Happy Thanksgiving from Kauai! See my previous blog below for some reasons to be thankful in case you can't think of enough. This is just a short blog because I have to start preparing for tomorrow. In case anyone cares, I'll be cooking/baking the following for our lunch get together tomorrow:
Shrimp/fishcake age (tempura)--I love making this. Chopped up shrimp, kamaboko, and green onions in a batter and dropped into oil. Yumm-o!
Barbequed Pork Ribs--I may not be crazy about Star Jones from the View, but I do thank her for telling us that the best way to prepare ribs is to simply season, cover tightly in foil, and bake for an hour...then marinade w/ sauce and grill or bake. I like to use guava jam and honey with a bottled hickory sauce.
Skewered Veggies--We're having a cook-out and skewered marinated vegetables are fun to prepare. Macadamia nut oil, Bragg's and garlic powder should be good.
Pumpkin Crunch--Our favorite holiday dessert! I'm going to use both the usual Yellow Cake Mix topping, but will try one section using wheat-free baking mix.
There are just six of us, but we'd better eat for 20 cuz we'll have enough food for that many. The dishes I'm preparing is just one-third of what we're having!
I want to write a longer post later, but in the meantime, I want to say:
While you're spending time thinking of what you have to be thankful for, please also look at how you got them. If you find yourself being thankful for a LOT, it doesn't necessarily mean you're a virtuous person for being thankful. It could also mean you have to step back and see if, in having all this "good stuff", you didn't step on others to get them. Do you consider how others feel or are you mostly just "on the take"? If you find yourself having to thank someone for a multitude of things, you may be taking advantage of them! Simply saying "thank you" may not be enough. After turkey, leave some room to digest these thoughts!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Don't Worry, Be Happy Now
You know what's fun? When someone leaves you voicemail and while they're doing so, someone in their house picks up an extension. The names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent:
Julie: "Colleen, this is Julie, I'm on Kauai and we should get together so can you call me, I'm staying at Gregg's house---"
Gregg: "Julie? Oh, you're using the phone?"
Julie: "Gregg, yeh, I'm calling Colleen."
Gregg: "HI COLLEEN!!"
Julie: "Nooo, she's not home, I'm leaving her a message."
Gregg: "Ohhhh..."
Julie: "Hey, you came home late huh? You'd better take it easy, you're working too hard!"
Gregg: "Well I had to finish the job. Oh, by the way I saw Grace and she said her mom had surgery."
Julie: "Nah? I hope she's ok."
Gregg: "It was her knee...or was it hip, I forget."
Julie: "Lip?"
Gregg: "HIP!"
Julie: "Oh hip, haha!"
Gregg: "Did you eat dinner already? Geri said she made stew."
Julie: "Yes...I ate. So should we go visit Grace's mom? How long will she be in the hospital?"
Gregg: "Ah, I dunno. Nowadays they don't stay long."
Julie: "Yeh, hmmm...oh, did you pick up the part from Home Depot to fix the sink?"
Gregg: "They didn't have the 2 inch elbow, I have to go Ace tomorrow."
Julie: "Oh ok.....uh oh..."
Gregg: "What?"
Julie: "I was leaving a message for Colleen...."
*LMAO* ohhhh my god, it's really funny to listen to, even if the conversation itself isn't funny. Just the idea that they got carried away and forgot why they were on the phone in the first place. I'm not the only one going through Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder, I guess! And I'm not making fun at all, but these days you've got to find fun where you can!
I don't want to get all preachy, but I've always been acutely aware of the inequities of life. Since going through a lot of different "stuff" in my life, especially between 1982 to 1992 (two hurricanes, car accidents, the birth of Jordan, etc.), I've learned how fortunate we are and to appreciate everything I have, even when I see others who seem to have more. In this time of economic uncertainty, I'm glad I was never caught up in the "fast track" of wasting money on brand name everything, nice cars, designer bags, etc. There are a lot of people who are having to get off that train right now. (Ok, I'm no saint with my love of Las Vegas and gold jewelry *LOL*).
Which brings me to this: The other day a friend forwarded me an email titled, "Voted the Best Email of the Year." Now I have no idea who voted and where this vote took place (I guess it was overshadowed a bit by Barack Obama's election), but I have to agree that this was an appropriate title for this email. For one thing, it intrigued me enough to OPEN the email. The message I'm forwarding to YOU right here is very valuable and I wish every single person in the U.S. could see it (If you'd like me to forward the actual email to you so you can send it to your spoiled brat niece, leave me a comment):
So you think your life sucks?
Julie: "Colleen, this is Julie, I'm on Kauai and we should get together so can you call me, I'm staying at Gregg's house---"
Gregg: "Julie? Oh, you're using the phone?"
Julie: "Gregg, yeh, I'm calling Colleen."
Gregg: "HI COLLEEN!!"
Julie: "Nooo, she's not home, I'm leaving her a message."
Gregg: "Ohhhh..."
Julie: "Hey, you came home late huh? You'd better take it easy, you're working too hard!"
Gregg: "Well I had to finish the job. Oh, by the way I saw Grace and she said her mom had surgery."
Julie: "Nah? I hope she's ok."
Gregg: "It was her knee...or was it hip, I forget."
Julie: "Lip?"
Gregg: "HIP!"
Julie: "Oh hip, haha!"
Gregg: "Did you eat dinner already? Geri said she made stew."
Julie: "Yes...I ate. So should we go visit Grace's mom? How long will she be in the hospital?"
Gregg: "Ah, I dunno. Nowadays they don't stay long."
Julie: "Yeh, hmmm...oh, did you pick up the part from Home Depot to fix the sink?"
Gregg: "They didn't have the 2 inch elbow, I have to go Ace tomorrow."
Julie: "Oh ok.....uh oh..."
Gregg: "What?"
Julie: "I was leaving a message for Colleen...."
*LMAO* ohhhh my god, it's really funny to listen to, even if the conversation itself isn't funny. Just the idea that they got carried away and forgot why they were on the phone in the first place. I'm not the only one going through Age-Activated Attention Deficit Disorder, I guess! And I'm not making fun at all, but these days you've got to find fun where you can!
I don't want to get all preachy, but I've always been acutely aware of the inequities of life. Since going through a lot of different "stuff" in my life, especially between 1982 to 1992 (two hurricanes, car accidents, the birth of Jordan, etc.), I've learned how fortunate we are and to appreciate everything I have, even when I see others who seem to have more. In this time of economic uncertainty, I'm glad I was never caught up in the "fast track" of wasting money on brand name everything, nice cars, designer bags, etc. There are a lot of people who are having to get off that train right now. (Ok, I'm no saint with my love of Las Vegas and gold jewelry *LOL*).
Which brings me to this: The other day a friend forwarded me an email titled, "Voted the Best Email of the Year." Now I have no idea who voted and where this vote took place (I guess it was overshadowed a bit by Barack Obama's election), but I have to agree that this was an appropriate title for this email. For one thing, it intrigued me enough to OPEN the email. The message I'm forwarding to YOU right here is very valuable and I wish every single person in the U.S. could see it (If you'd like me to forward the actual email to you so you can send it to your spoiled brat niece, leave me a comment):
So you think your life sucks?
Funny how some things can lift you up and bring you down (to earth) at the same time.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Krazy Karaok'ing with a Kold
I'm still on Oahu, but remaining true to my usual hermit self, I've been stuck on the computer 90% of the time. For one thing, I've got a cold. I'm not sure if Zicam and my GFSE spray failed me. Or maybe I would've had a much worse time without them, who really knows? I can usually count on them to either stop the onset of a virus or at least shorten the suffering. All I know is this cold is cramping my style in Honolulu!
Well, at least I've discovered yet another advantage to working online from home (or in this case Mom's house). You can work while you're sick. It's ok that you feel too sick to change your clothes or comb your hair. You can take a break anytime for a quick nap. You don't spread germs to your coworkers. Ironically, I was given much more work this week than I've been getting at home on Kauai. Hmmm...if I weren't sick, I'd be a bit ungrateful, but since I'm in no mood to go out anyway, it's been a productive week. And think of the weight I'm not putting on, pigging out on Honolulu Eats. I did, however, get to the lunch buffet at Maple Garden (pretty darned good for $10) and thanks to Krazy Karaoke's Customer Appreciation Night, got to enjoy catering by Ige's....yum-oh!
Yep, I went karaoking two days in a row with a cold. No shame! My singing is wobbly without a cold, what's a little more wobble? Jordan and I usually have a karaoke day with my friend Sharon every time we visit Honolulu and that's what we did on Tuesday. While checking in, we were recognized as "regulars" and invited to attend their Customer Appreciation Night the following night, with a free room and food! We only managed to find three friends to join us, but had a great time. Thank you Krazy Karaoke!!
On the subject of music, Josiah Leming has released an EP. Please check him out, he's exceptional, IMHO. I just read that good ol' 19 Productions is trying to pull the plug on his upcoming full CD. It seems anyone auditioning for American Idol has to sign a contract which pretty much enslaves them even if they don't go on to the finals. Pretty greedy of 19, I say, considering the money they're already making on the "winners." Go to Josiah's mySpace site and order his EP... it's totally worth the money, and you'll be helping a really talented young man. You can hear samples on his site. Puhleez, he's way deeper than David Archuleta!
Here he is, a bit "raw", but fresh, when he auditioned on Idol. He's much more polished on his Warner Bros. EP and backed by a band.
Well, at least I've discovered yet another advantage to working online from home (or in this case Mom's house). You can work while you're sick. It's ok that you feel too sick to change your clothes or comb your hair. You can take a break anytime for a quick nap. You don't spread germs to your coworkers. Ironically, I was given much more work this week than I've been getting at home on Kauai. Hmmm...if I weren't sick, I'd be a bit ungrateful, but since I'm in no mood to go out anyway, it's been a productive week. And think of the weight I'm not putting on, pigging out on Honolulu Eats. I did, however, get to the lunch buffet at Maple Garden (pretty darned good for $10) and thanks to Krazy Karaoke's Customer Appreciation Night, got to enjoy catering by Ige's....yum-oh!
Yep, I went karaoking two days in a row with a cold. No shame! My singing is wobbly without a cold, what's a little more wobble? Jordan and I usually have a karaoke day with my friend Sharon every time we visit Honolulu and that's what we did on Tuesday. While checking in, we were recognized as "regulars" and invited to attend their Customer Appreciation Night the following night, with a free room and food! We only managed to find three friends to join us, but had a great time. Thank you Krazy Karaoke!!
On the subject of music, Josiah Leming has released an EP. Please check him out, he's exceptional, IMHO. I just read that good ol' 19 Productions is trying to pull the plug on his upcoming full CD. It seems anyone auditioning for American Idol has to sign a contract which pretty much enslaves them even if they don't go on to the finals. Pretty greedy of 19, I say, considering the money they're already making on the "winners." Go to Josiah's mySpace site and order his EP... it's totally worth the money, and you'll be helping a really talented young man. You can hear samples on his site. Puhleez, he's way deeper than David Archuleta!
Here he is, a bit "raw", but fresh, when he auditioned on Idol. He's much more polished on his Warner Bros. EP and backed by a band.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Now We're Cooking!
As I write this, Barack Obama is being called the winner of the Presidential election. America voted for HOPE in these tumultous times. It's been the most exciting election in my voting history, probably yours too, and I feel such a sense of relief and yes, hope, that maybe, just maybe the paradigm has finally shifted for the better. It has become more and more apparent that things are falling apart around us and we need a new recipe...and chef.
I flew to Honolulu on Sunday on a leaky Hawaiian Airlines plane. Yes, literally leaking on us. Oddly it wasn't raining outside. We weren't even in the clouds at the time. I just hope it was WATER that was dripping down the the passengers. The flight attendant passed out paper towels. One passenger had the inflight magazine on her head like a rainbonnet. That was a first for me after 50 years of flying. Crazy!
The irony is that the book I brought onboard to read was a "Monk" book. If you've seen the TV series or read the books, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. I sat there and smiled, thinking of how Monk would be reacting to droplets of an unidentified liquid falling on him from the airplane ceiling.
I think I'm Monk-ish in many ways and I noticed that while opening the tiny complimentary juice cup (to be discontinued soon, I'll bet). If you open it too quickly, juice splashes on you. You have to tilt the cup away from you a bit, then slowly pull off the foil. After drinking the juice, I neatly nested Jordan's cup into my own napkin-stuffed cup. Have you ever seen the late Phil Hartman's "Anal Retentive Chef" routine? He did this one bit on how the AR Chef throws away vegetable trimmings (wrapped neatly up, placed in a paper bag, folded over neatly then scotchtaped, etc.). Can you imagine the AR Chef meeting Rap Reiplinger's "Aunty Marialani"? Hey maybe like the Rock 'n Roll band in heaven, Rap and Phil are doing some hilarious cooking up there.
But I digress... I was talking about leaky planes. What this world is coming to IS leaky planes, $100 to fill our gas tanks, tainted food, schools with no supplies. Or how about 50 people in a standard 4-bedroom house like the one that collapsed in Kalihi last week? I was horrified to read that these people were paying $500 per month to live in a tarped-wall room built with pipes and scaffolding!
About a year ago a local news station urged viewers to write in a question to suggest topics and my question was chosen. I asked if Hawaii couldn't have rent control. When will the madness end? Someone ought to tell the legislature that Hawaii is an ISLAND state. There's no packing up and driving until you find a place you can afford to live. No driving to another state that has cheaper rent, everyone's pretty much stuck here so something has to be done. On top of our own local people being stuck homeless, there's evidence that Mainlanders are coming here to be homeless because of our warm weather. Hopefully now that Obama is President and Government is more likely to be viewed as "the solution," we can work on this problem as well as others.
I try hard not to be upset at how Kauai and our Hawaii is changing. We've lost so much of our paradise to development. My mantra is "It's part of the process," and I wish I could remember the writer who told the story of meeting a Tibetan monk who had witnessed atrocities committed by the Chinese soldiers invading Tibet. The writer asked him why he seemed to harbor no hate for the Chinese and the monk simply said what happened in Tibet was "part of the process of Life." [Adrien Monk would hardly have the same attitude so his name was ill-chosen.]
Buddhists might be viewed as "wimps" who complacently accept and don't fight back, but it's not as simple as that. Understanding what is "part of the process" and then accepting it if you can't change it, is, I believe, a major ingredient to a happy, healthy life. Take that and cook it, Rap and Phil!
This video is "Aunty Marialani's Cooking Show" by the late great Rap Reiplinger. He was a comedic genius who left us much too soon in 1984. Look up more of his work online!
I flew to Honolulu on Sunday on a leaky Hawaiian Airlines plane. Yes, literally leaking on us. Oddly it wasn't raining outside. We weren't even in the clouds at the time. I just hope it was WATER that was dripping down the the passengers. The flight attendant passed out paper towels. One passenger had the inflight magazine on her head like a rainbonnet. That was a first for me after 50 years of flying. Crazy!
The irony is that the book I brought onboard to read was a "Monk" book. If you've seen the TV series or read the books, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. I sat there and smiled, thinking of how Monk would be reacting to droplets of an unidentified liquid falling on him from the airplane ceiling.
I think I'm Monk-ish in many ways and I noticed that while opening the tiny complimentary juice cup (to be discontinued soon, I'll bet). If you open it too quickly, juice splashes on you. You have to tilt the cup away from you a bit, then slowly pull off the foil. After drinking the juice, I neatly nested Jordan's cup into my own napkin-stuffed cup. Have you ever seen the late Phil Hartman's "Anal Retentive Chef" routine? He did this one bit on how the AR Chef throws away vegetable trimmings (wrapped neatly up, placed in a paper bag, folded over neatly then scotchtaped, etc.). Can you imagine the AR Chef meeting Rap Reiplinger's "Aunty Marialani"? Hey maybe like the Rock 'n Roll band in heaven, Rap and Phil are doing some hilarious cooking up there.
But I digress... I was talking about leaky planes. What this world is coming to IS leaky planes, $100 to fill our gas tanks, tainted food, schools with no supplies. Or how about 50 people in a standard 4-bedroom house like the one that collapsed in Kalihi last week? I was horrified to read that these people were paying $500 per month to live in a tarped-wall room built with pipes and scaffolding!
About a year ago a local news station urged viewers to write in a question to suggest topics and my question was chosen. I asked if Hawaii couldn't have rent control. When will the madness end? Someone ought to tell the legislature that Hawaii is an ISLAND state. There's no packing up and driving until you find a place you can afford to live. No driving to another state that has cheaper rent, everyone's pretty much stuck here so something has to be done. On top of our own local people being stuck homeless, there's evidence that Mainlanders are coming here to be homeless because of our warm weather. Hopefully now that Obama is President and Government is more likely to be viewed as "the solution," we can work on this problem as well as others.
I try hard not to be upset at how Kauai and our Hawaii is changing. We've lost so much of our paradise to development. My mantra is "It's part of the process," and I wish I could remember the writer who told the story of meeting a Tibetan monk who had witnessed atrocities committed by the Chinese soldiers invading Tibet. The writer asked him why he seemed to harbor no hate for the Chinese and the monk simply said what happened in Tibet was "part of the process of Life." [Adrien Monk would hardly have the same attitude so his name was ill-chosen.]
Buddhists might be viewed as "wimps" who complacently accept and don't fight back, but it's not as simple as that. Understanding what is "part of the process" and then accepting it if you can't change it, is, I believe, a major ingredient to a happy, healthy life. Take that and cook it, Rap and Phil!
This video is "Aunty Marialani's Cooking Show" by the late great Rap Reiplinger. He was a comedic genius who left us much too soon in 1984. Look up more of his work online!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)