The Evolution of Classic Comics

OK, I confess I never actually read Les Miserables or War and Peace. The darn books had too many pages for me.

Instead, yes... I read Classic Comics when I was a kid. In fact, I read quite a few classics in comic form.

Don't tell mom. She says she read those actual books when she was in the 4th grade.

Well, when we were on the mainland, my granddaughter told me she was enjoying graphic novels. I had no idea what a graphic novel could be.

One day, KC came home with a graphic novel that my daughter had bought her because it was on sale.

I recognized the dialogue in the speech bubbles as being pretty much taken directly from the Jane Austen novel. These books are more detailed than Classic Comics, but pretty much the same. I just think it's hilarious that they're giving it a fancier name. Heaven forbid that you should call it comics.

U.S. Mint Birth Set

While in Washington, D.C. we spent a morning at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

You can go there and take a tour to see paper money being printed.

Unfortunately, we didn't think to order tickets to take the tour, but we saw some displays and enjoyed walking around the gift shop.

It was a long, long walk to get there from our hotel.

There were a lot of money related souvenirs that you could buy. I believe KC and Art bought some interesting 3D postcards with a photo of $100.

Since our grandson is going to be born this year, we thought this 2017 Birth Set for $19.99 would be a fun memento. The coins were minted this year. Unfortunately, the gift shop had sold out, but we were able to order it from the U.S. Mint website. We looked into getting a 2015 Birth Set, but none were available for two year old JD. They have 2013, 2014, and 2016, but not 2015. I wonder why.

My Granddog's Birthday

Just for fun...

My son sent this photo to us. It was our granddog, Mungo's birthday!

Well... not exactly his birthday. It was the day they adopted him from an animal shelter 8 years ago when they lived in New Mexico.

He must have been severely mistreated and traumatized by a man before he was brought to the shelter because he is fearful of men, especially men wearing glasses and hats.

He is incredibly gentle and tolerant of our 2 year old grandson who often bumps into him.

He will also very trustingly come to me to brush or pet him and will never bark at me. And I'm not really a dog lover.

Poor Art loves dogs, but darn, Mungo growls every time Art enters their apartment.

Mungo is well trained. Notice how he's not lunging at the sandwich until they take the photo.

Granted if there's a squirrel in the room, all bets are off!

Finding the Perfect Patch

A wonderful friend gave me a hoodie several months ago. Her son had gone to Stanford University and she had this great hoodie that I thought my kids could wear. Living in Hawaii, she had no use for such a warm jacket.

Unfortunately, my children were not interested in wearing a hoodie that had Stanford University embroidered on the front.  They'd both attended Midwestern universities and were loyal to their own schools.

I decided to very carefully remove the embroidered Stanford logo. It took me a couple of hours to do it while watching TV. Ummmm... If you ever consider doing this... don't. When I got the embroidered threads off, there were tons of holes. Sigh...

Now I needed to find a patch to cover it, but there wasn't anything just the right size or shape that I wanted to put on the hoodie. I looked at every store in Hawaii that I thought might have an embroidered patch. Nothing.

While in Illinois, my daughter and granddaughter went to Hobby Lobby and found a whole display of patches for me. I couldn't believe it!

And here it is!

Unfortunately, it turned out to be too short for Art.

So alas! Looks like it will be mine.

Or I could pass it down to my granddaughter some day. She loves pandas.

Zenni Glasses

My daughter often introduces me to new products she's tried and loved. This summer Tiffany told me about a website called Zenni that sells very reasonably priced prescription glasses. She said her single vision glasses cost her just $39.

I was really dubious, but I decided to try it out. I'd just changed the lens only on my Costco bifocal glasses for $146.59 so I already had my pupillary distance on the paper they'd given me.

The Zenni site has you input your photo so you can try out glasses online. Actually that was rather a lot of fun.

They also give you instructions on how to measure your pupillary distance if you don't have that measurement.

I was glad I already had that information from the Costco receipt because they measured my eyes for me.

Well, the glasses were cheap, but then I added Transition and anti-reflective coating and the price did jump to $88.85. This was only a single vision lens for distance. But that was all, plus a bit for shipping.

I thought that was pretty darn reasonable since it included the frame.

I couldn't wait for it to arrive.

It didn't take long. It arrived in a little over a week and I thought the quality was quite decent. I compared the lens to the Costco glasses I'd bought the week before and they appeared similar.

My sister-in-law said she preferred sunglasses because the Costco Transition lens didn't darken enough.

I used the Costco glasses today and she was right. It doesn't darken a whole lot and I was still getting a glare. Nothing horrible, but it wasn't perfect.

I thought I'd try an experiment.

I took both glasses outside and put them on white paper.

The Costco glasses are on top. The Zennis are at the bottom.

The Zenni glasses did get darker.

Very interesting...

I'm trying to persuade Art to get new glasses, but he says he doesn't need one.

Hmmm... Granted, since my far vision is actually pretty good, my friends did ask me why I needed another pair.

Ummmmm.....

Fun With Backpacks

One of the most important things our granddaughter, KC had to do to prepare for the first day of school was getting her backpack appropriately decorated.

Since her backpack is covered with polka dots, you can't see all the buttons that she's pinned on. Apparently each button has meaning for her, not to mention all the things dangling from it. She's got a collection of dangles and buttons that she interchanges.

I know I never did that. For one thing, I don't even remember carrying a backpack... or did we? All we did to get ready for school was to have something new to wear. What do you remember?

Emptying the Dishwasher Craziness

Living with mom does have its moments. Sometimes, there's miscommunication, sometimes worry, sometimes hilarity, sometimes frustration, but always love and caring.

There are many things mom does that we just can't change. So we keep quiet.

She feels she has to trim the trees in the oddest way you can imagine. Poor Art, who loves bonsai and learned the proper way to trim trees when he was a Tree Keeper in Illinois often winces when he sees her handiwork.

Mom also feels she has to do laundry whenever the sun is shining so she can hang her clothes. This is whether there's a full load to wash or not.

Now, about the dishwasher. Whenever we run the dishwasher at night, she would start putting away the dishes at 4:30 in the morning before she has her breakfast. It would almost always wake me up since we don't close our bedroom door upstairs in case she needs to call us. For some reason, the clanking of the dishes are extra loud at 4:30 in the morning. Sometimes, I might have forgotten to run the dishwasher and she'd put the dirty dishes away. Whatever the case, we let it go because we thought it was something she just had to do.

Art and I came up with the solution on the left and then this summer our daughter gave us this fancy thing we could attach to the dishwasher which would indicate whether the dishes were clean or not.

One morning, I forgot to indicate I'd run the dishwasher so mom didn't put the dishes away. When she walked into the kitchen, she apologized for not putting them away. I gently told her it would really be nice if she let us put the dishes away.

"Really?" she said. "I'm so glad. Now I can eat my breakfast before it gets cold."

After she left, Art laughed and said, "Ummm.... Did she ever consider putting the dishes away after she had her breakfast?"

Whatever the case, we're all happy now because I for one am getting more sleep.

Baga and Gaga

When our granddaughter, KC was 2 years old she started calling me Gobi and Art was Papa. To improve her language, we'd point to me and clearly enunciate "Grandma" and then point to Art and say, "Grandpa."

When we returned to Illinois from Hawaii, our daughter, Tiffany had KC hold a big sign that said, "Welcome back, Gobi and Papa!"

I got to like being called Gobi.

That's when KC suddenly started calling me Grandma.

I actually told her it was OK to call me Gobi.

But no, from that moment on I was Grandma. Tiffany still laughs about that.

My son-in-law is Korean American so his parents are Harmoni and Haraboji.

There's no problem identifying us.

When we were in Maryland, our little grandson, JD called Art Baga and I was Gaga.

We thought it was hilarious and didn't correct him. This time we figured we could keep the names, and our daughter-in-law, Sarah's parents could be Grandpa and Grandma.

It wasn't to be. A couple of months later, JD started calling us Grandpa and Grandma.

Sigh... Now each set of grandparents don't have their own identification.

A friend of mine has her grandchildren call her Nana.

I looked up cute grandparent names. You can find anything online these days, and came up with these.

Mawmaw and Pawpaw, Geema and Geepa, Nana and Papa, Baba and Gigi (Ukranian), Bibi and Babu (Swahili), Meme and Pepaw (supposed to be popular in the southern US), Grams and Gramps, Grammie and Grampy, etc.

What names have you heard?

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens and National Arboretum

When we returned to Maryland, Keola and Sarah said they would take us to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens which is actually in Washington, D.C. It was a bit of a drive, but they know how I love to take photos of waterlilies and lotus blooms.

Good grief! It was huge! I have never, never seen so many lotus in one place before!

There were many varieties of lotus and some of the plants were gigantic! The waterlilies appeared to be past their prime, but the lotus more than made up for it.

After viewing the lotus they took us to the U.S. National Arboretum.

Keola and Sarah also know how Art loves bonsai so they knew the Bonsai Museum would really interest him.

Needless to say, we saw a LOT of bonsai and a lot of beautiful rocks.

I don't know if all this interested 10 year old KC very much but it sure made it a nice day for Art and me.

Smithsonian's National Zoo

Since we hadn't been to the National Zoo in such a long time, we thought it would be a good day to take our granddaughter, KC since the weather was hot but not the 100 degree temperatures we had last year. KC wanted to see the pandas.

We took the metro and discovered it may have been cheaper to just drive there since there was parking available. Ah well... We got some exercise so that's OK.

We enjoyed seeing Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and Bei Bei. They pretty much spent all their time eating bamboo.

I loved seeing the swallowtail butterflies who were fluttering about the zoo.

KC had fun seeing the zebra, cheetah and cute alpacas.

We stopped at the souvenir shop and got this panda ear headband that KC was drawn too. She wore it for the rest of our stay on the East coast.

It was a lovely stay in our country's capital, but it was time to head back to Maryland.

Free Birthday Starbucks Midnight Mint Mocha Frappuccino

I was surprised when Starbucks sent me an email to say that I could have a free drink or treat using my Starbucks cellphone app on my birthday. I wondered what size they would give me because those drinks are not cheap.

It was a hard decision but the Midnight Mint Mocha Frappuccino sounded really wonderful on a hot day. Yes, I know. It's loaded with calories and sugar, but gosh... it was my birthday.

I asked the barista what size I was allowed to get and he said, "Anything at all."
"Really?" That was a surprise.
"You can have any size drink, any flavor you like," he laughingly told me. He was just the nicest guy!

So I did. I got the Venti!

Oh my! It was a LOT!

And I enjoyed every single sip.

I'm looking forward to my next birthday. Ummm... wait... never mind.

National African American Museum

We had heard that it was extremely difficult to get tickets for entry to the National African American Museum in Washington, D.C. Our daughter, Tiffany had heard that a few tickets were available online very early in the morning. She got up at 6:30 AM, turned on the computer and started applying for tickets. She struck gold! We got tickets for 2:30 PM. We could hardly believe it!

We always wondered about the design of the museum. The shape of the building and brown filigree was unusual. I got this information from the Smithsonian Museum website.

"From one perspective, the building's architecture follows classical Greco-Roman form in its use of a base and shaft, topped by a capital or corona. For our Museum, the corona is inspired by the three-tiered crowns used in Yoruban art from West Africa. Moreover, the building's main entrance is a welcoming porch, which has architectural roots in Africa and throughout the African Diaspora, especially the American South and Caribbean.  Finally, by wrapping the entire building in an ornamental bronze-colored metal lattice, Adjaye pays homage to the intricate ironwork crafted by enslaved African Americans in Louisiana, South Carolina, and elsewhere."

Inside were displays about great African American leaders, scientists, athletes, movie stars, TV personalities, musicians, politicians, etc.

The history of slavery is cruel and painful.

There was also memorabilia and historical artifacts of the African Americans who served in the military.

There were lots and lots of athletes, but more people should remember the genius of the inventors and other scientists.

Yes, there was a display for Oprah which made us smile.

I recognized Michelle's dress in the display about President Obama.

This part also made you shake your head.

Thomas Jefferson helped to create the Declaration of Independence and did oppose slavery. And yet he kept slaves himself.

The lowest floor was centered on the horrors of slavery and parents were advised not to take young children there.

You could see people moving through the rooms silently, some tearfully...confronted again with cruelty and evil.

This drawing caught my eye and gave me a feeling of hope.

At the end of the tour, everyone stopped at the Contemplative Court where a giant waterfall in the center of the room refreshed and soothed you before leaving the museum.

KC and the Penny Machine

I don't know how or when it began that KC started to love flattening pennies into little souvenirs. Whenever she saw a penny machine she had to have a penny and two quarters to pay for it.

I do know it started when she was little and now she inserts the money and does the cranking on her own. I imagined she'd have huge pile of them. Our daughter said she'd gotten a book for KC to organize her pennies.

There was another page of pennies, but that was all. Hmmm... I think we'll have to take KC to more museums and national parks where she can fill more pages of pennies. And perhaps I should go to the bank and ask them for a roll of quarters and some shinier pennies.

POSTSCRIPT:
I just looked on Amazon and saw the Penny Collecting Book. Sheesh! You can find almost anything on Amazon.

National Air and Space Museum

Whenever we go to Washington, D.C. we make an effort to stop by the National Air and Space Museum. There's so much to learn and see there.

One of the exhibits that really captured my attention this time was about Wilbur and Orville Wright.

Wilbur had four years of high school and Orville dropped out in his Junior year.

They owned a bike shop.

And they invented and built the first airplane.

They even constructed their own wind tunnel at their shop. There was so much to discover about their brilliance in how they came up with their calculations and ideas for flight.

There was an area where children could design a rocket to go to the moon that was plastered on the ceiling.

Engineer Art tried to guide his granddaughter into designing a little rocket that would be more  aerodynamic. However, KC really felt her rocket should be pretty and imbued with her personality which ummm.... added extra weight. Still, it did allllmost make it to the moon, but stopped short about a foot from it's goal before crash landing. Ah well... KC thought it was loads of fun!

Ah well... We got to see what did land on the moon.

And KC got to touch a piece of the moon, too.

All in all, it was time very well spent!

Wegman's Ultimate Chocolate Cake

Wegman's is a huge, gorgeous supermarket in the Maryland area and we love going there. One of our daughter's friends had raved about Wegman's Ultimate chocolate cake a few years ago and we looked for a Wegman's bakery on one of our trips but never found it.

We were surprised to find last year that it was actually Wegman's Supermarket.

Keola and Sarah bought it for JD's birthday last year and again this year. I thought it was good then, but I really loved it this year.

I think what sets it apart is the frosting.

I know, I know. Many people feel chocolate cake is chocolate cake. Whatever...

However, my favorite has always been Cheesecake Factory's Linda's Fudge Cake. If I can't have that, I also like Portillo's chocolate cake. And now Wegman's Ultimate Chocolate Cake has nudged into the #2 spot.

I liked it so much that I had this crazy idea to bring a cake back for an anniversary dinner scheduled with two other couples in Illinois. We have celebrated our January anniversaries together for 36 years. When we started returning to Illinois from Hawaii in the summers, our January anniversary celebrations were moved up to August.

I put the cake in a cooler bag with some blue ice and carried it on the plane from Baltimore to Chicago. The landing at O'Hare was jolting and we were sure the cake was a goner, but amazingly, it survived! And yes! Everyone loved it.

Oh... I brought back a slice for our son-in-law who couldn't make the trip to Maryland. He said he thought the secret was in the frosting. And my daughter? She prefers vanilla. How did that happen?

Climbing the Walls

Another passion our son, Keola and Sarah have shared with our granddaughter, KC is their love of wall climbing.

If athleticism and an interest in sports is inherited, the kids did not get it from me. Both our kids were very active and quite successful in a variety of sports in high school. Our grandchildren may be following in their footsteps. They must have gotten this gene from Art who ran the full and half marathon as well as 5K and 10K quite a few times. His doctor has since told him to slow down and not run competitively anymore. Me? Never mind. It's a struggle for him to get me to exercise. 

Oops! I got diverted. Art enjoyed climbing the walls last year, but this time he let KC and Tiffany enjoy the sport with Keola and Sarah. Keola made sure the climbing gear for his sister and niece were well fitting and safe. Art helped JD experience the wall, too. I imagine it's something he'll start to do in a few years.

At one point Tif and KC started the climb together and it became a race. 

Ummm... 

Maybe it's her ballet lessons, or ice skating or whatever else KC is into, she was like a squirrel scampering up the wall.

Whatever the case, Tiffany was right behind her.

Me?

I got to spend quality time with JD and Bert and Ernie on my cellphone.

Pandemic!

Keola is a wonderful uncle. He really makes an effort to give time and attention to 10 year old KC whenever we're visiting and she adores him. KC had been looking forward to playing board games with her uncle again after he introduced a game called Pandemic to her last year. I guess we shouldn't be too surprised that he would choose a game like this since his degree centers on international Epidemiology.

The really unique thing about this game is that everybody has to work together to win. If you don't do the correct moves with emphasis on together, you will have lost and the world would be consumed by the pandemic. I don't know of another game where players work together instead of against each other.

Here's the description I got from Amazon.

"Four diseases have broken out in the world and it is up to a team of specialists in various fields to find cures for these diseases before mankind is wiped out. Players must work together playing to their characters' strengths and planning their strategy of eradication before the diseases overwhelm the world with ever-increasing outbreaks. For example the Operation Specialist can build research stations which are needed to find cures for the diseases. The Scientist needs only 4 cards of a particular disease to cure it instead of the normal 5. But the diseases are out breaking fast and time is running out: the team must try to stem the tide of infection in diseased areas while also towards cures. A truly cooperative game where you all win or you all lose."

Before leaving for Maryland, KC kept reminding us how much she wanted to play Pandemic with Uncle Keola again.

At 10 years of age, I must tell you that my granddaughter is amazing at strategizing. I've seen her play games like Monopoly, Clue and Catan which Keola gave her and it never ceases to impress me.

Sadly, I am not good at any of these games. They did convince me to play one game of Pandemic with them and the world was lost to the disease. After that, I let them save the world without me.

Canstruction in Hawaii

We were at Pearlridge Mall on Wednesday and saw the creative display of storybook scenes using canned goods. It's called Canstruction. All the cans would be donated to the Hawaii Food Bank. There were shopping carts next to each design and people could put in canned food to vote for their favorite for the People's Choice award.

I got this from the AIA (American Institute of Architects) website:

"For the 11th year competing teams, lead by architects builders and allied design and engineering professionals, will showcase their talents by designing giant sculptures made entirely out of canned foods. Canstruction® combines the competitive spirit of a design/build competition with a unique way to help feed hungry people."   

This information was for last year, so this would be the 12th year.

The train is from Harry Potter, of course.

The design on the left is from Wizard of Oz. 

As for myself, my favorite was Curious George. Art says he likes the Wizard of Oz "Can'sas" design best.

We're going to bring mom next time and we'll all bring a can to vote for our favorite. I wonder which one she'll choose.

Which design would you vote for?