Leaving on a jet plane

Spent the past 4+ days in a mostly sunny Seattle. Only on Saturday night did it start raining and lucky for us, that was hours after we spent a really nice (read: warm, bright, and clear) afternoon walking around Pike Place Market, taste-testing local vendors at the Cheese Festival, and having a fabulous lunch at the Steelhead Diner. Flew home to HNL early today and now settling back in to the local humidity. Here's a shot of a restored plane that hangs just beside the Hawaiian Airlines check-in counter at Sea-Tac. The rest of the week I hope to post more shots of the quick trip from my phone's camera roll.

Pacific Northwest tulips

Happy Mother's Day

It became very clear this week that Robbie is not very good at keeping secrets about what he makes at school. He said one afternoon that he "made a ribbon for me." I didn't know what he was talking about until he came home with this on Friday. A lovely addition to my wall of art, using paper plates - my favorite elementary school craft medium!
Robbie comes home with a lot of not-quite-finished items. Note the white border on the top. He's a very thorough guy and he takes a long time to finish things, especially where solid coloring and painting is involved. I think his classmates finish their items faster and his teacher tells them all frequently to wrap up what they're doing before Robbie has completed his piece.

How do they do that?

Amidst all of the hype surrounding the Royal Wedding, not a single media segment about how those darn hats STAY ON!? Fashion reporters and style watchers, you have let me down. They defy physics and I can't take my eyes off them. This blooming blue crescent moon was stunning; definitely one of my favorites. What sort of surprised me is that hats are required yet there appears to be no requirement for them to match what the woman is wearing! A good portion of the women in attendance were impeccably coordinated, of course, but then a select few hats were laugh-out-loud color and texture clashes. It made for fun television viewing. The actual ceremony? Not so much. All hail...TiVo.

Where's the fruit?

We went to dinner last night at one of the many restaurants around town that offer a "Kids Eat Free" night. They also have a play area for kids right next to the lanai tables which seals the deal for us. They might soon be on our "black" list, although the management and wait staff are so nice it makes it a tough call. Food was so-so last night; they made the kids' chicken fingers with poultry seasoning and they didn't quite taste right. Even the fries were a little off. They also messed up my order. What really might be the final blow? They provide the typical kids menu which doubles as a coloring page. One section features pictures of a couple of fruits with the words, "FRUIT is good for you. What's you're favorite?" Nice, yes? But look over at the side choices for the small plates and there is no fruit offered! Three veggies sides are listed, but for my two picky eaters good luck with the tomato and cucumber salad, green salad, or collard greens options. We are not in an area where fruits are hard to obtain, so this kind of baffles me. If we go again, I just might point this out. As nicely as I can, of course. ;)

Happy Easter

Guess who colored this bunny puppet?

Along the coast

While participating in the monk seal count last weekend, I was walking on a trail just above a beach and came across this spider. I don't know what type it is, I'll have to do some research. I paused and took a long look at it because I loved the natural, bold yellow body. (Stare too long and it becomes a bit of a Rorschach test!) It was not too big nor scary, but I did stop in my tracks when I saw it and stepped around the web it was building.

At the market

I picked up a bag of these small citrus fruits last week but I can’t remember what they’re called. (One average-sized fruit is the same as a large gumball, about an inch to an inch and a half in diameter.) I had seen them before but passed them by many times. I thought they might be similar to limes – a Hawaiian key lime, perhaps? But no, to my surprise they’re a lot more like a small Clementine orange. After sitting on the counter a few days, they're less green on the outside, too. When I thought they were more like limes, I wanted to make a localized version of the classic lemon bar. After realizing they’re not as tart as I thought they would be, I’m rethinking my plan. For now, I’ve juiced them and the juice remains in the freezer until inspiration strikes.
This Sunday the Mililani market is closed due to Easter. That means I have to make the trek into town and beyond for the KCC Saturday market. Bummer! ;) I’ve wanted to try out this market for years now, just never had the time or a good excuse to make the long drive on a Saturday morning. I think I have the time and the good excuse now.

Spring monk seal count

Today I took part in the Spring state-wide monk seal count. My "zone" included mostly beaches adjacent to some industrial areas here on the Leeward side. I don't think I covered all that much but it sure took me forever! I found one seal (with the help of volunteers who had already been to the area on an earlier scout). He's the same one that I saw a week and a half ago at Nimitz Beach. Cute little young male from Kauai who first was spotted our way a few months ago.

The early bird gets the...

Cheap, fresh local basil. Yep, at our local Sunday Farmer's market, one must get up and out of the house early and beat the crowds to get it. A healthy bunch at a few stands costs from $.75 cents to a dollar. At a higher-priced stand, the same amount will set you back $2.25. Seems like quite the mark-up, especially since I buy basil nearly every week to make pesto. That's $50.00 a year, more or less (a conservative estimate)! Still, when I miss out on the cheaper stands, $2.25 is better than the grocery store price of $2.25 or more for a fourth of what you get from the local farmers. Pictured here are Molokai sweet potatoes. They are deep purple on the inside and outside, and very sweet. These are left over from last weekend's haul. I will roast them soon for sweet potato fries or a simple mash. The white "spots" are natural juices dripping out. The spots appeared just after I had sliced one open before snapping the picture so you could get a peek inside.

Foul ball!

We made it out to Manoa last night for another UH men's baseball game. While the boys and I were at the concession stand getting more water, Noel got a foul ball. I can't believe we missed it, but truthfully, I probably would have freaked out if I saw a ball heading in the direction of exactly where the boys had been playing before we left. Missed the excitement yet better in the end for my nerves.

Sittin' with the monk seals

Did some volunteer time with the Hawaiian monk seals earlier this week. Thankfully it was on a sunny day with no rain. Today the rain has come on in a big way. Even the dogs are not going outside. Towels remain standing by, placed by each door. My ability to identify a seal on the beach remains comical, even on good days with binoculars in hand, a long lens on the camera, and the seals' markers in clear sight. I had none of the above this Wednesday. I realized when I hit the beach that I'd forgotten my binoculars (crucial for narrowing in on their flipper tags containing an ID code). I should have just turned around and went back for them, but I didn't and paid the price. Missed cues about who was what and who was where... I couldn't even make out male from female. I'm thinking I'm going to need my own web redemption soon. But I had a great day nonetheless, spoke with a lot of interesting and nice folks, and enjoyed the coast. My favorite question from a visitor concerned with one seal in a deep sleep: "Do they need to have water poured on them?" No, but I knew if something like that was needed, these kind people who were in enamored with the seals at first look were ready to pitch in.

Baseball in the park

It's official: Robbie's first year of organized baseball is in the books. We ended the season with two games, an "awards" ceremony (passing out trophies and a pizza party after the last game), and a family bowling party Sunday afternoon. A lot of fun. No surprise here - Robbie likes bowling better than baseball. Cub was up for a few frames then became a little bored rather quickly. The last game was held in Waianae. It's a longer drive for us, but I like the park a lot. I like the feeling that you're surrounded by mountains, and here the backdrop is the Waianae Kai Forest Reserve. Skies were grey that morning, but not cold or windy.

UH Baseball

We had a weekend full of baseball. First up was the University of Hawaii team playing Cal State Fullerton at the Les Murakami Stadium in Manoa on Friday night. I hadn't seen a live baseball game (not including t-ball) in years. I haven't forgotten how much I love watching baseball, but I'll admit I forgot how much I love sitting in a baseball stadium watching a game in person. Tickets are cheap - concessions are not - and the atmosphere is great at the stadium. It was a really nice night. We ended up in the upper deck, covered from the light rain that came through mid-game. I don't even know if that would have put a damper on my mood. I hope to go back a few more times before the season ends.

The end of a potentially short era

Baseball (err, t-ball) season is winding down here. Robbie’s team played in a tournament over the weekend. Four games in all! It was a sunny, windy, dusty couple of days but I had fun.
It would all be more exciting if Robbie actually enjoyed it. He doesn’t. It’s hard to get him to go to baseball practice and hard to get him to go to baseball games. On the mornings when he wakes up and asks if he has “to go to baseball” and the answer is no, then he is happy. We have loved watching him play (despite a few rocky moments at the very beginning with Cub at practice that I wasn’t enjoying) and wish he would like to play more. He has already asked us that we don’t sign him up for baseball again next year. He would like to be the one who sits on the sidelines and watches his brother play. Two more games this weekend, another team potluck, and trophies for the boys during the end-of-season gathering. We are secretly not giving up that sometime in the future he might want to play again, and surely hope that at least he will be a big baseball fan like his parents and the rest of his family!

More birthday fun!

Family is in town this week! The original event that started it all was my rock star, software-selling sister got another Gold Club trip to Hawaii for her sales year. They head to Maui tomorrow for a long weekend at the Ritz Carlton, but before heading to the Valley Isle, they came to visit us! They are staying at a KoOlina property I immediately wanted to move into. Seriously. Time to reset (again) all those retirement goals.
We are heading back today for more beach and pool fun. Last night they threw a second birthday celebration for Robbie, complete with a dinosaur cake. We had a few harrowing moments (but we're laughing now) as we attempted to light the birthday candles with no matches. My brother-in-law did it using paper towels and the toaster! And didn't set off any fire alarms nor should my Mom lose any of her security deposit. I feel the need for some sort of legal disclaimer here...really, do NOT try it at home.
Sorry no picture of the lighting, just the sugary carnage that remained. Robbie provided one of the many cute moments of the evening. A little confused by the birthday celebrations spaced nearly two weeks apart, he innocently asked, "So am I seven now?"

Hawai'i-grown chocolates

Last weekend on Robbie's birthday I treated myself to a few locally grown and produced chocolate bars available in the Dole Plantation gift shop. I've seen various products around and have read a lot about one producer in particular lately, and figured it was as good a day as any to indulge. And indulge not just in the caloric sense - they are super pricey! A small box of 5 miniature bars? $6.00. The other bars pictured? $6.50 each. Were they worth it? Yes, if what matters most is supporting locally grown goods. Not really in most other areas. I'm not one really blown away by dark chocolates without a lot of added sugar and milk solids. (Darn sugar addiction!) In a blind taste test, I'd spot and go for the "milk" chocolate any day. But for fun (and after I get a job!) I'd buy them again for special occasions.

Makakilo Waffle House

After the tsunami warning Thursday night, we are all OK. My in-laws came over early(!) Friday as they were in Waikiki, but ultimately no damage there. I was very tired Friday, but I'm getting back to normal today. Funny, I just can't stay up until 3AM like I used to! ;) And to be truthful, I didn't. I fell asleep on the couch in front of the TV and woke up a couple of times to dark, live camera pans of waves. Yup, I missed all of the "action." One strange bit of good fortune - public schools had a planned furlough day, as did some of the other state agencies. That made it a little easier knowing in advance there would be no school and Noel would also have a light day.
One of the hotels during our quick California trip last month had a breakfast buffet. No pancakes, but lots of waffles, so the boys had those instead. I've had a waffle iron for years but haven't used it more than once or twice. For some strange reason a waffle iron was on my must-get list despite rarely ever using it before (along with a toaster oven, a Kitchen Aid mixer, and other gadgets) when Noel and I got married. So I picked one up back then but it sat unused for a long time until this week as Robbie has wanted to eat waffles. And lots of them! Luckily my go-to pancake recipe works well and the ingredients are always around.
I picked up some organic Fuji apples from Costco earlier in the week. I was bummed to try them at home later and discover they were already getting a little mushy. Don't you hate that? I love apples very crisp. So I made a batch of cinnamon applesauce. I also had an idea to make apple waffles and the experiment was a success! I whisked a half cup of the applesauce in the pancake/waffle batter and gave it a try in the hot waffle iron. In my humble opinion, they came out pretty yummy. Moist, a little sweeter, and less dense than the regular variety. Another recipe for the "keeper" pile.

Birthday boy!

Our oldest turns 6 today! He requested his favorite, red velvet cupcakes, and I couldn't pass up the chance to bake them for him. A few months back I tried a recipe off the Food Network site. OK, but not great. With another search I found a food blogger's version and it looked better. It was! We found a keeper. I'll it make again in the future, maybe next time try the multi-layered cake. Noel even liked the cream cheese frosting, but I made the much sweeter option the blogger hints at. I tried to stick to the original ratio of cream cheese, butter, and sugar, but it was much too strong on the cream cheese side for me. So I doubled or tripled the powdered sugar until you just got a hint of the cream cheese. It's closer to the version that Robbie likes at Genki Sushi anyway. Yes, that's right. The local sushi chain has cupcakes for dessert and that's where he learned to love them. That and a chance stopover at a cousin's house where they had a Costco red velvet cake, but that's a longer story.
It's raining here today, at least parts of the island. Robbie's baseball game was already called, so we will head to Dole to see about one last train ride before the annual pass we bought last year on Robbie's birthday expires.

Switch light at the Railroad Museum

We made a special pilgrimage to the "train museum" before heading on to Tahoe. The plan was to fly into the Bay Area and drive directly to Sacramento from the airport. We figured it would be easier to wake up with the Bay Area traffic behind us and a few steps away from the museum in Old Town Sacramento.
First phase of our plan went well! The boys liked waking up with a view of the bridge and the railroad tracks from our fourth story hotel room. We liked not being stuck on 80 East any longer than necessary. And the museum! Didn't disappoint. We could easily spend the weekend there, but had to squeeze all we could in a half-day. This picture is a classic railway "switch light." My Dad purchased one a long time ago and refurbished it; his was very similar and had the same blue/green and red lenses. He had it in the house for many years. It always makes me think of him when I see one.

Where did the month go?

Tomorrow morning we head to Robbie's elementary school for their monthly assembly. Our kindergartner was selected as a "Jet of the Month." He will be honored with others in front of all the classes. The announcement came home last week in the form of a form letter and it read, "For the month of Honesty." Yes, we had a good laugh about that. Good thing it wasn't the "month of Attendance" because we've blown that one. We took a quick but awesome family trip to Tahoe and SNOW! Lots of it. We knowingly pulled the boys out for a few days, and then all of us got sick and they missed more after our return home. We are still making up the homework.
The holiday started out waking up in a hotel along the Sacramento River, a short walk from the California State Railroad Museum, our first destination. Here's our view of the Twin Tower Bridge, processed through the Old Photo PRO (free!) phone app.

My nephew's quilt

We were in the Bay Area briefly this past week, sandwiching a family Tahoe snow trip. So much fun! More pictures and stories to follow, until then, a little filler with the story of the quilt I made for my nephew. I've been meaning to post a picture for many years now...
My sister hosted us at her house late Monday night; my Mom made a yummy pot of soup, my Aunt came along and brought home-baked goodies, and Robbie played with his cousins and all of their toys. (After a brief run to see Great Grandma at her home, Cub was in quarantine back at the hotel with Noel. He was developing a cold and had an eye infection, so we kept him away. Poor Cub! He missed out on a really fun time.) I snapped this picture of the quilt in Johnny's room before the end of the night. If I remember right, when my sister was pregnant I asked her what nursery theme or colors she chose. She forwarded me a link with the design, so I tried to make a custom wall quilt to more or less complement the room. "JP" in the center represents my nephew's initials - "J" is his Dad's middle name, "P" is Dad's great friend and his godfather's name. "L" is his Dad's sister, "M" is our family name, "B" is for his Dad, "A" and "C" are for my Grandma and Aunt, and "F" is his paternal Grandma. "S" is for my sister and "H" is for me! The numbers were chosen at random, and "D" got in because I wanted to add a dog. All applique was by hand, created and designed by me using various online clip art pages and fonts. The piecing and minimal quilting was by machine and binding was by hand. Finished size is approximately 34 x 48 inches.
Robbie was very young and Cub had yet to come along, but it took me nearly a year to complete. My gracious sister never complained, even when the "final" product was delivered without a hanging mechanism. They improvised and seemed to do just fine!
Working on the quilt ornaments this past holiday made me wish I had more time for quilting, and seeing this makes me want to make something for my niece, but I have to be OK with this hobby being on the back burner for a bit longer. Hang in there Sarah, I haven't forgotten you! ;)

Happy Valentine's Day!

More from the backpack

Preschooler art alert! Another masterpiece came home in the backpack late last week. It was rolled and later smashed, hence the fold lines. I snapped a few pictures then placed it in the area of our paper recycles. Robbie found it and asked why I had it with the recycles, not wanting to part with it. Darn, the kid just won't let me throw anything away. I took it out of the "trash" pile and will let it sit a few more days, but will sneak it into the real trash bin one morning this week while the boys are in school. He'll never remember unless he starts reading this blog. At the rate he's learning, that will be sooner than I think.

Happy New Year!

A lesson in patience

This past Sunday the boys and I hit the farmers market a little late. The produce vendors were packing up; the popcorn vendor had already left. I looked around but no one had any ripe, yellow bananas left. Only the green ones you see here (small "apple banana" variety - I think in St. Lucia they called something similar the "five fingers" banana, but I could be off here). No bananas ready to eat made us switch up our normal routine a bit - finding a shady bench and having a few bananas before we get back in the car.
The hardest part is getting the boys to stop opening them when they're green. I don't cook with green bananas, so we waste a lot when the boys tear into them and realize they're not what they were looking for.
This bunch went on top of the fridge (and out of reach) once we were home. By Tuesday the boys were getting anxious for one, so I let them open a few, not expecting them to be consumed. But ripening on top of the fridge worked! They were ready and the boys learned a little more about their favorite fruit.

Future Picasso?

No, I'm just kidding myself over here. This piece is simply an exercise in preschool cutting and pasting that went awry. I pulled this paper bag mouse puppet out of the backpack yesterday afternoon and had to laugh. Upon further review last night as Robbie was taping his brother's artwork on the wall, the chuckles kept coming. So many layers of funny to me! Happy Friday all.

No baseball?

The boys both received mini-dry erase boards for Christmas. Noel has said they are a "genius" gift. I completely agree. (And I've only had to scrub off words written with a Sharpie pen once! To my surprise, permanent ink fades away with a little 409 and some time.) Robbie uses it more than Cub, but I guess that is to be expected. What we would never have predicted was that the white boards have ushered in a new era of child-parent communication for us: the written negotiation. Here's Robbie's attempt to get out of t-ball practice yesterday afternoon. Other favorite pleas include "No bath" and a detailed, ordered list of what he gets to do before bedtime.

Farmer's Market find: Peppers

Impulse buy at the farmer's market this weekend! I don't even know what to call this variety of pepper. They're tiny (each less than an inch long) and I've never seen them used in a dish here, either. But Robbie picked up a bag to look at them, I asked if he liked them, he said yes, and then said we should get them. At a dollar a bag, I figured, why not? My first thoughts were to use them to flavor broth in a soup. We'll see if I get creative and come up with anything else.

Cal and the artwork

If you want to keep things in good shape (or sometimes just simply keep things), you've got to keep them off the floor at our house. Our dogs are pretty good but we can't say they're perfect. Far from it. I have a half-dozen small Lego parts perched on the windowsill above the sink, items I found Brady chewing on. Cal likes tissue and paper towels, so we have to be careful about those, too. A not-so-destructive habit they have is laying down on anything on the floor. Towels, clothes, blankets, soft bags and toys....they will attempt to rest on it. Even artwork! They're just looking to be comfortable, but they end up getting lots of things very dirty. Here's Cal on a recent drawing. I snapped this picture and tossed the paper later when he moved.

Play ball!

Guess who's playing t-ball this year? And guess who's more excited? We signed Robbie up last month for youth baseball (at his age they still hit off tees) and practices started a few weeks ago. The team has a practice tournament a week from now, league games start in a month or so. We picked up his uniform this week.
Unfortunately, I'm not liking practices so far. Cub comes along and doesn't sit still. Nearly two hours of following and/or running after him in open areas drives me nuts. Plus he wants to follow his big brother around and I sometimes find myself on the field with the team, pulling Cub away. Lord I hope he's old enough to play on his own team next year.

Christmas Day 2010 painting

Happy Friday all! And a three-day weekend, too, for most of us. Here we'll be drying out and watching football. More rain and one whopping storm came through the islands this week. Knocked over a couple trees on our block. Of course, they were young trees with thin trunks, but they went down and will be missed until their replacements shoot up.
This painting is one of Robbie's works, painted with new paints received for Christmas. I love that we can archive our kids' art with photos, allowing me to toss them or re-purpose. I turned this and another painting into thank you notes and a birthday card for Grandpa Tipon.
Noel looked at the "piece" and swore he was in a restaurant last month where they had local works on the walls for sale (some as much as $5,000 ?!?) and he claimed Robbie's was "better."

Remains of the (painting) day

Here's what was left of the paints after Robbie (and a little bit Jacob) painted a couple of masterpieces. All gone! Nonetheless, I still consider this gift "a gift that keeps on giving." I saved these mini-containers and washed them out. When I'm up for another painting session (yup, I have to mentally prepare!) I'll refill the little cups and let the boys paint until the cups are empty again. Seems like a good way to control paint in little hands. Plus a good old-fashioned lesson in color mixing awaits!

2011 Postage Stamp News

This post hints of a PSA, but I just learned this yesterday (and only because I was standing in line at the post office) and thought I’d share with those who have the good fortune of NOT having to stand in line at the post office. All commemorative stamps issued in 2011 will be “Forever” stamps. ALL of them! One of the first to be issued is the “Year of the Rabbit.” Purchase any of these for the current rate of $.44 cents (note in the new design a number is not shown, just "Forever") and in the future when a price hike happens again, you can still use them without those pesky additional-cent stamps. 2011 releases include a Ronald Reagan stamp, Mark Twain, artists, actors, scientists, inventions, Owney the Postal Dog, and…wait for it…Pixar stamps! Although there are posters up in the post office, this news is surprisingly hard to find at www.usps.com. Even the “Forthcoming Releases” page is currently blank. I’m curious as to why they haven’t screamed it to the world. Or at least used the modern equivalent…creating a special banner for web pages. This is great news for those who love the practical aspect of the forever stamp and want to mix up their stamp purchases with special commemorative issues. A win-win! Thank you USPS for this year-long gift.

Goodbye 2010!

Here's one last shot of 2010...Robbie taking pictures with my iPhone. While I was trying to get a decent shot of Cub for the holiday cards (the boy just doesn't sit still long!), I gave Robbie my phone and he took a few images in the small park near our house. So, I guess you could call this our holiday card outtake for the year. I was quick to delete some "bad" images right off the camera because my card space was low. I realized later I probably deleted a couple of true outtakes that were pretty funny.
Happy New Year, all! Be safe out there. All the best in 2011.

Done!

I finished my ornaments before the 25th this year. That would have been fine if we were in California. But we were not, so they were mailed late. Living here, I know I shouldn’t be against sending large gift packages, but for some reason I don’t want to. I like to make small, handmade, non-breakable gifts that fit in small envelopes. I don’t want to have to stand in line for postage and I can drop them into a blue, street-side post office box with a lot of stamps. Another bonus? While the cut-off for guaranteed large package delivery from Hawai’i to the Mainland usually falls between the 15th and the 20th, in years past I’ve mailed things as late as the 21st and 22nd and items were received on the West Coast. Nice!
Beaded and quilted items do the trick, and luckily, that’s what I like to do. This year I made gingerbread quilt blocks. All the materials (except for the ribbon used to make bows – and that only cost me $2.00) were already on hand, purchased years ago for other projects and just waiting to be used up. The gingerbread are made of brown ultrasuede, hand-stitched around the sides with DMC embroidery floss. All other fabrics are standard cotton quilt fabrics in reds and greens, of which I have plenty! I had fun breaking out my sewing machine again and loved diving into my fabric stash (the only downside is that I did irritate Noel one too many times when he came home from work and found the ironing board set up in the kitchen). Sorry friends and family, I think you’ll be seeing a lot of these in the holiday seasons to come. Beaded ornaments just might be on the backburner for a while.

12 Days of Christmas: After-Christmas sale SCORE

Noel and I dropped the boys off with the grandparents yesterday and went to the mall for an evening movie. Although Noel suspects it, I did not know their was a Hallmark store right next door to the ticket window. (I *did* know their was one at the mall and that's partly why I chose that location for the movie, but we were late so I thought my chance was gone.) We had five minutes before the store closed and I ran in. Sweet! They had the Polar Express ornament the other store had sold out of. And 50% off! I was going to get only one, but Noel encouraged me to get two. The boys, playing with their Santa ornament deliveries as toys, had already broken a few. So Noel thought a spare would be a good idea. Oh, no no no. These babies aren't going to be seen by the boys, at least not this year. I'm sticking them in the Xmas garage box today, maybe Santa will deliver them next year! Or maybe the boys will have one each in the very far future when they have their own trees.

12 Days of Christmas: Inspiring gifts

Merry Christmas to all! Here's to family, friends, and good health. Hope everyone is enjoying all today. This lovely beaded table runner was a gift for me. Beautiful and inspiring...oh, the things I can make next year.

12 Days of Christmas: Christmas lights!

After dinner with the boys last night, I made Noel drive through a Kapolei neighborhood that goes all out with light displays. It's the same neighborhood with the Heineken tree -and yes, it's still there. They didn't disappoint with the display this year. I think the boys liked it a lot, maybe because there's even a train that circles under the Heineken tree. We might go by once more in the next few days and get out and walk around a bit - last night we were kind of in a hurry to get to the store for the one more thing I needed for my ornaments.

12 Days of Christmas: Almost homemade cookies

I wanted to bring some sweets to a Christmas party last Friday, but didn’t think I’d have the time to do iced sugar cookies or gingerbread like I wanted to. I found Betty Crocker Pumpkin Spice cookie mix in the grocery store (placed right where they wanted me to see – and buy - on the end of the aisle) and picked up a package. I don’t even know if I’ve had pumpkin spice cookies before, but I love pumpkin bread and I love pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks, so I tried them. Yum! If you love the seasonal latte like I do, you are going to like this cookie. I followed package directions except for the baking times. I needed an extra 3-4 minutes and a few still turned out a little gooey. The packaging also says to use Betty Crocker Cream Cheese frosting (of course), but I mixed up my own quick frosting of powdered sugar, melted butter, milk, and a drop of vanilla. I drizzled on the frosting, let it set for a bit, then plated them and headed to the party. Sorry, no time for even a cell phone picture.
I really want to make my own now. I checked out the ingredients and other than the typical cookie ingredients, they had a couple of different flours, “pumpkin flakes,” and a number of spices they wouldn’t list. I think I’ll try to tweak a basic sugar cookie recipe by adding a little wheat flour, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spices. That will have to be after Christmas…I’m close to finishing my ornaments, but I think I’m throwing in the towel to have them finished, mailed, and delivered on time.

12 Days of Christmas: Santa Claus Station postmark

I received the 2010 postmarked item from Santa Claus, Indiana. I think it's kind of fun, but I know not everyone is into stamps and all. It's not too late to get something with the special cancellation, but it is too late to get it back to you by the 24th. This from a third-party site:
If you want to have the Santa Claus Post Office add a picture postmark and then send your holiday mail onwards to your recipients, package all your cards and letters -with postage stamps affixed-in a sturdy envelope or box, and mail to:
Santa Claus Postmark
Postmaster
Santa Claus Station
Santa Claus, IN 47579-9998
Be sure to send your box or envelopes early. The post office should receive them no later than December 15 to ensure Christmas delivery.

Soup of the Day

Here's one of my favorite things to make with a big bag of baby carrots from Costco: Carrot soup. Shockingly not local for me, but inexpensive, filling, and good for days I wake up and vow to eat less sugar.
Starting in a large soup pot, I sauté 1.5 - 2 white or yellow onions with 1-2 tablespoons of minced garlic in a generous amount of olive oil. I add a ton of coarsely chopped carrots, let cook for a minute, season with a hearty dash of black pepper, then add chicken or vegetable stock to cover the carrots by an inch or two. This time I used two entire boxes of stock, and needed more liquid, so I added 2 cups water. Let it boil and/or simmer for at least 25 minutes, then purée with an immersion blender. Serve immediately or store in glass jars in the fridge. I'd guess that is anywhere from 4-8 servings. I filled four glass pasta sauce jars.
Today is a good day for soup (but truth be told, even on the hottest summer days here I make soup - one of the quirks I picked up living in St. Lucia). We're expecting a lot of rain to pass through starting as early as tomorrow. That means cooler temps, yet nothing you need a jacket or long sleeves for. It's humid so we'll probably have the AC on for a few minutes per our usual.
An interesting note about baby carrots - they're just a typical variety carrot processed through large machines to look that way. First they're sent through a peeler and then a cutter to shape smaller carrots and round the corners. (I assume any bits leftover from this process are used for shredded carrots used in packaged salads, and what remains after that, probably goes to making something like commercial stocks. ?) I must have been watching The Food Network or some cooking segment somewhere to learn this, don't quite recall now. I rarely buy unpeeled carrots these days. Just because it's less work, I take the shortcuts.

12 Days of Christmas: Gingerbread sandwiches

To get Robbie to eat something at some point last year, I offered to cut the bread with a cookie cutter and he could pick the shape. He opted for a gingerbread man and continued to ask for it throughout the year. It was humorous in June, but now, finally, it's appropriate! Sometimes Cub will eat the sides that are left, but it's usually me who takes care of them so they don't go to waste. I just have to plan ahead so I don't eat multiple sandwiches all by myself.

12 Days of Christmas: Santa's workshop

The boys start Winter Break on Friday. I've spent a good chunk of time yesterday and today shopping and assembling the holiday goodie bags for their classmates. I'm happy to say I'm done and I got it all finished while the boys were at school so they didn't see a thing. And they couldn't get their hands on anything. :) I bought a bunch of PlayDoh supplies, from the small tubs of multiple colors to a big pack with lots of shape cutters, and split all of it up into smaller, individually wrapped gifts, plus tossed in a few pieces of chocolate. Hurray! One more thing checked off the to-do list.

12 Days of Christmas: Our Charlie Brown tree

Back in December 1999, I was working my first technical writing job in the Bay Area. During Christmas, someone set up a type of pre-lit tree on a small table near the break room. I'd never seen something like it before; it was a fiber optic tree. The "bulbs" were fiber optic fingers and multiple colors flashed or "transitioned" as a unit in the base rotated. It was cheerful and cheesy and borderline tacky and I wanted one. Off to Target I went and bought one of my own. I brought it home and my parents laughed but allowed such a sight amongst Mom's standard classy holiday decor anyway.
I still have that same tree after two major moves, but it is beginning to show its age. It's probably 100 in artificial tree years, yet it still makes me smile. The lights no longer change colors but it otherwise works (the rotating base stopped rotating after we moved to Hawaii). It was stuck on purple a few years ago yet this year the color was mostly white upon the first lighting. Each day since that we've plugged it in a little more purple comes out. It looks a little less cheesy this way. Long live our little tree.

12 days of Christmas: Stocking stuffers

When I mentioned in yesterday's post I wouldn't be spending any money on gifts this year, it wasn't 100% accurate. I won't be spending a lot, but we will get the boys a few things. I've already picked out the items Santa will leave for them on Christmas morning. A few Hallmark ornaments (I couldn't let a holiday season go by without getting a fix for my addiction), one holiday Thomas character train engine each, and some candies. I am going to try to start a tradition that the boys get at least one ornament to hang on the tree Christmas day. Boys being boys, I'm not sure if they will be crazy about this plan, but I like it.
Speaking of Hallmark ornaments, when I saw this year's offerings some time back, I planned to buy one representing the Polar Express movie. It's a ticket, train engine, and gold bell all in one. I waited too long. According to the store associate this past Monday, they had been sold out of that one "for three or four months." Wow! That was quick. I haven't called around to see if other stores had it in stock. Following in the vein of keeping Christmas simple, I'm not going to get too worked up about it. The Lionel train ornaments that I bought instead are perfect.

12 Days of Christmas: I have a lot of work to do

School is officially over for me. Sort of. Today I had my last day of on-campus classes, and all that is left is an online final due next week. I'm feeling great with the semester behind me, but it's no time to rest. I started my annual holiday gifts after Thanksgiving but I didn't get very far.
Unlike recent years, this year there will be no beaded snowflakes and little to no beading at all on my ornaments. I wanted to challenge myself to do something with all the craft materials already in my craft closet, and that challenge included not buying any new beads. That's right, spending no money on gifts this year! Lucky for my recipients, I bought a lot of nice stuff in years past that I never used and I'll get by just fine. :) While we lived in Maryland I started quilting, and although I haven't done much since Robbie was born, I have a fantastic fabric stash that still calls out to me on a regular basis. Time to stop blogging and get sewing.

12 Days of Christmas: Gingerbread Iolani Palace

We were in Waikiki last night for dinner. Before we left the house, I told Robbie that we could go see the holiday gingerbread display and train at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel after we ate. As we made our way to the restaurant in the car, we passed the hotel. Robbie remembered the location from last year and pointed it out. That memory is going to get us in lots of trouble.
For the first time, pastry chefs have created the Iolani Palace (the only royal palace in the United States) in gingerbread, chocolate, and icing. According to the signs next to the display, the palace, "with its 88 columns, took over six weeks to build." It looked amazing. Hopefully it will be a fixture in future displays.

Happy Birthday to my mother-in-law!

This is the cake I baked for her last year. Is it sad that I remember I took a picture last year that I never posted, or simply sad that I remembered I took a picture at all?
It was a beauty! Chocolate cake and frosting from scratch, using a recipe I found on the Hershey's website. Sooo yummy! And my mother-in-law? Sooo worth it! The heart sprinkles were all I had at the time, leftovers from Valentine's Day cookies. I think I laughed out loud when I was making the frosting and thought to myself, "This is just chocolate-flavored butter." I liked it so much I made it all over again for Robbie's birthday in March. This year? We've expanded our tastes. He now requests red velvet cake.

12 Days of Christmas: It's that time again

It doesn't feel like it here in Hawaii, but it's December, and Christmas is a mere 25 days away. This picture is an archive from the Camera Roll - a close-up of holiday tree set up with local flair at the Outrigger Hotel in Waikiki. I heard over the weekend that the large, gingerbread winter wonderland scene has been set up for the season. The boys LOVED the train last year and were upset when we could no longer go. It's calling us now.