It’s not just cold, it’s freezing. Literally. Our temperature has reached 32 degrees tonight.

I had Meg pick my brother up from his apartment so he could have dinner with us when the sun was up and it was cold but comfortable. By the time we got ready to take him home, the windshield had frosted up and I had to use the washer to melt the ice from it.

I was just outside smoking a cigarette and the skies are so clear with bright stars twinkling above which means that it’s hella cold right now. It’s gonna be fun watching everyone scrape the frost off their car windows in the morning. Of course I won’t be able to see it because I’ll most likely still be snuggled under my fake fur blanket in my warm bed.

Tonight my prodigal son finally called back. I told him about us being at our friend’s house for Thanksgiving and he said he’s tired of being a guest at the “Institution” (my description). I think he’s realizing how much he’s missing with the family while he’s there. This could be motivation for him to do better in the future. It’s so hard to plan things that include him because he’s no longer in control of his freedom. We all just need to be patient and everything will work out in the end. Gotta have faith, right?

Meg has a friend visiting from Japan. He just got discharged from the Navy so he’s enroute to Florida by way of Washington then California. He’s a pretty good kid, very respectful. He’s comfortable around islanders because he hung out with the Hawaiian boys in Japan. Today, Meg made fried rice for breakfast. I asked if he had eaten and he said he doesn’t eat Spam. So I started harrassing him about wanting to be Hawaiian meant learning to LOVE Spam. I told him it was the island steak and every proud Hawaiian must eat it. He laughed, shook his head and said he never tried it before.

So, me and hubby left around noonish to run some errands and do a bit of grocery shopping. When we returned a few hours later, I asked if he was hungry because I bought some *clears throat* American food so he could have something to eat. Then Meg told me that he ended up eating the fried rice. He was so proud of himself, he boasted that he even ate the bits of Spam and it was alright afterall. I think we’ve successfully converted him. I think I’ll miss him when he leaves on Tuesday.

I forgot all about this but at the dinner one of my friends was wearing a Proud to be Hawaiian t-shirt and we all asked where he got it from. It was a gift from his mother in law but he said we could purchase the t-shirts online. I was thinking it would make great gifts for those who are away from home, like say my oldest son who reads this blog more than anyone else I know personally. But shhhh, I want to surprise him.

First of all, I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving day with their family and friends. About two weeks ago, our friends called to plan Thanksgiving dinner at their house so I spent all day Wednesday cooking. I started at 2 a.m. Wednesday morning. That’s when I put the turkey in the oven. Since it’s my first time using a gas stove, I was afraid to leave it on all night while I slept so I stayed up and started boiling my potatoes and eggs for the potato salad I made. After that was done I played on Meg’s computer to try to stay awake. I finally went to bed at 6 a.m. because I figured Meg and Kamalani would be up not long after I went to bed.

When I woke up at 10 o’clock, my turkey was beginning to brown and surprisingly my home was still intact. When my turkey was done, I let it sit on the counter to cool off while I baked the ham and mixed the potato salad. I was determined to have everything completed by Wednesday night so I could take it to be stored in my friend’s extra fridge. I thought if I showed up late on Thanksgiving it wouldn’t be that bad since the food was already there. By the time my portion of Thanksgiving dinner was done it was early evening and that when I turned the kitchen over to hubby so he could prepare my favorite pumpkin cheesecake. Meg has been preparing it for the past few years but hubby takes so much more time to perfect everything, plus he cleans up as he goes along. It’s kinda cute because he sets everything up like an assembly line. He ended up making 7 pans. We took two to the dinner, sent one over to my brother’s, gave one to our friend Bernie because she’s always bringing desserts and foods over to us, and we were left with three pans. As of this entry, we have only 1 1/2 pans left.

To keep with our family tradition, we had turkey chuk for dinner tonight. I think this meal is the highpoint of Thanksgiving. It brings back so many memories of my childhood back at my Grandma’s house. Grandma always fixed this soup for us with the left over turkey and rice. I think of all our grandchildren, Kamalani will be the one to carry on the tradition. I talk to her about the dishes I make and tell her my Grandma made this and that for me when I was her age. She loves knowing this as much as I love sharing it with her.

My prodigal son called lastnight but we weren’t here. I hope he tries calling again today. I miss talking to him and I want to see what he’s Thankful for this year.

What am I thankful for?

Being alive
Having a loving husband
Having four children who still love me
Having four grandchildren who are all healthy and happy
Having a home to call my own
The pellet stove that keeps us warm on cold nights
Food in my opu
Cars that carry us to wherever we need to go
Family and Friends — near and far

For about a month now my daughter’s wisdom teeth have been bothering her. I made an appointment for her at the dentist and after reading the xrays, the bottom wisdom are growing sideways. It looks really freaking on film. Anyway, he referred us to an oral surgeon in our neighborhood but as luck would have it, the oral surgeon doesn’t accept military retiree dental insurance so I went online to find a nearby provider who does oral surgery. The closest one is located 30 miles away. Even though it’s a drive we’re still saving more by going there to get it done.

Well today she had her consultation with the oral surgeon and because of the way her wisdom teeth is on it’s side beneath her gums, she’ll need an anesthesiologist to administer the anesthesia and about 5 days recovery time from work. The office gave me an estimate on the extraction procedure for 4 teeth at $622.00 However, this does not include the anesthesia. I asked if Meg REALLY needed it. Then laughed because the lady thought I was serious. Well okay, so I was partially serious. Anyway, now I’ll need to call the anesthesiologist to get an estimate from her. It’s not like it really matters because Meg needs to get this done anyway, but I just want to know how much it’s going to be and if there are other alternatives such as getting it done at the dental clinic on base. I already pay enough on the stupid dental insurance premiums. Besides, maybe if she doesn’t have her wisdom teeth extracted, she’ll become wiser??

Since we traveled 30 miles out of our way, I called a place that sells motorized wheelchairs and got directions to their office/showroom. My brother came along for the ride. He likes to get out of the apartment whenever he can. I don’t blame him for wanting to get out sometimes, he’s surrounded by little old ladies who mingle all day long in the apartment lobby. I think they’re cute but I suppose if I had to live there, their cuteness would run out quickly.

So we ended up at the showroom and got information on how to obtain a motorized wheelchair for him. I gave them his doctor’s and therapist’s contact information so they could request the forms they needed. My brother even tried out their demo and now he’s so excited that we are finally getting somewhere on this. Of course I had to ask the store salesperson if they had a model with spinners. She said nope but Christmas is right around the corner and maybe someone could give him some spinners for his wheelchair once he gets it.

After we left the showroom we went to the shopping mall on our way home to grab something to eat. There was a grand opening a few months ago for a place called “Hawaiian BBQ”. I had a flyer in the mail and the food looked ono. We decided we would eat there. I ordered a Kalua Pig/ Laulau combo. The Chinese clerk asked if I wanted pork or chicken laulau. I told her I wanted Pork. She tried to sell me the chicken laulau. She said I would have to wait 20 minutes for the pork laulau but the chicken was ready to go. I told we didn’t want the chicken and we won’t mind waiting for the pork. Then the cook came to the counter and tried to sell us the chicken. I finally told them both that I don’t know any Hawaiian who likes Chicken laulau. Everyone I know eats pork then I told them that we’d wait for it. After we got that all settled she told me that all the Hawaiians who go there order the Pork Laulau. So I asked her why they even had chicken laulau and she said it’s because the “Americans” prefer chicken. Well duh!

Meg ordered a loco moco. She didn’t like it at all. They overcooked the eggs so when the clerk asked me how we liked the loco moco, I was honest and told her the hamburger steak was hard and the eggs were overcooked. I pointed to the picture on the menu of what a loco moco should look like and again she told me that the “Americans” perfer their eggs cooked thoroughly and that next time she’ll remember to ask if we want our eggs sunny-side up. I was beginning to think it should’ve been called “American BBQ”. Anyway, both the clerk and the cook were interested in what I had to tell them about the food we tried and they ended up giving me a card for 50% off my next order. I think they liked me. They put bay leaves in the kalua pig which was different but the laulau was onolicious, probably because they order it from Hawaii. Heh Heh.

By the time we hit the road to head home, the sun had set and the fog started creeping in again. It’s been very foggy lately. It’s kinda eerie at night when I go out on the deck to smoke. I was describing it to my brother as evil hovering around. He just rolled his eyes at me. It’s a good thing he can’t say what he’s thinking or it would’ve been something like, “You’re such a drama queen.”

Well it’s almost 3 a.m. and this drama queen needs to hit the royal bed.

The NEX started selling tulip, crocus and daffodils bulbs last month to start planting for early spring blooms. Of course, I’m not gardening inclined but I thought I’d pick up a few and try my hand at planting them anyway. Besides, I had talked to Kamalani about us gardening when we were still in Japan. This was going to be our family activity whether we’re successful or not.

I had the bulb in my garage for over a month and to be honest, I had forgotten all about them until hubby reminded me that I still needed to plant them. I told him we needed to get pots and potting soil because my knees hurt and I didn’t want to kneel on the ground to plant them. So we went to the NEX to purchase some decorative pots and potting soil. All the pots were 50% off so we picked up a few and I also got a pretty good deal on some display items for the deck. I even got a patio set that was originally priced at $325 for only $150, what a deal!

Anyway, we got home when the sun was already setting so we put off planting until the next day. I had some errands to run during the day so planting would have to wait until I got back. I took my brother to therapy and while he was there, I ran over to our nearest Les Schwab Tire and had them mount studded tires on my van. They were so quick, all four tires were dismounted, then remounted with the new tires in about an hour. By the time I got back to the therapist, my brother was just about done. Timing was good that day.

When we got back to my house, the sun was still up so we had time left to do our planting. Kamalani was waiting for us on the deck with her toy gardening set and our gardening gloves. Hubby carried the large bags of potting soil and pots to our deck and we set everything up like an assembly line. I shoveled soil into the pot then had Kamalani place the bulbs then I covered the bulbs with more soil. Hubby laid out each pot evenly spaced along the length of the deck. Then Kamalani used her little watering can to moisten the soil. I’ve got my fingers crossed in hopes that we get some of the bulbs to bloom in spring.

Kamalani went out to check if any of them were blooming yesterday so I told her we won’t see it until March, I think. I told her it would bloom near her birthday. She likes that. I’ll take pictures of the progess as time goes on. What I really want to plant are herbs. Not that I use them much, but I love the fragrance they give off. Oh and if I’m successful in planting herbs, I might just take it up a notch and plant veggies in pots. I just love container gardening, it’s easy on the back and knees.

Yeah, I know it’s been a while since my last entry but so much has happened in that time. My brother is doing great! So much so that he has moved into his own apartment that’s about a mile from my house. I still take him to his appointments and I check on him almost daily to make sure he’s doing okay and doesn’t need anything like food or anything else.

In the past, I let him tell me when he was low on his medications but on one occasion, he didn’t tell me until he only had enough for that one day. I had to scramble to get a hold of his doctor so he could get a refill request into the pharmacy for us. Since then I’ve learned my lesson. Now I count the days he has for each medicine then mark my calendar a week before he runs out so I can call in the refill to the pharmacy ahead of time. The pharmacist told me that during the winter months, calling ahead a week works best just in case the strong winds causes power outages which might delay processing.

Speaking of winter months .. it’s getting friggen cold here. We use our pellet stove to heat our home most of the time. About a week and a half ago while I watched the news, there was a report of an elderly couple who died in each other’s arms while their house burned down. Apparently, the chimney was clogged with soot and it started a fire in their home. That spooked me enough to use our gas furnace until we got someone to come out to inspect our pellet stove. I’m paranoid like that. I could smell smoke coming from the stove and that was something new for me so I sorta freaked and decided not to use the stove until it was checked by a licensed inspector. Hubby went outside with the inspector to watch and learn what to look for and how to clean out the exhaust/chimney. We are now using the stove again which sufficiently heats the entire house to a comfortable (not stuffy) temperature. However, we crank on the gas heat when we take our showers because the bathrooms are never warm enough.

Meg’s wisdom teeth are cutting through and she’s experiencing some discomfort so I made her an appointment for the dentist today and they said she needed to see an oral surgeon to have them all removed. The reason for the pain is because her wisdom teeth are growing in sidewards. Ouch!

Ooooh and Meg went and bought herself a car. She got her own loan and shopped for her own insurance. She pays an arm and a leg for her insurance but it’s good for her to know that she’s responsible for the finances so she’ll be more cautious when she’s on the road because she knows how expensive owning and operating a car can be. Our little girl is finally growing up. She was talking to my brother about finding an apartment or house to share with her friends. Then she added that she feels rushed. She looked at me when she said that and I replied with something like, “That’s not rush you feel - - it’s my foot kicking you out the door.” Then I laughed and she said I was being mean to her.

Kamalani is doing great in kindergarten. I attended her conference last month and her teacher told me how surprised she was with Kamalani’s reading. Our plan for her is to keep her reading at her level but also work on her handwriting and spelling. Right now she does this thing called brave spelling where it’s okay to mispell the word as long as she sounds the word out and tries to spell it on her own. The teacher said she’ll eventually learn to spell better. Her math skills are pretty good too. They do math problems when they have snack time. We’re all so proud of her.

I have a few more things to write about but it’s very late right now and I have an early morning tomorrow. I got a dentist appointment … oh joy!