during that discussion. He wasn't excited about having me drive the new car. I've had those two accidents I mentioned before. Our car survived both times but you should have seen the other guys'. However, after a while Art promised Jon we would go out for a drive.

"Whoa... you're driving in the middle of the road. You need to be closer to my side." (I liked it in the middle. It felt safe there.)

"Ummm... you shouldn't have made that left. It was too close." (I didn't know that guy was driving so fast. Ooops! True, he did have the right of way.)

"Stop at the stop sign." (I was, I was.)

"Don't stop here. You're confusing the guy in back." (I like stopping at intersections even if nobody is there.)

The drive must have been all of 10 minutes but I think it was enough for Art to have sprouted a few more gray hairs.

I couldn't get a feel for the space the car took. I felt like I was going to hit something. Because I was so nervous, I wasn't thinking properly either. Why is it I am such a good side seat driver? I seem to think pretty well when I'm not driving.

The hard thing is that Art doesn't have to yell at me. After 36 years of marriage, I know his every smile, every cock of his eyebrows, the emotion in every single muscle on his face. If he so much as twitches, I know what he's thinking. He kept a stoic face the entire time but I could almost feel him gritting his teeth.

We're going to try a little more tomorrow... if Art is up to it. I've already warned my friends to stay out of the streets.

Stony River Sunday

I found this fun set of questions at Susan's Stony River blog site and thought it would be fun to do. Besides, I couldn't think of what to write about today and I was grateful for Susan's help.

1. Do you think you’re hot?
I live in Hawaii. I'm always hot.
Oh... you mean sexy type hot? Ummmm... no.

2. Please upload your favorite picture.


3. Why do you love this picture?
Our professional photographer friend, Dave Au caught this photo about 29 years ago when we were visiting Hawaii from Illinois. The kids were hot and were about to get a treat of shave ice. Everything in Hawaii was new to them. I think Dave caught their innocence, wariness and expectation of a treat in that brief moment.

4. When was the last time you ate pizza?
Good grief! I don't remember. My nephew here in Hawaii actually works for Papa John's Pizza and I haven't even tried their pizza.

Wait, wait... it's come to me. It was when we returned to Illinois for a visit in January and we had a neighborhood potluck at our house there. We served Maggiano's deep dish and thin crust pizza.

5. What was the latest song you’ve heard?
The first song that comes to mind is our friend, Stanley singing "This Love of Mine" at the hospice where his wife passed away.

6. What are you doing while working on this game?
I've got clothes drying on the line so I'm watching to see if those dark clouds are going to deliver on their threat.

7. What is your favorite nickname?
Art calls me "Sweetie." Nobody else better try it.

8. What kind of person are you?
Honest. I try to be.

(My kids do say I can exagerrate... but lie, nope!)

9. What is your favorite song?


Right Field

by Willie Welch (1986)

I've never been a baseball fan except when Jon pitched for his Little League team but this song always, always made me smile. Please click on the song title and take a listen. I first heard Peter, Paul and Mary do this song on PBS many years ago.

10. What is your favorite food?
Yikes! I've got too many. Dark chocolate, soft serve, melona and lychee shave ice, chocolate cake, saimin, sushi, mocha, (Did I mention dark chocolate?), scallops, king crab, mochi...
And yes, these are all things I need to avoid since I'm pre-diabetic.

11. What is the most stressful thing to you?
Susan said, "Confrontation. I'll stand up for myself or kids when I have to, but prefer calm discussion and diplomacy if possible." I feel the exact same and next to that... driving... and along with it, spiders.

12. Mention the 3 must-have items in your purse.
After my purse, keys and calendar, I still need a pen, cellphone and coupon organizer.

13. What is your favorite color?
Fuchsia

14. What is your not fulfilled-yet dream?
I know this isn't a beauty pageant but I mean it, WORLD PEACE!

And then I'd like to get the courage to drive again. I've had 2 accidents in the last 25 years and it still frightens me, but I need to be able to do it here. That should frighten everybody in our area.

15. What is your favorite city to stay?
Chicago.
What does the Olympic committee know anyway?

If you'd like to take a crack at these questions, please do. I'd love to see what you think.

Happy Birthday, Tiffany!

It's my daughter's birthday. I wish we could be close by to celebrate it with her.


Tiffany was born two weeks early and we missed our Red Cross Parent training that was supposed to cover how to care for your baby. They had to teach us at the hospital how to change her diaper. Luckily we had the best, most wonderful Chicago pediatrician, Dr. Seibel who kept reassuring us that we were doing a great job.

She was such a sweet, easy going, beautiful baby. People would stop us everywhere to tell us what a beautiful child we had.


Jon was born almost 3 years later. I remember hearing some quiet sobs one night 6 weeks after Jon's birth. When I asked Tif what the matter was she said, "You're not proud of me anymore." That absolutely floored me and crumpled my heart into a tight knot.

No, I told her. I was very proud of the big sister she was being. I explained that Jon belonged to her, too and that she would have the responsibility of caring for and teaching him forever.

Did I ever tell you that Tif has the memory of an elephant?

She took it all to heart and still watches over Jon....like a hawk.


High School was a time of friendships and learning about herself. Tif was a swimming champ and I loved to watch her gracefully slicing through the water.

College provided her with even more confidence and lifetime friendships.


Art had a hard time giving up his daughter to another person. There wasn't a guy in this world who would have been good enough for his daughter but I gained a techie son-in-law.


Today, Tif is still the light of our lives and we're even more blessed with the beautiful baby granddaughter she and Ed gave us to love. It always warms our hearts to know what a compassionate, generous, loving, helpful woman our baby grew up to be.

The Prius Is Here!

We got a call from Rocky who sold us our Prius in June. Apparently, the car we ordered was expected in November but somebody else had changed their mind about a car they ordered so we were able to get it earlier.


Since I don't drive anymore Rocky picked us up and brought us to the dealership to get our car.


My eyes felt like crossing as Rocky told us how to operate the Prius. I could barely keep up with what he was telling us but I could tell Art was excited with his new toy.


I told Art I could learn how to drive again with the smaller new car. I swear I saw his eyes cross.