Anticipation

It's hard to believe that tonight the walls will be ringing with KC's voice. Well... I'm sure she'll understand that she needs to be very quiet so Grandpa and Grandma can get to sleep in order to wake up at 3:00 AM so that Grandpa can have as much energy as possible for the Marathon he'll be running tomorrow.

We've already bought a disposable raincoat since there is a chance of rain. Art has also stocked up on gel packs to make sure he can keep himself replenished with calories.

For every trip to Oahu that KC has made, I've had these silk flowers ready for her. It's the same ones every time. One is a lei and the other is for her head. Once she gets to the house, it goes back into the box for her next return trip.


At almost 4 years of age, KC knows how to do stairs. However, Tif says she's been a bit over-confident since her gymnastics class so we've put up the child-gate just in case to remind her to slow down.

I've promised KC a shave ice if she's a good girl on the airplane. I told her about the child who was extremely badly behaved on our flight to LA last month. That child screamed and threw tantrums for half the flight. I wanted to hug the mom, I felt exhausted for her.

"But I know you're going to be a good girl," I told her.

Well, for Tiffany's sake, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. KC should be just fine since she's a seasoned traveler and Tif is a seasoned, well prepared, traveling mom. Let's see...

We'll have to go to the beach. Then there's the zoo. Then there's the beach... Maybe the Waikiki Aquarium. Then the beach...

Oh MY gosh! They're going to be here TONIGHT!

Honolulu Marathon Expo 2010

Well, it's that time of year again. Art will be running the Honolulu Marathon on Sunday. Tiffany and KC are flying in Saturday night. Art says it won't matter because he'll be too keyed up to sleep early anyway.

I'll be struggling to open my eyes at 3:00 and Dennis will pick us up at 4:00 to make the drive into Honolulu for the 5:00 AM Marathon start time.


We went to the Hawaii Convention Center today to pick up Art's bib and racing chip.

Yes, those are real palm trees. I checked.


Mom was surprised at seeing so many Japanese people milling around all the booths. I believe well over half of the 25,000 runners are from Japan alone.

When I asked a question at one booth, the salesman laughed and said, "Oh good, you speak English! And I mean that in a good way."

I wondered what a bad way would be.


Here's Art picking up his number and chip.


He looks mighty happy doesn't he? It's forecasted to be cloudy and rainy. It'll keep him cool if not wet. I made him promise to stop if he feels he is too tired and hitting that proverbial wall. He's 66, for goodness sake! Wouldn't a half-marathon be good enough? Does he have to run 26 miles and 385 yards or 42.195 kilometres?


Mom had fun watching Art write on the runners' Graffiti wall and seeing all the Japanese messages. You'd think we were in Japan.


And of course, he couldn't resist buying some racing gels for Sunday. I wanted him to buy a really big hat to protect him from the sun but it was $40.00 and he refused. Ah well, it's supposed to be cloudy anyway.


Lunch was a carb laden bowl of ramen noodles. Not good for mom or me, but we couldn't pass it up. Ala Moana Shopping Center was decorated with cheerful holiday glitter and color.

I can't believe Tif and KC will be here on tomorrow and that Art will be running on Sunday! I need to go clean their bathroom.

New Windows (Using Federal Tax Credits)

Part of President Obama's stimulus package was giving a tax credit to encourage people to make energy efficient changes to their homes such as solar panels and replacing old windows with new energy efficient windows.

Yes, we did a lot of research and got a lot of estimates. We had 11 jalousie windows to replace with 7 vinyl sliders, double hung and awnings by consolidating a few that were right next to each other.


Mike and Shawn arrived right on time at 9:00 AM.


Why did we end up choosing Windows Hawaii? The warranty for one thing. Anlin Windows provides a lifetime warranty for their windows (two years on the hardware for Hawaii) and Windows Hawaii provides a lifetime warranty for their installation. The price was comparable with the others. We liked the quality of the Anlins after seeing quite a few of them.


They removed the jalousie glass very carefully.

There used to be three jalousie sections here. They removed the partitions to replace it with one large window that had a picture window in the middle and two sliders alongside it.

Shawn carefully began caulking the outside of the windows.

Mike did the inside caulking. I told him that I've learned caulking can hide a myriad of spaces and defects in construction. He laughed and said, "Caulks got what carpenters naught."

I was surprised that there would be very little areas that would need touch up paint.

Mike and Shawn both said they were really surprised at how clean the house (inside and out) was. I told them mom was a stickler for keeping things looking ship shape.

Once they were done with the installation, they showed us how to care for and remove parts for cleaning if desired.

Here's mom's bedroom Before.

Mom's bedroom, After.

Family room Before

Family room After

The other side of the family room Before

The other side of the family room, After

Art went out for a jog early this morning and returned to hear the television in the family room blaring extra loud. He went outside and discovered that he couldn't hear much of anything from the outside. The windows really kept the neighbors nearby from hearing mom's treadmill and television. This is a very good thing since she does her exercise at 5:30 in the morning and then in the evening.

We're also noticing that the rooms are cooler now in the afternoon. This is also a very excellent thing.

The glass is supposed to be somewhat self cleaning and will provide mom with much better security when we're not around. Jalousies were far too easy to break into.

Well... that's it for 2010! The rest of the renovation work will be up to Art and me.

Sigh....

Pet Holiday Peeve

We just got a Christmas card today. The address labels to and from on the envelope were computer generated. The card itself did not have our name on it anywhere and the signature was also computer generated.

Ummmm....

There is no actual handwriting anywhere. The card has never been warmed by human hands. No newsletter to indicate what they've been up to all year. No photo. This isn't the first time. It's like this almost every year. (Yes, there's been a few years where they've actually written their own name on the card.)

Why did they bother to send this card? Perhaps I'm being too harsh? It is after all the season to be merry.

Under REconstruction

I changed the design of my blog. Then I wasn't sure if I liked it. So I asked my daughter what she thought of it. She said she liked the way I had it before.

Doggone it!

Then I couldn't figure out how to get it back because once you change it, that's it. I didn't know how to find the old templates. I went to the HELP site and found this answer:

"You can get to the older Blogger templates by going to your "Design" (Arrange Page Elements) page and clicking on the "Edit HTML" link. When the HTML page opens, scroll down to the bottom of the page and you will see the links to get back to the old templates. Choose the "Layout" templates rather than the "Classic" ones, or you will be very limited as to what features will work on your blog. I hope this helps."

Once I got back to the old template site, I couldn't remember which one it was. Sigh... Sooo... I'm trying this one out to see how I like it until I have more time to experiment. I'm looking for the one that will make me feel like it's home.

I had another blog where I did my experimentation. This is what I get for not being more careful. I should also have saved the old blog template "html" before I made the permanent change to something I might not like as much. I guess I'll have to work on getting my blog back to normal in the next few days.

POSTSCRIPT: There! I think I've got it alllllmost back to where I was before I started tampering with tried and true.

The 2011 Great Aloha Run (Walk)

Yesterday was the last day for the early sign up for the 2011 Great Aloha Run. It will be held on February 21st. It is 8 miles.


I walked my first one in 2009 with our friends, Diane and Dave. Diane (my grade school through college buddy) ended up with black toes which did not recover for a year.


With Diane and Dave unable to do the Aloha Run the following year, I thought I had a reprieve. Nope. Art managed to recruit his cousin, Renee to walk with me.

I managed to finish, but I was really, really tired.

Yes, I admit it. I'm out of shape.

This year, Renee injured her knee and is unable to walk. Art insisted that I should do it for this worthy cause. I said I'd be happy to donate the money without walking.

He said he would walk with me instead of running to better his time. "No," I said.

He called our son, Jon and told him to convince me. Jon said I need to do two things with my life, learn to drive farther and exercise. He said I'd have two months to train and needed to get back in shape.

I said, "How nice to talk to you, Jon. How is your life going? Here's Dad."

"Call Diane," said Art.

"My toes are finally better," said Diane. "I'll have to get better shoes this time. OK, we'll walk with you."

"What???"

"We'll do it with you," she reassured me.

"What???"

OK...You have to understand that Diane has been doing Curves. She's been exercising. She looks great. I don't want to get off my chair.

Sigh...

Looks like I'll have to get on Mom's treadmill.

Sigh...

Honestly though, isn't it nice to have friends who are willing to walk 8 miles to make you happy so you can keep your husband happy?

Bloggers Named Kay

Canadian Kay from An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel wrote to say she was coming to Hawaii and would like to treat Art and me to lunch. Well... Art and I rarely pass up a chance for a free meal and frankly, as I've said before, we love Canadians.

We picked Kay and her husband, Dick up at their hotel at 9:00 and drove to Honolulu to see the Iolani Palace. The palace was decorated with green and red lanterns for the season. We also passed by City Hall which was festooned with huge Santa Claus and Christmas tree decorations.

Dick was a good sport about wearing the kukui (candle nut) lei we brought him. We decided on a coconut necklace for Kay so they could perhaps take turns wearing either. After all, leis are gender neutral.

They brought us... Moose Droppings!

We're going to have it for dessert tonight. You should have heard my mother laugh when we showed it to her. She didn't realize it was candy at first.

The next stop was the Tantalus Lookout for a view of Honolulu (and the Leeward side) from the mountaintop. There was a wedding taking place there. I must have been talking too much. I forgot to take a photo. I think Dick did. Perhaps Kay will post a photo on her blog someday.

On to the Nu'uanu Pali Lookout where in 1795, King Kamehameha I defeated the warriors of Oahu to unify the islands.

King Kamehameha I forced some 400 of Oahu's warriors (and a few civilians, I think) over the treacherous cliff. The winds were still screaming.


This was a good vantage point to see the Windward (wetter, greener) side of the island.

The food took so long to come at the Big City Diner that we arrived back at their hotel at 1:20, barely 10 minutes to spare before their shuttle ride to catch their flight to Kauai, the Garden Isle.

It was such a pleasure to actually meet a blogger from another country in person. Kay didn't feel like a stranger since we'd already met in cyberspace.

And you know what, I really do love Canadians!

Furniture Mishap Made Right

Another piece of the furniture set we bought way back in August arrived yesterday. You have to be patient if you live in Hawaii. The bed arrived about a month ago. A bit later the nightstands arrived. A week ago the dresser and mirror arrived.


The dresser was bigger than we remembered. It was also heavy. The Homeworld delivery guys had a difficult time maneuvering the dresser up the bend in the stairs to the 2nd floor. Unfortunately, they gouged the handrail and broke the overlap stepnose of the stair landing.

That was very painful for Art because he really had a difficult time installing it.

Homeworld was terrific! They called right away and told us they would send somebody out to look at the damages. Kenyon came over and said Homeworld would pay for the replacement part and he would install it.

Art called the flooring store where he bought Wilsonart laminate flooring 2 years ago. The sales associate said she would put in an order to set it aside for us.

Today, Kenyon went to pick it up but was initially told they didn't have it. They said Wilsonart was no longer going to make laminate flooring so it would be extremely hard to find a replacement part. Everyone was scrambling to buy pieces that they knew would no longer be manufactured.


Art went to the computer and checked the Wilsonart website. It said they would no longer be selling Wilsonart laminate flooring as of...get this... December 3rd!

In all the confusion, it turned out that because Art had called earlier when the accident occurred, the needed replacement part was indeed set aside for us. Wow!

Imagine if this accident had happened next month. This was a close call. Art told them he would install the part himself since he was familiar with the product.

Kenyon had a surprise for us. It was a $50.00 gift card to use on our next purchase or on our previous purchase. This is why we've been buying our furniture at Homeworld. Maybe everybody else does this. I don't know. However, Homeworld has been awfully good about keeping their customers happy. On a small island where everybody knows somebody or is related to somebody, this is a good thing to do.

I'm happy. Art is happy (although he's got quite a bit of work to do now).

We have one more final piece of furniture arriving. Kenyon said perhaps we should wait on making repairs until after it's delivered.

Good idea.

My Daughter, the Rabbit

2011 is the Year of the Rabbit. This is my daughter's year. She's a rabbit. There are twelve animal signs of the Asian zodiac. I know it's considered the Chinese zodiac. However, my mother goes by the Japanese zodiac. (Click on these two links to find out what you are.) I think the traits attributed to each animal are a bit different in each country. It's so broad anyway that your personality can hold true with any year as far as I'm concerned.



I do think my daughter is a bunny. She's sweet, soft, generous and kind. She's also very quick about getting things done hopping in every direction.

My son is a horse. He's physically strong, an excellent runner and hard to tame. Believe me. I've tried.

Art is a monkey. He's quite clever, agile and yes, he likes bananas.

I'm a cow. I'm supposed to be patient. I don't think I am. I tend not to run around a whole lot. Just leave me in a pasture and I might be content with a plate of salad.

My mother is a snake. It says snake people achieve financial security through continued persistence. That fits. She may appear sweet and kind to others (she is), but if anyone should hurt her family in any way, they will feel her bite.

KC is a dog. Right now she's a cute puppy so we'll see how she turns out as she grows up.

I remember 7 year old Jon in a Chinese restaurant decades ago looking at the paper Chinese Zodiac place mat. I think it said something about horse people being childish and stubborn. His eyes grew very big and he said, "How did they know?"

Are You Real or a Virus?

I've just received a 4th request to view a friend's photos if I would just click on the link. The first and second requests turned out to be viruses that had infected our friends' address books.

When I went to the site, it required that I sign up to view it and to give some information about myself. I almost did it. However, meanwhile I'd clicked on several buttons.

Sigh...

You'd think I'd learn.

I'm getting very leery. How the heck are you supposed to know if it's real or a nasty virus? I guess from now on I'll need verification from the friend to prove they sent me something.

I think I'll put a Post-It note on top of my monitor NOT to click onto any invitations. Maybe that would help me remember.

Who the heck is getting their jollies from infecting everybody's computers? It must be the same idiots who think it's great to ruin the landscape with graffiti or...

Never mind. I'm going to my happy place.

Frozen Chocolate Milk

Before we left for California, I had about a 1/2 gallon of chocolate milk left over that would not keep until we got back. My mother does not drink chocolate milk unless I make her a mocha. And milk is too expensive to waste in the islands!

At the last minute, I had an idea. I got out my old ice cube trays and filled them with chocolate milk and froze them. Then I totally forgot about it until today. I added a few to my coffee this morning and it was just fine. It took a bit to get it to melt and mix properly, but certainly adequate in a pinch.

I put the chocolate cubes into a plastic freezer bag. Now I'll always be able to make my mocha.

Woohoo!

Beware of Drivers in Hawaii!

I saw this article in the Star-Advertiser over a week ago about pedestrian deaths in Hawaii.

"The death of 28-year-old Frank Ryder as he was walking along the shoulder of Kahekili Highway on Thursday morning was the 17th pedestrian traffic fatality on Oahu this year.

Ryder was also the fifth Oahu pedestrian to be killed by a car in six weeks and the eighth since mid-July. There were 10 pedestrian fatalities recorded in all of 2009, and 14 in 2008."


It appears Mr. Ryder was walking on the shoulder of the road. We've also had an awful lot of people who died walking in crosswalks... IN CROSSWALKS! Why?

Driver inattentiveness? Cellphone usage? We're not supposed to use cellphones while driving in Hawaii, but I've seen people not following that rule a lot.

I've noticed that they show actors on Hawaii 5-0 not wearing seat belts and talking on cellphones while driving. They're also taking their eyes off the road ranting at each other for long periods while behind the wheel.

Yes, I know it's all acting.

However, I've seen real people driving very distractedly. It scares me to hear Art tell me of people being very discourteous while he's out jogging.

A couple of nights ago, I heard of another pedestrian death in a crosswalk in Honolulu. This time it was an older woman.

I'd like to warn all tourists coming to Hawaii. Be careful when crossing the street. It's not exactly safe.

POSTSCRIPT: My brother (who works for the police department) reminded me that police officers are allowed to use cellphones while driving in the line of duty.

New Years Card

I've decided to do something different this year. Art's not with me 100% on this because he's an old military guy. He doesn't like to be "late" with things.

However, I'm saying we're not exactly late. We could consider it early since I'd be sending it out in January.

Here are my reasons:
1. People would have more time to read the New Years newsletter because they wouldn't be inundated with holiday cards. They'll be more relaxed and could really concentrate on my sweet little KC's photo.

2. I would know who sent us cards and could make sure I reciprocated correctly. I don't have to worry. "Should I send them a card since it might obligate them to send us one?" "We didn't receive a card from them last year. Does this mean they wanted to stop sending cards?"

3. If relatives or friends ask us questions I could respond in the January newsletter.

4. I'll be able to include photos of our family arriving in December in our newsletter.

5. I don't have to worry about making a mistake and writing Happy Hanukkah instead of Merry Christmas or Happy Diwali or Happy Kwanzaa.

6. I could include our holiday gifts thank yous with the New Years newsletter and save 44 cents on the stamp, or did they raise the price again? Who me? Cheap? Noooo... I'm just trying to help the mail carrier from having to make two trips. Don't you think?

So there you have it! My excuses.... I mean... reasons for doing a New Years card this year... I mean next year.

What do you think?