Light Ice?

Whenever my Zumba buddies and I go mall walking we end up at Starbucks for drinks afterwards for some socializing because it's the only place that's open at that hour. We always complained that there was too much ice and very little tea or coffee making it even MORE expensive than it already was.

Photo from Starbucks site

Then my daughter, Tiffany arrived from Illinois and told me that we should have been ordering LIGHT ice.

Really???

You can order less ice?  Isn't the drink pre-measured?

Well...

The next time we went to the mall Tiffany did the ordering for me. She ordered ICED chai latte with soy milk (60 cents extra for those of us who are lactose intolerant) and LIGHT ice.

I figured they'd cut the ice and I'd just end up with less chai tea also.

But no....

I actually did get chai latte to the brim with much less ice. Wow! I spread the word to my other Zumba buddies and we are much more pleased with our drinks now.

Still... these drinks are really quite pricey. However, we're doing it for just a short time until our Zumba class is back again in August.

Making a Keyboard Cover

My granddaughter, KC has been taking piano lessons for a few years and making wonderful progress. She is supposed to be practicing everyday and I didn't want her to lose any of her skills while in Hawaii for five weeks.

We considered buying a rather inexpensive keyboard for her to practice on but her teachers felt it would be better not to practice than to use a cheap small keyboard since her ability is greater. I don't play the piano so I have no idea what they're talking about.

That's when I learned that my nephew, Barry had a very wonderful keyboard that has 88 keys like a real piano. He very kindly loaned it to us for the length of KC's stay. Barry and his brothers are all musically talented.

He asked us to keep the towel on it when it's not in use to prevent dust from settling between the keys.

I decided to surprise Barry with a nicer keyboard cover than the bath towel.

We went to Walmart and I bought a more masculine looking material with a Hawaiian print. I loved it when a customer looking at the cloth gushed over how much she liked it and asked what I was making with it. I took it home and then lined, tucked and sewed it to keyboard size.

I hope Barry likes it. I'm sure he'll just be glad I didn't make the cover out of a princess theme that KC might have enjoyed more.

And as for KC...

We sure are loving listening to her practicing everyday during her stay with us.

Mystery Cactus Solved

A few years before my Auntie Grace passed away, she gave my mother a small cactus plant that grew into what looked almost like a cactus vine growing up her garage. We planted it in our small garden where it just didn't seem to be happy. There were several times that we considered pulling it out because it didn't look alive anymore.

And then one day last year we decided to have my cousin, Arnold over for dinner. Auntie Grace had passed away and we wanted to let him know we were thinking about him.

To our utter and complete astonishment, that rather ungainly cactus suddenly produced an incredibly gorgeous gigantic flower. We didn't even know there was a bud!

We were convinced that it was Auntie Grace wanting to send a little love to her son.

Well, another flower bloomed this year.

Now we were curious to know what kind of flower this was.

I used the Like That Garden app on my iPhone (It was free). If you click on this link you can find the app for iPhones or Androids.

So there you have it!

It's a Climbing Cactus!

I know Auntie Grace is smiling.

Homegrown Pineapple

I was hoping the pineapple we planted would wait until our granddaughter arrived to ripen. She loves to pick fruit.

Alas! It didn't wait. Two days before my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter arrived, the fruit got so ripe that ants were crawling all over it. They must have smelled the sugar.
We had to pick it and get the ants off that were hiding in every crevice they could find on the pineapple skin.

Art says the pineapple is sweet. He doesn't much care for pineapple because he says it can hurt his teeth. I don't care for fresh pineapple because I worked in a pineapple cannery for three summers as a trimmer. It was grueling, hot work that really pushed me toward higher education so I wouldn't have to stay there.

Why do we grow it? I freeze it for smoothies. Or we give them away. What the heck! They're just fun to grow!

Do you like fresh pineapple?

Intermittent Blog Hiatus

I've been writing a post every weekday just to keep my brain moving. Art feels it's important for me because I'm getting to be (even more) forgetful and Alzheimer's disease does run on my father's side of the family.

My brother and I often joke about it nervously while testing each other's memories. He always wins on past memories, while I often nudge only a little past him on current. Then again he can remember complex computer things effortlessly so he might be letting me win just to make me feel good.

I'd like to keep posting regularly, but the next 2 to 3 months is going to be dicey with house guests and summer activities.

Therefore, I will be posting intermittently until September.
Happy Summer, Everybody!

Slug Trap

My granddaughter and her parents arrived several days ago and I let her help me create the slug trap among my Peace Lilies.

I dug a hole and positioned a plastic cup into it so that only a little over half an inch of the cup was above the dirt level. I poured about an inch of Kirin beer into it.

I then got a tofu container and cut holes along the sides to put on top of the cup so that the beer wouldn't get diluted when it rained.

I went out to check the trap several times and found nothing.

And then one morning, I looked into the beer and saw something in the dim light. A long body was floating in the dark liquid. I was so excited I called Art to come and see what I caught. He brought the iPhone to record our first slug capture.






Nope!
A cockroach!
Oh for goodness sakes!

Art suggested I put the roach out for the birds to have a lovely snack.

I looked in the afternoon and it was still there.

Hmmmm... So the birds don't like gourmet roach dipped in alcohol?

POSTSCRIPT:

Unbelievable! 

Just as DJan recommended, I'd changed the beer last night because it was looking decidedly unappetizing. At first I thought the slugs would like slimy beer since they're slimy themselves. However last night I did change the beer.

And look what I saw this morning.

There were... not one... but TWO big roaches in the trap. And NO slugs!

Birds had still not touched the other roach I put on the driveway for them yesterday. I lined up this morning's catches and took this photo.

I then changed the beer again.

Let's hope I catch at least one slug tomorrow and not another three roaches.

My granddaughter just said, "You should call it a roach trap instead of a slug trap, Grandma."

Sigh...

Moans and Groans

About a month ago, I started experiencing back pain. It gradually got worse and I told Art we needed a new mattress. He was reluctant just because it's such a hassle to figure out which mattress to get.

I decided to try sleeping on the twin bed in the guest room. We have one with a really firm (hard) mattress and one with soft.

It didn't work.

I still got up moaning and groaning with pain as I gingerly sat up.

Initially the pain would go away midday. Now it hurt throughout the day as a dull ache.

I decided to try using this low frequency electrical stimulation machine that we bought in China a few years ago.

Our part time tour guide, Charlie was actually a Chinese doctor of western medicine. I wrote about meeting him here. He sold this machine to us for $40.

OK, OK... I was dubious.

I showed the machine to my physical therapist here in Hawaii when I was having my shoulder treated.

He said they do use something very similar, but much more expensive in their clinic and saw no reason why I shouldn't try it.

Well, I tried it on my back and it did feel good. Would it do anything other than feel good? I don't know.

I tried a heating pad in the morning and that felt good too.

Would it do any good? I don't know.

The English translation on the box says I need to use the machine for a half hour each day for 7 days.

We'll see.

Have you ever had back pain? What do you do?

POSTSCRIPT: After three days of using the electrical stimulation on my back, it does feel quite a bit better. I'm surprised and hopeful. 

Nighttime Slug Patrol

We've been checking our Peace Lilies every morning and early evening. Unlike, the Impatiens I planted last year that was TOTALLY gobbled up by greedy slugs, the Peace Lilies seemed to be doing OK. Sort of.

I'd bought a case of beer thinking I'd use it if the slugs got to be a horrible problem. As it is, I'd seen some indication of leaves being eaten, but I wasn't positive it was old eaten leaves or new.

I read on the Internet that we shouldn't water at night because it brings out the slugs so we began only watering in the morning.

It was drizzling all day off and on into the evening so Art and I thought we'd  have a look when it was totally dark. We went out at 8:30 PM with our flashlight and this is what we saw heading straight for the plant. I took this photo with my iPhone.

There was only one slug... for now.

I guess we might be using the beer after all.

POSTSCRIPT:

Uh oh! Art went jogging the following morning at 5:00 AM and found another slug. He took this photo with his $50 Motorola cellphone. This one appeared to be going home for the day.

I'm going to get the beer! 

A Wedding Gone to the Dog

I was at my cousin's son's wedding a while ago at the Waikiki Beach Hotel.  I hadn't been to a wedding in such a long time and it was a lot of fun.

The wedding was outside in a grassy area with a gazebo. The biggest problem there is the wind. It kept blowing the beautiful bride's veil into her face. On the other hand, it kept you cool.

When the groom's uncle told me that Jonah (groom's best four-legged friend) was going to be there, I was surprised. Then I saw his tuxedo and couldn't help but chuckle.

The wedding favors were little dogs made of folded microfiber washcloths.

The food was scrumptious and we all wished the bride and groom a happy life together.

Guilty Pleasure

Our Zumba Gold classes have been on summer hiatus for the past couple of weeks, but my friends and I still needed to exercise. Trouble is, we find it hard to motivate ourselves to do it.

Last year one of my Zumba buddies suggested going walking at the mall in the early morning before the stores opened and it worked out perfectly. We spent an hour walking and then sat around in the food court for another hour (or more) chatting. We're doing it again this year.

Well, last week Art and I had some teas at Starbucks. Darn, but it's expensive! Still, it's a reward for the exercise we accomplished. I decided to try something different from the usual fruity teas I get.

I ordered the Chai Latte. When I got it, I was disappointed to find it was HOT! As I sat sweating with my friends staring at the hot tea, I just couldn't get myself to drink it.

That's when my daughter called me from Chicago on the cellphone and I quickly told her about my goof.

"Mom," she said. "You should go back and tell them that you wanted the iced version.  And be sure to make an sorrowful face."

I did.

But I felt really guilty because it was my mistake. I didn't know you had to ask for an ICED chai latte. The counter girl wasn't thrilled, but was polite. Sigh...

Anyway, the iced chai latte was very good and I really needed the ice.
However, I think I'll go back to the fruity tea next time.

Love and Friendship

We saw a review in the Star Advertiser by Katie Walsh (Tribune News Service) about Love and Friendship. She gave the movie 4 Stars and wrote "Love and Friendship is immensely charming and laugh-out-loud funny. It's possible to miss some of the funnier lines because the audience might be laughing too hard at the previous one."

We go to maybe 1-2 movies a year and I figured it was time after seeing this review. I think I've seen four remakes of Pride and Prejudice. Art knows I like Jane Austen so he offered to take me to Kahala Theater.

I thought the theater would be empty because I didn't see this movie as one that would draw big crowds. No blood or guts. No gunfights. No passionate love scenes. It's Jane Austen, for goodness sakes!

Wrong. The theater was PACKED!

But laugh-out-loud funny. Hmmmm... Well... I think there were maybe three or four people that laughed out loud. The rest of us were pretty subdued except when British comic actor Tom Bennett was on the screen playing a clueless suitor.

The movie is based on one of Austen's early novels, Lady Susan. Lady Susan is a witty, manipulative, scheming, very beautiful widow (played by Kate Beckinsale) who is trying to get rich husbands for herself and her daughter while maintaining a romantic relationship with a married man.

There's a lot of dialogue that you have to pay close attention to. My problem was not liking the protagonist. I didn't care very much what happened to her even though I understand that it was a time period when a woman's survival in that class system depended on having a rich husband.

Ah well... I hope some of you will go and see it and tell me what you think.

Our son texted me, "Did you force Dad to see that film?"

Of course not. But the next movie we see will undoubtedly be science fiction or action.

Never Letting Him Forget

We were returning from the Buddhist Temple in Waipahu when Mom burst out laughing. The Buddhist Temple is next to my old elementary school.

She was remembering something that happened fifty eight years ago. I have a poor memory, but I remember this very clearly.

I was walking with my brother, Dennis to school. He was in kindergarten and I was in 3rd grade. It's a long walk. I would tell my own children a couple of decades later that it was five miles uphill both ways, going to and coming home from school.... in wind and blinding snow... rain or sleet...

Well... no, the kids didn't believe me, but that's another story. Dennis googled it and tells me now that it was really only about .6 miles at most.

No way!

Anyway, there I was with five year old Dennis about to cross the street to the entrance of the school. The JPOs were on duty to help children cross the street. (Who knows? Maybe it was starting to snow.)

"I don't have my sleeping bag." Dennis tells me. "I can't go to school."

Arrrghhh! I told him the teacher would find something else for him to sleep on. I told him he could survive one day without his sleeping bag. I told him it was a horrible, long walk back home. I told him to give me a break!

Nope. He stood there with a stubborn pout on his cute baby face refusing to cross the street.

Arrrrghhhh!

I ran all the way home (going uphill, remember?).  Mom says she was shocked to see me. I just grabbed his sleeping bag and ran back to school (uphill again). I don't remember a look of extreme gratitude on his face for what I did for him. Doesn't matter.

I've never let him forget it.

Trying to Keep Peaceful

A few weeks ago, dear friends Kara and Ish stayed with us and brought over a potted Peace Lily for us to enjoy. I think of them every time I look at the flowers.

I planted the Peace Lily in our garden where it was very happy but it looked like I needed more to fill that space.

There weren't any lilies like it at the stores I went to so I looked online to see if it was possible to propagate it.

Don't you love the Internet?

I found instructions on how to do it.

I lifted out the plant from the soil where it was growing contentedly and separated the rhizomes.

I was able to get five plants!

I then spaced them out and planted them carefully.

I gave them a boost of Miracle Grow and am now keeping my fingers crossed that they will grow and multiply. I hope slugs don't like Peace Lilies because they totally denuded the Impatiens I had there. Like I said... I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

POSTSCRIPT 1:

Doggone it!

Several days later, It looked like the Peace Lily was doing very well.

Then I looked closely.

The leaves were being eaten after all!

Slugs!

Arrghhh!

DJan of DJanity mentioned beer baits for slugs. I looked online and it appears to be one solution. I'm going to get some beer today. And if there's extra (beer, that is) so much the better.

POSTSCRIPT 2: 

We bought a case of beer to get our slug trap ready.

However, I've looked every night for a week and haven't seen any slugs. So what ate the leaves? I don't know.

The rest of the leaves appear untouched since that day of discovery.

So now...

What do I do with all that beer? Hmmmm...

Finishing Our 10 Year Renovation Project!!!

We returned to Hawaii in 2006 and stayed for about 9 months from February to October to work on the renovation project for our move back after 35 years of living in Illinois.

It was grueling and exhausting. Because of the high cost of construction in Hawaii at the time, we had the contractor do the exterior work on the house while we opted to do the interior work.

I don't ever, ever, ever want to go through this agony again.

We moved back to Hawaii in 2008 and have been working on completing the finishing project ever since.

And now here we are in 2016 at the 10 year mark and the last bit of finishing work is completed.

It was the darn threshold.

Art couldn't figure out how to finish it because if he put a slat of wood on it, the door would not be able to close because the threshold would be too high.

We would have to cut the door, but he wanted to avoid doing that.

At first he hoped people would not notice and he could just leave it, but nope... People did notice.

As he agonized over how to best solve this problem he found a piece in his collection of scrap construction material that he's always saved despite my telling him he should get rid of the excess debris.

Well... he was surprised to find a piece that would work perfectly. After all these years, who knew?

I suppose you realize I'm going to have to live with "I told you so" for a while.

Ah well... The house is done!

But then there's that original outdated guest bathroom downstairs that we never touched.

Sigh....

POSTSCRIPT 1:
Arggghhh! One step forward, two steps back. The door scrapes the threshold when you're closing it. We're going to have to take the door down after all to sand off a bit from the bottom.

Sigh...

POSTSCRIPT 2: 
Yahoo! Art was able to sand the door without removing it.

So it's done! 

But don't hold your breath.

Weird Food

OK, I admit it. I had nothing much to blog about today so I have to resort to going through my back up photos.

I take photos of things every so often when they strike my fancy.

This was a peanut that somehow reminded me of a Madonna statue that Art's cousin gave us a long time ago.

I tried photographing it from a different angle.

Then it looked to me like a pregnant Madonna lying down.

Can you picture something else?

OK...

What do you think?

Do you see a lady's long legs?

Or something else?

Getting Ready for KC (and Her Parents)

Needless to say, we are really excited about our daughter and family visiting this summer. Whenever there are guests coming to stay, it motivates us to fix, add or clean something.

When our friends, Kara and Ish came earlier, Art cleaned all the windows inside and out which is a job he doesn't really enjoy so he needed that motivation to do it.

Now we've got our favorite granddaughter coming and Art wanted it perfect for her (and her parents, of course).

KC used to take a tub bath in our master bathroom, but she's almost 10 now so we felt she was ready for the big girl (and boy) shower stall in the guest area.

However, she's quite petite so he installed an adjustable bar to lower the shower head for her.

I bought a spam musubi maker too. Now I just need to try making one so that I'll be ready for them.

Yes, it's true. Spam is BIG in Hawaii and spam musubi is an island staple. I wonder if it's possible to make it healthier.


Hmmm... What else can we do?

Hawaiian Rust and Tarnish

Ever since returning to Hawaii from the Midwest, we've dealt with rust.

 All our brass colored or silver frames have rusted.

Well... we were at Ross the other day and look what I found! For just $3.99 I found a glass, two-sided frame. I just have to stick photos into it without undoing any clips. I did put a sheet of archival plastic to keep photos from sticking to the glass because that's something else that happens here with the humid weather. I have two grandchildren so I'm glad it's two sided. Yahoo! At least I know it won't rust.

Graduation Bash!

We were very excited to attend a graduation ceremony a couple weeks ago at Kapolei High School. I think the last graduation we attended was for our own children almost 20 years ago in Illinois. The last high school graduation I attended in Hawaii was.... Good gosh! My brother's!

The Kapolei High School Commencement ceremony was held at their stadium.

Ummm....

It was HUGE! The general seating was on the other side of the stadium.  I was glad I brought my bigger camera with the nice zoom.

I wish we'd also brought our binoculars.

A graduation in Hawaii is different from the mainland.

There was a concession stand where you could buy food. The people in front of me were busy stringing fresh flower leis for their graduate.

It was HOT! I was so glad I brought my solar umbrella. Art and I were comfortable under it.

I was amazed that there was a biplane flyover.

As far away as we were from the graduates my Canon SX50HS zoom allowed me to find my cousin's son on the upper most row of the bleachers.

The Marine honor guard marched in with the flags of the US, Hawaii and Marine Corps.

The ceremony itself was about an hour and a half. The sun went down so it became cooler.

Well wishers then swarmed onto the field carrying tons of leis and huge signs for the different graduates. Some were even lighted!

I was absolutely amazed. I'd never been to a graduation like this one.

I'm going to be attending a wedding next week. That should be fun too!