Bits of Tid

I really don't have a picture suitable for today's blog title, so here's one more Maui picture. One of the touristy excursions we did do this time was the Atlantis submarine. This is where 40 people pay big bucks to go under the sea to look at fish. If I ever do a "100 things about me" list, this will probably be one of the things. We actually got down to 130 feet.....where.....would you believe, they played the theme from "Titanic." A little nautical humor I guess.

So hubby and I are awaiting the arrival tomorrow of Tech Guy. He has made the first leg of his journey, which involved taking the train to NYC to spend the night with his sister. That way he won't have to get up so early in the morning to head for the airport all the way from Connecticut. I'm assuming, of course, that there will be some sleep time that might interrupt the partying that sometimes goes on among the young and clueless.

There has been a little change in the treasure hunt plans. Instead of rocks, I'll be using clothespins. Rocks aren't that plentiful around here. Well, there are hundreds of them in the neighbor's garden (no mowing or watering required) but I didn't want to sneak over there after dark to gather some, and I certainly didn't want to ask her for them and be stuck telling her what they were for. Stay tuned to find out more. Isn't this exciting?

I finished my latest read, Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith, and I was a little disappointed. This new series doesn't quite have the same charm as the Ladies' Detective Agency series. There were no new trees mentioned. There were several big words with definitions unknown to me, and I did take the time to look them up. "Amanuensis" is one who is employed to take dictation or copy manuscripts. "Insalubrious" means not promoting health. "Xenophobe" is someone who is fearful of strangers or foreign people. I will not be using them in a sentence.

So I did get up to the nursing home for a short visit with my dad today. I usually try to go during the lunch hour so I can help him eat. Dessert was chocolate cake and he ate his whole piece. But the aftermath of serving chocolate cake to nursing home residents looks similar to serving chocolate cupcakes to a kindergarten class. Lots of clean-up involved. Maybe even a hose-down. I pushed him back to his room, where the nurse caught up with me to let me know he was refusing to take his medicine (could this be one of those insalubrious events?) I told her not to worry about it. I told her to just do the best she could and that I appreciated everything everyone was doing for him. Probably cake and ice cream are all the medicine he needs right now......but I didn't tell her that. Somethings are just better left unsaid.....

Summer vacation

Now that I have the new digital camera I've become fond of recording views from airplane windows. Here we are landing in Maui. And since the airplane saw its shadow, we were pretty sure we'd have some sunny days.....unlike the last trip when we had one solid week of rain. I mean, how many times can you visit the aquarium?

After gathering our bags and picking up our rented convertible (the upgrade fairy blessed us), we headed out to Kapalua and my brother-in-law's lavish spread, I mean his large house, where we unpacked our suitcases and settled in for one week of lazy days.

Since we've been to Maui before and had done most of the touristy things, we decided one day to take a drive to a couple of small towns that were recommended as being quaint little artisan centers. Of course my ears perked up at the mention of "artisan," and off we went to visit the towns of Paia and Makawao. For anyone who's been to Maui and taken the "Road to Hana," Paia is at the beginning of the road, and is mentioned in tour books as the best place to pick up a picnic lunch for the journey. What they don't tell you is that hardly anyone wants to eat on that trip, since it's a long way and the road is mostly hairpins. But there were many fun shops in Paia, as well as this scenic spot. I guess one could call it "junk." I'd call it "art materials."

So I've recovered from "The Kahului Airport Blues" and am now getting ready for a visit from Tech Guy on Saturday. You may remember that I promised him a treasure hunt. And you may think this will be a lot of work to do for a 24-year-old. But the truth is, I love doing it. While sitting at the airport the other night for 5 hours with nothing to do but eat ice cream, I planned it all out. The first thing I need to do is find 15 rocks. I wonder if the curmudgeons will think I'm taking valuable relics? If I'm found out, I'm sure there will be a new sign posted soon.....

"The Kahului Airport Blues"

Hubby and I returned this morning from a wonderful vacation in Maui. We arrived, all tanned and rested, at the Kahului Airport last night a little early for our scheduled flight (United 46) that was due to depart at 9:20. We didn't think to call first. Maybe we've been spoiled by the great on-time performance of Jet Blue. Seems we could have had another glass of wine and enjoyed one more sunset.

Instead, we listened to some of the other bummed-out passengers sing the Blues. There was the guy who insisted the agent look at his name on the ticket to see just who he was. Someone important no doubt.....flying coach. And the woman who just had to be in Seattle before 5 o'clock today, which was looking doubtful. And my favorite.......the young woman who asked to be changed to a seat in an empty row so she could lay down. Hubby and I, realizing that we were helplessly stranded on an island and completely at the mercy of the airline, did the only thing that seemed sensible at the time. We went for ice cream. Rarely is there anything that can't be made more endurable with ice cream.

And about the sock. I didn't make much progress. It's not easy to knit when one is lathering up with sun screen, and trying to get sand off of one's fingers. And then there's the occasional need for two hands--one to hold the wine glass and the other to grab the dried cuttle fish snack. And of course some picture-taking needed doing, so as to have some nice illustrations for my story, "What I did on my Summer Vacation."

The story will continue, but first I need to rest up from "the Blues."

Happy fathers

Hubby had a happy Father's Day, or so he says. Here he is sitting on the back patio in his red M&E Railroad hat. It was a gift from the owner of the M&E--which boasts 23 miles of track. That's it. It's just a small freight line, also known as the Morristown & Erie, with which hubby had some dealings at one time.

I gave him a couple of small gifts in honor of the day, but better than the gifts was the card. It said, "First came love, then came marriage......then all hell broke loose!" Good thing we dated for a long time, because the kids came along pretty quickly and things have been lively, you might say, ever since.

Tech Guy called early to wish his dad a happy day, and Big City Girl called later....just as she was getting off of the train and walking to the subway....having returned to the city from a friend's birthday party in Connecticut. We have learned to appreciate her breathless greetings, because she often calls while walking to and fro in the great metropolis.

I made a Father's Day trek up to the nursing home with a single scoop of Baskin Robbins strawberry cheesecake ice cream for my dad. I figured he'd enjoy it for dessert following lunch. But he wasn't feeling his best today, and wasn't hungry, so I asked the staff to put it in the fridge til dinner. He ate a little soup and some fresh fruit, and then I asked him if some ice cream sounded good. He said it did. So off I went to fetch it and we each had half. I'm reminded of the story about the old woman who was asked if she had any regrets about her life, and she said she wished she'd eaten more ice cream.

So I've had second thoughts about the tropical sock knitting project. I've decided to use the size 1 needles after all. I'll make the sock a little shorter and with a more rounded toe. I'll probably do a little knitting on the plane tomorrow on the way to Maui. It will be best if I'm busy and not constantly badgering hubby with, "Are we there yet?"

There may be a blog post during the next week, but I'm not promising. Those tropical breezes, not to mention the mai tais, can do strange things to a person who is ordinarily very blog-committed. So, til next time, "Aloha!"

Words: wise and wide

This is a small piece of cross stitch I did long ago as a gift to my dad. The date on the back says "1986" so it's been hanging here in the kitchen for almost 20 years. I did have to dust it a bit.....heh..heh.. When I saw this saying in my book of cross stitch patterns, I knew I had to do it for my dad. One of his favorite sayings when I was growing up was, "Be sure brain is in gear before engaging mouth."


Here are some words that were being drawn in the sky by an airplane as hubby and I made our way up to the Father's Day BBQ at the nursing home today. The whole message, which we could read once we parked, was "Who is Kyle?" We're figuring some well-heeled parents may have commissioned this work-of-art as a graduation greeting--this being the graduation season and all. And to think that my graduate had to settle for Hallmark....

On Monday, the hubby and I will be heading west again, or maybe I should say, further west. We have plans to spend a week in Maui with his brother and wife. They have a lavish spread, I mean a very nice home in the Kapalua area. We were there once before for a week, during which time Maui had a record rainfall. This time they've promised us sun, and we're going to hold them to it.

So I finished the striped sock, and I'm not so sure I like it as well as I thought I would. The toe is a little too pointy, and I know I could fix it if I wanted to do a little tinking. I might just start a new pair of socks in some lighter-colored yarn that I just happened to bring along. And I think I'll use my old pattern with the size 2 needles. After all, a knitter and her sock need to have a good emotional bond, especially if they're going to spend some quality time together in a tropical paradise. There might be some sock-in-progress pictures to look forward to......against a nice refreshing Mai-tai, or a lovely Hawaiian sunset......

Pleasant company

Today I made the acquaintance of this cute little gnome, and he was friendly enough to agree to visit the blog. He watches over the newly-planted patio garden at my father's nursing home.

The patio is a beautiful spot, but rarely can I convince my dad to go out there because he's always cold. We used to laugh at hubby's aunt because she'd wear 3 sweaters and an afghan in the middle of a hot, humid New York summer day. I've since come to understand and accept that elderly folks are often cold. In fact, by the time I get to the elderly stage of my life, I'm hoping to have lots of handknit socks and sweaters handy. And they'll all be made to the correct gauge, in bright colors, in real wool--none of that acrylic stuff......

So I was at the nursing home with plans to meet the geriatric psychiatrist who had been summoned to discuss what he might be able to do to help my dad with his intense dislike for the place and the direction his life has taken, and his nasty behavior toward his very caring caregivers. While I waited, I sat on the patio and visited with the gnome....and told him I thought he looked a little like Santa Claus. I also started my new library book Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, paying close attention so as not to miss any mention of new varieties of trees. So far, no trees, but I have come across several unfamiliar vocabulary words. I'm making a list of them all and will look them up in the dictionary--something I've always meant to do with each new book but never actually did.

The doc never showed up. He apologized and promised to make us his first appointment in the morning. So I stayed for a while and helped my dad with his dinner. He said he wasn't very hungry. He left the chicken and mashed potatoes and the soup and the cranberry sauce untouched on his tray. He refused to take his pills. He ate every last bite of his ice cream. You just gotta love a guy who has his priorities straight.....

Sock and stuff

I realize for a while now there has been precious little crafty content in this blog, so this should remedy the situation. I'm making progress on the striped sock, and have finally turned the heel. See how it's now headed east? I know, I said something once about socks heading into the sunset which would, of course, be west. Where's Carol, the GPS lady, when you need her?

This is my first sock-knitting experience using size 1 needles. I'm using the pattern from the Yarn Harlot's latest book, Knitting Rules. So far, I'm happy with how they're coming out. The sock seems a little more dense than the ones I've done on size 2's, and I know it will be nice and warm for winters in Connecticut, or when it gets really chilly here in Cali.....like down to the 50's.

One of the best things about spring here in SoCal is the sight of a jacaranda tree in full bloom. I found this one nearby that still has most of its blossoms; many of the trees have shed their blooms and have littered the ground beneath. During my previous stay in California, I was reading Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, in which he mentions thorn trees........which I had just seen for the first time at the local botanical garden. And now I've just finished reading another of his books, Tears of the Giraffe....in which he makes mention of jacaranda trees. Yesterday I borrowed Friends, Lovers, Chocolate from the local library. I'm wondering what I'll find growing in there? Stay tuned.

So hubby and I watched an interesting show last night on the science channel......well, maybe he was snoozing......called "Most of our Universe is Missing." It seems that the cosmology folks noticed a while back that about 96% of our universe was nowhere to be found. Now, after lots of studies, conferences, experiments and expensive laboratory constructing, they've come to the conclusion that this "stuff" is a combination of dark matter and dark energy, and it doesn't follow the same rules set forth by Newton and Einstein. It may actually be able to travel right through regular old matter made up of atoms. I can just imagine that this is going to prompt some interesting discussions with wine on the patio.

Hubby, as I've mentioned before, is a reader of Scientific American. He subscribes to the theory that if you can't see it, or if you can't duplicate it, it ain't there. I, on the other hand, am a reader of things astrological and paranormal. I've always argued that just because you can't see it or duplicate it doesn't necessarily mean it's not there. It may just mean that a measuring device for detecting it hasn't been invented yet. This all just tends to make him snooze some more.

So I'm wondering if there are ghosts that reside in the dark matter, or departed loved ones, or Sparkle the cat. Could it be where my memory goes when it escapes me? This may also be the answer to the mystery of those socks that lose their mates in the dryer and are never seen or heard from again. Just wondering is all.......

The Rules

Just down the sidewalk from our condo is this cute little bush in a tree. It's a little quirk of nature and it always makes me smile. I think the tree and the bush are quite fond of each other. The gardeners in the condo complex do an excellent job, and I'm sure they take great pride in nuturing this special relationship.

One of the rules of the condo association is that residents must be at least 55 years old to live here. There are many, many more rules. Hubby notices more of these rules than I do, since he visits the gym regularly and sometimes has reason to visit the clubhouse office area where many of them are posted. The other day he returned home and declared that there is a "curmudgeonization" process going on in the complex. This, he said, is a process whereby seemingly rational people somehow morph into cantankerous older folks on power trips concerned with rules and procedures. For instance, he says, there are 21 rules for using the golf course. "Don't do this and don't do that." Rule 21 says, "It's your golf course; enjoy it!" There are also rules for the trash dumpsters and the car parking stickers and the pool tables. Once I had to deliver something to the office and I used the wrong door......for which I received a two-curmudgeon scolding. Thank goodness we'll never be curmudgeons......

So the Kansans are enroute to points east, having put their feet into the Pacific Ocean and partaking of my blueberry cheesecake (no leftovers!) The kiddies had a great time with their treasure hunt. In fact, I emailed Tech Guy and asked him if he remembered the birthday bicycle treasure hunt I'd done for him many years ago. He said he remembered it fondly. Then I asked him if he wanted me to do another one for him when he visits us here in Cali in a few weeks.....and he said, "I'd love it!" If I do it, I'm thinking I'll hide the clues outside. I wonder if the curmudgeons have rules about such things.........

Priceless Pots from my Past

In the process of taking over my dad's condo, I've cleaned out a few closets and cupboards and made several trips to the Goodwill. But there are a few items I will never part with. The large pan with the lid belonged to my grandmother and she used it, as did my mother, to make mashed potatoes. It needs a good cleaning, although those folks on the Antiques Roadshow would probably say it's more valuable with a little potato residue.

The stainless steel saucepan belonged to my mother. It's well over 40 years old, and I remember it well from my childhood. My dad used it to cool his coffee. Mom would pour him a nice steaming cup of coffee before he left for work. Those were the days before styrofoam cups with lids and cars with cupholders. With the clock ticking away, Dad would resort to pouring his coffee from cup to pan to cup to pan to cup to cool it off enough to drink it before he had to leave. I've always marveled at people who could drink their coffee or tea steaming right out of the pot. I'm just like my dad. Hubby is usually offering to reheat my coffee in the microwave just about the time it's cooled just right. I guess I inherited those cool coffee genes.....

So I've been busy getting ready for the Kansas relatives to arrive. They called this morning and it looks like they'll be arriving later this evening. Probably just as well what with the horrors of Friday night LA traffic and all. Meanwhile, I've been working on clues for the kids' treasure hunt that I mentioned yesterday. I decided to go with the rhyming clues.....just to see if I still had the knack. Here's an example: "Clue number 3 is folded neatly under the trash. Walk slowly, so into the window you won't crash!" Or, "Clue number 9 is under the breakfast toast-making thing. You're almost done with your hunt....don't you just want to sing?" If the clues aren't silly enough to make the kids laugh, I know they'll make their dad chuckle. He's a big kid at heart. And just in case he's expecting a prize, which I know he will be, I made him a blueberry cheesecake.

So now that I've finally figured out how to post more than one picture, Blogger seems to have started a rationing program. Or maybe they just think that someone who would put corny-looking pots on their blog should be limited to just one. You'll just have to imagine my nice seagull picture here. Today the sun is out and I'm hoping the June Gloom has gone south. Maybe we can look forward to six weeks of nice sunny weather now that the seagull has seen his shadow. But you'll just have to take my word for it......

Life's blessings

Here is some embroidery I did when Big City Girl and Tech Guy were very young. Although you can't tell, it's on the side of a tote bag. I used it to carry all of my mom stuff when I spent lots of time driving kids to and fro. There were some days when I really needed to read the message over and over--like the day I made 4 round trips to BCG's school. I was one of the lucky moms though. Neither kid ever had an inclination to be on a travel team, which I understand can take over a family like an invasive virus.....

So I finally turned the sock heel (the phrase used to describe the process whereby the sock changes direction from north and south to east and west and heads out toward the toe--the sunset of the sock-knitting adventure). Hubby occasionally notices that I'm knitting a sock and makes comments to make me think he's really interested. Last night he proclaimed that I seem to have mastered the five essential skills of knitting: 1) yarn buying, 2) knitting, 3) frogging, 4) tinking, and 5) yarn buying. I would say he's pretty perceptive.

Today I will be spending a little time getting ready for a visit from relatives this weekend. This would be hubby's brother and wife, and our niece and nephew. They live in Kansas and are doing a driving vacation. They should be easy to entertain since the tourist attraction at the top of their list is the beach. They don't have those in Kansas.

I was trying to remember some of the ways I used to entertain BCG and TG when they were small. It was always fun to see just how long I could keep them going without batteries and joy sticks and remotes. One of the things they enjoyed the most was a treasure hunt. I would leave written clues around the house--one leading to the next. At some point I started doing two-lined rhyming clues that were really silly and didn't always make sense. This really got them going. One of my best treasure hunts was the one I did for Tech Guy's birthday one year. I made about 20 clues (lots of poetry practice) that finally led him to his new bicycle that I'd hidden in the bathtub.

So I'm hoping this marine layer (aka June Gloom) that's been hanging over southern California will lift pretty soon. I did notice that ever since we left Connecticut last week, it's been rainy and cold back there. It's not that I'm complaining or anything. Oh, and do you remember that daikon salad I made a few days ago? Hubby says I have to eat it in the garage. It seems to have gotten a little too happy........

Playing with food

In my last post, I mentioned having purchased a daikon radish with plans to marinate it in hopes of duplicating the wonderful side dish my sister-in-law made to go along with her great Korean BBQ. This baby is about 8 or 9 inches long. When I decided to photograph it for the blog my sense of whimsy kicked in. "Do you have a vegetable setting on that new camera?" asked hubby. As I sized up Mr. Daikon Head, I figured the portrait setting would work just fine. Notice those chin hairs? They all came off nicely with the potato peeler.

Unlike my sister-in-law who sliced her daikon, I shredded mine to make it more like a cole slaw. I added some grated carrots and chopped red onion, then made a dressing of oil, rice vinegar, a little sugar, and toasted sesame seeds. And in the words of Emeril, it's sitting in the ice box....that would be the refrigerator....getting happy.

So last week, before the big adventure on Interstate 5, I had the good fortune to meet up with Claudia, one of my best friends from junior high and high school. She lives in Tennessee now, but was back in town for a little vacation and we managed to meet for lunch with husbands in tow.

What fun we had harking back to our youth! She asked me if I remembered our 6th grade teacher, Mr. Rossi, and the day he and one of the other students got into a fist fight in the classroom. I couldn't remember, but I did remember coming back to the classroom after gym class all teary-eyed because I didn't get picked for the volleyball team.

I asked Claudia if she remembered getting together at her house with plans to sunbathe on her patio. We ended up baking muffins and eating them all, after which the idea of putting on bathing suits didn't seem so appealing. I'm sure we could have gone on and on with more great stories and memories of our youth, but the hubbies were starting to look a little bored.

Maybe we'll just have to organize a big slumber party. No......I'm thinking maybe a slumber cruise......

Sorry, no tomatoes

I mentioned in my last post that hubby and I would be traveling from Los Angeles to the San Francisco bay area along one of the most boring roads in California--Interstate 5. I had planned to add some interest to the trip by turning the heel on my sock-in-progress, and maybe getting a photo of a big tomato truck. As you can see, the sock is no where near the heel yet, and not one tomato was sighted. But I did manage to position the sock next to Carol, our GPS system. In fact, Carol has such a nice, pleasant voice I'm thinking of making her a pair of socks in thanks for doing such a good job of navigating for us on the trip. She never lost her patience with us, even when we yelled at her for directing us to do 3 right turns instead of one big "u-ey." Carol must have known that some of those are illegal and she wasn't about to be blamed for us ending up on the wrong side of the law.

One of the highlights of a trip up north is that my Korean sister-in-law always cooks us a big Korean BBQ. She makes several different dishes, all with high concentrations of sesame seeds and garlic. This time there was something that looked like round, thin slices of mozzerella cheese. Turns out it was slices of radish (I believe it's called "daikon") that had been marinated in rice vinegar and a little sugar. It was so delicious that today I bought some at the local produce market and will try to make some myself. I'm sure it must have fewer WW points than that See's candy and graduation cake I was nibbling on over the weekend in my mistaken belief that calories count less the further north you go....

So I delivered Olga's cat last Thursday, and she was delighted. Fred is now Max. She carries him on her lap while she rides around in her wheelchair. He seems OK with that. She, of course, wanted to pay me, but I insisted that it was my pleasure to give it to her as a gift and I wanted no money. Today when I went back to the nursing home to visit my dad, she asked me to wait while she wheeled into her room to get something, and she came back with a beautiful picture she had painted in art class. She wanted me to have it in exchange for Max.

When I was finished visiting with my dad, I stopped to visit some more with Olga. She told me stories about her crazy relatives, and we agreed that we all have some. And she told me again about the wonderful Greek cookies she used to make. It would be fun to find a recipe and make some to share with Olga and the residents. Maybe they'd even like to try a little side order of marinated radish salad.....

The big switch

So now I'm on the west coast, after a long day of travel yesterday. The best part of the trip is watching the little map on the back of the seat in front of me. I'm always happy to see the nose of the virtual airplane cross into California. More friendly technology. Most of the time it's the best of the 39 channels. I can get as excited watching this as some do watching American Idol.

I'm a frequent flyer on Jet Blue. It's my airline-of-choice when traveling. I've made this trip over a dozen times when coming out to visit, and to arrange care for, my dad. Usually it's just a totally boring trip, but now I have my new camera. I had it handy in my purse, along with my new cell phone, and my new crafty wallet. And speaking of the wallet, it's so nice to have little slots for my credit cards, library cards (I have one for the west coast and one for the east.....I love the library!), and various other things that need slots. I used to just have them all in a bunch and this often required that I fan them all out in the middle of a store.


Not only were there interesting things to watch inside the plane, but the view outside was pretty nice too. Here is a picture of the Grand Canyon from my vantage point in seat 17A. I never get tired of this view.....which only happens when the weather is good, the pilot is on the right course, and I have a window seat. On one trip several years ago, the pilot announced that there was some bad news to report--air traffic was stacking up over Los Angeles and we would be forced to circle for a while. The good news was that he would be making a few 360's over the Grand Canyon.

So this morning I'm all rested up and feeling much better than I was at 7 p.m. last night when I just had to go to bed. The time change, the jet lag, and the early departure all ganged up on me. Today I will pay a visit to my dad, and deliver Fred the cat to Olga. He seems to have made the trip just fine in hubby's suitcase. No angry meows or cat calls were noticed.

Tomorrow, after rush hour (which is pretty much non-existant in SoCal), hubby and I will be getting in the car and heading up to northern California for a niece and nephew graduation and gathering of relatives. The drive takes about six hours--the same as yesterday's flight. It's equally as boring, and there'll be no little TV screen to show our progress. I'll have my trusty camera though, and some sock knitting. Maybe I can get a heel turned while snapping a few pictures of tomato trucks......