Chicago Botanic Garden

I've been meaning to post some photos Art and I took last month at the Chicago Botanic Garden. 

Here's Art at the entrance.

This is an Autumn Crocus, also known as Colchicum 'Waterlily.'

This is the first time we saw a blue heron there.

I do love morning glories and these were gorgeous in the English Garden.

I'm always drawn to waterlilies.  I wonder if it's because I loved the paintings Monet did.

The Sensory Garden is always fun to visit.  I love the leaves that smell like chocolate.

And yes, we did have to visit the Japanese Garden.  I remember when it was dedicated a couple of decades ago.  It was Dina of  Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo who invited us to go along with her family to see it.

This is the zigzag bridge to the Japanese Gardens.  It's supposed to keep out evil spirits.

I always feel like I have to watch my step or I'll fall off.

And like the heron taking off, I'll say good night for now.

POSTSCRIPT:
This is for Dina of Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo who remembered that our children were very small when the Japanese garden was dedicated.  I have only one picture from that time.

This is Art and our son, Jon.  The gardens are in the background.  All the plants and trees were very small and it would be quite a few years before it bloomed into what it is now.

Reception Agony

We've been getting marginal television reception for the past year.  However, since we did get Channel 20 (Kiku) which is Mom's Japanese station, Brian Williams and Diane Sawyer, we were content enough.  We couldn't get Fox most of the time so I wasn't able to watch House, but that was OK.

And then it occurred to Art that when Sunetrics was putting on the solar panels last year, they may have accidentally moved the antennae that we have pointing as perfectly as possible in the right direction up in the attic crawl space.

Now here's the problem.

Art can move the antennae, but he can't know how well the TV reception is around the house.

While Art was moving the antennae in the hot attic, I was in my room (sitting on my Stressless chair with my feet up) checking out which channels were coming in clearly or not at all.

Then we discovered that what might be coming in upstairs was NOT coming in downstairs in the kitchen.  Sheesh!

So I asked mom to watch TV downstairs and yell up numbers 1-5 for the quality she was getting.  5 for crystal clear, 3 for breaking up, 1 for nothing/blank screen.  I hope the neighbors didn't think we were nuts as Mom on the 1st floor called out "Channel 4 is 3."  Then I'd relay the message from the 2nd floor landing to Art in the attic yelling, "Mom says 4 is 3!"

This went on for a couple of hours because if Brian Williams came in, Diane Sawyer was gone.  And at one point we almost lost Mom's Japanese channel.  Yikes!  The problem here on Oahu is that the broadcasting towers are located in two different directions and we live in the middle.

Then I remembered once when we used to have rabbit ear antennae that didn't work a long time ago, I would sometimes attach a wire to the ears and then drape it up to a metal shelving unit or some other crazy thing.  Sometimes it worked.

I suggested Art do this.

"It won't work," the engineer said.  The length of the antennae rods determine which channel comes in.  You can't just stick something metal on it and think it'll work."  (I think that's what he said.  I can't remember.  I'm sure he'll say I misquoted him.)

After my 4th or 5th time of saying, "Try attaching a piece of foil to it.  How about my metal crutch?  (Remember when I broke my foot?) Can't we stick some metal pole to it?  How about a hanger?"

Finally, just to quiet me down he found a piece of scrap aluminum folding door guide and stuck it to the antennae.  He thought he could then pull it through to shorten or lengthen it.

And guess what?  It worked!  Now we get all the channels and more!  And it's FREE TV.  Don't we make a great team?  Eventually?

Senryu Lost in Translation?

Please enlarge if you're able to read Japanese.

Our good friend, Osamu in Tokyo sent us a senryu that he was given.  He said I should share it with my mother.  He did not explain what it was.  When I handed it to Mom and told her it was from "Sam" she accepted it seriously, figuring it was something that would need her careful consideration.  I left.

A few seconds later, I heard chuckles coming from her room.  Then there was uncontrolled laughter and hilarity.

I thanked Sam later on Skype and told him that apparently Mom loved it.  Since Sam works as a Japanese/English translator for foreign businesses, we asked him what it was about.  He started to laugh saying, "I can't.  Ask your mother, please."

Art and I looked at each other quizzically which probably only made Sam laugh louder.

We asked Mom about the senryu and she explained that a senryu is like a haiku.

I got this from Wikipedia:
Senryū (川柳, literally 'river willow') is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 or fewer total morae (or "on", often translated as syllables, but see the article on onji for distinctions). Senryū tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and senryū are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are more serious. Unlike haiku, senryū do not include a kireji (cutting word), and do not generally include a kigo, or season word.

I still don't get it, but we asked Mom what the meaning of all the pieces of senryu were about.
Apparently the senryus were about Seniors:

 *  You're over 90 and still worried about food grown in China.
*  If a doctor or your wife become quiet, it's time to be frightened.
*  You spend time polishing your pre-bought tombstone.
*  Patients are more worried about their elderly doctor.
*  If you're healthy, you have nothing to talk about at the Senior Club.
*  You hope for a quick passing, but take pills to stay alive.
*  You write a memo to remember something, but forget where the memo is so you have to write a memo to remember where the memo is.
*  You're more afraid if your spouse is sleeping quietly than if they're snoring.
*  You're too scared to tell your wife that ... ummm... the make-up no longer helps.
*  You're looking forward to seeing your dog in the next world, rather than your spouse.
*  Desserts are pills rather than cakes.
*  The same kanji (Chinese character) means either lovestruck or senility.

These are just a few of them.  Many of these were truisms, but didn't explain Mom's uproarious laughter.  She tried to explain how they were incredibly funny sort of poems.  It is the structure of the poems along with the humor and truths of being older.  She tried desperately to explain WHY it was so amazingly funny.  We were perplexed.  This must be sort of like the difference between British and American humor, but more so.

Art says he was just surprised to see her laughing that hard.

Sigh... I guess it was lost in translation.

Five Things I Love

I love reading a section in the Friday Honolulu Star Advertiser called Five Things We Love.  People write in to share a product they really love. (They have to write where they bought it, how much it cost and why they like it so much.)   So I thought I'd share 5 things that come to mind as I sit here.

C9 Loose fit short sleeve t-shirts from Target:

I bought 5 of these loose fit shirts at Target in Illinois.  These are not the work-out tops.  They have a more cottony feel and cost only $6.00! They were on SALE!   Woohoo!  I wish I'd bought more.  They have a looser feel so they don't cling to the body which is a good thing because I prefer not accentuating those parts of me that are...umm... less than ideal.

Eco bags:

I actually bought these ecobags in Japan several years ago.  I have them dangling from my backpack so they're ready for use anytime I go to the store.  I've seen similar eco bags at Whole Foods and even Office Maxx.  If everybody carried just one ecobag and used it, can you just imagine how much plastic waste we could avoid creating?

 Merrells Moc Shoes:

 I really love the Merrell Moc shoes.  I bought another pair from TJ Maxx in Illinois and wore them as house shoes.  I find them super comfortable.  I really like them for travel.

Dove's Dark Chocolates

What can I say?  I love dark chocolates and I read some place a long time ago that Dove's Dark Chocolates had lots of those lovely flavonoids that are supposed to be good for you... in moderation. 

Magically Magnetic Photo Frames by Lytle

I have a large white board where I like to put up photos.  I like these magnetic photo frames the best because they're sealed on three sides and I can turn them either horizontally or vertically without having the photo fall out.  I bought these at Longs/CVS.

Well, these are my five.  Do you have some things that you really love and are willing to share?

POSTSCRIPT:  Oops!  I'm noticing from the comments that I didn't make it quite clear enough what the newspaper column is about so I've corrected this post.  The five things are things you can actually purchase at a store.  :-)

Thank You to our Veterans

I rarely post twice in a day, but I just recalled something that I'd like to make a note of.

A couple of weeks ago, Art took me to Tripler Army Hospital to see my nurse practitioner for my regular 3-4 month check-up.  We have to go through a military check point where there is 100% ID security checks.  Sometimes there are civilian security people, sometimes there are soldiers manning the entry.  Art is a retired officer so he will often get a salute and sometimes just a wave through.  It's not a big deal.

Well, this time the soldier in charge checked Art's ID and came to a brisk attention, saluted and said, "Thank you for your service to our country, sir."

As he drove toward the hospital, Art was quiet.  Then he smiled.  "Wow, that felt really nice," he said.  "I can't remember the last time that someone thanked me for my service."

So to all our veterans and those presently serving, we would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your dedication and service to our country.  You make us proud.

Diabetic Super Foods

Art just pointed out an article by Jim Miller on his Savvy Senior column in the Honolulu Star Advertiser.  Mr. Miller listed some Diabetic Super Foods.  I've listed them below.  I won't type out the whole article saying why they're good, just because I have to give my fingers a rest.

Beans:  Kidney, pinto, navy, black and other types.
I do eat kidney beans in my chili.

Dark-green leafy vegetables:  Spinach, collard greens, mustard greens, kale
I've been making that Krispy Kale thing I wrote about earlier.  Mom is addicted to the light crisp texture.

Sweet potatoes
I like  sweet potatoes but have to really remind myself to  get some.  I wonder if kabocha is good.  Mom always makes that.
 

Berries:  Whole, unsweetened blueberries, strawberries and other berries
I have dried blueberries and cranberries in my oatmeal or cereal every morning.

Tomatoes:
I had tomatoes on my pizza that Cody made for me.  Does that count?
 
Fish with omega-3 fatty acids:  Salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines and albacore tuna
Does anchovies count?  Art makes a great omelette with anchovies.  We eat mackerel (Japanese word: saba) quite a bit.  We also like the marinated frozen salmon from Costco. 

Whole grains:  Pearled barley, oatmeal, breads and other whole grain foods
Art dresses up our oatmeal every other morning with dried cranberries, bananas, and any other fruit he feels like throwing in.
 
Nuts:  Luckily, our daughter keeps sending us Trader Joe's nuts.  Instead of eating junk foods, nuts really are a great snack food.

Fat-free milk and yogurt:  I drink chocolate milk with my morning mocha.  I wonder if that counts.  I know, I know... sugar.  However, I only put in about 1/4 cup of chocolate milk.

OK... I got the food part down.  I just have to do what Art calls the BIG E.  Sigh...  Exercise!

Have you all noticed the 11-11-11 date?

Let There Be Light

Our kitchen is dark.  We considered putting in tubular skylights but because of the second floor, it would be too expensive.  We have several different light sources but it still just wasn't enough.

We put up a set of three pendant type lights on a track which was hard enough to find but they require candelabra lights.  We bought some expensive daylight CFLs and they didn't last more than a few months.  We tried other candelabra lights but they just didn't give enough light or were yellow tinged.  I wanted daylight bulbs.  The photo shows daylight in the foreground and regular in the back.

Art looked on line and found that there are adapters that will change a candelabra socket to a medium socket.  They were cheap, just a dollar.  However, it cost over $4.00 to ship it to us in Hawaii... a piece!  It would have cost us $3.00 for the three adapters and another $13.00 + in shipping charges.  Couldn't they put three of them in one box?  I guess not.  Sheesh!

We checked several lighting and electrical stores and found one for $4.50 a piece.  Sigh...

My brother recommended we go to Hardware Hawaii in Mapunapuna.  They didn't have it but their Kailua store did.  They sent it over and voila!  Yae!  It worked!

We bought some medium socket daylight CFLs and are thrilled that now I can read the morning comics... I mean NEWS with enough light.  It never bothers Art to not have a lot of light.  But I like it bright.

It's easy to find bulb adapters going from medium to candelabra, but difficult to find the other way around.

POSTSCRIPT 1:  Ummmm.... you know what?  We used the light tonight and uuuuuuhhhhh.... it was a little too bright.  Did you hear Art's sigh of exasperation?

POSTSCRIPT 2:  Just kidding.

APEC Finally Here

It began on Monday.  APEC (Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation) is something it feels as though the state has been preparing, repairing, bracing, anticipating, dreading for the longest time.

Returning from Chicago, we were surprised to see some renovation work at Honolulu International Airport.  It wasn't done two weeks ago.  I hope it's done  now.  We've been told that as of Monday there would be all kinds of traffic snarls and congestion and we should remember to show our aloha spirit.

There will be presidents from the U.S. (local boy Barack), Russia, Philippines, South Korea, China, Peru, Vietnam, Mexico, Indonesia, etc. and Prime Ministers from  Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, etc.  Can you imagine the security?  There are supposed to be world leaders from 21 member nations, 1,500 top executives and 2,000 members of the world media.   With staff, family and friends, there are supposed to be a total of between 15,000 and 20,000 extra visitors here.  Do we really have that many hotels?

I just hope Mother Nature cooperates too because there's a forecast for a whole lot of rain.  Then again, it's usually dry in Waikiki so maybe all those world leaders will be OK and in the mood to cooperate and be friends.

What's That Thing in Pearl Harbor?

I took this photo from my office window this morning.  I was never quite sure what that humongous golf ball thing was docked in Pearl Harbor.

When I talked to my aunt, she said she was worried that it was some kind of radioactive thing that could blow up.

I looked it up on the web and found this Time USA site that explained it in detail:

..."Designed to keep an eye out for rogue missiles flying toward the United States, the SBX had been scheduled to report for duty in Alaska in early 2006, but a series of structural repairs and upgrades have kept it in warmer waters. For over a year, the nine-story radar that sits atop a self-propelled Norwegian oil platform has been coming and going from Pearl Harbor for fixes and tests — a delay critics see as symptomatic of an agency under pressure to deliver a national missile defense system that is still more fiction than fact."

I guess they want the thing in Alaska because you can see Russia from some window over there.

For the Birds

We have a neighbor who feeds the birds every morning.  The birds now love to roost on our roof where they have a bird's eye view of the street in front of his house where he throws his bread crumbs.  It's mostly pigeons and some mourning doves that come.  I see very few sparrows or finches.

One of our other neighbors mentioned that pigeons often carry lice.  Lice?  I had no idea.  They've also been irritating the three dogs that are tied outside of their house by eating the food in their bowls.  Our neighbor says that before he retired, their company had a huge problem with bird lice and he's worried about his dogs getting infested.

Our problem with the pigeons is that they are constantly walking over our solar panels before and after they eat.  I don't want Art going up there to clean it.

None of the neighbors are wanting to go over and tell this neighbor to not feed the birds because it gives him such obvious pleasure. 

We used to set out a bird feeder in Illinois every winter, just as many of our neighbors did.  It was mostly smaller birds that came like house finches, chickadees, sparrows and a few cardinals. The squirrels loved the bird feeder too. 

I don't think about feeding the birds here because I figure they have enough to eat year round.

I love our neighbors.  I guess we'll have to live with the birds.  It's the rainy season coming up so I think the solar panels will get cleaned off.  And the dogs?  They're great watch dogs.  We're getting used to the fact that they ALL bark at ANYTHING that moves, day and NIGHT.

I wonder if there's anything we do that might be an inconvenience to the neighbors.  I guess they wouldn't tell me if there was.

The Best Pizza Maker in Hawaii

Cody's grandma, Cody and me

 We've been meaning to go and see where my nephew, Cody works for the longest time.  He is an assistant manager at the Mapunapuna Papa John's Pizza.

Recently he and another fellow won the regional Papa John's contest for making the best pizza in Hawaii.  They won $500. and a chance to go to Kentucky representing Hawaii to compete in the national contest.

Cody

OK... so they didn't win but that's probably just because those judges didn't know better.  Look at him!  I would have voted for him just because he's so cute.

We took Mom to Papa John's yesterday to sample one of Cody's pizzas.  We stayed to eat it fresh.  Let me tell you, pizza is just like donuts.  It makes a difference when you eat it fresh.  I usually never eat the crust, but this time I ate the whole thing.

We all ordered the personal pan pizza and drink (a can of coke) which was the lunch special.  Only $5.00!!!  Can you believe it?  None of us were able to finish all our pizzas so we had it for dinner as well.

personal pan spinach pizza

Mom and I had the spinach pizza.  Doggone it!  I forgot to order anchovies with mine.

personal pan sausage pizza

Art had the sausage.  That was a surprise.  Art never eats sausage.  He's very finicky about fat content.

Mom was really impressed.  She said it was the best pizza she'd ever had.  Mind you, she also said it's only the 2nd pizza she's had in the last 30 years, but who's counting?

Art and I lived in the pizza capital of the world, Chicago for 35 years and let me tell you, this was really wonderful!

Do go on over to Mapunapuna and have one too.  Maybe you'll remember to order the anchovies.  Just be sure to tell them Cody's grandma sent you.

Oh... my diet you ask?  It starts tomorrow!

I Feel Very Good, I Think...

I had my appointment at Tripler Army Hospital today.  The admitting nurse asked me on a scale of Excellent, Very Good, Satisfactory, etc., how I was feeling.  I was feeling pretty darn OK, but I decided to leave a margin of error and said, "Very Good."

My nurse practitioner, Kathy who is my Primary Care Manager went over the blood test I took last week and frowned.

Not good.

All those months of being good and then the trips to Yellowstone, Glacier, etc., the Alaskan Cruise and then Illinois took its toll on me.  How much rich and decadent food could I have eaten?  Was I not exercising all this time?  (I did... sort of, maybe, occasionally, but not much. )

My A1c and glucose levels had jumped to the highest it's ever been.  My cholesterol levels had also spiked!  Good grief! 

Kathy listened to my heart and heard that functional murmur I have.  Art has one too and so do our children and now KC as well.  Welllll... Kathy really didn't like the sound of it so...

I have to get an electrocardiogram.  She also wanted a bone density, pap smear and COLONOSCOPY.  She's giving me THREE months to fix myself with diet and exercise. You do realize these three months include Thanksgiving and Christmas?

As I was leaving the hospital Art asked me how it went.

"Not very good," I sighed.

Eat BEFORE You Shop

I saw something on the news yesterday about a couple who had recently moved to Hawaii.  The pregnant mother was hungry so she took a couple of sandwiches and ate them while grocery shopping at Safeway, keeping the wrappers to pay for them at the check out.  Unfortunately, she forgot to pay for them and was arrested.  Her 2-year-old daughter was sent to Child Welfare Services since the woman's husband was also taken into custody.

The woman says that she was surprised at the harsh treatment they were given.  She says "Where I grew up in a small town it's not seen as stealing for sure."  She did offer to pay the $5.00 for the sandwiches (she'd already paid $50.00) when it was discovered, but the store insisted on pressing charges.

This is a tough case.  I can see where she made an honest mistake.  And yet, I've seen people sample grapes.  I've seen opened canned drinks left on shelves.  I imagine the store has to "eat" all those costs.

My sister-in-law works for Walmart and she says you'd be shocked at what people walk out with.   I remember a grocery store near us in Illinois closing because of all the shoplifting.

And yet, I see where this might have been an honest mistake.

And yet, I see where the punishment was way harsher than should be.

And yet...

Birthday Bear

Tiffany and Jonathan with their cousin, Barry (middle) in 1993

We celebrated my nephew's birthday yesterday.  I made a ton of teriyaki beef and chicken sticks (with sweet onions, red peppers and zucchini) and green salad.  Mom made her "famous" namasu (pickled cucumbers), macaroni salad and rice. Dennis and Nancy brought a birthday chocolate cake.

It's so hard to  coordinate everybody's schedules but tonight, we all managed to get together to help Bear celebrate.

Art grilling the beef and chicken sticks

Birthday dinner

Barry, often called Bear is the middle child.  He is the sweetest, most modest, loving, responsible guy around, always putting others before himself.  The story that might best illustrate this for me is when his kindergarten teacher saw that Bear had something clutched in his hand all afternoon and asked him what it was.  When Bear unfolded his tiny fingers, she saw that it was a cookie he was saving to give to his older brother when he got home.  Bear is still like that although he and his wife now bring things to share that are more ummm...appetizing.

And so to our cuddly, huggable Bear, Happy Birthday!!!

Blue

I'm feeling a little blue.

Chicago Botanic Garden water lily

I've just finished doing our digital trip album for Illinois.  We're home and over the jet lag.  I've made doctor type appointments.  We've resumed our life here in Hawaii.  We accomplished a lot while we were in Illinois.  We've had great trips  this spring, summer and fall. Art is almost totally over his cold.  I do believe I've actually managed to dodge the germs this time even with everybody sick around me.  Tiffany called to say KC has just caught some kind of germ and is very sick.  Two of her friends who she has spent time with ended up in the ER.  It's worrisome.  My mind is a jumble.  I'm tired.

I'll be better tomorrow.  But for now... I'm just feeling a little blue.

Illinois Fall Colors

I just wanted to share some memories of fall colors that we brought home from Illinois last week.

We loved seeing all the colors every time we passed by this forest preserve.

The maples were ablaze with fiery color.

 Trees were also generous with their golden hues.

These wild grape vines were tenacious and strangling in our back yard.  Here in the forest, it seemed more modest and controlled.

I always loved the changing seasons of Illinois.  Spring and fall were my favorites.  The big joke was that spring and fall in our area lasted only 2 weeks.  It sure felt like it.  However, by its very briefness, it was more appreciated and  valued.

Perhaps it's a reminder that we should treasure and celebrate all those glorious days of our lives.