Photographing Fireworks

I was cleaning out my camera's SD card and found these photos of fireworks on the 4th of July.

I've always had such a hard time taking photos of fireworks, but somehow I've always felt compelled to try to capture that excitement. You'd think I would just give up and enjoy the moment.

This time, instead of waiting for a great shot, I just kept clicking on my Canon with the zoom lens using the Fireworks setting.

I'd perched the camera on my window sill and snapped photos without even looking in the view finder.

Well... I was quite happy watching the fun fireworks displays.

I'm also happy to say I later had fun seeing what the camera was able to capture.

Grinding Away...

We were still working on trying to clean that impossible red dirt stain from the granite lantern we bought from Mari's Garden.

As I've written earlier we first tried to clean the lantern using Simple Green just as they instructed us to do.

We spent hours and found we could only get the surface red dirt off.

Art looked online and tried the hydrogen peroxide/flour and hydrogen peroxide/baking soda paste method.

Nope. It hardly lightened the granite at all.

Someone online suggested that the color of the red dirt was from iron oxide.

Soooo....

We went to Lowes and bought a bottle of Iron Out. It had some good reviews. Nope! It didn't do a thing!

We also bought these coarse brushes and coarse sponge.

Mari's Garden had suggested we be gentle with the granite.

Well...

The time for gentle was over!

The brushes didn't do any good.

Soooo....

Art got out his mechanical sander and started to sand away the stain.

Yahoo...

It worked! (for the most part)

We're making some progress now, but we're still a ways off. There are more challenges. The roof of the lantern has a rougher texture which would make removing the dirt more difficult if not impossible.

I never tell Art anything is impossible. It just makes him that much more determined to solve the problem.

This was initially a project we were doing together, but he's taken it over as a personal undertaking.

Am I upset about not being able to spend a lot of time with him under the hot sun, grinding away at the stubborn granite stain?

Go ahead. Guess.

The Day of the Stone Lantern

After much agonizing and searching we did go back to Mari's Garden and looked again at their stone lanterns before purchasing what we had seen earlier.

Mari's Garden provides lots of materials and options. There was a preschool class visiting when we got there learning about plants and gardening.

They also sell hydroponic gardening materials and equipment.

There were many granite lanterns there and many were stained red from the red dirt that we have on Oahu.


The only lantern that appealed to us must have been the most red stained lantern there.


However, they said it could be cleaned with Simple Green. They cleaned a small spot to show us that it could be done.


And then they also offered a $50 discount because of the staining and a few small chips.


So we bought it. There just wasn't another store on the island that sold granite lanterns with a style we liked.

We brought it home and scrubbed it with Simple Green. A little bit came off, BUT not the deep down stained parts, particularly those parts close to the bottom.

We looked online for solutions and tried a more concentrated version of Simple Green. Nope! It took off the surface dirt, but nothing else.

We tried, soft scrub. Nope. Didn't work.

We tried flour mixed with hydrogen peroxide. Nope.

We tried baking soda mixed with hydrogen peroxide. (Above right) Nope. The part that looks cleaned already was that color.

It was really frustrating, but Art never gives up. Never.

Flowers for a Cousin

Sometimes I can't help being a little superstitious.

There were a couple of times that I brought silk flowers when visiting relatives at the hospital. The practical side of me thought that way they wouldn't have to change the water or worry about the flowers. The silk flowers would remain beautiful throughout their stay at the hospital. In fact, my cousin's husband apparently even watered the silk plant at one point.

Very sadly, Art's cousin and mine both passed away after we brought those flowers.

When my Aunt Dorothy (mom's younger sister) became very ill and was hospitalized we decided to go with cut flowers.

The bouquet of flowers was very beautiful, but after about three days, they looked pretty sad.

And yet, Auntie was able to recover wonderfully, much to mom's relief.

I decided at that point that live flowers was the way to go.

When another of my cousins suffered a terrible fall, even worse than mom's and was in the hospital, we decided to bring potted flowers that I hoped would last longer with minimum care. Our decision came down to these two. I loved the color and originality of the beautiful bromeliad, but the peace lily looked so lush and peaceful.

I took this photo and texted it to my daughter and granddaughter. My daughter said her choice would be the red bromeliad. My granddaughter liked the peace lily better. That didn't help.

In the end, we decided on the peace lily which was also Art's choice since I'd been leaning to the bromeliad.

Which would you have chosen?

Killing of the Albatross

The news about how the privileged young Punahou students who went camping and then slaughtered 15 federally protected albatross at Kae'na Point on Oahu is even being reported on the mainland now. A friend of mine just sent me a Washington Post article that told the whole story.

Here are some facts about the case.

The Victims:
Laysan albatross have an incredible seven-foot wingspan and spends most of its time gliding over the ocean. It's normally found in the northwestern islands but were being moved to the higher levels of Ka'ena Point because of rising sea levels.

10 years of conservation efforts to save the Laysan Albatross and $20,000 in damage lay in the destruction the boys and young men caused.

Many of the birds are females that co-parent  chicks. They lay only one egg and return to the same place every year.

The Perpetrators:
They were six students of the prestigious Punahou School. One alumni of the school you know was Barack Obama.

They brought a bat, machete and a pellet gun with them while on a camping trip and smashed eggs, slaughtered 15 Laysan albatrosses, severed the  bird's feet to collect their ID bands as souvenirs and posted photos on social media of the mutilated birds.

The 8th grade curriculum at Punahou includes a field trip to the protected breeding colony at Ka'ena Point and teach the importance of the site.

Of the six boys and young men, two were tried as juveniles (their records will be sealed) and one pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 45 days in jail, perform 200 hours of community service and pay a $1,000 fine.

Outrage:
The Star Advertiser posted a survey online and it showed about 75% of the people saying they thought the sentencing was too light. About 25% thought it was just right or too harsh.

What do I think? I think they all should have been sentenced to community service and pay a fine.

What scares me is the thought that these young men were taught what was right and what was wrong and they chose to do this violent, senseless act. Why?

That Last Try for a Stone Lantern

Before we finally bought that stone lantern, I asked Jalna of Photos by Jalna and Honolulu Aunty if they knew where I could find one. Jalna said she happened to be at the Aloha Stadium swap meet and saw exactly what I was looking for. However, she went on a Sunday.

We needed to make a decision before Thursday when we told Mari's Garden that we would be back to buy the stone lantern there.

Therefore we went on Wednesday to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet and Marketplace hoping that the same seller that she saw might be there.

Sigh...

He wasn't.

However, we had a great time looking for things for our granddaughter.

The difficult thing was not knowing what 10 year old KC is into now.

I was constantly texting, calling or facetiming our daughter, Tiffany to ask her if something we saw might be of interest to KC.

Whatever the case, we had fun even if we never found any stone lanterns there.

You can't say we're leaving any stones unturned!

The Agony of Choosing a Stone Lantern

We have a pine tree in our (sort of) Japanese garden in front of our house that is dying.

We've watered, trimmed and fertilized it, but it has lost its will to live. I really felt it was time to euthanize it.

However, we really need to put something in its place and since that area does not get much rainfall or sun, I thought it would be nice to place something that we wouldn't have to take care of.

After the morning at the Keiki swap meet, our friend, Dave said he knew a place in Mililani called Mari's Gardens that had stone lanterns.

And yes! They had a lot of granite lanterns.

Art and I are quite particular in our taste, but luckily we do tend to think alike.

These two were the first that caught our eye. The simplicity of the one on the left was appealing at first. But then it kind of reminded me of a cartoon robot. I don't know why.

The second one seemed a bit boxy and ornate.

We took photos to remember the approximate size.

We then went to Kiso's in Waipahu and saw these pagodas. All of their lanterns were created in cement forms.  You could see the seams in some of them.

We finally decided on the bottom lantern which was more squat at Mari's Garden.

It's funny that both Art and I didn't like that heavy boxy look of the middle layer granite, but this lantern has come closest to what we'd been looking for.

They also said they'd give us a good deal on it.

Now comes the hard part of digging up that poor tree. I guess the lantern will mark its final resting place.

POSTSCRIPT:

They gave us $50 off because of the red dirt stain. But they showed us that it could be cleaned.

Ummmmmm....

We brought it home and discovered that red dirt is actually next to impossible to remove. Arrrrghhhh....

We have scrubbed and scrubbed and it's still stained pink. Arrrrrghhhh....

Sigh....

What Was I Thinking?

One of the items we bought at the Kakaako Keiki Swap meet was this t-shirt for our grandson.

I was looking through the pile of clothes and only noticed the flying koi. I figured it was a Boys Day t-shirt. I liked the colors and seeing Hawaii on it. I didn't really, really notice everything on the shirt.

After washing the clothes we'd bought I finally looked at the t-shirt carefully and saw that it said Kamikaze. Under it were the words go for it. I looked at it as almost encouraging a little boy to commit suicide. It affected me viscerally, perhaps because mom has told me so much about the tragedies of those awful times in history.

Art didn't realize what was on the t-shirt either, but wasn't as strongly affected as I was when he realized what it portrayed. I showed it to my brother and sister-in-law this afternoon and they shrugged it off saying the design was beautiful.

I couldn't understand how something that bothered me so much didn't bother everybody else. It made me understand how our country is so divided right now. We're all looking at things from a different point of view and coming away with a totally different idea of how things look.

I still don't like the t-shirt, but my brother and sister-in-law say they'll take it for their grandchild. It's fine with me.

Keiki Swap Meet

We went to the Keiki (Children) Swap Meet a few years ago and when we heard there was going to be another one in Kakaako, we decided to go. We met up with our friends, Diane and Dave and headed out to town.

Although it wasn't as hot as Las Vegas, it was a very warm day and I'm glad I had my solar umbrella and hat with me.

Remember how I didn't care for the Transformers movie? Art still found a Transformers toy that he thought our grandson would have fun with.

We found that there were a lot more fun toys and clothes for girls than there were for boys.

I wonder why.

Are there more girls in Hawaii than boys?

The swap meet is geared toward having children themselves selling their belongings so perhaps girls are more interested in selling their things so they can get newer clothes or toys.

The boys' clothes tended to be more worn or stained and I think they were a little harder on their toys.

Diane found gorgeous dresses for their granddaughters. I know the girls will love them.

We did not leave empty handed. Granted the t-shirts are still too big for our little 2 year old JD, but I discovered the two pants I bought will probably be too small by the time winter rolls around again. Darn! Unlike Hawaii, I have to remember the seasons on the mainland when buying clothes.

Ah well... I'll bet he'll like the cars and trucks.... and maybe the Transformer toys.

It's Sugar Kiss Time!

I've written before about loving Sugar Kiss melons. They are in season again and we are loving it. Mom says it's just as sweet and wonderful as Hokkaido's extremely expensive Yubari melons. The first Yubari melons of the season goes for thousands of dollars. It's amazing!

My daughter has been looking for the Sugar Kiss in Illinois and they still don't have it, but here in Hawaii, you can find it at several stores.

Some people actually think they are too sweet. It has a slightly soft consistency, but as far as we're concerned, it's just wonderful.

The confusion for some people who have recently been introduced to the Kiss melons are the many Kiss varieties. I've also heard of Honey Kiss, Summer Kiss and Golden Kiss. Jalna tried the Golden Kiss and loved it. I know I've tried the Summer Kiss and Honey Kiss which was OK. However, we really think Sugar Kiss is so wonderful that we don't even want to try the others again.

Have to tried any of the Kiss melons?

Transformers from Two Points of View

Since we have T-Mobile as our cell phone carrier we have an app called T-Mobile Tuesdays. There are offers for $4 movies, reduced prices on gas, Baskin Robbins coupons, Dunkin Donuts discounts, etc.

We usually see movies half a dozen times during the year. However, after missing the $4 ticket offer for Wonder Woman, which Art wasn't excited about seeing, he was ready to see a movie of his choosing. He prefers science fiction or action movies. Yes, we did go to see Wonder Woman and he agreed it was a good movie. He liked Moana and Beauty and the Beast too. At least that's what he told me.

Therefore, when T-Mobile offered $4 tickets to Transformers 3D, he said he wanted to go.

"Really?" I said. "You know it got only 1 star in the Honolulu Star Advertiser reviews."

But no... he wanted to see it.  I told him I wanted a big bag of popcorn.

What did I think?
It was unremitting violence, noise, confusion, bedlam, boredom. My problem is that it was the first Transformers movie I've ever seen and I didn't know what was going on. I know my son used to like the Transformers toys. I think we still have it stored some place. Whatever the case, I dozed several times which really didn't help in understanding the story line. I must have had too much popcorn in my tummy.

What did Art think?
He didn't think it was all THAT bad, especially in 3D. When I told my son-in-law that I would definitely give it 1 star if not less Art said, "No... no... two stars."

Seriously? Two stars?

Sigh...

I'm picking the next movie.

Patriotic or What?

My daughter sent the following ad that came out to advertise the 4th of July sales at the shopping center and asked me what I thought.

Gosh...

It's a cute design...

But... you could be sitting on a modified American flag which some people might consider offensive. An upside down flag could also signify distress. Perhaps it's to indicate distress at the state of our administration right now. Or maybe just distress that the sales weren't as good after all.

Or it's much ado about nothing.

I don't know. What do you think?

Happy Independence Day!!!

Fit(bit) to BE Tied!

Aggravation!

I wrote earlier about my Fitbit HR exercise, sleep tracker that I liked using but was coming apart at the wristband and then stopped working all together. Since it was about a year and a half old, it was past the warranty period by about 6 months.

Since they no longer sell the HR, Fitbit offered the Charge 2 at 25% off.

After a bit of pondering, I bought it in May.

It was working great for a while. Then it started being a bit quirky. The sleep recording on the Charge two is a lot more sophisticated.

On the left you can see how the Charge 2 will give you details on REM, Light and Deep Sleep. On the right is what the HR used to give. The Charge 2 reverted to that same sort of recording.

And then one day, it stopped giving me the sleep recording altogether.

I reset the Charge 2 as recommended and it worked once.

The following day, it once more did not record my sleep.

So I wrote Fitbit since my Charge 2 was only a little over 2 months old this time and well within warranty.

POSTSCRIPT 1:

Fitbit apologized kindly and said they will be sending me a replacement tracker.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it lasts longer than my other two.

POSTSCRIPT 2:

OK...

I got the new replacement Charge 2. It arrived very quickly. After three days it's working properly except for one annoying thing.

Sigh...

The display is pink. What the heck? I can read it, but it's not quite as easy to see against the black.

Sigh...

We've looked online and apparently other people have complained about the same thing. Some say the display is blue also.

Sigh...

ALSO... Arrrghhh.... It's doing the same incorrect sleep graph and if you look on Friday it says I walked up 33 floors. Then on Saturday, it gave me one floor. Come on! My average is about 10 floors a day because I live on the 2nd floor.

POSTSCRIPT 3:

Sigh.... I've written to Fitbit again and they are sending me yet another replacement. Needless to say, I'm losing confidence in their product.

Growing Up Too Fast

My daughter sent me a  text photo last week of our 10 year old granddaughter washing dishes. She wrote, "Do you remember when KC wanted so badly to wash dishes, but she was too little?"

Oh my gosh!

Isn't this the little girl we carried?

Wasn't it yesterday when she was small?

Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset..
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze...

(Fiddler on the Roof)


Why is it that washing dishes suddenly made her seem so much older? She even looks taller to me.

Why did it make me tear up...

Sigh...

I wonder how I'll react when she starts learning how to drive?

Heaven in a Glass of Water

We took mom out to her favorite restaurant recently to celebrate getting over her cold. The server poured us some water and it reminded Art and me of something that happened several years ago.

We were at a wedding reception sitting at the table with the bride's mother, Shirley and many of their family and friends. We didn't know anyone else, but like everywhere you go in Hawaii you end up talking to everyone quite easily.

Towards the end of the evening, Shirley, who is a very devout Buddhist doing lots of charity work around the world told us a story.

Once upon a time there was a man who tried to do a lot of good work so that he could go to heaven. It was a terrible surprise to find he'd been sent to hell after he died. He thought surely there'd been a mistake.

One day, the Buddha came by as he was walking by a large lake. The man asked him why he was in hell if he'd been good all his life. The Buddha pointed to the lake and told him, "This lake is full of the water you wasted throughout your life."

When the story ended we were all quietly musing the environmental message of the story. An efficient waiter moved to our table and asked if anybody wanted water to refill their glasses. Everyone shouted, "NO!" in unison and then burst into laughter. We then all finished every last drop of the water in our glasses before going home.

And now to this day, we do our best not to waste any of our water.

A warning to all those politicians who allow the pollution of our waters, I hope you realize that heaven might not be where you end up.

Treating Ourselves to Ice Cream

Our cellphone coverage right now is with T-Mobile. We have a T-Mobile Tuesdays app on our cellphone that we sometimes remember to check on Tuesdays for special offers. Sometimes, there's $4 movie tickets or maybe a free Frosty  or whatever. The other week it was BOGO 99 cents sundaes at Baskin Robbins. We were almost not going to use it.

However, we were out shopping and just happened to pass by a Baskin Robbins and decided to see if they participated in the T-Mobile Tuesdays offers. They did!

I had been to Zumba on a HOT, sweaty day and Art had just returned from delivering all his Meals on Wheels. We felt we needed a treat.

We met the super NICEST server there who made us feel as welcome as can be. He kept offering to let me taste something. I didn't take him up on it because I knew what I wanted. Mint Chocolate Chip and Rocky Road! I hadn't had those in such a long time.

It took Art a much longer time to choose. He finally settled on scoops of Lemon Poppyseed and Strawberry Banana. Can you believe he's not a chocolate fan? I guess opposites attract.

It was very lovely! And would you believe there was another coupon for a BOGO 99 cents sundae on the receipt?  Gracious!

We decided we'd bring mom next time when she's back to normal and could probably use a celebratory sundae.

As we were driving away, we were commenting that ice cream is ice cream, but when you are served by such nice people it makes everything taste better and definitely makes you want to go back.

Mutated Beetroot

I've mentioned before that it's a toss up between the beetroot or the leaves that we like best on a beet plant.

We were at the Open (Farmer's) Market last week and I was thrilled to find a beet plant with a lot of leaves. When we got home, I discovered why this was so.

One of the beet roots had two leaf tops!
Awesome!

Mom was quite thrilled because she loves the steamed beet tops.

As I was boiling the beetroot, Art once again insisted that his mother was able to peel the skin off the beet after boiling or steaming.

I tried, but it didn't work on the first two.

"Well," he said, "My mom was able to do it very easily."

Humph!

So I googled it.

Ummm...

OK, it said I was supposed to put the beetroots into cold water after boiling it so I put the other two into cold water and doggone it! The skin came right off.

I was waiting for the "I told you so," but he wisely avoided saying it.

The beets were wonderful! I can't wait to buy more.

Popcorn and Wonder Woman

Regal Theaters on Oahu have a special deal on Tuesdays where you can see a movie for $6.20. We also belong to the Regal Crown Club where you accrue points and get popcorn or drinks or whatever. Since we go to movies maybe four or five times a year we don't accrue very many points.

A lot of friends had been telling us how much they enjoyed Wonder Woman. I've also read several blog posts from blog friends who have recommended the movie. My daughter and granddaughter went to see it and loved it.

Art was not excited. He says he never read Wonder Woman comics. Hmph! I can't imagine why. However, to keep me happy he agreed to go.

We were surprised to be told that we qualified for a free small bag of popcorn. Art was happier. For a $1 more we got a bigger size.

When we entered the theater I was surprised to find my Zumba buddy, Irene and her husband already sitting there. We sat with them. This was turning out to be more and more fun.

The movie?

It was great! I liked seeing a woman super hero for once. Art? He did agree that it was a lot of fun and I could see why my granddaughter loved it.

And me? I really liked having popcorn while watching a fun movie, especially when it's free.

Have  you seen a movie you could recommend?

You've Got to be Carefully Taught

I've often been at parks enjoying the birds hopping or walking around the grass when a child will come careening through to scatter the birds while their parents laugh at their antics.

My son texted this photo of my grandson and daughter-in-law during a little hike.

What I loved was how Sarah is holding his hand and showing him how to keep his distance and enjoy the Canadian geese and their goslings without scaring them.

Do you remember the song, "You've Got to be Carefully Taught" from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific? Here is Mandy Patinkin.

It was quite controversial at the time, I understand. Apparently Georgia declared that its Anti Racism message was part of a communist agenda.

Anyway...

I really feel children must be carefully taught from the time they are little to respect others, respect nature, respect and care for the environment.

I'm happy to see my granddaughter and grandson both being carefully taught.

Poi!

Art meets up with two of his high school classmates twice a week for exercise and coffee. Morris shares his pineapples with us. Gary often shares bananas or baked goods that his wife makes.This time he asked Art if we would like poi. 

Art and his sister grew up loving poi. My brother and sister-in-law like it. Me? Meh...

I got this from Wikipedia:

Poi is a Hawaii word for the primary Polynesian staple food made from the underground plant stem or corm of the taro plant (known in Hawaiian as kalo). It is a traditional part of Native Hawaiian cuisine.

Poi is produced by mashing the cooked corm (baked or steamed) until it is a highly viscous fluid. Water is added during mashing and again just before eating to achieve the desired consistency, which can range from liquid to dough-like. As such, poi can be known as "one-finger," "two-finger," or "three-finger" poi depending on the consistency, alluding to how many fingers are required to scoop it up in order to eat it. Poi can be eaten immediately when fresh and sweet, or left a bit longer to ferment.

We had some with our breakfast and you know what? With a teeny (sort of) bit of sugar it was MUCH better than the usual stuff I've had.

And how did Art eat the poi?

Would you believe he just plopped several dollops of it right on top of his cooked oatmeal with bananas, flax, hemp, tef, etc. and frozen blueberries?

He says it was wonderful...

I'll take his word for it.

Have You Tried Beet Tops?

We were at the Open Market (Hawaii's farmers markets) where we often shop for our veggies, bananas and papayas for the week.

We go to different farmers for certain fruits or vegetables. This is the stand where we always get our papayas. The farmers moved here from Thailand many years ago.

We get our bananas from the sellers who are from the Philippines.

This must be the season for beets. Notice how fresh the leaves are? We love to steam beet leaves and eat them with just a tad bit of mayonnaise. Art eats his plain. And yes, we eat the beetroot itself too. Art says his mom used to put the beet leaves into her meatballs which added a bit of moisture. It's not often we get beet leaves that are this beautiful. I'll be looking for them again next week.

Paid to Rate

We received what someone might have thought was junk mail.

What a shock! There was a $5 bill and request by the Nielsen Ratings Media Study to answer a short survey on our radio/TV habits. They said that if we sent our survey in, another $5 would be sent to us. This is pretty incredible!

Can you imagine just how many people tossed these envelopes in the trash thinking it was junk mail? It boggles your mind. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that I could only give one answer for my favorite TV show. Darn! I have several and it's hard to choose which one is my favorite. I finally settled on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.

What would you choose?

How Small Can I Go?

Yes, it's true. I'm getting older and weaker. Perhaps I need to stop carrying so much in my backpack. Whatever....

I've been noticing that my backpack holding my Kindle, iPad, extra clothes, snacks, journal, magazines, etc. is feeling rather heavy and uncomfortable.

Last week, we were wandering around TJ Maxx looking for something else when I spotted this!

I was surprised to see this small 18" tall carry-on for $49. They must be making them smaller in response to possible new airline rules. They list it as 17", but they're not counting the wheels.

Then I saw this one and was even more intrigued. It's a teeny bit shorter and it has an opening at the top so you can actually put it under the seat in front of you and have access to snacks or whatever.

If I have this I really don't need a heavy backpack.

However... That handle at the top puts a lot of stress on the plastic zipper.

So we went to Ross to check out their discounted luggage.

Remember... I wasn't even looking for luggage and got sidetracked.

And look what we I found! This was only 16.5" tall with a top opening so you can access things if you store it in front of you. And it was only $39. I had to get it.

Here's my collection of carry-ons through the years. They've gotten progressively smaller. I had even bigger ones that I donated a long time ago. The wheels on the red one is actually broken. It's usable but the rubber on the wheels had sort of melted off.

Art says I just have to keep in mind that he refuses to be caught anywhere holding my new blue bag. I wonder if that's why nobody else bought it. On the other hand, maybe nobody will want to steal it.