Leg Cramp Remedies?

Mom told her Kaiser doctor that she was getting up at night with painful leg cramps. He said he drinks tonic water and takes a teaspoon of mustard every night.

Art and I were skeptical, but we got tonic water and mustard for her to try.

Well... voila.

Her leg cramps did go away though she says her legs still ache a bit.

I decided to research this online and found an article from Harvard Medical School about leg cramps. I've attached a link. They say quinine which is what is in tonic water might help, but could have side effects like bleeding and kidney damage.

She only takes about 1/4 cup each night and the quinine in tonic water is pretty minimal.

The teaspoon of mustard has a lot of advocates, but I don't know how conclusive the research is. Whatever the case, it seems to be working so far so we're all happy.

Morning on Pearl Harbor

Art was out for a walk and took this photo. He was surprised to see that someone appeared to be fishing in the harbor.

I wonder if he caught anything.

Lingerie Bag Fetish

Yes, yes, I know I sometimes get into a weird collecting phase until I suddenly have too much of something I don't really need.

I suppose my mug collection is a case in point.

The mug collection started just because there were so many children giving me mugs over the years when I was teaching. I'm restraining myself these days although I confess I did buy that Mt. Fuji mug (from Starbucks in Tokyo) on our last trip to Japan. And ummm.... true... I did buy a glass stein from Germany in spring. OK... never mind.

Anyway, the crazy thing is that I have found that I'm starting to collect lingerie bags. What the heck! How did that get started? I blame my daughter. She had some that I borrowed when I was doing our laundry while in Illinois a few years back. I liked putting delicate things in the bags or clothes with velcro. The bags would prevent the velcro from attaching to other clothing in the wash.

When I found the bags in Japan at the Daiso store for only about $1.00 a bag, I got hooked. Thereafter, every time we went to Japan, I bought one or two... maybe three.

Art told me I needed to stop because I had enough.

OK... I promised I would control myself.

 Before our third trip to Japan this year (I still can't believe it's our third trip.) I happened to ask my daughter what she'd like me to bring back for her. She said...

Yup, you guessed it.

She wanted 5 lingerie bags for my granddaughter's dance outfits.

I then asked my daughter-in-law if she'd like one and she said she wouldn't mind having a couple.

What fun!

And maybe I could just get one for me too.

Free Flu Shots?

Many of my Zumba friends had mentioned going to CVS (Longs Drugs in Hawaii) to get their flu shots for free. We always got our flu shots at Tripler Army Medical Center and assumed that's where we had to get them through our insurance. Unfortunately, but understandably medical and military personnel get their shots first so retirees and dependents have to wait their turn.

Friends then told me that CVS would also give you a coupon for $5 off $25 purchase upon getting your flu shot using your Medicare Plan B card.

After going for our Tripler check-up and the doctor telling us that there would be a wait for the shots again, we decided to try CVS. It turned out that CVS was offering a higher dose flu shot for customers over 65.

We brought in our Medicare card, signed up for the shot and it was done in a jiffy. It was interesting that a friend of mine and myself did feel some aching in our arms the following day but her husband and Art felt nothing. The pharmacist was very friendly and gave the shot with minimum pain.

And yes, we got the coupon for the $5 off $25 purchase.

We'll definitely be getting our shots here from now on!

Red Sky in the Morning

Art is always on the lookout for opportunities to take photos of a beautiful sky. I got the following explanation from Wikipedia.

Red sky at night, sailors' delight.

Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.

The rhyme is a rule of thumb used for weather forecasting during the past two millennia. It is based on the reddish glow of the morning or evening sky, caused by haze or clouds related to storms in the region. If the morning skies are red, it is because clear skies over the horizon to the east permit the sun to light the undersides of moisture-bearing clouds. The saying assumes that more such clouds are coming in from the west. Conversely, in order to see red clouds in the evening, sunlight must have a clear path from the west, so therefore the prevailing westerly wind must be bringing clear skies.

Art took this photo one morning a few weeks ago. Therefore, if we went by the rule of thumb from that rhyme, it should have rained. It didn't and mom was happily able to hang her laundry out on the clothesline. 

It wasn't vog either since the volcano has stopped it's lava flow for a while. I guess we can sometimes just appreciate the beautiful skies without overthinking it.

Have a wonderful week, everybody.

POSTSCRIPT:

And here's an afternoon sky Art just sent me.

Water Hose Woes

Mom loves to do the gardening. When we first moved back to Hawaii, we tried to take over a lot of those chores for her, but she insisted that she preferred to do them herself and that our taking over those jobs would only have her getting senile sooner.

In the last few years, the hose got a bit too heavy for her so we decided to try the very light expandable water hose that was advertised on TV. Our neighbor had one and loved it for about four months before it broke.

However, since we were going on a trip, we decided to get it anyway even though it was not inexpensive.

Well, it lasted about 6 months. And then it sprung a leak. If you read the reviews about these hoses, they pretty much all tell you that they will leak within the first year.

I was going to throw it away, but Art decided to check YouTube to see if anybody figured out how to fix a broken hose. He found a helpful website and commenced the repair.

Step 1 was to use an Allen wrench to unscrew the watchamacallit that screws onto the pipe.

He tried to cut the top part off with a scissors but it was too hard so he used an exacto knife.

Once it was cut off, he could see where the leak was.

It's where you'll find most leaks because of the pull on the hose as you water your plants.

The next difficulty was removing the metal thingamajig that held the hose onto the watchmacallit that screws onto the pipe.

OK....

Now that he got the thingamajig off, he could attach the unbroken rubber hose onto the part that would screw onto the pipe.

But how to hold it together since he didn't have another metal thingamajig...

Well, he found some wire and just wrapped it together.

Then he put it all back together and SUCCESS! It worked. No more leaks. With hopes that mom wouldn't pull on the hose and cause another leak too quickly, he wrapped the whole watchmacallit and thingamajig wire together with duct tape.

And yay! It's done and mom is happily watering the plants easily again. Ummm... Let's see how long this lasts.

Preventing Another Accident

When I broke my arm going up the stairs with my hands full in May, wonderful blogger friends who always have good ideas mentioned stationing a stair basket to hold things. I looked up stair baskets and saw that they run between $30-$40.

When I thought about it, I was concerned that the basket might not be a perfect fit for our stair riser. It also can't stand alone.

So I started looking for a regular basket and found one that was just the perfect size on Amazon.

This basket is just the right size and I can just leave it at the top of the stairs or on a table. The handles make it easy to carry, but had edges that were a little too sharp for me so Art sanded them down. The bottom was also not that sturdy so I added a thick cardboard just to give it a little more support. At $12.87 I wasn't expecting perfection, but this comes close.

Airlines Cramping Us In to Squeeze More Money from Us

It's been really, really annoying that airlines are now shrinking the pitch between seats. As explained in this illustration from Seat Guru, the seat pitch is the space between a point on one seat and the same point on the seat in front of it.

We refused to buy the Economy Plus on United Airlines for the longest time because it started with an additional $99 + for longer flights.

Well... I finally gave up and told Art it was absolutely ridiculous to have to squeeze into seats in Economy and then struggle to get up if you have to go to the bathroom. I've had my hair pulled by the person in back who had to grab on to the back of my seat so they could get up. And if the person in front of you decides to lean back... well... forget it!

For the last two or three flights, we bought the Economy Plus upgrade and I swear I wondered if it was a Plus at all on our last flight from Maryland because it sure still felt tight. On top of that, you had to share an underseat storage space with the person next to you if you were in the middle seats.

According to MarketWatch website:

“The FAA has no evidence showing that current seat dimensions hamper the speed of passenger evacuation, or that increased passenger size creates an evacuation issue,” an FAA spokesman told MarketWatch. “During an evacuation, passengers stand up in just a few seconds, which is less time than it takes for emergency exits to begin functioning and for the line that begins forming in the aisle to clear.”

So no, don't expect the FAA to do anything.

We're just all going to have to suffer through the flying times and if you live in Hawaii and your kids and grandkids are on the mainland... sigh... what can you do?

POSTSCRIPT: I've heard that congress is trying to get the FAA to set minimum seat size/pitch. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Freezing Your Credit

Art read this in the Star Advertiser which we thought was a good thing to pass on. I looked it up and found this on CBS's Money Watch.

Americans can put their credit reports in the deep freeze – and "thaw" them whenever they want – without cost thanks to a federal law that goes into effect today.

Spurred by the massive Equifax data breach in 2017 that exposed the private data of nearly half of all Americans, Congress passed legislation earlier this year that gives every consumer the right to lock up their credit information quickly and for free. That makes it unavailable to both creditors and identity thieves. 

This doesn't prevent someone from stealing your credit card or social security number. However it can stop someone from opening a credit card in your name.

You were charged before between $3 to $10 to freeze and unfreeze your account. It will now be free.

According to Money Watch you can contact these companies at these addresses.

• Equifax
• Experian
• TransUnion
• National Consumer Telecommunications & Utilities Exchange

We're going to do this. I'm thinking this article is right that even if it only protects you one third of the time it's worth it.

I just found this step by step procedure from AARP which sounds like a good way to do this. 
https://www.aarp.org/money/credit-loans-debt/info-2018/protect-credit-by-freezing.html

There are just too many crooks out there.

Lions Club Luau

We were recently invited to join a group of friends from a tour we took to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand three years ago. Amy volunteers for a Honolulu Lions Club and this charity function was a luau at Keehi Lagoon Memorial Park.

Although the function was for 9:00 in the morning until 1:00, the building looked empty. We thought it would fill eventually. One of the organizers told me that about 325 tickets had been sold. However, two thirds of the tables remained empty throughout. Someone postulated that it could be due to the fact that the event had to be rescheduled because of Hurricane Lane and people may have made other plans for the new date.

There was a buffet line, but you didn't stand in that line to get your food on your own. They prepared plates for everybody and then located them at another table where you were supposed to take a plate. It was a bit confusing.

Ron was someone we spent a lot of time with during that Vietnam trip so it was fun to sit with him.

He mentioned falling off a ladder and breaking his arm in four places. He and I have very similar difficulties with our left arms and could commiserate with each other.

There was a Chinese Auction taking place. You could buy a sheet of tickets for $20 and add them to the bucket next to the prize you would like.

No, neither Ron nor we won, but there were two people on our table that did.

This was the first time I'd heard the term Chinese Auction for a raffle.

I looked it up in Wikipedia and got this explanation:

A Chinese auction is a combination of a raffle and an auction that is typically featured at charity, church festival and numerous other events. It can also be known as penny social, penny sale, tricky tray or pick-a-prize according to local custom, or to avoid causing offense.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't think I was a huuuge fan of Hawaiian food. Haupia is a pudding made of coconut milk. Lomi lomi is a traditional side dish with tomatoes and salmon. (Did they have tomatoes in Hawaii long ago?) I labeled that dish sashimi, but actually... I think now that it's poke. Lau Lau is made of taro leaves.

Most of these dishes are always served at luaus and you know what? I liked it a lot. It was all very yummy!

I liked seeing our tour friends even more though.

Which Police Department Does the Best Lip Syncing?

The Honolulu Police Department took the lip syncing challenge that is going on around the country. They do show the fun, friendliness and aloha spirit, but... well... it was OK.

So then I decided to see how other cities did which was quite interesting.

Here are some I found. Charleston, West Virginia sang to One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful.

And here's the Skokie Police Department in Illinois who did a variety of songs.

This was from Las Cruces, New Mexico.

I really liked this one from Indianapolis. I guess the ones I like showcase the city which this video does nicely. The music is Can't Stop That Feeling by Justin Timberlake.

This was from Apple Valley, California. They did The Lions Sleep Tonight by the Tokens.

And for my Seattle blogger friends here's your police friends.

This is Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

I will stop here because there's just too many. It's fun to watch the police doing something fun since there's been so much bad press lately.

Advice from a Good Friend

A very good friend of ours sent us a rather long message about living our lives to its fullest. It was a good reminder for Art and me. We have lived our lives frugally since we married over 40 years ago. We grew up in times that we would now consider ourselves poor although we didn't feel it acutely as children since everybody in our community was in the same boat. However, the feeling of needing to economize is ingrown and difficult to shed.

Art loves to travel but he makes sure we are doing so as economically as we can. He will then keep track of every expenditure both abroad and at home.

LIVING A FULL LIFE

  

Some of us are between 65 and more i.e. old.

1. It’s time to use the money you saved up. Use it and enjoy it. Don’t just keep it for those who may have no notion of the sacrifices you made to get it. Remember there is nothing more dangerous than a son or daughter-in-law with big ideas for your hard-earned capital.

Warning: This is also a bad time for investments, even if it seems wonderful or fool-proof. They only bring problems and worries. This is a time for you to enjoy some peace and quiet.

2. Stop worrying about the financial situation of your children and grandchildren. Don’t feel bad spending your money on yourself. You’ve taken care of them for many years, and you’ve taught them what you could. You gave them an education, food, shelter and support. The responsibility is now theirs to earn their own money.

 3. Keep a healthy life, without great physical effort. Do moderate exercise (like walking every day), eat well and get your sleep. It’s easy to become sick, and it gets harder to remain healthy. That is why you need to keep yourself in good shape and be aware of

your medical and physical needs. Keep in touch with your doctor, do tests even when you’re feeling well. Stay informed.

 4. Always buy the best, most beautiful items for your significant other.

 5. Don’t stress over the little things, like paying a little extra on price quotes. You’ve already overcome so much in your life. You have good memories and bad ones, but the important thing is the present. Don’t let the past drag you down and don’t let the future frighten you. Feel good in the now. Small issues will soon be forgotten.

 6. Regardless of age, always keep love alive. Love your partner, love life, love your family, love your neighbor and remember: A man is not old as long as he has intelligence and affection.

 7. Be proud, both inside and out. Don’t stop going to your hair salon or barber, do your nails, go to the dermatologist and the dentist. Keep your perfumes and creams well stocked. When you are well-maintained on the outside, it seeps in, making you feel proud and strong.

 8. Don’t lose sight of fashion trends for your age, but keep your own sense of style. There’s nothing worse than an older person trying to wear the current fashion among youngsters. You’ve developed your own sense of what looks good on you, keep it

and be proud of it. It’s part of who you are.

This is a rather long piece so I'm going to stop here. The rest of the piece advises you to be social, staying up to date with current events, respecting the younger generation, living in the present, embracing your golden years, not living with your children but having someone else live with you if you don't want to be alone, keeping your hobbies, not dwell on your pain, forgiving people, enjoying your faith but not foisting it on others, laugh, and not worry about what others think.

It's a lot to think about and be reminded of.

Ummm... there's a couple of things I've been thinking about getting. I believe now is the time. And yet...

I still think it's necessary to save because you should see what retirement/nursing homes cost these days in Hawaii!

Mom's New Bidet Toilet Seat

Brondell Swash Bidet toilet seats were on sale online at Costco and Art decided mom needed one since we already have one in our bathroom and love it.

Mom said she didn't need or want one. I reminded her that she liked using them in Japan. She couldn't remember. I told her a nurse friend of mine had said they were very helpful for older people to keep themselves sanitary. Mom said she keeps sanitary just fine, thank you.

When we were in Illinois, our son-in-law had installed the Brondell at their home after using our Toto toilet in Hawaii. I found that the difficulty in Chicago is that the water is so cold even in summer that it takes a bit to warm the water before it shoots out. In Hawaii, it's not a problem.

So yes, Art surprised her with the toilet. I instructed her on the use of the buttons to clean her front and back.

And what does she think now?

She's very grateful and is feeling wonderful about being so clean.

So now, Art is asking her if she'd like to take just one more trip to Japan and she's saying no....

Coffee Filter Separators

Art just told me that I wrote about this before (I guess I did in 2012), but totally forgot about it.

I'd started separating my Pyrex glass containers with paper towels, little napkins, etc. which aren't pretty.

Then I remembered about the coffee filters.

So I stole borrowed some of Art's filters. Nice! I'd have to get bigger filters for the larger containers though.

Some day.

Making Strawberries Last

I know it's past strawberry season for most people, but I thought I'd share something that worked surprisingly well for me this summer.

I started soaking strawberries in a mixture of vinegar and water (about 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water to kill the bacteria), cutting off the tops, quartering and putting them in the original ventilated container (after washing it thoroughly). I put a layer of paper towel at the bottom to soak up residue liquid.

I found they could last beautifully at least a week. I didn't need for it to last longer, because they would certainly be eaten by then.

I decided to look online to see if anybody else had done this. I found a website called Classy Clutter that did something very similar with the same results.

Another website called Food, Folks and Fun did an experiment pitting the vinegar method against putting unwashed strawberries in an air tight container in the coldest part of the fridge. Apparently, strawberries lasted longer with this method.

However, I prefer my method better because it gets eaten a lot faster when they are already washed and cut.

Do you have a special way to keep your strawberries fresher longer?

Notes of Love

After spending almost all of the summer with my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, it was extra hard to say goodbye to them when we left Illinois to return to Hawaii.

When we left Hawaii for Chicago at the end of July, Art and I had an earlier flight with a stop-over at LAX (Los Angeles). Tif, Ed and KC drove us to the airport. My brother drove them to the airport six hours later since they had a direct flight to ORD (Chicago).

When we returned home to Hawaii in August, we were happy to be back, but sad too.

However, when I went to the bathroom, I found a Post-It note on the counter.

I could just imagine KC's smile as she placed that note before leaving for the airport after us.

But that wasn't all...

On my reclining chair I found another note wishing me a nice nap.

There was even a note in my make-up kit saying, "Surprise!"

Art found notes everywhere too.

We eventually collected a lot of those notes and have them stored. There are others that I've left up because it makes me feel like she's still here.

One fun thing I love is that she is now old enough to have a cellphone (with limited use) and we get to text each other.

We shall look forward to seeing them all again next year.

MacCoin Craziness!

In order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of McDonald's Big Mac, they were giving out limited edition MacCoins (one design for each decade) with every purchase of a Big Mac in August to collect or redeem for a free Big Mac at a later date.

Ummmm... Art is a notorious collector. He collects rocks, stamps, coins, woodblock prints, etc. So you can imagine that the MacCoin caught his interest. (Let's not discuss my mug collection.)

He didn't want to redeem the coin for a Big Mac. He almost never eats a Big Mac. He just loved the idea of collecting these limited edition coins.

Since he could get a Big Mac for just $1.00 with his McDonalds app, it was even more enticing.

Eventually, he managed to collect 4 of the 5 coins between the two of us before all the McDonalds in the area ran out of them.

Would you believe my son-in-law sold two of his on Ebay for $13 a piece?

Before leaving Illinois I asked Art what he was going to do with the 4 coins anyway except to have them gather dust in Hawaii?

I told him he should just give them to our son-in-law to sell on Ebay.

Art thought hard about it and remembered that our granddaughter, KC had started collecting MacCoins too, but only had two of the decades.

Since Art wanted to give two MacCoins to his sister and another friend, he told KC he would trade her two with his four.

I was astonished to see her eyes well up with tears. She was so touched that her grandpa was willing to give up his collection that she was overcome with emotion.

Ummm.... You do realize we now have another collector in the family.

How Bitter Do You Like Your Chocolate?

I like dark chocolate, do you?

We were at an outlet mall in Wisconsin and there was a sale on Ghirardelli chocolate bars. I do try to restrict my intake of sugar and other carbs, but it must have been close to lunchtime and I gave in.

I think it cost 5 for $12.00 or something like that. There's only 4 here because I gave one away to a good friend.

Well...

I'd never had 92% before, but since I love dark chocolate, I figured it would be darker the better.

Nope. Sometimes more isn't better. It's probably healthier though with much less sugar.

86% was more palatable, but still a bit too dark.

It turned out the 72% was just about perfect.

Before leaving Illinois, my granddaughter (knowing my dark chocolate foibles) surprised me with a couple of these Lindt bars.

And yes, they were wonderful... perfect!

How dark do you like your chocolate?

Happiness for Our Favorite Granddaughter

OK... Yes, it's true. We only have one granddaughter so she'll always be our favorite.

A couple years ago, our son asked us if mom would write JD's name in kanji (Chinese characters). Then last year when his second son was born, mom wrote her second great grandson's name also in kanji. It's a lot harder than it looks to do the kanji calligraphy so that it would look beautiful.

It then occurred to me in early spring that we should do the same for our granddaughter, KC. However, when I asked KC if she'd like her great grandmother to write her name, KC said she'd prefer great grandma to write something more special.

I wondered if KC would choose peace or good health or long life or harmony or whatever...

KC said she wanted Happiness. Mom said that would be koufuku.

Wouldn't you know KC would pick something that would be a little trickier to write? It took a lot of tries before mom was more or less satisfied.

When we were in Illinois last month, we framed the kanji at Michaels.

With the elegant frame and double matting, the kanji looked gorgeous. Everybody loved it so much, it now hangs not in KC's room but in the living room for everyone to admire.

When we returned to Hawaii, I showed mom a picture of her framed kanji and she asked me who had written it.

Needless to say, she was quite thrilled that the beautiful piece is hanging in a place of honor.

What kanji would you choose?

Skunk Alert!

I remember summer as being a wonderful time to open our windows in Illinois. It was terrific to feel the cool night air in the evening.

However, there were skunks in the area and sometimes the scent would wake me up and I'd go around calling, "Skunk!" so we could all quickly move to close our windows.

One morning while visiting our daughter in August, Art got up early and looked out the kitchen window while having breakfast to see this unwelcome sight.

I wish Art could have a taken a better photo, but he really didn't want to go outside to take a closer shot. It appears the skunk has made a home under the deck. Arrghh!

We talked to one of our neighbors and he mentioned using this Beatunes solar powered ultrasonic animal repellent that he said worked great to deter raccoons and skunks.

I have no idea if it actually works. I wonder if my daughter bought it.

Unfortunately, I looked it up and it also repels birds and dogs. There are two dogs next door that my granddaughter loves so I don't know if it would bother them.

Have you ever had problems with skunks?