Hope Jennie and Frank get better!! That's not good to have that many surgeries in a short amount of time.
Glad you are over your allergies and stuff Jeanne!! I had a cold last week but managed to knock it out pretty quick.
We had our first killer frost last week and I was able to dig up my ee's and cannas after that. I left one volunteer canna out there. lol. It came up in my garden this year but came up late and only got about a foot high. Not sure how it survived the rototiller. lol
Katie, hope the brace helps your shoulder some!!
The coconut wireless - chat threat 2
Aloha all,
Almost back to the land of the living after a few painful weeks. I hope you are feeling better Jeanne and that Katies trip to CA to see the doctor has some good results...
Anybody doing anything for Halloween? My neighborhood has no small children that I know of so we don't even get trick or treaters at the door. We always buy a bag of candy just in case. The roads here are kept very dark so as not to confuse the turtles, sea birds, etc, to come the wrong way thinking they are following the stars out to sea, which could have something to do with the lack of children on the streets. Too many lights also mess up the Observatories too. There is going to be a street party in Lahaina tonight after months of debate. Some Hawaiians do not want it to happen at all.
Hope everyone is well and the weather is being kinder to some of you.
Jenn
Hi, Jennie. So sorry about your back problems. I can definitely sympathize with you. I did everything imaginable before I would agree to surgery and none of it worked. Even went to a chiropractor that had the new "stretching" machine and another for acupuncture. Way too much damage and only major surgery helped. I think of you and your loved ones often.
I agree with the Hawaiians, no Halloween for them. So strange that this has almost overtaken Christmas. We don't have any little children in our neighborhood either so we just shut everything down so the big kids don't come to our door. Our weather couldn't be better. The churches and schools have had Fall Fiesta's this weekend so the little kids could wear costumes and have a good time. Very different from my childhood. Since I turned 70 last weekend there is NOTHING, ANYWHERE like my childhood. hahahaha. I am older than dirt!
So glad to hear from both of you! Jen, so glad you are doing better! Belated Happy Birthday Christi!
I am doing better also. This cold weather makes me achey, but that is just part of life......
There are no Halloween plans here. We do not celebrate Halloween. I think the local Mall has something for the kids. All of the grandkids are now teens.
Everyone have a great day!
Jeanne
BOO!
I hope none of you had a heart attack from that unexpected outburst. That being written, my Halloween festivities are done. We live in a 55+ community, no kiddies anywhere, so no worries about keeping sweets in the house that would only become leftovers for me to eat and raise my blood sugar.
A long while ago, I got a single slip of papyrus from a friend. It had shot up uninvited on his property. He didn't care for it. I brought it home, where I planted in an 8-gallon tub of water. I fertilized it and kept its water clean with little fishies. That way, we didn't have to worry about mosquitoes. And that little slip grew and grew. I finally got tired of its untidy appearance. Imagine my surprise when I realized that the whole 8-gallon bucket was FULL of roots. We had to break away the bucket to get the plant out of there. That will be replaced with a rare aroid, the name of which escapes me right now. I have to go buy another bucket right now. Take care, all.
Sylvain.
I just worked all day, although in costume, went to a Haunted School tour and finally managed to come home to take a shower and get most of the glitter and makeup off. My feet are sooo happy right now!! LOL!!
Oh Christi, how could we have missed such an important birthday! Many Happy Returns of the Day - or is that just an English birthday wish? Anyway, I hope it was a good day for you.
Yesterday afternoon at 4pm the skies just open up out of nowhere and we had torrential tropical rain for about an hour. I don't think it messed up too many trick or treaters as it had stopped by dark. We need the rain though. When I was at work I watched a young couple laughing, dancing and taking pictures during the downpour, I guess they had never seen anything like tropical rain before, it was cute.
The avocado trees are loaded with fruit this year although it has been a very scant year for the citrus and we have only a few oranges and pumelos, and no mandarines at all. The lime tree keeps on producing though - Too bad I don't enjoy gin!
Frank is doing great after his last surgery and the Doc has given the okay for him to go back into the sea at the end of the week. He has missed swimming so much. At the moment he looks rather as if he has had a head transplant with the scar at the base of his neck - rather appropriate for this time of year! His thyroid was non cancerous, thank goodness. We are getting rather tired of all this "old people" stuff!
Now we start the downward spiral to the end of the year. How very quickly the last 2 months of the year fly by!
Aloha to all
We are so behind, Jenn. Need to call you and have a looong visit. Ahhh, the avocados with a little lime juice. I would eat a dozen a day. That with the bananas would furnish all the nutrition anyone needs. They are currently $1.49 each here so not such a bargain. My key lime is setting fruit now. Hope we can keep it going this winter.
My persian lime is producing like mad-- threats worked. Yum -- avocado with a splash of lemon olive oil and salt and pepper!
I love to add pressed garlic to guacamole. My garlic press is over 30 years old and it's still pressing the garlic like new. Buying quality kitchen tools pays off. Yes, it cost $40, 30 years ago but man, does that thing press garlic into a fine purée, no fuss and no muss.
I mash avocados with the juice of a lime, freshly chopped cilantro, pressed garlic, a bit of grated baby red onion, a touch of cayenne pepper (or sambal olek), a pinch of salt and voilà: ambrosia in a dish. I still fondly remember the Rangpur lime tree at Fred's house in Fort Myer.
Take care, all.
Pu'ole, a.k.a. Sylvain.
Rangpur Lime? I may call Hopkins nursery to see if they have any.
Sounds yummy y'all!
Where is everybody? Since I just celebrated my 70th birthday I bought myself an iPad2! Have had it for 6 days and am still getting the apps set up. Sure am glad this new technology is available before I get too old to figure it out. All propped up in my adjustable bed typing on it right now. The bed is in deference to a problem back. I told you I am Queen of Everything and Princess of Quite a Lot. Our temperatures are still in the 80's most days. Oddly, the tree are still quite green, well, except for those that died from the extreme summer. November 15 is the average date for a first frost and we are no where near it . We have had just a very little rain here and there......actually the newscaster says it is raining about 10 miles from here but we are not expected to get any of it. What are you doing this Thanksgiving Day? Almost here and we still haven't firmed up who is going to be where. Want each of you to know how thankful I am to have you as a friend. I pray you are well and safe from all harm.
Princess Kilikina
Good Morning, I'm just back from a trip to Ca. Saw my doctor who is very pleased with my test results and weight loss. Also, made a down payment on a used ambulance which will be more comfortable for my trips. All the flashing lights are gone but the siren still works!!
Our newest dog, Max, has settled in well. He wants to be boss, maybe cause he's the only male and the other four are girls but he's also the smallest so he's not getting far with his bossy ways. He's about three years old and I wasn't sure how well he would adapt to a new home but he's become very bonded to me and to Tony and he often plays with the other dogs. We're still working on sharing food pans but no one goes hungry. Max and Scout, who came back to me about six months ago when friends were no longer able to keep her, have both been "only" dogs for much of their lives and find sharing with other dogs a bit of a challange. I do, too, as it often means preparing several small individual servings. Other times there will be three or four sharing a big pan with no fuss.
Our new garden-to-be out front is coming along mostly thanks to Tony's work. We have great mounds of shredded leaves and branches to use for mulch.
After several unsuccessful attempts I have several goldenberry plants going. The largest one has one fruit and several blossoms. This is one plant that may provide nutricious fruit, possibly year-round, and is not currently grown here. So far I have Malabar spinach and lots of dragonfruit added to our plant resources. Still working on some others. For the birds, I've added a schotia tree which they love when it blooms. Lots of nectar; it's a bird magnet. My neighbor Dana has two small trees which she started from seed I gave her. I have one more small tree and lots of seeds this year. Lots of plumerias for the beauty and fragrance. I also have yellow lemons, perhaps the only ones in twon. And tangerines and red grapefruit. The citrus are just starting to produce for the year.
We had a soaker rain a few days ago - very unusual for here and most welcome.
Christi, I think of you often, especially when it rains. Hoping many of your trees come back.
hugs, katie
Hello, everyone.
I'm here. There's quite a bit going on around here. My new part-time job keeps me busy. One must understand that time can only be used once and that there are only 168 hours in a week. The hours I spend at work are not given back to me when I return home. That means less time for chores around the house and a need to work more quickly and efficiently when I have something to do. At any rate, everything is fine with us. I have booked a 10-day cruise for January. The garden is overgrown. The weeds are taking over and quite a few things no longer please me in there. We'll have to rip out a fair bit of it. My cruising buddy will have a week of extreme gardening to do before the cruise and at least a week of extreme planting when we return. He'll be SO pleased.
Take care, all.
Sylvain.
Where are you going, Pu'ole? We need so desperately to get away from here but I get all anxious when we start talking about it. Ten days sounds like heaven. Which cruise line do you recommend as you have tried them all. Has real estate picked up in your area? I certainly hope that is the case. After a summer from hell, my garden seems to think it is Spring. More blooms now that since summer of 2010. We are still having temps of mostly 80's so it is easy to understand. Supposed to be 38 tonight but back to 80 by Sunday.
Katie, I am always, always amazed at your unending energy. I started a project in my kitchen 3 days ago and it is in a bigger mess than ever. Too tired tonight to do anything more.
Worried about Jen. Anyone heard from her. RJ, too.
Hey, Pepper, Deb, Jeanne, belle and anyone I may have missed.....where are you? Come out, come out, wherever you are.
PK
I'm here!! Been busy at work and at home. Last night the internet went down though this time it wasn't on my end!! LOL.
Getting ready for Thanksgiving finally. It kinda snuck up on us. lol. Going to Iowa Saturday for dinner with family up there, then Thanksgiving I'm working then coming home for dinner with family and maybe some friends. Lots of running around going on around here!! I'm loving it and wouldn't have it any other way. lol
Christi, how are you liking the iPad 2? That's on my keep dreaming list. lol
Hi to everyone else!! Gotta get caught up on here pretty quick.
Glad to hear you are so busy, Amanda. For a young person (or old, for that matter) that's a very good thing. Here we are only a week away from Thanksgiving and still have not settled on a plan.
I love the iPad2. It is a week old today in my household. Good thing I had purchased the macbook a couple of years ago because it has been an easier transition. If you haven't read the book, "Steve Jobs", I recommend it. Not what you would expect.
This lady is tired and I am going to bed to try to finish reading The Clan of The Cave Bears tonight. Reading puts me to sleep even when I don't want to go to sleep yet.
Have a good time with your family, Amanda. Lucy's Chocolate Factory hangs above my desk. Love it because I always think of you.
Nighty night.
Christi
I'm on my way to cruising this Friday. We're going with my mother and will spend Thanksgiving at sea. So.. Happy Thanksgiving to all and I'll get back to you in 10 days or so!
As a note, my cucumbers did not do well in the pool cage-- however the lettuce, peppers and eggplant look great. Pollination issues? Don't know.. The radishes are finally pickable and quite spicy! Need to expand garden and just haven't had the epiphany needed-- Maybe this trip will do the job.
Gobble, Gobble!
Debi
One of my eight barely-hanging-on-for-over-two-years brugs surprised me with a beautiful white bloom this morning. And three buds. The others are putting out new growth; I think they like this cooler weather.
katie
Mine are blooming too, Katie.
Beautiful, aren't they?
Hap
Hello, one and all.
Christi, to answer your questions: We are leaving on the Emerald Princess from Fort Lauderdale on Jan. 17th, for 10 days. We will be stopping at Princess' private island in the Bahamas, St.Thomas, Grenada, Dominica, Bonaire and Aruba; maybe not in that order. Anyhow, I'm not driving and they kinda can go wherever they please, as long as I'm on board and relaxing.
My cruising buddy (Claude) and I have established a few years ago that 7 days is not long enough, so we bumped it to 10 days. Who knows, maybe we'll eventually bump it again to 14 days. My favorite cruise line among them all is really and truly Royal Caribbean.
The real estate business here has not picked up any speed, as far as I am concerned. Every day, more and more homes are foreclosed. A real estate license is really a license to lose money, these days.
I was glad to hear that your garden is showing signs of rebirth. This last summer was a bummer for you guys. Let's hope for a 100% recovery.
I have to go. That potting won't do itself. Perfect weather here for that kind of work: cloudy, windy and a slight drizzle. I work under the carport, which stay dry all the time.
Take care, all.
Sylvain.
I'm here.....still getting ready for Thanksgiving here. Doing the fall cleaning I didn't get done in the Spring.
Pulled a few weeds and a muscle in my back in the daylily bed the other day. It has finally eased up.
Have a few more things to do in the house....almost ready. Shopping tomorrow.
My yellow jasmine is in bloom and is just gorgeous. The White ginger is in bloom also, and my yellow brugs. I guess they think it is Spring.
Happy holidays everyone!
Jeanne
Aloha from North Carolina!
I am spending a couple of weeks with my daughter and son in law. My granddaughter flew in for a few days too, so it's been great fun shopping and "hanging out". I will be heading home on Friday and will have a traveling buddy because my daughter will be coming back with me to Maui for a quick vacation.
It's COLD here! We had one night that got close to freezing but it has been very pleasant since then and I have been enjoying seeing the autumn colors on the trees, but days in the 60's are still chilly for me!
We have been looking at homes for sale here and are thinking of retiring and moving back to the mainland sometime in the future. There are certainly lots of lovely homes for sale and the Chapel Hill area is very nice...the bonus is of course being closer to family in our old age!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Jenn
Glad you are with your kids, Jen. You and Frank did it right by living in Hawaii while you were young and could enjoy all that it has to offer. I wouldn't think Chapel Hill would be a come down but, oh, what a difference in climate. You will need a whole new wardrobe.....that's not so bad. Maybe a road trip to Texas? Sorry for the problems everyone is having with their backs. I am well acquainted with that. Mike seeing the orthopedic doctor this afternoon about his knees. He can hardly walk. As the adage goes, "Old age ain't for sissies.". Here it is only a day or two before Thanksgiving. Goodness where does the time go?
Among my many blessings, each of you are at the top of the list.
Christi aka PK
Just got back last night from Iowa. Had Thanksgiving with some family up there over the weekend. Had a great time except for when I was crammed in the car with 4 other people. lol. My back is also hurting some but is alot better than it was. My neice and nephew decided to play horsie on me Saturday night. They didn't hurt me til they bounced on my back and that about did me in. I then reached behind me and pulled a muscle in my left arm so that put an end to the game. lol
Aloha, everyone!
Jenny is on the mainland: wonderful news. I hope you have a wonderful visit with family and friends while scouting out your next neighborhood.
Bad backs seem to be the norm these days. I have a very delicate lumbar area and it is acting up these days, specially when an order of wine and spirits comes into the shop and has to be either warehoused or displayed on the shelves. I am rather sore these days because I may have overdone it last week. With me, it's not so much picking the boxes off the floor. I do the worst damage when I have a case of bottles in my hands and I pivot to the right or left, turning at the waist. Those torsion movements will be the death of me. I have had some excruciating episodes while doing that. But, I try hard to remember my delicate spots and I manage to go through my duties without being carted away to the emergency room on a stretcher.
Take care, all and have a great Thanksgiving day if I don't "see" you by then.
Pu'ole, a.k.a. Sylvain.
Hope you heal quickly!
Happy Thanksgiving one and all! Hope everyone had a great day!
Ours was excellent! Now I can rest and recooperate........
Jeanne
This message was edited Nov 25, 2011 11:55 PM
Guess it has been awhile since someone requested Mike's Rib concoction. He is cooking today so thought I would get him to dictate and write it down. Hope the file shows. It is in pdf. format.
Well, that didn't work. Will have to work on it a bit.
This message was edited Dec 11, 2011 1:20 PM
Dearest, the file did not follow. And I would love to try Mike's Rib concoction.
Mahalo nui loa.
Pu'ole, a.k.a. Sylvain.
Hi all! Hope everyone is feeling better.
Christi I would love to have Mike's recipe!
Only two weeks until Christmas......Everyone ready yet? I still have a few things to pick up.
Merry Christmas Everyone, and a very Happy New Year!
Jeanne
Oy Vey, Christmas and New year just around the corner, so much to do and so little time. And then, there is the cruise following in the 3rd week of January! So much to do and so little time. I am at this point of the year where energy fails me and my to-do list stretches ad infinitam. I have got to prioritize and concentrate on the necessary things. I am not Superman.
Yesterday, I made a pair of men's shorts for myself. They turned out beautifully. I cut them out f a great piece of denim I had purchased last week. While at the fabric store, I thought of purchasing interfacing, but I clearly remembered a few yards of the stuff sitting in my stash. When the time came to cut the interfacing, I looked and looked. I only had enough to interface those shorts, if I cut judiciously. I have no interfacing for the other 3 pairs I also cut yesterday. No interfacing, no shorts. It's a simple equation. So, it's off to the store again today to buy a few yards interfacing. My mind is going slowly.
Take care, all.
Pu'ole, a.k.a. Sylvain.
Aloha Everyone,
Back from my trip to North Carolina. I had a wonderful, although very busy, visit. Family and extended family arrived at various times, so we ended up having several Thanksgivings. I am pretty sick of turkey right now, but a good time was had by all.
It was lovely to see all the hardwood trees in their autumn colors although I had just missed the height of the display. The weather was cool-ish, but I found the first few days to be quite a shock to my system - it's been years since I felt temps in the 60's! BRRR!
I looked at various areas and houses while I was visiting and could not believe the prices! Very tempting, but still not sure we want to give up the Islands just yet...
Christi, like everyone else, I would love Mike's rib concoction!
I am so impressed with the sewing Pu'ole, you are going to be well outfitted for your cruise.
Is everyone getting ready for Christmas? The only decorations I am doing this year is a couple of bows out on the driveway lamp posts - hows that for a miserable Christmas spirit! I have to work on the 25th and 26th so we will probably have our Christmas dinner on the 24th - no turkey though!
Happy holidays to everyone,
Jenn
http://public.iwork.com/document/?d=Mike_39_s_Rib_directions.pages&a=p152911329
Now then, let's try this. Everyday is a new challenge with the mac.
Well, would you look at that! It worked. Not decorating here either. All of the get-togethers are planned for elsewhere. Have been hooked on Cardinal dishes for sometime and I have set my table very festive. Cardinal is the Christmas icon for peace.
What a great day it would be if all of us were in the same place at one time. Pu'ole, you would go nuts over my stash. I probably rival many suppliers. I am impressed with the shorts. Do you install a zipper or just elastic? I'm not good with zippers. It is cold and dreary again today. The yellow rose is covered with blooms....one bright spot in the garden.
I have been very lazy this weekend and need to get myself up and busy. During the night we have gremlins come in and just mess up the house something awful. One of these I will catch them.
Love to all of you. Peace on earth, goodwill to men.
Princess Kilikina
Oh, Jen, how beautiful.. Postman just came to door with a new calendar of Hawaii. It hangs right in front of my desk. Thank you again and again.
We have cardinal decorations also. One of my favorite birds!
We are getting ready for Christmas though not doing much decorating. We are just so busy that we can't muster up the energy for it. Plus I have a hyper 4 year old nephew who likes to run around the house so have to be careful of what I put out. lol
Now off to check out Mike's rib recipe.
A glorious morning to you all.
When we moved to Florida, I wanted to have a Christmas wreath hanging at the condo's door. That was the only decoration the condo commandos would allow outside between Dec. 10th and Jan. 6th: a wreath.
I had seen evergreen-looking garland sold at the dollar store and there was a big fur coat hanger left by the previous owner in the walk-in closet. Using pliars, I started bending the hanger into a circle. With the circle done, I returned to the dollar store and purchased 90 feet of the evergreen garland, ornaments of all kinds, strings of pearls, bells, jingle bells, pine cones, lights, anything I could find for $1. It seemed my only criteria was: it must come from the dollar store.
I returned home with my purchases. Gail looked at me as if I had lost my marbles. Gail is a delightful woman, a real-life Saint. She has put up with me for 34 years, but Lord love her to bits, she can't visualise stuff like I can. So, I started wrapping the garland around the circular frame I had made. I then wired every decoration to the wreath with garbage bag ties so nothing would fall off. Gail was knitting and rolling her eyes at her crazy polar bear caught in the clutches of yet another creative frenzy. Once in a while, I could feel a skeptical glance coming my way.
So, I wired the lights in, followed by everything else. In a matter of an hour or so, we had a gorgeous wreath. Gail laughed and said she should never underestimate me. I then wired the wreath to the outside of the condo's door and connected the lights. It worked beautifully. I even caught someone trying to steal my wreath one night. I hated living in that condo! The people were such dorks! Since then, every year, I go to the dollar store and buy 1 pack of Christmas ornaments to add to the wreath. The new addition can't cost more than $1 and it can't be a single item. This year, I have purchased a pack of 5 ornaments for $1. Every year, that wreath hangs on our front door. We love it. Here is a picture of it.
As far as sewing is concerned, when large size clothes became difficult to find in Montreal and my weight kept on increasing, I resolved to take sewing courses. I asked around. One of my friends recommended this sewing school. I had never heard of it and it was a good 35 miles away from home. But, I paid my money and took my chances. The teacher was a harsh sewing fanatic, but she taught me well. It was her way or the highway. And to make matters worse, there was a man in her class and she didn't enjoy that one bit. She thought there was something very wrong with me. I soon become one of her star pupils and a bit of a teacher's pet. At the first course, I realized this was a haute couture and pattern design class. How wonderful, I thought.
I persevered with that teacher for 4 years. I learned everything there is to know about fabric, equipment, pressing, sponging, needlework, interfacing and tailoring. Now, I make a lot of the clothes I wear and I wear a lot of the clothes I made a long while ago because they last and last. Each seam is tacked. Each thread is tied. Everything that needs it is interfaced and holds together very well and everything fits oh so well.
My shorts feature a regular tailored fly, fully interfaced waist band, and a belt loop every 5 inches. I invest about 8 hours work in a pair of pants, or shorts. I also make tailored dress shirts with wonderful collars and double french cuffs that are to die for. Basically, the only ready-made clothes I buy are socks and ties. I even buy nice buttons and make my own cuff links. I have been sewing for 30 years now.
Well, having photographed the wreath, I guess I'll hang it on the door now. Take care all.
Pu'ole, a.k.a. Sylvain.
Why am I not surprised at your multiple, multiple talents?! Wish you lived close and I would commission apparel for myself. The wreath is sumptuous. And you are a gourmet cook and talented gardner, never mind, your way with words. I am so fortunate to have met each of you. The magic of the internet has brought some of most wonderful people in the world, from all over the world.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your love and care. We come together in this Christmas season to celebrate your birth as a man here on earth. May your blessings cover each of these friends. Amen
Ah, Princess... you are making me blush. I can feel it on my cheeks. Thank you. I am always glad to have met so many wonderful people through Dave's Garden.
Mahalo nui loa.
Pu'ole, a.k.a. Sylvain.