My Husband Looks Like Someone Else, Part Three

And apparently, so do I.

But first, the DH. Two nights ago we had just walked into the Blaisdell Farmers' Market, when a nice lady said to my husband, "How you? You still walkin' your dog." DH: "I'm not who you think I am. I've got a cheap face!" Lady: "Wait, you gotta nice face." DH: "I don't have a dog!" Lady: "Oh, sorry. You have a nice evening!"

We could not stop laughing! This is the standing joke between us. I have started calling the DH "Blooks" in honor of Brooks Takenaka, of Hawaii Fishing Agency. (I'm just teasing him!) And sorry, Brooks, my husband is better looking!

About 2 weeks ago we were at a casual wine and cigar event when a woman I'd never met introduced herself and asked if we'd met at another gathering at a resort down the coast. Uh, no! We don't smoke $30 Davidoff cigars or drink single malt Scotch! I have never tasted Lagavulin or Laphroaig, and only had a taste from a bottle of Glenfidditch that someone else bought. No, thanks - too rich for my blood!

So, I told her that must be my doppelganger (double) - swanning around smoking Opus X and swilling Scotch!

But, I wonder if she's having as much fun as me?

What I'm Reading - December

Skellig by David Almond. Looking forward to reading his Mina. We are who we are because of events, ideas and impressions that formed us when we were young.

Skellig is the unhip archangel Michael who changes the young protagonist's life forever. All we're asked is whether we can believe.

See Lives to Eat for a very different book!

What are you reading?

Otis Redux

When you haven't seen your neighbors for a while, you start to think of the worst, especially if they're aging.

Florence, the cat lady, was in the hospital, then a care home, according to Kim, mommy to Otis, She is 82 years old and was still out feeding the cats twice a night - at 9 pm and 2 am. Crazy! Even the Manicured Librarian is asleep at 2 am!

So Kim and Butch, Rosie's father, have stepped in to help. But I'm sure they are not out at 2 am!

Rosie, my husband's gf, has been ailing, so whenever we do see her, we are happy! A couple nights ago, we saw Butch reading an Occupy Hawaii poster on the street. He said he'd left Rosie in the car. We wanted to see her, so we all walked over together. When he opened the door, she barked loudly, scolding him! When she saw us, her tailed wagged as fast as it gets! That pretty much took all the energy she had!

Otis, too, is getting on in years. I think Kim said he's 13, so in dog years, that's 104! He's deaf, so he stares at Kim so intently his eyes water! What a character, his head tilts, and one ear is cocked up - almost as if he could hear!

Thank goodness Otis and Rosie are still with us - they are just two of the characters in our neighborhood!

A great gift for anyone

I don't usually suggest or promote things but this is such a great product!

This Contigo travel mug is advertised as keeping hot drinks so for 3 hours, and cold ones 9 hours, and we've found this to be true. I loaded mine with ice and a bit of water, thinking I'd have a cold and icy drink, but after an hour on the road, it was still ice and very little melt! Excellent product!!!

I usually put about 8 ounces of coffee into it every morning that I go to work, but it will hold 16 ounces. After an hour it's still hot, but after 2 hours, it will be warm. I can stand to drink good coffee even if it's cold, so I don't mind.

One caveat: learn to press the button BEFORE you sip, as it releases air and "spits".

Otherwise, an altogether stellar product. The lid closes simply and without fuss. Easy to drink from, a breeze to clean. I HIGHLY recommend this!


Here is the website. They have several styles and other sizes. The price listed for the one I have is $24.99, but we got ours in a 2-pack for less than that at that big box store I hate to shop in. Yes, Costco. Don't know if they still have them, but it would make a great gift.

Where to "Go" in Downtown Honolulu

I was sure I wrote about this. Maybe not.

The library is one of the few places to "go" - potty, that is - on this end of town. For that reason, it is, unfortunately, sometimes abused. Here's what you can encounter in the women's restroom. The men's has been worse - one morning, the DH was helping with a program and couldn't "go" bcs a disturbed person had "gone" all over the men's - floor, commode and walls!

The custodians - a crew of saintly men whose patience and fortitude is tried DAILY - had to hose down the entire room, sending patrons and staff to the second floor.

Then there was the time when the men's was shut down for DAYS bcs someone had broken the counter and sink - JUST avoiding damaging the plumbing. Why? Bcs they COULD.

The other restroom nearby is at City Hall - but, like us, only open when business is conducted.

In the heart of Honolulu, Macy's is the restroom haven, but I admit I've used the men's there when the women's line went almost to the sales floor. No, there were no men in there, and a woman guarded the door as I did the same for her. Desperate times call for desperate measures!

But before Macy's opens, I've seen a woman pulling down her dress after relieving herself in a doorway near McDonald's. And now you know why downtown Honolulu smells like urine!

So it is with great relief that we welcome the first public restrooms in HNL's Chinatown, at River of Life Mission, on Pauahi St. Well, actually it's the second. If you ask nicely at the police substation, you can use their facilities.

Except...

Yes, there is always an exception!

They are only open 10 am to 9 pm.

And only on the weekend.

What's up with that???

In other toilet news, Starbucks baristas staged a mini toilet revolt in NYC!

November Reading & Gratitude

I started the month by reading the entire series of books by Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler, a young adult series of novels about the famous Judge Ooka and his fictional adopted son, Seikei. Several of these were good, one not worth reading, the others okay. Ask me in the comments if you want to know which ones to read.

While looking for books on being grateful for my visiting children's classes, I found one for myself. I found 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life inspiring. (Though not inspiring enough -yet! - to write the several thank yous I should!) John Kralik was an attorney whose firm was not doing well. He started by examining his life, deciding to be grateful and write a first note. This led him to write one to his own son - but when he realized he didn't have his address, he called him. They had lunch together, and his son handed him an envelope. It was repayment of a loan.

Unreal! Any parent of adult children will realize that you write off loans you make to your children as noncollectable! If this payment was not enough to save his business, it did something for his soul and morale.He was determined to write 365 for the year. It took him 15 months, but changed his life.

I told the class of 5th and 6th graders who came (who were FORCED to listen to me! LOL!) about the book. They were disappointed (yeah, right!) I wasn't requiring them to write 365 thank yous. I did indicate they should give thanks when appropriate, and that they might start a tradition at Thanksgiving, of each family member saying what they were especially thankful for.

Of course, they were more interested in hearing about the books on magic, ghost hunters, baseball, and 100 most amazing things than that book. The bee plight book didn't grab them, either. If you want to know the titles of any of those, tell me in the comments. I have a poor memory for song titles, names, and unfortunately, book titles!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and tell me what you are grateful for.

The Lady and the...What?

I was walking down my street the other week. My eyes were focused forward, and my thoughts were far away.

But I heard a voice in a tone usually reserved for babies and kittens, so I turned to my left.

And then I saw the woman talking to the duck.

It was a honking, BIG, OGLY duck - one of those with a red bill and stuff on its head, white with black patterning.

YIKES!

Thankfully, it was not talking back.

They were by the side of one of the many bridges in my neighborhood, constructed over culverts and streams which carry runoff and rain to the ocean. The woman was in a parking lot. The duck was on the wall fronting the stream.

You could not get me as close to something that looked like that critter!

In her best baby-talking voice, the woman was trying to coax the Big Duck to eat from a bowl.

And I thought the people across the stream from me were a bit odd to have two fat Rhode Island Red hens in their yard, as this is not really the 'burbs!

Come to think of it, I wonder if the hens survived the Veteran's Day weekend? I haven't heard them since Saturday!

Just two more examples of the fauna in my urban neighborhood!