Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Laney Hobo Bag


I'd been wanting to make a hobo bag and found a nice pattern here:  Laney Hobo Bag.  Cute, yah. It has a Pellon interfacing which keeps the bag from drooping.

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It's supposed to be reversible, but I sewed in a lanyard with an attached coin purse, so you kinda can't use it inside out. The adorable slippah zipper pull was given to me by my friend, Al. Thanks Al!!
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I asked coworker Julie to model the bag for me so that you can see its size. 
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Anybody want the bag?  First one to email me at JalnaA@aol.com can have it. I'll update this post if/when it goes. 

Update:  One of my favorite readers just e-mailed me and wants the bag!  I'm supah happy.  Stay tuned . . . cute cell-phone holder is coming up real soon.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Photogrammar


Coworker Lauren turned me on to this awesome site called Photogrammar which was put together by some smart people from Yale

Photos and descriptions like the 1943 photo below can be found there by using an interactive map. Go check it out! It is so cool!!

manabe

Japanese-American volunteers. First pair of brothers among the AJA [Americans of Japanese ancestry] volunteers inducted into the U.S. Army in the territory were Chitsugi, twenty-three, and Minoru Manabe, twenty-eight, who took the oath of allegiance together among the first batch of fifty-eight Kauai registrants sworn in. Both were born at Anahola but lived in Kealia, Kauai with their elder sister Fumiyo Hashimoto who is shown bidding them goodbye. Both went to the Kapaa Grammar School and last worked for the Lihue Plantation Company. They volunteered separately without each other's knowledge immediately after formation of an AJA combat regiment was announced

Photographer

Unknown

Created

March 1943

Lot Number (Shooting Assignment)

1827

Call Number (Library of Congress)

LC-USE6-D-010185

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Japan 7-Eleven Instant Soups


I brought back a bunch of 7-Eleven soup packs from Japan a few months ago for my son, but since he hadn't eaten them yet, I thought I'd take them to work for lunch this past week.

This is the Tan Tan Soup.
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This is what's inside of the pack . . . a brick.
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I added about 3/4 cup of hot water. I was kinda surprised. It was really, really good.
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This is the Fried Eggplant Soup.
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The brick was a little crumbly. 
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Looks good, yah!
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It was!  I think this is my favorite.
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This is the Onion Soup.
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The brick was kinda small.
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And since I had two packs, I used them both at one time.
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It was really yummy too!
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I had a tuna/avo sandwich with each of the soups. 
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They went well together.  For sure I'm gonna get some more packs next time I go to Japan. 

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Small Hello Kitty Tote


I remembered to take a "before" picture this time. I got this bag from the swap meet for $1.00.  It was kinda bucket-shaped, open on the top with a tie-string, and it had tie-together straps for its handle.

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I cut the bag nearly in half and made the handles more "normal". It's kinda small now, around 11 x 7 inches.
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I used the material which I cut off to make a recessed zipper.
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It's lined with a quilted fabric. 
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Not sure what you'd use the bag for except to show off because it is kinda small, but it is cute. If you're a Hello Kitty fan and want it, and you're the first to email me at JalnaA@aol.com, you can have it.  I'll update and let you know if/when it goes.

I got one winnah already!  I'm soooo happy!!  More bag giveaways to come soon.


Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Wendell's Eggplant in Spicy Sauce


This recipe is from Harumi's recipe book called Everyday Harumi.  I totally loooooved this dish. Even Harumi says that this is one of her top three favorite recipes. If you like eggplant, then for sure you should try and make this. I like it so much that I can even eat it cold, right from the 'fridge. 

The "Spicy Sauce" wasn't spicy to me. Just vinegary. Maybe it's the way that Wendell made it. He also added in some beef . . . "just because".
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1 lb. 3 oz. eggplant
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup mirin
2 1/2 tbs. superfine sugar
1/4 cup rice vinegar, unseasoned
2 to 3 tbs. finely minced leeks or scallions
1 tsp. finely minced garlic
1 tsp. finely minced ginger
1 to 2 red chilies, seeds removed and finely sliced into rings
sunflower or vegetable oil for deep frying
shredded leek to garnish

1.  Trim eggplant, and using a potato peeler, make some stripes in its skin. Cut into 1-inch disks and then quarters. Place into a bowl of cold water, soak for 5 to 10 minutes, drain and pat dry.
2.  Combine the soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and rice vinegar to make a sauce and set aside.
3.  In a skillet, heat enough oil to cover the eggplant. When hot, add the eggplant pieces and deep fry at a medium-high temperature.
4.  When the eggplant is cooked (when it is soft in the middle) remove from the skillet and drain off any excess oil. Put in a bowl, add the sauce, then the minced leek, garlic, ginger and chili and combine.
5.  Serve with shredded leek on top.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Sprout


Me and Geri went to Sprout Sandwich Shop in Kaimuki yesterday. 

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It's on Koko Head Avenue next to the crack seed store. The same crack seed store that I saw John Travolta in front of a long time ago . . . but that's another story . . . 
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They had a nice selection, and were kinda busy.
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The lemonade was $4 . . . very refreshing.
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We shared a The Duke ($9.50). It was very, very yummy, and for some reason, very watery too.  It kept dripping and made a mess all over my hands and my plate. 
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After our lunch we walked across the street to The Calico Cat. And just like Honolulu Aunty said, the lady there was so nice . . . unlike one of the ladies at the other fabric store in Kaimuki . . . ahem. Geri bought some cute Minion fabric. She plans to make a blanket with it.
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On the way there we passed by Verde Kaimuki and saw this sign.
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And this is the menu that was posted outside of Hale Ohuna, a "modern Hawaiian noodle bar".
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We ended up in Kapahulu at Shimazu Shave Ice. For the record, that's not my shave ice.
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I want to show you what I got at a rummage sale that me and Geri went to earlier in the day.



Sooooo cute yah! 2 bucks!

Friday, September 18, 2015

Crazy Swap Meet Shoppers


So nuts, yah! 

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But it was not so bad earlier in the morning so we did manage to find some good stuff.  Geri bought this adoooorable lady bug rain coat for her granddaughter. It was $3. 
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I found this Spiderman glasses for my nephew.  It was 50 cents!
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These home-made mango fruit roll-ups were $1.75 each.
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Kona loves these treats. They're $6. The guy who sells them makes them himself. He's usually on the 3rd row away from the fence.
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Not bad for a rainy day, yah!

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Winner! And Polka-Dot Grocery Tote


Tammy! You won the My Melody pouches! Can you email me your mailing address?  Congratulations!

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And now, here's a pink and brown polka-dot eco grocery bag that I made. Cute, hah? I love that color combination. It's not particularly big . . . 19 x 14 inches. I used almost every bit of the polka-dot fabric which I got at a rummage sale.
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It's reversible, and it's up for grabs! First person to email me at JalnaA@aol.com can have it. I'll update this post if/when the bag goes. Update:  Got one taker already! But stay tuned. I have more bags to give away.
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Monday, September 14, 2015

Wendells' Slow-Cooker Kalua Pig


MARK! MARK!  Wendell made the kalua pig! THANK YOU for sending me the link to the recipe! It was the best kalua pig I ever ate!

Here's the link:  La Fuji Mama

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Here are some remnants left in the slow cooker. I was small-kine late in getting my picture, and you know Wendell . . . he ain't waiting around for me to get my shot. Right from the pot, it might've been a little bit on the salty side.
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But Wendell added it to some cabbage anyway, so it ended up being perfect.
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Saturday, September 12, 2015

iPad Mini Pouch


I bought a well-used My Melody quilted-material tote at a garage sale for 25 cents. I forgot to take a "before" picture so you gotta imagine how the tote looked before I cut it up. The pouch I made using it is on the left and the remnants of the tote is on the right. The material is small-kine faded and a bit worn, the handles were bust-up, and got some smudges on the pocket that didn't come out even after a washing. But for 25 cents . . . why not, yah?

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I had trouble due to the thickness of the materials, and I broke the needle on my sewing machine trying to go through one particularly thick segment. Then I made the mistake of using an adhesive-backed velcro for the top closure thinking that I could also stitch it for double security. Nope. The adhesive gummed up my new needle and the thread too, so the velcro is just stuck on with no stitching.

I kept the already-made pocket intact and just had to reposition it. I'm thinking that you could even put your iPad in the outside pocket and put other stuff inside of the pouch if you like.
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And then, got bonus. I made a small zippered pouch with an attaching lanyard using the leftover material that you saw in the first photo. It's about 7 x 4.5 inches and very lightweight. I ended up using all of the material from the tote except for the bust-up handles and a small patch from a corner.

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Did you guess that this is a giveaway? Anybody want the pouches?
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If you're interested, just leave a comment here or email me at JalnaA@aol.com and I'll put your name in a drawing. I have a few more bags that I want to give away, but because they're really nothing special and made with old, sometimes recycled material, I'm having a hard time deciding if I should just do a "first to email me" kind of thing or do a drawing. 

For now, for this one, I decided to make it a short-deadline drawing, and see how it goes. Winner of this drawing will be announced next Wednesday (9/16/15) morning. 



Friday, September 11, 2015

Milfrutts Candy Winnah


This past week seemed to drag. There were a lot of you who entered this drawing, and I couldn't wait to see who the winner was gonna be already.  

I wrote out all the names the night before, and first thing in the morning I asked Wendell to pull one.

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And the winner is  . . . 
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Yes, it's YOU, Karen!!!
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I asked Wendell to pull three more names. If your name is here, you are runner-up winners, and I'll send you a few pieces of the candy so that you can at least taste how ono it is, although you better not like it too much because . . . you know . . . pretty soon not gonna have anymore. 
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Can you guys email me your mailing address (JalnaA@aol.com), and I'll send you your candy the next chance I have to go to the post office. Congratulations!