Necessity is the Mother of Invention

In the last year or so Art suddenly developed Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Disease or LPR.  It's when stomach acid travels up your throat.  It's annoying for him and he's under some medication.  It may be hereditary since his sister also suffers from this.  

It is recommended that he eat smaller meals and stay upright for three hours after a meal.  It's also helpful to use a wedge at bedtime.  

Tiffany sent this wedge but it's a little hard and not quite as high as Art would like.  Therefore he's been using an extra pillow over the wedge and another one to raise his head up a little higher.  The only problem is that the pillow is not quite wide enough.

We went to Walmart just because I don't know where I can find reasonably priced material around our area.  

They had a good selection for us to choose from.  We got 1 5/8 yards of this slightly thicker, but soft material.  It fit perfectly on the wedge.

I also bought this four pound bag of non-allergenic, polyester fiberfill.  I created channels in the pillow so the filling would not move around too much.  I had Art lie down on it until he was satisfied with the amount of fiberfill I put into each channel.  I ended up using the entire bag.  Once he was happy with the feel, I sewed up the ends.

And finally, I made a cover for it.  I bought 2 yards of this soft, sturdy material that Art chose.

I tried lying down on it too and it's very comfortable.  

Art really likes it, but it is a bit strange to have to always look up at him now.

Something like this would never work for me since I sleep on my stomach.  This might bring me to another post someday about sheet marks on my face...

Gardening Shears Thief?

Art called me to the kitchen where mom was standing upset and agitated.

"I don't know where my gardening shears are," she said remorsefully.  "I had them yesterday, but they're gone today."

Art and I scoured our yard and all the places outside where she might have left it.

"I think I might have put it in my little trash bucket and thrown everything into the yard waste bin," she suggested hopefully.

Art and I looked at each other.  The bin is full of two weeks of yard waste.  We sighed and went through it... twice... but couldn't find her shears.

"It's my favorite shears," she said.  "It cuts the best and the handles are soft and I use it all the time...."  I think she was attempting to emphasize just how crucial a problem this was for ALL of us.

Art and I circled all the places she normally walks and then realized that mom was suspecting some thief had known how good her shears were and had made off with them.  Or perhaps... just perhaps... one of us had used them and not put them away properly.

Just as I was wracking my brain to see if indeed I might have borrowed them, Art called mom.  He took her shoulders and stood her next to the lemon tree that she often enjoys trimming and pointed her in the direction of the stone wall.

"Make a surprised face, Mom!" I told her.

She was so happy that she was willing to do anything.  

Now where's that notebook I was looking at when Art called me away?

The Newest Hot Thing in Hawaii: Korean Scrubbers

Last Christmas one of my Zumba buddies, Irene gave all of us these dish scrubbers.  They were so pretty that I didn't know what it was at first.

I thought it might be a hot pad or a doily.    What a surprise to learn they were dish scrubbers.

When I used it I found that it took just a dot of dish soap to create a whole LOT of bubbles in the pad and could almost wash a sink full of dishes.  Then you could rinse out the soap very easily.  

We tried looking for more of these beautiful pads at craft fairs, but couldn't find them.

One night, I mentioned these incredible pads to my friend, Diane.  She is a teacher and said she'd received these from one of her parents.

Diane very kindly gave me one of them which I'm loving.

When I mentioned how much I loved the scrubbers, Irene said her sister-in-law crocheted them with a special Korean yarn and sold them at 3 for $10. The yarn is unavailable in Hawaii.  She has to rely on people going to Korea or purchase them herself when she travels there. 

Guess what Tiffany and Jonathan will be getting for presents soon?

Idea for Iced Coffee Lovers

Someone sent me this coffee idea that I thought was pretty wonderful. 

I'm thinking of doing this for my morning mocha... maybe.

I always add chocolate milk to my coffee in the morning.  Art makes a pot for me every few days that I keep in the fridge so I have a ready supply for my mocha every morning.

The ice does melt and dilute my mocha so this might be good to do.

I also freeze lemon juice to add to my carbonated water.  It adds a bit of zing to my water.

I tried freezing chocolate milk too, but that didn't turn out quite as well as I'd hoped.  Hmmm.... So what else can I freeze?

Boys' Day

 May 5th is traditionally Boys' Day but has been changed to Children's Day in Japan and is a national holiday.

I got the following from Wikipedia:

Until recently, Tango no Sekku was known as Boys' Day (also known as Feast of Banners) while Girls' Day (Hinamatsuri) was celebrated on March 3. In 1948, the government decreed this day to be a national holiday to celebrate the happiness of all children and to express gratitude toward mothers. It was renamed Kodomo no Hi.
Before this day, families raise the carp-shaped koinobori flags (carp because of the Chinese legend that a carp that swims upstream becomes a dragon, and the way the flags blow in the wind looks like they are swimming), one for each boy (or child), display a Kintarō doll usually riding on a large carp, and the traditional Japanese military helmet, kabuto. Kintarō and the kabuto are symbols of a strong and healthy boy.

I admit we didn't do much in Illinois.

We ocassionally hung up a carp for Jon, but that was pretty much it.

He has a beautiful traditional doll his grandparents gave him which is packed away carefully for his son... someday.

We enjoyed seeing carp swimming in the wind around our neighborhood today.

And as for our son, Jon who we named for the adventurous, pushing the limits seagull (Jonathan Livingston Seagull) ... he's given us more gray hairs than I can possibly count.  From joining the Peace Corps, to being a firefighter, to traveling the world on a dime and a crossed finger, he's kept our lives interesting.

We celebrate the excitement and pride he's given us and wish him a happy day... hopefully with his feet planted firmly on the ground and not scaling some high mountain where he could make my hair not only turn more gray, but fall out.

We love you, Jon!

Vatican Message to Buddhists for Feast of Vesakh

Dina of Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo sent me a link to a Vatican message for the Feast of Vesakh which is the Indian name for the Japanese Hana-Matsuri celebrating Buddha's birthday.  It really started my day off with a smile.

Dina is a dear friend I met in Chicago who then moved back to Israel.  Her daughter and mine were elementary school buddies.   Dina is also the person who got me started in blogging, gave me an understanding of the Jewish religion and renewed my hope in all faiths coming together.

The link she sent me was for a Vatican message calling for friendship among Christians and Buddhists. (Click on the link for the entire message which is much longer.)  The introduction showed me why I'm liking Pope Francis more and more.

"Pope Francis, at the very beginning of his ministry, has reaffirmed the necessity of dialogue of friendship among followers of different religions."

 I remember a Buddhist friend of mine here in Hawaii whose brother had converted to Christianity.  She asked him if there could be a dialogue of understanding between her temple and his church.  His church absolutely refused to consider it since they felt their way was the only way.  It was disheartening. The closing paragraphs of the Vatican message are uplifting and gives me hope for the future.

“As we all know, in spite of these noble teachings on the sanctity of human life, evil in different forms contributes to the dehumanization of the person by mitigating the sense of humanity in individuals and communities. This tragic situation calls upon us, Buddhists and Christians, to join hands to unmask the threats to human life and to awaken the ethical consciousness of our respective followers to generate a spiritual and moral rebirth of individuals and societies in order to be true peacemakers who love, defend and promote human life in all its dimensions.”

“Dear Buddhist friends, let us continue to collaborate with a renewed compassion and fraternity to alleviate the suffering of the human family by fostering the sacredness of human life. It is in this spirit that I wish you once again a peaceful and joyful feast of Vesakh.”

 I'm so happy!

The Shot

My name is Gutless Wonder. 

I don't like needles.  For almost a year in Chicago I used to have to prick my fingers to draw blood when I was being coached to watch my glucose. I think I watch my pre-diabetic health just so I won't have to do this on a regular basis forever.

When my health manager, Kathy told me I should get the cortisone shot for my shoulder, I balked.  I tried to convince her that I didn't need it.

When I asked my Zumba buddies if it hurt, several had gotten the shot and said, "YES!  Of course it hurt!"

I decided to ask Bert, my physical therapist.  Since I'm getting physical therapy I held out the hope that he would tell me I wasn't bad enough to need it.

"Get it," he said.  "It will help the bursitis inflammation."

"But will it hurt?" I asked.

"Yes," he said.  "But you'll feel much better in a day or so."

Sigh...

I phoned the hospital to schedule the shot this morning.  They'd called a couple of days ago when I wasn't home to schedule an appointment and I hadn't called them back.  When you pronounce my name the emphasis should be on Gutless.

The receptionist told me that I wouldn't be able to get the shot until I was evaluated by the orthopedic doctor and the earliest appointment for just the evaluation was in June. 

Awwwww...

And  you know what?  He might say I don't need the shot.  Right?

iPad for Travel?

Several people have been telling me that instead of bringing a heavier, bulkier laptop with them on travel you should just bring a tablet.  I like the idea of carrying something lighter when you're traveling, but I'm still dubious that a tablet can take the place of a laptop.  For one thing could you upload photos from your camera to your iPad?

Turns out that YES, you can!  However, we did encounter one problem.  Art bought a 5 in 1 card reader on Star Advertiser Hot Deals ($10), but after waiting forever for it, found out it was the wrong one.  It was for the iPad 3rd generation or older which had a 30 pin connector.  Our iPad 4 has a Lightning connector.  Annoying!

Double doggone it!

That's OK.  Our son, Jon is very happy to get what we can't use.

So off we went again and just bit the bullet and paid the $30 for this very expensive Apple Lightning card reader.  The salesperson said it would be a while before there would be paraphernalia for the iPad 4 made by other manufacturers (knocks offs) because of that new connection.

I'm still not convinced that we can do without our laptop on our travels.  I guess we'll find out some day.

Segregated Proms in 2013?

I read an article in the newspaper about a segregated prom that's been going on at Wilcox County High School in Georgia since 1971 when the schools were desegregated.  Because school events could not be segregated these proms were organized by the parents.

Recently a group of four students, two black and two white came up with an idea to have an integrated prom.  Therefore this year, after decades of separate proms for black and white students, they were able to raise enough in donations to rent a ballroom and get food and gift bags for every couple who registered to go.  They received a lot of support from people around the country.

I'm in shock.

This is 2013.  We have a black president.  And still there are places in this country where parents are feeling the need to segregate?

We are so thankful that we lived in a  community in Illinois where people tried their best to be accepting of everyone.

Granted it wasn't perfect in 1974 when we first moved to Illinois from Hawaii, but I was glad to see everyone working hard to gain harmony and acceptance.

Remember that song from South Pacific, You've Got to Be Carefully Taught?  Thank goodness some of those kids didn't tolerate the bigotry and prejudice of their parents.

There's hope.

No... No... Not More Needles!

When I was asked if I had any pain during my last check-up at Tripler, I did mention my sore shoulder.

My nurse practitioner, Kathy sent me for X-rays, an MRI and physical therapy.

I didn't really want to go because I don't like X-rays, and I don't much care to be put in a tube for almost half and hour and besides... the pain would probably go away on its own without the PT.  Right?

Kathy sent me immediately to Radiology for the X-rays and then I was called to get the MRI and I got the letter to get myself over for physical therapy.

Sigh....

It's a good thing I like Bert or I'd be an unhappy camper and besides I figured my aches were just part of the ahem... aging process.  Isn't that what they always say?

Sigh...

I just got a call from Kathy.  My MRI results had come in and no, it's not nothing.

1. Supraspinatus tendinopathy and partial thickness tear.
2. Subacromial subdeltoid bursitis.

So now Kathy says I need to go get a shot for the bursitis.

Sigh...

Light or Dark

Art and I don't see eye to eye on a few issues and sometimes it has to be dealt with compromise, understanding and a dollop of humor.

I like the windows open when we go to bed.  He likes them closed.  We sleep with the windows open a crack on my side unless there's a gale storm.  Then I close the windows lest he blows away.

He likes food UNsalted. (He does have blood pressure problems.) I like mine salted.  Mom prepares food mildly salted or unsalted and I salt my food after it's cooked.  It's not as good, but I know it's better for all of us that way.

He's an avid exerciser.  I'm... well... lazy.  He runs in the morning before I wake up.  We walk in the evening.  I do my Zumba and we do Tai Chi together.

He likes vanilla.  I like chocolate.  What the heck!  More for me.

He totally AVOIDS wasting energy or any kind.  I like having air conditioning, LIGHT, whatever.

This brings us to a problem we've had to really compromise on Big Time.  I like having night lights.  I don't like stumbling in the dark.  He thinks I can see just fine because he can.

Motion detector night lights was the answer to my problem.  Unfortunately they kept going off all the time in the daylight because we don't have a place to put them where I need them where it isn't dark in the daytime hours too.

The answer?  I've stuck a Post-It note in the center where the motion detector is.

My problem?  I keep forgetting to take off the Post-It note at night.

Sheesh!

An Elementary Coincidence

One morning a couple of days ago, Art and I did the Super Quiz in the Star Advertiser.  You had to identify the poem from its first line.  There are three levels of difficulty, the Freshmen Level, Graduate Level and Ph.D. Level.  In the Graduate Level was the line, "Whose woods these are I think I know."

I knew the answer instantly and yelled out, "Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening". 

I'm not sure why that poem has always stayed with me.  I read it either in high school or college and could imagine Robert Frost sitting on his wagon, looking into the dark and lovely woods with snow falling all around him.

Later in the evening we watched Elementary on television about a modern day Sherlock Holmes.  At the end of the show Dr. Joan Watson gives Sherlock a  gift of a framed plaque that reads:

 The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
 But I have promises to keep,
 And miles to go before I sleep,
 And miles to go before I sleep.

 "Wow!"  I told Art.  "We began our day with the beginning line of the poem and have ended our day with the ending stanza.

"You should blog about it," said Art.

So I did.

Adhesive Capsulitis, Bursitis, Tendinitis?

I have weak shoulders.  Coincidentally, so does my brother.  We've both had adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) and bursitis or was it tendinitis?  It's a pain in the shoulder and no fun at all.  At one time a frozen shoulder had gotten to the point where I couldn't raise my arms above my shoulder height.  That happened while I was teaching and I had great difficulty writing on the chalk board.  It's amazing how much your life can be affected when you can't do something you'd taken for granted.

With pain starting again, I was sent for Physical Therapy with Bert.  Every time I go in I'm to do various exercises using bicycle inner tubes, giant rubber bands, balls and some sort of stationary (torture) machine for rotating my arms. 

I'm also learning a lot about my shoulders from Bert and how to strengthen and protect them.

He suggests that I continue to avoid weights during my Zumba toning if I'm only doing it once a week because I'm apt to hurt myself.

He recommends that I stop using my walking sticks because my shoulders are not really strong enough for it.  I've decided to take off the rubber tips and use it only for hiking instead... for now.

I've also now learned what to watch for as I work on my computer.  I'm glad I have my ergonomic keyboard to rest my hands and that I can keep pretty good posture when I'm working.  Bert wasn't too thrilled about my standing because of my shoulders, but we'll compromise by dividing my sitting and standing times.

I brought in my rubber bands from my previous physical therapy in Chicago and Bert gave me some exercises to do at home.

Art watched to make sure I'd do them correctly because you KNOW how easily I forget things.

Bert also taught me how to improve my posture which has been bad for quite a while.  Art has often tried to encourage me to correct it, but it took Bert to show me the proper method.  He's told me to do it gradually or I'll hurt myself.

I wonder if Art cued him in on the fact that the way I hurt my shoulders the last time was by trying to carry 7 pound weights on each arm when my arms weren't ready for it and carelessly overdoing it.

What I've liked about Bert is that he's not just telling me how to do the exercises, but why.  It really helps to know the whys.

The sessions end with a massage of my shoulder and shoulder blade which I'm very thankful for. 

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started the therapy but I'm grateful to Bert for all I'm learning and for his patience and laughter as I groan and complain.

The Real Culprit!

In mid March we planted a bed of impatiens under our lemon tree.  They flourished quickly and became a carpet of fuchsia flowers.  We loved seeing them every morning.

And then....

Aggravation!

It was alarming to see that leaves were disappearing and then flowers quickly following suit.

Every morning showed more disastrous results.

"It's the bulbuls!" said mom.  The birds had been eating all the buds from her orchids and are her sworn enemies along with the mynahs.

I was dubious because I've never seen birds near the impatiens.  Yes, they do go after her orchid buds, but impatiens didn't really seem to be part of their diet.

My prime suspect was slugs, but mom refused to believe it.

Tonight the moon was full and Art suggested that I go check on the remains of the impatiens plants.

 There it was!  This lone slug was munching on the last few leaves and flowers on my poor plants.  No wonder it was so fat and sluggish!

I just hope the rest of his tribe doesn't take his place thinking his territory is now up for grabs.
 

Where to Find the Worst Germs?

I've heard before that your kitchen holds more germs than your bathroom which was a big shock to me.

There was an article in the Star Advertiser (reprinted from the Chicago Tribune) a couple of days ago listing different places where germs are found in abundance.  It stated that shopping carts carry 115 times more germs than a toilet seat.  Your kitchen dish sponge carries about 775,460, 560 bacteria per square inch.  I've been putting our sponges in the dishwasher, but they advise against it because it just spreads the bacteria to your dishes.  Really?  Apparently the better thing to do is to put it in the microwave and zap it for 30 seconds.

Your kitchen faucet carries 228,854 germs per square inch.  To be honest I hadn't thought about the faucet. 

I clean all around it and spray bleach cleaner into the sink, but I haven't made a conscious effort to actually clean the faucet.  It makes sense since that's what we handle the most.

Then there's the keyboard, the remote, the phone.... arrrrghhhhhh....

Then again, if we're too clean, are we weakening our bodies by not allowing it to build immunities?

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Baby (Senior) Proofing the House

When KC was a toddler, we had to baby proof the house, putting little bumper guards on the corners of the furniture.  We couldn't protect her from everything, but it gave us comfort to know that if she took a fall, having the bumper guards would prevent too serious a damage.

Recently, on a couple of occasions when I was making the bed I actually banged my leg on the corner and broke skin.  I've noticed as I've gotten older than my skin is thinner and can be injured more easily.

After the second bruise on my leg Art took the extra bumper guards that our daughter, Tiffany had sent us a few years ago after KC was much more stable on her feet and attached them to the bed frame corners.

I'm finding myself tripping over nothing more often and bruising myself on things that would have never been a problem before.

Thank goodness Art installed grab bars in the showers and tubs because I have most certainly used them.

I really think that going to Zumba and Tai Chi have been good for my balance and confidence.

It's funny that sometimes, Tiffany's concerns and admonitions sound similar to how she speaks to KC.  Oops!  And I guess that's how I speak to my mother too.

At least mom hasn't needed any bumper guards in her rooms.

Shhhhh....

Shhhh... I think I've learned a secret and I don't want the library to find out that I know. 

If they know that I know, they may try to tighten up and correct this little quirk in their digital borrowing.

Art was trying to finish his science fiction book on his Kindle Fire when the three week borrowing time expired.  He was disappointed.

However when I checked my regular Kindle, the book was still there.

So we switched readers.  He finished his book on my Kindle and I started reading my book on his Fire.

I figured it could possibly be because I never turn the WiFi on with my Kindle.  That way the battery lasts a lot longer.  I'd noticed that several books whose time had already expired were still on my Kindle reader even though I returned it earlier from my Manage Your Kindle site.

After Art had finished reading his book, I decided to experiment.  I turned on the WiFi on my Kindle reader and voila!  All the overdue library books disappeared.

Now that I know this, I'm feeling the pressure ease a bit.  If I don't finish a book, I can just make sure I don't turn on my WiFi and I should be fine. Art just turned off the WiFi on his Fire too. 

Now you know the secret.  Please don't tell the library I found out.  It's made my life a lot easier.

POSTSCRIPT 1:  From the comments I've received so far, it surprised me that some people thought others on the library waiting list would not be able to read the book if I didn't turn on my wifi and let the book disappear from my Kindle.  That never occurred to me because when I looked into my Manage Your Kindle, it showed that the book loan had expired.  I figured that meant the next person was able to read it.  I've also returned books early as soon as I finished them.  I did not know until this week that the book itself was still there.  I looked on line and found many, many people had discovered this little glitch and were divided as to whether or not it really meant the book could not be read by others if you didn't turn on your wifi to truly return it.  Some felt it was the principle of the thing that you should turn on your wifi to return a book because that's the rule you agreed to.

We do need the USB connection to borrow books.  I wonder why overdue books don't just disappear when you connect by the USB.

POSTSCRIPT 2:  I've been researching a bit more on this topic and also learned that this is an Amazon glitch and not a public library glitch. They felt that Amazon would soon discover this and correct it.

Flat Stella Travels Across Oahu

My high school buddy and university roommate, Joanne asked me if I'd come along with her to help with a project for her niece's young daughter, Kara.  Kara's school was doing a Flat Stella geography project and she was asking her Grand Auntie Joanne to take Flat Stella around Oahu and photograph some fun places.  Joanne had done a similar thing a couple of years ago for Kara's older sister, Krista who is now in the fourth grade.

The year after I retired, the PTA at the school I taught asked for a photo of Art and me with suitcases in front of us.  They used the photo of us to create a Flat Mr. and Mrs. for children to take wherever they were traveling over spring break.  They invited me to come and see the bulletin board with all the photos the children had taken with us everywhere they went and the stories they'd written.  That was the first time I'd heard of Flat Stanley.

This reminded me of the time we went to Florence (Firenze) and did a similar thing.  We asked Jon what he wanted us to bring for him.

He said we should just bring a cheap little souvenir that we saw everybody buying that was representative of Florence.

Jon has always told us not to worry about bringing gifts for him because he'd rather we spend the time enjoying what we see rather than shopping.

Since Michelangelo's David was present everywhere we went in Florence, that's what we bought him.

Then we walked around Florence and took photos of David everywhere we went.

It was a fun project!  When we gave Jon the David and showed him the photos, he laughed and said, "You had to bring me David?  You couldn't give me Venus?"

With all these wonderful memories, I was more than ready to join Joanne in this fun project to help Kara.  Did I mention that Joanne is a teacher also?  Teachers love to do stuff like this.

Joanne had already spent a lot of time taking photos of Stella at various Oahu highlights, but wanted to be sure she did as much for Kara as she did for Krista.

We first went to Pearl Harbor where we took photos of Flat Stella next to the WWII submarine, U.S.S. Bowfin and the Arizona Memorial.  Then it was on to the Aloha Stadium.

Here is Flat Stella next to the Sumida Watercress Farm.

It was beginning to rain and was so cloudy that there wasn't a lot more places we could go to. 

Later in the evening I remembered something my brother, Dennis had just taught me.  He'd shown me how to take part of a photo and copy it onto another. 

Aha.... That was a light bulb moment.

I do have quite a few photos I've taken for my blog so I was able to copy Flat Stella from the watercress farm and paste her onto places around Oahu.

This sure was a LOT of fun.  I hope my little granddaughter, KC has a project like this too because I am so ready for it!!!

Tabebuia Gold in Hawaii

We were walking in a parking lot and saw several of these golden trees.  They were a startling yellow color and we couldn't take our eyes off it.  They seemed to sparkle like gold.

I do know they are called Tabebuia.  We've seen the pink version in Waipahu that some people mistook for a cherry blossom tree.  The Tabebuia has sometimes been called the Trumpet tree because of the shape of the flowers.

You can spot these trees from a far distance all around Oahu because the color is so intense.

We found this tree at the Pearl City Highlands Shopping Center.  Art took this photo of me with our iPhone while I was taking the following photos.

I was using my small Canon PowerShot SD850 IS.

I do miss the cherry, crab apples, pear and other gorgeous spring blossoms on the mainland, but I guess we do have our own varieties of beauty all around us.  We just have to pay attention.

More Myer Melodrama

I've written many times about my quest to find that California Meyer in Hawaii.

I could never understand what all the hype was about Meyer lemons in Hawaii because they just tasted like regular lemons, but a whole lot bigger and juicier.... not sweeter.

Then we went to California and I got to taste my sister-in-law's Meyer lemons.  They were flatter, a little smaller and had a nipple at the end.  They were also so sweet that you didn't need any sweetener.

I was determined to find out the secret.  I talked to everyone I could about the Meyer lemons in Hawaii and they said their lemons were all large, juicy, but not all that sweet.

My sister-in-law sent me some seeds so I decided I would grow them.  I put them on a wet paper towel and kept them moist.  The seeds began to mold.

A very kind commenter, Grace told me about Jalna's blog, Photos By Jalna.  Jalna said seeds should be hulled and put into a plastic bag.

I removed the moldy hulls and put the insides of the seeds into a plastic bag with a wet paper towel as she instructed.

Woo hoo!   After a week and a half they began to germinate.

I was so excited!

I put the rest of seeds into an egg carton without hulling them.  It took more like three weeks, but they began to germinate also.

Now I had ten little seedlings growing.

My neighbor told me that actually she'd heard that if you plant it from a seed instead of grafting them, you could never be sure of what kind of fruit you'd be getting.

Uh oh...

Then my sister-in-law sent me an article that was printed in a California newspaper about their Meyer lemon trees.

The article advised getting as big a tree as you could from a nursery because if you planted it from a seed, it would take about TEN years to fruit.

Arrrrghhhhh......

Oh well... Maybe we should just stick to our pineapple plants.  At least they're bearing fruit.

More Life Tragedies

A few days ago I stopped to tell a neighbor about the robbery that had happened in our neighborhood.  I wanted to make sure everyone around us was more vigilant.  Then I went off to go to my Zumba class.

When I neared where our classes are held I saw about five squad cars across the street with about seven or eight policemen standing outside the house. There was also a strange awful odor. 

One of my Zumba friends told me that a decaying body had been found in the house.  It must have been someone who died of natural causes since nothing was mentioned in the news about a murder.  Isn't it sad to have died without anyone realizing you'd been gone for quite a while?

I called my brother at the police station to tell him about this.  Dennis said this wasn't all that uncommon an occurrence.  A lot of these things are not reported in the news.  That shook me up.  I wondered what else was going on that we didn't know about.

First a robbery and now this.  I thought we lived in a quiet, sleepy neighborhood, but lately I'm feeling more and more unsettled. 

I'm rather melancholy right now.

Korean Lunch

After Art's hearing test in Aiea, we decided to try a different place for lunch.  Art looked on Yelp and found a place called Young's Kal Bee. 

Aiea Town Square
99-084 Kauhale St, Ste A2
Aiea, HI 96701

(808) 488-0251

We were there around noon and the place was already pretty packed.  We figured it must be a good place.

We got there a little late because we had the hardest time finding it going round and round the parking lot where several restaurants and other establishments are grouped in a maze like area.

The restaurant resembles a hole in the wall eatery.

We ordered the Lunch Special: BBQ chicken, Meat Jun, Fried Man Doo, 3 vegetables, rice and kim chee $10.55

This seaweed soup arrived first and we figured it would be a comfortable light meal with smaller serving sizes.

Ummmmmm......

We were really surprised when this HUGE plate of food arrived.  Art and I could have just shared one plate.  It was very tasty and I ate so much I was feeling pretty bloated and uncomfortable.

We brought home what we couldn't finish and there were still left over after dinner for tomorrow's lunch!

I can't wait for my son-in-law (who happens to be Korean American) to come some day.  We're already planning to take him there almost as soon as the plane lands.