Sunday Afternoon 7/17/2016

Well, the girls have gone native. Yesterday they made – and ate – Spam musubi, a favorite treat/snack in Hawai’i. I have no idea where or how they developed a taste for this abomination (Spam will never cross my lips), but they have been talking about making it for weeks and finally got around to it. Can I just say that frying Spam produces one of the most disgusting odors ever? Brett enjoyed the musubi too (he actually likes Spam) but I am staying far, far away. Just no.

An idea for another great Mystery Vacation™ popped into my head this week and I have been having a lot of fun looking things up and seeing what’s feasible. Although he had fantastic time on our trip to Arizona earlier this year, Brett said he didn’t want to be kept in the dark again when it comes to vacations, but I am going to keep this plan a mystery again for as long as possible because I’m fairly sure this is a vacation where he will enjoy being surprised. There’s still much to investigate, but I’m thinking I can pull it off next year!

Hurricane season has started and we’re already feeling the effects from the ones that have passed by: more humidity and, when they pass to the north, reduced tradewinds. There are two more hurricanes either formed up and on their way or forming in the eastern Pacific – we’ll just have to wait and see where they go. We’ve got supplies on hand, and are picking up a few more things this week just in case.

Anyway, this afternoon I am:

• Reading: I’m getting close to half way through Seabiscuit. Even though I know the story, it’s just as gripping the third time as it was the first because of Laura Hillenbrand’s superb writing. That she suffers from a crippling case Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and had to do most of her research and writing in spurts while in bed makes the book even more amazing in my opinion. If you haven’t read Seabiscuit I can’t recommend it enough. She also wrote Unbroken, about Louis Zamperini – another outstanding book. (The movies made from both books were disappointing, in my opinion.)
• Listening to: It’s very quiet here for the time being, and there’s a lovely breeze I can hear moving through the trees. The girls are still asleep and Brett is reading. All this is going to be disrupted soon when I start the laundry, but I’m enjoying it for now while I can.
• Watching: WenYu and I almost got to the end of Season 3 of Downton Abbey and then discovered The Great British Bake Off was available online. We watched Episodes 1 & 2 last night, and will watch Episode 3 later this afternoon to catch up. Endeavour has finished, but I’m still tuning in to The Tunnel tonight. Brett and I finished all of the available episodes of Land Girls and are thinking about what to start next.
• Cooking/baking: Everyone did their own thing for breakfast this morning, and lunch will involve finishing up the last of the leftovers. Dinner tonight will be grilled teriyaki chicken with zaru soba (cold soba noodles with dipping sauce) and a Japanese cucumber salad; my plate will have ‘chickenless’ nuggets with teriyaki sauce. The girls are planning to bake more ranger cookies this evening once it cools down – they made some last week and the cookies were a big hit.
• Happy I accomplished this past week: It’s a small thing, but I finally bought a new purse! On Facebook one day there was a Zappos ad for a purse that caught my eye. It turned out to be the right size, color, price and had everything I wanted and will arrive this week! The Bloomingdales’s saleswoman may have loved my ‘vintage’ bag, but after almost eight years it really is time for a new one. I ordered the last of WenYu’s dorm supplies (extra-long twin sheets and mattress pad), so all that’s left to do now is figure out how to get everything back to Massachusetts. The girls also helped me get started on Snapchat, which I hope to use from time to time to communicate with WenYu and Meiling, and eventually YaYu while they’re away at school.
• Looking forward to this week: We are going to try for a belated annual “arrival anniversary” brunch at the Kountry Kitchen this week – it was postponed this year because we had just gotten home from Honolulu on the actual anniversary date back in June. YaYu will take her driving test on Friday! She’s been ready for a while, but here it’s done by appointment, and Friday was the first opening they had. I am also actually looking forward to our Costco shop on Tuesday because we are so low on food and supplies right now. I am NOT looking forward to my dental appointment right before the shop though. I’ll be finding out whether I’m getting a crown on a tooth that’s broken, or whether I’ll be having another extraction and getting a bridge. We have good insurance, but neither is a pleasant option. WenYu will learn her dorm assignment and who her roommate will be tomorrow!
• Thinking of good things that happened: Although I bought a new purse, and got WenYu’s dorm linens, those purchases were online, and we did not spend any money out in town other than our trip to the farmers’ market. So, we are putting the smallest amount ever into the change/$1 bill jar: just 50¢ this week. Brett and I got in a walk on the Kapaa stretch of the coastal path yesterday at sunset when it was cool, breezy and lovely. There were affordable ripe pineapples at the farmers’ market so we enjoyed our first of the season this past week – delicious! My brother is currently visiting our mom in Colorado and sent pictures; Mom looks good, all things considered, so I’m hoping we’ll have a good visit next month. I lost another pound this week, probably because the heat and humidity have put a damper on my appetite. Otherwise it was a nice, low-key week.
• Thankful for: One thing that’s currently included in our rent is bi-weekly yard service. We supposedly had yard service at our previous house, but it was inconsistent at best. These days the yard service shows up every other week to mow and trim and keep our yard looking beautiful. I’m thankful that Brett doesn’t have to deal with this chore any more, especially now when the summer’s heat and humidity is upon us, and because the work here is far more extensive than it was back on the mainland (we basically live in a jungle here on Kaua’i). Edgardo does a fantastic job, and keeps things very neat and tidy . . . and it’s paid for!
• Bonus question: What do you do if you can’t sleep at night? I usually will pull my book out again and read for a little while longer, or sneak a peek at my phone and see what’s happening with Neko Atsume. Or, I will just lie there and think through a story or place that takes some time – often I’m asleep before I finish. One of my favorite things to think about is the houses that have appeared more than once over the years in dreams – I have seven than have shown up several times. I start through them and think about what they look like, how they’re decorated, and so forth. Each house is very different. With some the dream is about the interior, with others it’s the exterior, and for some it’s both. I can remember some of the dreams they have appeared in, but for others I only remember the house. I’m surprised I can still recall so many details about the different houses, and I often wonder what it means in terms of dream interpretation. Anyway, I usually can’t get through all of the houses on the list before falling asleep. I’m still dealing with insomnia even though I’ve greatly limited my caffeine intake and don’t drink caffeinated beverages after 1:00 p.m., turn off my computer and phone at least an hour before bedtime and read instead. Even going through my houses hasn’t helped. I’m slightly anxious about getting WenYu off to college next month, so that might be what’s causing it. The insomnia will eventually end though; it always does. But I sure wish I could put my head on my pillow and fall right to sleep.

That’s a wrap for this Sunday afternoon? What are you doing today? How was your week?