Day #1 March 10-11: Honolulu to Saigon

We arrived at the Honolulu International Airport at 10 PM and met Jane, our tour transit leader.

We also met several other tour members who lived rather close to us.  That was a pleasant surprise.

Unfortunately most of them would belong to a different group.

Evan, the organizer for the tour company, Vietnam Travel split us into two groups, #1 (19 people)  and #2 (13 people).  I have no idea why he made the two groups so uneven.  We were in separate buses with separate guides, traveled to the same places, but ate at different tables and were pretty segregated to our own groups.  I was disappointed about that, but truly enjoyed the people in our own group who learned to care about and for each other along with the other group.

Our China Airlines flight to Taipei was over 11 hours, but pretty painless.  We saw three movies of our choice and had dinner and breakfast onboard the aircraft.  We arrived at 5:53 AM Taipei time.

Then came the two hour layover in Taipei and another flight to Hanoi with a meal.

In Hanoi we met our Vietnam tour guide, Hoa (pronounced wah).

A four hour bus ride to Halong Bay was exhausting but the lunch break helped to alleviate the travel weariness.

We all received our daily supply of water bottles.

Hoa peppered us with facts about Vietnam.

• Vietnamese drive on the right side of the road.
• Rice fields are distributed to families according to the size of the family.
• Duck is eaten more than chicken.
• You must be 18 to drive a motor scooter or motorcycle.  There are helmet laws and no more than three people can ride on one motorbike.
• The president of Vietnam serves a maximum of 2 terms, 4 years each.  It is a one party rule (Communist).

Our bus took us on Highway 1 which stretches from Hanoi into China. 

Although we hadn't really slept in a bed yet since the evening before, we had eaten five meals... or was it six?

We really appreciated the clean rest stops that were provided by these tourist craft shops.  This shop had handicapped young people doing embroidery work.  We were sure tempted.

Our dinner was HUGE... and delicious!

I ate so much on the trip but lost 4 pounds! I should travel more often.

We all collapsed in our very lovely Saigon Halong Hotel rooms that first night and prayed we wouldn't wake up at 3:00 AM because of the time change.

Time to Leave

Post written on March 9th

We're leaving tonight on a 12:40 AM flight.  We've never done this before that I can remember and I hope I can manage to sleep a little.

We were told to make sure our luggage is not more than 40 pounds.  44 pounds is actually allowed, but the travel agent said to leave 4 pounds for souvenirs.  My suitcase is 34 pounds.  Art's is 24 pounds.  We've mixed some of the clothing in case a suitcase is lost.  I also have a small rolling carry-on and we each will have our own backpacks.

There were some last minute glitches with our son, Keola (who we'll see in Bangladesh after our tour) advising us that having overseas texting ability would be helpful, especially since he won't be allowed into the Dhaka airport terminal to greet and direct us to where we should go.

We contacted our go-to super techie son-in-law who got us 50 overseas texts for $10 with our AT&T plan.  He instructed us to go to our iPhone settings, click on wi-fi, and then turn off Cellular Data.  Once we land, he said we should take our iPhone off the Airplane mode so that we can receive signals and be able to text when we need to.  This has all been very spooky since we've all heard HORROR stories of people who turned on their cellphones in foreign countries and were socked with humungous bills for data usage.  Hopefully, everything will be all right.

We heard about the Malaysia Airlines jet that went down. When I asked Keola if the airplane we'd be taking in Dhaka would be better, he said Malaysia Airlines is a far better airline than the puddle jumper we'd be taking to get to the Sundarban wetlands.  This is NOT reassuring.

I'm writing this as we do our last minute preparations before leaving the house at 10:00 PM.  Mom is feeling content.  All the neighbors are alerted.  My brother is on guard.  The cupboards are stocked.  There's also two cartons of ice cream in the freezer.  Mom is a happy camper!

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Nylon Shirts!

Post written on March 1st

We were warned that there would probably be mosquitoes in southeast Asia.  Although it's the dry season in Bangladesh, we would probably be venturing into  malaria carrying mosquitoes areas.  Our tour agent for Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand said we would have regular mosquitoes in those countries and should bring mosquito repellent.

Now here's the problem. If you read the directions on the mosquito repellent, it says you must avoid having the repellent touch synthetic materials.  They are OK with cotton, wool and nylon... but I guess nothing else.  I checked my travel shirts.  Darn!  Polyester!

Don't you love technology?

Art went on line and found these nylon shirts ON SALE at REI!  They are quick drying nylon, SPF 30 and vented in the back.

They were selling for $30; free shipping if over $50.

So yes, we bought two.

I'm already packed and I still have lots of room in my suitcase.  It only weighs 31 pounds of the 44 I'm allotted.  I'm sure all my clothes will be creased, but hotels should have an iron.  Am I forgetting anything?

Eight more days until we leave...

POSTSCRIPT (April 9, 2014):  Yes there were a lot of mosquitoes!  No, there weren't any irons in the hotel rooms in southeast Asia.  Didn't matter.  My kids did tell me later though that I bought the wrong size and I looked like I was wearing a tent.  Ah well! 

As for mosquitoes, there were lots of them, especially in Bangladesh!  I came home with all kinds of mosquito bites.

I spent yesterday recuperating from a fever that popped up.  I was just so exhausted and jet-lag is really dragging me down. 

I've been slowly going through about 9,000 photos we've managed to take and trying to write my posts of the trip which will go up beginning next week.

My Solar/Rain Umbrella

Art's cousin, Renee had a surprise gift for me.  She knew about my hunt for an umbrella that would protect against both sun and rain.  When I've used my regular umbrella to Zumba class and the sun was too strong, I could still feel the heat seeping through the fabric as I walked home.

Isn't this amazing?

The fabric is similar to what they use on auto windshield sunshades.

It's very compact and will be great when we travel too.

I'm so excited!

And Now My Feet

Post written on February 26th

OK, what to wear on my feet.

Our trips have usually been in spring, fall or even winter so I brought warm covered toe shoes.

These Merrells and Born slip ons make it easy to take off and put on when we go to Japan or to get through the security lines quickly.  I sprayed the Merrell's suede with a waterproofing spray for wet days.

When we went to China last year, the tour agent said we should bring comfortable shoes, preferably gym shoes because we'd be doing a lot of walking.  Art is a firm believer in bringing a spare pair of gym shoes even though it takes up a lot of room because he likes to air dry his shoes between wearings.  My gym shoes have that netting fabric so it can breathe.

I always bring a pair of very light flip flops to wear in hotel rooms.  I'm planning to bring that gray and black Crocs too since there might be rain.  And yes, Art is insisting that I bring an extra pair of those gym shoes also.  He feels that should be my primary footwear.  He knows that I tend to stumble here and there and wants me to be as stable as possible.

OK... EIGHT more days to get ready... what else?
 

What to Wear in Bangladesh

Post written on February 25th

Our tour agent said we could wear anything we wear in Hawaii to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.  However, I was worried about Bangladesh. Could I get by with capris since it's supposed to be the hot and dry season right now?  Would a short sleeve blouse be acceptable?  Keola clarified it for me with his email.

"Your shoulders should be covered. :)  The part of your body, one considers to be shoulders - from the neck to the upper arm (near your elbow), should be covered with clothing.  If you want to see what women in Bangladesh wear, it's called a salwar kameez.  If you search google image for "salwar kameez Bangladesh" it will give you some idea.  The pictures are to model the outfit, but in practice, women wear a scarf draped in front of their chest.  All women wear either this for everyday, or a sari for formal occasions.  Clearly you aren't expected to dress like this, but cover your shoulders (see above) and long pants.  And by long pants, I mean pants down to your ankles.  You're trying to show as little skin as possible and loose-fitting to hide the shape of your body.  Remember, this used to be part of Pakistan, (they're very conservative when it comes to women). You can wear slippers or whatever footwear you have.  We probably won't see many temples in Bangladesh, so head cover is not necessary.  You can use a scarf to cover your head though; it also works for the sun and as a mask.  A thin scarf is very useful. If you don't have one, I can get one easily."

 I googled salwar kameez as he suggested and saw this.  Aren't they pretty?  I wish I were still teaching on the mainland and could wear something like this to school.  Unfortunately, I'd have no place to wear something like this in Hawaii.

On the plus side, I have  a bunch of scarves in my drawers.  The hard part is choosing which one to bring.

 OK... now which shoes?

Getting Ready for Southeast Asia- Health First

Post written on February 22nd

We'd already gotten the Hepatitus A and Typhoid shots before we left for China last year.  However, the Immunization doctor wanted us to get the Hepatitus B vaccine as well, in case we ended up with a blood related injury.  She also wanted us to take the malaria prophylaxis 2 days before we arrived in Bangladesh and for a month after.

The travel agent said we should bring a box of DayQuil and NightQuil for each person.  We think that's a bit much.  We're compromising and bringing 2 boxes of DayQuil and one box of NightQuil.  However, I am also bringing other cold medications including Airborne.

Our son, Keola thinks I'm really overdoing my medical preparation, but I'm not taking any chances.  I've only needed the meds perhaps a couple of times in all our travels, but I was sure glad I had them.  This time, I'm not bringing any of those rehydration packets that the doctor gave me for China.

I've got Benedryl, Sudafed, Benzonatate, After Bite lotion, Itch Relief lotion, Cold-Eze, Pepto Bismol, Cipro, cough lozenges, Tylenol PM, Motrin, Alka Seltzer Cold Plus, Immodium, etc.

When we were in Turkey many years ago we didn't get sick, but a whole lot of people on our tour bus did.  Unfortunately, I'd taken the pills out of the boxes to conserve space so I didn't know what dosage they were or the instructions.  Luckily a pharmacist was in our group so I could show him what I had and he dispensed them.  I  know better now, I always write the dosage, the frequency to take them and the expiration date.

What medication do you bring on your trips?

Bangladesh

"Wouldn't you guys like to come and visit me in Dhaka?" asked our son, Keola.  (I've been referring to him as Keola because the web crawler has been picking up photos from my blog and posting them under his real name.)   Keola has been in Dhaka for several months working for Johns Hopkins, first as part of his Masters and then after he graduated.

We weren't sure we'd be  going until we knew what his schedule would be like.

Meanwhile Art decided that if we were going to fly half way around the world, we should see some other countries as well.

Angkor Wat has always been on his bucket list.

He began scouring the travel section of the newspaper and settled on a tour of Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

Vietnam Travel Agency told us we could book a flight from Bangkok, Thailand after the tour and head out to Dhaka where we could spend some time with Keola.

I couldn't believe we were going to do this.  We usually have tons of time to plan and agonize over our trips.

Now I'd have to schedule a month's worth of posts for the time that we'd be away.

By the time you read this, we should have just returned from our travels.... safely, I hope.

Dark and Light, Hot and Cool Marriage

Marriage is about compromise.  I know that.  But sometimes Art and I have to really work through our differences.

He can tolerate warm temperatures.  I like it cool.

 In the morning, the kitchen is dark and he's perfectly content.  I come in and turn on the lights on my side of the table.

For some reason he likes to read his Kindle Fire in the dark and turns off the overhead light.  I like the rooms lighted.  Bright.

He likes reading in my office since that's where both our stressless chairs are to watch TV.  I don't have to even talk about our movie choices.

He likes our laundry hung up to dry in the sun.  I like my clothes tumbled a bit to be fluffy.

He loves to exercise, I..........  you know.

He avoids sweets, salt and fats.  Me?  Let's not go there.

He's a morning person and I'm an evening person.

He isn't crazy about music when he walks, I need it.

He likes healthy, stinky natto (fermented soybeans) and eggplant.  Yuck!

He drives everywhere.  My driving scares him.

So yes, we've got lots of differences. I won't even go into the toothpaste.  Still, with patience we've managed to stay married over 40 years and had to laugh at each other and at ourselves.

Corn Chowder With Spinach?

I've been accused of throwing everything except the kitchen sink into my soups.  I guess it's true.  Sometimes, my soups end up completely different from what I thought I was making.

Our kids used to worry (a little) when I would take out my soup pot because I would keep adding to it until we had enough to last us for several endless days.

Here I was making corn chowder.  Well, I happened to have half a bundle of fresh spinach so I threw it in.  I've been adding a cup of quinoa to all my soups and stews now.

I must tell you that mom and Art liked it.  They said they enjoyed the spinach in the corn chowder.  It was different... and tasty.

I wonder if I should make the kids a pot when they visit this summer...  Hmmm...

Chocolate Poison?

I've seen warnings about feeding chocolates to dogs because it's actually poisonous to them.

Art remembers when his family had received a box of chocolate macadamia nut candies.

They gave his beloved dog, Finnegan one of the candy pieces.

The next morning they found a small pile of vomit at the door.  Finnegan must have tried to leave the house since he was feeling sick that night.  In the pile they found the three intact macadamia nuts.

They'd always assumed that it was the nuts that made him sick.

Now we know it was the chocolate.

I wonder what else dogs aren't allowed to eat.

Helpful Idea from Myrtle #2

And here's another idea from my Zumba buddy, Myrtle.

This sounds very interesting, but I'm not so sure I'd like soggy Oreos.  I usually just add chocolate milk and ice to my coffee to get my morning mocha.

Helpful Idea from Myrtle #1

My dear Zumba friend, Myrtle sent me another couple of ideas that may prove helpful.  I especially like it for Hawaii since we have warmer weather here.  People on the mainland (especially up north) you can close your eyes for this one.

I've also seen how you can put frozen grapes into a cup of wine to keep it cool.  In fact, couldn't you add frozen grapes to any juice drink?  How does frozen grapes go with beer?

Tending to our Tangerine Tree

We've been nurturing our Satsuma tangerine tree.  Mom is not allowed to touch it.  She has her own method of pruning the Meyer lemon tree that drives Art crazy, but he's learned to look the other way since the tree obviously loves her.  The Satsuma, however, is our baby.

Unfortunately, the Satsuma is a bit mixed up about which way its branches are supposed to go.  On the left you can see two branches are banging into each other and fighting to go in the same direction.

After going to a Bonsai Club meeting we learned about curling thick wire around the branches to force (guide) it to a better direction.  On the right, you can see how we've moved the direction of one of the branches.

Here's a closer view of how we bent the branch and used another branch next to it to pull it up.

Art thinks we should cut the branch on the right side completely off because it's venturing out too far and becoming unbalanced.  I'm disagreeing saying we should wait and see.  Our baby might grow more branches on the other side to even things out.

When we actually start creating our own bonsais, I can see where we might need our own tree to work on.

Creating Our Own Flavors

We've been loving our SodaStream soda maker.  Mom and I alternate drinks for dinner with 1 part wine in a small glass with 1 part carbonated water.  One the other day we have carbonated water with a frozen cube of lemon juice from the tree or a splash of 100% juice.

Here we used cranberry/blueberry which was really delicious.

The funny thing is mom says she can't tell the difference between the wine and the juice.

She's very easy to please.

Art?  He just has plain tap water.  He's even easier to please and probably healthier.

Lucky Bamboo Bonsai

Last August we hosted a party for all the friends we'd made while on our tour of China.

We loved getting together with our fabulous China tour group.

One couple, Gerald and Eva brought us a lucky bamboo hostess gift.

We'd received one before and it soon grew so big that we had to take it outside.  After a while it died.

We expected the same thing to happen again, but would enjoy it while it lasted.

 

It sits above our kitchen sink and welcomes us every morning.  I've discovered that I can just spray a stream of water into the pot filled with pebbles and then drain it out.  The roots are still moist, but it doesn't sit in water.

The amazing thing is that it hasn't grown in six months!  It has stayed at that curtain bar height.  How weird and wonderful is that?  Looks like I've got a bonsai plant before Art has even started his. 

A Thankful Granddaughter

I've been keeping this photo that my daughter sent me last year during Thanksgiving.  It's a 1st grade assignment that KC wrote about what she's thankful for.

Tiffany sent it to us because she knew the last item of gratitude would really make grandpa Art happy.  He's obviously made an impression on KC by making her a tree lover too.

"Ahem..." laughed Tif.  "Have you noticed that we ended up #2 after her stuffed animal?"

A few weeks Tiffany sent us something else that KC wrote:

 This is KC's dream for the world.  "that everyone recycles and throws away trash so the world is clean."

Environmentalist Art is just pleased that he's influenced KC in a small way.  Well, he's influenced both our kids in big ways.  He's tried to instill responsibility to the environment, caring, adventure, love of travel, curiosity, kindness, morality and respect... and oh yes, love of trees.

What is the most important thing you'd like to pass down to the next generation?

His Way-My Way

I wasn't feeling very well the other day and wasn't looking forward to cutting the large pineapple we'd received.

I know it doesn't take all that long to cut, but I was just feeling tired.

Last year, I showed you how I cut pineapple.

I always cut them so we have bite sized pieces to eat.



Eventually I came downstairs to cut the pineapple and was surprised to find that Art had already done it for me.

He looked mighty proud of himself.

Ummmmmm...

"How do you plan to eat this?" I asked.

"Uuuhhh... I left that part for you to do," he answered.

You've got to admit he did a meticulous job of it!

More Corrosion in Hawaii

We'd noticed something funny happening with our Certainteed windows.

There was this little color change in the windows which showed leakage between the windows.


Luckily it was warranted so we called the company and they came to place the glass.

Art got to talking to the fellow and told him how disappointed we were at how the screens were deteriorating where the steel and aluminum came in contact with each other.  We realized that most window companies don't guarantee the screens in Hawaii.

The repair fellow said they were now making the screen leaf springs out of stainless steel and that he would send us some new ones.

We were really excited when they arrived.

Certainteed sold their business to Plygem and we're really grateful that Plygem is honoring all the warranties and even going beyond to keep their customers happy.

This experience has really taught us what we need to look for when we buy anything in Hawaii.

We've learned that when two different kinds of metal come together, they react with each other and corrode faster because of our salt air.

We didn't have this problem on the mainland.

I'm keeping our fingers crossed that our other windows will survive for a few more years.  I'm afraid those replacements won't be free like these were.

But that's OK.  At least we know we can get them.  I guess that's why windows were made with wood in the old days.

But then... there's termites.

Have You Heard of Ebates.com?

My daughter, Tiffany introduced us to Ebates this past holiday season.  She said we could buy things online from stores like Amazon, Kohl's, Walmart, Staples, Nordstrom, Land's End, etc. with a discount and get a check back. 

It think it was because it was our first purchase that we got $5 on top of the bit of savings we got from buying one item this Christmas.

Still, it was pretty exciting to get this Big Fat Check of $7.21.

I don't have anything else to buy online right now, but I did join Ebates so if I shop at certain stores through Ebates.com, I'll be accruing some cash back.

It's nice to know.

Poor Butterfly

We've seen very few monarch butterflies in our area for the last 6 years.  However, this winter we've seen a few here and there.

Art came into the house calling me to bring a camera.  There we saw this monarch walking under our carport.  I could hardly believe it.  The wings looked a little curled though.

We were in a rush to an appointment, but I stopped to snap a few photos.  We wondered what to do.  It seemed too fragile and we didn't want to scare it, but where could we possibly put it help?

Returning home, we talked about some possible places we could put the monarch where it might be able to have a chance to survive.

We didn't see the butterfly in the carport and hoped it managed to fly away.  Then we saw some flashes of orange and realized that the mynahs, bulbuls or pigeons had arrived before us.

We know it's all part of nature, but we felt really sad.

Pruning in Hawaii

Remember the beautiful white poinsettia tree that my neighbor covered each night with a tarp? 

It needed more night time darkness and the strong street light was preventing it from blooming.

There was a beautiful display this winter.




Imagine my surprise when the tree was cut back nearly to the stump.  I thought she was giving up and was going to remove the tree because it was too much work to get it to bloom.


I asked her about it and she said they were just pruning it.

I guess Art and I are still not used to the Hawaii way of pruning trees.

We've seen mango trees cut back to the stump too and thought the tree would die.

Nope.  They actually come back as strong as ever, if not stronger.

My next topic should be the weeds in Hawaii.

Dishes of Memories

I don't know why, but I suddenly had a notion to organize (again) and donate more things that we don't need that someone else might enjoy.  I took down a whole bunch of plates and bowls from the kitchen cabinets and laid them out for mom to look at.

Many of the plates and bowls were labeled Made in Japan.  Some were labeled underneath, Made in Occupied Japan.  None were Made in China.  They must all be over 60 years old.

Mom explained that back then when you gave a baby gift the new parents would give you a little set of dishes as a thank you for the baby gift.  I had to laugh.  I told her that these days, you're lucky if you receive a thank you note.

Apparently it was more formal back then, even in Hawaii.  When you gave a gift, you always got a little gift back.  Still, many of these little dish sets weren't exactly little.  They are quite lovely.  I think Goodwill or the Salvation Army should enjoy receiving them.

Postscript:  As soon as I wrote this post I thought I should send this photo to our family. I got a message back from my daughter right away saying she wanted a couple of the dishes.  Then I got this quick message from my brother:

"OK, 12 o'clock small green leaf shaped dish, I remember that dish.  6 o'clock big rectangle dish, I think it has the lobster design on it like the smaller dish on top.  I'm thinking of using it at work on my desk to put my keys and wallet on it.

Awww heck, the more I look at them the more I can remember; the bowl at 12 o'clock, mom always used for kuromamae or hijiki."

I'd been gone from Hawaii for 35 years and forgotten that each dish holds a precious memory.  I've told my brother to come and take all the dishes he would like to have.  I see that I need to be careful before I donate anymore of my mother's older things even if she tells me it's all right to do so.

What Makes a Man Lovable

The other day, I walked into the bathroom and saw the sexiest guy around.  Yup, it's true.  He lives at our house.

Art does a lot of other things that make him hard not to love.

He's always thinking of the welfare of my mother.  He makes sure she gets out of the house to visit her sisters, gets to her doctors appointments, have lunch out occasionally and has everything she needs.

It goes without saying that he is a strict, but gentle taskmaster with me when it comes to my health.

No, he doesn't bring me flowers, but he has a hug waiting for me whenever I'm down or up. 

He is ALWAYS ready to help his children in any way and can play with his granddaughter for hours on end no matter how tired he is and well after I've knocked out.

Yes, he does all these things, but I love it when he cleans the bathroom!

Birds Pick for the Best Rice

We were grocery shopping the other day and noticed people were looking at the shelves that held different kinds of rice.

 

I didn't know what was so interesting at first until I realized something was moving in the shadows of the stacks of Hinode rice bags.

There were three mourning doves looking for an open bag.  None of the bags were broken but they must have recognized the brand and wanted some.  They weren't hopping around any of the other bags.

So there you have it.  The birds' choice!  Hinode rice!

Haircut Day

One of the things on my wish list last Christmas was a barber's cape.  It costs only about $13 on Amazon.

I've been really loving it.  I usually use a bed sheet and secure it with clothespins.

This worked so much better.  There were snaps at the back that enabled you to adjust the neck opening to the size of the neck.

Art's hair was looking pretty shaggy. 

And there he is.  It's all done and he's looking tidy again.  Luckily his hair is rather curly so it can hide any little mistakes I make.

The funny thing is people rarely notice that he's had a haircut. 

Kindness at Sam's Club

Something else happened on another day with our 90+ year old friends, Mr. and Mrs. K.  The doctor had recommended eating papayas everyday because the pain medication had goofed up Mr. K's digestive system.

Foodland was having a sale on papayas so we took Mrs. K down to buy a bunch.  While there she saw some rotisserie chicken for sale at $8.99.  We told her that was awfully expensive and we should go to Sam's Club to get their rotisserie chicken which are a lot bigger and cheaper.

When we got there, we saw that Sam's Club offers a complimentary wheelchair for customers to use while shopping.  Mrs. K suffers from osteoporosis and is hunched over making it difficult to walk.  She gratefully accepted when I asked if she'd like to ride instead.

Photo from Wikipedia

Sure enough!  The rotisserie chicken at Sam's Club looked to be twice the size and cost $4.88.  Mrs. K was thrilled and bought two!  I'm sure she wanted to give one to the neighbor who was watching Mr. K for her.  She wanted to get one for us, but I told her I already had chili cooking.

When we got to the cashier, I saw two young girls working there.  I expected them to look at me and to not pay attention to Mrs. K.  I think that's what usually happens to handicapped people.  It's what often happened when we pushed my mother around in a wheelchair while traveling.  But no... not this time.  Both girls made it a point to look down at Mrs. K, give bright, very friendly, sunny smiles and wished her a happy day.

After dropping Mrs. K off with her papayas and chicken, Art and I felt happy knowing that such kind and lovely young people would be the generation to take over.

There is hope.

Tofu on Wheels and Cherry Blossoms

Our Thursdays are always busy from morning until the afternoon.  We start off with Tai Chi, shop at Costco, pick up tofu at Honda Tofu in Wahiawa and deliver them to relatives and friends who've made requests.   We laughingly call it Tofu on Wheels since Art does deliveries for Meals on Wheels on Fridays.

We had a very pleasant surprise last week.  We totally forgot that this was the time of year that Okinawan cherry blossoms are blooming in Wahiawa.

When we stopped by at our 90 + year old friends', Mr. and Mrs. K's house, she had a big surprise for us.  Branches of cherry blossoms!

The Okinawan cherry trees in Hawaii are not anywhere near as impressive as those you see in Japan, the Northwestern U.S., Canada and other places where you have true cold climates, but these are pretty in their own way.  The petals also don't all fall at once but seem to keep blooming a while longer.

Vagabonde of Recollections of a Vagabonde did a post about a watercolor app called Waterlogue that she discovered for iPad.  At only $2.99, it was worth buying and playing with.

I'm still playing with the comic app that Denise of An English Girl Rambles had introduced to us.

I've discovered that this Waterlogue app does not do well with people.  It's best for landscapes, I think.

Still, I know I'm going to have tons of fun using it and maybe try duplicating it with my real watercolor paints.

I just love getting all these great ideas from fabulous blogger friends.

Roofing Decision Done!

We've made up our minds.  We'd gotten the names of several roofing contractors at the BIA (Building Industry Association) Home Show last month.  We settled on three choices and Art gave them a call. 

A couple of years ago we tried getting bids from two other contractors that were recommended to us.  They came out, looked at the roof, did all the measurements and never gave us a bid, even after Art called to ask.  I guess our roof was too small a job.

Contractors came out again last month, took measurements and gave us a lot of information to consider.   I wanted white GACO silicon coating for the slanted roof over the family room where mom spends a lot of time because it gets HOT there in the summer.  GACO or another silicon roofing called Tropical Silicon are supposed to be excellent in reflecting the sun's rays.

The sales representatives however, wanted us to consider aluminum shingles, metal roofing, and Solaris reflective shingles.  Aluminum and metal roofing are extremely expensive.

We finally settled on Cool Roof Hawaii.  Their representative, Brenden was honest about advising us what to do.

I asked him what he'd choose if it were his roof.

He said the GACO silicon coating was not the best solution for our overly slanted roof and the slant would probably void the warranty.  He said we should go with the new Solaris shingles that is supposed to also reflect the sun.  We could have GACO applied to the rest of the flat area.  This made the cost more manageable.

We also asked for a solar roof fan.  That cost $1,200 installed.  Hopefully it will really help to keep the house cooler, especially when the family all comes to Hawaii this summer to celebrate Art's birthday.

And you know what the best part in all this was?  All three roofing contractors emailed their bids to us promptly and answered any questions we had.

Now for the new security screen doors!

Brain Glitch

I wrote a post earlier about helping our 90+ year old friends, but something on that day also shook me up about being a health care worker.

Mrs. K had asked us if we could take them to the doctor in Honolulu since Mr. K needed his spinal fracture follow-up visit.   I was really proud of myself for thinking of bringing mom's travel wheelchair.  We didn't know at the time that he couldn't walk because Mrs. K hadn't alerted us to the problem.  I also grabbed two bottles of water for them to keep them hydrated.  I joked to Art that we should go into the healthcare business since we were being so efficient.

When we got to the Medical Building and wheeled Mr. K into the office, the doctor must have assumed that I was his daughter and started giving me all kinds of directions. I asked to bring Mrs. K into the room, but he told me not to.  I quickly started scribbling in my notepad that Mr. K needed Phillips Milk of Magnesia and papayas for his nausea and constipation from the pain medication.

Somewhere along the way to the drugstore to pick up his supplies and some medication for Mrs. K, the wires in my brain got crossed.  As I settled her into a seat to wait for her medication, I went to pick up Pepto Bismol.

When I read the directions I saw that it was anti-diarrheal so I explained the problem to the pharmacist.  She told me it was  OK so long as I bought the laxative/stool softener.  It was a little costly, but I brought them to Mrs. K to purchase.  I wrote the directions all over the bottles for Mrs. K so they'd know how to use them.

Later in the evening, Art was watching TV and saw an ad for Phillips' Milk of Magnesia.  "I wonder why the doctor didn't recommend this instead," asked Art.

"ARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!  OH NO!"  A lightbulb exploded in my brain.  I got the wrong medication! 

We rushed down to the drugstore again, picked up the Milk of Magnesia and then on to Mr. and Mrs. K's house and exchanged the Pepto Bismol and stool softener for the Milk of Magnesia and also gave them a papaya.  I told them we'd just return the two medications to the drugstore... but of course, we can't because I wrote the directions all over them.

Ah well...  Now I'm all set if I have an upset stomach and diarrhea.

However, I guess I won't be a health care worker after all.

6th Blogaversary!

I can hardly believe this is my 6th blogging anniversary! I have written 1,985 posts since leap year day February 29th, 2008.  We were getting ready to move from Illinois to Hawaii.

Dina of Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo had moved to Israel and encouraged (prodded, coached) me into starting a blog so we could keep up with each other's adventures.  The added incentive was being able to document what we were doing while keeping our children and friends apprised of our doings.

I had no idea that the blog would also enable me to meet other friends around the world and that we'd be able to learn from and support each other.

At first it was such fun to discover a cyber community of blogging retired teachers.

Then I learned that we were all teachers and learners in our own ways, whether you were a carpenter, realtor, surfer, business person, farmer, nurse, tour agent, artist etc.  You've taught me so much and are still teaching me.

Thank you, EVERYBODY for six wonderful years of friendship.  I'm truly looking forward to the next six.