Simply Yummy

I got this bag of mochi from Marukai and am single-handedly eating it all by myself . . . slowly but surely . . .



one piece at a time.






Shoyu + sugar to taste


LOOOOOOVE!!

Press Plate

Not sure how I came across this on Amazon, but you can check it out here if you like. It's selling for $399, and I couldn't figure out what is was used for. Do you know?

You put it in a hydraulic press and use it for pressing out rosin from flower buds, such as in marijuana buds! WalMart had something similar too!

Lehua

Here's another panel . . . Ohia Lehua.

Acrylic Paint

Been busy at Day Care the last few weeks preparing for May Day. I've been drawing and painting panels that will be used as background decoration for their May Day program.

I'm not real familiar with acrylic paints so it's kinda a learn-as-you-go thing. This is Hinahina, Kahoolawe's flower.

Homemade Mango Seed

Do you remember these? A guy at the swap meet was selling them. He said that his mother taught him how to make them. 

This was a sample piece that me and da sistahs shared. It tasted just like I remember.


He was selling them for $5 for a small container.

Tool Chest

This happened at the swap meet. While the guy on the left was trying to decide whether the tool chest was big enough for his needs, the guy on the right bought it.

Guess how much he paid.


Only $20! I texted this picture to Wendell and told him what had just happened and he texted me back and said to offer the new owner $30. Hahahaha.


Same thing happened to me a long time ago. I saw a 26-inch Tumi ($$$$$) suitcase at the Kam Swap Meet that looked in good shape. I rolled it around a bit and it rolled good. Only thing . . . we had just gotten there, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to lug the thing around with me. I turned to look at something else for a second and someone else grabbed the suitcase and bought it. For $15.

Stuff I Didn't Buy

Here are some random things that I took pictures of at the swap meet.

Homemade banana bread ($4)


Vintage change dispenser ($45)


Vera Bradley 3-pouch set ($10)


Baymax


Electric stainless steel huli huli spit ($700)


Lalaloopsy horse ($3)


Kitchen tools ($1)


Money leis


Cute little bean bags


Paintings


Books


Fabric


4-foot tall anthurium plants ($25)


Abbey Road Beatles ($5)


Electric hula-skirted beverage holder ($100)

Stuff I Bought

Here are the stuff that I bought at the swap meet this past weekend. Usually I can find some sort of art supply but not this time. It was a nice and cool morning. We walked over 5,000 steps.

I got pork, beef and fish jerky for Kona. They're $7 each. The guy said that he'll be at the Pet Expo on Mother's Day weekend.


These are for my mom who loves to do word search puzzles. They were $2 each.


I used to use choke of these blank CDs back in the day when I used to go on a lot of photo shoots. I don't do shoots anymore, but I got these for Leslie. I paid $2 for the spool.


This is the Chili Pepper Water guy. He's really nice and makes good chili pepper water. I bought peanuts from him this time . . . was ono.


I paid $1 for this cute triangle-shaped Taj musubi pouch.


I bought this Moana DVD for $5.


That's it. That's all I bought. More swap meet photos to come.

Ono Snack at the Swap Meet

About a month or so ago, a longtime blog reader of mine introduced herself to me at Costco. I love it when people do that. Her name was Gail. We talked for a little bit, and Gail mentioned that she liked my swap meet posts. So I promised her that the next time I went to the swap meet I would blog about it.

I'll be spreading out the posts over the next few days. Today's one is about this ono snack that we always look forward to . . . crispy fried opelu and korean sushi ($2 each).


The sushi is wrapped with korean nori and contains kim chee and taegu. 


This is the inside of the opelu.


We call this lady "the red-hat lady". 


She's been selling snacks at this tent for as far back as I can remember.  There are no signs advertising the sushi and fish. It's more of a word-of-mouth thing, but the smell of the fish frying is an enticing giveaway.

Street Scene

This street scene was so fun to do! The painting on my iPad is my friend Erick's. I met Erick around 11 years ago at a Bon Dance where we both had gone to take pictures. It had started raining so a bunch of us squeezed in under some cover. When Erick tells the story, he says that I nudged (pushed) him out into the rain so that I could fit. Not true. Sorta.

If you do a search for "Erick" in this blog you'll see all the photo excursions that we went on through the years. Fun times. 

I think it's pretty cool that we also share an interest in watercolor painting, and so have been able to reconnect again. 



Erick's inspiration came from artist Peter Sheeler. If you have 1/2 hour to spare, watch Peter Sheeler's YouTube video below. Maybe even grab a sheet of paper and follow along with him!

In Stock!!

Finally!!  Wholesale Unlimited has been out of this for months, but they finally got more in yesterday! Yeehawwww!!

My Second Animation

These are fun to do, but takes me too long.

Onnanocos

Here's an amazing HD video shot with a micro drone. Thanks for sharing, Kevin!

My Animation

K. I did an animation. I only drew nine frames, and it ended up being really fast. It's only around 2 seconds long so if you blink you'll miss it. LOL.

Jaiden Animations

I have this crazy (stupid?) idea that I wanna try doing an animation. So been researching. Seems really hard especially since I'd need to draw with my mouse. Don't really know how far I'd get, probably not too.

But in the process I found Jaiden Animations. Her videos are so funny to me. I can totally relate to her insecurities. She is me. 

Drying Out

Tackling the closet today. It's taking me long because my breaks are longer than the time spent working. 

Everything that was touching the floor got wet. I had to trash all the boxes that were housing things.


My tool bag and everything in it got wet. I have my own tool bag because tools don't get put back where they belong in my house. Ahem.


Here's the bag hanging. 


Here's a new, never-been-used garbage disposal with instructions drying out. 


I'm airing out the bottom of this gyotaku. It seemed totally dry, but just in case. Dunno how it faired so well, but boy was I relieved after I inspected it for damage and found none. So lucky, yah. 

Have you seen photos of the damage done to other homes? OMG! I'm so grateful that ours was so minimal.


Okay den, 'nuff stalling. Back to work. 

Flood Again

I gotta hurry with this post because Wendell is outside cleaning up and I'm supposed to be cleaning up inside, but wanted to show you peoples what I gotta do today. 

We got flooded. Again. I posted a picture here from the last time it happened. Anyway, after the other flood Wendell hired somebody to redirect the rain gutters on our roof so that the water would drain onto a totally different part of the yard, and it was working great. Until last night.

It happened so suddenly. Wendell was on his way out and decided to check the yard first. Water was already coming into the house!! 

Long story short. It was worse than the last time. I even called 911. I called Landon and asked him to come home. He was fishing. In the thunderstorm. But who knew, right.

After I take care of the curtains I gotta go and dig out stuff from the closet in my craft/hoarder room. Water went all the way there.

K, so gotta go before I get busted . . . 

Our Minds at Work

Can you read this?  Thanks for sharing, Steven!


7H15                    M3554G3

53RV35          7O      PR0V3

H0W         0UR      M1ND5      C4N

D0         4M4Z1NG       7H1NG5!

1MPR3551V3            7H1NG5!

1N        7H3       B3G1NN1NG

17        WA5      H4RD      BU7

N0W,       0N    7H15       LIN3

Y0UR         M1ND      1S

R34D1NG 17         4U70M471C4LLY

W17H0U7            3V3N

7H1NK1NG      4B0U7     17,

B3      PROUD!        0NLY

C3R741N          P30PL3     C4N

R3AD           7H15!

PL3453         F0RW4RD     1F

U      C4N      R34D      7H15.

Renewed My Driver's License

I really didn't mind the 1 1/2 hours it took to complete the process, even though a lot of the time was spent waiting in line in the rain. I didn't mind paying the $40 it cost to renew my driver's license. I didn't even mind the monotone, hate-my-job gal who "helped" me. 

But what really bothered me and will continue to bother me for the next 8 years is that there was not a single mirror in the picture-taking area which would have alerted me to the status of my rain-drenched appearance. 

Wendell's Mahi Mahi in Caper Garlic Cream Sauce

Wendell found this recipe at Genius Kitchen website and can be found here. Not real sure who actually did the cooking because Wendell said that Landon dunked the mahi in egg before frying so that the sauce would stick on better. At any rate, it was onolicious.

Ramen Heads

More info about this movie can be found here at the Folic Hawaii website.  Thanks for sharing, Didi!!  SLURRRRP!!!





Not sure, but I think this is the place:  Tomita Ramen

Sanshyoku

YouTube artist Oto Kano does what she calls Sanshyoku watercolor artwork where she uses only three colors in her painting.  I think it's so pretty. You can check it out here. 

Here are my attempts on three different types of paper. I used QoR paints (Quinacridone Magenta, Cobalt Blue and Green Gold) and diluted them with water so that they were very light. Then I painted each color in four layers, letting each layer dry (sorta) before painting on the next.


This is Strathmore Vision watercolor paper. It's student-grade paper, not as expensive as professional grade, and works great for me.


This is Winsor and Newton paper that came in an acrylic paint set that I got at Ross. It's not meant for watercolor and did buckle a bit, but straightened out nicely after I put it under some weight. 


This is ProArt paper that I got at the swap meet. 


I also painted some tissue paper and Mod Podged it onto the first page of my Volume III art journal. I bought the cute girl from James Burke's Etsy store. I colored her with Copic markers. James is such a talented artist, and I've learned so much from his YouTube videos that I wanted to somehow repay him for his free tutorials, so I ordered a few things from his store. 


Since I had my camera out I decided to take a few pictures of stuff that are in my craft/hoarder room. Here's Gru watching over some Minions. 


Baymax from Big Hero 6, one of my favorite movies. Maneki neko is from Les.


These are my beloved Daniel Smith watercolor paints. They're the only Daniel Smith paints that I own. They're very expensive, and Honolulu Aunty gave them to me. Out of the blue one day she said that she had some paints for me, and she gave me these. !!!!!  And you know what she herself used in our watercolor class? Generic paints that she got from Ross. That's Aunty . . . and that's why I just love her to death.


Here's a totally useless glass plate that I got at the swap meet. Isn't it cool? I love to look at it and run my fingers across it.


It's made by Juris. Maybe it's this guy. Not sure. 


This is a vintage handmade swirl marble. My sister Geri gave it to me.


Here's a pinkish-colored quartz. It has a water bubble that moves around in a channel.


Here are my newest permanent markers. I already got a gazillion markers, but these are Prismacolor, and got assorted tips, and got sepia, and was good deal. So there.


Maybe I'll show you more stuff that's in my craft/hoarder room later.