Happy New Year, Everybody!

Happy New Year, everybody! Or as we say in Hawaii, "Hauoli Makahiki Hou!" 

And yes, of course we stayed up to see the fireworks. It's impossible not to stay up for it because it's so noisy. This is looking out our window with a long lens. I would guess 99.9% of the fireworks going off on the island is illegal. 

Ah well... It does start off the year with a flash and bang!

So resolutions. Did you write any or think of any? 

I guess one of my resolutions is to continue working to make mom's life as pleasant as can be and to be patient when things become even more challenging.

What else?

Hmmm...

I guess it's to just try to relax more and let things be.

I will... as soon as I get my last batch of fruitcakes done. 😂

Oh, and get those New Year newsletters/emails out before it's 2026. Then I need to organize my office, get the lemon tree pruned...

Oh... relax? OK... will do.

POSTSCRIPT 1:

I saw this in the Star Advertiser just before the New Year.

Unfortunately, the powers that be are not able to curb the use of illegal fireworks. There are very sad accidents happening every New Year involving those illegal fireworks. The most tragic are those involving children. 

What I hate MOST of all are what my nephew calls the concussion bombs that set off car alarms and startles everybody in a two block area. 

Whatever the case... on we go to the more peaceful adventures of 2025!

POSTSCRIPT 2:

The fireworks last night on Oahu was the worst we've seen in the last 16 years that we've lived here since we moved back from Illinois. (This was right outside our bedroom window.) 

We went for an early morning walk and talked to other neighbors who were really surprised at how bad it was last night. These aerial fireworks are illegal and yet we have so many that the smoke after midnight made it hard to see. It's a good thing there was some rain earlier so no fires were started. We're also lucky that the tradewinds blew out the smoke by morning.

But...

The latest I've heard is that these people were making homemade fireworks which just exploded. Four people died and 20 others, many critically injured were taken to different hospital trauma units.

It's insane. Illegal fireworks are very expensive. I guess this is proof the economy was doing well since so many people had money to burn. 

Sigh...

Another Ummm... Unhealthy Thing We Do

There was an offer recently for customers to buy a Frosty Tag at Wendy's. 

We've bought a couple of the tags for a few years now. It's supposed to be available until February 16th and cost $3.00.

Unfortunately, they were all out of them when we visited our local Wendy's a couple of weeks ago. 😏 So I asked my daughter if she went to Wendy's and if so, to pick up tags for Art and me in Chicago. 

"No," she said. "We rarely go there. What are you getting?"

I told her we get the apple pecan salad. And it's usually $2 or $3 off on my Wendy's app each week.

"You're eating that every week?" Tiffany asked in a rather incredulous voice.

"It's a salad," I told her. "And it's a Junior Frosty. It's very small. And the proceeds are supporting the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption®."

"Mom," she said with a sigh and a chuckle. "It's not that healthy." 

I did sort of know that. Sort of.

However.... since we were in the neighborhood of another Wendy's the other day, we stopped in to ask if they had the Frosty tag.

"Sure," he said laughing. "How many would you like?"

So, OK... We got another Frosty tag for both of us to use next year. 

But SHHH.... Tiffany need never know.

Art just laughed out loud and said, "You know she knows."

Fruitcake Fever

I was dreading fruitcake season.  

Yes, it's true. I bake fruitcake. I've written about this many times in the last few years ever since Jalna of Photos by Jalna wrote a blog post with a recipe called Wendell's Fruitcake in 2016. Good gosh! 2016? Have I been baking fruitcake that long? 

Art and his sister LOVE fruitcake. Here's one of the posts I've written. This was in February. I think it brings back memories of his home town on the Big Island where his mom and aunt were master bakers and sold all kinds of baked goods at their family restaurant. Whenever we traveled anywhere, Art used to look for fruitcake to sample and mail to his sister to try.

When I saw Wendell's fruitcake recipe, I decided to try it. It was a hit, but I have modified and changed it through the years. We even brought some for his sister in California and she loved it too.

Then I saw this cartoon and had to laugh. Fruitcake really has a bad rap. In fact, a family member, when she saw I was baking a lot of fruitcake commented recently that nobody likes fruitcake. 

Well, I know that's not true because I've gotten tons of positive feedback. People say they don't care for store bought fruitcake, but homemade is a whole different delicacy. (My brother and I don't eat fruitcake because mom used to bring home store bought fruitcake that friends at her newspaper used to give her every holiday season.)

And so here I am another holiday season. And I'm again baking lots and lots of fruitcake. However, I've found a method that makes my life easier. And I can't seem to stop wanting to make another batch. I made 68 mini loaves last year.

I measure out the flour+spices and the sugars ahead of time a day or two before. I soak the fruits the day before also.

Then it's just a matter of putting them together the next morning.

And thank goodness for my stand mixer! It makes my life so much easier.

This was my first batch. I put cranberries on the top to show a friend with nut allergies that it had no walnuts. 

Another friend says she only likes cranberries, raisins, blueberries and walnuts... so that will be another modification I might do just for her.

My daughter just told me, "Mom you really don't have to kill yourself doing all this baking right now. Just make it again in June or something to freeze more for dad."

Ummm... nah…

Fruitcake craziness happens only once a year and that's that.

POSTSCRIPT:

We just got this lovely thank you note from our wonderful letter carrier. And yes, it made all my hard work worth the time and effort I put into each little loaf once a holiday season.

Christmas Visit from a Grandson

Ever since the grandsons here in Hawaii were little, mom has had a special attachment to them. Shawn is the eldest of my brother and sister-in-law's three boys and although she has worsening dementia now, her memories of Shawn are always there. 

I play his music for her when I'm giving her a bath and as soon as she hears his voice, she asks how he is. She also asks how many records he's recorded, and then tells me about the past when she cared for him. 

I've heard her stories many times, but I tell her again he is still performing his music in many states, doing well and living in Las Vegas now.

It never fails to make her happy.

Shawn stops by whenever he's back in Hawaii. 

Two years ago, she was still functioning very well at 93 and she could converse with Shawn easily, even through a mask.

He stopped by again during the holidays last year when he was again performing in Waikiki and the island of Lanai. He took off his mask for the photo. 

And then a couple of weeks ago, he was again back to perform in Lanai and Waikiki.

Dennis and Nancy brought him over to see his grandma and she was overjoyed to see him! Shawn remembers everything about his youth when he stayed with my parents. Mom talked to him about those olden days. 

I was amazed that Shawn, who has been blind since birth remembers the music and lyrics of what seems like a gazillion songs. I've seen other performers use their cellphones to check the lyrics while singing. But for Shawn, all the music he sings today is as strong as his memories of his past. 

And for mom, seeing Shawn and having his hug brought happiness and love for the moment. She would forget after a while, but I could show her photos of his visit that we took and she'd be happy all over again.

And that's living and loving in the moment.

I'm thinking of the lyrics from Jason Maraz's song.

Living in the moment

Living our life

Easy and breezy

With peace in my mind

With peace in my heart

Peace in my soul

Wherever I'm going, I'm already home

Living in the moment

Popping Popcorn Orchids

Art and I are not good with orchids. We really aren't. A lot of the orchids we have growing here in Hawaii were not done by either of us. We had a non-blooming orchid plant in Chicago that one of our daughter, Tiffany's guy friends then had given her. I think we had it for about 10 years. We finally gave it to one of Tif's friends who was an orchid expert. She had that plant blooming in a year. 🙄

Well... for many years, mom's popcorn orchid plants grew in profusion with myriad flowers for her to bring to grave sites she visited and prayed over.

However, I noticed one day that they were really overgrown and popping out of the pots.

In fact, one day two of the orchid plants fell out of the pot. I'm not kidding! They actually popped out of the pot! 

Then I realized that the plants weren't even growing in the soil, but above it. 😲

So what to do... what to do?

I called my brother, of course. He's the photoshop/gardening wizard.

Mom loved watching Dennis take the plants apart and replant them. He didn't stick them in the soil, but more on it. He also added a lot of hapuu (Hawaiian fern tree shreds) and pebbles to the soil and chose the best stalks to replant.

Art took this photo before going for his Meals on Wheels run. He's thrilled that he has a brother-in-law who is willing to come and take over this rather tricky job.

When Dennis was done, he warned that they would/could probably die.

It's been a couple of weeks now and they look quite happy and breathing easier now that they are not crowded with weeds and choked on top of the pot.

Well he did get mom's other orchid plants to bloom. 🤞 Fingers crossed, he's done his magic again.

Getting the Perfect Shower Bench

 As I saw mom heading into her 90s five years ago I figured she would need some kind of shower chair or stool or whatever to take a bath. I couldn't figure out what would be best.

I first got this stool on the left thinking that could work, but when we brought it home we discovered it was too wobbly even on its lowest setting. I now use it for Art to sit on when I cut his hair.

Some time later I watched mom taking her shower and discovered she crouched down to bathe. I don't know why, but that's what I saw her do. I guess she wanted to get closer to the tub spout diverter. (Perhaps that's how they took a bath in Japan.) She'd put a pan under the spout, collect water, wash herself, and then turn on the shower to rinse off. Whatever the case, I thought the step stool would make it easier for her so she wouldn't have to crouch to take a bath. 😳

Wouldn't you know she then said her knees were bothering her so she couldn't crouch anymore because it was hard to get up again.

So after we did the renovation of her bathroom earlier this summer, I thought maybe I should try a shower bench. This had good reviews on Amazon so I bought it. It cost $42.00.

Art put it together and said it was sturdy and easy to assemble.

I tried it with the chairback first but the shower size is smaller so having the chairback made the space even smaller. Besides it wasn't easy for me to wash her back with the chairback in the way.

At last, we have the perfect shower bench for her. Sigh... This will work for now. At 95 with her faltering memory, we're having to adjust our care of her as her needs change.

I'm just really grateful that Art is here to help me every step of the way. And mom is aware of how lucky she is to have a son-in-law who is always wanting to do everything he can to make her life easier and happier.

Do You Remember Fountain Pens?

We enjoy the Pickles comic strip by Brian Crane each morning. I guess because it's geared to seniors like us.

I recently saw this strip that shows Earl (the older gentleman) who tells his wife to use his fountain pen instead of her ball point pen.

Do you remember fountain pens? I wonder if younger kids even know about them.

I used mine a lot and found I still have it. 

Remember how you'd pull down that lever to refill your pen with ink from a small bottle? 

This pen has had a LOT of use. 

We didn't carry a lot of pens then.

And now here's just a few of what I have in my pen holder now.

Pens are given out everywhere and they're not really refillable.

It's rather sad how these will all end up in the landfills someday.

I guess this is progress?

TV Trauma

 Last month, the speakers on our 32" Sony TV died. 

However, the headphones for Art (charging below the TV) worked. He needs the head phones because he is hard of hearing. Well, I can't read lips so this was not good. 

When we were at the base exchange, I saw a 32" Samsung TV on sale for $215.00. We bought it.

Hoooowever, when we got home we saw that it did not have an output for Art's headphones and he couldn't even use Airpods because the design or whatever was manufactured before 2022. We contacted the Helpline at Samsung and yup... it can't be done. 

So now what?

We mentioned this to our techie son-in-law which is what we should have done in the first place. 

He said we should get this for the old Sony. It's a Digital to Analog Audio Converter. How did he figure this out? He also said we needed to get some speakers for the old Sony so we did. The problem these days with the new TVs is there are not as many output thingies to stick stuff in for older equipment like our VHS/digital tape player.

Once they arrived, Art hooked it up and yay! We have sound again for both his headphones and me to hear with the small but mighty stereo speakers!

But now...

What about the new Samsung TV I bought?

Not a problem. We needed to replace the TV in the kitchen too.

It's a Sharp TV.

The screen started to show those streaks that kept growing and growing.

It wasn't as obvious when you were watching directly in front of the TV.

But if you looked from the side, there was this awful glare. The bottom view is what Art would see from his kitchen chair.

We figured the Samsung we bought would fit here nicely.

But now... how to get that heavy TV off the wall. Arrghh... We tried all afternoon to find a way to get it off. We even looked on YouTube and couldn't find anything.

My brother stopped by to help. 

Apparently he's mounted and removed a couple of TVs so in about 10 minutes he was able to jimmy the TV off the wall.

Once the Sharp TV was off the wall, they removed the brackets and attached them to the new Samsung and mounted it on the wall with a little tilt. 

We'll be taking the old kitchen Sharp TV to an Electronic Recycling site soon. 

And sigh.... now... at last. Everything is good.

By the way, we have a 70" TV for mom in her family room. She has the best TV in the house. 😂

Smishing?

I recently got a text message saying the post office had a package for me with an invalid zip code.

I was supposed to go to that website link to confirm my zip code.

Sounded OK. My techie son-in-law did tell me to check the address to make sure it looks legitimate.

Well... that link does have usps in it. Right?

However, I thought I'd better check. So I copied that message and looked online.

Wow! I got this right away.

This is from the United States Postal Inspection Service. They wrote that:

"Smishing is a form of phishing that involves a text message or phone number. Victims will typically receive a deceptive text message that is intended to lure the recipient into providing their personal or financial information. These scammers often attempt to disguise themselves as a government agency, bank, or other company to lend legitimacy to their claims. USPS utilizes the 5-digit short codes to send and receive SMS to and from mobile phones."

Oops! I just saw that I was supposed to report it to them so I did.

The guess the holidays are when the bad guys come out in force. Please be careful. 

Aggravating Floaters in My Eyes

I've always had one little floater in the corner of my right eye. I can ignore it. However, one evening, we were doing our usual evening walk and I thought I saw a fly or mosquito trying to fly in front of me above my right shoulder. I even tried to bat it away. And then one morning I saw what I realized was a big floater almost at the center of my left eye. Doggone it! Now I have TWO floaters. I can still ignore the one on the right, but that left bigger one is irritating.

This is sort of what it looks like. (I got this photo online.) I also found this information and more at the National Eye Institute website.

What causes floaters?

Floaters usually happen because of normal changes in your eyes. As you age, tiny strands of your vitreous (the gel-like fluid that fills your eye) stick together and cast shadows on your retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye). Those shadows appear as floaters.

I looked online and sigh... not much you can do. I've read that people at higher risk for getting floaters are people who are:

• Very nearsighted 
• Have had surgery to treat cataracts 
• Have diabetes. Dang it! Diabetes? That's me! 😖

So then I'm looking online to see what can be done. Aha! There is laser surgery! And drinking lots of water! 

I went to see my optometrist who checked me out thoroughly like he always does. He really is excellent and explains everything to me in detail.

I asked about the laser surgery. Sigh... He said it comes with risks to the retina.

I asked about drinking more water. Sigh... He 😁 smiled and said it's very healthy to drink more water, but won't do much for the floaters.

He said my brain should gradually train itself to not notice it as much. I told him I have a slow 😕 brain.

He asked how long I'd been seeing it. I said about a week. He laughed and said I need to give it a year and see what happens.

More importantly, he felt I still have the beginnings of macular degeneration. He mentioned it to me before but I hoped he was wrong. I know. I know...

Anyway, he's recommending that I start taking PreserVision. Well I saw that it was on sale at Sam's Club so okaaaaay.... I'm taking it. I really do want to do everything I can to maintain my eyesight. 

And the floaters?

I'll work on getting my glucose in better control. Ever since you know who won the election, my glucose is not as good as it was earlier.  (Yes, I'll blame this on him too. 😏)

Whatever the case... I'll try harder to watch what I eat and exercise more. 

Sigh...

Taking Reduce, Reuse, Recycle to Heart

Art used to work for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Chicago and he's always taken Reduce, Reuse and Recyling very seriously.

Three decades ago, the kids and I took the train into Chicago to surprise him with a platter of giant Smiley cookies for his staff on his 50th birthday.

Anyway... he still takes reducing waste very seriously. He says his parents lived through the depression and always tried to reuse everything they could.

We have solar panels. He is watchful to make sure everything that should be recycled goes in the proper bin. He's also constantly vigilant about not wasting water. He doesn't like to throw much away. Our garbage bin is usually so empty that we allow our neighbors to put their trash in our garbage bin.

So then I was wondering. I can reduce too, you know. 

We are always the ones to host all the holiday/birthday get-togethers for our family. It requires a lot of paper plates, utensils and carry-home Styrofoam containers for everyone. Well, we got a few more Corelle dinner plates so people can use those as well as our regular utensils and I can just put it in the dishwasher along with all the other bowls, etc. we use.

And whenever we get carry-out food, we now save the containers and stick them in the dishwasher to clean. Family can use these as carry-out containers from our pot luck parties. If we get spoons, forks or knives which we don't use, I add them to the party supplies too. We do always tell the servers that we don't need them, but they often forget and stick them in anyway.

We also DON'T ever turn on the dishwasher unless it's completely full. And Art makes sure we turn it on when the sun is out so the dishwasher is using energy from the solar panels.

So that's that unless I think of something else.

😁

Braces AGAIN! Sort of...

I can't believe I need to do this again.

Sigh... I really didn't want to ever, ever wear braces again. 

As a kid, I had a Class 3 malocclusion. I got the following from the AI Overview.

"Class 3 malocclusion, also known as prognathism or underbite, is a type of dental malocclusion where the lower jaw and teeth protrude forward, overlapping the upper jaw and teeth. It's the rarest type of malocclusion."

I guess it was rare and unusual enough that the orthodontist who worked on me through the years from grade school until my senior year in high school did it for free. He did put me in some dental journal though.

Also... can I mention that my brother did not have this condition. No one in the family does, just me. He has straight, beautiful teeth and NEVER needed braces.

Anyway... this is to explain why I didn't want to go through braces again. 

Art, however, lost a front bottom tooth a couple of years ago and had to wear something called Invisalign. Actually my daughter had braces as a child but her teeth began to move a few years ago so she began using Invisalign also.

So then... sigh... last month I broke my front tooth. It just snapped. I know it's because it was banging on the bottom tooth constantly.

My dentist recommended that I also go to get Invisalign. 

Sigh...

On the plus side, it's better than the metal braces. 

On the negative side, I have to keep it on 22 hours a day! It's such a bother to take off, brush my teeth and put it back on again that it prevents me from snacking. 

I'm losing weight. And I really shouldn't lose more weight. Doggone it. 

The orthodontist presented me with a bunch of supplies.

I have to change these trays once a week and be vigilant about keeping my teeth brushed and clean after each meal.

We're planning to travel next year and I'm wondering how I'm going to handle this.😬

Art is reminding me that he did it 2 years ago. 

Well... we'll see.

But I'm not going to like it. 

And yes, it's true. I'm a whimp. (And I like to snack... only healthy stuff mind you... most of the time.)

Red Cup Day?

Yes, I know this is crazy. I know. I know. But I think I'll blame it on my daughter. 

Last year, she went with a friend to Starbucks during their Red Cup Day and got free reusable cups. She then sent the cups to us since she knew that was our one Starbucks indulgence when we went walking with friends at the mall once a week if we were all free.

These are the cups she sent me. (Those rocks were sent to me by an artistic Illinois teacher buddy.)

Anyway...  the fun part in all this is to collect stars on your Starbucks app. Whenever you bring in your cup for them to use for your drink, you get 25 stars. (The baristas know me now and allow me to use them as separate purchases so I can get 50 stars. 😁) 

When you accumulate 200 stars you can get any drink in any size that you want. I've read that 200 stars is the equivalent of having spent $20. 😏 Like I said, it's an indulgence.

Well... then I heard about Red Cup Day. I didn't know that's how she got these cups.

(Actually, Starbucks is now allowing people to bring their own clean cups.)

However, what's the fun in that?

All this is Starbuck's effort to reduce plastic cup waste that goes into the landfills.

Yes, I KNOW that to reduce waste, I shouldn't get another plastic cup. And yes, Art did point that out.

But in the end, he laughingly went with me to get the 2024 reusable cups. 

And no... I won't do this again. Four cups is enough. Isn't it?

And my daughter? Well... she thinks I'm a little nuts.

Too Tired and Old to Roast...

I know this is kind of a crazy, bah humbug post.

But oh well...

I mentioned before that our Thanksgiving is delayed this year again because my nephew who is a dedicated, amazing ER nurse was on duty for Thanksgiving. Another set of relatives was vacationing in Japan. 

My sister-in-law and I take turns preparing the turkey although the family gathering is always at our house. Since we're having the gathering this coming Saturday, Art and I thought... maybe we should roast a small turkey anyway (for fun 🙄) on Thanksgiving that we could freeze for left-overs. Sounded like a good idea... at the time.

So yes, we bought a 15 pound turkey.

But then we needed to brine the turkey. 

Then I needed to make the stuffing. No, not from the package. I got baguettes and used my food processor to make crumbs, etc. etc. etc.

Then I needed to get the neck + wing tips + everything else to make the broth for gravy.

Then Art and I needed to stuff the turkey and stick it in the oven for roasting.

Then we had to prepare the gravy with the broth I'd prepared along with turkey drippings.

Then our Thanksgiving dinner... (Mom LOVED it all, along with the incredible sushi, spinach rolls, jello desserts and strawberry mochi that our good friends surprised us with.)

Then carving and portioning out the turkey, stuffing and gravy into freezer containers and a few plastic bags which took a ton of time.

At that point, I was dead tired. And this was just the turkey, without my broccoli casserole, etc. that we used to prepare when it was our turn to host good friends for Thanksgiving in Illinois without ever getting exhausted. And Art would even bake a pumpkin pie!

And then my son sent this photo from overseas. He used to be a firefighter in the southwest and cook turkeys for his firehouse. And here he is now preparing that full meal and all the fixings with my daughter-in-law.

Sigh... 

We're proud of him.

Our daughter and family? 😂 They're on a cruise and said a delicious Thanksgiving dinner was prepared for them. 

I've told Art that next year, when it's our turn to prepare that turkey... we're going to order it for take out.

Yup. That's what we're going to do.

Yes, I'm older and tired and that's that.

Wait. Wait.

Did you ever wonder how that little ol' lady in the Norman Rockwell painting who must be older than me is carrying that 30+ pound turkey like it weighs nothing?

POSTSCRIPT:

Uuummm... As much as I grumbled about the work it was to prepare that turkey on Thanksgiving, we've now eaten turkey with stuffing and gravy for 3 days and it was really delicious. And I've got quite a few meals frozen now. 

So would I do this again? 

😏