House Project #?

Art has been totally occupied these past two weeks with a section of our dining room.

What is our dining room now used to be a fold-a-way bedroom...sort of. The walls were actually an accordion of louvered doors that could be pushed back into a housing to enlarge the living room for entertainment. It's hard to explain. I wish I'd taken a photo of the accordion walls because it was quite ingenious. However, we needed a dining room where we could entertain that would have more light so that bedroom had to go.


We did the demolition ourselves 4 years ago and it was a lot of work.


Art managed to take care of everything else (with my help at times) but that one area by the closet was a challenge that he kept putting off.


There was that piece of wood at the top that cut right into the moulding and hung out over the room. It was a good thing we (Art actually) kept a lot of our demolition redwood scrap wood.

Two weeks ago, he took that unsightly piece of board off...

and was left with a bigger hole.

He used just one slat of the louvered section and made it into a door.

He put a door knob on it and framed it out of various pieces of his stash of redwood boards. I got to help too by caulking and painting that hole in the moulding where Art fashioned a wedge of wood to cover the hole.

So after four years, it's done! I wonder which project he'll tackle next. There's a ton to choose from.

However, now we're ready for another Cousins Pot Luck tomorrow; this time it's for his side of the family.

Back in the Classroom Again

I was invited by Kristin, the daughter of my childhood classmate and lifelong friend to be a Guest Reader for Kapolei Elementary's "Anytime is Book Time" Read Aloud Program. I have to confess to a bit of trepidation about standing in front of a class of high energy 2nd graders after five years of retirement from teaching.

I told them that Ms. Kristin's mom and I were friends for 55 years even though we had been separated for 35 years when I lived in Illinois and that letters kept our friendship strong. They got a kick out of seeing an old class photo of my elementary school days with Ms. Kristin's mom. This brought me to my first book, The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters by Janet & Allan Ahlberg which sparked their interest at first but did not hold the attention of the few wigglers in the group. It required a bit of teacher type reminders to keep it going.

Then I brought up Africa. I discussed not mistaking Africa as a country instead of a continent. I explained that there are now 53 countries in Africa including Egypt, Algeria, Kenya, Mali, etc.


I showed them photos of Mali that my son took when he was assigned there by the Peace Corps. Suddenly, I saw light bulbs go on in everybody's eyes. Africa is still such a wonderfully exotic place for children.

This was the introduction to Why the Sun Was Late by Benjamin Elkin and illustrated by Jerome Snyder which they enjoyed very much.


After the reading, all the guest readers went back to the school library. The refreshments were not the usual mainland type cookies and punch. There were noodles, banana bread, pound cake, gyoza, sweet and sour chicken, pork buns, pineapples, strawberries, and I forget what else.


This Read Aloud program was really well organized. Some of the readers were district heads, representatives from banks and other establishments in the area, our Lt. Governor Duke Aiona, police officers, retired teachers, soldiers, and authors.

One of the authors I met while having refreshments was James Rumford. Some of the books he's written are When Silver Needles Swam, the Story of Tutu's Quilt, The Island Below the Star, Dogs of the Sea Waves, etc. James is on the right side of the photo. Greg from Central Pacific Bank is on the left. It was fascinating to hear about the trials of getting your book published. I wish I could have spent more time talking to them and everyone around me but my ride was waiting in the parking lot.

Well, the Read Aloud was a wonderful distraction from my scanning project but I'll have to get back to that now. Forgive me if my blogging becomes sporadic for a while. Does anybody have a good free template for documenting a family tree?

Microfiction Monday #3

Welcome to Microfiction Monday. Susan at Stony River is our wonderful host. The rules are simple. You are to use the picture that Susan posts and compose a story up to 140 characters including spaces and punctuation. Then go to Susan's blog and leave your name. She has a character counter to help us count.



"Oh no! Look what that shrinking pill did to me," said Alice.
"I didn't just get thin!
Ah well...at least I have something to wear."

Voggy Sunrise

When I got up and looked outside my window I saw that the terrible vog that we hate so much had created a sunrise that reminded me of a Hiroshige woodblock print. The clouds were shimmering and the sun looked like an egg yolk being split in two.

However, by the time we clattered about to find our cameras, the window screen down and cameras pointing out, the scene had changed. Still... you can sort of see it. (If you click on the photo, you can blow it up to see it better.)

Our neighbors must think we're crazy.

Scanning, Scanning, Scannnnnnning!

I have pretty much spent the day scanning. I've finished one photo album between 1948 to 1963 and I'm exhausted. I'm sorry to admit that I'm glad we were too poor to have our own camera in those old days. I'm not doing my mother's pre 1948 photos yet because I know my brother will want to adjust the scanner to handle those photos with more care.

I did scan this photo of me with my parents and grandmother (paternal). It was a rare photo taken in a studio. I was the first born so they probably wanted to document it. I think it's rather interesting to see the fashion of the time. My mother sewed all my clothes in those days, right down to the underwear.


Here's my kindergarten class. Can you guess which kid I am? Clue: Even back then, I had to be a teeny bit different. Perhaps I didn't understand the photographer when he told the kids to stand tall and look straight ahead. I think this was the first and last time I was in the middle row. After this, I was always smack dab in the front. Sigh... I guess my growth spurt came much later.

Answer: I'm in the middle row, third from the right.

My New Toy

I have a new project! I've decided to scan a bunch of our old photos, particularly my mom's. She happens to have quite a few photos from the past (1930-50's) that I think should be preserved.

Unfortunately our Canon scanner is very old. It has certainly done a great job up to now but my techie brother, Dennis felt I should upgrade if I was going to put so much effort into preserving the photos and the information that I would attach to each image.

You all know how long it takes us to make up our minds. Therefore when Dennis was here on Sunday I told him to choose the scanner we should get. He decided pretty darn quickly. Although this scanner was $169.99 at Newegg.com, the shipping was $52.52! Sheesh! I would love to complain but I'm getting used to the Hawaii shipping costs. I was surprised that the scanner arrived yesterday! (No, I couldn't find a scanner in Hawaii that wasn't attached to a printer/FAX machine.)


I stared at it last night but I was afraid to open it. Art was busy with a new house project and Dennis is planning to come this weekend to help set it up so nobody could help me. Then I told myself, "I have a college degree. I can read. I know how to follow directions." That last one is very dubious, but I held my breath and opened the box. I read the directions, got stuck a couple of times, called my brother at the police station for help, got tips from Art and then started attaching the wires and uploading the set-up DVD...by myself.

And you know what? I did it! It works! It works great!


I've got all these little 2" X 3" photos that would have been a real trial to scan individually but I discovered that with this new machine I can put 6 small photos on the bed and it knows to save each photo individually. It can also auto correct yellowed photos. I'm going to scan all the photos and then ask my mom and aunts for their memories which I'll input onto the Summary (under Properties) for each photo. Then I can save them to a DVD and I'll bet my cousins and all our kids would love it.


Here's my new machine all set up and doing a great job so far. I'm doing the not so important photos right now. Dennis will want to make adjustments on the scanner and decide what the best method of archiving and organizing I should do. (This scanner even scans slides and film... but I won't deal with that right now!)

However, the important thing is... I DID IT! Almost pretty much truly definitely sorta by myself!

Pee Pee, Poopie, Potty and Pongu

My daughter, Tiffany called today to share a funny story while KC sat on the toilet. Tif said she asked KC which potty seat she wanted to use, the Diego (Dora the Explorer) or Elmo seat? Instead of saying the Elmo potty she answered, “sesamestreet.org.” She’s definitely her techie father’s daughter.

Then I heard KC yell exultantly and Tif said, “That’s a pongu, KC. It doesn’t count. It has to be a poopie or shi shi (Japanese for pee).”

“But Daddy (who is Korean American) likes pongu,” KC said. I have a feeling my son-in-law always laughs boisterously when his daughter has her little bursts of flatulence.

“I know,” said Tif, “but you have to poopie for a jelly bean.”

Then I told KC on the cellphone that I knew she could use the potty like a big girl.

“But Grandma, I'm a little big girl… I poopie in my diaper,” she replied logically.

I guess she still can’t understand why she shouldn’t continue to do it there since it’s a whole lot more convenient and she’s always done it that way.

“My okole is trying hard, Grandma,” she grunted plaintively, “My okole is trying.” (Okole is Hawaiian for your behind.)

The attempt was unsuccessful and we left Tiffany to continue her multilingual toilet training with KC.

Art made a short call later to KC and said, “KC, this is Grandpa. Use the potty.”

“Did you seriously think that would work?” I said, rolling my eyes.

An hour later we got another call and it was KC, “I used the potty, Grandma! I used the potty Grandpa!” she screamed triumphantly.” We clapped and cheered for her while she methodically made her decision on which little jelly bean she would eat.

I’m thinking our minds will be in (I mean on) the toilet for the next few days.

Thankful for Thank You Notes

I saw the following Advice Column letter from Annie's Mailbox in the Honolulu Advertiser yesterday morning.

Dear Annie: We have six grandchildren and talk, e-mail and text often with four of them. They always thank us for the gifts we send for birthdays and holidays.

The same, however, is not true for the other two, who live out of state. They are both teenagers and quite capable of acknowledging gifts, but they don't. When we ask the parents if the children received their gifts, the answer usually is, "I think so, but I'm not sure."

Our children were raised to be properly grateful, but for some reason, our son doesn't feel his children need to follow rules of any sort.

We sent money to the kids for Christmas and never heard a word. I sent an e-mail to their mother asking if they got their cards, but she didn't reply. Our son believes it's up to the kids to say thank you and if they don't, we should accept it. He says we are expecting too much.

My first instinct is not to give them anything for birthdays and holidays this year. I wonder if they'd even notice. We are both retired and live on a fixed income. Should I stop sending gifts? Should I donate their share of birthday and holiday presents to the needy who would appreciate them? — Very Disappointed Grandmother

Dear Grandmother: Your son and his wife apparently don't believe their children should be responsible for even the most basic courtesy. Use this as an opportunity to educate these misguided grandchildren. Send each an e-mail and explain why you expect some type of acknowledgment for any gift, and that if they don't thank you, you will assume they no longer want your presents. If you wish instead to make a donation to charity in their names, by all means, do so.

I've seen these kinds of letters in advice columns many, many times. Are we becoming a society who more and more don't take the time to acknowledge kindnesses?

My daughter, Tiffany not only writes (and sometimes designs her own) thank you notes, but has my granddaughter add her signature scrawl or even message scrawl to teach KC the importance of showing her appreciation and gratitude.

We in turn have used Skype to show KC that we received her card and loved it. We let her know how much we love getting that acknowledgement from her.

Now then... about Annie's Mailbox letter. Art and I were talking about it this morning and would add a little more to that response.

We would also tell the children that since we'd not received any acknowledgements, we would be assuming that the gifts do not mean much to them. Therefore, it will make them happy to know that we would be sending their future gifts as a donation to a charity in their name where it would help somebody in need and be much appreciated.

OK... I'm getting off my soapbox now.... again.

Postscript: After reading everybody's great comments I would like to amend what I said in this post. I think this person should definitely continue to send loving cards and letters to her two grandchildren because you want to maintain a good relationship with those kids.

Microfiction #2

Welcome to Microfiction Monday. Susan at Stony River is our wonderful host. The rules are simple. You are to use the picture that Susan posts and compose a story up to 140 characters including spaces and punctuation. Then go to Susan's blog and leave your name. She has a character counter to help us count.

"I emptied my wallet at Mario Ticoci today."
"I got my hair done at the Hair Dressers School for free. I guess you get what you pay for."

Cousins Pot Luck

We had a terrific Cousins Pot Luck last night! These are the relatives on my mother's side. She has 2 sisters in Hawaii. This is the fourth we've hosted since we made the decision to move back to Hawaii. Prior to the pot lucks I hadn't seen my cousins except at my father's funeral several years ago. I love my friends here and they know it but I felt it was important to make connections with our relatives again, too.


Although we didn't see each other for almost four decades after we moved to the mainland, it's great to build these family ties again.

Each cousin, aunt and uncle brought over an incredible amount of AMAZINGLY scrumptious local food. There were fried noodles, lots of kahlbi, kalua pork, sushi, shrimp tempura, king crab legs, grilled shrimp, Italian noodles, spring rolls, all kinds of vegetable tempura, rice, potato salad, seafood liguine, crab casserole, broccoli salad, haupia fruit float and I forget what else. Dessert was a peach Bavarian cake, dream cake and flan.

With each family bringing three incredible dishes or a TON of their one entree, we had enough food for everybody to bring home for today's lunch or dinner. This is what the Hawaiian pot luck has evolved to. Everybody brings enough to the party to insure there's enough to take home. It's really fun to see the buffet tables groaning with the variety of food the family was inspired to share.

Now that this party is over we'll have Art's family in two weeks. I'll need to do some exercising before then.

My brother, Dennis spent a bit of time fixing Art's laptop that had gotten hit by a malware or virus. See what I mean about it being great having family? The cousins and I also made a pact to share old family photos of the three sisters. Now, if only my kids would come and move to Hawaii. That would be perfection!

Jordan: A Final Memory

These memories are just a small part of the 18 days we spent in Egypt and Jordan. However, I wanted to share a few thoughts I had of the trip.

One thing I learned traveling with a tour is that you really become very good friends with strangers for that brief time you are together. Although we thought we'd keep those connections forever, we ended up not doing so except for a very few special people.

Egypt and Jordan were quite different from each other. For one thing, Jordanians actually think the traffic lights mean something. In Egypt, the red light on a traffic signal is NOT even a suggestion. You cross the city streets at your own peril. We ended up waiting until we found an Egyptian about to cross and followed them. Egyptians do not run over their own countrymen. Just kidding... I'm sure they'd run over anybody.

In Jordan, Matt took us to see Petra of the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade fame. We had to walk about a half a mile through a siq in order to reach this hidden site.

And then we were there! We could see the pinkish carvings coming into view. Petra is the Greek word for rock, but the Arabic term, al-madina al-wardah (rose colored city) is probably a better name for this place. It was built in the first century BC by an Arab tribe, the Nabateans.

Here's Al-Khazna (Pharoah's Treasury) which is where Indiana Jones has to go into to get the Holy Grail. Ummmm... nope! The inside was just a room, no tunnels or trap doors. Ah well...


Iron oxide creates the pinkish color rock. The black is magnesium and the yellow is lemonite.


We saw these mountain goats everywhere watching our every move.


We learned that this colonnaded Roman street at Petra's city center was built about 106 A.D.


I was able to get up close and personal with a camel. To this experience I say, "Once was enough." I now know why they call camels Ships of the Desert. I did get seasick!

Egyptian Memories #3

This was our last day in Egypt on the way to Jordan.

I had a choice.

I could get up at 2:30 in the freezing morning and spend 2 hours climbing up Mt. Sinai or I could just let Art climb it and take lots of photos for me to see when I was warm and comfortable. Hmmm... what to do... what to do.

Matt warned me that I should think twice about doing the climb since I have weak ankles and had twice sprained it badly on a couple of other trips. Awwww....

Art got beautiful shots of the sunrise atop Mt. Sinai.


However, he missed seeing the sign that said Camel Path which was supposed to be the quicker way down and took the 3700 Steps of Repentance instead.


He was a bit embarrassed about keeping everybody waiting at the bus as they wondered what happened to him. However, he did get a whole bunch of great photos. This is St. Catherine's as he scrambled down the mountain.


After breakfast, we went back to see St. Catherine's Monastery. It is the oldest continuously inhabited Christian monastery in the world.

I was really impressed to see the actual (transplanted) Burning Bush. I thought it looked like a rose bush. When I checked on Internet, I discovered that it does belong to the rose family, Rubus Sanctus.

And then it was on to Jordan.

Egyptian Memories #2

What do I remember about Egypt? There were the pyramids, temples, the hieroglyphics, historical places, tour friends who you never forget, food, the horrendous TRAFFIC, the Nile, the Sahara Desert and without doubt, our Tour Leader, Matt.

Our tour group consisted of 4 young and adventurous girls from Chicago, us, 2 Australians, 5 Canadians and 4 Brits.

When we first saw Matt, we were disappointed. We were expecting an Egyptian expert but could hear right away that he was British. Then he slanted his body, put his hand on his hip and in a high pitched voice said, "If anybody tells you I'm gay. I'm not. I have a girlfriend." I liked him right away and in the course of the tour found that he was the best (of 3 tours that we've taken) tour leader we've ever had. He was a different sort of leader with each person on the tour fulfilling everybody's need. His priorities were everybody's health and safety, respect for the Egyptian environment and its people, and FUN! (Besides, who can resist that British accent?)


When the occasion demanded or allowed, he was serious, informative, hilarious, outrageous, wise, strict, crazy, tireless, kind, sweet or funny. At certain sites, an Egyptian expert was hired to teach us about the location and its history.

When we got to Edfu, Matt insisted that we get up at the crack of dawn to be FIRST in line to see the Temple of Horus. "Trust me," he said. "You'll want to be there before the crowds." He gave us all a highlighted diagram and told us what to look at first. "Once you've seen those things, you can see the rest at your leisure," he assured us.

The Temple of Horus is the most completely preserved Egyptian temple. It was started by Ptolemy III in 237 BC on the site of an earlier and smaller New Kingdom structure. The sandstone temple was completed almost 200 years later in 57 BC by Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus, Cleopatra VII's father.


The impressive entrance to the temple is through a massive 117 foot high pylon gateway guarded by two huge granite falcons and decorated with colossal reliefs of Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus, Horus and Hathor.

This is the interior of the temple grounds.

We could not stop taking photos of the intricate and beautiful hieroglyphics.





What a surprise to see that sparrows had made homes in holes between the stone walls.

Many of the beautiful reliefs were defaced. Matt explained that the reachable reliefs were chiseled out by ancient Christians who camped in the temples while hiding from Romans who were persecuting them.

Lunch was on the boat as we cruised up the Nile toward Kom Ombo and the Temple of Sobek (crocodile god) and Haroeris. This temple is dated from Ptolemaic times (300 - 30BC).

Cleopatra's Bath! I wonder if she filled it with milk. I don't know which Cleopatra this would be.

You can see reliefs of Sobek and Horus here.

Our daughter, Tiffany mentioned how fancy cruise ships have their towels folded into different shapes. We were surprised to see our blankets and towels folded into the shape of a crocodile.


Remember what I said about Matt being outrageous and fun? The evening was designated Egyptian Night and we were all to dress in (tourist type) Egyptian clothing. Matt's dress was not exactly Egyptian but we ALL loved it!

What a day that was!