Treats, Sweets and Fun Presents!

It was fun opening presents yesterday. 

Mom was surprised to find the Dyson vacuum cleaner we bought her.

The wheel on her Eureka vacuum cleaner had just cracked last week.  It was a timely gift although the Eureka does still work even with the cracked wheel.

She and we were also showered with fabulous gifts from my brother and his family as well as our kids.

I love the Fit Flop slippers that I put on my wish list that Tif bought for me.

OK, I confess.  I also bought myself a pair of Fit Flop sandals that I just happened to find at the NEX in my size.  Wow!

Art got these compression socks and cordless screwdriver that Jon bought from Art's wish list. He's planning to wear the socks on long airplane flights.

 

Art and I bought this stand mixer during the Black Friday sales.  The crazy thing is there's very, very few recipes where I use a mixer.  I do have a certain lemon chiffon pie recipe that I've been wanting to make.  I also use a mixer for cornbread.  I know.  I know.  I've lost my mind.  Ah well.  I like looking at it.

We received so many wonderful holiday treats from friends and neighbors that the lemon pie will have to wait a couple of weeks.  

This is only a small sampling of what lovely people shared with us!  There were Rice Krispies treats, Crispix party mixes, muffin tops, strawberry shortbread, a tapioca dessert, pumpkin bread, jerky meats, seasoned pretzels, all kinds of cookies, etc.!  Sigh...  Looks like it'll be more like three weeks before I get to use the stand mixer.

We will now be getting the house cleaned and organized in preparation for the new year.  Mom is happily anticipating using her new vacuum cleaner.  Someone asked me if she really used a vacuum cleaner much. YES!  She is constantly focused on cleanliness and vacuums every week without fail.

We really enjoyed all the gifts we received and ummmm... bought for ourselves. 

What special gift did you receive that really brought a smile to your face?

Remembering Our First Christmases

Our first Christmas together as a married couple in Hawaii was in 1973.  We'd been married a year.  We had little in the way of furniture, much less ornaments, but we managed to get ourselves a small live tree.

A year later, things had changed considerably.  We'd moved to Chicago in October of 1974 when Art got a job with the Public Health Service.

Ummm....  My daughter will be cringing when she sees my winter outfit that first winter in Chicago.  We went to a tree farm and cut down our own Christmas tree.  The cold was rather shocking!  Since Art had been stationed in New Hampshire when he was in the Air Force, the change in climate was not too startling for him.

1975 would be our first Christmas with our daughter, Tiffany.  Somehow, from that day on our Christmases would always have more depth and beauty.

May your Holidays in whatever way you celebrate this season of lights be full of joy and love.

Christmas Eve Memories

Mom may have been the daughter of a Buddhist priest, but at Christmas time, she always made sure we had a live Christmas tree at our house.  The only gifts we had under the tree were from Aunt Dorothy's family because mom had a sort of agreement with her sister to exchange gifts for the children so it wouldn't be bare under the tree.

My brother, Dennis and I cherished those gifts.  I remember a black and white teddy bear one year and a crystal necklace another year.  I can still picture that bear and that crystal necklace.  I wore it everyday until one day the chain broke and I lost it.  Every time I see a crystal necklace, I remember it.  Art has bought me many beautiful necklaces, but you know what?  It's never quite as sparkly as that Christmas necklace.

1982 Christmas in Chicago

My children had a lot of gifts from many friends and relatives in Chicago and Hawaii who showered them with gifts each year.  I'm sure it was very expensive to mail those boxes to Illinois from Hawaii. 

I know my granddaughter, KC has even more presents, especially since her birthday happens to be in December.

And yet, I wonder if she'll remember those gifts as I do mine from Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Toshi.

(Message to Art:  Please don't go out trying to find me a crystal necklace.  You're already a gem.)

License to Be Witty

While driving around Hawaii, Art and I began noticing some interesting license plates.  Jo of teachersays is probably the blogger who got me noticing them long ago after she posted some fun ones that she saw.

I decided to post the photos of the cars as well since they might show the personality of the owner or explain the license plate.  Maybe.

Hmmm.... DIVA?  I'm assuming a woman must be driving that car.  Did she really want to admit this?







I liked this license plate a lot.  It's a good reminder for everybody.







Ono means delicious in Hawaiian.  Maybe it's a chef that owns this car?

It's always wonderful to feel beloved.












Seeing this Ford Mustang with this plate gave us a wonderful chuckle.

Then we went to Chicago and noticed these wonderful plates.


I really loved this car with NVR ERLY.  I wondered if they got to where they were going on time.






LOVEY is sweet for a big black truck.







Does this person really think they're a little crazy?

When we were at the Chicago Marathon, we saw this car.  I wonder if she was in the race or just watching.






I imagine this person wasn't at the race.  However, it's good to remind people not to speed.




Here's somebody who needs an ego boost.

And here are people who don't need an ego boost.

If you ever need a tax accountant, here's your person!








Seeing this, you knew you were in Chicago.

Then again, we were surprised to see a license plate in Hawaii when we returned that said  GO BEARS.


What would I choose if I had a vanity plate?  How about BLOGGER?  What would your plate say?

Swimming Out to Your Ship

 If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it.
-- Jonathan Winters

I saw the above quote on Sylvia's blog, Sylvia From Over the Hill and it really struck me.  It made me wonder if and when I've done this.

Mom used to tell me that as a child, if I wanted something done I went and somehow managed to do it. 

Did I?

Thinking back on my life, I guess there were times that I did actually have to go out and swim to my goals.  This is a funny analogy since I can't swim.

Still, although I'm usually a gutless wonder I've managed to get myself an education, adjust to life on the mainland, teach school, meet people, and even learn to drive which I'm terrified of doing.

Art has always been the dreamer and adventurer.  Not much frightens him which is probably one of the things that drew me to him.  My children are also brave and like their dad go out and swim literally and figuratively to what they want in life.  It rather awes me.

What have you had to swim out for?

Going Nutty

I heard recently in the news that nuts are good for you.  They said even peanuts which are actually a legume will help you live longer.  Here's one report I found by ABC news online.

Nuts are supposed to help avoid colon cancer, diabetes, heart disease  and even keep you thinner.  As a matter of fact we do have nuts around so that we won't snack on other things that wouldn't be as good for us.

It is true that I do have a sweet tooth and sweets are not good for me since I am still pre-diabetic.

The one on the right is mine.  I have the lightly salted cashews, almonds, pistachios, hazel and Brazil nuts.

Art's nuts on the left are completely unsalted.

I also make boiled peanuts which we have with our sandwiches instead of chips.  It's filling and satisfying.  Boiled peanuts are very popular in Hawaii.  I understand it's popular in the southern states as well.  I wrote a post about goober peas a while ago.

I got off of eating nuts for a short time, but I guess it's time for me to put in another order with my daughter who buys them from Trader Joe's and sends them to us.

My favorite nuts are cashews and pistachios.  What do you like best?

The Day I Realized We Were Poor

I grew up in a sugar plantation camp.  We were all probably poor, but just didn't realize it since we had enough to eat, our needs were being met and everybody we knew was in almost the same economic situation.

Our old plantation home

The plantation provided cheap housing and medical care.  Everybody around me had the same living conditions so we were pretty content.

I had a neighbor friend named Charlene.  Although she lived next door, I was aware they were better off.  For one thing, she went to Punahou (where President Obama went to school).  For another, she had beige carpeting in her house.  We had wooden slats or linoleum.  Her mother was an executive secretary and dressed beautifully in store bought clothes.

One day, Charlene and her family moved.  It was inevitable I suppose, but I was heartbroken.  She'd moved somewhere out near Mililani and they invited me to their new home to sleep over.  Her home was nothing like I'd ever imagined.  For one thing, it had carpeting and it was WHITE!  The walls were drywall, not single wall lumber slats.  There were drapes, not curtains.  But that wasn't all.

For breakfast we were served a half cantaloupe with a scoop of ice cream!  I'd never had cantaloupe before, much less with ice cream.  This was the most luxurious thing I'd ever experienced and it opened a window into another kind of world.

I don't know if I saw Charlene after that.  She was now living in a different world.

I think back on all this and have to smile.  I'm glad Art and I were able to afford more for our children.  However, ironically my daughter, Tiffany is allergic to melons.

Tai Chi Holiday Party

This is the season for holiday parties.  We went to one hosted by our Tai Chi class last week.  It was a time to honor and thank our Tai chi teachers and especially the teacher who started it all, Mr. Pong.

Once again, the party was held at the Ginger House in Mililani.  Three round tables were set up for about 30 people.  We were privileged to sit with Mr. Pong and one of his principle teachers, Mieko.

We are truly grateful for all we've gained by joining Mr. Pong's Thursday class.  He teaches almost everyday free of charge.  He lost his beloved wife this fall, but says he's happy that she is in a better place away from suffering.  At 86, we marvel at his energy and strength!

The meal started with egg flower soup.  It's my favorite!

Art ordered the Oyster Sauce Chicken which was very tasty.  In fact everybody's meal looked delicious.



I asked if I could have their Chinese Chicken Salad for my entree.  It's actually an appetizer and not part of their luncheon special.  They kindly allowed me to do so.

I don't know why I love this salad.  You can't see any dressing on it, but the flavor is light, addictive and wonderful!

It was huge and people assumed I wouldn't be able to eat it all.  However, with Art's help, we polished it off!

Mr. Pong offered us all a toast wishing us a happy holiday season and reminded us to cherish the ones we love and appreciate the time we have with them while they are still with us.

This is a message we all took to our hearts as we looked forward to our next lesson.

Battling the Bugs (or whatever they are) in Hawaii

I wrote a post a while ago about our success with our desert rose.  It was being attacked by tiny black bugs who were sucking the life out of the plant.  The post went up when we were in Illinois so I wasn't able to tell you what we used to combat the problem to enable the flowers to bloom again.

Now that we're home in Hawaii, I can show you the bottles of the organic bug, mite, fungus fighter we used.

And then just as we were feeling pretty proud of ourselves, our Satsuma tangerine tree started to show signs of being attacked by something.  I looked online and it said I should spray it with neem oil.  What the heck is neem oil?

Turns out it's a vegetable oil that is often used in organic gardening.

We went to Home Depot and talked to a knowledgeable plant person who told us to buy this Neem Oil Extract Concentrate.

We are supposed to mix 2 Tablespoons to a gallon of water and spray the leaves once a week.

I've started.  We'll see.

Art was dubious.  He felt the other two sprays we were using worked well enough on the bugs.  However, when he checked the active ingredients he discovered it was neem oil.

So as I said before... we'll see.

POSTSCRIPT:   I used the Neem Oil Extract diluted in water and it didn't kill the bugs like the other two products we bought.  I'm going to try adding more neem oil soon to see if that will do the trick.  I'm not feeling very confident right now.

Zumba Holiday Fun!

We weren't positive that we'd be having our Zumba holiday party.  Our chief organizer, Myrtle has had a rough couple of months after her daughter became critically ill.  Myrtle and her family were in our thoughts the entire time as she and her family spent long weeks in California where her daughter was treated.

However, when Myrtle returned, she was determined to give us holiday joy because our enjoyment lifted her spirits as well.

Myrtle had already reserved a table for us this past summer at the Waikele Country Club.

When cousin Renee and I arrived, we saw that she and a couple of other Zumba buddies had already decorated the table for us.

It was absolutely extraordinary!

There were twelve of us.

Each place setting was full of favors that everybody brought.

The favors are a Hawaii custom that I was not familiar with last year and arrived empty handed.  Renee tried to bail me out by saying her favor was from the both of us.

I was prepared this time.

The country club is very beautiful, but I thought the prices were reasonable.  This steamed salmon (Chinese style) with cilantro (it's called Chinese parsley in Hawaii) with won bok, carrots, green onions, seared with hot sesame oil and a dash of shoyu was just $13.95.  I loved it!  I'd order it again.  I cleaned my plate!

Myrtle had several games for us to play.

She gave us a sheet of green construction paper which we had to fold in half.  We were then told to put the paper behind our backs and tear out a Christmas tree.  She then collected them, wrote our names behind the tree and had us put stickers on which we thought was best.  We had no idea which was our own.  Would you believe I won?  I couldn't believe it!

We then had a jan ken po (paper, stone, scissors) contest.  Alyce won and was crowned the Queen of Jan Ken Po.  It was hilarious!

There were so many fun things for us to bring home.

I received this wonderful bath set for my grab bag.





I got the large holiday Ziploc containers for my Christmas tree prize.



And look at all these favors!!!  There was a homemade fruit cupcake, homemade dark chocolate rocky road, collapsible mirror, mochi, ceramic trivet, candy bars of all kinds, senbei and I filled a gift bag with candies and a Trader Joe's kitchen towel.

And here are the lovely, wonderful friends that I keep healthy doing Zumba with every Monday and Friday.

And this is Myrtle, who despite all the trials and hardships she was facing and had faced, felt she had to give us this day of happiness.

She did.  She also reserved a table for December 10, 2014 when she'll organize the 3rd annual Zumba party.

I was telling my husband, Art about the party and mentioned one of the games that was played.

Myrtle asked us to tell everybody one thing we'd never done that we think other people would most likely have already done. Everybody who'd done it would have to give you a toothpick point from their stack.

Some of the attempts were: never learning to ride a bike, never being aboard a ship, never staying at the California Hotel in Las Vegas, never taking a hike, etc.  I said never driving to the nearby Don Quijote supermarket.  I was two toothpicks short of winning.

Art was frustrated trying to think of something he hadn't done that most of his friends had already done.  What would you say?

A Couple That Bakes Together...

I'm not much of a cook or baker.  Art has always been the one most comfortable in the kitchen.  I need my recipes precise down to 1/8 of a teaspoon.

Our lemons have been ripening by the bagfuls lately and then we also received a lot of tasty avocados from our neighbor, Wini.  She also brought us some chocolate chip cookies with coconuts in them.

Well... that got me thinking about baking something.  December seems to be the month full of baking and sweets, none of which is good for me, of course.

Then I ran across a lemon bar recipe that I found in the newspaper a long, long time ago. 

Art on the other hand found his avocado pie recipe on a Rachel Ray website and then modified it to suit his inclinations.  Mom said both our offerings were delicious.  What?  Did you think she'd actually tell us she liked one better than the other?

Art used two of those huge, round purple avocados for his recipe and a huge Hawaiian Meyer lemon too.

It was beautiful and very tasty.  He makes his own crusts too.

People have told me his mom was the best baker in Honokaa.

Whenever I've tried recipes from online or newspaper, it was pretty darn lousy.  I don't want to admit how many wonderful sounding dishes I've had to toss.

It was with more than a little trepidation that I decided to give this recipe called Luscious Lemon Bars a try.

It was written by some ladies called Three Many Cooks.

Here it is:

Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ cup confectioner’s sugar

1 stick (8 Tbs) butter, melted but not hot 

Filling:

2 large eggs

¾ cups sugar

1 ½ Tbs. all-purpose flour

6 Tbs. juice from 2 lemons

2 tsps. Finely grated lemon zest

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray an 8 inch x 8 inch baking pan with vegetable spray.  Fit an 8 inch x 16 inch piece of heavy duty foil across pan bottom and up the 2 sides as foil over hangs to pull bars from the pan.  Spray foil with vegetable cooking spray. 

Mix flour, salt, confectioner’s sugar in a medium bowl; stir in butter to form dough.  Press dough into pan bottom (the bottom of a measuring cup dipped in flour helps).  Bake until pale golden, about 20 minutes.

While pastry bakes, whisk eggs, sugar, flour, lemon juice and zest in a medium bowl.

Remove pan from oven.  Add lemon mixture and continue to bake until just set, about 20 minutes longer; let cook in pan for a few minutes and then using foil handles, pull bars from pan and set on a wire rack. Cool until room temperature.  Cut into squares and serve.

Yield:  16 bars (143 calories per bar)

My lemon bars were not quite as super sweet or tart as some I've tasted, but I was very pleased with it.  Between Art's pie and my bars, we managed to use quite a few of the lemons.  We even used the skin of the lemons for zest.  That was fun!

We shared our treats with our neighbors so we didn't ingest too many calories.  That way we were all happy!