Greedy Birds, Up High in the Papaya Tree

Just before he left, Art had one last project to do. Remember how the birds were eating our papayas? We've looked at all the neighbors' papaya trees and they don't have the same problem we do. We know why. We have the sweetest tree in the neighborhood!

It's true. I really think we do. It's been the sweetest papayas we've had so far and even better than the ones from the farmers markets.

The birds know it and are determined to have it.  Art is just as determined to keep his fruit. The birds don't just eat the ripe ones. They've been pecking at ALL of them to see if any might be ready even though the fruit is still green. The last straw came when they actually pecked at the thick stem of the tiny baby papaya and let it drop to the ground.  How nasty and greedy is that?

Thank you, everybody for your recommendations about using the bird net. We didn't think it would work because the holes in the net are too big and the birds would still be able to peck right through. Therefore, Art had the bright idea to make a cover using the sort of material they use for landscaping.  Well... we happened to have some in the tool shed.

First he had me sew a channel into the top and bottom to create a covering for the papayas so that the birds couldn't see the fruit.

Then he got on a ladder and tied the covering on it. I hope it works. The birds can't see the fruit well, but then neither can we so we'll have to keep going up the ladder to check.

Before he left, Art checked his handiwork one last time. "Don't worry," he told mom. "The birds need to perch in order to eat it. This will work."

After he left, she chuckled and said, "I don't think so."

A Quiet House

The house is so quiet.  

My brother, Dennis, sister-in-law, Nancy, nephew, Barry and his wife, Miho were here tonight for dinner.  We welcomed Dennis and Nancy home from their mainland car trip and said goodbye to Art.  After dinner, Dennis and Nancy took Art to the airport which is on the way home for them.

My childhood buddies, Joanne and Diane have invited me to spend Friday afternoon with them going to the Farmers Market and then dinner at a restaurant on Monday. We have line dancing on Tuesdays. 

Art taught me how to use the DVD player before he left and called me from the airport to tell me all is well so far and that he was waiting at the gate.  He'll be boarding the plane soon.

The house is so quiet.

I can hear my footsteps as I pad around the room.  The ticking of the clock echoes against the walls.  The house seems darker somehow.  Maybe I'll go turn the light on in his office.  

Actually, this time alone is probably good for me.  I can try standing on my own feet.  I'll be on my own schedule.  I'll have to make my own oatmeal in the morning.  Maybe I'll learn how to make coffee again.  

But gosh...

The house is so quiet.

Leaving Me

Yup! Art is leaving me. His bags are packed and he's ready to go.

This is such a weird feeling. We haven't been apart since he retired over a decade ago. Actually, it's not like I'm really alone. It's true, Mom is here taking care of me. My brother and sister-in-law are back from the mainland so I can call them if I need anything. It's true. I have friends close by who have offered to help because they know I don't drive farther than I can walk. It's true.

Art is visiting with friends in San Francisco for a week. They wanted me to come also, but to be perfectly honest... there was a cost factor and there was that exhaustion problem. I've barely recovered from the National Parks trip and we're leaving for Alaska next month. I needed time to get back to normal. Art is much more resilient than I am. I also have that genealogy project that I've been working on for a year for Art's family. It needs to be completed.

We also have a trip scheduled later to spend time in Chicago with my daughter and her family and I didn't want to leave my mother by herself more than we have to.

So I'll be alone, sort of.

I do have more work to do. There's the window finishing (patching and painting). I've been putting that off. No excuses now.

Art will be traveling with his good buddy, Sam (flying in from Japan) from college, and will stop to see my sister-in-law, Kay and her husband who are fishing in Mono Lake right now.  It'll be a guy type adventure.  Kay called to say there's a lot of mosquitoes out there.  I never did get that Aspivenin (insect venom sucker outer) like I planned to when we were in Canada.

I hope it's Art and Sam that get bites (from fish) rather than the mosquitoes (from Art and Sam).

I'll be just fine over here.

Lunch at Shirokiya in Ala Moana Shopping Center

Mom heard on the radio that Shirokiya, a Japanese store and restaurant had revamped their food area to make it just like Japan.

"Would you like to go?" asked Art. We thought she'd say no because she hates imposing on us for anything.

"OK," she said.

"Would you like to invite the aunties and uncle?" asked Art.

"OK, I'll call them now." she answered happily.

Now we were really surprised. It sounded like she really wanted to try this place. Auntie Grace said she wasn't very interested because she didn't like the food there very much.

Mom told her it was supposed to have improved with more varieties. Auntie Dorothy said she and uncle were willing to give it a try. Auntie Grace said if Auntie Dorothy was going, she'd love to join her sisters.


There were a lot of little food booths to choose from. They'd added what looked like an artificial wisteria arbor.

But you know what? The food was still so-so. Art's dish might have been the best of what we all chose. I wouldn't go there again.


It was still great to have the three sisters together and we always love seeing uncle.

Art is now excitedly planning our 2012 trip to Japan so mom can have some much better tasting Japanese food in a real Japanese setting.

Mom, who told us she didn't want to travel anymore is giving him lots of ideas for places to see. Mom, who said she can't stand the cold is saying it'll be OK to go in spring because it would be nice to see some cherry blossoms. Mom, who said she prefers staying at home is saying it'll be nice to see her family in Japan again.

"It'll be my last trip," says Mom. As I recall, she said that after our 1st trip to Japan, our trip to the Northwest, our 2nd trip to Japan, and our trip to the National Parks. She'll probably say it again after our trip to Alaska later this year.

We'll see...

Mother of a Los Alamos Firefighter

Four years ago, our son graduated from his firefighter training at Los Alamos. It was strenuous and demanding. We were so proud of Jon when he accomplished his training and attended the graduation ceremony.

In this photo he had just demonstrated to us how quickly he could get into his uniform. We were shocked at how heavy the jacket and helmet were. We were amazed at what it takes for firefighters to carry all that weight plus the hose, etc.


He didn't tell us he was chosen to be a flag bearer. Bald was never a good look for Jon, but he looked just dandy to us.

He was a firefighter for Los Alamos for a couple of years before he decided to go back to school to earn another degree.

I remember when he took us to Los Alamos to see the places he would be assigned to protect. He told us that whereas in other places firefighters will leave if the building is ready to collapse, the firefighters of Los Alamos cannot. They are the last line of defense against a nuclear disaster. Los Alamos is where the nuclear laboratories are housed.

I remember seeing a fellow on TV who looked a whole lot like this speaker at Jon's ceremony. He was on TV reassuring the public that his firefighters were all doing their best.

I was really feeling for all the loved ones of those firefighters these past couple of weeks knowing how worried they must be. I know Jon must have been thinking about the men and women he once worked with.

As proud as I was of Jon, I'm rather glad he's in a different kind of lab right now, researching microbes and such.

There was quite a bit of complaint in many states that they couldn't have fireworks because of how hot and dry it's been. It would only take one stray bit of tinder to ignite another horrible fire.

Please everybody, show your patriotism by respecting those brave firefighters out there who put their lives on the line for you. Skip the fireworks. Have parades, have picnics, have fun and have a wonderful 4th of July!

The Dream

My nephew, Shawn was married to his Jeni this past weekend. My brother and sister-in-law went to attend the wedding on the mainland. We are overjoyed!

Shawn had retnoblastoma as a baby and has been blind from birth, but he has overcome many obstacles in his young life. He had to be closely monitored and endure some painful tests to make sure the cancer did not recur after his eyes had to be sacrificed.

He was blessed with a talent for music and became an entertainer in Waikiki. He's performed in Japan and the mainland. He sings and plays a variety of instruments including the guitar, ukulele and drums. He has four CDs to his name, one of which won a Hoku award for Hawaiian music.

However, he's always wanted to have someone special to share his life with. We are thrilled that he has. Mom gave Shawn her wedding rings to give to his new bride.

Yesterday mom said she had a strange dream. She dreamed that she was at Shawn's wedding and there weren't enough drivers. Shawn came up to her and said, "Don't worry, grandma. I'll drive." He then got into the driver's seat and she sat in the back.

"But, Shawn," she said, "You're not able to drive."

Shawn turned around and smiled. Mom was startled to see that he had his beautiful brown eyes again.

I told mom that I could see a whole lot of meaning in her dream. Now that Shawn is married, living away from his family, and following another path, he is fulfilling his own dreams. He is in the driver's seat now and ready to go where he wants to go. He's truly found happiness and able to see a brighter future.

Mom is often plagued with post traumatic nightmares. It's nice to know that she had such a wonderful dream, full of happiness and promise.

Our best wishes to you both, Shawn and Jeni!

Mom vs. THE Birds

My mother keeps telling Art that it's time to pick the papaya from the tree, but Art likes to let the fruit ripen as long as possible.

When he finally picked the papaya this time, after much hinting from my mom, they were in for a shocking surprise!


The birds had gotten to it! We can't blame just the bulbuls this time. The mynahs, sparrows, pigeons, doves, finches all had their beaks into it. I was surprised at what a clean circle they made. They got right in and ate everything they could! They'd never done this before.


I looked out the window the following morning and found that the birds were already starting on another papaya. Looks like we're now going to have to pick the fruit green before the birds discover it.

Mom would never say it out loud to her favorite son-in-law (well... only son-in-law) but you just know she was thinking... "I told you so..."

National Parks Road Trip Album

I have a feeling that people who know us have no idea what it takes for us to create our Trip Photo Album. If they did, they'd think we were crazy!

Here's what we do:

Step #1: Review all the photos! We had three cameras going full blast so there were a ton of photos. There were approximately 3,280 photos taken. I'm not counting the ones we deleted.

Step #2: I select all the photos I think are reasonable and place them on digital pages.

Step #3: Art goes over and red frames the ones that he feels should be deleted.

Step #4: Review our choices several more times. We have our haggling to do at this time... with gritted teeth (just kidding... sort of). Art remembers every single photo he took and I can't help but be partial to mine. Tiffany is in Chicago so she can't say anything and doesn't care anyway.

Step #5: I format the pages with the photos that we finally agree on.


Step #6: Art writes in the details of the trip; where we were, history, identity of the wildlife, etc.


Step #7: I add speech bubbles to show the gist of what we were thinking at the time. No, don't believe Art. I don't put speech bubbles on every page.

Step #8: We go over the flow of the pages.

Step #9: Take the pages to Office Depot to be printed. (They didn't turn out very well this time, but we no longer print our own photo pages at home because it's just too darn expensive.) I put them into a binder and make the cover.

Step #10: We make pdf and jpeg versions of the album for family (and interested friends, if they want one) and save them to a disk.

Is it worth the craziness? It's taken us nearly two weeks to finish this National Parks album and we were working on it constantly!

I just saw my mother downstairs happily looking through all the album photos and reviewing it with her journal notes. She's called Auntie Grace to tell her we're bringing her copy of the album over tomorrow.

It's well past my mother's bedtime, but she's still awake, able to remember again all the beauty of what she's seeing in the 97 pages of documentation we created for her and Auntie Grace.

Is all that work worth it? It is to us.

POSTSCRIPT (for my Seattle friends): The only food my mother remembers is the Ivar's clam chowder that we had at the airport. She says it was the most delicious food she remembers from the whole trip!

POSTSCRIPT #2: Yes, the cover photo was taken by Art. I conceded that one and even selected it.

Ladybug?

I asked mom what she liked most about our Yellowstone, Rushmore, Glacier, Waterton trip and she said, "The views."

"But which views?" I asked.

She found this a difficult question because everything she saw was so wonderful that she said it was hard to choose. When pressed, she said she loved Apgar's Lake McDonald in Glacier. She said she loved that lodge right next to the lake.

Art says he liked the BEARS and CUBS. What can I say? We did live in Chicago for 35 years! (For friends from other countries: The Chicago Bears is an American football team. The Chicago Cubs is the baseball team.) It was the first time we've ever seen them (the animal bears and cubs, I mean) in the wild.

Auntie Grace said early on that she loved the colors of the Hot Springs in Mammoth, Yellowstone. She was just so impressed with all the vibrant hues we saw everywhere. She also loved the varied spring flowers.

I e-mailed Tif and asked what their favorite thing was. Looks like they couldn't decide on what was the one best thing because I got this list.

Tiffany said:
1. Having all of us together to see Yellowstone (including Jon)
2. The view from Village Inn at Apgar (and watching KC playing on the rocks by the water)
3. Seeing the little bear cubs, especially the little one catching up to the others.
4. Grand Prismatic Springs (seeing the orange clothed monks in the distance through the fog/steam)
5. Frozen over Lake Cameron in Waterton

KC said:
1. Seeing the lady bug (That’s what she's been telling people!) at the Grand Tetons
2. Seeing the bears walk by the window and mommy closing the window so the bears didn’t eat her. (She’s told a couple people this.)
Also the little bear that was slow, like her, running to catch up.
3. Macaroni and cheese
4. Getting the stuffed bear and little fish from Aachan. 

KC is referring to my mom (her great-grandmother). Aachan is short for Obaachan in Japanese. We had two grandmothers on this trip.) She calls me Grandma. Her other grandmother is called Harmoni (Korean for grandmother).

My favorite? You all know I love Apgar's Lake McDonald at Glacier too, but I've got to say what I loved most was being with family and seeing my son, Jonathan! That capped this trip as one of the best we've ever taken. I still haven't gotten over the shock of his surprise visit.

Oh... then there were the flowers, the mountains, the lakes, the animals, the gorgeous skies... sigh...

POSTSCRIPT: KC just called and I asked my four year old granddaughter what her favorite thing was on the trip. She confirmed what Tif said.

"The LADYBUG!" she laughed happily. Then she went on to talk about "the mommy bear and the two baby bears and that slow one who had to run on his paws to catch up and...."

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Sorry for the confusion yesterday everybody. I meant for only one post to go up yesterday, but I must have dated this one incorrectly and I had two posts being published in one day. It ruined my sense of order so I am moving this post to today.

Movie Recommendation: Finding Forrester

We ordered Finding Forrester from Netflix and watched it last night. I'd forgotten that we'd seen it before. In fact, I forgot almost everything from it. Maybe this is good because I liked it so much that in another few years I can enjoy it all over again without remembering what it was about...again.

I got this blurb about the movie online:

"Because of scoring exceptionaly high on a state wide standardized exam and being an exceptionally good basketball player Jamal Wallace is sent to a prestigious prep school in Manhattan. He soon befriends the reclusive writer, William Forrester. The friendship leads to William to overcome his reclusiveness and for Jamal to overcome the racial prejudices and pursue his true dream - writing."

I was surprised to hear Iz Kamakawiwo'ole on the soundtrack singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow. It's amazing how many times we've heard Iz's rendition in movies. It was also a surprise to see Matt Damon in a cameo.

I really would like to recommend this movie. It left both Art and me feeling really good. I love it when a movie leaves you feeling uplifted.

POSTSCRIPT: Two posts went up today by mistake (mine) so I've moved the other one about the Ladybug to tomorrow. I've saved the comments to add once it goes up also.

Shopping Frenzy or Back in Time With Friends

When Art and I moved back to Hawaii, I worried about leaving all our friends in Illinois, not to mention our daughter and her family. There were 35 years of friendships we were leaving behind, not to mention neighbors and the life we made there.

However, we did have our childhood friends here in Hawaii (and the rest of our family) ... and that has made all the difference to our making a new life for ourselves here.

I've known Diane since kindergarten and Joanne since high school. We were all roommates in college at one time or another.

"Hey, guys," said Joanne one day. "How about going shopping to Price Busters and Ross?" Ross is a discount clothing store like TJ Maxx in Illinois. Since it's a break from Line Dancing right now, we decided to take that night to go out together.

Oh my gosh! What a time we had!

"Isn't this like high school?" Joanne asked at one point.

And indeed it was! What a feeling! We would all take some blouses into the dressing room, change and then jump out at the same time and ask, "What do you think? Can you see through this material? Does this color look all right? Is the neckline too low?"

We all encouraged each other to try something out of our comfort zone. I usually wear solid knit t-shirts or tank tops.

This was a departure from my usual style, but I'm glad Joanne and Diane convinced me to try it.

This one piece blouse was $9.99 and made in the U.S.A. Can you believe it? Wahoo!


This blouse was $7.49 and on the Clearance rack. With the Tuesday Senior Discount, my purchases totalled less than $17.00. I just looked at the tag a moment ago and saw that the 2nd blouse was actually Maternity wear. (I can't hem it up because it's a stretchy material and one piece as well.)

Oops!

No wonder I liked the way it covered certain problem areas!

"Remember how we used to take The Bus to Honolulu when we were in high school?" asked Joanne.

"We used to go to Kress and buy nail polish (that's about all we could afford) and feel so free and grown up," added Diane.

Yes... those were the days my friends, and I'm so glad we have them back again.

Day #14 Billings to Seattle to Honolulu

Tif woke when we started quietly preparing for our departure. KC slept through it all.

The Quality Inn in Billings was wonderful. They provided free shuttle service for Tif and KC, a free breakfast buffet and even free chili for a late snack the night before.

After sad parting hugs with Tiffany, we were quickly out the door and on our way to Billings Airport.


The little propeller airplane was a surprise.


The flight was uneventful to Seattle and we had an early morning brunch of Ivar's clam chowder.

Once on the airplane we were shown that it was 2,677 miles between Seattle and Honolulu. It was startling to realize that our road trip according to the minivan rental company covered 2,648 miles.


It felt strange to be home in Hawaii again. Cousin Arnold was there to pick up his mom and us.

When I got up the following morning, I didn't quite know where I was and felt a little disappointment that there wasn't one more day to see even more of our country and Canada's wonders.

And then the jet lag hit!

But you know what? It was worth it! It truly was a fabulous trip and we were awfully lucky in so many ways. Everyone in Yellowstone and Glacier told us about the humungous snowfall they had the week before we arrived. When we talked to our neighbors in Hawaii they all told us about the horrendously unseasonable and violent weather Hawaii had been having while we were gone.

All I can say is... we were lucky, very lucky.

Day #13 Waterton, Canada to Billings, Montana

We got up today at 6:00 AM in Waterton and were on the road by 6:40.


KC went back to sleep in her carseat.

While crossing the border into the U.S. Art asked if they would stamp KC's passport for her. The agent said they did have a special stamp that they use only for children. We thought the bear was very appropriate.

The weather was absolutely stunning.

There was no flooding on this return trip.


There were no bison on the road, but plenty of cattle.

When we arrived back in Billings, we ate at the Jade Palace. Someone saw Art taking our photo and ran over to offer to take it for us.

We were a little melancholy knowing that Art, Auntie, Mom and I would be getting up at 3:30 to catch the 6:00 AM flight back to Hawaii. We had a later flight originally, but Alaska Airlines cancelled the flight and we were stuck with this one.

Tiffany's flight had also changed and she would leave at a later time. We were supposed to have left at the same time. Luckily, the hotel offered a shuttle to the airport for her and KC.

It made us sad to think of KC waking to find us gone.

Day #12 St. Mary, Glacier National Park to Waterton, Canada

We had breakfast at the Park Cafe close by the St. Mary Lodge and Resort and were on the road again by 9:15. Service at the cafe was very slow.

Great Grandma had bought KC a stuffed bear in Yellowstone and she grew very attached to it, hugging it while napping in her car seat.

There were quite a number of people who were surprised to see four generations traveling together and commented on the pleasure of seeing it.

At last! We were in Canada!

And so were the bears!

What a surprise! In all the years where we've been warned about bears, this was the first time we'd actually seen them in the wild.


This mama black (looked brown to me) bear with three of her cubs went right by our car on Akamina Parkway. Tiffany quickly rolled up our windows... just in case, especially with KC wanting to stick her head out for an even closer view.

We thought there were only two cubs until we saw the third slow poke come moseying out of the woods.

Surprisingly, we saw bears two more times while in Canada. I guess the bears like Canadians just like we do.


Lake Cameron was covered with ice and snow. You wouldn't think KC was from Chicago. She had such fun stomping on snow and rolling snowballs.


And yes, we took a million photos here. I'll spare you and post just these few.


A Canadian visitor (I just love LOVE the Canadian accent) said this bird was a Camp Robber or a Whiskey Jack. When I checked my Pocket Guide, it's listed as a Gray Jay.

When I think about it, it must be funny to listen to our group. We had a Midwestern accent, a baby accent, a Japanese accent and a Hawaii accent... well sort of. Local people say Art and I haven't quite perfected the Island speech yet.

We stopped along this roadside to look at all the gorgeous wildflowers. I don't have enough adjectives to describe the beauty of the day.

I wish I knew the name of this flower.


This is a Larkspur.

Lungwort is rather a funny name for this shy flower.

Red Rock Canyon was also full of different wildflowers.


We stayed at the Bear Mountain Motel and were surprised to be charged less than we thought we were going to have to pay. We are quite aware that the Canadian dollar is doing better than ours right now.


Despite the little chill, nobody passed up the chance of having ice cream.


We took a walk around town and managed to find a park where KC had a fabulous time.


Dinner was at Zums right in Waterton. Tif drove her grandmother, grandaunt and me back to the motel while Art walked back with KC.

When we were all settled for the night, KC asked, "Can I have a foot massage, Grandma?"

She remembered my giving her foot massages when they were in Hawaii last December.

Our trip was coming to a close and I really didn't want it to end.

We had only one day left to be together.