Tiger Balm

I have an ingrown toenail problem.  One home remedy that I found online involved using Tiger Balm. I couldn't see how it would work, but the method was simple enough so I went to Longs and bought me this little jar. You cleanse the area with Betadine, let dry, apply the Tiger Balm and cover with a bandaid. Betadine was $20 a bottle so I just used alcohol instead. You're supposed to do this for 2 weeks.  Wouldja believe that after 2 days the pain went away!  How yah?



Wendell bought me this.  I never used it 'cause I neva need.  Maybe it works on the same principle. 


It's been around 2 weeks now, but I'm scared to stop.  I'm afraid it's gonna get sore again if I do.

Goma Tei

Wendell's coworker Donovan always raves about Goma Tei, so we went to check it out at lunchtime a couple of weeks ago. 

As soon as we got there we noticed a sign-up sheet.  Wendell and I are not into sign-up sheets . . . or waiting . . . when we are hungry.  I peered inside and saw that the place was big, and since the list of names wasn't too long, I signed us up.  As I was writing down our name, guess who I see inside walking towards the door?  Donovan! I told him to hurry up and eat so that we could get in quicker.  And you know what?  He would, you know. He's been to our house several times because anytime Wendell needs help with anything, he's right there.  I just love him to death. 



I felt shy about taking pictures so most of these shots I did without looking through the viewfinder   I think I got busted in this one.


Don't know what these guys were eating, but look at the size of their bowls!


Me and Wendell both chose the Char Siu Tan Tan Ramen because that's what Donovan recommended.




As soon as it came, me and Wendell went, "Okay, so where's the char siu?"  I took a picture with Wendell's phone and sent it to Donovan.  He confirmed . . . we got the wrong order.


We informed the waiter, who then asked if it was okay if he just brought us the char siu separately.  So we scored!  It was sooooo filling, I could only eat half. I liked it . . . very goma-y (sesame) tasting.


I sneaked a final shot as we were leaving.

Holo Holo with Wendell

I had to take my car in to Toyota this past Saturday for some recall thing so I had the pleasure of spending the day with Wendell *ahem*.  

Eugene Miyoshi helped check me in.  I thought it was so cool that he's into recycling.


Wendell dropped off Aunty at Daycare and then met me at Toyota.  He's been using Landon's truck lately because it's the only one of our vehicles that Aunty with her mumu shoulder can climb into and get out of easily.  Problem is the air conditioner compressor gets disengaged every time he turns off the engine and he gotta whack it back into place before heading off anywhere. I laughed so loud watching him do this that it drew the attention of one of the mechanics.  He said that probably the air gap needs to be narrowed.  He said that the space is probably too wide and the magnet's not strong enough to attract the doomahichi. Yup, that's exactly what he said.


We went to Nico's first.


We made it just in time for breakfast.


No, I didn't get any of this.


This is my mini Loco Moco.


This is Wendell's Portuguese Sausage and Eggs.  His over-easy egg grossed me out. When he busted it up, it was runny like hanabata.


And talk about gross.  This was in Chinatown.


Wonder if this is any good.


I got this at a Vietnamese store.  I just loooooove it.  The dark, reddish-colored rice on the bottom is glutinous like mochi rice. The yellow stuff is some kind of bean, I think.  There's also coconut, peanuts and shuga on top. What's shuga?   Okay, okay, it's sugar.  I was trying to disguise it to make it appear less fattening. 


Remember this from the Collector's Expo?   I'm hooked on it. I found the one store that sells it in Chinatown.  Hoo hoo!!  20 calories each piece . . . not THAT bad, right? 


The time went by fast and before we knew it Eugene called to say that my car was pau. Yay!

After the Rain

When I went outside of my house to water my plants early yesterday morning I noticed how cool the reflected light coming from the house looked on the water drops that were resting on the leaves of my avocado plant.  I ran back into the house to grab my camera which I fitted with my macro lens.  

It was really, really hard with the limited available light in the dark.  Some shots that I envisioned were impossible to achieve without a tripod and I'm just too lazy to bust it out.  I took a gazillion pictures and when I looked at them on my computer I realized that most hadn't come out.  I went back out to try again . . . it had become a skosh brighter by then, making it a little easier.

Katch Time

My plan for yesterday was to finally walk around in the Kakaako area and get some photos of their murals. Wendell's softball games got cancelled, so I was relieved of Aunty-sitting duties.  But . . . rain, rain, rain and more rain hampered my plans. I went to my mom's house in the morning to wait it out. By the afternoon, when it became apparent that it wasn't gonna let up, I decided to do go anyway and check out the one mural that I really, really wanted to shoot most . . . Katch's.


I had staked out the area earlier, so I knew exactly where to go. It was still raining hard when I got there, but I was determined . . . or stubborn . . . or stoopid . . . so I got out of my car and started shooting. I hurried . . . it took me about 2 minutes. Me and my camera still got pretty wet. But it was worth it. Check out his work below . . . and you'll see why . . . he is my favorite.

























If you're in the area, go check it out.  It's on the Makai side of Auahi between Keawe and Coral.

Wendell's Ahi Katsu

Wendell got the recipe for this dish from Foodland.com.  You can find the recipe here.  It was ono.  Kinda reminded me of the ahi katsu from Monarch Seafoods.



Aunty is doing better.  She even went to Daycare today.  She was happy to be back.   

Aunty's Shoulder

They fixed Aunty's shoulder yesterday.  She's in a sling now.  She seems a bit out of sorts . . . kinda dazed . . . kinda out of it.  Maybe it's the medication.


So I gave her a small-kine manicure to try and brighten things up for her.


I think she likes it. 

Update on Aunty

Aunty's shoulder is dislocated . . . totally out of the socket. Wendell said he felt queasy after he saw the x-ray. Worst of all . . . they couldn't fix it yesterday.  It was too painful for Aunty doing it while she was alert.

Aunty has an appointment this morning at 6:30 with the orthopedic doctor. They're gonna put her to sleep and then maneuver the joint back into the socket.  Wendell said that the doctor, Dr. Richard Kimura, was a bit strange to him.  He seemed unaware of the situation and asked, "Is she in pain?"   Wendell wanted to say, "HELLOOOOOOO . . . YOU GOT THE X-RAYS . . . HER SHOULDER IS DISLOCATED!!!!!!!!!" 

I think Aunty had a rough night last night.  Her clothes were wet with sweat when I helped her change this morning.  Poor thing yah. I tried to help her brush her teeth, but I musta been doing a crappy job 'cause she grabbed the toothbrush from me and finished the job with her left hand. Made me kinda happy that she could still do that for herself. 

Hopefully, the worst will be over soon.  Thank you everybody for your kind words and prayers for Aunty.  I'll keep you posted on her progress.

I Feel Weak

Aunty fell this morning. She went outside early in the morning in the dark to do stuff she neva have to do and then she fell.  

I found her in the backyard on the ground after me and Kona came back from our walk.  She had hurt her right shoulder and couldn't even get up.  I went into the bedroom to get Wendell. I couldn't lift Aunty up by myself.

I made her breakfast . . . the usual cereal and milk, a banana and half a sandwich.  She ate them with her left hand. She couldn't even lift her right. 

Wendell took off from work, and they are now on their way to the doctor's office.  He had to first go to City Mill to pick up a step stool so that Aunty would have an easier time getting into his truck.  You see, normally she needs to hoist herself up by grabbing onto the handles with both of her hands. It was a struggle, even with the stool, but he got her in.

I'm so lucky that Wendell takes everything in stride.  He just does what he gotta do.  Me . . . I feel weak.

Call Me Maybe - Troops vs. Cheerleaders

I stole this from Akemi's blog, Nippon Nin.