Qigong and Tai Chi

Ed, Art's old Air Force buddy invited us to join him for Qigong and Tai Chi exercises and a luncheon buffet in a Mililani park. We didn't participate in doing the exercises because they are far more advanced in their learning than we are. However, we really enjoyed watching them go through the peaceful sequences.


It was so beautiful to watch them all moving in unison.


Their Qigong/Tai Chi teacher is 83 year old Master Fong (front of photo). Loved and respected by all his students, he passes on his knowledge for free.

Watching his grace, strength and dexterity, we see that Master Fong himself is a testament to the benefits of this ancient Chinese exercise.

The luncheon buffet from Tanioka's was fantastic! Sushi, sweet pork, corned beef hash, fish paddies, salad... yummm... I'm embarrassed to admit that I was so anxious to dive into the food that I didn't take any photos of it.


What a surprise to see Daryl who was perfecting his photography expertise when we left Hawaii 35 years ago, now working as a professional photographer. He and another friend took our wedding photos when Art and I were married.

I was hesitant to go and meet him again after such a long time. I wasn't sure he'd remember me. He did! His wife did too even though we'd only met her a couple of times at best 35 years ago. He also told me that he's seen my brother since they are both in related professions.


It really is nice to be back in Hawaii (despite the aphids, termites, rust, etc.).

We added our name to Mr. Fong's long waiting list for another beginner class.

442 Live With Honor, Die With Dignity

I know two of my father's brothers served in the 442nd Regiment during WWII. I know my mother's sister's husband was a translator for the U.S. Army. I know my mother's best friend's husband and his brother were in the 100th battalion. The husband came home, his brother died in Italy. It seems every Japanese-American knows somebody who served or died in the 100th/442nd. I remember our jeweler in Chicago telling us that he was part of the 442nd who was sent to rescue The Lost (Texas) Battalion.

From the Go For Broke National Education Center website:
"During the six days the 442nd fought to rescue the Lost Battalion, 54 men were killed and many, many more were wounded and sent to hospitals. During the entire Vosges Campaign, 34 days of almost non-stop combat - liberating Bruyeres and Biffontaine, rescuing the 211 Texans, and nine more days of driving the Germans through the forest - the 442nd’s total casualties were 216 men dead and more than 856 wounded."

Senator Daniel Inouye was in the 442nd and lost his arm in Europe. To listen to him talk of his experiences is gut wrenching.

From Wikipedia:
"The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was the most decorated unit for its size and length of service, in the entire history of the U.S. Military. The 4,000 men who initially came in April 1943 had to be replaced nearly 3.5 times. In total, about 14,000 men served, ultimately earning 9,486 Purple Hearts and an unprecedented eight Presidential Unit Citations. Its 100th battalion is the most decorated for its size in the history of the U.S. Army, 21 of its members having been awarded Medals of Honor. Members of the 442nd received 18,143 awards..."

My mother was wanting to see this movie, 442 Live With Honor, Die With Dignity that is playing at the Ward Theater in Honolulu so we took her on Monday. We were surprised to find the theater completely full.

We knew about the prejudice suffered by Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor as well as the Internment camps and how it devastated American citizens of Japanese descent. Yes, I knew many people served in the 100th/442nd, but I didn't know the full story. This film made me realize just how much we owed to these "Go For Broke" soldiers who suffered what they did not just because they were Americans, but because they had to prove that they were with their lives. African-Americans have had to suffer the same trial throughout America's past.

I wish the history of what happened could be a lesson to future generations so that we don't repeat that injustice, but people do forget... and prejudice needs very little encouragement to grow.

Many of the Japanese-Americans of that time don't like talking about what happened. There was so much shame and hatred flung at them. The soldiers didn't like talking about their experiences because killing was abhorrent to them and they'd been through hell and didn't want to burden anyone with their pain.

I'm glad they created this film. This story needed to be told because we're seeing that same sort of prejudice happen all over again with the Muslim community. I just hope this isn't a kind of American history that is doomed to repeat itself.

Bugging the Heck Out of Me!

We planted the red blossom Ixora plant at the front of our house about a year or so ago because it was supposed to be a hardy plant for the tropics. It worked well for a while until the ants and aphids found it and attacked. We tried everything from soapy water to trying to clean off the leaves whenever we saw the bugs but it was a losing battle.

We decided to pull it out and try the plant on the left instead. I hope it does OK out of the pot.

I'm all for letting nature have her way to a point, but this is ridiculous! All the new Ixora leaves were covered with aphids brought by the ants to milk.


I didn't realize there were this many aphids until I took this close-up shot.


Even the flowers are covered with aphids. Many of the blooms just wither away.


The rest of the plant is covered with a black and white ash like substance.


I have no idea what this new plant is called because my aunt gave it to us. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

Does anybody have advice on how to get rid of aphids and ants?

Hawaii 5-0

Did you watch the Hawaii 5-0 premier?

I wasn't sure I'd like it since I grew up with the original Hawaii 5-0. My brother and I used to love watching the show to see if we'd recognize any of the places. We'd laugh when they'd say McGarrett was at a certain place and we knew he was on the other side of the island. Jack Lord would often be seen driving somewhere, but we knew he was headed the wrong way.

I remember my mother telling me how she stood behind a very tall man at the bank and everyone started whispering that he was Jack Lord. She was awed by how handsome he was.

The funniest thing was seeing Jack Lord always wearing a suit with dress shoes. Sheesh! The only time I saw guys in a suit was at a funeral, a prom or a wedding.

I wanted to see the remake because of Daniel Dae Kim who I loved watching in Lost. He always spoke with a Korean accent in Lost so I figured he'd try the local accent for this Hawaii 5-0 remake. Nope. He sounds like a haole (Caucasian person, usually from the mainland) even though he's supposed to be local. Steve McGarrett is supposed to have grown up in Hawaii but he talks like a haole, too. Then again, Keahi Tucker (our haole news anchor) is also local and sounds as mainlandish as any other Midwestern newscaster so I guess it could be believable.

It was interesting to see a woman governor. I guess she's supposed to be like our current governor, Linda Lingle. I wonder if they'll change that since we will have a guy for the next governor.

I like the interaction between the characters, Steve McGarrett and Danny Williams. I think it's more interesting than the original because I always thought they made "Dan-O" look like such a mild subservient underling of McGarrett. McGarrett was also very stiff and formal...rather unapproachable and god-like.

The current McGarrett is just as smart, but fallible. I like that. I also like that Danny Williams is treated more as an equal along with Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua.

Overall, I think there is a lot to like. Hawaii looks good. The writing is good. The acting is pretty good. The action is fun.

I think I'll watch again next week.

Rusting Away in Hawaii

We bought these steel doors at Home Depot because we were tired of termites eating our wooden screen doors. You can just imagine our exasperation when these painted steel doors started to rust. It hasn't even been a year since Art installed them! When we mentioned this problem at the Builders Home Show, the presenters all nodded knowingly.

"This is Hawaii," they said. "It's the salt air."

Art was figuring he'd have to scrub the rust off with a steel brush, hope he got it all, prime and then paint it.

Then he talked to his brother-in-law, Kent in California and he suggested a type of spray that would combine with the rust and turn it solid, leaving it a black color. Then you'd just paint over it. Kent said it worked like a charm two years ago, but he couldn't remember the name of the product.

We went to Home Depot and looked for something like this, but couldn't find it. We started talking to another fellow in the aisle who happened to be looking for a similar thing. The good thing is he knew what it was called. EXTEND!

Home Depot didn't have it, but we found it at Lowes. Yahoo!

Art will try using it today if it doesn't rain again. We're going to have to cover the areas that aren't rusted because if the spray gets on unrusted parts, the directions say the solution could cause those areas to rust.

We also bought some Lithium grease spray that window people told us we should spray over metal parts to keep it from rusting. Then there's a silicon spray to keep your sliding windows rolling like silk.

Rust and termites, the bane of Hawaii!

Microfiber Swiffer Sheets

Last year my daughter, Tiffany bought me a bunch of inexpensive thin microfiber cloths that I could use with my Swiffer Sweeper. I was skeptical at first, but soon discovered that they work really well on our laminate flooring. I've always felt that disposable Swiffer paper sheets are awfully expensive and add to our landfill.

Tif bought the microfiber sheets cut to size for Swiffers at an Asian market in Illinois. I can't find them in Hawaii even though it's a Japanese product. I couldn't read the Japanese directions so I showed them to my mother. Mom said I wasn't supposed to put them in the washer or dryer, but needed to hand wash and dry them on the line. Tif said she's been sticking them in her washer and dryer with no problem. I don't understand why there should be a problem since I've seen other microfiber cloths that say you can put them in the washer and dryer.

Whatever the case, I just bat the dust off them against something outside the house, pull off the hair it's collected and wash them. It's been working great so far. Whenever they wear out, I'll just buy more microfiber material and cut them to size.

Meanwhile, Tif is keeping her eyes open so I can have even more backup cloths. I wonder why some company hasn't manufactured them for the U.S.

Looking Out at Windows

We were waiting for another window sales representative this morning when the phone rang. It was Keola, who we were expecting. Apparently he's come down with a horrible cold or flu and wanted to reschedule. Absolutely! We haven't gotten our flu shot yet.

Since he wasn't coming, Art said we should go down to Home Depot and price some vinyl windows there. That decision done, I started reading the comics.

Pearls Before Swine caught my eye.



We've gotten estimates for vinyl windows from two companies so far. The Company #1 fellow quoted $4,340.00 for Jeld Wen. Company #2 quoted nearly $8,000.00 for Anlin. The next windows we're looking at is called Makai.

Company #1 didn't have a sample of the windows, and didn't seem to know much about windows. He also gave some incorrect information which had us raising our eyebrows.

Company #2 was very knowledgeable and is a company of long standing. They also don't subcontract their labor. He said Company #3 does.

We're off to Home Depot now to check out their windows and hmmmm... maybe Lowes? That's our life for this week. We need to get this decision done quickly because we want to take advantage of the 30% off/up to $1,500. federal energy tax credit that expires this year.

Additional things to remember about getting the federal energy tax credits:

Requirements
U factor <=0.30
SHGC <=0.30

Tax Credit does NOT include installation costs.

SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Coefficient)
measures how well a window blocks heat from sunlight. The lower the SHGC, the lower the heat gain through a window. SHGC ranges from 0 to 1.

U-Factor
measures how well a window, door, or skylight prevents heat from escaping. It is similar to the R value for insulation. The lower the number, the more efficient the window. Ratings usually range from 0.20 to 1.20.

His and Her Movies

We're watching The Green Zone tonight starring Matt Damon. It's a war type movie. I put it on my Netflix queue for Art and I can see he's really riveted to it. Me? War movies turn me off although I like Matt Damon.


We watched The Young Victoria last night and Art was a real sport about it. He found it interesting to see how the young Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of England lived, ruled and loved. I loved the sumptuous costumes, the palaces, the love story. I believe he enjoyed seeing the political machinations of the time.

I'd better go now and pay attention to his movie. Maybe if I pay attention to it I can find something to hold my interest. I just hope there's not too much blood and violence.

I had fun watching Kung Fu Panda the night before.

Seen any good movies lately?

Shame on You!

My mother grew up in a time when shame meant you might have to submit yourself to seppuku. Seppuku is the correct term for hara kiri (some Westerners have called it Harry Carry). Hara means stomach. Kiri means to cut. Doing seppuku was supposed to restore honor to your family after having committed some horrendously shameful act.

Shame was a big deal to the Japanese culture. I grew up with the knowledge that I shouldn't shame the family. I wouldn't leave my room in a mess because that was shameful. I wouldn't mistreat anyone because that was really shameful. I wouldn't mess up my environment because that was shameful. I wouldn't act stupid, say stupid things, or do anything stupid that would cause problems for the community because yes, that was shameful.


What fun to see shame as a theme for the Prickly City comic strip. Yes, I know shame is not a good thing when carried to extremes. I'd say seppuku would be waaay over the top for extremes.

Art just said I shouldn't call it shame. I should call it being responsible or accountable or considerate. Shame has a negative connotation these days.


Modern society has been really frowning on mentioning shame to children. However, if more people (and companies) would feel a little shame I'm thinking it wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Orchids for a Friend

Mom's dear friend passed away a few years ago and she still likes to go over to the temple to say hello and bring a gift of flowers that she has been nurturing. She used to talk to her friend on the phone every Monday for a couple of hours without fail. In the last months of her life, my brother would drive Mom over to her friend's house regularly where they would have sushi together and talk. When Art and I were in Hawaii, we would do the same. Her friend never had children of her own and she used to always have a special smile for us, not to mention little treats.

Mom is always watching her orchid plants to see if there might be a special blossom to share with her friend. Mom says all her old friends have passed away, but they are always present in her memories.


I'm thinking about my friends and realize how very precious they are. You just don't forget the beautiful people that have enriched your life. They stay in your heart forever.

On to Project #4 (Another Decision), WINDOWS

This should be our last big(PLEEEASE) remodeling project (aside from ALL the trim work that Art will work on for the next 2 years).

We need new windows to replace some jalousies. We've been told that jalousie windows are way too easy for burglars to use as an entry point... AND there has been a rash of burglaries in this area.

My neighbors tell me it's often times kids. Kids? They told me never to leave jewelry in the master bedroom because that's the first place they look. No problem there. I don't have anything super worth stealing and what extremely little I do have is in the bank safety deposit box....in Illinois. The next room they enter is the daughter's room. No problem there. Tiffany lives in Illinois. Jon lives in New Mexico and if they want to steal his stuff, they have to deal with my big, fierce granddog, Mungo!

So even though we don't have a whole lot to steal, I don't want anyone coming in and taking all my tank tops either. (My neighbor said a robber came in and cleaned out all the clothes from her son's room. They don't have a daughter.)

Doggone it! So now we need to secure our windows.

We've lined up three companies to come and do an estimate. They all advertise vinyl windows that will stand up to the heat, salt air, burglars, whatever.

One of those calls came from someone we didn't even contact. Art agreed to a meeting tomorrow because he thought I'd called them. What the heck!

Ah well... we'll find out tomorrow how he got our name, because I will grill him before we even sit down to discuss our project.

We need to finish installing the windows by the end of this year to get the 30% federal tax credit. Apparently, it's all part of the stimulus package. Art says he's confident we can manage the installation ourselves. Hunh?

It's going to be great once we have this (sort of) last remodeling project done. As for the trim work, everybody is so used to seeing the house not quite done that I don't think they even notice anything anyway.

Ah well.

Hawaii's Low Voter Shame

When we lived in Illinois, I didn't know anybody who didn't get out there to vote. Maybe we needed to since we are the state that had several governors put in jail or should have been put in jail. Whether it was raining, snowing or sleeting I saw many of our neighbors at our polling place.

As a teacher, we emphasized our right and need to vote. This is a privilege that our service men and women are out there protecting for ourselves or trying to bring to others.

Our children were brought up to treasure this right as well. Jon and his Sarah even volunteered time in Chicago as poll watchers. Tiffany makes sure her husband's absentee vote is counted when he is traveling during election times.

Having moved to Hawaii, I'm seeing a different state of mind. Hawaii has had the distinction of having the lowest voter turnout of all the states in the 2008 election. Good grief! This is when Hawaii's own, Barack Obama was running for President! I had to laugh when one of this year's candidates running for office in Hawaii touted the fact that he headed President Obama's election campaign here. I sure wouldn't have used that as a qualification to brag about.

Here are some excuses I've heard from people:

1. I don't know who to vote for so I'm leaving it to others who know more than I do and will do a better job of it.

2. I don't have the time.

3. My vote can't change anything.

4. They're all corrupt anyway so it doesn't make any difference.

5. I don't want to register because then they'll call me for jury duty which I don't have time for.

6. Even if politicians might be worthy when they are elected in, they are soon made corrupt by the system.

My mother hasn't been voting either because there was no one to help her with it. Now that we've moved back to Hawaii, I got her an absentee ballot written in Japanese. I was surprised that she definitely has strong views on many of the candidates. She's also listened to the news, and has issues that are important to her. A few of her votes cancelled mine out, but that's fine.

So why is the voter turnout so low in Hawaii?

Please don't tell me they might not know there's an election going on.

Another Closet Project Completed!

This closet was full of junk. Oops! Sorry. I meant full of tools and pieces of wood and other assorted construction debris. Oops, again! I meant important materials that could possibly, remotely be used for other renovation projects.

As posted earlier, I organized and labeled everything in the tool shed so that whatever Art needs is now in the carport (outside the house, thank you)... which left this closet finally empty.

From previous experience we've noted that "ventilated" (wire) shelving that are vinyl coated won't last in Hawaii. It didn't last too well in Illinois either. The vinyl will flake off after a while or start to deteriorate. The plastic hooks to hold the shelving onto the wall will also start to give. OK... it lasted 25 years in Illinois and is still being used... but anyway...


That's why we opted to use Freedom Rail shelving this time. The shelving hangs off of a metal bar so all the weight is on strong metal instead of plastic. The shelves also have baked on paint instead of a vinyl coating. In theory, it seems better. It does cost a bit more, but we're hoping it will last longer in the corrosive Hawaiian atmosphere. The termites will break their teeth on it and I hope it takes a while for the salt air to start rusting it.

It did take me a couple of tries at designing the closet to make it just the way I wanted. Now you all know my secret closet fetish. I just love to organize! I think it's genetic because my daughter does too! My son, on the other hand takes after his father. Sigh...

I Have Met the Enemy...

Art saw the Star-Advertiser (The Big Q) poll results yesterday morning and had to read it twice. Then he asked me to read it and I had to check it twice.

The question on the previous day was:
Do you think a Florida pastor's plan to burn copies of the Quran in memory of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks is an advisable way to make his point?
A. Yes 77% B. No 23% (of 2,854 total replies)

I was so shocked by this that I contacted the Star-Advertiser editor and got this e-mail back immediately.

Yes, Kay, we checked to make sure we weren't being spammed, and it appears that that was the actual result.

Aloha,

Mark Coleman
Editorial staff

Then coincidentally, I got this following e-mail from my son, Jon's girlfriend.

Hi! Jon mentioned that you'd written a blog posting about the 9/11 controversies, and I thought you might be interested in this New York Times article:

I hope this gets widely read -- it reminded me of all the wonderful Muslims we came to know and love in Mali.

Hope everything is going well ....

Love, Sarah

Jon and Sarah were both volunteers with the Peace Corps in Mali, West Africa. I agree with Sarah; everybody should read this article, particularly those 77% who shamefully voted Yes.

Could 77% of the people in Hawaii actually have felt that the whole Muslim religion is at fault for 9-11 and that it is justifiable to burn their holy book? Do they really feel that this is an advisable way to promote peace? Perhaps they just want some sort of misguided justice? Did they read the question wrong? Could it be that it is a certain kind of population that would vote for such a stupid thing?

I know it was wrong of me, but as I walked around at different places in Hawaii today and smiled at all those friendly faces, I wondered...

I know I have met the enemy, as the comic strip character, Pogo said,

and he is us.

Decision #3 (Treadmill): Done!

Yes! We did manage to make another decision to complete our move to Hawaii. We bought a Precor treadmill from Total Fitness USA in Honolulu. We considered an elliptical, but it once hurt my knees and I thought the movement would be too difficult for my mother.


We liked the Precor because it has a 1 year labor and 10 year parts warranty built in. We didn't have to buy an extra plan.

It was delivered yesterday. When I saw the guys checking out the directions, I had to ask if they'd put one together before.


They laughed and assured me that they had.


We opted to get the one with handlebars just to be on the safe side when mom gets on.


The guys really got done in likety split and made sure it was in working order.


We showed mom how to work the buttons and she tried it out. Now she'll be able to get some exercise even when it rains! We're planning to use it, too.

Art's worried this exercise machine will end up as a clothes hanger like my Nordic track ski machine. Do you have an exercise machine? Do you use it regularly? Tell the truth, now.

POSTSCRIPT: When I went down for breakfast this morning, Art said mom had already gone on the treadmill and proudly proclaimed that she logged on 13 miles!!!

"What??? Holy cow! Are you serious?" I nearly fell down.

"Kay, that's half a marathon."

"I know," I said, "getting quite worried.

"She was really sweating," Art said with a smile (or was that a smirk?). "Think," he told me.

Uh oh! I get it. She had actually walked 13 minutes and didn't think to put the fan on overhead. I told her she should use the air conditioner, even though I know she hates artificially cooled air. However, she agreed she definitely would next time.

I'm glad the solar panels will be installed in November. I wish it were tomorrow since we'll be using extra energy.

Solar Panel Decision #2: Done!

Decision #2 is definitely done! We've decided on our solar panels at last. It was a very difficult, complex decision with a lot of twists and turns, but it's done! We've signed the papers and made the commitment.

We wanted to put the solar panels on the northwest facing roof in the back of the house because the roof is much lower and Art felt he would want to clean it when it got dirty from the salt air, dust and pidgeon poop. However, to do so, we'd need to put tilts to face the panels more southward. We'd also need to put down another layer of shingles because what we have is a little old which would add even more to the cost.

I especially did not want it up high because I just KNEW Art would try to get up there to clean it himself.


The company we chose to install the system is Sunetric and we worked with John. The solar panel manufacturer is SunPower. The microinverter is Enphase.

We decided, after much back and forthing to install the panels on the high roof which is more south facing. As you can see, Art went up with John to check everything out and plan where the panels would go. (What you don't see is me down at the bottom biting my nails.)


This is John measuring to see how many panels could go in two sections of the roof.


Just as I feared, Art said, "You know it's not that bad up here. The roof isn't pitched too steeply. It's not that dangerous unless the wind is blowing."

He makes me crazy sometimes!

Note to our children: Don't worry. I'll do my best to keep Dad on the ground.

POSTSCRIPT:  (December 29, 2013)   I must amend this recommendation.  Although they did a good job, they did promise that they would come back if we needed more panels.  When we went to them a year later to ask for a few more panels they said they couldn't do a small job anymore.    If you go with Sunetrics, make SURE you get what you need then because they most likely won't come back to add more.

1972 Letter From Vietnam

Society in America is getting away from large families. Most people are having fewer children which mean less siblings and less cousins. Controlling the population is good, but not having as many relatives is sad to me. My own children have only three cousins (all male). Poor Tif has no female cousins or any sisters to really commune with. Although, yes, she and Jon can talk for hours and hours without let up.

I have 16 cousins on my mother's side of the family and even more on my father's side. Even when you haven't seen a cousin in decades, you've got a blood tie.

It brought to mind one of my cousins. When we returned to Hawaii, he was there for me right away. Despite the fact that he has a horrendously busy schedule, he asked if we needed help with our house construction. I didn't want to impose on him, but when he learned that we were putting up our kitchen cabinets, he put on his tool belt and came right over. Whenever I need any sort of information, he's right there no matter how busy he is. All of his siblings have been especially dear to me. They made it their responsibility to check on my mom when we were away on the mainland. Their generosity and kindness has meant a great deal to me and my brother.

I remembered a letter I saved from my cousin when he was stationed in Vietnam. It brought to mind the happenings of the times and I thought I'd share it with you. I hope my cousin does not mind.

Dear Kay,

Hi! I just received your letter today and I’m so happy to hear from you. Letters are practically the only thing we live off out in this country.

I serve as a helicopter mechanic and side door-gunner, but I fly on very few missions, so please don't worry.

Everything over here is A-OK excepting for “tet.” Have you ever heard of it? “Tet” is now about 2 weeks away and it’s supposed to be an occasion when everyone in Vietnam gets one year older. They don’t get older according to their own birth date, but all at once on “tet”—I think. I’m not too sure if that’s it 'cuz we hear so many rumors-- I just can’t decide which is which but anyway, that’s the most popular one. It’s supposed to be like Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4th of July, Memorial Day and Easter all combined into one day which makes the occasion most dangerous of the year — 'cuz the communist really celebrate by trying to eliminate us. But I’m not really trying to figure out the first part; the second part is just about enough for me— Heh! Heh!

Gee, so the time has arrived that even my dearest cousin decides to unite with someone, hmmm?! I think that’s really beautiful, so long as you make it one—and not hope for one, yes? I’m happy for you and it’s really neat—just don’t forget to have a lotta ice cream at your wedding for me. Oh, and of course, it is definitely my secret. Your fiancé is “an Air Force Captain?” Is he a pilot?

Hmmm... so Hawaii got hit by another dock strike huh? Gee, I wish I could help. Is there anything you would like from Vietnam? Well, I guess you’ll be running out of toilet paper shortly, so shall I send you some of our dried banana leaves, or of course, the very best, “Jungle leaves” ohhhh…. You just don’t know it, but both make excellent wipes (take it from an expert) – in fact, its good for three wipes. Please don’t hesitate to ask now. I will be more than glad to help. Hee! Hee! Nah, I’m only joking okay?

I don’t think I really miss anything from Hawaii, I guess that’s because I’ve already been home twice—excepting my airplanes. I really like bright colored airplanes with you know, red & white, pink, blue, light green & golden stripes or flowers on the tails and things like that—rather than all green and combat camouflage colors like over here. Yuck!

You know, Kay, doesn’t it seem like it was only yesterday that we were fighting over the bigger piece of cake at aunty’s house, and now we’re talking about marriage, love, society, etc., etc. Gee, we must be getting old, no?

Well, I must be going now so do take care of yourself, and thanks for writing. Bye now—
Your cousin
P.S. Any riots at the UH yet?

My cousin returned from Vietnam safely and became a Hawaiian Airlines pilot. At the time of the letter he was getting old, but he was only 21 years old.

As I said before, I do love having cousins.

Burning the Quran

Don't Christians preach forgiveness? Love thy neighbor?

And yet you've got this evangelical Christian church in Gainesville, Florida planning to burn copies of the Quran.

General Petraeus has already said, "I am very concerned by the potential repercussions of the possible (Quran) burning. Even the rumor that it might take place has sparked demonstrations such as the one that took place in Kabul yesterday," Petraeus said in his message. "Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult."

I'm not just shaking my head, I'm mad as hell.

I'm also ashamed that we have Americans who actually think this is a good idea.

Remembering the Snow

I had nothing to really post about today so I checked out what I had been scanning from our family album. This photo is from January 14, 1979. That's Tiffany and her friend, Mary. I took this photo looking out from our doorway into our front yard. Tif was three and a half then. Jon was about 4 months old.

When we first moved to Chicago, everybody talked about the snow of 196something. Well, in 1979 we got 40.4" of snow that January. That was pretty darn amazing! It was agony to keep shoveling a pathway out of our house.


The worst thing about shoveling was just when you got it all cleared, the city show shoveling truck would come barreling by and pile up snow right over where you'd just shoveled. That snow would be packed, heavy and twice as hard to carry.

Still, now that I'm in Hawaii, memories of the magic and agony of snow are fondly remembered. So what's making me think of snow when I'm barely out of August? It must be the thought of that Alaskan cruise we're contemplating perhaps.

For my friends and relatives in Hawaii, I hope this post helps you cool off.

Advice for Alaska

We have decided to try an Alaskan Cruise in June of next year. So many of our friends and relatives have been on cruises, but not us. The idea of being on a moving, swaying boat for so many days with no museums or interesting places to see just never appealed. However, we've decided after hearing so many people raving about it, that we should try it, too. Mom is worried because she doesn't feel she'll have the self control to prevent herself from eating every chocolate item in a cruise buffet and will get scolded by her doctor when she returns. I wish my aunt were available so they could share a room, but she just returned from an Alaskan cruise last month.

We'll just book a room with mom. My brother and sister-in-law will be coming also so this will make it extra fun!

Now comes the hard part. Which cruise line? And is there anything we should know about which travel plan to book? Do you just look it up in Travelocity or whatever? Do you get to choose where your room is? If so, what's the best place? Should we get a balcony room or a suite?

Help!

The Straw Solution to Swallowing!

I wrote a post about my not being able to swallow that mega, gigantic, HUGE vitamin that I bought. Swallowing big pills has always been a problem for me.


When I look at that pill, it looks as big as Chicago's Bean.

And that's why I love blogging! Mare from Zoaring With Glinda said her 98 year old mom has a hard time swallowing big pills, too. She wrote: "I have found that with Flo who has had a problem or two with pills...that if after you put the pill in your mouth...use a straw to drink the water that washes it down. It kind of 'sends' everything down the hatch!"

I tried it yesterday, and it worked! No kidding! However, I didn't want to declare it successful until I tried it again this morning. Well, this time I stuck it in my mouth and my mind took over. The pill started to feel like that Bean and my throat started to clench. Well... I got the straw and down it went. Art was rather surprised since he's used to me spitting out the pill and trying again and again.

A straw! Who would have thunk it? Thanks, Mare!

Decision #2 (Solar Panels): Not Quite Done!

WARNING: This is looooong. You won't hurt my feelings if you skip this post. I'm actually doing it for myself so I remember the process we've gone through. It's also to help anybody from Hawaii going through the same decision.

OK... You'd think we'd be confused, right? We've now listened to a total of 5 Photo Voltaic consultants. We added Mark of Company #3 and another Mark from Company #4 and John from Company #5. The interesting thing is every one of them had a very different presentation. We liked all the presenters, but we had to remind ourselves not to choose by personality. They were all knowledgeable and earnest in their convictions.

Each company gave us a different angle and something else to consider. I won't go into the specifics of the micro vs. string or central inverters, the different brands of solar panels, the warranties of labor and materials, the source of the materials, how reputable each company was, how well their panels would last in Hawaii's salt air, how long they had been in the solar business, the PRICE, the payback period, etc. They all had good and better points.

Did you know solar cells lose a lot of efficiency when it's over 90 degrees F? I thought it would be great if it was sunny and hot. Nope. The panels also need to be as south facing toward the sun as possible.

In the end, we went with Company #5. One of the good reasons was they would guarantee parts and labor for 10 years. The solar panel company's limited warranty guarantees the output of the panels for 25 years.

We called John of Company #5 and told him we would sign the papers. Not half an hour after we called Company #5, another company that Art signed up with at the Home Show called to say their company is the only company who would guarantee parts and labor for 25 years and could he come to give a presentation?

ARRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

We stuck by our decision and had John come out. John had us check an on-line site that could actually gauge how much power different parts of our roof could provide. We discovered that the lower roof where we wanted to put the panels would only output about 65% solar energy because it was facing NW. (We could add tilts for about $1,700 plus we'd need to add another layer of roofing for another $1,500 since that roof is rather old. $$$$ The Payback period was getting farther and farther away.) Stationing the panels on our second floor roof would be MUCH better (90% output), but would be too difficult to keep clean. Remember all that pigeon poop we get, not to mention salty residue and dirt in the air?

John says he's convinced that we'll have no problem. The rain can keep the panels clean. (It sure doesn't keep our windows clean!) He's even offering to come himself in 6 months and a year to check the grime and help clean it.

Then there's that 25 year energy output guarantee. How do they know the problem is not pigeon poop? Will they make us climb up on the roof to check? Would we have to pay somebody to climb up there everytime the monitor shows a problem with the panels? I've already e-mailed John that I'll take him up on that offer to climb up onto that high roof. Could he have been serious? (Postscript: Later e-mails hints that he regretted telling me that. We already know he hates heights.)

So yes, we're getting close, but not quite there yet. I'm learning more about photo voltaics than I ever thought I would. More people should really get them in Hawaii, especially with our astronomical energy costs. However, there IS a lot to research and learn.

Someone warned us that presenters will sometimes tell you what you want to hear and forget to mention certain things you should know.

I can't wait for this decision to be over. Once the panels are up, we should reduce our energy bill to just the hook-up fee to Hawaiian Electric which is about $20.00 a month. It will take about 8 years for the energy generated to pay off the cost of installation, taking into account the Federal and State credits that are offered.

Therefore, if the system should somehow die right after the 10 year warranty expires, we would still have had 2 years of solar energy. It all sounds good on paper. It remains to be seen.

Tai Chi for Beginners

Photo from Wikipedia

Art and I just went to our first Tai Chi class last night. We tried it over a decade ago and gave up because we had the worst time remembering the footwork, handwork and breathing. Art told our teacher last night that we have a hard time chewing gum and walking at the same time. He really was joking, of course, but he wasn't too far from the truth.

We met some nice people and even ran into an old classmate of my brother. That's one thing about Hawaii. You're bound to meet somebody you know. The big joke is, the first question you ask a person in Hawaii is, "What school you grad?" The second question is, "What year?"

In my line dancing class, I ran into my high school English teacher. She loved it when one of the other ladies in the class asked if we were classmates.

Our Tai Chi teacher is very nice. However, I didn't realize that the class was for Beginners and Intermediate. The first half is for Beginners and the second half for the Intermediate students. We did sort of OK last night.

The teacher said we would ache today and sure enough, there are muscles that are unhappy that they were made to do something they're not used to. It's hard to believe that such slow movements would strain them.

Many of the more advanced students said it will get easier with each lesson. Here's hoping. You definitely can't chew gum while doing Tai Chi.

Renovation Project: Floors and Closet

As Art was installing the wood laminate over the extremely old linoleum flooring, he looked at the equally old hollow core sliding closet doors and decided to replace it.


We had some old folding louvered doors from the demolition and renovation of this house that Art had kept because he thought they were well made and solid.


He removed one of the termite eaten (I hate termites!!!) shelving and took down the hollow core doors.


Of course, nothing is easy when you're renovating. The folding doors were a teeny bit big so we (mostly he) had to cut two of the panels down to size. There was some trial and error involved.


Then all the slats had to be re-glued together.


We really like the look of it. I hope the termites don't. The doors are quite solid.


Now we have to take the old doors to the city dump which seems a shame. You'd think we could make a table or something with them.

The next step is to draw up plans for the shelving. We're going to get Freedom Rail ventilated (metal) shelving again because it's baked on paint and not vinyl coated that seems to flake off in Hawaii. Art is letting me do the designing because he says I like to organize.

It's true. I do.

I've noticed that he's really enjoying the tool shed now that he can find everything once I organized and labeled it.

I'm now looking for my camera memory card case. I've hunted every logical place I might have put it and cannot find it. It's making me absolutely crazy! Sigh... even though I like having everything organized and in its place, it doesn't mean I don't misplace things.

Sigh.