tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33729534082991726332024-02-07T03:49:39.993-10:00Going on AloneStruggling to Live Solo after a lifetime of PartnershipsMy Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.comBlogger250125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-3930191603544781902015-05-31T06:19:00.000-10:002015-05-31T06:19:18.000-10:00Back in the MountainsIt has become the mantra: One foot firmly in the California mountains,the other firmly in Hawaii. Not yet ready to give up either one.
Hawaii is home. My roots are there. My identity -- or a large part of it. That identity needs the support of a set of cultural values unique to our little islands in the middle of the Pacific. We are , with good reason, proud My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-70530166362834227822015-01-01T11:19:00.001-10:002015-01-01T11:19:38.191-10:00Welcoming 2015
Last year, New Year’s Eve was
disappointingly quiet in Waikiki, a result of the newly active restrictions on
fireworks use. Either the City/State has
relaxed some of their deep restrictions, or the general population is going back to our beloved
Hawaii way of bringing in the New Year. I am sure that the fireworks for New
Year’s is a tradition brought with the Asian immigrants, especially My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-69298039255139984842014-09-29T14:04:00.000-10:002014-09-29T14:04:04.091-10:00Too long ....I have been reminded several times in the last month that a post is long overdue here. Mike and Nancy, you are two of the most persistent. Thank you for the nudges.
This has been a traveling year. Arizona and California in March. Arizona was warm and friendly, very much the right weather for their annual Aloha Festival. Winter was still trying to hang on in My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-81040543577997993902014-01-25T11:21:00.000-10:002014-01-25T11:21:08.897-10:00January in HonoluluIt's a cool January morning in Honolulu. Sky is overcast and the tradewinds are light, keeping the VOG (nasty version of smog produced by volcanic gasses instead of smoke and automotive exhaust) somewhere else.
The canoe paddlers have, for the most part, given up the park below my condo to the baseball set. During the week the Old Men (humphhhhhh ... the retired guys!) My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-35914658229760029172013-12-07T09:39:00.000-10:002013-12-07T09:39:51.705-10:00Another December 7For me, December 7 will always be bitter-sweet. It is the day of a great American disaster, but that is not what I remember. Of course, I only remember the event in the stories retold at family gatherings and in history books. My memories are more personal.
December 7, 1913 was the day that the Raker Act was passed, a federal legislation allowing the City of San My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-11017617177511245342013-08-20T07:44:00.001-10:002013-08-20T07:44:57.925-10:00Another Fire -- too close for comfortRim Fire Incident Status click here
For the non-professional view of residents, look here.
Refresh these pages each time you go back to it to assure that you are getting current information.
This fire is w-a-y too close for comfort. It is in the Tuolumne River Canyon at the Clavey, into and around Buck Meadows, in up Pilot Ridge. The old Pilot Peak fire lookout is readily My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-70146945530446034172013-05-20T11:34:00.000-10:002013-05-20T11:34:45.246-10:00Life's Awkward Moments
Car key refuses to leave ingition. At least it could drive to the dealership, where it is now awaiting diagnosis and estimate. This could be an expensive month. Think green. Green car, green cash...
It is now Monday, and my mother's Ford Fusion has been at the dealership since Friday afternoon. The technician probably got to it about 8:30. I am My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-23904857200257629532013-05-20T10:46:00.000-10:002013-05-20T10:46:12.842-10:00Sacred Trees and Ties to the Land
I refer you to my brother Ian's post of May 19, ilind.net, regarding our mango trees. Photo, right, is Saturday morning's harvest.
The architect's precise question was, "First, is there anything sacred about this house?" OK, that's manini (for you non-Hawaiian folk, that's nit-picking, or something like, "don't sweat the small stuff".) But he didn't start My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-54323616103199337192013-05-09T09:34:00.000-10:002013-05-09T09:34:00.798-10:00Giving the Passion its DueMost of you figured out long ago that genealogy and local history are my passion. So it won't come as a huge surprise that all posts relating strictly to genealogy will now appear in a new blog, Family Hunter. The webaddress is a slight modification: famlyhunter.blogspot.com Note the spelling, no 'i' in famly. Right now, it doesn't come up in any Google My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-89251490826383087462013-04-08T22:26:00.000-10:002013-04-08T22:26:17.438-10:00MakahaMy father was the Idea Man. He'd have an idea, then recruit others who were better suited to implement it. Often he got the credit. He had a lot of ideas related to surfing and canoe racing. He had been involved in at least one international surfing competition before he left Southern California. It was 1953, 14 years after he arrived in Hawaii, before the first My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-33500643804689653852013-04-02T19:51:00.000-10:002013-04-02T19:51:24.466-10:00Dare to BeI was looking for some quotes about smiling. Found this.
Take the challenge!
“Dare to BeWhen a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully.When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light.When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it.When something seems difficult, dare to do it anyway.When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back.When there My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-10612955046020205462013-02-02T20:03:00.000-10:002013-02-02T20:03:41.959-10:00Today of all days ...It was one of those 3:30 wake up mornings, so by noon had already put in a significant day.
Put the cell phone to charge on the computer rather than on a stand-alone charger; wanted it nearby just in case. Very seldom charge the phone this way.
Computer wanted to update software on phone. In the process, it wiped everything. Good news: everything on the My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-25468860383876121932013-01-29T20:46:00.000-10:002013-01-29T20:46:28.367-10:00The Call
It came just after 7:00 this morning. RN Mike made the call. My mother had slipped away only moments earlier, shortly after a bath and
shampoo. Both nurses were at her bedside holding her hands, assuring
her that she was not alone. When the time came, it was quick and
peaceful. It was just a struggle getting there.
Here are two of My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-62485408170341254772013-01-28T20:19:00.000-10:002013-01-28T20:19:38.559-10:00Hanging In
At some point the battle will end. The body will fail. Not the will. This has been a real battle, not the peaceful crossing for which we hoped.
My
mother is hanging onto life by the finest of threads. We felt sure
that she would pass late on the 25th or in the wee hours of the 26th. She didn't. We visited, we watched, we waited. My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-53458444789013239982013-01-24T13:20:00.001-10:002013-01-24T13:20:49.155-10:00Another Kind of TransitioningSomeone once told me that it is OK for a parent to brag on their children, because if we parents don't, who will? So here goes -- I am soooooo proud of my son!
My son is a journeyman craftsman. His current employer announced the week before Christmas that he wants to retire, so is going out of business at the end of March. Most of the 40-odd journeymen in the shop fled, My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-23829687121805611662013-01-23T06:38:00.001-10:002013-01-23T06:38:59.150-10:00TransitioningMy mother is getting ready to move on. She is in a Hospice House in Palolo Valley, a neighborhood in Honolulu -- an 8-bed facility operated by the Hospice organization which has provided her care since mid-September. It is a converted private home, and a perfectly lovely setting. I refer you to today's earliest posting at iLind.net, where Ian explains how we got to where we are My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-70291394956747704562013-01-20T07:30:00.000-10:002013-01-20T07:30:01.240-10:00AwarenessMy mom, who has consistently stated to all who would listen, "I am not dying." announced yesterday, "I am dying. I cannot do anything." Pointing to her head she added, "There is nothing there."
No hearing? No memories? Nothing what?
"Call the doctor. Tell him I cannot do anything. Ask him what to do."
Had already done that. Doing all we can. My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-72886792345826947252013-01-19T11:45:00.002-10:002013-01-19T11:45:44.736-10:00... and in the sickroom ...We are struggling to balance my mom's pain medication. Goal = pain free and somewhat functional vs. pain free and practically comatose. Not acceptable = in pain perceived as greater than 2 out of 10, with 10 being extreme. Then there are the issues of nutrition and fluid intake, and a tablet you have to swallow vs. a liquid medication given with a dropper.
My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-76248681944604587252013-01-17T19:56:00.003-10:002013-01-17T19:56:59.396-10:00Deja VuSome experiences are not meant to be repeated. Today was one of them.
My mom fell very early yesterday morning. She didn't hurt her head, and her back -- which hurts -- isn't black and blue. Her forearms are a little worse for the wear with a bruise at the wrist on the left and some torn skin on the right, but those are not the problem. On the surface, this is not a My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-6350782849804464492013-01-12T10:42:00.000-10:002013-01-12T10:42:26.015-10:00Reflecting on January 1
1 January 2013
It was drizzly, windy and overcast, not the best day to play on the beach. On the other hand, there is seldom a really bad beach day in Hawai'i.
Barb's condo faces the ocean.
"Wouldn't it be nice to look out and see Happy New Year wishes in the sand?" she asked.
Off we trudged to the perfect spot for creating a masterpiece.
My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-76123580728930682412013-01-09T11:37:00.000-10:002013-01-09T11:37:07.130-10:00An Ah-ha MomentI am a reader. A voracious reader. Will read almost any kind of a book. I remember as an 8-year-old reading -- and loving -- something written for middle schoolers on astronomy and the formation of the universe. That was too many decades ago.
I am also a re-reader. I will read -- or listen to via audiobook -- the same treasured stories over and over and over again.&My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-32017426969602134052013-01-08T22:25:00.002-10:002013-01-08T22:25:35.111-10:0051% Sweetheart ... and don't push it!Today I am missing one of my favorite sweatshirts. I don't wear sweatshirts much in Hawaii, but this one carries an appropriate sentiment for the day. Used to wear it to work when I was in a really nasty temper. Those were grab-the-cameras-and-a-car-and-run-to-the-mountains days. The image hand painted on the front of the shirt gave everyone fair warning: Keep Your Distance!
This My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-39829501787454951092013-01-04T19:42:00.000-10:002013-01-04T19:42:33.982-10:00Going OnSomewhere over the long weekend I found myself backsliding into a pit of loneliness I though I had moved well beyond. Guess not.
Many people -- myself included -- have said that the experience of loss in the course of a divorce is not much different than the loss at the death of a life partner.
Some widows tell me that the emptiness does not diminish with the passage of time -My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-82478284115077699552013-01-03T15:57:00.000-10:002013-01-03T15:57:24.866-10:00On Whiteness, Mass Murderers and GunsIf you are also Facebook user, you've seen a link to this essay on my Facebook page. If you are an iLind.net reader, you've seen my brother's link to the same page. It's worth calling out again, urging you to read the article and think objectively about the statements made. It demands that we take a hard look at ourselves. Are we contributing to a problem or helping My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372953408299172633.post-76354808979693991052012-12-26T22:16:00.001-10:002012-12-26T22:16:42.674-10:00Mitochondrial DiseaseI went exploring today. There are a lot of cruel diseases and physical conditions in this world. This turns out to be one of the more unpleasant -- and relatively common -- ones. This is what my cousin's son must fight through in order to survive. [see previous post] If the disease pulls the body's energy plug, so to speak, what does one have left to fight with?
Pray for Carl My Blogs ... http://www.blogger.com/profile/03532006250447036360noreply@blogger.com0