Mad at Netflix?

In June or July of this year I thought we were paying $8.99 for one DVD at a time and Instant Streaming.  Maybe it was $9.99, I wasn't paying attention.  We used to constantly have to make time to watch the DVDs because we'd often be too busy.

It was also getting harder and harder to find movies we wanted to watch.

Then Netflix said they were changing the subscription prices to $15.99 for the same thing, about a 60% increase...OR $7.99 for Streaming and $7.99 for DVD rentals.  What's with the 99 cents thing anyway?  Why not call it $16.00 or $8.00?  Actually I did see some TV ads using the $8.00 pricing.  It's all so silly.

Since we were taking trips and were otherwise too busy, we cancelled our subscription and thought we'd change to just the streaming once our lives calmed down.  The problem with streaming is that there's not a lot of good movies.

All in all, I was rather irritated with Netflix thinking it was all just corporate greed.  We hear so much about Corporate Greed.  It seems only yesterday we were paying $5.99 a month for the DVD rental.  The price went up slowly.  However, a 60% increase sounded really greedy.

Then I got an e-mail from the Netflix CEO apologizing for disrespecting me by not explaining why the cost increase was necessary.

THEN I heard that the company became Netflix for the Instant Streaming and Qwikster for the DVD rental.  OK.... Is that supposed to make it better?  The price jump was still in place.

THEN I heard that the Netflix market share plummeted from $304.00 in July to $104.00 in October. 

Now I hear that it's back to the whole thing being Netflix BUT the price increase is the same.  My son-in-law was checking to see what the new pricing was and he was confused as to whether they were still offering the $7.99 price for just streaming or DVDs.  He gave up and went with Blockbuster since they still have a store very, very close by.

So the bottom line is that we're back to the same place with the giant increase, and this is supposed to lure subscribers back?

The problem here is that the Fall line-up of regular TV shows (we don't have cable) is here and it feels like it's enough TV for me.  I'm also discovering a lot of books I haven't read on my Kindle.  Some people have already found a lot of alternatives to Netflix. There are also a bunch of projects I can work on now instead of being stuck in front of the TV.    I'm thinking a lot of people are discovering the same sort of thing. 

This has to be good, right? 

Is it the Camera or the Photographer?

Art was looking out the upstairs window into the backyard and spotted a Cooper's Hawk on the oak branch. 

I heard his excited yell from downstairs, "Cooper's Hawk outside!" 

My son-in-law, Ed and Art went scrambling for their cameras to see if they could take a photo of the big bird of prey.  I grabbed mine also.

Sigh....

I'm afraid I was doing something wrong.  We were all taking photos out of windows with screens.  This was my photo with my new Canon SX30IS.  I think my window was dirty.  That's my excuse.

Here's Art's shot with his tiny Lumix.  I'll bet his window was just washed.

And here's Ed's photo with his gargantuan Canon SLR! 

Ed laughed saying it's the photographer, not the camera. Easy to say when you're holding that giant piece of equipment. 

I say it's the cleaner windows. 

Art says, "Would you just look at his camera?  Besides..." he consoled me.  "You were downstairs taking the photo into the sun.  We were upstairs with a better angle."

OK... maybe I'm a little mollified, but I suppose the reasons are a little or lot of everything.  Ed does have a very good (alright... excellent) artistic eye AND he has a giant camera!

Techie Child

Dianne of Schmidleysscribbling wrote a post about a county in Virginia who was switching from textbooks to e-books.  That's pretty amazing to me.  Those e-books are pretty small.  I wonder if they have something larger than the Kindle size.

It's a new world.  I know this is sounding redundant, but it still amazes me.

I was hurriedly doing a blog post when 4 year old KC came scrambling onto my lap.  She saw herself and promptly got very interested in all the photos.  "There's Aachan (Grandma)!" she called out excitedly.  My mother is actually her great-grandmother of course, but Mom is referred to as Aachan.

Soon, KC became impatient with how I was scrolling the photos and started to use the mouse pad to move the cursor herself.  Eventually, her hand started to push at the mouse I was using until I gave up and she took over.

Sheesh!

Tif says she's asking her techie husband, Ed to build a computer for KC.

My eyebrows went up.  "Is this wise?" I asked.  "Wouldn't she be spending too much time on the computer then?  Shouldn't she be spending her time writing, drawing and running around?" 

Tif smiled and said, "It's different now, Mom.  Kids are comfortable with computers and need to be more proficient to be successful."  Well... with two computer savvy parents, I don't think KC has anything to worry about.

77 Year Record Broken!

It really has been an amazing week.  It was rainy and cool  for several days when we arrived and then suddenly the sun came out and stayed.

Now we've learned that this has been the "Longest streak of consecutive 100% sunny days in 77 years!"

We need to add 2 more consecutive days to that streak because yesterday and today was bright and warm, too!

We brought down only the Spring-Fall clothes from the attic when we arrived in Illinois.  Now I'm wondering if we need to bring down the Summer box.

Yard Work!

Since our home in Hawaii has mostly concrete and gravel for lawn and garden, Art and I haven't had much gardening time in the last three years.

Our daughter, Tiffany had a list of things she wanted her father to take care of while we were here in Illinois.  One big thing on the list was to help clear out a lot of Buckthorn and other assorted bushes that we allowed to grow while Art and I lived here.  Our feeling was...If it's green and can survive the flooding and lack of sunlight in the back, it can stay.   I guess it wasn't the wisest thing we did, but sigh..

The problem now was Tif didn't know you did have to trim things back.  It had gotten horribly overgrown with Buckthorn and wild grape vines.  The grape vines or maybe they're Kudzu (for all I know) are extremely tenacious and seem to grow a foot a day.  They choke out everything else.  I've tried making them into wreaths and Art used it for rope, but finally gave up.  We had to just keep pulling them down and cutting them.  This photo was actually taken after many of the vines were already pulled down.  The honeysuckle bushes in front of our neighbor's fencing died from lack of sunlight. 

Luckily Illinois has had a string of wonderfully warm and sunny days.  This might be an Indian Summer. 

We worked for three days digging up bushes, cutting branches and transplanting hostas.  Wow!

Here's a photo of Art finally finding the stump that was the mother of all the wild grape vines.

Tiffany and I helped to dig, saw, and bundle branches.  It seemed never ending at first.  There was just so much to remove.  This large shady area had become a mosquito metropolis so that Tif and her family couldn't even enjoy the backyard.  We've discovered that KC is allergic to the bites because she develops horrible welts when she's bitten.  She may have inherited that from me and her mom.

There was so much landscape refuse that we hope the garbage truck will accept it all next week.

Art got a lot of exercise digging up the root ball of the rather tall Buckthorn trees.

I kept wishing we'd taken care of these invasive shrubs and trees when they were smaller.  There are more, but they're on our neighbor's property.  Perhaps we can help her remove them someday, but it's too exhausting for this year.

Many of the trees had grown so tall that they were pushing against the telephone and electricity wires.  The dark shade they cast also prevented the water (where we get lots of flooding) from evaporating more quickly in spring.

There's more sunshine coming through now and KC will have more room to play in.  I hope it will help the mosquito problem.  Gosh!  When I look at the first and compare it to this last one, you can hardly tell how much work we did.  I guess you'll just have to take my word for it.

I'm ready to sleep now!

Have You Tried Krispy Kale?

One of her friends introduced Tiffany to Krispy Kale last year and she fell in love with it.  I was amazed because she was never one to enjoy eating kale although Art and I really like it.

Tif made it tonight with sprinkles of Parmesan cheese.  She didn't drizzle the olive oil on the kale.  She's got a spray that she uses, and it works great to coat the kale more evenly.

I got this recipe from a website called Steamy Kitchen and it's really wonderful!

Ingredients: 

4 giant handfuls of kale, torn into bite-sized pieces and tough stems removed (about 1/3 pound)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt or kosher salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place the kale leaves into a salad spinner and spin all of the water out of the kale. Dump the water and repeat one or two times more just to make sure that the kale is extra dizzy and dry. Use a towel to blot any extra water on the leaves. Place the kale on the baking sheet.

3. Drizzle olive oil over the kale leaves and use your hands to toss and coat the leaves. Bake in the oven for 12-20 minutes until leaves are crisp. Take a peek at the 12 minute mark - the timing all depends on how much olive oil you use. Just use a spatula or tongs to touch the leaves, if they are paper-thin crackly, the kale is done. If the leaves are still a bit soft, leave them in for another 2 minutes. Do not let the leaves turn brown (they'll be burnt and bitter) Remove from oven, sprinkle with salt and serve.

I made this once in Hawaii and it didn't come out as crispy as I would have liked it.  I think it's because I salted it before I baked it.  I'll have to try it again because it was perfectly crispy and light tonight! 

I feel so healthy! 

UPDATE (November 3, 2011)  I tried making the Krispy Kale in Hawaii and couldn't get it to crisp.  I finally dropped the temperature to 285 degrees and baked for about an hour.  That did the trick.  It was perfect!  I don't know if it's because my daughter's oven in Illinois was gas whereas the oven in Hawaii is electric.

Bumps on the Head

A few years ago I was walking across the parking lot toward Sam's Club when I took a spill.  It happened so suddenly that I didn't even know what caused it.  I try not to use slippers (flip flops) when I go out anymore.  I fell like a tree and my head was the first thing that connected with the asphalt.  Someone passing by stopped and said they actually heard my head connect with the ground.  Sam's Club called an ambulance who gave me an ice pack and wanted to take me to the hospital.  I refused.  The stars and bright lights that were hovering around my consciousness, not to mention the pain had subsided.  I didn't want a fuss so I went home and took an aspirin and the lump soon went down.

The last time I was in Illinois about a year an a half ago I took a spill in the basement when I tripped over a rug.  Down went my head on the concrete.  I couldn't believe it!  What happened to our protective instincts that should have brought my arms up to break my fall?

Is this what happens when we age?

My aunt apparently had a fall a week ago.  Actually, she said she had several falls.  There was a build up of blood between her brain and skull which caused increasing pressure until she collapsed.  Luckily, my cousin found her and brought her to the hospital where they drilled a hole in her skull to release the blood.  The doctors said our brains shrink as we age so there was more space for the blood in her head.  They said that if this had happened to a younger person, it would have killed them.  Within a matter of a few days, Auntie was almost as good as new and back home recuperating.

I guess we all have to learn from this.  I will certainly take this to heart.  Next time I fall on my head, I WILL check it out.  I will be holding on to handrails.  I'll try to be more aware of my surroundings.  I've always heard that one of the biggest threats to older people are falls.  I can't keep thinking I'm invincible anymore.  That time is long passed.  Sigh...

The Girlfriends Club

I was able to get together with the "Girlfriends Club" again on Tuesday.  All nine of us taught together at the same school until one by one we retired or moved to a different school.  All but two of us are retired.  Even after a year and a half apart, it was like no time had passed.  The group meets once a month at the same round table at Ruby Tuesdays. 

The menu had changed, but I tried their New Orleans Seafood (Creole seasoned tilapia with Parmesan sauce), sugar snap peas and grilled zucchini.  I really liked it!  Some of the others were not thrilled with their choices, but I was lucky... or maybe I was hungry.

The best part of all, of course, was not the food.  It was being together again.  Just one friend had an emergency and couldn't be there, but the rest of us were able to catch up on our lives.  There were lots of travel stories, lots of new grandchildren, lots of school doings.  (And yes, I'm wearing my new blouse.)

What the girlfriends told me:

They told me that property taxes had jumped ridiculously high in Cook County and you should contest it.  Chicago must be going broke like Hawaii.  Property taxes, however are even higher in Chicago.  No kidding.

White fruits and vegetables will (may) cut your stroke risk.  I found this USA Today link.

Margarine is bad for you.  Well... I looked that up on the web and found out from the Mayo Clinic that it's not necesarily so.  Then again, I didn't do a thorough search so it's probably inconclusive.  If you know, please tell me.

Gosh!  It sure was a lot of fun!  I'm going to eat an apple tomorrow... and maybe a banana.  Maybe I'll check up some recipes for cauliflower.  We'll see.

Outlet Mall Shopping

Sunday was such a gorgeous, sunny day that Tiffany suggested we go to the Wisconsin Outlet Mall. (This is after she and Art ran the 5K Bucktown Race.)

Well, I'm always game for going to any Outlet Mall and this one in Wisconsin is my favorite.

Tiffany loves to see just how good a deal she can get.  What the heck!  So do I!  I don't know where she gets it, but she had a handful of $5.00 off coupons.  Granted, this can make me buy something that I don't really truly need in stores I don't always frequent.

Art and I had gone off by ourselves and I found these two long sleeve blouses which I'll leave in Illinois.  They were $19.00 down to $9.99 at Eddie Bauer.  I happen to like Eddie Bauer things.

I thought this was a pretty darn good deal until Tif insisted we go to the Van Heusen store because she had a $5.00 off coupon.  "I don't need another blouse,"  I insisted.

"Mom," Tiffany raised one eyebrow.  "When have I steered you wrong?"

Well, she found this $46.00 blouse (the purple ruffly one), down 70%, minus the $5.00 off coupon and I had to pay just $10.16.  And you know what?  I really like it!  I'd like to bring it home to Hawaii, but I'll keep it in Illinois also.  I don't have much use for long sleeves in Hawaii.

Well... it was certainly a successful shopping expedition for everybody, but I need to get to sleep.  I'm still not perfect.  I'm able to get some sleep, but I'm waking up at 3:30 AM.  I don't understand why.  Sighhhh...

Chipmunks and Squirrels... and

Chipmunks have been a problem ever since they arrived in our north Chicago area about a decade ago.  They are like mice except that their excessive tunneling is a real problem.  The other problem is that they are so darn cute.

My daughter, Tiffany tells me that one neighbor has trapped 10 of them and they're still around.  We knew we had at least one fellow who considered our house his private domain.  He greeted us every time we returned from an errand.

Tif and Ed finally realized they had to relocate this fellow before he and his family turned their yard into Swiss cheese.

Tif called the village to ask if they had a solution, but they just laughed.  Therefore, Tif and Ed decided to set the trap themselves.  What a surprise when we set the trap and left for the Apple Fest and returned home in the afternoon.  There he was... or was it a she?

We took the chipmunk to the local forest preserve and let him loose.  I was going to take a photo of him scampering away, but he was too quick for me.

Later in the evening Tif went out on an errand and was shocked to find something big and furry in the trap!  It was a gray squirrel!   Good grief!  I guess he likes Brazil nuts too.

Art went out and freed him.  We can co-exist with squirrels so long as they don't damage the window screens.

Squirrels are cute too.

We didn't see the persistent chipmunk this morning.  I'm hoping he's not like Lassie and can find his way back.

When I looked out the window this morning, look who I saw.   Another cute creature.  Ever since the West Nile disease killed off so many of the crows, the rabbits have flourished.  They are everywhere since they don't have many natural predators in the area.  Tif says they are annoying because they eat all the grass in spots until they kill it then move on to another spot until they managed to create another dead patch of grass in the lawn. 

There are also opossums who aren't all that cute, raccoons, SKUNKS, etc...  The wildlife in this area is quite a bit more interesting than in Hawaii.  Then again... there are no termites here.  Then again, there are carpenter ants.  Sigh...

Bucktown Race

Tiffany and Art went out early Sunday morning for the Bucktown 5K Race.  I barely heard them leave.  It's really fantastic that Tiffany has been running and exercising.  It's really toned her body even further and she looks fabulous! 

Art took these photos for me so I could see what it all looked like.  They tell me the crowd of runners was incredible.

Here's the father and daughter team.  They were actually also running with Jane, one of Tiffany's friends who is a physician.  I was counting on her to watch out for Art.

They ran through Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood.

Art says Tiffany was trying to run too fast but they had a respectable finish.  I'm very proud of both of them.  By the time I finished my breakfast, they had returned jubilant.

I was surprised at the goodies they received for participating in the race.  They did receive the usual bananas and apples, etc.

However, they also got these awesome jackets that were quite well made and fun to wear.  It's perfect for the fall weather we're having!

Long Grove Apple Fest

The sun finally came out this morning and stayed with us for the whole day.  We decided to take advantage of this gift and headed out to the Long Grove Apple Fest.  Long Grove is known for its chocolate candies.  Incredibly, I didn't buy any.

I've never been here for the Apple Fest so the crowds surprised me.

Well, of course KC got her daddy to buy her an apple.  Despite the 24 hour traveling/flying time from Singapore and the 13 hour time difference between Singapore and Chicago, Ed slept for 12 hours after arriving yesterday afternoon and with two big cups of coffee this morning appeared to be fine.

There was this display of chocolate covered strawberries, cheesecake and bananas, but I didn't buy any.

I did take a good long look at it though.

There were also fried Snickers and Twinkies, but I passed that by too.

The pumpkin displays really got you in the Fall spirit.

KC loved looking for the perfect pumpkin.

I tried the different sauces.  There was one hot sauce that even my Korean-American son-in-law said numbed his tongue so I decided not to get it for my brother.

KC just wanted a purple balloon butterfly.

Although KC has always been shy and wary of Santa Claus, this time she smiled and loved having her photo taken with Kris Kringle who was still on vacation till Christmas.

There were LONG LONG LONG lines for the Apple Haus brown bag apple pie.  We got ours.

It's always been our favorite apple pie.

However, you do know that it is chock full of butter and sugar.  It's scrumptious!

It was a beautiful, sunny day.  When we got home there were e-mails from both my cousin and brother informing me that my two aunts are doing well.  One is recuperating at home.  Auntie Grace will be discharged in a day or so.  What a relief!

It was a perfectly wonderful day!

Worry

It's been a rough first week in Illinois.  Art caught a cold almost as soon as he got off the airplane at O'Hare.  We both got hit with jet-lag.  Tif and KC arriving from Singapore the day before also were suffering the effects of jet-lag and travel exhaustion.

It was still wonderful for us to all be together at last.

I am having the worst time getting my brain acclimated to the five hour time difference.  Art had trouble staying asleep because of his congestion.  Benedryl seems to help.  I might even take it tonight just as a sleep aid.

A couple of my very dear friends took me out for a long lunch on Thursday to catch up and just smile at each other after a year and a half apart.  I'd love to have sat with them all day.  When I returned home, Tif laughed and said that KC asked, "Why is it taking so long for grandma to eat lunch?"

It was such a happy day... and then things took a downward turn.

I received a message from my cousin saying that Auntie Grace had collapsed and he was sitting outside the ICU waiting for the prognosis.  I called mom to relay the upsetting news.  She was waiting for news about her other sister who was having some surgery done at another hospital. Now both of her sisters were in the hospital undergoing serious operations.

We've just spent two weeks with Auntie Grace in Alaska a month ago.  She is the most energetic, vibrant person I know.  I was up all night remembering the way she embraces life.  My heart went out to my cousins, because I know how worried I would feel if it were my mother.

I did get heartening news this morning.  My cousin e-mailed that Auntie was already reading in bed and giving him a million directions on feeding the dog and how to care for her plants.  This is excellent news.

Maybe I'll be able to sleep tonight.

Fall in the Midwest

It's cloudy, cold and rainy today and it's been that way since we arrived.  One thing about weather forecasts on the mainland, they tend to be accurate.  I like watching the weather news in Hawaii, but mostly to laugh because it's rarely correct.  It really depends on which street you live on.  It might be rainy a mile away, but it'll be sunny over your house in Hawaii.  The sun is always shining some place in Hawaii.

So it's rainy here.  It was a rather surreal feeling to be back in the Midwest.  For one thing, there's so many more tall trees, so many more bushes, lots of grass.  It's also fall so trees are changing their colors.  It's glorious, and will be even more so when we're scheduled to have some sun.

I love this flower garden that Tif has created under the weeping cherry tree.

We also noticed this chipmunk tunnel in front of the house.   Chipmunks are cute but the MANY tunnels they've dug are problematic.  They've managed to undermine the concrete walkway and some of the house foundations in the area.

Tif put this plastic snake next to the house to scare them.  It hasn't worked.  I saw one chipmunk stop and laugh at it.

The chipmunks here are just as smart as the mynahs in Hawaii.

KC's 2nd Day of Pre-School

KC saw my blog this morning and found the photos of herself.  "That's me!" she laughed.

I told her that I wrote about her first day of school and how I was impressed that she had three nice teachers in her class.  She was lucky to have so many friends who were happy to see her.  I also told her that I was sad to see how she'd tearfully clung to her mommy's legs and that it wasn't really a nice way to behave at school.  I said I'd be watching how she behaved at school this morning. 

She went into class beautifully and pretty much ignored us as we left, already looking to see what new activity was being set up for the new day.  Tif had several errands to run so Art and I picked her up a couple of hours later. 

KC said she had a great day and played with her good friend, Henry.  His mom told me outside while we were waiting that Henry had sung a song he'd thought up about KC. 

As we were driving home, I told KC that I was really surprised at how she always knew where she was going since I tend to get lost.

"I just look and see what looks familiar," she explained.  "If lots of things look familiar, I know I'm going in the right direction.  I just have to find things to recognize."

Did I tell you that my granddaughter is four years old?  Since when did she start using such big words?  Wasn't it yesterday that we were trying to get her to say, "Mommy?"

I think my mouth dropped open.  Out of the mouth of babes...
"I'm just going to have to pay more attention," I told her.   She nodded knowingly.

Tif says in Singapore, KC even surprised her father with how quickly she managed to navigate her way around their hotel.

I still think a sense of direction is somewhat genetically imprinted.  KC's parents both have an excellent sense of direction. Art does.  Tif knows I can't find my way out of a paper bag.

Well, KC had a great day at school and couldn't wait to show her mom her new artistic creation.  Since KC is happy, we're all happy.

KC's First Day of Pre-School

KC actually missed the first week of pre-school because she and her parents were in Singapore.  They were there to keep her daddy company doing computer techie work.  Tif tells me they had a wonderful time despite the HEAT and humidity in that immaculate city.  Is that the place you get flogged if you drop gum on the street?  Tif says there are cameras everywhere.

Oh oh... I'm getting distracted.

It made me smile to see my little girl dressed to take her daughter to school.  There's a term for women who live north of Chicago.  It's called "Northshore Moms."   Tif says she thinks it's more an insult.  It's to describe women who live in the more affluent areas north of Chicago.  No, they don't live in the affluent area, but seeing her dressed up made me think of it.  Actually, I just thought she looked mighty nice and elegant.  I was proud of how nicely she grew up.  I went to my room and put on make-up.  Funny thing.  I usually go without make-up in Hawaii.  In Chicago, I tend to put it on.  It's a lot more casual in Hawaii.

Oh oh.... I'm getting distracted again.

Today was KC's first day of pre-school.  Because she is home with her mom all the time, KC has a difficult time separating from her.  She's also been with both parents for several weeks so that makes the transition more difficult.

I told her before we dropped her off how excited I was about going with her to her school.  I gave her an assignment to tell us what the happiest, most fun thing was when she came home.  She replied, "Well... Grandma, I'd better tell my teacher to write it down because I might forget."

I told her, "No, you have to make sure you remember all the details so you can tell us.  However, I just know you'll be able to do this."

She went in happily and showed us where her coat went and I got to meet her three teachers. 

Parting was still difficult and they had to peel KC off from her mom's legs, but it was quick, painless and we were out the door in a flash.  Did it bother me?  Not one iota.  I was a teacher and I've seen enough of this to know her tears would stop by the time we got to the parking lot. 

When we picked KC up, she'd remembered to tell us what she enjoyed and who she played with.  She said her teachers showed everybody where KC had been on the map.  Singapore is very far away.

Although KC loves ballet class, Tif encouraged her to skip it today in favor of a nap.  We all took a nap this afternoon!

Back "Home" Again!

I guess we're always going to feel like we've got two homes, Illinois and Hawaii.  We lived in Illinois for 35 years before returning "home" three years ago to Hawaii where we were born and grew up.

We left last night on the 5 hour red-eye 10:15 US Airways flight to Phoenix, Arizona. My brother, Dennis drove us to the Honolulu International Airport.  It went smoothly until we got to Phoenix.  We had 30 minutes to transfer planes.  The flight attendant made the announcement that there were passengers who had a short turn-around time and asked everyone else to remain seated.  Tsk!  Some people were considerate, but on the most part... no.  Too many people jumped up and started trying to get their big carry-ons from the overhead compartments, blocking the aisle. 

Once out of the airplane, we looked at the monitor for our next gate and started running. My backpack was not light and Art's was 20 pounds, but we ran!  I was out of breath by the time we were half way there.  We had to go from the end of terminal B to the end of terminal A!  Arrrgh!

Just when I thought I'd collapse, an airport staff person on one of those transport cars stopped and asked where we were going.  What an angel!  He said we'd never make it on foot and gave us a ride to the gate.  THANK GOODNESS! The gate was deserted by the time we got there.  I thought we'd be the last ones, but no... there were a number of others who came on after us.  I don't think they got a ride like we did. 

Tif and KC had returned from Singapore yesterday and were exhausted as well, but when we appeared at the baggage area of O'Hare Airport in Chicago KC jumped up and down shouting, "Grandma!  Grandpa!"  Tif said KC loved Singapore and wouldn't have wanted to leave until she was reminded that we would be coming from Hawaii. 

I have to get to bed now.  It will be KC's first day at pre-school and I've told her that I can hardly wait to see her new classroom.  She is smiling at me and nodding her head, but has told her mommy that she doesn't want to go. 

We'll see.

It's nice to be back!  Gee, it's a trifle chilly here.  Definitely not tank top weather.

In the Air Again!

We'll be taking the red-eye to Chicago tonight and I'm not looking forward to it.  We've been running around to the last day getting things packed, organized, bought, mailed, cleaned, cut, prepared, planned, scheduled, ETC. 

Singapore

We talked to our daughter, Tiffany and know she is equally stressed.  She just returned from Singapore a few hours ago where she and KC were keeping our son-in-law company since he had a computer techie type job there to do.  I wish he could have come home together with Tif, but he's got a week more of work to do.  We told Tif she should stay with him and we could take care of ourselves... but no, she's come home and is running around filling the fridge and getting ready for our arrival.  It's a 24 hour travel epic from Singapore to Chicago!  Poor Tiffy.

I imagine we'll all crash (I meant go to sleep.) once we get there.

Saturday Sights: Senior Fair and Wine for Kids?

The bathroom is clean.  Our hair is cut.  Our one suitcase is packed with Kona coffee and macadamia nut candy.  So we had a little time...sort of.

We got up early to fight the crowds and traffic again and headed out to Honolulu for the Senior Fair.  My sister-in-law had to work, but my brother, Dennis was able to accompany us into Honolulu.  It's great having him with us since he knows Honolulu like the back of his hand.  He works for the Honolulu Police Department crime lab.
 
He was able to guide us to avoid traffic to get to Honolulu.  We laughed when we saw the crowds at the Blaisdell Center.  Wouldn't you know it seniors would be the ones to usually get up early to go anywhere?

Mom got her blood pressure checked.

Then came Dennis' turn.  He and mom also got their flu shots from the Kaiser Permanente booth.  (Art and I got ours at Tripler yesterday.)  

We then walked around the center visiting a lot of the displays.  Sigh... no, we didn't buy the Butter cookies. However, we collected a lot of freebies.  Art signed up for his Zippy's Senior Card (must be 65) so he can always get 10% off his check from any Zippy's location.  It costs $.99 for 2 years.  It'll cost you $2.00 if you go to Zippy's to do it.  I did the prize wheel at the Walgreens booth and got a $5.00 gift card to use at any Walgreens in the country.  Whoopie!

We sure did have fun.  Well, I did anyway.

After dropping off the Travel album with Auntie Grace we went to lunch and then to Marukai which is a membership store that sells a lot of Japanese groceries.  I went to the Hello Kitty kids section since we wanted to see if there was anything KC might like.  Everything was over priced.  Dennis pointed out this sparkling wine warning (in small print) that it does contain alcohol.

I saw this little girl pick it up and bring it to her mom.  There is something so not right about this!