I walked into my screened lanai last night (that's the room I showed under construction in my last post) and was overwhelmed with a cloying sweet fragrance. Within less than a minute my nose was running, my eyes were itching and I was sneezing. I did what I needed to do (the laundry is out there) and dashed back into the house, shutting the door between the house and the lanai. My allergy symptoms continued until bedtime. I know that benedryl will control this stuff, but I already have problems with extreme dry mouth from my tummy meds, so I decided to try to ride this one out. When I go up this morning I knew I'd made a mistake. My entire face was puffy, the area around my left eye disproportionately so. The sniffles and sneezeing started up again as soon as I walked into the front of the house. I've been taking benedryl all day. It makes me sleepy and saps my energy and there's the whole dry mouth thing also.




I've been assuming something was blooming in my neighbor's yard across the fence. I went outside a few minutes ago to see what it is that is making me so sick. Darn! Can't blame it on the neighbor. I usually trim the stalkes off of the top of my ti plants as soon as they appear. I found out my first year here that they attract massive quantities of bees. I'm allergic to bees, too, so I try to minimize the attraction. I hadn't been out in that yard in a while and the stalks had shot up and are covered with spikey purple balls. Little white blossoms open up when darkeness falls, which is why it was so strong last night. Unfortunately, darkness is falling now and it's a little late to start trimming. I'll have to take care of that when I finish work tomorrow.



While I was out there I realized I've been horribly neglecting my herb garden. The birds have planted wild tomato plants again, the sort that make little tiny, bitter tomatoes. My Dad liked them on his salad, but I don't at all. I guess I need to spend a few hours out there tomorrow. I pulled a few small ones the last time I was out there. Today I discovered one growing into my rosemary bush. It's large enough to already have little pea-sized green tomatoes showing. If I can just stop sneezing long enough & open my eyes fully behind the puffiness I'll take care of all that.

No, I didn't get a new camera yet. I have possession of the homeowner's association camera for a few days. Maybe I can sqeeze in some time tomorrow to stock up on fresh photos for my blog!

Labels: gardening, just stuff, life in Hawaii, photos

I think not! I sure hope this isn't the same technology that our national security forces are using to pick mad bombers and terrorists out of a crowd.



I tried it with three different photos of myslef. The first time it gave Martina Navrotilova.



The second time it couldn't find anyone. The third time I got the result you see in the collage above. Little hinky, wouldn't you say, that they allowed me to pick my favorite look-alikes from a whole slew of them?

The link at the bottom of the collage will take you there so you can try it yourself.

Labels: free stuff, photos, silliness

How far back can you remember? I have some memories of the small town I was born in: the fire station with the donut shop next door, the orphanage with a farm where we visited most weekends, the rodeo practice grounds and the route I walked to school to take my older brother and sister their forgotten lunch money.

I don't remember when I was the baby of the family.



I remember making mud pies, but not that I was constantly getting in trouble for eating them. Everyone says it was so.



I don't remember when I quit being "the baby." I only remember when we were four.



I don't recall the puppy, or knowing that we were poor. I remember that the steps were scarey and broken down, and that I was often told to go out, then come back in without slamming the screen door. I wasn't raised in a barn, you know!



I don't recall the doll and highchair, but I remember sleeping in pin curls every Saturday night, and on the eve of every special occasion.



I don't recall when Mom was young and slim, but I can recall a lot of identical dresses that she made for me and Sis.



I remember how lucky I felt to get the hand-me-downs and wear those special dresses an extra year or two, but it took a stroll through old photos to remind me that mine always drooped off of my right shoulder.



I remember the year Mom made detailed costumes, too, and how lucky I was to get a Patty Playpal and a nurses bag to go with mine. It must have been the same year that Sis discovered Laura Ingalls Wilder. I can't recall those stairs ever being uncarpeted.



There are bad memories in there, too. The world didn't know much about manic-depression back then, or understand the terrible impact it could have on children whose mother could go from blissfull happiness to whacking off your hair in a frenzy when you said you wanted to have a pixie haircut like your friend. I know I quit wearing her homemade dresses about that time. I was old enough to notice that they had become bizarre and clownish.



Everyone's father drank, so we probably assumed that everyone's father passed out in the living room or the yard or the car each evening. We probably thought he was just tired because he worked so hard. There are no pictures of that, of course.

What we did understand, and what I choose to remember the most, is that we were four, and that we always knew we were loved.




I remember that year when I got my first bike. It was the same year that Mom told me the big secret that I was never, ever to tell anyone. I had always been her favorite. It was many years later that I realized that, despite whatever failings she may have had, she was wise enough to tell that same secret to each of the four of us.

Labels: family, memories, photos

Last week my head was stuck on the fact that my camera had died. I didn't even think about my web cam, even though other participants were using theirs. So, anyway, here you go. Me, early on a Sunday morning. Two sips of coffee inside me, hair uncombed and, if you look closely, there's probably gunk in the corners of my eyes.

Arrrrrrrgh! Next time I'll look closer before I put it out there. Pretend I fluffed my bangs so you can't see the half-inch of roots that are crying for attention, lol!

You can play Self Portrait Sunday too. Click on the link to see how.

Labels: digital photography, friends, photos, Self Portrait Sunday

My camera became brain-damaged on Christmas Day, and I'm pretty sure it went through its final death throes on New Year's Day when I was trying to take pictures of the fire. My timing was always lousy!

My friend Cass has just started a new photoblog. She's invited one and all to join her for Self Portrait Sunday which, of course, I can't really play right now. I can cheat, though. I know this because most of Cass's friends weren't any more ready than I am, so they've posted non-self portraits. I've dug around in my files and come up with a real exclusive!

Above you see me, mid-eighties, with the ex. He was trying not to be the ex that day. He'd been out of my life for quite a few years, but he had a habit of showing up from time to time. That was fine. We shared a son. But then Mr. Ex would disappear again for another few years. Each time he came back he'd suddenly remember that he loved me madly and wanted me in his life. The first time he did this I bought it. That's when we married. Our son was three. I was young and foolish enough to think that his father and I could make a family for him. We were together for a whole five months before that fell apart. The next time I saw him was probably about five or six years later. I got a call from a lawyer saying Mr. Ex was back in town, in jail, and needed help with bail. I brought him a carton of cigarettes and we visited for a half an hour. Then I got a lawyer and had him served with divorce papers. He thought that was cold. I thought it was pragmatic, considering that it was the first time he'd had an actual address in many years.

Fast forward to the occasion above. My life had become more settled. I had entered the profession I still serve today. I was on the board of our local industy association and had committed to go to our annual picnic. Mr. Ex showed up and wanted to spend the day with our son. Son said no thanks, I'd rather go to the picnic. He was getting ready to start his senior year in high school and quite able to make his own decisions. Mr. Ex also told our son that he needed to drop out of school and go into the U.S. Army, as he, his father and his grandfather had done. Son said no thanks. So we all went to the picnic.

And why is the picture considered an exclusive? Well, because it was one of only three occassions where we were photographed together. We had a very small family album.

Cass would like you to join her and all of her friends for Self Portrait Sunday. I'll install a button when someone tells me how. Today you can just follow the link above and it will take you right there! Don't be shy now!

Labels: bums, divorce, family, friends, photos

I've had some emails about my New Year's greeting pictures, so here you go:

1. Yes, that's me. I was just learning to snorkel, so about twelve years ago. That is not a deformed third boob. I strap on a fanny pack when I swim because I collect shells. When it's empty it balloons up.

2. The yellow hibicus is about the size of my hand if I spread my fingers as far as they will go.

3. The lei stands at the airport. They start at about $5.00, but the fancy ones can be quite pricey.

4. Dear friends' daughter. She's three now and sometimes calls me Tutu, Hawaiian for "grandmother."

5. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, aka Bruddah Iz. Yes, that version of Over The Rainbow.



Iz is gone, but his music continues to gain new friends around the world. He lived near here and the bust is in front of Waianae Satellite City Hall on this coast. There is another version with videos of Iz on the same YouTube page. Lousy sound, but worth a watch.

Edit: Yeah, I blew it. I embedded the video, so there was no link for you to follow. So, go here to find a catalogue of user created Iz tributes and also other videos that have nothing to do with him except that they use his music. The video that shows some local reactions to his music ends with the scattering of his ashes as the throngs sound out their final aloha to the gentle giant.

6. Statue in front of the Hawaii Convention Center. I've forgotten it's name - something Hawaiian about water being the gift of life.



He's not naked. He's wearing a malo.



7. Last February. Beagle underfoot, boiling noodles being removed from stove. Large second degree burn. Debridement with lots of morphine. Interesting scar.

8. Irwin building my new addition. Complete photolog on Flikr.

9. Duh! Easter eggs. The plate was my mom's. She collected chickens.

10. Peacocks and chickens. I rented in this condo complex up in Makaha Valley before I bought the house. My son and I called the area "Peacock Corners." I do a lot of inspections there.

11. Stocking stuffers from my son and his girlfriend in 2005. The skinny yellow guy is a keyboard duster.

12. Flat Stanley is a paper doll who visted us a few years back. I compiled a photolog of his visit and sent him home to the girl in Sis's special ed class who made him. Lance the beagle was a little suspicious of him.

13. I helped a friend clean out a warehouse owned by a guy who also owned a pawnshop. The jewelry was part of my payment. The friend was drunk the day he took it in for me so it could be appraised. He forgot his mission and sold it for a ridiculously low price. Guess it's a good thing I've forsaken glitz, huh?

14. Taken at the Waianae Boat Harbor while. Ahi or aku, I forget which.

15. Serenity - Wahiawa Botanical Gardens.

16. Another Flat Stanley (lower left) visits a little grass shack outside of a North Shore surf shop.


There ya go. I knew there were quite a few pictures, but didn't count them until now. Wow! I'm surprised that blogger could handle this many.

As an aside: When I was taking pictures during the fire yesterday, one of them included the roof of the new addition. If you look at the picture of my neighbor on his roof, you'll see my roof in the foreground. Click to enlarge. A portion of the roof blew off during recent high winds. I didn't even notice it until I uploaded the pictures. Ooooooooooops! Irwin will be here in the morning for repairs.

Labels: life in Hawaii, photos