Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

I know that I shall be very busy on Thanksgiving so I would like to wish you all a fabulous holiday of togetherness and lots of traditional dishes.

For those of you who are unable to meet with family or friends, know that we here in your blog family are wishing a peaceful day for you.

I'll be adding photos to this post later to show you how we spent our day.

Wednesday:
We started preparing for Thanksgiving yesterday setting up the tables and helping mom cut the gobo (burdock root) into thin strips. I also prepared the lup chong-mochi rice stuffing.

Today:
Art and I got up early this morning, had breakfast and Art began his pumpkin pie. I baked a mint chocolate bundt cake. My bundt wasn't as pretty as his pie.

We then made room in the kitchen for mom to begin her family favorite macaroni salad.

We were able to watch the Macy's parade while helping her peel, cut, dice, chop.

I'm so amazed that since I can't smell anymore, I can now dice onions and squeeze out the liquid for mom without tearing.

I baked small loaves of pumpkin bread with cranberries and mom made her namasu (pickled cucumbers).

And then we rested and waited for everyone to show up at 5:00.

8:30 PM: Everybody generously brought over so many wonderful dishes which we thoroughly enjoyed.

But wow! Art and I are so exhausted. Between all the cooking, hosting, clean up, putting away dishes, remembering where things go, finding containers for people to bring things home, etc....  sigh... we're ready to crash. However, it was truly a wonderful Thanksgiving and so fantastic to be with the whole family again. We really don't see them all often enough and it felt good to catch up on all the happenings since we last saw them.

We'll be looking forward to seeing them next at New Years!

KC's Stuffed Animal Memories

From the time KC was a very little girl, she's loved stuffed animals. She never liked or played with dolls even when relatives gave her rather expensive American Girl dolls, etc.

There was one particular dog she was especially attached too.

She named it Nenne Doggie. Nenne means sleep in Japanese. Nenne Doggie went everywhere with her.

When she came to Hawaii, we got her this little kitty too.

She became Nenne Cat.

Nenne doggie and cat became her comfort friends and would always be nearby.

Through the years, KC started collecting stuffed animals as more and more people gave them to her as gifts.

Yes, we did too.

When we went for our yearly visit last year, we were rather surprised at the quantity of little stuffed friends that were crowding out her bed.

A few weeks ago, 13 year old KC decided it was time to say goodbye to many of her friends.

KC bought this album so that she would always remember the stuffed creatures that were her friends throughout her little girlhood.

She then methodically set up each stuffed friend and took a photo of it.

She wrote how she got each animal at the top and then wrote the name she gave each one in a signature style she thought went with its personality at the bottom.

Gosh! I don't even remember getting her that moose on our Alaskan Cruise.

And this is just a handful of pages. There are many more.

After all the stuffed friends were recorded carefully, almost all of them were put into three bags and given to a teacher friend they knew who will be using them in her classes. Knowing my daughter and granddaughter, all those stuffed animals are in pristine condition... well, except for Nenne Doggie and Nenne Cat, but she didn't give those away.

And at last, KC now has a bed she can truly spread herself out on.

At least until she accumulates more friends, that is.

My Genius Son-In-Law Fixed My iPad!!!

I have been totally frustrated with not being able to comment on my blog from my iPad which I like to take on trips since my Macbook Air is just not all that light. It's light... but just not light enough the older I get.

However I was resigned to taking the heavier Macbook, until I saw an ad for a light, small (Doorbuster deal) Chromebook. Hmmmm.... Art wasn't excited about my buying another little gadget.

I texted my son-in-law, Ed in Chicago and asked if the Chromebook was a good thing to get. He asked what my problem was. I sent him my blog explaining the frustration of not being able to access it on my iPad or to comment from it.

We went through a battery of different strategies and Ed determined that iPad's Safari browser was somehow not allowing me to access my account. He said I should try using the Chrome app. I did and still had a problem, but it was a different problem and it still didn't let me do what I wanted to do. He told me to delete the Chrome app and reinstall the app again. I did.

And would you believe it? It got fixed!!! I'm astonished! After ALL my searching on the Internet trying to figure out how to fix this problem, Ed figured it out just like that. I can access my account now by using the Chrome app. I can even edit posts which I couldn't do before.

Siiiighhhh...

I've always been grateful for my son-in-law, but this Thanksgiving I will have an extra special moment of gratitude for our wonderful Eddie.

Popeyes Anyone?

Our Sunday paper recently had a big spread about Popeyes' "famous or infamous" chicken sandwich. There was a funny skit on the Trevor Noah's Daily Show a while ago about how crazy popular it was on the mainland. I wanted to try it, but it wasn't available in Hawaii back then.

We thought mom would like to try it once even though it's not healthy so we drove toward the location last week, but as we passed by the chicken chain the line of cars going to the drive-through stretched down the street blocking some traffic. It was incredible!

Therefore, we STILL haven't tried it and none of my friends have either. Have you tasted this wondrous sandwich? I'm awfully curious since someone actually got stabbed on the mainland for cutting in line to get one.

Art says there's a classic and that the one causing the commotion is the spicy one. Is this true? And is it really deserving of all the hype?

POSTSCRIPT:
My daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter have texted me that they tried Popeye's spicy chicken sandwich over the weekend.

They were not incredibly impressed. There was probably too much hype expectation. My granddaughter, KC says it wasn't all that spicy. My daughter says she prefers Chick-fil-A. My son-in-law says he prefers Shake Shack. We don't have Chick-fil-A or Shake Shack in Hawaii, so I guess we'll have to try Popeyes' once the excitement dies down.

Thanksgiving Favorites?

For my U.S. bloggers, what are you planning for your Thanksgiving celebration? For my Canadian bloggers, what did you serve for Thanksgiving? For any other international bloggers, do you celebrate some sort of Thanksgiving?

My daughter in Chicago has never liked turkey much and she somehow married someone who felt the same way. How did that happen? They've never roasted a turkey. 

Instead, they are always invited to a special friend's home where their large family comes together for turkey with all the trimmings every year.

My son and daughter-in-law, on the other hand will have Thanksgiving turkey every year no matter where they are. Granted when they were both Peace Corps volunteers in Mali, West Africa I imagine they might have had goat.

During our 35 years of living in Illinois, we always enjoyed Thanksgiving.

We became very good friends with our neighbors who were professors at the university and began sharing Thanksgiving with them taking turns to roast the turkey.

They often invited fascinating (sometimes International) guests which we found thoroughly interesting and educational for the kids.

On our part, we had other friends we also invited to be part of the special day of togetherness.

It's a time for family, but we felt it was a time of sharing as well.

Our menu back in those days consisted of the basic turkey, green salad, broccoli casserole (for our daughter, Tiffany), cranberry (I stuck to the can), mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. There were a few other things thrown in, but that was the core.

Now that we're back in Hawaii, it's a bit different. We celebrate now with my brother's family, mom and some other cousins. I share the turkey roasting with my sister-in-law although the affair is always at our house. 

Now the core menu is a little altered. We have turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sometimes rice (for mom), cranberry (still from the can), kinpira gobo, macaroni salad, cucumber namasu, deviled eggs, pumpkin pie with everybody else who comes adding their own specialty.

What do you have for your Thanksgiving menu?

A New Foodland!

Many of our friends and relatives have been happily anticipating the opening of a new Foodland supermarket on the leeward side of the island. The old one had been showing its age and in a smaller building. The new Foodland was being opened in what was once Babies R Us which we didn't realize was much bigger.

Along with everybody else, we were curious what it would look like. There are several businesses in the same shopping area and we couldn't imagine how they were going to accommodate the parking.

Even though it felt like we were the last people to venture out that way, the parking was absolutely INSANE! People were circling the parking lot and there were policemen stationed to make sure nobody was run over. Art dropped mom and me off and ended up in the far end of the parking lot before he could find a space.

When we entered the market, we were handed maps to show us where everything was located.

There were local prepared foods, a salad bar, pies, poke bar, cakes, cut fruits, etc.

It was hard to take it all in.

We had to laugh when we saw mom with my brother, Dennis and sister-in-law, Nancy who met us there. I thought they were admiring the donuts.

However they told me that they were actually trying to explain to mom that the bagels were not giant donuts, but a kind of bread.


There was also a refrigerated section of popular Asian food.

Our big surprise, however, was this Pau Hana bar where alcoholic drinks were being sold. Pau hana means after work in Hawaiian.

I don't think I've been to any other supermarket on the island where alcoholic drinks were being served.

As you can see, it's looking mighty popular. I just hope they don't have a drink and have an accident in the already chaotic parking lot.

No More Plastic Straws

It's really difficult to get U.S. businesses to reduce the manufacture of plastic. We feel guilty everytime we go out for fast food because of the waste we generate.

Art won't use plastic straws, but I'm nervous about drinking out of cups that have been handled by servers who may not have washed their hands properly. Art thinks I'm paranoid.

Well... I just had an idea. I have a few reusable hard plastic straws at home that I use when I drink my mocha because the ice cubes I put in it are annoying when it bumps against my mouth everytime I take a sip.

Sooo... I thought I could maybe keep a couple with me in my backpack when we go out.

But how would I keep it clean?

That's when I remembered that my nephew and his wife had given us some travel chopsticks that we unfortunately haven't used.

The container was the perfect size for my straws.

My brother laughed and said I'd still be using water to clean the straws so I'd be wasting something.

Not really, I just wash it with our regular dishes and it doesn't take that much water anyway.

I figure it's a lot better than constantly adding more plastic waste into the ocean and landfills.

Seattle and San Francisco have already banned plastic straws. I think if we all try to reduce our plastic waste as much as we can, the world will be better for the next generation.

Too Much of a Good Thing

I started to experience bad gas pains and diarrhea a few weeks ago and even mentioned it to my doctor. She said I should stop eating anything with dairy in it since I already know I'm sensitive to it.

I did that but still experienced some pretty bad tummy pains.

Ummmm....

Remember that post about the wonderful Autumn Crisp grapes we were eating from Sam's Club?

Well, we loved it so much we'd been eating a whole lot of grapes almost everyday.

About a week ago, I told Art we'd really been overdoing it a bit and should stop having it for this season.

I then noticed my tummy started returning to normal. Could it be the grapes? I looked it up online and sure enough...

I got this information from the Australian Institute of Food Safety:

Grapes

Red and black grapes contain resveratrol, an antioxidant believed to help against coronary disease, some cancers and viral infections. However, as grapes are high in fructose, a natural sugar that can cause gas, and also contain a lot of tannins that can lead to stomach upset, grapes might be giving you nausea and diarrhoea. If this is the case, try swapping grapes for other fruits rich in resveratrol such as blueberries.

What do they say about everything in moderation?

We're eating persimmons now.

But gosh those grapes were good! Sigh... And I miss ice cream.

Project For Mom: Completed!

Mom usually prefers warm weather. She really doesn't like the cold. However, this summer was one of the hottest recorded in Hawaii. We'd bought her a floor fan a few years ago, but she hasn't used it much. She said it was too breezy. Sigh...

We've always talked about putting up a ceiling fan in her bedroom, but couldn't quite figure out the logistics. We'd put up two fans in her family room where she spends almost all her time. Her bedroom is only for nighttime sleeping. It used to be awfully dark so we did have a skylight installed which (believe it or not) made it almost too bright. Ah well.

Anyway, now we had to figure out how to install a ceiling fan with a light. She already has a wall light, but we figured it wasn't very bright and if we were going to the trouble, we may as well get a fan with LED lights also (just in case).

The room is small with a big beam on the ceiling so we had to find a smaller fan that would fit there. It was not easy to locate one that would work. After doing a lot of measuring and remeasuring, we figured we needed a 36" diameter fan. Eventually we found one at Lowes.

I'll be going into excruciating detail so please feel free to return tomorrow for a shorter post. I just want to post this for our own record.

We have stared at this room forever and finally came up with some options. There is a fascia (board) on the top right of the room which hid an enclosure filled with fluorescent tubes which didn't work. We took down the fascia and removed the tubes.

At first Art planned on Option #1 which would drag a wire across the bottom of the floor up the wall where he would put the fan switch and then down again and up the other wall to the enclosure where he could connect the wires to the fan.

OK....

So we went to the hardware store to buy a bunch of (not cheap) wooden covers to hide the wires.

But then...

After more thinking...

Art came up with Option #2.

Since that one switch at the entrance of the room used to control both the light on the wall on the left and the fluorescent lights in the enclosure on the right, could he split them and use the existing wire that was already installed going to the enclosure?

Back we went to the hardware store to return the wooden covers and buy some different supplies.

Before he could proceed with Option #2, Art had to make sure the wires could indeed be separated into two switches (one for the wall light, one for the fan/light). He called his high school buddy who happens to be a retired electrician with tools to indicate the circuitry. Happily, he confirmed that Art's Option #2 could work.

Back to the hardware store to buy the separate switch. We bought a switch that would look different from the wall light so mom wouldn't be confused.

The fan/light box was opened and instructions read.

We measured where the ceiling fan/light could be installed so it wouldn't hit the beam and still be somewhat centered. I hung a string where I thought it would be best and put the fan blades together.

Yes, it's true. I was helping.

Art then installed the fan and covered the wire to the enclosure where the wires could be run to the new switch.

(The dashed line shows where the original wiring was already installed when the house was built decades ago.)

The last step was to reinstall the fascia board to hide all the wiring.

We brought mom in to teach her how to use it and she was very pleased. Oh happy day!

Ummmm... would you believe the temperatures suddenly cooled down at night so she hasn't had to use it?

Sigh.... Ah well. We're ready for next summer.

What a Smile Can Do

I had a strange, startling moment a while ago.

Whenever I pass through the entrance where my ID is always checked at the military commissary, I always save a smile for the older gentleman who is often stationed there.

I think I make it even more of a point to smile because when I once passed through a long time ago he told me that he appreciated my smiling at him whenever I see him. He said I always looked happy.

I hadn't seen him in a while so when I saw him this time I smiled and said it was nice to see him there.

He gave me a bright smile and said, "Do you know you are very, very pretty?"

I had walked past him then, but stopped and looked back saying, "You've just made my whole day."

"You really are," he called back.

I'm not being modest when I say I'm only passable looking. I know what my mirror tells me and it's OK. We all have our good points and our flaws. At my age, I just hope my hair isn't sticking up too much and that I'm looking somewhat presentable.

It reminded me of some movie from a long time ago where a gentleman was telling plain women that they were beautiful. When asked why he did that, he said that if women were told that and they believed, they became beautiful.

As I walked through the store, I felt pretty and thought what a nice gift he gave me.

I'm thinking it's a gift we should pass on. We need to let people know how beautiful they are. The country is filled with so much negativity these days. I think everyone needs to be uplifted.

I am and I'm smiling.

Unable to Post Comments From iPad!

I have recently been having a problem with my iPad not allowing me to access my Blogspot account. It’s the weirdest thing!

I get this screen telling me I need to sign in.

So I click onto Sign In.

It then asks me to choose which account I want to sign in with. So I click on my account and it takes me to...

Okie dokie. I actually hoped to get to my home page, but it took me to my list of posts. So I click on to View blog.

And...

Arrghhh... It tells me to Sign In again.

When I try to reply to anybody’s blog using the iPad, the comment disappears as soon as I click Publish.

Arrrgghhh....

Sigh....

I'd hoped to take my iPad on trips instead of the laptop, but I guess that just won't work anymore. This is so aggravating! (Yes, I looked online for a fix and it looks like this is a common problem.)

Dishwasher Dilemma

Our Bosch dishwasher has been slowly dying. We installed it in 2006 when we did our house renovation in Hawaii. It's therefore 13 years old although it wasn't used until 2008 when we made the move to Hawaii. We've been told that dishwashers and other major appliances now have about a 10 year life span.

Still... since we paid about $1,000+ for the Bosch we figured it should/would last a lot longer, a lot, lot longer. It's very frustrating to know it didn't.

So we did a little more research. Art went to the library and checked out Consumer Reports. Bosch is considered one of the best. My brother and sister-in-law also bought a Bosch dishwasher after us and it died before ours. Sigh... So we didn't want a Bosch again no matter what Consumer Reports said.

We went to the Navy Exchange, Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, Costco.

We saw a TON of dishwashers.

Meanwhile, my brother said they'd bought a cheaper Whirlpool because they were done buying an expensive dishwasher.

They bought a $300 machine instead but was shocked when it cost an additional $300 for the installation kit, delivery, installation, haul away and a separate plumber to add an air gap.

Air gap? Arrghhh....

What the heck!

It's now the law. You must have an air gap to protect against sewer backup.

What we didn't want was a problematic filter.

This is our Bosch filter that needs to be cleaned once a month.

The plastic frame holding up the metal screen had been cracking off. I secured it with a metal strap we happened to have.

I know I could have bought a replacement filter for about $40. 

But did I want to do that knowing the lifespan of a dishwasher?

And sure enough the Bosch started to take 4 hours to wash a load of dishes where it took less that two before.

Therefore, when we started looking for dishwashers, we paid special attention to the sort of filters each unit had.

At Best Buy, the associate told us that there were dishwashers with food grinders, with plastic filters, metal filters and this KitchenAid at the bottom that didn't have one that we needed to pay attention to.

Really?

OK... it went to the top of our list. Art looked at his Consumer Reports list and it showed KitchenAid high on the list.

And then while talking to our daughter who bought our house after we moved, I mentioned having to get another dishwasher.

"What kind did you guys get to replace the one Dad and I bought?" I asked.

I was shocked when she replied, "We never replaced it, Mom. It's the same one you guys installed when you did the renovation here." (Art and our son renovated the kitchen on their own 20 years ago.)

"It's still working?" I was incredulous.

"Please don't jinx it." she laughed.

"What kind is it?" I asked.

"Let me check," she said. She returned to the phone and said, "KitchenAid."

Well.... That cinched it. Fingers crossed. I guess our decision is made.

Limited Time McRib?

A very good friend of mine was telling me that her daughter had been waiting for the McRib to return to the menu at McDonalds. One evening she even brought McRibs for everybody in the family and they had it for dinner.

My nephews also look forward to having the McRib. We've had it a long while ago and are OK with it, but hadn't ordered it this year.

However since you know that I am sometimes susceptible to popular opinion, we decided to take mom to McDonalds to have her experience it.

We asked my brother and sister-in-law to join us.

Art and I were again OK with it. My sister-in-law opted for a salad.

And mom?

She LOVED it!

Cherishing Everyday Moments

My mother is 90 and in good health. Her knee hurts and she's getting a little forgetful, but she's happy and content. (By the way, thank you very much for all your kind birthday wishes. She was totally tickled by your kind messages!)

My teeth don't hurt (I hate toothaches). I haven't broken any bones lately. I'm not in pain.

My children and their families are happy and more or less healthy.

My husband is also healthy and still jogging. We have had 46 years of contented marriage.

As I sat in my chair just thinking, I realized that I have so much to be grateful for. I wish I could capture this moment and keep it as it is now. I know it won't always be this way. I've been taking every day for granted.

But the future is not guaranteed.

So I'm sitting here and just appreciating the moment. It may be fleeting, but while I have it, I will enjoy it.

And to all our servicemen and women, both active and retired... our heartfelt thank you for your sacrifices and services to our country.

Mom's 90th Birthday Celebration

Mom has turned 90 this year! She keeps telling us how amazed she is that she has lived this long when she did not expect to live past her teenage war years. When she looks at photos of her now large family, it makes her smile.

We therefore wanted to plan a party for her that would mark the occasion happily. This is probably one of the few times she didn't try to talk us out of doing something for her.

My artistic "baby" brother, Dennis created some gorgeous thank you tags for the goodie bags Art and I put together.

We filled the goodie bags with some Asian treats, cookies and chocolates.

Auntie Dorothy is mom's younger sister. She is now confined to a wheelchair. Mom was so touched that she came with her husband who will turn 100 next year. Uncle and Auntie were  both full of smiles and enjoyed having this special time to share with each other. Mom was very moved by the effort she knew they made to come to the restaurant to be with her.

I'm sorry, but I've blurred photos of relatives I didn't ask permission to post on my blog.

My cousins and Dennis' family presented mom with gorgeous orchid and ohai ali'i leis.

And here's the birthday girl with her beautiful leis.

All the dishes at the Jade Garden Chinese Restaurant was wonderful, but mom liked the steamed fish the best, I think. It's not pictured here because it hadn't been served yet. We all enjoyed the bird's nest soup. There was so much food left over that everyone took some home for dinner.

Everyone was there except for two cousins. One cousin was returning from a trip and was in the air at the time of the party. The other cousin was recovering from a hospital stay.

Later in the afternoon, we had a cake with Dennis and his family.

I'd mentioned to everyone that presence alone was all that was requested for mom, but no one paid any attention to that.

Mom was so exhausted after the party that she took a long nap and skipped dinner before we had her open her presents in the evening. Oh my goodness! Everyone was so generous and now mom is busily writing her thank you notes.

I'm so relieved that it all worked out so nicely and mom is happy, touched and gratified by the kindness of the entire family.

Really Crispy Grapes vs. Crispy Grapes

A few weeks ago, we bought some grapes at Sam's Club that were incredibly sweet AND really, really crispy. There was a snap when you bit into it. It was great!

It was so fabulous that we finished it quickly and went back for another carton.

We bought this one and discovered that although it was sweet, it wasn't as super crisp.

That's when we figured out that they are a different variety.

A couple of weeks later the Autumn Crisp appeared again. They're both from California farms. I sure hope the fires aren't affecting any of these farms.

It's scary to think of all the people and farms that are now in peril from those horrific fires. Especially since my son was once a firefighter, those brave men and women out on the front lines are in my thoughts.

However... meanwhile, these grapes were sure worth looking for.

POSTSCRIPT:
My friend, Diane told me yesterday that she'd just seen the Autumn Crisps at Sam's Club and saw there were LOTS of them available. A shipment must have just come in.

Art and I thought about it and on a whim went directly to Sam's Club and bought two of the large containers. There were at least three refrigerated sections full of the Autumn Crisps and more waiting on crates.

Today, Diane texted me that her husband had gone down to Sam's Club and the Autumn Crisp grapes were ALL GONE! Good gosh! I jokingly told her that everybody must have read my blog and run down to Sam's Club to buy it all up.

She texted back, "Maybe."